A non-"goody goody" Lord. (Fates Spoilers)

[Jormungandr]

I wouldn't mind having a MC who's decisions you select actually matter with more than just having certain characters die. Morally gray decisions and pragmatic villainary wouldn't be anything I would object to seeing as choices in a future FE game. Of course nothing needlessly edgy like in The Wolf Among Us which I remember in the first chapter gave Bigby the option of tearing off Grendal's arm. When I first saw this option I thought it was a joke, like there was no way something so childish and stupidly-violent would be an option. But when I selected it, well I can't say I didn't know what to expect. As long as being evil does not equate to being more stupid or having less rewards, then I would welcome more villainous decisions in an FE game. In fact I think it would be nice if sometimes the decisions that seemed good would end up hurting more in the long-run, and how showing kindness all of the time would get your character taken advantage of and hurt. After all Fire Emblem games are about war or at the very least violent skirmishes that should have some dirty deeds done to show the brutality of war.

Still, this is wishful thinking and will probably never happen in an offical FE game.

[Loki Laufeyson]

I feel like Micaiah fits the bill more than any lord in the series. Shes a good person that does REALLY SHITTY THINGS. While id love to see more Tyrion Lannister types in the series, i think the edgiest we will ever get is another Daenerys type.

[Emperor Hardin]

Both of those are bad endings or otherwise failure scenarios

In the original FE3, you didn't get punished for killing the Clerics in Khadein. Though they did back down like every other enemy unit on the map once Ellerean was recruited.

Thinking about it, a protagonist kinda like August would be interesting. Well intentioned, and moral, but also cynical and willing to get their hands a little dirty.

[90sTudeDude]

While I would like Fire Emblem to have a protagonist that tears apart the typical lord traits, I don't think the Japanese would be very enthusiastic of breaking the mold for their demographics, especially when they are so genre specific. For me, it would be a breath of fresh air if an FE installment starred a lord who, instead of being gallant and optimistic, was grim and introspective (also smart enough to plan his own strategies without the help of a player's self-insert), sickened by the corruption of his/her decaying kingdom and willing to lop anyone's head if it's for the sake of restoring it to its former glory and balance. Kind of like Elric of Melnibone or Kain from "Legacy of Kain". As a matter of fact, it would be neat to have a lord who, in higher levels, becomes proficient with both melee weapons and dark magic (again, like Elric). That is, however, a delusion because the Japanese wouldn't dare to send messages that encourage or harbor moral ambiguity unless their targets are specifically people mature enough to appreciate such concepts (seinen as opposed to shonen audiences, and I don't think an "M" rating would sit well among the ranks of Fire Emblem either). That very reason is the only thing I disliked about awakening, the characters all quirks and little substance.

Edited August 4, 2015 by 90sTudeDude

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

I'd like a non-goody goody lord, but I wouldn't want them to be an edgelord, no thanks, I'm already playing through The Last Promise and Kelik is enough.

Someone among the lines of Micaiah in the third part would be interesting, but also a protagonist who has to deceive and lie to arrive to his goals would be something I'd like to see.

In the end, I'm the type of person who's okay with everything as long as it's well written, so I wouldn't mind to get another Marth, but a type of Lord that has never been done before always intrigues me.

[Alazen]

Micaiah was a conceptually interesting character held back by RD's Ike focus. Which is a shame.

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

I'd like a non-goody goody lord, but I wouldn't want them to be an edgelord, no thanks, I'm already playing through The Last Promise and Kelik is enough.

i thought of him just as i entered the thread.

the last promise does have some pretty well written characters, Kelik is a mixed bag with that said, he's neat when he's not being an edgelord, but he is an edgelord half of the time

[Taka-kun]

Japan generally don't have the same preferences as we in the west. As far as I can tell, they like their black-and-white morality stories (with few, very good exceptions) while in the west, anything involving war should portray it as war should be portrayed, a hell for all. What I would like is a lord who can make hard decisions, or if they do "easy" decisions, suffers horribly from it (like friends or civilians dying). I mean, they don't have to go hardcore edgy emo style, but at least let them learn from their experience. That said, I wouldn't mind a lord who actually gives in to their emotions, like being so in grief and anger that they make griveous mistakes.

[TheAssassinMercenary]

A lot of protagonists will commit questionable actions for the greater good, but I guess that doesn't really diminish their hero status. I can't really think of an "edgy" lord in Fire Emblem. Honestly, in Awakening, sometimes you'd think Chrom was more of a princess than Lucina or Lissa.

[Anouleth]

Given the reaction to Micaiah, I somehow doubt we'll ever see such a Lord again.

[Jormungandr]

The problem with Micaiah was that her premise was good in concept, but her execution as a character was shit. Honestly the Tellius games have mostly a bunch of forgettable shitty characters, although the few that are great are some of the best in the series. Plus when the player doesn't get the choice in their decisions in more anti-heroic matters, reactions are usually more frowned upon. If the next FE main character's decisions were selected by the player (ex. being given a choice on who's lives you save/kill), then I could see it being more favorable to players. Again, it's all about being given a decent amount of free will and proper execution in letting more pragmatic choices not just resulting in losing out on more stuff.

[Alazen]

This topic slipped from focus. I forgot about it.

Anyway, the likes of Kamui makes you miss Micaiah.

[The Geek]

A morally grey protagonist might work, just so long as we don't go down the edgy "He killed younglings" route.

Then again we should totally do that. So I can laugh my ass off the whole way.

[feplus]

In the original FE3, you didn't get punished for killing the Clerics in Khadein. Though they did back down like every other enemy unit on the map once Ellerean was recruited.

Killing any enemy (including the clerics) prevents the silver card thief from spawning.

Fire Emblem will never see an "edgy" protagonist, but it's plausible that it implements a proper moral choice system. This concept would be a natural fit and it's shocking the series has yet to try it. Imagine something like this:

Ch.1-5: tutorial, only forced on a first playthrough

Ch.6: moral choice is made, three branching paths

Ch.7-20: rest of the game

That would leave us with 48 unique chapters (par for the course), a more focused campaign length, and would allow experienced players to jump right to the good stuff. Intelligent Systems can have its Nintendo-friendly good guy lord along with an edgy and neutral protagonist depending on the choice made.

Fates gets really close to pulling this off, but the choice made isn't a properly moral one and Kamui's a Mary Sue on any path.

Edited August 26, 2015 by feplus