What do you think of the story in the Tellius games?

[Anacybele]

Yeeeah, I don't really have any interest in seeing more Japanese text after getting bored by the Japanese Ike x Elincia support. xP

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

i honestly think the tellius games and well thought out and explained with abunch of world building and little notes.

sadly because there is so much story stuff in these games its easy to miss some parts or forgot some of it, which leads to opinions that wouldn't exist normally.

in a way, i kinda miss tellius, but if people can't handle everything it had then i don't mind reducing the amount of story and stuff.

[Azure Sen]

After doing a canon review for reasons, I've gained a new respect for the Tellius series's writing, even for Radiant Dawn despite its issues. There's a lot of good worldbuilding, the foreshadowing is excellent, and you can really tell that the major plot elements and reveals were planned in advance. I don't think I'd call them the best in the series, and they certainly have their fair share of flaws, but I've grown to like them a lot and they're good, solid stories in their own rights.

[gojirafan123]

I think PoR had an absolutely fantastic story. It was nothing groundbreaking but the writing and characters were made everything so enjoyable. I really liked that it was an FE game with a human antagonist instead of "Demon dragon god super being #347". And that human would be one of the most challenging bosses in FE history. It's like the Dark Souls rule of bosses; the more humanoid, the harder they are.

Then Radiant Dawn came along. Don't get me wrong, I love Radiant Dawn almost as much as I do PoR, but its efforts fell really short. Playing as the losers of the previous game trying to salvage their lost country was an interesting and great story decision in my opinion. As was Part 2's short rebellion story. The whole "good country defeated bad country and everyone lived happily ever after" trope gets old, it was great to see some consequences of the good guys' actions. Unfortunately, from Part 3 onward, RD does the things I was glad PoR didn't. It makes this a game of man vs. gods. Besides this, the overall plot of RD felt all over the place and way too crammed at times. I think it would've been better if the story had been spread across 2 or 3 different games. Or at the very least give the Dawn Brigade their own game. Poor guys are fine units and characters but they don't get any time to develop as either because of how much they have to share the spotlight.

tl;dr I give PoR's story a 9/10 and RD's a 6/10. As a whole the Tellius series gets an 8.5/10 from me.

[Thane]

I just finished watching a walkthrough of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, refreshing my three-year-old memories of a series I wasn't initially impressed by. Needless to say, I've gained a lot of newfound respect for it, but I still struggle to determine just how I feel about it.

Path of Radiance really didn't offer anything interesting to me. The worldbuilding was alright and it foreshadowed things nicely - as a result, Radiant Dawn can for the most part get away with a larger roster without convoluted introductions and get right on with the story. Path of Radiance also suffers from what I think at least all localized Fire Emblem games have huge problems with (barring maybe Sacred Stones): the villains. The Black Knight is an asshole and Ashnard is an idiotic bully on steroids; I feel nothing towards either of them, and Ashnard's non-existent interactions with the heroes hurt the thread he's supposed to represent. Also, and I realize this is highly subjective, I can't stand the super special equipment that the two possess. I can buy the powder; the Black Knight needed it to appear at various locations so that the plot could move forward, and there seemed to be a limit to how often he could use it. However, the armor just feels cheap to me, especially since they were two adrenaline-seeking junkies who were looking for challenges - why would they ensure that they couldn't possibly be defeated fairly?

Radiant Dawn on the other hand has a much more chaotic story that focuses on many more characters, and thanks to the worldbuilding of its predecessor, it's much more personal and easier to care about what's going on. I feel like the overall writing improved considerably as well, making character interactions more fluid and interesting, not to mention funnier on occasion. That being said, the story is heavily fragmented in a manner similar to Awakening (what ever happened to Ludveck, anyway?) and the developers tried cramming far too much into the game than what was feasible. The final part, save for the very intriguing idea of splitting up in three teams to allow for different character interactions, is a chore story-wise as you plow through an army of redshirts, the Black Knight who Ike is somehow not angry at even though he blindly followed Sephiran, whom Ike was furious at, and then yet another god who decided that the world should be reborn and yada yada we've all heard that one before - it moved away from the character interactions and the chaotic story that were Radiant Dawn's strengths.

I feel like I should dedicate a special paragraph to Micaiah: I can't stand her. I realize that time has allowed people's opinion towards her to mellow out, but honestly, I feel like you have to put up with way too much crap to accept her as a proper protagonist. Already in the very first chapter in the game is it established that she has special powers, speaks the ancient language and has a special appearance - the first map, people, and her traits and abilities just keep piling up. Reading minds or hearts or whatever it was, being the true empress...it's just too much to accept, and we're also supposed to find her backing Daein up to be heroic when the best course of action would've been contacting someone trustworthy in Crimea - they had every opportunity to talk to the Crimeans on the battlefield where no spy could hear them, but she and the rest refused to say anything. Also, she immediately buys that Pelleas is Ashnard's son - in fact, everyone does. Because Izuka said so. Goddammit this game has so many high highs but also some low lows.

Oh well, at least she's better than Corrin.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Thane

[Quintessence]

Why is there so much hostility towards Micaiah? Specially her special traits? Is there the norm that the main protagonist of Fire Emblem has to be a commoner? A mercenary? A noble? I see no problem on her. It's pretty much normal to see these traits among characters in videogames, anime, etc.

and please avoid bringing Fates. It's imo FE's lowest point among all of the series

Edited May 21, 2016 by Quintessence

[Anacybele]

I think many people felt she was Mary-Sueish because of all the praise she'd get from people for seemingly nothing and she has traits no one else has, not even other Branded (like special hair and future-telling powers on top of the healing powers). Even the laguz she meets like her for whatever reason despite that they're theoretically supposed to hate her. Daein treats laguz very poorly and the laguz have expressed hate for Daein in return. Like every laguz nation hates Daein, pretty much. She's treated as this big time savior super suddenly while Ike pretty much had to work his ass off to get the recognition and hero status he achieved. Micaiah basically doing next to nothing to get her fame is like a slap in the face to him.

I'm not saying she's a complete Sue, she does have a flaw here and there and all. But she's personally too Sueish for my liking and I think her potential as a character was shot, especially in part 4. It's the Ike and Yune show instead, and we hardly get to see anymore of Micaiah herself. And this is coming from someone that loves Ike and also likes Yune. Ike is super awesome, but why couldn't he and Micaiah share the spotlight equally? Why couldn't Micaiah get a bit more screen time (as well as proper support conversations) to flesh her out more? This girl has one of my favorite designs in the series, and I'd have liked to enjoy her more.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Anacybele

[Quintessence]

The game says the Dawn Brigade began with a fame of helping the defenseless and poor people among Daein. Specially the background Micaiah has. It doesn't start from 0 by the prologue, sure, but it grows rapidly throughout Part 1.

I don't know if it's me or something, but I'm used to this Sueish traits (I'm not familiar with the term but I hope I know what it means). They are present in characters on anime like Saint Seiya, Pokemon/Digimon (flawless tactics, exaggerated praise), Dragon Ball, etc. So maybe people aren't used to this type of character or idk, it's just hate.

Also, wondering about the 'what ifs' is basically crying over spilt milk, and I think most people agree on it: RD had an ambitious approach but missed a lot of elements that provide harmony to the story and characters.

[Acacia Sgt]

I would think that a problem was that RD Part 1 was too short, and thus didn't showed enough. It had to do in around 10 chapters what PoR could do in double the number. Thus we're mostly told, not shown, about Micaiah. Unlike with Ike.

Regarding her powers, it's more a case of circumstances and working with previously established lore. Her powers come from being a Heron Branded. And the writers had already established that Branded are rare, and also that the Herons themselves suffered an almost complete genocide years ago. Thus, a Heron Branded becomes even rarer thanks to previous stablished lore. Because of this, added with Micaiah hiding her Branded status, results in people seeing what she can do, and be amazed.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, what Acacia said. I feel like Part 1 was too short and rushed and should've been its own game. We're not shown much of what made Micaiah the savior she is while we get to see a lot of how Ike earned his fame. We should've had a Tellius trilogy. First game is PoR/Ike's tale, second is Micaiah's story, then the third brings both of them together in the final saga for the biggest plot of all three.

And yeah, I get that Micaiah is a rare type of Branded because of how the herons almost went extinct, but did she have to have special hair, future-telling powers, AND healing by touch? That's kind of over the top to me. Even one of my own Branded fan characters doesn't have this many unique traits or powers. He just has one unique ability, that's it. No special hair color not found anywhere else, no other powers. And the other Branded character I have doesn't even have any powers as of right now. Or a unique hair color.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Anacybele

[Quintessence]

Well, the Heron clan iirc is known to be the epitome of beauty. Remember Oliver with Reyson on PoR. I find their hair is unique, so that may explain Micaiah's silver hair. I don't know anythinf of her mother nor Misaha, nor her parents. We just know she's descendant of Altina the first Apostle and Lehran.

also, herons heal hp and ailments when you're adjacent so

[Acacia Sgt]

And yeah, I get that Micaiah is a rare type of Branded because of how the herons almost went extinct, but did she have to have special hair, future-telling powers, AND healing by touch? That's kind of over the top to me. Even one of my own Branded fan characters doesn't have this many unique traits or powers. He just has one unique ability, that's it. No special hair color not found anywhere else, no other powers. And the other Branded character I have doesn't even have any powers as of right now. Or a unique hair color.

I would agree on the hair did not need to be special. Perhaps. For the rest, keep in mind that Herons are a special kind of their own. They're very attuned to Order and Balance, and Chaos can affect them physically, and for the worse. While they can heal others, I don't think they have future-sight, but at the same time, nothing is said that they can't. Just like how Herons can also read the minds and hearts of people, and heal the mind as well as body, which Micaiah can't do. At least the heal minds things, not sure on the heart reading being stated as not possible. As a branded, Micaiah only has Heron abilities to an extent. This could mean only what the writers want with it. Wether missing abilities, weakened abilities, or a combination of both.

Thus, the big difference between her and other branded. Herons work differently from other laguz, thus Heron Branded do so too from other branded.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Acacia Sgt

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I suppose. But I still would've liked at least a little more explanation for all these traits and powers she has. I explain why the Branded character I have has the power he possesses. It's a power-up effect that reflects a laguz's ability to transform, as their stats increase when they do so. Just imagine someone getting that temporary stat increase without the actual transformation. But as you said, we're not told if the herons can see the future or anything.

I'm not trying to advertise fics or anything, I'm just saying I feel Micaiah could've been written much better than she was.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Anacybele

[General Banzai]

Path of Radiance had a fantastic story until the end, when it devolved into anticlimax, and Radiant Dawn had an ambitious but deeply flawed story with a fantastic ending.

Sacred Stones has the best story in the series, but Path of Radiance is probably the second best.

Edited May 22, 2016 by General Banzai

[Thane]

I think one contributing factor to the problem with Micaiah is that the powers of the Branded are purposefully left vague so that the writers could add whatever they felt was either cool or would move the story forward. I don't think Micaiah mentions her Heron ability to read people's thoughts/emotions until the fourth chapter, but don't quote me on that.

Another problem is, at least to me, that Micaiah has essentially no room for growth. I generally like it when a protagonist or characters in general have things to learn and grow more powerful during their journey as they try to overcome vaious obstacles. Micaiah already has all of these amazing powers and people love her unconditionally if not at the start of the game then at least in the early beginning of it. As a result, I'm not really as interested in her character arc, unlike for instance Elincia, whose part of the story is really intriguing.

There are two things I dislike more than Micaiah though: Ike's epilogue and Jill's involvement in the story. I think Ike's epilogue is self-explanatory, but didn't Jill have one of the better character arcs in Path of Radiance that was all about following her own moral compass and stuff? She doesn't even raise her voice when Daein starts fighting against Crimea and the Laguz again.

[Anacybele]

Yeah, I think I dislike Ike's epilogue more than Micaiah too, actually. I mean, Ike leaving opens up the possibility of seeing him cameo/reappear in another game in a new land, but did it have to say he was NEVER SEEN AGAIN? That is the main part that makes no sense to me at ALL.

Ike wants to get away from all the fame and attention he's gotten, okay, I get that. Even if he was in love with Elincia and she broke his heart (via her ending with Geoffrey) or something, yeah, I get wanting to get away from that too! (I actually wrote both of these things occurring at the same time) But he shouldn't be gone forever. He loves his friends and family, and he doesn't seem interested in sightseeing his whole life. He promised he'd never leave Mist and he promised his father he'd take care of the mercenaries. He's breaking both of these promises by being gone forever! It's not in his character to do this.

I think the only way IS would be able to reasonably explain why Ike wasn't seen again is that he somehow died. But this guy is super powerful and Mist said he never got sick. This guy's in pretty great shape and health. I can't see him dying young unless something really crazy happened. And I'd imagine a lot of fans would be sad if he died young, including me. :( Also, Priam exists, so Ike most likely settled and had a family of his own anyway.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Anacybele

[Quintessence]

Is there any validity on Priam's theory? He doesn't appear on the main story. He's a SpotPass character, which is similar to being a DLC character. Therefore, Ike's whereabouts stay unknown.

[Anacybele]

No, just because he's Spotpass doesn't mean he can't be canon. I hate when people say he's not canon because of that. Why would IS go to the trouble of making a brand new character and making him have a connection to a previous lord if it was meant to not actually exist at all?

Priam isn't making any theories, he's very clearly Ike's descendant. He's a walking Ike reference that even carries Ragnell. IS would seriously be trolling and slapping Tellius fans in the face if Priam wasn't really meant to be an Ike descendant/relative.

But of course Ike's whereabouts are still unknown, it was never actually said that he ventured to Ylisse or actually said where he went. We just know that at some point, his line found Ylisse.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Anacybele

[Locke087]

No, just because he's Spotpass doesn't mean he can't be canon. I hate when people say he's not canon because of that. Why would IS go to the trouble of making a brand new character and making him have a connection to a previous lord if it was meant to not actually exist at all?

Priam isn't making any theories, he's very clearly Ike's descendant. He's a walking Ike reference that even carries Ragnell. IS would seriously be trolling and slapping Tellius fans in the face if Priam wasn't really meant to be an Ike descendant/relative.

But of course Ike's whereabouts are still unknown, it was never actually said that he ventured to Ylisse or actually said where he went. We just know that at some point, his line found Ylisse.

So all the boss characters that come back to life are canon?

[-Cynthia-]

One thing I liked about the Tellius duology was how involved characters who were not 'main cast' got involved in the plot. It's a pretty stark contrast to games like FE6 or FE11 where characters who aren't the lord and their advisor might as well not exist after their recruitment chapter.

[Irysa]

Path of Radiance had a fantastic story until the end, when it devolved into anticlimax, and Radiant Dawn had an ambitious but deeply flawed story with a fantastic ending.

Sacred Stones has the best story in the series, but Path of Radiance is probably the second best.

PoR's story with RD's finale (as in, Yune awakens and Part 4 occurs) would have been the best case scenario I think.

[Quintessence]

No, just because he's Spotpass doesn't mean he can't be canon. I hate when people say he's not canon because of that. Why would IS go to the trouble of making a brand new character and making him have a connection to a previous lord if it was meant to not actually exist at all?

Priam isn't making any theories, he's very clearly Ike's descendant. He's a walking Ike reference that even carries Ragnell. IS would seriously be trolling and slapping Tellius fans in the face if Priam wasn't really meant to be an Ike descendant/relative.

But of course Ike's whereabouts are still unknown, it was never actually said that he ventured to Ylisse or actually said where he went. We just know that at some point, his line found Ylisse.

No, simply no. I stand in my point. If IS really wanted to take this character seriously, why did they put him out of the main game's context? I can't take any point or theory about Priam seriously when this character is in a series of chapters made as bonus and extra content where Gangrel, Walhart, Emmeryn, Yen'Fay and Aversa all come back to life. If you cut the branches off Awakening and leave the core game there's no hint about him nor Ike nor any descendant. So in the end it turns out to be fanservice and added content. Nothing else.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'd just like to point out that Yen'fay doesn't come back to life. He's the Yen'fay from Lucina's ruined future where he lived and Say'ri died. Like Lucina, he went back in time through the Outrealm Gate.

[General Banzai]

PoR's story with RD's finale (as in, Yune awakens and Part 4 occurs) would have been the best case scenario I think.

It's what the end of PoR SEEMED to be building toward, what with it being very clearly emphasized that combatants from every country were participating in the assault on Crimea's castle. What do Acts 1 through 3 of FERD even add to the overarching story that wasn't well covered in PoR? I guess it turns Begnion into the bad guys and gives Yune a vessel to communicate with people (Micaiah), but that stuff probably could have been worked around.

[Anacybele]

So all the boss characters that come back to life are canon?

If you consider it. I personally don't, though, because they were clearly brought back simply so Robin could optionally marry them. Priam is a brand new character that wasn't in the main story, so he's a different case.

No, simply no. I stand in my point. If IS really wanted to take this character seriously, why did they put him out of the main game's context? I can't take any point or theory about Priam seriously when this character is in a series of chapters made as bonus and extra content where Gangrel, Walhart, Emmeryn, Yen'Fay and Aversa all come back to life. If you cut the branches off Awakening and leave the core game there's no hint about him nor Ike nor any descendant. So in the end it turns out to be fanservice and added content. Nothing else.

Because there was no room for Priam in the main story? Chrom and Robin's party don't go near his location in the main story, so why shoehorn him in it just for the sake of it when he could be put on the side? That way it doesn't mess around with the story (even though the story is pretty bad as is).

Yes, it is fanservice, yes it is added content. But has IS specifically stated that optional content is noncanon? No. And fanservice doesn't automatically mean noncanon either. Plenty of story characters are fanservicy, like Tharja and Camilla. You can't tell me that I can't consider Priam canon. So stop trying to force me to change my view.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Anacybele