Huge flaw in Fire Emblem Fates (and even Awakening)

[*Haku]

If you're one of those people who severely hate spoilers don't read this post. (it's not heavy on spoilers but there are a little)

EDIT: Btw hi rey :D love your vids!

What I noticed in Awakening and Fates that severely bothered me is that after a heartbreaking scene (ex: Emmeryn's martyrdom) and you go to the map/castle it's as if nothing ever happened (like the characters don't show any signs of heartbreak or ANYTHING)

Pardon my ranting from here on out but does this bother anyone either? EX: When Flora commits suicide in Birthright and Felicia is crying and grieving for the loss of her sister, after saving the chapter you go to the castle (and unless you changed the music prior it's all cheery) and if Felicia is your attendant she acts as if nothing happens and she's all cheery etc. Additionally everyone else is doing great and dandy.

Awakening I was able to forgive because the map theme fits almost anything (it's also a very... somber/mellow theme) and even if I had support conversations available when I first played I ignored everything and started right away.

You could do that with the Castle as well but I'm sure no one did.

I know that it would take too much work and effort to program new dialogue after a tragedy (ex: someone in the castle says something like: "I wonder how Felicia is doing. She hasn't joined us for any meals today") or if you go to your quarters your marriage partner would say something but I was seriously annoyed that after something crazy or bad happens you go to your castle as if nothing ever happened.

And not just tragedies but also something serious (ex: In conquest when Hans and Iago show up and murder the hoshidan soldiers after Yukimura and Sakura surrendered and Yukimura is damning your party and Sakura is despairing transition straight into the castle with nothing at all woooo! sigh...)

I would change the music right away once I enter the castle to fit the mood but even so it doesn't work too well since when you go into buildings you get different music.

It's probably only me that is annoyed about something like this but Idk it's the closest thing to a cock block except it's a feel block ;~;

Edited March 2, 2016 by *Haku

[Book of Ereshkigal]

Yeah, I agree. It kills the tone. They should have done like Sacred Stones does in a few chapters where it fits and skip the 'hub' for a bit. Though I guess the devs don't want people getting stuck? A tone change in the castle would be pretty nice, but I dunno if they wanna put that kind of effort into it...

Edited March 2, 2016 by L95

[MCProductions]

I kinda like it this way tbh, as is, it gives the impression that life goes on and that the protagonist and his army aren't going to stop hoping for the future because things went wrong in the last map or so.

[*Haku]

I kinda like it this way tbh, as is, it gives the impression that life goes on and that the protagonist and his army aren't going to stop hoping for the future because things went wrong in the last map or so.

but we're talking about going from a traumatic experience to "hey do you wanna get drunk and get laid tonight? :D" in like 5 seconds... that's borderline cynicism

[FEF]

I agree, but let's be real here, this is a minor issue. They need to put a lot of effort into the basics first.

I mean, for the Flora example, the moment Corrin exclaimed "King Garon claims another beautiful life!" I was just SO done being sad, because that's a hilariously bad line. It's so hammy - it's not a thing a human being would actually say after watching the woman who was pretty much their mother-figure for most of their life burn to death. It sounds like a newspaper headline. "Extry extry, read all about it! King Garon claims another beautiful life, page 3!"

They've got to fix the writing first before they start adding in the finishing touches to make the moment stick.

[Espinosa]

How dare you suggest that even Awakening has a flaw? Is nothing sacred anymore?

Eh, it's no big deal.

[shadowofchaos]

By their gameplay design in which you could spend hours in between chapters, there is an assumption on that the players will disconnect my castle and other features from story immersion.

That's simply the way it is.

Having Felicia depressed during 20 My Castle battle or visit sessions kind of makes the story get in the way of the "break from the story" features they showcased in the Japanese My Castle and Introduction trailers I translated:.

[arvilino]

I think this kind of depends on the player. Since My Castle kind of acts as a change of pace/tone like a break from the tenseness of the story but also important gameplay-wise, there are some chapters in the game(notably the Endgame chapters 27-28 of each route) where consecutive battles happen but I've seen some people post how they didn't like those.

Maybe if a mechanic like My Castle is in a future game there should be an option to turn off automatically going to My Castle after each chapter and instead going straight to the next chapter. That way you could go back to My Castle from the pre-chapter preparation menu when you feel like it.

Edited March 2, 2016 by arvilino

[Thane]

but we're talking about going from a traumatic experience to "hey do you wanna get drunk and get laid tonight? :D" in like 5 seconds... that's borderline cynicism

That sounds like a pretty good short-term quick fix, actually.

[NinjaMonkey]

Nope, it's never bothered me at all.

[nyainou]

It doesn't bother me because I never necessarily considered my castle..canon? As in, like. It has no bearing on the story. Its out of universe, literally and figuratively. I personally didn't find Flora's death..upsetting, moreover shocking. Like. She.. set herself on fire and then continued to talk for 5 minutes. It was more of a "what the fuck just happened" than a "oh my god that just happened". Its such an obscure death that the only thing moving about it is Felicia's reactions. [spoiler=more character death]Its kinda just like Lilith's. No attachment to Lilith, but Corrin's reactions are what can make the scenes even a bit moving. Especially Conquest's.

A lot of the non-major character deaths aren't moving at all to me.[spoiler=literally tons of character deaths] I felt nothing towards Mikoto (I mean, I guess she's a major character? but not really), or Lilith, and Flora just shocked me. I managed to avoid Kaze's death but I don't think I would've felt anything. And you know what the issue is? I didn't get to know any of these characters first. Mikoto has lines but she never says anything interesting or compelling and she's kind of a broken record. Lilith has like, barely any lines and is just used to get Corrin into their castle, then disappears from the story, then just. DIES. I'm sure I was only slightly moved by Flora's because I played Conquest first. There's no good build up, except for the main characters. Which makes sense, but it seems like they just killed characters to kill characters. Yuck.

..Got slightly off topic, but eh.

[shadowofchaos]

I got attached to...

Mikoto in that short time because she reminds me of my mother. Especially since I've moved so very far away before FEif's release.

I thought of it in her shoes.

That every day she would pray you would come back.

And Kamui only finally saw her as "mother"... the very moment she dies.

"A mother's love is deeper than the ocean."

I guess that's one moment when I actually connected with the otherwise unrelatable special snowflake Avatar Kamui is.

Edited March 2, 2016 by shadowofchaos

[Loki Laufeyson]

One thing i do like about SPOILA:

[spoiler=Seriously spoilas in here for both Birthright and Conquest, yo]

Lilith's death(s), is that its present in My Castle too, sorta. Her spirit sorta hangs out but all you see in her shrine is her kerchief on that dias. And the food offering sorta just fades away. Its kinda sad but keeps the Lilith mechanic in My Castle still there.

Honestly, topic, doesnt bug me THAT much. Although, i do wish some of the major scenes like that didnt have those kinds of breaks in between them. Like in Awakening, chapter 9 should have gone straight into chapter 10 and the like.

[BruceLee]

I agree, but let's be real here, this is a minor issue. They need to put a lot of effort into the basics first.

I mean, for the Flora example, the moment Corrin exclaimed "King Garon claims another beautiful life!" I was just SO done being sad, because that's a hilariously bad line. It's so hammy - it's not a thing a human being would actually say after watching the woman who was pretty much their mother-figure for most of their life burn to death. It sounds like a newspaper headline. "Extry extry, read all about it! King Garon claims another beautiful life, page 3!"

They've got to fix the writing first before they start adding in the finishing touches to make the moment stick.

This. While i do see what you're saying OP, the writing is so bad that even if they did it your way i'd still feel nothing(in conquest).

Mikoto's death is a very good example. You just witnessed her death, she sacrificed herself for you, and then you immediately go join the people invading her country. It makes no sense, and ruins the impact of her death.

Edited March 2, 2016 by BruceLee

[Anacybele]

Hey, at least Felicia got to grieve...

Poor Saizo got nothing for Kaze's death. It made him look like he didn't care at all that he just lost his bro. And I hate that because I lost my own brother back in August. How can IS not let Saizo have any grief whatsoever?

I was hit hardest by...

Elise's sacrifice. I'd grown to love Elise. And this was the one time I actually felt any sort of sympathy for Xander and felt sorry for him. Like I said above, I recently lost my brother and also had to find his body. I didn't accidentally kill him like Xander did to Elise, but I can still somewhat relate because he lost his sibling. A younger one, no less. My brother was younger than me.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Anacybele

[The DanMan]

Really, these are textbook examples of melodrama.

Emmeryn was a Purity Sue (she has no flaws whatsoever and is eternally revered by the plot) and Mikoto is a plot tool. I've seen certain people go down in stitches over Mikoto's death, and I can understand.

Flora as well just reeks of "Please feel sorry for someone", aka more melodrama.

In general, the disconnect between the "tragic" moments and My Castle just makes them into a giant joke.

[Thane]

Really, these are textbook examples of melodrama.

Emmeryn was a Purity Sue (she has no flaws whatsoever and is eternally revered by the plot) and Mikoto is a plot tool. I've seen certain people go down in stitches over Mikoto's death, and I can understand.

Flora as well just reeks of "Please feel sorry for someone", aka more melodrama.

In general, the disconnect between the "tragic" moments and My Castle just makes them into a giant joke.

I'll agree with this. Flora and Lilith's deaths affect absolutely nothing. I suppose it's good they're at least mentioned in the plot flashback later on to acknowledge some people died, but it still feels so forced. I could almost hear Takumi sarcastically muttering "this was so unavoidable" when Flora set fire to the snow.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Really, these are textbook examples of melodrama.

Emmeryn was a Purity Sue (she has no flaws whatsoever and is eternally revered by the plot) and Mikoto is a plot tool. I've seen certain people go down in stitches over Mikoto's death, and I can understand.

Flora as well just reeks of "Please feel sorry for someone", aka more melodrama.

In general, the disconnect between the "tragic" moments and My Castle just makes them into a giant joke.

Emmeryn grossed me out a lot. Like, you dont really understand how badly she offended me. Yikes. Mikoto was handled so much better, i was so relieved. It does suck we barely got to know her, but at least it wasnt a piss ass poor excuse at martyrdom. Flora in Birthright is pretty lame. Like, why again?

[Time the Crestfallen]

Eh, I'm not to fussed. They're both pretty bad, but I've played lots of stuff that I consider worse, so I never put that much thought into it.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Phillius

[joshcja]

Why is there no "laughing madly because the dumb bitch finally killed herself" option? (If we dont let gangrel kill us he wins!!!!)

Biased poll/10

I might care about maid fetish 2.0 if she didn't have the most ridiculous possible recruitment condition in conquest

Edit: Lilith is sadness, but..she was kiiinda your imaginary friend. Corin will actually mope pretty hard if you go into deadfish temple though.

Edited March 2, 2016 by joshcja

[Time the Crestfallen]

Why is there no "laughing madly because the dumb bitch finally killed herself" option?

Biased poll/10

If you're talking about Azura, then:

I'm just kidding, you're entitled to your opinion. I won't judge. Even though your opinion reveals that you have terrible taste :D

[joshcja]

Nah I like smurfette

Emm's death was legit hilarious though. Cant say she got disregarded though, "don't speak her name" is god tier.

Edited March 2, 2016 by joshcja

[Time the Crestfallen]

Nah I like smurfette

Emm's death was legit hilarious though. Cant say she got disregarded though, "don't speak her name" is god tier.

The thing that annoys me most about Emms death is that make a big song and dance about before Gangrel dies and she gets mentioned during the Valm arc a bit, but then they're like "hey, you wanna recruit her? Because you can totally recruit her if you want', which undercuts the whole sacrifice thing pretty thoroughly.

I still S-Ranked her though for the sake of committing the ultimate Bro Code violation. She makes a pretty good Magic Morgan imo.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Phillius

[The DanMan]

I'll agree with this. Flora and Lilith's deaths affect absolutely nothing. I suppose it's good they're at least mentioned in the plot flashback later on to acknowledge some people died, but it still feels so forced. I could almost hear Takumi sarcastically muttering "this was so unavoidable" when Flora set fire to the snow.

I feel like Flora/Lilith/Kaze were killed of because of the "Nobody died in Awakening" complaint (and yet Corrin's Conquest behavior is a thing).

Killing characters off for the sake of killing characters off and expecting people to feel sorry for them just isn't going to work. It's not like, say, the end of the last Harry Potter book where there's a ton of stuff going down and half the secondary cast dies. It's just "Uh... hey! This person, this person, and oh... this person also die! Please feel sorry for them."

[Dark Holy Elf]

I feel like we've seen an increase in out-of-the-blue "noble sacrifices" in RPGs and similar media lately, and I can't say I care for this trend. Pro-tip: don't have more than two or three of them in your game at most, and have them make sense, not just having a character randomly show up so they can take a hit for you.