Unpopular FE opinions

[Thane]

I absolutely cannot stand Blazing Sword, and I find it baffling that so many people seem to excuse its horrible plot but still harp on about Awakening and Fates.

[Jedi]

I think dismount should be reintroduced into the series.

[shadowofchaos]

I absolutely cannot stand Blazing Sword, and I find it baffling that so many people seem to excuse its horrible plot but still harp on about Awakening and Fates.

They want to marry Lyn.

Hook, Lyn, and sinker.

I'm serious. I think a lot of bias for the game comes from it being their first FE.

Edited April 20, 2016 by shadowofchaos

[Thane]

They want to marry Lyn.

Hook, Lyn, and sinker.

I'm serious. I think a lot of bias for the game comes from it being their first FE.

I don't like making such generalizations about people's opinions; everyone's free to enjoy whatever the heckles they want, but I believe you might be right. As someone who had just finished playing the Tellius series after being introduced to the series by Awakening, I just couldn't find anything in the story that got me interested or invested. Not to mention the downright stupid story moments like "I'm not actually your mother, Nino!" and "he could've killed us but didn't...for some reason!" - doesn't one of the morphs also say they've got more important business to take care of than to catch the dragon babies which is their top priority? Or am I just misremembering things?

Oh, uh, sorry for derailing the thread. Carry on everyone, and ignore me (like you always do...)

Edited April 20, 2016 by Thane

[majora_787]

* I actually like Fates' really strange map BS. Even the moving platforms. (Apparently this is unpopular?)

* People seem to have a demand for really deep villains, but I think Ashnard was one of the better ones in the series. Sometimes simplicity can be good.

* I didn't like Pelleas at all, but I did like the idea behind how his recruitment as a unit worked. And I wouldn't mind seeing that come back, especially as a standard feature of the "Camus" archetype.

* I like the Jugdral games, but it's hard for them to not lose points with me with how... for lack of a better word, 'edgy' they feel at times.

[Tolvir]

Ashnard is one of my favorite villains in the series, and one of my favorites out of them all. He is up there with villains like Sephiroth, Ultron, and Handsome Jack.

I really enjoyed Revelation map designs. I thought they were an interesting way of adding difficulty, and offer a lot of replay value for the different ways of going about the maps.

I dont mind My Room at all, and actually enjoy it. I think its nice to have more ways to interact with characters, even if it is limited. I hope it returns in the next game with more detail.

I think Camilla's fanservice design, while ridiculous, fits her character. Same with Charlotte.

I didnt think Tharja was as fanservicey as people say. I got the impression that her design was an attempt at an Egyptian style, since even Validar and Henry wore outfits pretty similar.

I wont call Shara Rhajat because I find that to be the worst localized name, and hate it. The name itself isnt bad, but it doesnt fit at all since it is an Indian Male name. I actually like Shara better than Tharja because she lacks the child abuse and her stalking of Corrin actually makes sense and is less creepy than in Awakening. I also like almost all of her supports and think she has some of the best written supports in Fates.

I dont think any of the Tellius games were ugly at all, and thought they looked great for the time.

I actually wish the recent Fire Emblems would move away from the sprites and back to 3d.

I hoped that Gatrie and Lyre had a paired ending. I thought they would of been kind of made a good couple.

I liked being the tactitian/dual protaganist as opposed to being a main lord with the Avatar. Though I think a lot of others feel the same way.

I want light magic to return with some new classes. A Crusader/Holy Warrior class would be great.

While it was filled with plotholes and problems, I actually enjoyed Fates story. Felt like a fun movie you see on Friday night with some popcorn as opposed to a movie you go and watch for thought provoking stories and great writing. Its like watching the Fast and Furious movies. You know its not going to have great writing, but it will be a fun ride.

I think a slice of life/comedy anime for Fates would be a lot of fun. A lot like the 4Koma Kings manga, but with expanded scenarios with the characters.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Tolvir

[Gradivus.]

Also idk if/how much that counts as unpopular, but I think Lunatic Reverse is an awesome mode and Lunatic+ is a good concept at least. (Actually, though, I think LRev being a bad/unfair mode is a rare opinion among people who played it)

Edited April 20, 2016 by Gradivus.

[rexcalibur]

I love Part 4 in Radiant Dawn.

I think Joker has more depth than people credit him.

I like Est a lot.

I like Shadow Dragon Tiki more than Awakening Tiki.

I like Seliph more than the other Jugdral lords.

I love Julius.

[Locke087]

They want to marry Lyn.

Hook, Lyn, and sinker.

I'm serious. I think a lot of bias for the game comes from it being their first FE.

Don't do this...

I said this before and I'll say this again I don't understand this argument. Ocarina of time is my first Zelda but it is not the best Zelda story in my eye's, that belongs to majora's mask (my favorite Zelda). I don't know why people think nostalgia makes it so it's impossible for someone to critically view a piece of work as if someone who played a game before hand somehow has a less legitimate opinion. By your estimation I should adore FE 8's story as my love for this game as kid was no less (I only liked FE 7 slightly more) and I remembered them both pretty much the same amount for the by the time replayed them. I do not, my respect for its story is about 16 times less, I think it's stories mediocre at best. Personally I think you guys were overhyped for this game, because at this point you're basically complaining about nothing (Complain about Nino, you got to kidding me). See I can make sweeping generalizations about peoples opinions too.

I know why I love FE 7 (and to a smaller extent FE 6 by connection) story I've completely legitimate reasons for loving its story, literally zero of which have to do with nostalgia. I have actively studied its story and I found after active study only that it and FE 9 (I think FE 4 has the potential to be one the greats but I've yet to find the time to really study it ie. I only played it once), under a microscope. These two stories are massively underappreciated, I have given fair shakes and studied under the microscope almost every FE game I have given time to, and after playing most of them side to side my problem with the other stories is that they mean nothing. My problem doesn't have anything to do with plot holes in fact I think the last arc of awakening is fine, my problem has nothing to do with point points one time use Crystal Balls whatever I seen worse. So go ahead tell me the themes of awakening and fates, i'm waiting. What do these stories add to the modern waste ground of storytelling. Awakenings only real theme is that of your fate is not determent and wow that hasn't been in every more form of fetching media, and surprise, surprise awakening has nothing interesting to add to the subject. Into the modern waste ground of memory for you. What about Fates well birthright and revelations have no real themes, there just the the heroes journey, conquest actually does and tries to have a theme. Its totally hypocritical towards its theme but least it actually tried to have a message to share and be more than just a entertaining story.

TLDR; The stories I love are the stories that have actual depth, that actually have something to tell and are more than just an entertaining story FE 7 and 9 do in fact feature those types of stories if you don't see it you were not paying attention. How do I know this well I quite literally studied there flippin stories (I am writing an essay on one of them and plan the writting the other when I finish the first one). I think that gives me some ground in which to say the actual problems and strengths of the actual story.

Edit: Wow that ended up long sorry about that.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Locke087

[shadowofchaos]

You forget, you can only speak for yourself when it comes to that specifically. I realize that many of the things I defend FE6 from... was simply due to Nostalgia. It is a real factor and you can really only dismiss it for yourself, because I've seen people defend their favorite FE games to a fault, not just FE7. And much of that is attributed to it being their first FE game.

Many of the fans deemed "rabid" outside of this forum can't take any criticism. Look at some parts of the Awakening fanbase outside of this forum.

You've deconstructed why you specifically, love the Fire Emblem.

I can clearly remember a few fans I've interacted with that cannot.

Don't get me wrong, I love FE7.

Edited April 20, 2016 by shadowofchaos

[Tolvir]

A few more I forgot to add.

I never thought Nowi looked like a child. To me she looked like an elf, pointed ears, smaller build, the hair, even the outfit reminded me of something that could be elven.

I was fine with how many characters where in Smash. I think Fire Emblem was underrepresented before, and belong having the same amount of characters as one of the larger series because of how old it is. I think if they added a few characters using other weapons, or gave existing characters more weapon types to use, then it would get rid of a lot of the hate for them.

I would like to see either a remake of FE 9 and 10 or a rerelease of them on the 3DS/WII U. Its getting harder and harder to find copies of them, and regarding a remake I would love to see the support system redone, and the reclass system introduced to fix the characters like Meg or Fiona who were unusable.

[Locke087]

You forget, you can only speak for yourself when it comes to that specifically. I realize that many of the things I defend FE6 from... was simply due to Nostalgia. It is a real factor and you can really only dismiss it for yourself, because I've seen people defend their favorite FE games to a fault, not just FE7. And much of that is attributed to it being their first FE game.

Many of the fans deemed "rabid" outside of this forum can't take any criticism. Look at some parts of the Awakening fanbase outside of this forum.

You've deconstructed why you specifically, love the Fire Emblem.

I can clearly remember a few fans I've interacted with that cannot.

Don't get me wrong, I love FE7.

Okay, fair enough I know people to this day that still hold ocarina of time are their favorite Zelda for no other reason then is there first. Didn't know in what way you meant it, I mean I have no small amount of nostalgia for FE 7, though that was only for the characters abd gameplay of FE 7 since I had literally no memory of the story. I mean I admit as far as gameplay goes I am kind of to biased to FE 7 (that being said I can clearly state why a like its gameplay the most), this applies to some with the characters as well I mean at some point when you're yelling the names of characters as they come on the screen you can't really deny your bias (it had been decades since I played the game). There's no denying that there's nothing quite like revisiting a game from your childhood. If you haven't done I highly recommend It, just note that some things don't survive.

That being said I do think it's sad that some people will heckle people who legitimately love things like ocarina time the most and say it is it just because it is there first Zelda and that's the only reason they love it. Just because some people can never get out of the comfort zone and except new things. These the are same people who to this day who to this day will say the goldeneye is the best shooters, which is actually objectively incorrect that game has aged so badly. Well I'm going to end right here because at this point I'm rambling.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Locke087

[Sasori]

I think most of my opinions are pretty in line with the general opinion, but I do have a few that I don't hear often enough.

1. I consider the Black Knight to be a massive scumbag who doesn't deserve any of the praise the game showers on him. I don't see the last true knight, I see a common killer who murderered a man and orphaned his kids just to boost his precious ego. Sure he gave Greil a chance, but that did't matter. He intended to prove his superiority by seeking him out and killing him. If that was his side goal I would't mind so much, but his boss made it quite clear to Ike that Greil's death was not in his cards and that BK acted on his own that time.

2. Another fe10 related opinion is that i'm not that fond of the character design in fe10. For some reason returning characters like Titania, Soren and a bunch of others just don't look right to me.

3. I actually like Roy as a character. Its not that unpopular here, but hating on Roy seems common in other places

Edited April 20, 2016 by Sasori

[NekoKnight]

I don't have a lot of unpopular opinions so I'll just say:

I really liked having light, dark and anima magic and I hope they return for the next Fire Emblem.

I don't like magic weapons running off of the magic stat because it makes them useless for most classes unless that unit has unusually high magic growth.

1. I consider the Black Knight to be a massive scumbag who doesn't deserve any of the praise the game showers on him. I don't see the last true knight, I see a common killer who murderered a man and orphaned his kids just to boost his precious ego. Sure he gave Greil a chance, but that did't matter. He intended to prove his superiority by seeking him out and killing him. If that was his side goal I would't mind so much, but his boss made it quite clear to Ike that Greil's death was not in his cards and that BK acted on his own that time.

I think this as well. He was actively sinister and mocking in Path of Radiance so I found his sympathetic portrayal in Radiant Dawn to be rather jarring.

[majora_787]

I honestly don't like the Black Knight as an antagonist at all beyond his aesthetic. Even Nergal in all the flaws stemming from him was a fair bit better. I learned to appreciate Ashnard a lot more after Radiant Dawn and realizing what and why the Black Knight did. Like in Path of Radiance it was all fine and good, but then it just got weird.

Edited April 21, 2016 by majora_787

[Nobody]

- I don't give a fuck about the quality of story in fire emblem games. I'd take a FE game with great gameplay and absolutely terrible story over a FE game with great story and good gameplay without thinking twice (think Conquest x Path of Radiance)

- Radiant Dawn is extremely boring outside of part one, and by far the worst game I've played in the series. Some of its maps make Awakening's worst look good.

- Shadow Dragon is a great game and way better than New Mystery.

- Path of Radiance is easier than Sacred Stones, Maniac Mode included.

- IS shouldn't remake any of the FE games. All the older fire emblem games are either perfectly playable, already got a remake, or are gaiden.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Nobody

[OakTree]

• Thracia's plot ruins Travant's character.

Marth, Lyn and Ike are boring.

Fates abandoning most of the franchises' typical archetypes is a good thing. (Is this unpopular? I can't really tell)

Camus is the worst archetype in the series.

The "Evil Bishop" archetype isn't necesseraly bad, but outside of Nergal and maybe Izuka, they're all pretty much the exact same character.

[Barrel]

Also idk if/how much that counts as unpopular, but I think Lunatic Reverse is an awesome mode and Lunatic+ is a good concept at least. (Actually, though, I think LRev being a bad/unfair mode is a rare opinion among people who played it)

I would wager very few people period have played FE12 let alone L', which probably explains any kind of rarity of opinion on that gamemode.

Agreed on L+ being a good concept, just was in the wrong kind of (EP heavy) game imo.

[Luchi]

Ike is boring. Enough said. The Black Knight is also the most over-rated villian in the series.

[Mangs]

Roy is not a bad lord unit wise

That is the same as saying 3+2 = 6 is an "unpopular" opinion.

It is not unpopular, it is simply wrong.

[Topaz Light]

I don't really know how unpopular some of these are, but...

• I actually like how Reclassing in FE11 and FE12 worked more as a mechanic, since the way it was set up encouraged experimentation rather than discouraging players from playing around with it by requiring a commitment to the decision.
• I actually don't really like the new skill system Awakening and Fates use all that much, because I feel like it takes away a lot of the uniqueness of each character. Skills being more limited in the Jugdral and Tellius games allowed them to be a really interesting way of differentiating characters from one another and adding uniqueness, whereas in Awakening and Fates, the role skills play seems to be almost more akin to equipment in other RPGs, or maybe the moves a Pokémon can learn, so there ends up being almost nothing unique about a given character. It also prevents skills from being used for balancing purposes, in contexts like giving good fixed skills to units and/or classes that have disadvantages that would make them hard to use otherwise. I guess I just feel like there's a lot of interesting things that can be done with skills as a fixed facet of characters and classes, with the player maybe getting a few rare opportunities to teach characters new skills, as opposed to something every single character has in abundance and that ends up delegating certain classes to only being worth using at all for the skills you can learn from them since everything they can do, another class can do better.
• Not really an opinion, per se, but while I acknowledge that Jagens and other prepromotes are (or at least can often be) good, I still refrain from using them out of habit, partly because I see them as a sort of "easy way out" that I have more fun not using. It's also more rewarding for me to see characters who start out weaker end up really strong.
• Meg is actually adorable and is one of my favorite Knights, design-wise.
• Archanea is actually one of the most interesting and well-developed worlds in the series and I really wish there was more than one game set in it (during Marth's era) that had actual proper support conversations.
• This may not be so much unpopular as something I don't see a whole lot of people pointing out, but I really don't like the series' increasing divorce between gameplay permadeath and in-story death. This is noticeable in Awakening and Fates which I'm pretty sure have the highest percentage in the entire series of party members who just retreat upon "death" even in Classic mode, and especially when Fates started having party members die in the main story. I get that it was sorta to give the incidental party members a feeling of being more plot-relevant, but I felt like there would've been tons of better ways to do that, and permadeath as a gameplay element already represents the "anyone can die" aspect of the war, so Intelligent Systems didn't really need to double up on that.
• If we're upgrading Anna to playable status, bring back Jake. Even if IntSys doesn't want to have any preset couples for fanservice purposes, they could always have Jake just be a romance option for Anna (and just a romance option in general), or make him her kid of something... although that could get really weird considering their relationship in the games they've appeared in together previously.
• Anna's cartoonish, all-consuming obsession with money and profits is really annoying and her characterization in earlier games was a lot better, especially in Path of Radiance.
• I really don't like that in-map facilities (i.e. shops, armories, arenas, etc.) have basically stopped being a thing at this point, because I felt that they were a really interesting way to add a little additional splash of character and memorability to each individual map. Granted, I do approve of IntSys getting bolder and more creative with map premises; I'd just like to see in-map facilities make a return.
• I don't mind having a world map, but I really think that Sacred Stones had the right idea by having certain chapters pull you straight into the next chapter without a chance to return to the world map in between when the plot demanded it. I'm sorry, but I just can't forgive Awakening seemingly actively encouraging you to take a break between Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 by opening up Anna's paralogue then, when by both in-story and emotional impact maximization logic you shouldn't even have the option.
• I don't know how many people even have much familiarity with Fire Emblem's original implementation of sidequests since as far as I know only four games (two of which are pretty obscure) in the now-fourteen-installment-strong series used it, but I vastly prefer plot-relevant, earned sidequests to the utterly pointless and uninteresting (from a plot perspective, at least) excuse-for-reward chapters we're given in Awakening and Fates.
• I actually love the various "archetypes" as a sort of through-line in the series, and while I do agree that they get stale after a while without any variation, I think playing around with them in neat little ways like Fates having Christmas Ninjas instead of Christmas Cavaliers is a way better solution than just axing them altogether.
• I think that excessive "balancing" of features and weapons and etc. and tying all sorts of tradeoffs and drawbacks to everything powerful kinda takes some of the fun away after a while. Maybe have a difficulty level or some sort of optional mode where those counterbalances are in place for people who prefer things that way, but I think that it is possible to overbalance the game and kill some of, I guess, the organicness of the experience. I know a lot of people will feel like this is just objectively wrong, but I feel like there's a certain sense of fun and freedom present in not having everything be as close to exactly as good as everything else as the developers can make it. A little bit of unbalance is actually fun to me sometimes, and can add an intriguing splash of chaos that spices up a game design that would otherwise be very orderly.
• I actually have no problem with Yusuke Kozaki's art style by itself, but I don't like character outfits being standardized by class, and frankly I think whoever has designed the outfits for Awakening and Fates should be, if not fired, reassigned to a different job.
• I really don't feel all that strongly either which way about the decision between the two families in Fates. It's an interesting idea, but in practice, I just don't really care at all since Revelation basically means both choices are wrong/invalid in the grand scheme of the game and even beyond that, I don't have any sort of strong attachment to any of Fates' cast at all, either. I just... don't care about the choice, from a story perspective. It has a good setup for a really potent story moment, but the harmony with other elements needed to make it truly poignant just isn't there, in my opinion.
• I don't know what the general census on this is at all since I have yet to hear quite literally anybody besides my brother and myself even mention it, but I absolutely noticed the lack of any sound or voice effects during Fates' support conversations, and it honestly irks me and makes them feel flat. I didn't even realize how much I appreciated having that in Awakening until Fates axed it.
• Probably not all that unpopular an opinion but after three games, Intelligent Systems is out of excuses for not having a skin tone slider for the Avatar; even in Japan, there are a good amount of people who have darker skin colors, and I don't buy for a second that having skin tone selection would be one bit harder than having hair color selection, which they already have.
• I would actually seriously not be against having a Fire Emblem game with a more futuristic setting compared to what we've been given so far. Maybe Final Fantasy isn't the best example, since it's always had some hints of higher technology in its worlds since the Flying Fortress the very first game being a space station in the NES/Famicom version, but I feel it's evidence enough to show that branching out into new sorts of settings can be done gracefully, and in an interesting way. And, just like with the Final Fantasy example I'm using, there's no reason Fire Emblem couldn't dip back into medieval settings, too; I'm not suggesting a complete shift in the entire tone and direction of the series for the remainder of its existence, just that it might be neat to experiment around with settings more than they've done. Fire Emblem on Mars might be a little iffy, but for me that's mostly because of the shift to the story presumably taking place in the real world; I'd totally be down for a far-future Fire Emblem game set on an alien planet a la Xenoblade Chronicles X's setting, for example. And gimme some cute and cool alien races while you're at it.
• Make the nonhuman races plot-relevant again. Make Manaketes actually exist as a race in the story again and give them back that sense of power and scarcity and mystique that made them so cool back in Archanea.
• And lastly, I really don't like how Intelligent Systems has been basically just giving nine characters out of ten, if not more, to the player with basically no effort required on the player's part to actually get them. Having a chapter where the entire point is to recruit a certain character (Donnel, Anna, Mozu, and the kids' and Awakening SpotPass characters' paralogues) isn't any better, because recruiting that character is clearly the real point of the chapter and almost nobody is going to accept clearing the chapter without recruiting them; heck, in Fates, there are some chapters, like Percy's, where it's not even possible to clear the chapter and not get the character! To make it clear, I understand why they made this shift. They decided they wanted to emphasize having a lovable and charming cast as a writing priority, and, however well you may think they succeeded at that (or not) aside, that's almost certainly the reason they made so many characters really easy to recruit or even literally unmissable; they didn't want anybody to miss encountering the characters they were trying to sell the game with. Nonetheless, I want more characters who the game doesn't just hand to you or make so easy to recruit that it might has well have. I want there to be characters who you actually have to make some sort of conscious effort to recruit within their own joining chapter, so it actually feels cool to have them on your team instead of having them being nothing more than an indicator of the latest story chapter you've reached in your current playthrough.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Topaz Light

[Magical Glace]

Tbh FE10 was my first FE and I acknowledge its faults, same for things like OoT and DQIX. So... Yeah, my defense of FE6 and FE7 aren't really first FE nostalgia.

Anyway on topic

Wolt is the best character in FE

I actually like the FE6 gaiden maps. The problem is getting some of em.

Dawn Brigade > Greil Mercs besides maybe Mist

FE9 is incredibly average at best

Screw Ike.

Micaiah >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Ike

Lyn and Hector are overhyped, Eliwood best FE7 lord

Eirika > Ephraim

Eirika giving Lyon the stone is understandable considering her emotional attachment to him.

[MCProductions]

That is the same as saying 3+2 = 6 is an "unpopular" opinion.

It is not unpopular, it is simply wrong.

I don't know about that. He always turns into an absolute beast in my runs, and I never even have to worry about how late his promotion is until 1-2 chapters before he promotes, and even then, I have no trouble killing bosses with him. I once got a Roy who could 2 round Murdock for example

I know this forum operates on the Personal Experience Means Nothing rule, but it's all I've got so that's why I formed that opinion.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Factually speaking Roy had a worse base stats and same-ish growth as the cavalier, with none of the horse and promote at like chapter 27 something

He's just bad through that alone

[majora_787]

I feel like Camus being a bad archetype isn't really unpopular anymore. It's been seeming recently like people have just been much more noticeably bothered by it retroactively. I mean after Eldigan I can't really blame anyone, but it's something I noticed.

Edited April 21, 2016 by majora_787