More Unpopular Fire Emblem Opinions

[blah the Prussian]

Xander

Also, RD keeps Micaiah pretty morally ambiguous.

Fair. Do you really want to be in Xander's company, though? Also, Daein in RD to Micaiah's knowledge isn't ambiguous. It's evil.

She clearly objects to it. However, she loves her country, people and king to the extent that she's willing to go along with it, it's been shown several times she's loyal to a fault.I honestly think you're missing the point of Micaiah's character here.

I am not missing the point of Micaiah's character here. However, I think it's a bad point. People who are loyal to a fault are the kinds of people who allow the likes of the Nazis, the Soviets, and, yeah, Ashnard, to get to power. She clearly doesn't have enough of a problem with her country siding with a racist oligarchy that just murdered a pair of diplomats and is led by a corrupt Senate to, you know, actually go against it. Remember, this is all before the Blood Pact. She doesn't know that Daein's survival depends on this. Edited June 6, 2016 by blah the Prussian

[Magical Glace]

Fair. Do you really want to be in Xander's company, thou?

I am not missing the point of Micaiah's character here. However, I think it's a bad point. People who are loyal to a fault are the kinds of people who allow the likes of the Nazis, the Soviets, and, yeah, Ashnard, to get to power. She clearly doesn't have enough of a problem with her country siding with a racist oligarchy that just murdered a pair of diplomats and is led by a corrupt Senate to, you know, actually go against it. Remember, this is all before the Blood Pact. She doesn't know that Daein's survival depends on this.

That's why the game plays it as a fault though. She clearly trusts Pelleas and will do what he says, believing he does have the interests of Daein at heart (he does, but he's also very naive and overly trusting himself). Saying that she's played as good when her loyalty is shown to be a fault in her character is just wrong.

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

-Birthright's plot is worse than Awakening's. It's utter trash. Offensively boring, offensively bland,etc.

-Conquest's plot is dumb but at least it tries to bring new things to the table. Also some things are so bad they end up being entertaining.

-Corn is the worst lord in Fire Emblem history.

-I like Azama.

-I like Peri.

-I don't like how Niles is perceived as gay in the fandom. He is bisexual!

-My castle is fun at first, but then it becomes tedious.

-FE should crossover with Sengoku BASARA, not Musou/Warriors. Because map gimmicks that's why. Also it could have a rad opening where Sigurd and Alvis battle in Fanta.

-Cellica's DLC artwork is bad an does not represent her well.

-Kozaki is absolutely the worst and least fitting artist in the series. He is excellent for Suda51 and modern/futuristic settings, but not FE, not fantasy. Well, too bad for me since now every new FE will be drawn by him.

-My dream artist for FE would be Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. More a confession than an unpopular opinion.

-Fates should have tried to be itself, not an expanded Awakening.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Here are some more unpopular opinions I have:

-FE7 has no bad units. Not even Bartre or Wil are bad.

-Brom is one of the best units of his class in the series.

-The stories in each game are, for the most part, good.

-The reclass system in Shadow Dragon isn't that great.

[The DanMan]

-Birthright's plot is worse than Awakening's. It's utter trash. Offensively boring, offensively bland,etc.

-Conquest's plot is dumb but at least it tries to bring new things to the table. Also some things are so bad they end up being entertaining.

-Corn is the worst lord in Fire Emblem history.

-I like Azama.

-I like Peri.

-I don't like how Niles is perceived as gay in the fandom. He is bisexual!

-My castle is fun at first, but then it becomes tedious.

-FE should crossover with Sengoku BASARA, not Musou/Warriors. Because map gimmicks that's why. Also it could have a rad opening where Sigurd and Alvis battle in Fanta.

-Cellica's DLC artwork is bad an does not represent her well.

-Kozaki is absolutely the worst and least fitting artist in the series. He is excellent for Suda51 and modern/futuristic settings, but not FE, not fantasy. Well, too bad for me since now every new FE will be drawn by him.

-My dream artist for FE would be Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. More a confession than an unpopular opinion.

-Fates should have tried to be itself, not an expanded Awakening.

*Not an unpopular opinion.

And my biggest problem with them isn't their character, but how the game *ahem* cockblocks any real chances of development for them via player worship.

While I wouldn't dip into hyperbole and call Birthright utter trash, it's definitely bland and boring. I got more fun out of Conquest's plot simply via Cinemasin-ing through it.

I guess this could be my "unpopular" opinion: I never hate characters. I hate how they're written or how the writing treats them, but I find hating characters to be pretty childish.

I read this ages ago and you never changed my opinion on it. Honestly, i think your little tirade made me appreciate that story more. And that is my unpopular opinion for the day.

Basically, also this. While there are a few points in FE7's story that are just poorly written, I still find it pretty decent overall.

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

I'd say it's niche to think Corn is the worst. Female Corn ranked first on the female popularity poll in Japan. Both Corns get a lot of fanart, too, especially Female Corn.

It might be a normal opinion on Serenes but those piles of fanart and fanfictipn show Corn is liked, at least as a self-insert.

[The DanMan]

I'd say it's niche to think Corn is the worst. Female Corn ranked first on the female popularity poll in Japan. Both Corns get a lot of fanart, too, especially Female Corn.

It might be a normal opinion on Serenes but those piles of fanart and fanfictipn show Corn is liked, at least as a self-insert.

SF is different from other places, yes; the problem is that these threads generally just end up as echo chambers (the majority of "unpopular" opinions in this thread I've seen at least a half-dozen other people on this site echo).

And the official popularity pole measured who had the most rabid fanbase (1 vote per day), not who was necessarily the most popular overall.

In addition, I've seen very few people treat them as self-inserts; if anything, I've seen more back off and treat them as individual characters.

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

Except Femui is still very popular. A lot of Fates fanart is Femui x Royals. So is it a rabid fanbase or simply Japan loving main characters?

And these threads will end up being echo chambers regardless of anything. Unpopular and controversial opinions can be shared by a lot of people, but these people will always be a relatively small group compared to the one that thinks the opposite and much more popular opinion. I guess it's a way to circlejerk but it's fun to see you are not the only one who likes the black sheep of the fandom or one of the few who dislikes the top dog.

[Jave]

You'll likely find a lot more hate for certain aspects of a franchise if you go to a forum specifically dedicated to it. It's why most of the hate for Fates and its flaws is found on SF.

You probably won't find much hate for, say, Zelda games here on SF, but go to the core Zelda fanbase and you'll find likely dozens of threads on why several games in that franchise are pieces of trash.

[MCProductions]

You'll likely find a lot more hate for certain aspects of a franchise if you go to a forum specifically dedicated to it. It's why most of the hate for Fates and its flaws is found on SF.

You probably won't find much hate for, say, Zelda games here on SF, but go to the core Zelda fanbase and you'll find likely dozens of threads on why several games in that franchise are pieces of trash.

This, pretty much. Let me put it this way, I occasionally lurk on places outside of Serenes, and the Fates' story related posts I see, 60% praise the story, 30% say BR and REV are good but Con is trash plot wise, 2 % say Con is the only worthwhile plot in Fates, and 8% echo Serenes general consensus of all three being garbage. SF is noticeably MUCH more critiqueful of Fates's plot than anywhere else on the internet. For the majority of the web, Fates does exactly what it was advertised to do, and only fans like me and the majority of SF cinema sin the hell out of it to point out all of the plot holes that prove it to be a bad plot. For this very reason, I'm a great deal forgiving to Fates' story, for the same reasons I forgive Metal Gear Rising's lack luster plot. They are both narratives that are enjoyable, even if they are swiss cheese in terms of plot.

[Harvey]

I don't care what others say about Camilla, I love her. She's got a great character, her design is appealing and she's a solid unit.

[Robert Stewart]

Well, lemme go dredge up some of my old 'unpopular' opinions, with some new ones.:

• I have enjoyed every game in the series that I have played (meaning every game except FE1).
• I like dismounting.
• I like weapon weight. (this one might not be unpopular, but w/e)
• I like using Ests in most games.
• I don't miss the content removed in FE3 Book 1, aside from Roger's recruitment.
• FE12 adding back literally every character under the sun was a dumb idea.
• I don't find most of the characters that FE4 tells me are supposed to be sympathetic to be sympathetic. Travant and Ishtar in particular. FE5 does a better job of making Travant sympathetic, at least.

[The DanMan]

-I don't like the removal of weapon durability/weapon effects system in Fates, as just forging iron weapons nullifies any strategy when picking a loadout for your units (beside trading effective damage weapons around); thus, inventory management is basically dead.

-I enjoyed Birthright the least of the three routes, and Revelation only slightly more. Conquest's plot was more fun to rib and actually challenged me strategically, while Birthright was "everyone get Ryoma'd" and Revelation past early game was "throw Silas/Xander/Leo at any issues".

-Samurai and Oni Savage shouldn't have two completely unique promotion options. Blacksmith should've been cut, with Master of Arms serving as the promotion link.

-Lyn just... is. I don't like her, I don't hate her. She's just there to serve up the best critical hit animations in the series.

-I'm part of the Shadow Dragon defense force.

-Sacred Stones is better than Awakening only because some of the characters have real nuance to them. Both have equally bland/boring gameplay.

Edited June 7, 2016 by The DanMan

[Cornguy]

-Self-inserts are the second worst thing to happen to FE story.

-Children characters who are aged through "magic" are the worst thing to happen to FE story.

-I like Lyn.

-Dismount is a mechanic I enjoy and wish would be fine-tuned for future games.

-My top three battle animations are FE4/5 and FE10 in that order.

-I think Raven is gay, and I used to think everyone agreed.

-I dislike Manaketes, and any fantasy race that lives 100+ years older than humans(how are you not the most advanced race on Earth!?)

-On that note, I think Beorc/humans got screwed as a race. They supposedly got wisdom, but it seems like wisdom amounts to fear, racism and war-mongering. Also shortest life-span of all humanoid races.

-Generals are not a fun class to raise in any game.

-Random growths and limited levels are the most fun parts of the series, and without them the games lose all replayability.

-I think FE11/12 have the ugliest graphics in the entire series, and are the least fun games.

[blah the Prussian]

Regarding the Beorc, yeah, that's a fantasy trope that annoys me too, that humans are always implied or outright stated to be morally inferior. Like in Lord of the Rings the Elves are literal Jesus just because (well okay it was Tolkien being too in love with the British Empire but still) a common JRPG trope is to have some elf society who are a utopia without war and no explanation is given other than "well they're not human what do you expect" and now in FE the Laguz are pretty much constantly morally superior to the Beorc. Let's see:

Gallia have basically the same system as Ashnard (social Darwinism) but while Daein's is rightfully criticized Gallia's is met with "yay equality!"

The Herons are so unrealistically perfect as to look like literal Angels.

There isn't a single Laguz leader except Naesala who is evil, and... oh wait, Naesala is only evil because of those dastardly Beorc!

Really, the favoritism shown to the Laguz pisses me off. HAVING EARS OR WINGS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE IMMUNE TO THE NEGATIVE PARTS OF HUMAN NATURE, PEOPLE!

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

Actually, the only Laguz I feel are criticized are the Dragons (for doing nothing) and the Beasts (for being savage and attacking without thought, and for being the most openly racist. It's Skrimir's character arc IIRC). And then bird laguz had their own problems but I don't remember them so those are probably not prominent enough.

I agree on Heron though. They are literally perfect peaceful and beautiful creatures. Their only issue is not being good at war and fighting, and the game does not make a huge problem out of it iirc.

[The DanMan]

Regarding the Beorc, yeah, that's a fantasy trope that annoys me too, that humans are always implied or outright stated to be morally inferior. Like in Lord of the Rings the Elves are literal Jesus just because (well okay it was Tolkien being too in love with the British Empire but still) a common JRPG trope is to have some elf society who are a utopia without war and no explanation is given other than "well they're not human what do you expect" and now in FE the Laguz are pretty much constantly morally superior to the Beorc. Let's see:

Gallia have basically the same system as Ashnard (social Darwinism) but while Daein's is rightfully criticized Gallia's is met with "yay equality!"

The Herons are so unrealistically perfect as to look like literal Angels.

There isn't a single Laguz leader except Naesala who is evil, and... oh wait, Naesala is only evil because of those dastardly Beorc!

Really, the favoritism shown to the Laguz pisses me off. HAVING EARS OR WINGS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE IMMUNE TO THE NEGATIVE PARTS OF HUMAN NATURE, PEOPLE!

Tolkien wrote it because (outside of assorted Arthurian legend) there was no real mythology native to Anglo-Saxon culture.

And the fact that Galadriel is shown to be susceptible to the one ring kinda shoots the "literally Jesus" part of your statement down; the elves just aren't meant to be particularly relatable (Legolas is overall the least developed member of the fellowship). In addition, Faramir (in the books) isn't particularly arsed about the ring, while the aforementioned ruler of Lothlorien is shown to be susceptible to it's power lust.

The elves are powerful, ethereal, and distant; the Laguz, on other hand (as you said) are shown to be pretty similiar to humans but are artificially given the higher moral ground. As such, they aren't really comparable.

(/end nerding out)

[blah the Prussian]

Tolkien wrote it because (outside of assorted Arthurian legend) there was no real mythology native to Anglo-Saxon culture.

And the fact that Galadriel is shown to be susceptible to the one ring kinda shoots the "literally Jesus" part of your statement down; the elves just aren't meant to be particularly relatable (Legolas is overall the least developed member of the fellowship). In addition, Faramir (in the books) isn't particularly arsed about the ring, while the aforementioned ruler of Lothlorien is shown to be susceptible to it's power lust.

The elves are powerful, ethereal, and distant; the Laguz, on other hand (as you said) are shown to be pretty similiar to humans but are artificially given the higher moral ground. As such, they aren't really comparable.

(/end nerding out)

No, I wasn't saying the Elves and the Laguz are similar, just that the elves are consistently shown to be more moral than humans, despite nothing in their society suggesting this would come about.

Actually, the only Laguz I feel are criticized are the Dragons (for doing nothing) and the Beasts (for being savage and attacking without thought, and for being the most openly racist. It's Skrimir's character arc IIRC). And then bird laguz had their own problems but I don't remember them so those are probably not prominent enough.

I agree on Heron though. They are literally perfect peaceful and beautiful creatures. Their only issue is not being good at war and fighting, and the game does not make a huge problem out of it iirc.

Yeah, fair enough, the dragons are criticized for being the FE version of Switzerland. I disagree about the Beasts, though, because Skrimir is just one guy, and the Laguz never display the kind of racism the Beorc do, again for no real societal reason.

[NekoKnight]

Regarding the Beorc, yeah, that's a fantasy trope that annoys me too, that humans are always implied or outright stated to be morally inferior. Like in Lord of the Rings the Elves are literal Jesus just because (well okay it was Tolkien being too in love with the British Empire but still) a common JRPG trope is to have some elf society who are a utopia without war and no explanation is given other than "well they're not human what do you expect" and now in FE the Laguz are pretty much constantly morally superior to the Beorc. Let's see:

Gallia have basically the same system as Ashnard (social Darwinism) but while Daein's is rightfully criticized Gallia's is met with "yay equality!"

The Herons are so unrealistically perfect as to look like literal Angels.

There isn't a single Laguz leader except Naesala who is evil, and... oh wait, Naesala is only evil because of those dastardly Beorc!

Really, the favoritism shown to the Laguz pisses me off. HAVING EARS OR WINGS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE IMMUNE TO THE NEGATIVE PARTS OF HUMAN NATURE, PEOPLE!

While I would agree that "Humans are flawed. Fantasy races are unified" is a common theme in stories, I wouldn't go as far to say that the other races in PoR, or LotR elves were perfect. We know that Dragons are indifferent to the outside world and that the Raven tribe often preys on human ships. The beasts and hawks don't seem particularly malicious but they also show animosity to Beorc. You'd be correct on Herons being practical angels but that's their unique thing among all races.

Elves in LotR mithos are often shown as arrogant, xenophobic, and in the case of the Hobbit, just as greedy as everyone else. During the events of Lord of the Rings, they basically tell the rest of the world "Yeah, you guys are fucked. Good luck with that Sauron thing." Also, as mentioned above, they weren't immune to the One Ring's corruption.

If I had to guess WHY this is a common trope in media, I'd say it's because people find conflict and vice more relatable than perfect, harmonious societies. Just taking a look at how some reacted to the Hoshido/Nohr split. Some wanted to fight Hoshido because they are so obnoxiously perfect.

[CrimeanRoyalKnight]

@blah

However, Gallians love Skrimir and act similar to him, aaand in PoR Lethe is shown to be very racist. Beasts are also used to explain the hatred brandeds get from Laguz: Mordecai growled at Soren for what seemed no apparent reason, and Soren got hurt and mistreated by beasts when he ended up in Gallia. I'm not saying Beasts are not shown in a bad light like Begnion, just that they are the Laguz used to show racism, idiocy, and instict.

[MCProductions]

If I had to guess WHY this is a common trope in media, I'd say it's because people find conflict and vice more relatable than perfect, harmonious societies. Just taking a look at how some reacted to the Hoshido/Nohr split. Some wanted to fight Hoshido because they are so obnoxiously perfect.

That's actually the reason I'm still Nohr master race now lol. This doesn't bother me when they say other races are like this in FE at least, because FE usually explains why humans have the power they have, be it thru the Manakete degeneration/highly decreased birthrate for the Manaketes or Begnion's Apostle and Senate having the monopoly on religion so they keep power because of that. Hoshido however, while I will defend Fates narrative on most things, Hoshido is where I draw the line. I hate that country. They are perfect because Japanese influence, and the game never calls them out for their flawed isolationism beyond one monologue from Ryoma and Corrin and Azura's Revelations exclusive support. Because I get to fight the country is why I'll always pick Conquest on future playthroughs and never look back.

Legit question tho, Fates claims Hoshido and Nohr are the two most powerful countries on Fates' continent, with Nohr being slightly more powerful. The game also claims Nohr is highly starved for resources, due to Faceless and Brigands plaugeing the country alongside shit weather. How did Nohr actually get to this position of suppossed power then?

Also, another unpopular opinion from me, Nohr is actually my favorite FE country.

Edited June 7, 2016 by MCProductions

[BrightBow]

Well, I can't say that I ever got the impression that their is a lack of stories where humans are the ones who are harassed by fantasy races. Like in Lord of the Rings we have various races like the orcs who are just plain evil. Besides, how many stories do we need that teach us that those who look different from us are evil and the enemy of our kin?

It's also a bit far-fetched to say that the story approves of the Laguz' approach to rulership considering that the story doesn't seem to approve of the "might makes right" philosophy in any other context. One could probably make a better case for the story being pro-monarchy due to the rulers like Ramon and Caineghis being shown as being far wiser then their people. Apparently Crimea and Gallia would have gotten along just fine if it wasn't for those filthy commoners. Either way the Laguz are specifically stated to treat the Branded worse as worse then humans do, which shows that they are not inherently better then the Beorc.

Edited June 7, 2016 by BrightBow

[Moblin Major General]

I hate Jugdral's story not because it's bad, but because it goes out of it's way to Kali Ma your heart and punch you in the stomach. Almost every boss and mini-boss throughout both games could have a Nuremberg trial dedicated to them, with most of them ending up swinging. Verdane for crimes against peace, Augustria for conspiracy to commit a crime against peace, Silesse for treason, Thracia for war crimes, and Grannvale for war crimes, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit crimes against peace. Almost every facet of Jugdral is designed to be cringeworthy and repulsive to even a casually moral person. Not to mention it's the closest game in the series to a real life game of thrones, which was all sorts of fucked up, regardless of what blah would have you believe about monarchy Nothing against you, blah.

[Jave]

The Laguz definitely aren't saints. Several of them seem to hate the Branded, as evidenced by this exchange:

Micaiah:

“That must be it… Oh, Sothe, ever since he was small, he’s tried to act more grown up than the grown-ups… I’ve taken care of him so long, and still I’ve never seen him smile so easily before.”

Muarim:
“Hm… Watch what you say. Comments like that… They reveal that your appearance belies your true age.”

Micaiah:
“What are you–“

Muarim:
“Among the laguz, there are those who detest and revile half-breeds such as yourself. They call you “parentless,” and deny you any laguz heritage, honor, or dignity. Take due care.”

[Etrurian emperor]

Legit question tho, Fates claims Hoshido and Nohr are the two most powerful countries on Fates' continent, with Nohr being slightly more powerful. The game also claims Nohr is highly starved for resources, due to Faceless and Brigands plaugeing the country alongside shit weather. How did Nohr actually get to this position of suppossed power then?

Also, another unpopular opinion from me, Nohr is actually my favorite FE country.

Its probably strenght in nummers. The unit roster of Hoshido is dominated by nobles, children of chiefs and those hailing from a long line of retainers . All characters of standing. This implies Hoshido is selective on who gets to join the army.

Norh on the other hand is very willing to arm every slum dweller, complete stranger or utter psychopath. And if farming is not possible then the army would be the place to go if you want work