Bonding System?

[LodestarRoy]

So do you think'll they'll try to implement something like skinship again?

I liked the idea of bonding with your characters and such though i'd definitely prefer a different method. The "friend petting" was a little pushing it for my tastes but the moments with your spouse were cute and heart warming. I have ideas of what I would like but i'm not even sure if the majority of the community even wants a bonding mechanic to return.  What do you all think?

 

 

[AlexArtsHere]

I definitely like having the bonding lines in Fates, as well as the times where the game has you wake up your spouse. They're really cute slice of life moments which build on the relationship tiles of Awakening. I don't want to see petting return though. I was initially and advocate for its inclusion in the English release, but in hindsight it's just kind of creepy and weird to be petting people the same way one does Pokémon. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if petting *does* return (at least for Japan).

[ZessDynamite]

I've never used the bonding system in fates; the ability to "pet" an ally never appealed to me. But being able to understand and interact with your comrades on a more personal level does sound inherently awesome.

One way I think they could showcase the bonds between units would be to have the dialogue between characters in battle during pair up (If pair up returns) change depending on the two units' support level. In a C support, for example, one mentor-type character could critique the fighting style of another, and when the mentor backs up the other unit in a fight later on, they could say things like, 'You need more focus", or, "Move your arms like THIS". After the B support, it could change to phrases such as, "I can tell you've been practicing." After the A support, the mentor could even learn to accept the uniqueness of the other's technique: "I see... Your style is effective." "I believe I've learned something from you." And there would be a set of quotes the pupil would say when backing up the teacher.

I think something like that would really make the supports feel like they have more of a genuine impact on the characters, as well as demonstrate how the individual bond between each pair of units is strong and unique, without even adding a separate bonding mode.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I did not enjoy the bond/invite ally commands. I only used the system to grind out Corrin's supports a bit at a time, mashing start to skip the dialogue. For that, I'm very glad they removed the petting minigame, as it probably took a lot of time to complete. These lines of dialogue with you inches from the character's face are never not awkward. And the only chuckle I got were from lines like "well that was a complete waste of time". Agreed. I understand liking a character enough that you want to see more interactions with them beyond three conversations, but they could have done these dialogue sequences in text with character portraits like any other scene of the game.

In the context of Fates, the private quarters feels like a wasted opportunity, as they no doubt spent a ton of time and resources developing high res models of the characters and animating them in accordance to those lines. That might be acceptable for a dating sim, but this is Fire Emblem. I would have much preferred those resources going to making engaging maps in Birthright and Revelation, more paralogues that don't have to do with kids but instead flesh out existing characters, better quality support writing, etc. I can't think of a single thing they could have done to make me like the feature. And with regard to most Fire Emblem mechanics, it's always easy to pick out ways to theoretically improve something.

I think it has decent odds of returning, however. As the high res models that allow you to awkwardly undress your units with your eyes will probably be the same model work used in battle. Petting wouldn't return, as I doubt the japanese developers would want to spend time building a feature that would only be seen by a fraction of the people playing, and said removal would re-ignite the backlash Fates got.

[AlexArtsHere]

8 hours ago, 3+2=Pie said:

One way I think they could showcase the bonds between units would be to have the dialogue between characters in battle during pair up (If pair up returns) change depending on the two units' support level. In a C support, for example, one mentor-type character could critique the fighting style of another, and when the mentor backs up the other unit in a fight later on, they could say things like, 'You need more focus", or, "Move your arms like THIS". After the B support, it could change to phrases such as, "I can tell you've been practicing." After the A support, the mentor could even learn to accept the uniqueness of the other's technique: "I see... Your style is effective." "I believe I've learned something from you." And there would be a set of quotes the pupil would say when backing up the teacher.

Holy hell, this is amazing. Gunter and Lon'qu saying these kinds of things immediately popped into my head. :o

13 minutes ago, Gustavos said:

I did not enjoy the bond/invite ally commands. I only used the system to grind out Corrin's supports a bit at a time, mashing start to skip the dialogue. For that, I'm very glad they removed the petting minigame, as it probably took a lot of time to complete.

I do believe one could skip the petting minigame by pressing Start, but I could very well be wrong on that front.

[LodestarRoy]

Well since we are working on a more powerful system I see them addling little details like that a real possibility. It just depeads if IS really has an eye for tiny details like that which honestly I feel they kinda don't at times. They could even add things mentioning spouses and parents. 

A husband can dual guard for his wife. When he blocks for her she thanks him with a cute pet name or something like "Thank you darling," Or the husband could say something like "hands off my wife." when he preforms the actual guard.

Or maybe siblings mention their parents. Like they team up to attack and one says something like "father would be proud of you" when they take out an enemy.

Just little snippets like this could add so much charm to some of the characters and they connections to each other.

Some ideas I had were like maybe you can have mini events with your units. Say like challenging a unit to a spar and it'll effect they stats or pair up bonuses for the next round.

Sparring could give a bonus to Str or Mag.

Something like a basic hang out or talk would increase support level like is has been.

Maybe for couples you can send them on mini dates or something together and it'll boost their pair up bonuses for the next map. 

[AlexArtsHere]

14 hours ago, LodestarRoy said:

Some ideas I had were like maybe you can have mini events with your units. Say like challenging a unit to a spar and it'll effect they stats or pair up bonuses for the next round.

Sparring could give a bonus to Str or Mag.

Something like a basic hang out or talk would increase support level like is has been.

Maybe for couples you can send them on mini dates or something together and it'll boost their pair up bonuses for the next map. 

Yeah, it's strange that supports always mention characters sparring, but we never really see it. Would be great to see that get a little bit of feature.

[Ryo]

I always find it jarring that Corrin lets their allies, and even their royal siblings, do all the farming, mining, cooking and managing works for them in My Castle while they're sitting in their room petting their waifu. Go lend your comrades a hand damn it, that is your f***ing castle! And not to mention that's how one would realistically deepen their bond with others: through activities and spending time together, not by inviting them to your room to do "skinship".

It's obvious that the My Room feature was purely for fan-service. If a bonding mechanic is to return, I want the characters to interact via realistic activities: sparring, training, cooking etc. Even if it's done for fan-service and waifu stuffs, at least make proper romantic scenarios where we can at least appreciate the relationships. 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Ryo

[Tuvy]

2 hours ago, Ryo said:

I always find it jarring that Corrin lets their allies, and even their royal siblings, do all the farming, mining, cooking and managing works for them in My Castle while they're sitting in their room petting their waifu. Go lend your comrades a hand damn it, that is your f***ing castle! And not to mention that's how one would realistically deepen their bond with others: through activities and spending time together, not by inviting them to your room to do "skinship".

It's obvious that the My Room feature was purely for fan-service. If a bonding mechanic is to return, I want the characters to interact via realistic activities: sparring, training, cooking etc. Even if it's done for fan-service and waifu stuffs, at least make proper romantic scenarios where we can at least appreciate the relationships. 

*cough* *cough* Pokemon Conquest *cough*

A game in which you actually do things

[AlexArtsHere]

Let's be real, how many people actually played Pokémon Conquest back when it came out?