I really like how this artwork frames all the lords

[Jotari]

https://serenesforest.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/main.jpg

So given how many varied protagonists this series has, it's always sort of a popularity competition between them whenever any of them are included in any of them. While this artwork doesn't manage to include all of them (poor FE7/8 cast), i do like how it manages to draw focus to all of them in different ways. Ike gets the position at the centre bottom of the screen but I think due to the colour scheme, it doesn't look like he's standing centre stage like in the original Path of Radiance box art the image is taken from. Next, Alm, Miciaha and Seliph are actually standing in the centre of the image but they don't dominate it due to being smaller than everyone else. Math and Corrin flank them on either side, much larger but also, due to being to the side (and Corrin looking away), they also don't steal focus. Roy is kind of wedge in there between Seliph, Marth, Leif and Chrom but I think due to the fact that we see less of his torso and it's more of a mug shot, he still manages to maintain a presence. Beside him is Leif who is sized only as big as the centre lords but he has a lot of clear space around him like unlike practically everyone else in the image. And then finally there's Chrom who is by far the biggest but it's kind of balanced out by him being placed in the background so to speak with Seliph and Roy standing in front of him. Overall I think it's pretty cool. Especially since they seem to have only used existing artwork to create it.

 

So what do you like (or not like) about this image> And does anyone know what that dragons hanging around Alm is meant to be? Is it from Marth's artwork?

Edited March 12, 2017 by Jotari

[Anacybele]

I don't like it at all. Chrom is too big and Ephraim and Eirika are absent, yet non-main characters like Tiki are in there. That's dumb, imo.

[NekoKnight]

I would have liked it more had the artist made original art for all the characters. It's one thing for the characters to retain their original style but the characters are in the exact same poses as their official artwork.

No Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones/10

[Hardin]

The dragon by Alm is from Tiki's FE3 artwork. 

I like the piece, I think it does a good job of blending the different art styles together. Even Alm and Seliph don't stick out like sore thumbs despite having much cruder artwork compared to the others. 

[Extrasolar]

they didn't use female corrin? what is this bullshit 0/10 would not recommend

Chrom is...kind of disproportionately large in comparison to everyone else, almost to the point that everyone's getting dwarfed next to him. In general seems like they're emphasizing Chrom, Ike, Roy and Corrin and pushing everyone else sort of into the background...

Though it is kind of cool seeing all the different styles of artwork being neatly blended together like this. Sucks that all the ladies are relegated to tiny boxes, but I guess it's understandable since they took a backseat to the main lords of their respective games anyway.

And yeah, no Blazing Blade Trio and Renais Twins. ...What. What happened there?

Edited March 12, 2017 by Extrasolar

[Hardin]

The album doesn't feature any tracks from 7 or 8, so naturally they won't have anyone on the cover. 

[Jotari]

4 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

they didn't use female corrin? what is this bullshit 0/10 would not recommend

Chrom is...kind of disproportionately large in comparison to everyone else, almost to the point that everyone's getting dwarfed next to him. In general seems like they're emphasizing Chrom, Ike, Roy and Corrin and pushing everyone else sort of into the background...

Though it is kind of cool seeing all the different styles of artwork being neatly blended together like this. Sucks that all the ladies are relegated to tiny boxes, but I guess it's understandable since they took a backseat to the main lords of their respective games anyway.

And yeah, no Blazing Blade Trio and Renais Twins. ...What. What happened there?

Celica didn't take a back seat to Alm. In fact her route probably had more plot developments in it as opposed to Alm which was conquer everything and reach the plot at the end. I do find it particularly odd they decided to choose Micaiah over Celica to stick there next to Alm. Micaiah herself was pretty shafted in Radiant Dawn to the extent that it wouldn't be odd to have her in one of the boxes.

[Extrasolar]

3 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Celica didn't take a back seat to Alm. In fact her route probably had more plot developments in it as opposed to Alm which was conquer everything and reach the plot at the end. I do find it particularly odd they decided to choose Micaiah over Celica to stick there next to Alm. Micaiah herself was pretty shafted in Radiant Dawn to the extent that it wouldn't be odd to have her in one of the boxes.

But he's still emphasized as the main protagonist of the game (evident in this piece of art, at least), even if he had a lesser role as far as plot goes. It's kind of how Ephraim is the default "main character" of Sacred Stones a lot of the time, with Eirika playing support to him. As sad as both of those cases are.

[Jotari]

2 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

But he's still emphasized as the main protagonist of the game (evident in this piece of art, at least), even if he had a lesser role as far as plot goes. It's kind of how Ephraim is the default "main character" of Sacred Stones a lot of the time, with Eirika playing support to him. As sad as both of those cases are.

Where is Ephraim ever pinned as the default main character? Erika's the one that gets more chapters (and a DLC class in Awakening).

[Extrasolar]

Just now, Jotari said:

Where is Ephraim ever pinned as the default main character? Erika's the one that gets more chapters (and a DLC class in Awakening).

Pretty much in every piece of Sacred Stones-related media and advertising. It's all about Ephraim, with Eirika as his support. (Of course, Ephraim in general is a far more popular character than Eirika, so it could be partially justified with that.) And...uh, Eirika's DLC class was Bride, which has nothing to do with how she is portrayed in the game in her game in the first place. I wouldn't really point to that as...evidence. I mean, that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

[Jotari]

3 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

Pretty much in every piece of Sacred Stones-related media and advertising. It's all about Ephraim, with Eirika as his support. (Of course, Ephraim in general is a far more popular character than Eirika, so it could be partially justified with that.) And...uh, Eirika's DLC class was Bride, which has nothing to do with how she is portrayed in the game in her game in the first place. I wouldn't really point to that as...evidence. I mean, that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

Even if the class has nothing to do with her source stats, it's still telling that IS decided to select her over other, potentially better candidates, to introduce it with. Can you cite some sources. They stand side by side box art (unlike Eliwood and co) and aside from that I struggle to remember any advertisement Sacred Stones even got. All the descriptions of the game I can think of also talk about "the twins".

[Jave]

21 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

they didn't use female corrin? what is this bullshit 0/10 would not recommend

Chrom is...kind of disproportionately large in comparison to everyone else, almost to the point that everyone's getting dwarfed next to him. In general seems like they're emphasizing Chrom, Ike, Roy and Corrin and pushing everyone else sort of into the background...

Though it is kind of cool seeing all the different styles of artwork being neatly blended together like this. Sucks that all the ladies are relegated to tiny boxes, but I guess it's understandable since they took a backseat to the main lords of their respective games anyway.

And yeah, no Blazing Blade Trio and Renais Twins. ...What. What happened there?

Poor Micaiah. She gets so much hate, some people don't even consider her to be a lady.

[Extrasolar]

10 minutes ago, Jave said:

Poor Micaiah. She gets so much hate, some people don't even consider her to be a lady.

XD
Woops, guess I overlooked her. I mean, the game itself did the same thing

10 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Can you cite some sources. They stand side by side box art (unlike Eliwood and co) and aside from that I struggle to remember any advertisement Sacred Stones even got. All the descriptions of the game I can think of also talk about "the twins".

I'm not talking about advertisements from the time of the game's release (because FE ads and/or material was sparse up until Awakening), but the media well after the game had already come out. Sources for what? "Ephraim as game's main protagonist?" I've talked to plenty of people who see Ephraim's route as the more important/superior one, and Ephraim himself as the "true" main character, even if you start with Eirika. It's much of the same for Lyn in Blazing Blade when compared to Hector and Eliwood.
 

10 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Even if the class has nothing to do with her source stats, it's still telling that IS decided to select her over other, potentially better candidates, to introduce it with.

Potentially better candidates? For a Bride class that didn't exist before they created it, while they were pulling from a roster of warriors...? I'm a little confused as to what you mean. Who else would they really have stuffed into a dress from the main lords, anyway? Lyn? Micaiah?

And it is telling...but it may not be telling of the right things, if you know what I mean. (Relegating a sword-wielder - even a pacifistic and kind one - to a Bride in the DLC? Cough. Well then.)

Edited March 12, 2017 by Extrasolar

[Jotari]

6 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

XD
Woops, guess I overlooked her. I mean, the game itself did the same thing

I'm not talking about advertisements from the time of the game's release (because FE ads and/or material was sparse up until Awakening), but the media well after the game had already come out. Sources for what? "Ephraim as game's main protagonist?" I've talked to plenty of people who see Ephraim's route as the more important/superior one, and Ephraim himself as the "true" main character, even if you start with Eirika. It's much of the same for Lyn in Blazing Blade when compared to Hector and Eliwood.
 

Potentially better candidates? For a Bride class that didn't exist before they created it, while they were pulling from a roster of warriors...? I'm a little confused as to what you mean. Who else would they really have stuffed into a dress from the main lords, anyway? Lyn? Micaiah?

And it is telling...but it may not be telling of the right things, if you know what I mean. (Relegating a sword-wielder - even a pacifistic and kind one - to a Bride in the DLC? Cough. Well then.)

But that's just the fan's opinion of the characters in question which is highly subjective (and not at all a universal one from my observations). It's also pretty different from Lyn since Erika actually sticks around and continues to be in the game after her opening chapters (themselves a lot more plot relevant than Lyn's).

[Extrasolar]

3 minutes ago, Jotari said:

But that's just the fan's opinion of the characters in question which is highly subjective (and not at all a universal one from my observations). It's also pretty different from Lyn since Erika actually sticks around and continues to be in the game after her opening chapters (themselves a lot more plot relevant than Lyn's).

Oh I'm not saying Eirika doesn't have a role in the game or anything, because she definitely does, and she does have it better than Lyn as far as story relevance goes (though considering how much Lyn got the shaft, that's a low bar to set). It's just that from my experience talking to other FE fans on forums and in real life, most everyone who played prefers Ephraim's route in terms of story and the character himself to his sister. But yeah, they are definitely subjective. It could just be that bias in me seeing them pushing Ephraim more than they push Eirika a lot of the time.

[Florete]

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

Celica didn't take a back seat to Alm. In fact her route probably had more plot developments in it as opposed to Alm which was conquer everything and reach the plot at the end. I do find it particularly odd they decided to choose Micaiah over Celica to stick there next to Alm. Micaiah herself was pretty shafted in Radiant Dawn to the extent that it wouldn't be odd to have her in one of the boxes.

They probably took one character from each game for the main artwork there (of the featured games). With Ike already in, Micaiah was the choice for Radiant Dawn.

2 hours ago, Extrasolar said:

It's kind of how Ephraim is the default "main character" of Sacred Stones a lot of the time, with Eirika playing support to him. As sad as both of those cases are.

What? I don't think I've ever seen evidence of this. They're almost always together, but I think it's telling that Eirika is the one used as the face for Sacred Stones in the Heroes promotional art if the fact that she's the one the player always starts with in her game isn't already enough.

[Extrasolar]

6 minutes ago, Florete said:

What? I don't think I've ever seen evidence of this. They're almost always together, but I think it's telling that Eirika is the one used as the face for Sacred Stones in the Heroes promotional art if the fact that she's the one the player always starts with in her game isn't already enough.

I've seen it a lot; when asked "Which route was more important/better?" or "Which lord is the most important/most prominent?" questions of Sacred Stones, most people I've seen and talked to default to Ephraim's route. They have nothing against Eirika or anything, but at the end, they see Ephraim as more of the "face" of the game. (Especially considering the ending, where Eirika supports Ephraim when he become the Restoration King.)

Lyn was also chosen as the face of Blazing Blade, despite having little importance to the overall plot outside of her own story (which is only a relatively small fraction of the game). Like you said, it likely has something to do with how she's the character players start the game with, just like Eirika in Sacred Stones.

[Florete]

1 minute ago, Extrasolar said:

I've seen it a lot; when asked "Which route was more important/better?" or "Which lord is the most important/most prominent?" questions of Sacred Stones, most people I've seen and talked to default to Ephraim's route. They have nothing against Eirika or anything, but at the end, they see Ephraim as more of the "face" of the game. (Especially considering the ending, where Eirika supports Ephraim when he become the Restoration King.)

Lyn was also chosen as the face of Blazing Blade, despite having little importance to the overall plot outside of her own story (which is only a relatively small fraction of the game). Like you said, it likely has something to do with how she's the character players start the game with, just like Eirika in Sacred Stones.

How people see it doesn't matter, and for everyone that you claim says this, there are probably just as many who say the opposite. How they are portrayed officially is what matters.

Yes, not everyone used for Heroes promotion was the primary lead. Takumi and Camilla are also there. But none of these are quite the same case as the Renais Twins, where they are co-leads, and when it had to be one chosen alone, it was Eirika. For what it's worth, I would guess Lyn was chosen for her popularity (same as her getting special Awakening art where Eliwood and Hector didn't) as well as to be much more distinct from Roy compared to Eliwood.

[Extrasolar]

Just now, Florete said:

Yes, not everyone used for Heroes promotion was the primary lead. Takumi and Camilla are also there. But none of these are quite the same case as the Renais Twins, where they are co-leads, and when it had to be one chosen alone, it was Eirika. For what it's worth, I would guess Lyn was chosen for her popularity (same as her getting special Awakening art where Eliwood and Hector didn't) as well as to be much more distinct from Roy compared to Eliwood.

So if you're saying that Eirika is the primary protagonist of Sacred Stones which is why she was chosen, then by that logic either Eliwood or Hector would be chosen to represent Blazing Blade, as they're the actual leads of the game. (I would even say that Eliwood edges out Hector in that department,) But if similarities between Roy and Eliwood is the reason why Eliwood is not there, and if they're going (mostly) for lead characters, it would have been Hector. Honestly, one of the reasons I see Eirika being chosen is not only being the first lord that the player gets in the game, but as another female character. The ratio is already skewed, but Ephraim in there would have made it even more lopsided.

[Florete]

11 minutes ago, Extrasolar said:

So if you're saying that Eirika is the primary protagonist of Sacred Stones which is why she was chosen, then by that logic either Eliwood or Hector would be chosen to represent Blazing Blade, as they're the actual leads of the game. (I would even say that Eliwood edges out Hector in that department,) But if similarities between Roy and Eliwood is the reason why Eliwood is not there, and if they're going (mostly) for lead characters, it would have been Hector. Honestly, one of the reasons I see Eirika being chosen is not only being the first lord that the player gets in the game, but as another female character. The ratio is already skewed, but Ephraim in there would have made it even more lopsided.

I never said Eirika is the primary protagonist of Sacred Stones, I simply disagreed with the notion that Ephraim is. I think they did a pretty good job of keeping it even between the two, but when one has to be chosen, it's Eirika.

You're trying to draw comparisons where they don't exist with the rest of this. Hector is arguably less important than Lyn; he's the protagonist only of an unlockable mode and exists but otherwise isn't super relevant in the story otherwise. Lyn actually has a full story to her own that comes before even Eliwood's in the game. Of the three of them, Hector likely has the least priority.

Anyway, I think this off-topic conversation has gone long enough, so PM me if you still want to respond. So as to make this post actually somewhat relevant, I'll now state my opinion on the artwork.

My initial feeling is being mad that we once again have male Corrin used and not female Corrin. Was her nearly tripling his votes in the Choose Your Legends poll not enough? Seeing all the other female characters (minus Micaiah) relegated to small boxes also bothers me, but at least in those cases they aren't the primary leads so it's not that bad. Otherwise, the art looks...fine? I mean, I don't see anything particularly special about it. It's all old artwork edited and put together. It does its job, but it doesn't stand out to me.

[The_antithesis]

There are too many swords in this picture. Ephraim, get your lance ready!

[LucarioGamer812]

While I like how it incorporates Caeda and Tiki in it, I do notice a distinct lack of the Sacred Twins, Female Corrin, both Robins, the blazing sword trio, and Sigurd. Tbh they could probably resize it to fit the remaining lords in.

On 3/12/2017 at 3:48 AM, Florete said:

How people see it doesn't matter, and for everyone that you claim says this, there are probably just as many who say the opposite. How they are portrayed officially is what matters.

Yes, not everyone used for Heroes promotion was the primary lead. Takumi and Camilla are also there. But none of these are quite the same case as the Renais Twins, where they are co-leads, and when it had to be one chosen alone, it was Eirika. For what it's worth, I would guess Lyn was chosen for her popularity (same as her getting special Awakening art where Eliwood and Hector didn't) as well as to be much more distinct from Roy compared to Eliwood.

Well Takumi and Camilla are used to represent Birthight and Conquest in heroes so I won't really say much about that, Eirika starting off as the protagonist helps her case, but Lyn shouldn't have been it, it should have been Eliwood *coming from someone who decently likes Lyn* but also just saying over the heroes thing, females are popular due to well them being females

On 3/12/2017 at 3:56 AM, Extrasolar said:

So if you're saying that Eirika is the primary protagonist of Sacred Stones which is why she was chosen, then by that logic either Eliwood or Hector would be chosen to represent Blazing Blade, as they're the actual leads of the game. (I would even say that Eliwood edges out Hector in that department,) But if similarities between Roy and Eliwood is the reason why Eliwood is not there, and if they're going (mostly) for lead characters, it would have been Hector. Honestly, one of the reasons I see Eirika being chosen is not only being the first lord that the player gets in the game, but as another female character. The ratio is already skewed, but Ephraim in there would have made it even more lopsided.

The male lords are typically more common so of course it's lopsided, As said above, females are popular as well so this male dominated art surprises me