Who else misses Jake?

[Jotari]

So for those only into modern Fire Emblem, back in the day Anna wasn't alone as the only character to transcend continuities. She was accompanied by her ever devoted boy friend Jake, the Ballistican from Shadow Dragon. He didn't appear quite as much as Anna, but he was a pretty recogniseable part of her whole deal. Red haired girl, finger on the lip, runs a secret shop, has a boy friend called Jake. That was Anna's character. In the modern day she's retained the first two traits, and the third has mutated into making her an aggressive capitalist (even though as noted in the games, the Secret Shop was always a terrible business model), but Jake has utterly vanished. He hasn't appeared in any games in the past ten years, while in that time Anna's popularity has continued to soar, being playable in every game since Awakening save Echoes (which is actually a major shame since that's the game I'd most want to see her in given Gaiden was the one game she didn't make an appearance in). The closest is a reference to him in Fire Emblem Warriors wherein Anna claims she doesn't know him at all!

I think the reason for Jake's decline stems from Anna's breakout role in Awakening. It was those pesky S supports at it again, Anna can't have a boyfriend if the avatar is able to boink her. But Anna didn't even have any supports at all in Three Houses and they didn't decide Jake was worth enough to bring back. But personally I like Jake, and I like the idea of Anna being in a committed relationship. I suppose some day soon Jake will probably find his way into Heroes, they've scooped up a lot of the Archanea cast already, it seems inevitable that he'll get in eventually, and I hope that starts a renaissance of sorts for Jake. And in the next game in the series Anna's avarice can be tempered a bit with a soft spot for her Jakey.

Also completely unrelated to Jake, but I hope Pallardo sticks around as an evil counterpart to Anna. I'll probably make a dedicated thread about that some day.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Jotari

[King Marth 64]

I do miss Jake being absent in the series in the recent enteries, Intelligent Systems definitely needs to bring him back. I do know that why some of the Anna Sisters haven't mentioned about Jake in Awakening, Fates, and even Three Houses. I do know that Caeda's and Lyn's Support Conversation with Anna in Warriors that they talked to her mentioning about Jake and the Warriors Anna have never heard of Jake that explains why Jake hasn't appeared in alot of Fire Emblem games with the Anna Sisters around.

They really should bring him back sometime in the next new mainline game or maybe explain in the Genealogy of the Holy War remake why some Jakes weren't around with the multiple Annas.

Edited March 8, 2021 by King Marth 64

[Acacia Sgt]

Yeah, that was truly a shame. Though he kinda was already declining before Awakening, considering he never really was used beyond the Kaga games outside that Blazing Sword cameo. Or more like, he was only an element in the Kaga era. Like, the Genealogy one is implied to be the same guy, despite the game taking place around a thousand years in the past from Marth's era, so there was only the one before Blazing Sword.

Not to mention, he was cut from Mystery of the Emblem.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[King Marth 64]

7 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Yeah, that was truly a shame. Though he kinda was already declining before Awakening, considering he never really was used beyond the Kaga games outside that Blazing Sword cameo. Or more like, he was only an element in the Kaga era. Like, the Genealogy one is implied to be the same guy, despite the game taking place around a thousand years in the past from Marth's era, so there was only the one before Blazing Sword.

Not to mention, he was cut from Mystery of the Emblem.

I definitely think Jake from Genealogy of the Holy War, Archanea games, and maybe Blazing Blade are completely different Jakes since the Annas that appeared alot of Fire Emblem games are sisters. But if it's turned out to be the same Jake in Archanea (incase if the Genealogy of the Holy War remake possibly explains on his missing appearances), he might have traveled through the Outer Realms with Anna from Archanea since I do know Fates's Anna and some of the DLC Map Annas in Awakening did traveled through the Outer Realms.

Edited March 8, 2021 by King Marth 64

[Acacia Sgt]

7 minutes ago, King Marth 64 said:

I definitely think Jake from Genealogy of the Holy War, Archanea games, and maybe Blazing Blade are completely different Jakes since the Annas that appeared alot of Fire Emblem games are sisters. But if it's turned out to be the same Jake (incase if the Genealogy of the Holy War remake possibly explains on his missing appearances), he might have traveled through the Outer Realms with Anna from Archanea since I do know Fates's Anna and some of the DLC Map Annas in Awakening did traveled through the Outer Realms.

Blazing Sword one, at least, can't be same Jake. He doesn't look like Archanea/Genealogy Jake. Heck, he looks more like Beck:

Which is funny considering Jake and Beck at some point had their appearances shifted, considering the TCG has one wearing the colors of the other...

Genealogy Jake meanwhile has going on for him that he finds Linda's name familiar (due to Linde).

Edited March 8, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[vanguard333]

I had no idea Jake was a recurring character, as the FE games that I've played are: Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Shadow Dragon, Awakening, Fates, Echoes and Three Houses, and I bolded the only one of those in which he appeared.

I suppose it would be neat to see Jake return. 

[SoulWeaver]

Cipher had Jake, thus, there is hope. Small hope, given how long it took them to add him, but hope nonetheless.

Pretty much he has to come back if they redo Sacred Stones, else we'll just have to rally the foresters and riot.

[Jotari]

2 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

Cipher had Jake, thus, there is hope. Small hope, given how long it took them to add him, but hope nonetheless.

Pretty much he has to come back if they redo Sacred Stones, else we'll just have to rally the foresters and riot.

Why Sacred Stones specifically? He wasn't even in Sacred Stones to begin with?

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I do miss Jake, yeah. Seems kinda unfair to him with Anna getting all of the attention. I never really thought about it before but now that you've mentioned it, her being a romance option in Awakening does kinda make sense for a reason in Jake's decline, even if he was already kinda scarce.

[null]

I’d like to see him come back, tbh. The idea of Anna having a canon love interest has always been preferable, IMO. Gives her a bit more backstory/characterization and I always liked Jake anyway.

[lenticular]

I'd rather they just got rid of Anna entirely, honestly. Or failing that, move her back down to just being a little cameo easter egg where she runs a secret shop, a tutorial, a link arena or whatever. I just don't enjoy her role from Awakening onwards at all, to the extent that she's probably my least favourite character in the series at this point. If she has to stick around though (which she probably does), then sure, I guess having Jake with her might make her a little bit less annoying.

[Punished Dayni]

The fact they didn't have Jake (or anyone) even hinted at in 3H, a game where Anna has 0 supports isn't exactly cause for optimism on that front.

The idea of these being different Annas does at least lessen the absence of Jake in titles, hence why his absence isn't a big issue personally (Not me saying never bother with other other recurring characters). Making Anna a DLC unit might have impacted the potential those Annas had vs. Awakening, where there's buildup before you even recruit the playable Anna, the presence of other Annas on the map and she still supports a few other units (with the DLC adding Apotheosis Anna, among other instances). Fates Anna has one person at the till of the DLC and the playable one I suppose, but little else (not that that's my priority for Fates, being honest), while 3H has the worst unit in the game...... Yeah.

Pushing Anna away from playable unit might be the right route to take as the last two were certainly less useful. Wouldn't hurt to see the next Anna taking a back seat, possibly with Jake.

[Samz707]

Clearly, the solution is that we actually need to get rid of Anna and instead have Jake as the recurring character for a few games who carries around Ballistas in his inventory.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Samz707

[Interdimensional Observer]

Jake should come back, as others have said, it could ground Anna more and make her a better character.

 

9 hours ago, lenticular said:

I'd rather they just got rid of Anna entirely, honestly. Or failing that, move her back down to just being a little cameo easter egg where she runs a secret shop, a tutorial, a link arena or whatever. I just don't enjoy her role from Awakening onwards at all, to the extent that she's probably my least favourite character in the series at this point. If she has to stick around though (which she probably does), then sure, I guess having Jake with her might make her a little bit less annoying.

I'm in a good deal of agreement here, she has been overused playing the one trope for 4 games straight. Awakening also had her try to get nude photos of Robin, that kind of invasion of privacy went too far for me and I loathe whoever added that "Tiki is a socialist" line the localizers must have come up with.

Anna needs a personality reset. Greed couldn't have defined her original Archanean self, because Secret Shops can't really make money when nobody knows about them. She was mysteriously mischievous, no true indicators of being Mammon in Red Hair. Let's try going in totally different direction with her next time, the benefit of this "Annas more numerous than dimensions" approach is that there should be some rara avis somewhere among them, who aren't Avarice Alive.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

I'd honestly be up for a future game featuring a "Jake" and an "Anna" as enemies. Maybe as "paired bosses" for a single map, like Paul/Jasmine and Pain/Agony, with an A-support between the two of them. It's not that they're evil, they just have the misfortune of fighting for the bad guys this time. Anna could even drop the VIP Card - after all, her sisters run the Secret Shops!

[Hasechi]

At least jake make appearance &playable  in NDS Fire emblem game. But where is Mark ?

[omegaxis1]

They definitely should have had a Jake in 3H. If Anna has zero supports and thus cannot be made into a waifu, then just let her be in a relationship with Jake. At least have him mentioned.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

4 hours ago, Hasechi said:

At least jake make appearance &playable  in NDS Fire emblem game. But where is Mark ?

Presumably still in Elibe? Mark has no precedent for existing across games and continents, unlike Jake.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I think Acacia makes a good point. Jake was only a mainstay in the Kaga games, whereas Anna has at least remained in the menus since her inception. It only makes sense that Jake would continue to be forgotten, although I wouldn't mind seeing him back. The weird thing about Jake and Anna is that I only really like them as an unexplained, almost supernatural phenomenon, an odd quirk of Fire Emblem realities. The whole "infinitely many identical sisters" thing is kind of weird and I don't really like it, but I doubt we'll see a change to that explanation.

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I loathe whoever added that "Tiki is a socialist" line the localizers must have come up with.

Broke- Adding sociopolitical commentary in your translation of Japanese roleplaying games
Woke- Adding "spoony" in your translation of Japanese roleplaying games
Bespoke- Writing characters who are sociopolitical extremists in the first place

18 hours ago, Jotari said:

(even though as noted in the games, the Secret Shop was always a terrible business model)

Hey man, that In-N-Out four-by-four animal style got to make some dough.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

3 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Hey man, that In-N-Out four-by-four animal style got to make some dough.

In-N-Out has a terrible business model too, though. Source: there aren't any near me, so they're taking none of my money, when they could instead be getting several of my money.

3 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

The weird thing about Jake and Anna is that I only really like them as an unexplained, almost supernatural phenomenon, an odd quirk of Fire Emblem realities. The whole "infinitely many identical sisters" thing is kind of weird and I don't really like it, but I doubt we'll see a change to that explanation.

Honestly same. Before Awakening, I interpreted "the Annas" not as sisters, nor as dimension-crossers, but simply unrelated women who happened to share similar names and faces. And I joked about her sisters "running the shops", but like... when we visit Larabel/Aimee at the Vendor, are we sure that's not just one woman following us and setting up where the demand is? Anna could operate the same way, except behind an arbitrary barrier.

15 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Anna needs a personality reset. Greed couldn't have defined her original Archanean self, because Secret Shops can't really make money when nobody knows about them.

Maybe the Secret Shop is a shell corporation, that Jake and Anna launder money through? But the VIP Card outs you as one of the Feds, so Anna has to put on a show of actually selling you merchandise.

[Axie]

every recurring anna from now on should be dating a recurring jake, the anna extended fire emblem universe needs more lore

[Samz707]

On 3/8/2021 at 10:20 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Presumably still in Elibe? Mark has no precedent for existing across games and continents, unlike Jake.

Clearly Mark's on the run, since setting mines that don't have a self-destruct function is a war crime in the Geneva Conventions, who knows maybe he even set up that minefield you have to deal with in Binding.

Therefore he's been hopping Outrealm gates to stay ahead of the Elibian Authorities wanting him for War Crimes, while also evading Lyn's Forces trying to capture him so she can force him to S-Rank her.

1 hour ago, Axie said:

every recurring anna from now on should be dating a recurring jake, the anna extended fire emblem universe needs more lore

Nah, have a S-rankable Recurring Jake now, who has OP skills for Ballista usage that enables you to one-shot the final boss if used right since he gets massive stat bonuses against flying enemies and dragons are now classified as flying while It's Annas turn to vanish from the game.

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Samz707

[SoulWeaver]

On 3/7/2021 at 8:59 PM, Jotari said:

Why Sacred Stones specifically? He wasn't even in Sacred Stones to begin with?

Wait, not SS, I meant Blazing Sword, my bad, haha.

[Samz707]

33 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

Wait, not SS, I meant Blazing Sword, my bad, haha.

Nah, they remove him.

He's replaced with a second Anna, the Three Houses Anna, and she's still in the Art-style of 3H for some reason despite everyone else having a different art-style. (Like how Arthur from Fates for some reason has a different art-style.)

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Samz707

[Mylady]

On 3/8/2021 at 10:40 PM, AnonymousSpeed said:

I think Acacia makes a good point. Jake was only a mainstay in the Kaga games, whereas Anna has at least remained in the menus since her inception. It only makes sense that Jake would continue to be forgotten, although I wouldn't mind seeing him back. The weird thing about Jake and Anna is that I only really like them as an unexplained, almost supernatural phenomenon, an odd quirk of Fire Emblem realities. The whole "infinitely many identical sisters" thing is kind of weird and I don't really like it, but I doubt we'll see a change to that explanation.

I don't like it too. It's dumb and remember me Pokemon with the nurse Joy . I headcanon that it's always the same Anna but she is a time traveler.

As for Jake, I'm surprised that he is not in Heroes yet.