Character expectations

[Etrurian emperor]

The concept is simple: What are some of the characters you expect to really like, and which ones do you expect to dislike?

I have high hopes for:

Diamant: So far he's got the strongest character design, and he's a prince from the nation that would usually play the antagonistic role, but doesn't this time. He's also implied to be a good big brother to Alcryst. 

Citrinne: She's got a very good character design and a girl who's both a retainer and a royal in her own right should be interesting. The character relation roster implies she and Alcryst have a pretty strong bond and she's supposed to be really nice.

Hortensia: Generally I like bratty yet good natured little ladies. I liked Lissa, I liked Morgan, so its in line of expectations that I'll like Hortensia. 

Vandar: Out of the entire roster he's about the only character who we can safely say is older than 20, so I'll like him for the novelty alone. Considering his main companions seem to be the amnesiac Alear, and the mage kids its likely he's going to be a cool dad sort of Jeigan.

Clanne and Franne: I don't expect them to be all that interesting, but I do expect them to be consistently likable and wholesome. Also one of them is voiced by Deku.

Timerra: Same as with the twins. Perhaps not as interesting as Ivy or Diamant, but very likable. 

Marni: She reminds me a lot of Alice from Tales of Symphonia which is a huge perk for her. 

I am cautiously optimistic for:

Alcryst: Depending on how his self esteem issues are handled I can either find him very wholesome or very annoying. I've always been quick to root for characters like Azelle or Ignatz who struggle with their self worth, but when characters never shut up about it those issues tend to get on my nerves really quickly. I expect to like Alcryst though since his bio makes it a point to mention he has a strong spine, and the affinity roster states a strong desire to protect his retainers.

Rosado: He's either going to be really interesting or REALLY problematic. I want to like him, but I don't entirely trust IS with writing a character such as him.

Kagetsu: He seems great, but the possibility of deeprealm gibberish still hovers over him. If he's just a foreigner he may be one of my favorites, if he has to drag the deeprealm around with him like a ball and chain I might ditch him.

I expect to dislike:

Alfred: There's a screenshot of him behaving very much like Soleil does towards Ophelia, and his retainer not looking comfortable about it. If that's a consistent trait I might find him more scummy than funny. 

Bunet: His design just looks weird, and his bio implies he'll be one of the more gimmick heavy characters.The gimmick of ''cook'' also doesn't really sound very interesting. 

The Fell Dragon: He's just a fell dragon and that's already a big downgrade compared to Edelgard. So far the Fell Dragon seems the least interesting aspect about Engage's writing and that's a pretty titanic problem if you're supposed to be the main villain.

[Codename Shrimp]

Expect to like:

• Alear: Another take on the "Dragon lord". While Corn was an absolure Failure, Alear seems fun, and from what i am gathering, they are aggressive and charismatic, so hopium!
• Veyle: What can i say, i like Dragon, and i am 90% sure she's one xD
• Alear's "retainer gang". Vandad, punchy healer and Shota mage have a dynamic that i suspect i might like...aslong as they have more going to them then "Dragon-sama" ofc
• Desert siblings: Fun, energetic and flamboyant. I simp
• Celine: That death qoute we saw gives me hope!
• Alpaca boy: Do i need to say more? XD
• Diamant: Archer's voice actor 👌
• Yunaka: No, bad dragon xD

Expect to dislike:

• Wide Armors: They just strike me wroooong
• Alcryst: Depends on how they write him, but i am not exactly big on that archetype.
• The 4 evil dudes: do i need to say more
• Alfred: Something also strikes me wrong from him.

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

So far the Fell Dragon seems the least interesting aspect about Engage's writing and that's a pretty titanic problem if you're supposed to be the main villain.

As is Fire Emblem tradition. Atleast this time we directly know we are just adventuring to kill a dragon, and not a dragon that comes to ruin a story in like...pretty much every FE xD

[Saint Rubenio]

I have high hopes for:

Vandad: He's the only old man in a cast filled with prepubescents. I love the beard and the generally more grounded design, and old guy characters are always pretty nice. I can't wait to demote him into a fighter or a qi master lol so I can turn him into a growth unit. And then kill Sombron with him. Endgame Ready Beard, Engage!

Jade: A female knight with a sensible suit of armor? In my modern FE? In THIS modern FE, of all FEs? Impossible! She also seems like she's going to be a pleasant character, and I've always had a fondness for armor knights, so she definitely has a place in my team.

Merrin: Her class is super unique. That's it. I'm shallow.

Etie: She's a stronk female archer with a bizarre character focus and a color scheme that pleases me. Probably will be my archer of choice.

Framme: Probably not my cup of tea as a character, but punching healer is too good a concept.

Seadall: Male dancer! Male dancer! Male dancer! And he punches too! Let's go! He's going to be such a unique guy.

Alear: I like the design. It's true, hang me. I expect they'll be a lovably dumb character. And I appreciate that they gain punching on promotion.

Pannette: Female barbarian with an aggressive side that she's trying to quash so she can become a proper lady. Oh and she's cosplaying as a zombie for absolutely no reason. Yeah, I think this one will be to my liking. I just wish she were buffer. C'mon, they already got "moe with massive axe" covered with baby Anna. Why can't I get a buff axe girl?

Mauvier: Vandad, but with the bad guys.

I am cautiously optimistic for:

Yunaka: The design is an eyesore and I can see her outward personality traits getting on my nerves, but her death quote and Nintendo World Report's summary of her promise some interesting potential. I'll give her a shot.

Zelkov: He looks badass, but I'm not usually that fond of the edgelord types. That being said, his snippet of dialogue portraying him as a bored dork did seem more interesting than your usual edgelord. And he really does look badass.

Rosado: Like everyone else is saying, pretty much. He has potential to be excellent, but I really don't trust IntSys to handle him well. Most likely, he's just going to be Forrest 2. And I mean, I like Forrest, but Forrest 2 and nothing else would be kinda lame. And of course, if they waste him by doing the same awful "haha I actually goy" gag that everyone's seen a thousand times on every one of his C supports, I'm going to be really disappointed.

Amber: This can go one of two ways. He's either going to make me laugh to tears every time he's on screen, OR he's going to fall flat on his face and I'm going to yawn in his general direction. I am super finnicky when it comes to humor, especially very... intentional humor like this, so I'm not really sure. Depends on how hard he tries. Personal experience would seem to indicate that for me, the more someone tries to be funny, the less they make me laugh.

Clanne: Probably not the kind of character that will impress me much, but I like mages and I like green.

I have little hopes for:

The monarchs: Not because I expect to dislike them, but because I expect to like them, only to watch them die two cutscenes after their introduction so that their generic anime teen children can feel extra motivated to join me or something. Sfoglia in particular is going to hurt, I've only seen a poorly lit mugshot of her and I already love her.

Zephia: The design is the worst in the game and I'm not sure if I'm feeling what little we've seen of her personality and voice acting. To be completely honest, she gives me p*rn game character vibes lol. Like she belongs in one of those sketchy ads nobody ever clicks on. There could be more to her, but... Eh, I don't know. I expect I'll be more of a fan of the characters surrounding her. I will give her this, though - Pikazo's countdown art for her is absolutely god-tier. If only she looked that intimidating ingame.

Alcryst: Yeaaah not feeling this one. "Sorry Prince that performs an anime jump to fall into an apologetic prostrate position" just doesn't seem like the kind of character that's going to move me, and he has to compete with Etie.

I don't need to play the game to know he's the best character:

 

[Sooks]

I wanna clarify this by saying that I haven’t super closely followed Engage news and character reveals, and I’m sure there are some I never saw/will completely forget about. So I’m not as up to speed about every single character as everyone else probably is. That being said…

I have high hopes for:

Timerra is looking like the best right now. She’s like, the dream character:

-She’s way darker than any character from any previous FE GAME (to my knowledge)

-She’s a woman of color who seems to be at least somewhat important to the story, if the opening is anything to go by

-Her outfit I didn’t like at first, but it’s just so much fun. It’s grown on me.

-She’s a lance infantry, which is super cool. It’s something I’ve always loved and wanted to see more of.

-She seems to come with the Ike emblem, who is one of the few lords in this series I have some sort of opinion of (a positive one, albeit I still haven’t played Radiant Dawn)

-Her personality seems fun.

I am in heaven with this character. But anyway,

Alear: Such a unique design for a lord from this series, and if I like their character is even a little bit as unique, they’ll definitely be peak FE protagonist.

Diamant: I love his design and how everything about him (apart from his age) and his country screams: “I’d usually be evil and our country would be invading, but it’ll be different this game”. Also, I simp for red.

Boucheron and Etie: They just seem like fun and ginger-orange and green is a cool combo.

Seadall: MALE DANCER MALE DANCER MALE DANCER

Ivy and Hortensia: Magic fliers, and Hortensia seems fun

I am cautiously optimistic for:

Alcryst: his archetype for me is either amazing or annoying with very little gray area, and I think he looks cool. I haven’t seen any of his dialogue though.

Fogado: Uniquely dark for the series, and I usually like his archetype. However, he seems to be pretty similar to Claude at a glance, who I did not like, so… we’ll see.

Lapis: I really like her design but I’m not used to FE writing her type of character well, I don’t really know to describe it?

Jade: same as above

Zelkov: I have no idea what to think about this man other than that he looks really unique.

I expect to dislike:

Vander: FE‘s jagens are usually too similar to each other and bland for me to like them. I want to actually have an older character in FE who I like, but if his character is “I’m old, and also my honor as knight” with nothing interesting then… Well, I really WANT to like Vander. Let’s put it that way. His age does already give him a leg up, if nothing else.

Clanne: Something about him just seems boring to me. Can’t really put a finger on it.

[Armagon]

Eh tbh, this isn't really the sort of game where i'm expecting the writing to be good. I simply want some fun times.

That being said, i'm most interested in Ivy and Hortensia purely because i want to see how they 180 from being the bad guys to being the good guys. Also Timerra.

Yeah that's about it really. I can't say there's a character i'd dislike yet.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I have high hopes for:

• Louis, seems like a chill dude.
• Diamant, looks pretty cool.
• Fogado, seems like a chill AND cool dude.
• Merrin, please don't mess up the first character of what should be an AWESOME CLASS.

I'm cautiously hopeful for:

• Alfred, please don't be creepy, please don't be creepy.
• Chloe, please don't be Camilla levels of "adoring" someone.
• Amber, looks kinda fun maybe.
• Alcryst, hopefully you're more similar to someone like Azelle and Ignatz.
• Ivy, something about her says I should maybe like her, but I dunno?

I expect to dislike:

• Etie, she's just going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
• Citrinne, you're going to be an even more trope-y Maribelle, aren't you?
• Lapis, no wait YOU'RE going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
• Hortensia, oh goodness you're going to annoy me aren't you.
• Roasado, OH GOSH no YOU'RE going to annoy me, you're like every annoying character I loathe combined into one!

[Fabulously Olivier]

I have high hopes for:

* Princess Merrinoke the wolf rider

* Louis, who is definitely not armored Linhardt.

* Diamante, one of the few actual Fire Emblem characters in this game.

* Alcryst - who seems like Takumi without the anger issues.

* Fogado is totally just Zeke from Xenoblade.

* Citrinne - I for one really like Maribelle's type.

* Seadall - I tend to like the Navarre types.

 

I'm cautiously hopeful for:

* Amber's got a good design, but the full personality remains to be seen.

* Jade seems to have a fair amount of depth.

* Zelkov's playing the straight man in a nation of absolute clowns, and I hope he pulls it off.

* Goldmary's confidence/narcissism could either ruin her shy archetype, or improve it.

* Pandreo ... so, he's basically Kevin Graham. That has potential.

 

I expect to dislike:

* I already dislike Hortensia, and her simps are the actual worst. 

* Panette... another one for the "you're not even a Fire Emblem character" pile.

* Timerra's likely to be too high energy for my liking.

* I second the fear that Rosado will be incredibly annoying, and probably executed poorly.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Fabulously Olivier

[Metal Flash]

Characters I expect to like:

Diamante: great design, neat personality, feels like he belongs in FE

Citrinne: she looks to be a neat character, hope her relation to the princes is expanded upon. Great design too

Alfred: always love me a *good prince character

Celine: always love me a *good princess character

Amber: looks to be a fun character

Characters I am unsure of:

Ivy: her as a enemy and her as a ally, from what has been shown, seems like two entirely different characters

Rosado: I fear his love of cute things, including himself it seems, could make him very one note and, at worst, really annoying

Fogado: nothing about him seems bad so far, but nothing has really impressed me either. Design is good at least

Alcryst:: his over the top apologies could get old quickly, and his self-deprication could suffer the same fate

Panette: the way Timerra describes her in the snippet we saw on Twitter makes me worried she could end up like Constance, one side being a fairly polite lady, the other being a loudmouthed punk that tells others to "get bent!", with supports alternating between the two moods

Chloe: part of me worries her love of fairytales could end up like Nina`s yaoi obsession

Characters I am expecting to dislike:

Hortensia: a loudmothed, obnoxious brat? No thanks. Not a fan of her design either

Bunet: seems pretty boring, with his gimmick being "I cook"

Cramme/Framme: looks like they`re gonna be Alear simps that worship the very ground they stand on, while also being obsessive fans that demand to know every detail about the Divine Dragon

The Four Hounds: might be cheating, but nothing I`ve read or seen regarding them has given me a positive impression. 

 

*Good, as in, is a good person

[Hiroki]

This topic sounds fun, and you say interesting things. Let me do it too!

 

Characters I think I'll like :

-Diamant : Typical FE lord, strong looking and future King. Serious, fair and everything. Plus, I like the red of Brodia sooo. Gives me Roy or Ike vibes.

-Jade : An armor girl, she seems serious and may be powerful. I kind of like her already, and may plan to make her Sword General (still nostalgic of the Generals with swords in FE8)

-Citrinne: I like her design, and she's a mage. She's related to the royalty of her Kingdom. She seems interesting enough to me.

-Boucheron: Big muscle guy. I like this archetype in general, ahah!

-Anna: I always like Anna, even if her interaction are usually not good. This ones gives me hopes. Plus, she's tiny with big axes, might be fun.

-Timerra: Cool-looking, fun-looking girl from the desert, probably loving to dances. She's also a Lance Lord, pretty rare in the saga. I always liked the Lance Lords! 

-Etie: I really want to like this archer girl! Archer-girls kind of always been a thing in my armies. She likes to bodybuild, which can be fun, and she's a redhead! Only reasons to like her!

-Lumera: Dragon Mother. No need to say more. Even if she's just a NPC.

-Eve: The Queen as I imagine her to be. Can't say more, ahah! Even if she's just a NPC.

Spoiler

Saphir: So cool looking old knight woman! Love her already. Really hope she's playable (and have good stats)

 

Characters I'm still unsure about :

-Alear: Not so sure about this one. I'm not really fan of the male design, the female one is "okay" I guess. I really hope they have a good personality!

-Céline: At first I wouldn't even lay an eye on her. But since she can wield big ass sword in her cute outfit, I find her fun. May make it.

-Yunaka: At first wasn't really fond of her, but maybe, little by little, as I think she would be my thief, I kind of look at her differently. Plus, bio make me think she might be more deep...

-Ivy: Little by little, I start to appreciate her looking. I really hope she's as bitchy as she looks. If she's suddenly too kind, I might be disappointed.

-Lapis: Still unsure if I like or dislike her design. I hope she can be my "mercenary"/hero, as I always liked them.

 

Characters I already dislike (and plan to ditch away as soon as possible, yeah, I'm a monster) :

-Alcryst: I don't like him, at first. I always disliked characters like Ignatz or so. Plus, what we saw from his firs encounter with Alear....definitely ditched.

-Jean: I don't like him either, or his archetype. Never a fan of Donnel, or those young kids with great prowess. Gives me too strong anime vibes.

-Alfred: At first, I didn't have anything specific against him, I just didn't like his design. But now, I saw a bit of dialogue with Boucheron, and he gives me bad vibes. Ahah!

-Hortensia: I don't like her design. Too much for me. And her personality seems annoying from my viewpoint.

-Zelkov: I don't like his edgy design. I don't really know about his personality, but I can't force myself to see something else than an edge-lord in his corner, being too dark for "people to understand". 

[szechuan]

Characters I think I'll like:

- Fogado: Handsome, funny and nice mount archer class. His design is one of the best. Would romance if possible.

- Goldmary: Pretty armor, cool name, underrated class. I like all Elusians really.

- Rosado: Incredibly cute, I don't even care if he's Forrest 2.0, feminine straight men deserve to exist too. I think him being a wyvern rider is super cool too.

- Kagetsu: I like my token fake Nippon character.

- Timerra: Same as his brother. She has the best design and looks the most likeable of all royals.

Celine, Etie, Citrinne, Panette, Seadall and the twins also have appealing designs. All four hounds also look awesome and I wish they become playable.

Characters I'm still unsure about :

- Ivy: She has potential, but I fear she's just going to be waifu material but without the campiness of Camila.

- Alcryst: I like his design, but if he ends up as annoying and coward as Bernadetta it's going to get tired real soon.

Diamant, Yunaka, Boucheron, Lapis, Hortensia, Louis, Bunet and Merrin are all OK or neutral. I need to know Kagetsu's personality to know if he's just going to be too edgy or not.

Characters I already dislike:

- Vander: most disappointing character; I really disliked him since the first leak and I'M a bara fan. He just looks like a child with a beard on. I'd rather have just young characters because Engage style really can't handle mature characters.

- Jade: I hate the "le professional hard-working warrior woman" trope. It doesn't help that she has an absurdly ugly ponytail and, like most post-3H, she suffers from same-eye-and-hair-colour syndrome...

- Pandreo: super ugly colour palette, strangely uncomfortable face, ugly armor design. In general, healer units are boring.

- The alpaca guy: he is going to be such a bench warmer.

- Alfred: as most people have said, there is something wrong about this fake Dimitri attempt.

Loli Anna (unless she's hilarious) and Jean are also incredibly unappealing characters to me.

 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by szechuan

[Saint Rubenio]

53 minutes ago, szechuan said:

I'd rather have just young characters because Engage style really can't handle mature characters.

While I disagree with your assessment of Vandad... Let's not forget these two exist. Of course, they're super unlikely to be playable, but... hey!

Also, three pages of the official artbook were leaked just yesterday. If you don't mind delving into leaked territory a bit, check this out. See if you like it better.

Leaked images of Engage's artbook ahead. All things considered it's minor spoilers, but click at your own risk.

Spoiler

I mean, sure, she looks a bit like an older Jade, but "dark-skinned old woman knight" is like, everything I never knew I needed from this series.

And then we just regular old guy Lindon.

These two are likely to be playable, by the way, judging by the stamp and their placement right next to fellow playables Yunaka and Anna, respectively.

 

[szechuan]

13 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

While I disagree with your assessment of Vandad... Let's not forget these two exist. Of course, they're super unlikely to be playable, but... hey!

Also, three pages of the official artbook were leaked just yesterday. If you don't mind delving into leaked territory a bit, check this out. See if you like it better.

Leaked images of Engage's artbook ahead. All things considered it's minor spoilers, but click at your own risk.

  Reveal hidden contents

I mean, sure, she looks a bit like an older Jade, but "dark-skinned old woman knight" is like, everything I never knew I needed from this series.

And then we just regular old guy Lindon.

These two are likely to be playable, by the way, judging by the stamp and their placement right next to fellow playables Yunaka and Anna, respectively.

 

Morion and Hyacinth look fine! Morion is very well executed, although both are quite "plain". And about the leaked characters:

Spoiler

Saphir looks wonderful; older women are so refreshing in video games. But the priest? He has exactly the same problem as Vander: grey hair and beard suggests 40-50+ years (and him being a consacrated priest would suggest even older age), but their skin, weirdly full eyelashes and complexion make them look no older than 24, and the beard looks very poorly implemented, as tends to happen in 3D anime.

 

[Sidereal Wraith]

In all honesty I’m not holding out much hope for Engage’s cast, they seem dull as dishwater to me. Prime example:

Take a shot every time you heard the words kind, loving, gentle, energetic or any similar words/synonyms to describe the cast. There’s just no grit or gravitas within the cast, they just seem likable but otherwise boring. Maybe I should just stick to Glen Cook’s Dread Empire series or Brian Lumley’s Tales from the Primal Earth to find interesting or endearing characters. Mayhap Howard as well?

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Sidereal Wraith

[Saint Rubenio]

3 hours ago, szechuan said:

Morion and Hyacinth look fine! Morion is very well executed, although both are quite "plain".

Well, depending on one's tastes, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I guess since they are obviously fated to die they felt they were allowed to make them look old. Only NPCs can be old.

3 hours ago, szechuan said:

And about the leaked characters:

  Hide contents

Saphir looks wonderful; older women are so refreshing in video games. But the priest? He has exactly the same problem as Vander: grey hair and beard suggests 40-50+ years (and him being a consacrated priest would suggest even older age), but their skin, weirdly full eyelashes and complexion make them look no older than 24, and the beard looks very poorly implemented, as tends to happen in 3D anime.

 

 

Spoiler

Yeah, I guess I can see it. I suppose I don't mind it as much, though maybe I'm just happy that they remembered that old people with beards exist and am willing to overlook the little goofs. And hey to be completely fair, this guy being an Engage priest means he's going to punch people to protect himself. Even in his old age he's keeping in shape!

Glad you enjoy Saphir at least, though! I agree, we need more old women in videogames. So awesome FE is getting another one. After all these years, Niime finally has a friend! And I love that she's not Niime 2, either. By the look of her she's actually going to be a physical badass. She probably won't be the community's top character, but she's likely to be in my heart.

 

[Crubat]

18 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I guess since they are obviously fated to die they felt they were allowed to make them look old. Only NPCs can be old.

I want morion to be playable so bad I need him in my army, if he ends up dying I'm gonna be so upset ;-;

[Maimishou]

Interesting topic. I'm too lazy to do everyone so I'll stick to those who are on the official NA site.

I have high hopes for:

Diamant: His design is cool as hell. He looks a bit moody in the image on the official site but the site mentions that he's strong and genuine so maybe we as the player just need to get to know him better first. Still, with a design that cool I'm looking forward to playing with him.

Ivy: What can I say but she's hot? Easily my favorite female design in the game if not my favorite design so far period. And she starts out as a villain? Yes, please!

Anna: Gremlin!Anna is a major cutie. Need I say more? As long as she doesn't join the group too late/isn't too hard to recruit and as long as there's an Emblem I think will synergize well with her she'll definitely be on my team.

I am catuously optomistic for:

Alear: I like their designs well enough and they can't be worse than Byleth. I expect them to be at minimum Birthright!Male!Corrin tier, which is fine, but hopefully they'll be better than that.

Spoiler

Lumera: Rumor has it that she's playable and I don't know if that's true or not, but her design is nice enough from what I've seen of it.  Everything's setting her up to be another Mikoto though. How much I like her beyond her design remains to be seen but if the game handles things properly I could at least feel bad for her death.

Framme: She's a cutie! Not much more to say about her than that but I hear she does hand to hand combat and that's cool Will depend on how she's handled.

Timerra: She's a cutie but she's described as bubbly and outgoing which can either go well or go super badly. I do like what they've shown of her in the NA trailers so far, but I need to see more.

Spoiler

Veyle: Rumor has it that she's a villain though I don't think it's been confirmed either way. She's definitely cute though and depending on her characterization I'll either love her or hate her.

I expect to dislike:

Alfred: I like his design but the stuff people have mentioned in this thread about him sounds offputting. Hopefully we're all wrong though and we've just got a bad impression.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Maimishou

[KoriCongo]

High Hopes:

Framme: I liked the peppy, overly-attached punch monk since I first seen her. The girl puts Alear on such a hilarious pedestal, I can't help but love her.

Vander: I'm not someone that likes using Jagens or the entire archetype on a writing-level, but Vander feels like he has a lot of potential in both being able to benefit from reclassing and the survivor's guilt he has in being unable to protect Lumera. Plus I actually do like the Drake-from-Pokemon-Black/White beard, even if its modeling ain't the greatest.

Louis: The more I see him talk, the more I love his whole people watching gimmick. He has this rather eloquent manner that I can imagine make all his interactions hilarious, plus I NEED to see his support with Chloe, the war between the Twilight-fan versus the Yuri-stan needs to happen!

Yunaka: I never got the complaints about her design and I love how it is on a spy instead of a mage. I get the feeling she's meant to be older than she appears, so the design actually makes sense in a "hiding her true age" act. Really, there's a lot of mysteries to Yunaka and I hope they delve deep into the whole "Would Start an International Incident Between Firene and Brodia if Word Got Out I Stole the Micaiah Emblem" deal, even if it only matters in her support.

Diamant: The man looks like he already been through one Fire Emblem game! I may hate his personal skill, but I really do love his design and attitude. Plus he excels at reusing Alm's animations, he makes it look really snazzy!

Timerra: Speaking of pep! I just love everything about her since the debut trailer! She feels like a fun mix between L'Arachel and Elise, and I love her being a lance fighter (though I did wish she was a dancer...). Only real complaint is that I liked her JP name Misutira better.

Kagetsu: So I'm kind of hoping the dude actually does come from the Deeprealms/Hoshido, it would genuinely make me laugh, even if I don't like Fates. He also seems to be a great unit too, and I love the Vergil-esque iaijutsu slash he gets with criticals (or at least Swordmasters. BURY THE LIGHT DEEP WITHIN!!!)

Alear: I'm actually kind of captivated on the mystery of them, as well as their rather terse and hostile attitude towards their foe. A lot of people write off avatars as just self-indulgent pandering, but I always appreciate a good mysterious backstory with them that doesn't step on my ability to roleplay with them, i.e. CHARNAME of Baldur's Gate. I may not get the latter, but I can at least get the former. Also I never hated the hair. Male Alear's suit is really bad, but Female only have the bad boots. Otherwise, their design is pretty fun!

Hortensia: Admittedly its fueled by contrarianism, but I never got the complaints about her design. She feels like she was designed as a pure antagonist first, and then added in as a recruitable unit later, and I think that's actually pretty rad. I don't mind her being kind of bratty, and I like the idea she will have fun interactions with everyone, being so feisty and fashion-obssessed.

Zelkov: Loved this dude from the initial leaks, I like how much of a tryhard he comes off with his 'speech pattern' and 'methodology'. His personal skill also looks like 'a blast'.

Low Hopes:

The Emblems: I don't expect many of the Bond Conversations or even Somniel Interactions to be particularly enlightening. There's a lot of genuine fun you can have with having all these protagonists with similar ideas but different approaches to them, but I don't think IntSys will pull the trigger on having them properly interact and discuss their failings. It doesn't help a good portion of them already were lacking in personality traits to begin with. At least I am kind of glad that Sigurd looks like he recognizes Leif as his nephew.

Alfred: I appreciate him being a musclebro, but it isn't much of a fun gimmick for me. Do appreciate Boucheron not being into it, though! That's fun.

Bunet: For a game that people make fun of for its wild designs and "GENERIC ANIME GACHA GAME LOOK", it is amazing how they still make someone look as forgettable as Bunet. Maybe he'll have some fun cooking knowledge, but it isn't much of something that will provide fun clashes in interactions.

The Voice Acting: The English Dub sounds a hell of a lot more phoned-in than Three Houses. Everyone from the previews sounds like they believe it is a GENERIC ANIME GACHA GAME and just don't this game justice. I don't really play in JP dubs, I usually tough it out despite my loathing of modern VAs, but I genuinely think some characters will leave a poor impression just by voice alone.

[Etrurian emperor]

Mixed feelings: Pandreo

On one hand the concept of a wacky, party throwing priest sounds really fun. On the other hand his design is really unappealing. The grey suit and orange hair just don't mix well together. Also I'm kinda annoyed that everyone from Solm outside the royal siblings seem to be white. 

[Sentinel07]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:42 PM, KoriCongo said:

The Voice Acting: The English Dub sounds a hell of a lot more phoned-in than Three Houses. Everyone from the previews sounds like they believe it is a GENERIC ANIME GACHA GAME and just don't this game justice. I don't really play in JP dubs, I usually tough it out despite my loathing of modern VAs, but I genuinely think some characters will leave a poor impression just by voice alone.

Even I'm not overly impressed so far and I'm an ardent defender of English VA's 99% of the time. But, after the spectacular English voice acting in Echoes, Three Houses, and Three Hopes, Engage's cast doesn't sound very impressive.

Alfred's voice especially was one big "ooph" when I heard it in the Heroes trailer.

[Etrurian emperor]

I think Heroes improved my opinion on Alfred a bit. So far him being a dumb blonde with no common sense is actually kinda endearing. 

[Seazas]

Alfred will singlehandedly improve the reception of Firene and I'm here for it. Dude's a really fun character, I can see why Celine calls him a barbarian. 

[mildmanakete]

I expect Goldmary to be perfect and the best, I will cry if she’s not (aka if she’s unlikeable). 
Other than that I’m excited for Yunaka because she seems to have some mystery to her character. 
Anna seems like a fresh take on the archetype and I hope they flesh out her character (or at least make her not just a gimmick)
Im looking forward to seeing Horentsia and Rosado, they seem like such fun characters and I can’t wait to see the group dynamic (Goldmary included). 

[ShadyCat]

High hopes:

Zelkov: I like edgy goth characters and he does seem to have some fun things going on, so I look forward to meeting him!

Goldmary: She was one of many to me at first but her EN battle lines and VA

Spoiler

in chapter 7

really won me over. Plus, her being described as timid but also loving herself is an interesting combo.

Rosado: I think it's fun that he's arrogant about being the cutest and kind of a jerk. Also really like his English voice.

Alcryst: Like the design, like what I have seen of his personality and another good English voice.

Ivy: The contrast between how she acts in battle and the snippets of her supports is very intriguing. Based on the leaks, some people have also said that 

Spoiler

she is the best written character

so that makes me very excited for her!

Yunaka: Initially she was only that thief girls who's design I disliked, but the Nintendo World Review Q & A made me really interested in her, plus one screenshot from her support with 

Spoiler

Citrine.

 

Mixed:

Diamant: I know a lot of people already love him and he looks primed to be THE favorite but I'm worried that he will be just noble, honorable, kinda serious etc. like Ryoma in Fates and that's it. Ryoma is easily the most boring main-ish character in modern FE games to me. On the other hand, leaks 

Spoiler

make him sound kind of dorky

so there's hope yet.

Kagetsu: Love his design but I fear he might annoy me. I like energetic dudes but hopefully the writers strike the right balance.

Celine: She's cute but I worry that she'll be only boringly wholesome and tea-obsessed and that's it. Basically, I like nice girl princess types but it's easy to make them bland paragons of virtue and cuteness.

Panette: Her reactions in her official support snippet with Timerra are really charming. Her past self is interesting, too, just hope it's balanced well with her current self.

Negative:

AMBER: Tbh official previews already make me fear that his alpaca gimmick will be driven into the ground in the most obnoxious way possible. 

Spoiler

Some comments on his supports have not alleviated that fear.

Bunet: Way to make him look bland marketing!

Boucheron: Is there more to him than wholesome big guy? Also, don't like his design.

Etie: Dislike her design and she seems like Effie but instead she's also a petite oujo.

Edited January 18, 2023 by ShadyCat

[Etrurian emperor]

It seems fun to see how my expectations turned out

Alfred: Seems I was worried for nothing. So far he's just a consistently lovable goofball, and his muscle fetish doesn't remind me of Soleil at all.
The twins: They sure aren't the most interesting ones out there, but they sure are lovable. Just as I expected
Alcryst: He's a character of high and lows. He doesn't have the low self esteem of Ignatz which I find endearing, but the low self esteem of Marianne which I find irritating, and he seems to have brought Bernie's sense of dignity along for the ride too. On the other hand he's got a very nice dynamic with his family, plenty of moments where he shows bravery and heart, and he's very sweet to his retainers.
Burnet: Oh god he even talks with food puns. He's about as dull as I expected. 
Timerra: She sure isn't particularly interesting but she sure is lovable. About what I expected. 
Hortensia: So far I like her. She's a good kid. I liked how she seemed kinda chummy with Alear and co at first meeting, and seemed to consider it more a game. Then she gets a real taste of war and grows up.
Rosado: I haven't recruited him yet but his loyalty to Hortensia is rather sweet, being supportive to her when she's sad, and very angry at those making her sad.
Citrinne: She's about as good as I expected. Very sweet and with a nice dynamic with other characters. She has a low key gimmick at being obliviously privileged but most time in supports is devoted to her self doubt, and loyalty to Brodia. 

[Fire Emblem Fan]

On 1/13/2023 at 7:59 PM, Fire Emblem Fan said:

I have high hopes for:

• Louis, seems like a chill dude.
• Diamant, looks pretty cool.
• Fogado, seems like a chill AND cool dude.
• Merrin, please don't mess up the first character of what should be an AWESOME CLASS.

I'm cautiously hopeful for:

• Alfred, please don't be creepy, please don't be creepy.
• Chloe, please don't be Camilla levels of "adoring" someone.
• Amber, looks kinda fun maybe.
• Alcryst, hopefully you're more similar to someone like Azelle and Ignatz.
• Ivy, something about her says I should maybe like her, but I dunno?

I expect to dislike:

• Etie, she's just going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
• Citrinne, you're going to be an even more trope-y Maribelle, aren't you?
• Lapis, no wait YOU'RE going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
• Hortensia, oh goodness you're going to annoy me aren't you.
• Roasado, OH GOSH no YOU'RE going to annoy me, you're like every annoying character I loathe combined into one!

I have high hopes for:

• Louis, seems like a chill dude.
  • Louis was...fine. I didn't dislike him, but he wasn't a favorite or anything.
• Diamant, looks pretty cool.
  • I liked Diamant.
• Fogado, seems like a chill AND cool dude.
  • I liked Fogado.
• Merrin, please don't mess up the first character of what should be an AWESOME CLASS.
  • I liked Merrin.

I'm cautiously hopeful for:

• Alfred, please don't be creepy, please don't be creepy.
  • I'm very mixed on Alfred. He has moments of being fine, but then you see things like in his C support with Boucheron and it's like...no, I don't like that.
• Chloe, please don't be Camilla levels of "adoring" someone.
  • I ended up liking Chloe, none of her quirks seemed too much or over-the-top for me.
• Amber, looks kinda fun maybe.
  • Ehhhhh nah, he's not bad but absolutely nowhere near a favorite.
• Alcryst, hopefully you're more similar to someone like Azelle and Ignatz.
  • I liked Alcryst.
• Ivy, something about her says I should maybe like her, but I dunno?
  • I liked Ivy.

I expect to dislike:

• Etie, she's just going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
  • I indeed did not care for Etie, but not as strongly as I'd expected.
• Citrinne, you're going to be an even more trope-y Maribelle, aren't you?
  • I liked Citrinne, she surprised me.
• Lapis, no wait YOU'RE going to be another "I'M A STRONG GIIIIIIRL WITH A SMALL BODYYYYY" character.
  • I also kinda liked Lapis, she also surprised me.
• Hortensia, oh goodness you're going to annoy me aren't you.
  • YUP really DO NOT like you.
• Roasado, OH GOSH no YOU'RE going to annoy me, you're like every annoying character I loathe combined into one!
  • YUP, also really DO NOT like you.