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McTimmy posted:Me. I care. That's why I posted it.
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Jan 1, 2021 14:58
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Finished up everything in the Extras menu. I'm glad I played VW first, as it does a great job of presenting the overarching story and also has good drip-fed "mystery" between Claude, Byleth, and Seteth/Flayn. CF is probably my favorite route. I like that it is actually different than VW/SS/AM, which all have their own things going on (especially AM) but tend to hit the same beats and battles. I was a little worried this route would just be "be the baddies!", but it was incredibly justified, as early as the scene right after you make the big choice. "Oh, you are hesitant about murdering someone you spent the last year guiding and protecting? I guess I'll have to rip your heart out." Rhea is absolutely more of a villain than Edelgard is. SS was good as a kind of neutral/basic story. I was worried it would seem like a watered down VW, but if anything, it made more sense. Claude's story had no business being so entwined with that of the Church. I really wish this route had had a "choice" mechanic where you could approach and recruit Claude or Dimitri post-timeskip and then the other saw that as an aggression to give a reason for hostilities. I was quite disappointed in AM at the start because it was just so similar to SS and VW but with added emo Dimitri. But it really picks up after Gronder Field, and nothing in the game hit me as hard as when Dedue shows up during the battle at the Bridge of Myrdin. God drat, that was satisfying. I guess the only thing I have left to do is to beat New Game on Maddening for the title screen change, but I'm not sure if I will be able to.
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Jan 1, 2021 20:23
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I do think that outside of SS, the game actually does a good job where no matter what route order you go it all kinda works. You either solve more mysteries, explore more character motivations, or get as close to a happy ending for as many people as possible. I did CF > AM > VW and was overall fairly pleased, I think? I think in terms of the three routes I like CF > VW > AM, but I think I'm not completely objective on that since I was burned out pretty hard on VW. If they'd made the Monastery stuff a lot less draining on a second or third time go around I'd be higher on the game. As is, I got my three non-SS routes done and I don't think I'll be touching it for a while.
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Jan 1, 2021 20:27
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I've played through all of the routes--aside from SS--multiple times, and I think VW is still my overall favorite. I'm not sure why exactly, but I think it may ultimately be because AM and CF feel very focused on the respective lords. AM really feels likes Dimitri's route, and it even feels kind of weird that some of the students on that route stuck with him instead of turning against him. (I'm mostly thinking of Felix.) And while Dimitri's personal story of healing and redemption is really great, it feels like the other students are just tagging along in some ways to me. CF has kind of the same problem. Like, the way they wrote Edelgard and the slow unveiling of her vulnerable side to the player-insert Byleth really makes you feel for her. But again, it feels a little like the other students are just tagging along. A lot of the characters in CF don't really feel like they should realistically be drawn to Edelgard's plans, and the way the game kind of explains it away with "Byleth is just so mysteriously charismatic" feels unsatisfying. VW is the one route where it really feels to me like it makes sense that the whole team is going along for the ride. It actually feels to me like it makes sense that all of the Golden Deer students would want to follow Claude and Byleth.
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Jan 1, 2021 23:04
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Ferdinand and Petra would go along in CF due to politics I guess. Dorothea and Bernadetta just want the war to end, and Caspar and Linhardt don't really care which side they're on as long as they get to punch and sleep. It definitely feels like the least unified house, with the only real common thread being that most of them have important noble dads.
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Jan 1, 2021 23:24
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mastajake posted:I guess the only thing I have left to do is to beat New Game on Maddening for the title screen change, but I'm not sure if I will be able to. the real question is mostly just that would you find following a pretty rigid strategy where you continually abuse all your best options with little room for experimentation fun
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Jan 1, 2021 23:49
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ApplesandOranges posted:Ferdinand and Petra would go along in CF due to politics I guess. Dorothea and Bernadetta just want the war to end, and Caspar and Linhardt don't really care which side they're on as long as they get to punch and sleep. It definitely feels like the least unified house, with the only real common thread being that most of them have important noble dads. Ferdinand does not like his father and his whole thing is advising Edelgard. Petra just wants to see Brigid recognized as an equal not a vassal and Edelgard has promised her this. Bernie feels the most out of place, but again she's no fan of her own father and the Eagles end up her friends by the end of the first half. Dorothea isn't a fan of war but given Edelgard's message about ending the nobility system, she's all for that. Caspar and Lin are just kind of around, but notably both their fathers side with Edelgard. The only one I can really see breaking away for ideological reasons is Ferdie, but it's not like he's a fan of the church or other nations before his own. As well in his timeskip supports, he very much is for directly confronting something and trying to work it out rather than more covert means, so you can easily see him reasoning that even if he's initially against the war, running away does nothing to change Edelgard's mind while he can convince her at her side.
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Jan 2, 2021 00:25
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Amppelix posted:well ok, better question then: why Because I wanted to weigh in with my opinions to trigger a release of internal chemicals and derive pleasure from my actions.
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Jan 2, 2021 01:16
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Inu posted:A lot of the characters in CF don't really feel like they should realistically be drawn to Edelgard's plans, and the way the game kind of explains it away with "Byleth is just so mysteriously charismatic" feels unsatisfying. Edelgard is the only non-Byleth character to do actual recruiting work. She offers Petra, Dorothea and Bernie the one thing they want the most, and if you don't recruit Hanneman or Manuela, they join her forces (though they only show up in an AM paralogue). Ferdinand makes it pretty clear he would rather counsel Edelgard than fight her. Linhardt and Caspar are probably the weakest links, but they have even less reason to go join any of the other sides. There's also a whole sideplot that mostly shows up in supports about how crests have a large influence on people's personalities. Flayn and Linhardt are both attention deficit narcoleptics, Ferdinand and Seteth are both thoroughly wholesome dudes who tend a bit towards the overbearing, etc. Byleth and Edelgard are the ones with a crest of flame, and they are also the only ones who manage to inspire absolute loyalty in relative strangers.
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Jan 2, 2021 05:07
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Honestly half the point is that nearly everyone is written to have reasonable motivations for fighting for either side, Byleth serves as an active tipping point as the professor who guides them all.
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Jan 2, 2021 05:25
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Zulily Zoetrope posted:
Wow. I totally never even noticed that. And Bernadetta's crest is the same as the giant turtle who retreated from the world too! That's actually a really cool detail that flew right over my head.
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Jan 2, 2021 14:27
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Zulily Zoetrope posted:Edelgard is the only non-Byleth character to do actual recruiting work. She offers Petra, Dorothea and Bernie the one thing they want the most, and if you don't recruit Hanneman or Manuela, they join her forces (though they only show up in an AM paralogue). Ferdinand makes it pretty clear he would rather counsel Edelgard than fight her. Linhardt and Caspar are probably the weakest links, but they have even less reason to go join any of the other sides. Lysithea and Catherine are both... caught out in the rain a whole lot?
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Jan 2, 2021 14:46
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Inu posted:Wow. I totally never even noticed that. And Bernadetta's crest is the same as the giant turtle who retreated from the world too! That's actually a really cool detail that flew right over my head. That's actually directly pointed out in her support with Seteth, too! Deltasquid posted:Lysithea and Catherine are both... caught out in the rain a whole lot? There doesn't seem to be as strong a link between the crusader crests as the saint ones, but that might also be because Lysithea is the only person who shares those crests with others and her having two crests kind of dominates her supports.
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Jan 2, 2021 15:04
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Lysithea and war criminal McGee are both aggressive as all hell. Lys might have a frail body from mad science, but her supports involve her constantly picking fights over nothing.
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Jan 2, 2021 15:23
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Weird, in looking at this i had no idea the crests were each based on a major Arcana card of the tarot.
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Jan 2, 2021 15:24
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Zulily Zoetrope posted:Edelgard is the only non-Byleth character to do actual recruiting work. She offers Petra, Dorothea and Bernie the one thing they want the most, and if you don't recruit Hanneman or Manuela, they join her forces (though they only show up in an AM paralogue). Ferdinand makes it pretty clear he would rather counsel Edelgard than fight her. Linhardt and Caspar are probably the weakest links, but they have even less reason to go join any of the other sides. Manuela appears in the main story too, she appears as an enemy in the throne room map. I think Hanneman is just restricted to the paralogue though. Linhardt has enough reason to stray I think, he's really big into Crest research and the BEs only have the Crests of the Four Saints and none of the Ten Elites. Plus Marianne/Lysithea's situations would give him a compelling reason to jump to the GD.
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Jan 2, 2021 15:26
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Linhardt has plenty of reason to side with Edelgard over siding with the Church. I just don't see why he'd side with anyone at all. Does he really believe in any of these causes enough to die for them?
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Jan 2, 2021 15:27
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Nah he just really wants to nap. If he was a bit less ethical and didn't mind abandoning whatever class he ends up in he would probably have just buggered off to who knows where to sleep the war away. As is, the five-year promise is what brought him back to Garreg Mach in the first place so he's got some sentiment.
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Jan 2, 2021 15:47
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Some characters, especially in CF, especially mention they only joined a side because of the professor. Ignaz and Raphael for example only join because of that and since they are not nobles, even being from the Alliance they just don´t care as long as they follow the professor (in Raphael's case is sister being safe) Linhardt in all routes besides CF states right way he's only in Garreg Mach because of the professor. Some others are a cross between Byleth and character motivations that involve what they think of what Edelgard is doing vs how do Dimitri and Claude do things.
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Jan 2, 2021 16:12
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Sylvain's father is mentioned to also have been a huge womanizer, and Catherine and Lysithea are both very aggressive. Rhea and Edelgard are both leaders, and arguably Jeralt fits in there as well. I always thought Ferdinand and Seteth the odd crest pair out, because their personalities are very different. My personal theory is that Seteth used to be just as obsessed with surpassing Rhea as Ferdinand is with Edelgard, but mellowed out over time. DLC supports also mention that Timotheus was able to control demonic beasts and I think that Noa also had some sort of dual personality going on?
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Jan 2, 2021 16:26
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nrook posted:Linhardt has plenty of reason to side with Edelgard over siding with the Church. I just don't see why he'd side with anyone at all. Does he really believe in any of these causes enough to die for them? Plenty of time to nap if he just warps people to the front lines for that one turn boss clear.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:16
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Idk, Linhardt always struck me as lazy but with a strong moral compass. I can buy him joining whichever faction seems the most morally just/most convenient/most likely to achieve swift victory, and as the son of a prominent Empire politician I doubt he has the option of just loving off and hiding. He’s safest in a haven of politics close to the action rather than being a bargaining chip waiting to be kidnapped, either by the Church or by the Empire depending on which route he joins.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:25
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Cloacamazing! posted:Sylvain's father is mentioned to also have been a huge womanizer, and Catherine and Lysithea are both very aggressive. Rhea and Edelgard are both leaders, and arguably Jeralt fits in there as well. I always thought Ferdinand and Seteth the odd crest pair out, because their personalities are very different. My personal theory is that Seteth used to be just as obsessed with surpassing Rhea as Ferdinand is with Edelgard, but mellowed out over time. Either that or Ferdie is destined to become an extremely overprotective dad.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:33
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Deltasquid posted:Idk, Linhardt always struck me as lazy but with a strong moral compass. I can buy him joining whichever faction seems the most morally just/most convenient/most likely to achieve swift victory, and as the son of a prominent Empire politician I doubt he has the option of just loving off and hiding. He’s safest in a haven of politics close to the action rather than being a bargaining chip waiting to be kidnapped, either by the Church or by the Empire depending on which route he joins. He feels pretty strongly about whichever group he winds up with. He's a pacifist that can't stand the sight of blood, but he'll kill for his chosen side.
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Jan 2, 2021 20:12
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Melomane Mallet posted:Either that or Ferdie is destined to become an extremely overprotective dad. I can just imagine Ferdie talking to Flayn and saying something like “man I bet Seteth would be a really cool dad” and her just staring at him
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Jan 3, 2021 00:52
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Ferdinand and Flayn's supports are mostly about how they are insanely attracted to each other for reasons neither party quite understands. It's quite, uh, I guess Freudian would be the nicest term.
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Jan 3, 2021 01:04
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Zulily Zoetrope posted:That's actually directly pointed out in her support with Seteth, too! I only got that support chain once, a while back. I'd forgotten about that. But yeah, Seteth does directly compare Bernadetta with the Indech. I could imagine Ferdinand being an overprotective dad. "You may only date those who live up to the ideals of nobility!" "But dad, no one can live up to your ideals!" "Exactly."
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Jan 3, 2021 02:37
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You know Seteth also marries someone obsessed with fishing. Anyway, I can't believe IS made Byleth and Ferdinand canon.
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Jan 3, 2021 02:41
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Tired Moritz posted:You know Seteth also marries someone obsessed with fishing. His supports with Leonie are underrated, I agree. 
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Jan 3, 2021 07:29
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Tired Moritz posted:Anyway, I can't believe IS made Byleth and Ferdinand canon. Wait, what?
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Jan 3, 2021 07:50
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There should be a flashing banner in the OP that reads “don’t pick normal mode if you’ve ever played a video game before in your life.”
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Jan 3, 2021 17:13
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Ogmius815 posted:There should be a flashing banner in the OP that reads “don’t pick normal mode if you’ve ever played a video game before in your life.” Every game needs a games journalist difficulty.
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Jan 3, 2021 18:01
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seriously? you're doing the dunking on games journalists thing? that was never actually cool but it's even more embarrassing in 2021
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Jan 3, 2021 18:16
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You see, it's all about difficulty for gaming journalists...
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Jan 3, 2021 18:22
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The real problem is there should be a difficulty inbetween hard and maddening.
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Jan 3, 2021 18:23
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We need a "conquest hard" difficulty that gives every enemy seal strength, life + death and hex staves
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Jan 3, 2021 18:30
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Amppelix posted:seriously? you're doing the dunking on games journalists thing? that was never actually cool but it's even more embarrassing in 2021 Just imagine I'm posting the video of the guy failing at doom. Also it's always cool to dunk on those ad writers.
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Jan 3, 2021 18:40
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nrook posted:We need a "conquest hard" difficulty that gives every enemy seal strength, life + death and hex staves Actually yes.
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Jan 3, 2021 18:57
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I played on normal first time and it was fine. Would I do it again? no, I play on hard now. Would I recommend it to others new to the series? maybe?? yeah, it's easy, you can up it at any time, which is good, but do you feel actual superiority for not having played a game on the easiest difficulty? There's a reason games have easy modes and it's a) for accessibility in games without accessibility options and b) for people who just want the story and not the fights, which is fine
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Jan 4, 2021 00:59
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Ogmius815 posted:There should be a flashing banner in the OP that reads “don’t pick normal mode if you’ve ever played a video game before in your life.” No offense, but hard disagree. I could see recommending starting with Hard to anyone who has ever played an FE game before, but FE3H was my first FE, and I'm glad I played on Normal first. I didn't understand half the mechanics in the game for most of my playthrough, and there are some mechanics I didn't actually get until my second playthrough. Normal mode let me enjoy my first playthrough without feeling overly frustrated by mechanics that seemed obtuse at the time. Like, as an example, I had played Civilization games before, so when I went into FE3H, my instinct was to choose my unit and click on the enemy unit to attack them. FE3H has the shortcut to let you do this, which I've found out since then earlier FEs didn't have, but I didn't really realize that I also had the option to move a unit where I wanted them, and THEN chose attack once they were in position until part way through my first playthrough. (Probably after I started getting archer and sniper units I bet.) This example probably sounds really stupid to anyone familiar with the series, but if I--someone who has played lots of video games--made this mistake, I bet other people could have too. Video games have a language to them, and if you aren't familiar with the genre, it can be surprisingly hard to decode. I remember being surprised to find out that mages couldn't heal themselves too. Obviously, it didn't take long to realize that this was how the game worked, but it was initially jarring for me because all of the previous RPGs I had played always had the option for people with healing spells to heal themselves. Having dabbled in other FEs since then though, I've realized that this is just an FE tradition. But it was not immediately obvious to me as someone who came to the game with knowledge of other game series.
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Jan 4, 2021 01:30
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