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    Fire Emblem Berwick Saga - Astra Animation

    January 17, 2022

    Fire Emblem Berwick Saga - Astra Animation

    Berwick Saga - Astra Animation

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 06:51 PM PST

    Florina spinning hand-in-hand (hoof?) with Huey! (commission by @Reartity on Twitter)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 05:58 AM PST

    Muirne (FE4)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 11:55 AM PST

    Nephenee (Commission requested by u/labmemb3r009)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 10:58 PM PST

    Seeing past Those Who Slither in the Dark [OC]

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:55 PM PST

    Simple Felix sketch (By me)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 07:23 PM PST

    [OC] Thief Yarne

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 10:07 AM PST

    Has anyone seen or made any art related to the FE7/8 sage glyph? Looking for some tattoo inspiration

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 10:28 PM PST

    Byleth was announced for SSBU today 2 years ago

    Posted: 15 Jan 2022 11:42 PM PST

    Stained glass of Edelgard, the second in my series of doing all the house leaders from three houses

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 05:40 PM PST

    Fates: was the story as bad as people say? Part 8: Revelation [2/2]

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:09 AM PST

    Hello chaps.

    We last left off with Hoshidans and Nohrians, including all eight siblings from both nations, joining Corrin's group at the Bottomless Canyon to enter Valla by jumping into the canyon. You would think that convincing people to jump into a dark abyss would be difficult, but it isn't. Corrin explains the curse (once again raising questions of the limitations of said curse, especially as /u/GameBooColor pointed out last post Corrin says Anankos' name outside of Valla, meaning the curse can very easily be worked around) and says they're ready to explain everything despite the risk of death by bubbles so that Ryoma and Xander can jump in and save the day without the protagonist. Corrin believes sacrificing themselves to explain this to Ryoma and Xander might be necessary in order to convince everyone gathered there to jump.

    This leads to the following conversation:

    Scarlet: Ya big goofball. You really can't figure out what your big brothers are telling you? They want you to order them to jump off the bridge—not ask nicely.

    Corrin: What?

    Ryoma: Listen, Corrin. We've decided to trust you, no matter what. Now you need to trust us—trust that we will follow your orders.

    Xander: Exactly. If we had any doubt about you, we would never have come here.

    Ryoma: You're our little brother/sister. We wouldn't turn our backs on you now.

    Azura: Corrin, we should hurry. I sense something...strange down below.

    Corrin: Understood.

    I'm still not over people going from considering Corrin a traitor to jumping into an abyss before them (and even wanting to be ordered to do so, according to Scarlet!), but almost as confusing is Azura being able to "sense" something from below. If you'll recall, Camilla also sensed something otherworldly from Garon earlier in Revelation. Where does this sense come from and why do they have that ability? Honestly, Fates has so many of these odd throwaway lines we're likely not supposed to think too hard about but once you examine the script like this they become real headscratchers.

    Corrin: It's time to go, everyone! Jump down into the canyon! This is the first step to peace!

    ...And sometimes they just sound funny on their own.

    Oh, and like mentioned last post, Azura is consistently ignored. The siblings are here because of Corrin's actions and they're ready to jump into the abyss for Corrin's sake, but Azura's contributions are neglected and her entire character ignored.

    On their way down the canyon, Corrin and Scarlet get attacked by a mysterious figure sentencing them to death in the name of the King of Valla. Scarlet sacrifices herself for Corrin, who safely reaches Valla. The gang is immediately attacked by a Vallite mage and her forces, but she's repelled and Ryoma mourns Scarlet. Considering that a character just died and the group traveled to another world/supernatural kingdom, this chapter has a surprisingly short script.

    Chapter 19 begins with Azura explaining what Valla is and who Anankos is. Azura confirms Garon and Sumeragi knew about Valla and that royalty from both their countries visited Valla. Question: if the country is so peaceful, wouldn't some people from Valla live in the outside world? Furthermore, wouldn't there be written records of Valla, especially if they send gifts to the royal families of Nohr and Hoshido? I just find it difficult to believe all knowledge of the place would vanish within less than a generation, curse or no.

    Azura goes on to explain that Garon is merely a puppet as seen in Conquest, and the reactions to it are mild, with Leo immediately concluding it makes sense and neither Camilla nor Elise saying a word. As we discussed in the last part, the bloated cast and Revelation's limited time to actually develop these kinds of things mean that the route is blazing past all of these important things. Given how easy it was to convince Leo and Xander of this, if that overhearing a particularly crazy evil monologue helped, I will say that I find it unlikely they'd be so reluctant to believe Azura and Corrin explaining the Garon situation in Conquest, once again reinforcing the idea that the invasion of Hoshido was for nothing.

    Continuing the exposition, Azura says she's a princess of Valla and then:

    Azura: Yes, though there is no longer a royal family to belong to... Anankos killed my father and then turned himself loose on Valla, devastating it. My mother took me and fled. Everything I have told you about Valla I learned from my mother during our exile.

    How on earth did Arete tell Azura all of this? I guess they could've gone back to Valla, but Fates has thus far said that Arete both died in defense of Nohr and that she died to the curse; does Azura mean Arete telling her about Valla is the same as defending Nohr? Did Arete know about the curse, and if so, did she know how much time she'd have before she disappeared? Given that it only works outside of Valla it seems unlikely she would've been able to know the details of it. And if Valla was so dangerous that all its denizens died, why did Azura go there so frequently, as stated in Conquest?

    I know Conquest chapter 15 and Revelation chapter seven did more than enough to demonstrate just how poorly realized Valla, Anankos and the curse are. However, I think it's important to demonstrate just how many questions - not just nitpicks either mind you, but ones that have to do with the very premise of the plot - come from what are supposed to be explanations. The curse is and has always been a small band-aid on the gaping wound that is Fates' structure; it is ostensibly the single reason as to why there is more than one route, yet as Fates continuously demonstrates, all it leads to are questions upon questions upon questions, and the game refuses to both ask and answer them.

    Back to the plot. The group then runs into fan favorite Anthony, a boy who's being chased by some Vallites. He says he served Anankos as a page and after talking for a bit he's convinced to show them the way to the dragon's castle.

    Once more, when the exposition stops, the script of the chapters is very short and can't compare even with earlier chapters of the same route. Despite Revelation having so many characters to utilize and plot threads to tie up, there's very little dialogue and practically all of it deals with the immediate matters at hand.

    Anthony leads our heroes across a shaky bridge and Takumi almost falls. Xander thinks this was a deliberate assassination attempt and tries to cut Anthony down, but Corrin steps in. The Nohrian siblings try telling the protagonist they're being naive, but Xander also says that their belief in other people is what made this army possible, and so he accepts Corrin's judgement but also warns them not to be too trusting or else they'll be betrayed.

    So in the next chapter Corrin gets betrayed by Anthony. However, Corrin left a note behind, so all the siblings come rushing to the protagonist's aid.

    Anthony gets transformed into a Faceless, which begs one question: if Anthony was indeed a living human, couldn't Anankos just turn all the playable characters into Faceless? This is the same issue as the overpowered curse; he could just change the settings and make it take out anyone who says the word "what" and he'd win.

    The post battle conversation for this map features perhaps some of the most infamous dialogue in the series.

    Xander: Hmmm. Corrin, I told you before. Your tendency to trust people is your greatest weakness. But if you stop doing that, you wouldn't be you. And then...I wouldn't be able to follow your lead anymore.

    Ryoma: So basically, you need to keep on believing in people. Anything bad that comes from it...you can count on us to handle.

    Corrin was too trusting, as they themselves say, but Xander and Ryoma practically tell Corrin not to change. While the game unlikely intends it, the lines come across as actively stopping any character development on the protagonist's part. The Anthony "arc" lasts for two chapters, doesn't really advance the story in any way other than getting the group closer to Anankos, and actively stifles any growth from the protagonist. In essence, it's two filler chapters despite the Valla section of the plot only having 10 full chapters.

    Speaking of filler, the next chapter might have the shortest script of any chapter in Fates and boils down to Arete walking up to the group saying "Hello, I'm Anankos' servant. I'm also Azura's dead mum.", only to get beaten back and Azura going "yupp, she looks like mum but that's not her." I implore you all to read the script of chapter 22 once you're done here, because if there ever was a map equivalent of a shrug, this is it.

    Chapter 23 brings up the topic of who killed Scarlet as you were falling down the canyon, which in chapter terms took longer than for Xander to join Corrin after calling them a traitor. Ryoma believes someone in the group is the assassin, and here's one of those points where I must talk about the gameplay: I'm not sure any player didn't figure out Gunter is the killer. I mean, in Conquest he could have supports, but here he can't. He's also strangely active in the plot despite being mentioned once after his death in Birthright and relegated to the sidelines after a dramatic save in Conquest. Even with that in mind, only five maps remain, and this plotline has been ignored for four whole chapters, so Fates' priorities seem to be elsewhere anyway.

    I also want to point out just how common it is for Fates to temporarily include a traitor in your ranks or center a map/mini arc around them: Hans (prologue), Zola (Birthright), Flora (Birthright), Takumi (Birthright, involuntarily), Kotaro (Conquest), Anthony (Revelation), Gunter (Revelation). This feels so incredibly lazy and it's part of the problem with having a main character like Corrin who lacks agency and rarely initiates fights nor plans ahead. These cheap surprises are meant to add drama, sometimes even with an unnecessary death thrown into the mix to provoke a reaction, and it pads out the game length while adding next to nothing to the overall story.

    Chapter 23 is also the start of the "dead parents arc". Conquest had you face the Hoshidan siblings neatly four chapters in a row to savor the dramatic effect at the cost of logistics and logic, and here the enemies are Arete, Mikoto, and Sumeragi. The structure is basically the same, with each of them getting a map to themselves. They're mostly mind-controlled puppets of Anankos until they're defeated, at which point they are free enough to hold an emotional dying speech. There are several major issues with this setup that I want to address before discussing what these dying speeches are actually about:

    1) We don't know these characters. We saw Mikoto briefly but Arete and Sumeragi are strangers. The emotional impact these short speeches can have is minimal at best. Even if you argue they're important for the main characters...well, we don't know them very well either, and they get very little time to say anything.

    2) Even if you disagree and think there is emotional value to be had from these speeches, running three of them back to back is an atrocious idea as you begin thinking about the predictable structure of it rather than any emotional resonance. It feels like checking boxes of a list.

    3) The Nohrians are completely unrelated to these speeches, and the main plot doesn't advance either. You're just walking towards Anankos and the Hoshidans get some closure while the Nohrians temporarily disappear.

    So, what do the dead parents say? Well, Arete merely says she loves Azura and is glad she got to see her again. It's very short, very basic, and no new info is given. Mikoto, on the other hand, says she was born in Valla, that Arete was her older sister and that Corrin is part of the Valla royal line. This means that Azura and Corrin are cousins and that the protagonist isn't related to their Hoshidan siblings as they've been led to believe for a while now. This is never once acknowledged despite how important the family feud is supposed to be in Fates. This should be a major revelation (gott'em) but it isn't, same as in Birthright, only this time Corrin also ignores their actual blood related family member as well.

    But wait, this information only gets more unnecessarily confusing when building upon what comes next. So, with Mikoto, the Hoshidan siblings got about two lines each to say goodbye, but Sumeragi's focus is almost exclusively on Corrin. In his dying speech, he says:

    Sumeragi: Hah, such a forgiving young man/woman... ...Corrin, did you find Mikoto?

    Corrin: Yes, we did...

    Sumeragi: That's good. Though I loved her dearly, my time with her was so brief... I'll never forget the day we first met. She'd traveled alone to Hoshido from Valla. When I saw her, standing by the lake... I knew immediately that I was in love. Sometime later, after Anankos had taken over Valla, Mikoto fled to Hoshido. She brought with her a newborn child. That child was you, Corrin. Ugh... What a disgrace. I'm nothing more than a Vallite puppet now. At least I can spend my last moments with all of you. All of my children, all grown up... I'm so glad we could meet again.

    Did you catch that? If not, then allow me to try and explain the situation as presented by the game: Mikoto and Sumeragi meet and the latter falls instantly in love. When Mikoto later flees Valla, she's got baby Corrin with her. Easy peasy to understand, right?

    However, as you'll know, in a sibling set of five, Corrin is the middle child. Corrin is also unrelated to all the other four Hoshidan siblings. Do you see what I'm starting to get at? This means that after Mikoto came to Hoshido with a baby, Sumeragi had two more children with his first wife, called Ikona, and she keeps having Sumeragi's kids. She must've died shortly after Sakura was born, and then Mikoto takes on the mother role and is also welcomed by the Hoshidan people as queen with open arms, as she seems to be popular despite being a newcomer who showed up just a short time before both Ikona and later Sumeragi died (Corrin's lineage doesn't seem to be in question or an issue either). Mikoto completely replaces Ikona's existence and the game all but unpersons Ikona, keeping any references of her to below a minimum.

    It's possible Sumeragi took Mikoto in as a concubine, but why is this so vague? Either Sumeragi cheated, which makes him an asshole, took Mikoto as a concubine, which is what Garon does and it's framed in a negative light, or Ikona was completely fine with being replaced. None of these options reflect well on the characters involved in this.

    Together with Zola and the red shirts in Conquest chapter 18 who were killed just for doing their job, I think Ikona may be the single most screwed over character in Fates.

    And why was this whole mess necessary? Couldn't Corrin at least have been blood related to Takumi and Sakura, which would've made a lot more sense at least as far as the timeline is concerned? Nope! That'd mean two S supports less. Because that is likely what this all boils down to. It's not like Corrin cares about not being related to the Hoshidans, as evidenced by their lack of reaction and even acknowledgement here.

    Can I ask one more thing? What are the odds that Arete and Mikoto are, to our knowledge, the only two adult survivors outside of Valla and also end up becoming queens of Nohr and Hoshido? I mean, even ignoring the astronomical chance of that happening, and ignoring Garon's concubines and Sumeragi's actual wife (which are two huge things to just set aside, don't misunderstand me), it hardly feels like something two people fleeing a crazy god with their infant children would do. Feels kind of high profile.

    Also, one last thing: how did Sumeragi know Mikoto had traveled from Valla? Could you talk about Valla back then? If so, why did only the royal families of Hoshido and Nohr know about it, as implied by Azura earlier?

    So, now that Anankos has kindly provided closure to Azura, Corrin, and the Hoshidans, it's time to deal with Gunter and Anankos. Our heroes walk into an empty throne room of the Valla castle. Soon afterwards, the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings get attacked by a spell, but not Azura and Corrin. Gunter tries to pin the blame on Azura and Corrin since they're part of the Vallite royal family, but Corrin turns it around by revealing that Gunter revealed information earlier which he shouldn't have known if he hadn't been the attacker.

    Gunter reveals himself to be the "King of Valla" and goes full villain mode.

    Corrin: And how about why? Why would you betray us... Why would you kill Scarlet?

    Gunter: That's simple: I don't like you. I can't stand your belief in the good in everyone. I decided that I would tear every last bit of innocence away from you.

    "I killed this unrelated character because I don't like you" is basically Iago territory. Even so, didn't Scarlet shield Corrin? I don't think Gunter ever actively targeted her, so not only does Gunter's answer not make much sense, Corrin is also asking the wrong question. And what's more, if Gunter had this kind of power, why did he stop attacking and hide until now? Couldn't he have stabbed them in the back during a fight?

    Once defeated, Azura sings a song and Corrin breaks through to Gunter with a friendship speech. This allows Gunter to stab himself and release himself of Anankos' hold over him. However, in a rare case of healing working in a cutscene, Gunter survives and can explain why he embraced Anankos.

    Gunter: Lord/Lady Corrin... Yes, I can hear you. Do you recall when I told you that I declined King Garon's gift? How he offered dragon's blood, but I refused? It offended him greatly. So much that he had my wife and child killed.

    Corrin: ...That's horrible.

    Gunter: He didn't stop there. Once my family was dead, everyone in my town was also killed.

    I didn't go into much detail about this before, so let's dive into it now. To start with, Gunter's offer to drink dragon blood is the first and only time we've heard about this process. What exactly would it entail? Would it be Garon's blood, or would it come straight from Anankos? If Garon had the ability to power people up with dragon blood, which is often what happens when characters in Fire Emblem are descended from people who got a similar offer, wouldn't he do so more often as it'd improve the strength of his army?

    I'm also in awe that Nohr manages to conquer anything considering the land is barely hospitable (and also cursed), but its king arbitrarily kills off his own people and is rebelled against on multiple fronts.

    Corrin: ...But...why?

    Gunter: I ask myself that, every day. I cannot understand the minds of royals. To you all, we commoners are little more than pawns in your schemes... Or weeds to be killed on a whim.

    Corrin: That's not true...

    Xander: Is that how people view the royalty?

    Ryoma: Such an impression would easily breed powerful resentment...

    So, I think this is supposed to be some kind of political commentary...? At the end of the final path. Or maybe it's just a hamfisted excuse for the Gunter twist. Regardless, I think the dialogue here is also incredibly bizarre too; Xander and Ryoma seem to think this is some kind of misunderstanding and that royals aren't like that at all. However, in Xander's case, hasn't he seen and heard enough about Garon and his ilk to know that this should be happening regularly? I mean Leo's line in Conquest about all the Nohrian siblings stealthily disobeying Garon's orders seems to imply as much.

    Basically...

    Gunter: I was treated badly, so I hate you and I'm a bad guy now.

    Corrin: We didn't do a bad thing...

    Xander: We did a bad thing?

    Ryoma: I can see why doing bad things would make people dislike you.

    This dialogue is asinine and, I don't know, childish? Characters in Fates feel like an AI's approximation of how humans talk, but essential pieces are missing.

    Moving on, Gunter says this:

    Gunter: After my family was killed, I vowed to get revenge on Nohr and on King Garon. I helped raise you just to further my own goals. I only befriended you to use you against the man who took everything from me.

    Corrin: That's...OK. I understand, Gunter.

    Gunter: ...What?

    Corrin: Whatever your motivations, you stayed by my side and helped me. Your intentions may have been dark, but you were still good to me.

    Corrin: You'll always be important to me.

    Gunter: But, I... I killed Scarlet...

    Corrin: I know, but you were under the control of Anankos. You weren't you. If you truly wish to atone for what you've done, you must live. Live for Scarlet's sake. Live for the family that was taken from you. I need you to help me fight Anankos. To protect all the people he could still hurt.

    Do we know how much of this was Gunter and how much was Anankos? Forgiveness being given so easily in this game is one of those contributing reasons to why everyone feels so lifeless. Ryoma doesn't say a word about Scarlet here, and Corrin doesn't mind Gunter, a man they grew up with, having been around purely for selfish reasons. Also, how exactly did Gunter plan to use Corrin, again? Corrin was locked inside a fortress most of their life, and we saw none of Gunter's scheming in the prologue nor in Conquest.

    And now perhaps to the most important question of this chapter: what was the point of any of this? The assassination subplot was forgotten for a long period of time, Gunter being the culprit was obvious thanks not only due to the writing but also because of gameplay mechanics, and it gets resolved neatly in one chapter, right before the final boss. The subplot has no real thematic, character or story value, meaning it was likely added to increase the tension of the journey to Anankos, but surely a dragon as powerful as him would have a stronger presence on his home turf than acting through Gunter for the few chapters where the plot remembers to make use of him or even acknowledge there being an assassin in their ranks.

    At long last, our heroes reach Anankos, who starts whining over humans thriving while he's left alone. We know the guy is crazy and the Rainbow Sage told us about dragon degeneration, but like...does he have to be so pathetic? Maybe it's just meant to be sad and it's like you're taking a pet to get euthanized, but this is the true big bad. The one responsible for manipulating (I use that term VERY generously) the Nohrian royalty into attacking Hoshido, someone who has been scheming to take over the world above (?) while remaining hidden. Maybe I was wrong to expect more than whining and stock evil monologue.

    Corrin's sword transforms into the Fire Emblem by linking together with their brothers' legendary weapons. They defeat Anankos, who says he needs more power.

    ...And Garon is teleported there.

    ...And he gets eaten. To power up Anankos.

    This is one of the most out there scenes in all of Fire Emblem and it really doesn't get enough attention for what an utter trainwreck it is. Assuming the war ends with Anankos' death, Garon was the one single loose plot thread back in Hoshido and Nohr. Rather than leaving anything open to interpretation or an epilogue, Garon, I repeat, gets teleported to the true big bad and eaten. He doesn't even have time to hold a dying monologue, and the Nohrian siblings get one line each reacting to his death. As is tradition in Fates, one thing gets thrown onto the wall to see if it sticks, but before even making sure that it does, it's on to the next thing.

    Xander, as is also tradition at this point, says something strange:

    Xander: After all that we've suffered... We lose our father as well?

    Not to sound callous, but what have the Nohrians lost at this point? Hans and Iago? Sure, there has been fighting between Hoshido and Nohr, so a generous interpretation is that Xander is talking about the casualties of the war. But, like...there has been zero attention put on them. In Valla, all we see are the royal siblings, Azura, Corrin, Gunter, and a very warped family tree.

    Anyway, the final chapter is also shorter than one would have assumed. The siblings say they'll die, Corrin says they'll win if they believe in themselves, and they do, in fact, win. Our heroes express their relief, and then the scene changes to the Valla throne room where Corrin is crowned the new monarch of Valla.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was released on the sixth of December in 2004. It is infamous for some bigwigs pushing for it to be released in time for Christmas. After its "climax", the game basically teleports you from one place to another as the entire game sort of unravels. This was mildly alleviated by a fan patch restoring some lost content released many years later, but there is still a long list out there of content that never made it into the game simply because Obsidian didn't get the time they needed.

    Oh, I'm sorry, was that a sudden change in topic? I just felt like writing about something else while resting my neck after the massive flipping whiplash Revelation just gave me. Even with KotOR II being rushed out the gate despite the developers' protests, the writing of the game is generally top notch even for people who aren't fans of Star Wars like me, and it mostly remains thematically consistent and features a well-thought-out cast of characters who all have something to contribute to the overarching story. Fates lacks any of this, so when the entire cast is suddenly standing in the Valla throme room, I can't help but think that the infamously unfinished KotOR II has a more coherent ending.

    Corrin's coronation in Valla is perhaps the single strangest scene I've personally ever seen in any game that tries to tell a serious story. Not once did this come up, outside of mentioning in passing that Corrin is part of the Valla royal family. But, like, the country is dead! Azura is also alive! You can't just make the protagonist the king or queen of an otherworldly country locked underneath a magical gate with all its inhabitants dead without any sort of planning or preparation! And what happened to the shifting skies which would keep Valla sort of sealed for a few vague decades or so?

    Corrin: All right... I want to thank King Ryoma and King Xander for their generous gifts of land.

    Right. Land donations. Of course. They can't stay in Valla, so Xander and Ryoma literally create a country for Corrin to rule over. Why would they do this?!

    Corrin: Thanks to them, we've been able to rebuild the kingdom of Valla.

    Sorry, "have been able"? As in perfect tense, implying something happened in the past with a focus on the result in the present rather than the action itself? In other words, Valla is, at present, fixed. Didn't you just kill a dragon god? I didn't realize the rest of the army was cleaning up Valla, or doing construction work in the new land Ryoma and Xander donated.

    I understand a time skip is implied since Ryoma and Xander are referred to as kings, but couldn't they at the very least fade to black and write "a few months later" or something? The way the game transitions into this scene you'd think they walked from fighting to Anankos to this, and it's honestly what I thought before reading the script again now. At least that explains the crown; would've been awkward for someone to have carried with them in case of an emergency coronation.

    Corrin: I pledge to be a king/queen that believes in his/her people and works for their betterment.

    Ryoma: I doubt you need to make that pledge, Corrin. We all know what kind of person you are.

    Xander: I agree. You will certainly become the king/queen you speak of.

    But why? Why are you doing this? Why is this necessary? And why would Corrin be a good monarch because they're a good person? I thought Revelation more than any route established that they're naive and guillable.

    Corrin: No, I mean it. It's a bit late to be saying this now, but...are you sure you're OK with this? By all rights, you should be the leader of Valla.

    Azura: No, this is the way it should be. I've never been much of a leader. And you are the reason we were able to end the fighting and stop Anankos. You were chosen by the Yato. Obviously it believes in you.

    So, uh, Camilla doesn't want to become queen in Birthright, Hinoka has to become queen in Conquest because her brothers are dead, and here Azura says she doesn't want to be queen because of Corrin's magic sword. This is a very, very concerning pattern.

    Azura then performs the one song she knows and says this about the lyrics:

    Azura: Yes. I think that it may not have even been written by humans. If I had to guess, I'd say that Anankos was its author. It contains such strong emotions. Maybe he knew that he'd lose his mind one day and wrote the song to help us. A song meant for those to come... Those who would save him with death. At least, that's how I look at the song now.

    I've always wondered, if Anankos knew he'd be crazy and created an elaborate plan for others to kill him, why did he make it so needlessly complicated and why didn't he kill himself? The Rainbow Sage could die whenever he wanted, so there's precedence.

    It also wouldn't be a Fates route if Azura didn't finish it by telling you to buy more content to find out more. Sure the world is saved but don't you want to know the backstory of Anankos and his suicide song?! If so, pay up!

    The game then ends with a cutscene of the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings gathered, with Ryoma and Xander vowing to peace and "swearing to Corrin". I've got little to say here except remark how awkward it is when Elise and Sakura giggle for such an extended period of time.

    And...that's it. All the main routes have been analyzed now, but like I mentioned before, analyzing Revelation is tough. The first chapter dumps all relevant exposition on you, the next 10 or so chapters mostly retread old ground and have you pick up the siblings, and the next 10 chapters have you trekking through Valla to go to Anankos. The latter half of the route also has very short chapters, with nameless bosses and little in terms of actual main story progression outside of the characters getting physically closer to their goal. Even the assassin subplot is ignored for five out of 10 Valla chapters, and it ends with a whimper.

    And, like always, questions that should be asked aren't. Despite offering so little in terms of subplot and main plot progression, Corrin doesn't even ask who their father is after Mikoto reveals they're part of the Valla royal family. And why is that? Likely to sell more DLC. Because even though this is the golden ending, they chose to confirm that Corrin is Anankos' child in DLC, despite the fact that it should have been of monumental importance for the Revelation route. Instead...nothing. And I think that summarizes Revelation well: it's nothing.

    From a certain point of view, Revelation renders Birthright and Conquest obsolete in terms of story value, as even if you choose them, you'll always know that you picked a bad ending. Anankos will still be alive, Corrin won't know about him, at least one legendary weapon wielder will be dead, and so he'll always be able to come back.

    Despite the fact that the day is saved, practically all characters living through the conflict, and most secrets being uncovered, it's hard to feel like the characters have accomplished something. Revelation feels like a compromise, to make sure that there was always a right answer to the conflict, but as has been thoroughly dissected in this analysis, nothing about Valla and the lore surrounding it make any sense and simply retroactively make the other two routes even worse, and they did not need any more issues.

    Thanks for reading this far! All the main routes are finished, but I'm still planning on writing a wrap-up of the main routes and discuss common issues, themes, and more. I'll then move on to supports and DLC. I hope read those analyses as well!

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    Almedha

    Posted: 17 Jan 2022 12:15 AM PST

    Sunrise Edelgard

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 03:21 AM PST

    Lucina as Xingqiu from Genshin Impact and vice versa!!

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 07:08 PM PST

    "The King Killer" (Tellius Spoilers)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 06:33 PM PST

    I made a funny lil anim. Get styled on

    Posted: 15 Jan 2022 07:14 PM PST

    I drew a funny

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:56 PM PST

    Fire Emblem Heroes : Voice Clips - Of Lost Kingdoms (Naliah, Karla, Xane, Azura & Leanne Duo)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:51 PM PST

    Linhardt sketch (by me)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:36 PM PST

    Commissioned by Ignatz’ and Marianne’s voice actors to draw their paralogue!

    Posted: 15 Jan 2022 10:46 AM PST

    Fire Emblem Heroes : Voice Clips - Resplendent Heroes #48 (Florina)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:52 PM PST

    “Hair THIS good takes a lot of combing, y’know!” Hero Severa drawn by me~

    Posted: 15 Jan 2022 07:00 PM PST

    my dimitri fanart from 2021, oil on canvas

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 07:44 AM PST

    Fire Emblem Heroes : Voice Clips - Deen: Bladed Sandstorm (TT+ "To Sing to You" Reward)

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:52 PM PST

    Binding Blade and Blazing Blade Ranked Runs

    Posted: 16 Jan 2022 11:26 PM PST

    I know ranked runs are not particularly popular, but they're my favorite way to play my favorite FE games. I especially like getting as many Tactician Stars as possible in Blazing Blade. The bonus that they provide may be negligible, but I do like making crits on my units less likely, even if just by a percentage point or two...

    Anyway, I'm curious if anyone else has any interest in ranked runs for any of the Fire Emblem games, and if so, any interesting anecdotes about them.

    I think the most interesting thing I have to say about my experience with ranked runs was my realization, about halfway through my first attempt at Eliwood Hard Mode, that in order to maintain 5-star Experience without compromising my Tactics through arena abuse, I had to use pretty much everybody on the Hard Modes.

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