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Tactician's Log: velthomer: an fe13 post/realization/idk Read More Okay putting my own...

eltshan:

velthomer:

an fe13 post/realization/idk

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Okay putting my own thoughts to this.

I know I technically gave ‘robin’ a name change and made Allium into her own character instead, but she’s still that tactician. This is reason why I even did that. It feels like what could have been…

This whole deal sounds like a lot of effort being put in to being disappointed…

I’ve never played Fire Emblem games for their incredibly compelling storylines, because they have never had that. Sure, some are better or worse than others, but rarely do they ever manage to pull some twist on me that was actually surprising or weave a dastardly complicated plot (Though, nice work Feroxipals!) I’m not expecting that from the series so I’m not disappointed when it isn’t there.

I play the games for the difficulty, strategy required, and the characters themselves.  What the series lacks in overall plot, it makes up for in building character relationships through Supports. There are a few flop Supports in Awakening, but considering the magnitude of them (Dozens per character, rather than 1 dozen or less per character in earlier games) it’s to be expected. I was thrilled to learn you could have tons of Supports.

Yes, I agree that I would have loved to see more inside MU’s head, but even so I love my MU’s. I have two, the first is my Hard mode Male MU(Connor) and the second is my Female MU(Meryn) on Lunatic… because Hard was too easy. Both of them honestly feel like two wholly different characters to me, despite the fact that they have almost identical dialogue throughout the game. How does that happen? It happens because I get to choose what’s important to them. It’s part of having a custom character, the part beyond the initial creation.
On the surface, anyone can go through the effort of maxing out the MU’s supports with every single character on two files and they’d be pretty much the same other than having different spouses. I define my MU as unique compared to other MUs by focusing on the Supports that matter, the ones that develop naturally over the course of the campaign. I’ve continued to build supports (because duh, I want to see them) but I put less emphasis on them. I actually appreciate the ability to go “lol that’s not important”.

For example,Connor never happened across the Supports with Lon’qu, but Meryn went through both his and Chrom’s, which uncovered her penchant for solving problems by throwing nearby objects at them. Connor doesn’t have that character quirk, so it’s one of the many ways they are different from each other. You can do this with each member of the cast. I like that.

The end result is a protagonist that is neither a blank slate nor fully developed. Like has been said, there is an interesting skeleton holding up Robin/MU, and I honestly believe it was a deliberate choice to have the player’s fill the rest in. It both personalizes your experience and makes replays more enjoyable.
So it is sort of a shame we never really get to go into depth about MU’s struggles and thought processes, explore MU and Chrom’s classically tragic relationship… but I’m kinda happy about that.

Why? Because the more the creators developed Robin/MU’s personal storyline, character development, and psyche, the less room there is for the player to make each MU their own.
 It’s true, a lot of the cast need a lot of effort put into them to feel like complete characters. Rather than see that as a flaw, I enjoy that. I like to believe I’m an imaginative guy, so I appreciate the opportunity to use it to make a game more personal to me. I believe it was intended, and I like it even if it wasn’t. It reinforces the main theme: the importance of the bonds you forge with people and how strong they are. If you were to play the game without building Supports it would be significantly less entertaining. Supports are what makes the game more enjoyable and really bring the characters to life. WHICH supports, and how significant they are, is up to you. The game asks for some mental legwork on the player’s part, which I am happy to give.

I don’t think of the end decision of the MU as their most defining moment, the one to remember them by. No, it is in things like the difference between my MUs at Lucina’s dramatic confrontation outside Plegia Castle. How Connor, traumatized by his recent discovery, followed Lucina’s logic and consented to her request where Meryn, facing her own daughter, chose instead to believe in another way and trusted Lucina to help her find it. It’s in how the voice of the love of her life gave Meryn the strength to break through insurmountable darkness. How Connor can call his best friend Brother. How he looks weary all the time (from all that is constantly on his mind) but is still full of smiles.

There would be a lot gained if FE13 really dove deep into the plight of the MU and Chrom, I don’t deny it at all. But instead of that we were delivered a game that let us explore the other traits of our characters and define them the way we want to. Having to fill in the blanks may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is certainly mine.