Can Fire Emblem Engage's Characters Take Themselves Seriously?

with the new Fire Emblem game comes a new Intrigue over how the cast is written fact of the matter is unless you're the Lord or Lord adjacent like royalty you're only getting some Spotlight in your recruitment chapter before you take a backseat to the main character show but luckily that's where support conversations come in last video I talked about really funny moments in engage and I appreciate the reception it got but there were some folks who were more excited about a video of that nature that focused on engages serious moments of characterization unfortunately so was I when the chips are down can engages cast take itself seriously before I answer that question though this video is actually sponsored take a look at this welcome to honkai impact third a 3D cross-platform anime action game from hoyovers the makers of Genji impact and the upcoming Hong Kai star rail this game has plenty of content to provide players in the form of open world exploration immersive stories real-time 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game to explore check the description and pinned comment to play now and thank you hoyo verse for sponsoring this video for me Fire Emblem engage is in a bit of a weird place when it comes down to its writing in my experience I've seen plenty of people write off its entire cast because of its main story and I can't really blame them you can't expect people to continue investing their time in a game's characters and story if the first impression of them is not good were not for writing about Fire Emblem being something I really really like doing the incredibly Bland safe and corny tale that is engaged would have turned me off and who knows maybe I would have dropped the game completely and that would have been unfortunate because then I would have missed out on the game's support conversations when I finished reading all the supports this was written before engages DLC came out by the way and categorized them all into serious funny wholesome and good Etc the series veteran inside of me was drawn to bindingblade fe6 is an interesting comparison to make with engage because in some ways they're quite similar and one of those similarities is the shortness of the support conversations relative to the series as well as the conflicts that go on being easy to understand for all audience I think for a game like this that was meant to appeal to a younger demographic having character conflicts be easier to resonate with is a sensible Choice since yeah engage isn't this dramatic War Story with its characters all having tragic backgrounds because they were brought up in a corrupted political system at the same time engage manages to provide depth relatability and staying power for its characters while keeping things relatively simple which is something that the GBA games did especially binding blade not to digress too far but the thought reminds me of the following engage compared to three houses feels like comparing lightning blade to thracia 776 in a lot of ways but that might be for another video this video focuses on those more real moments in engage and my goal with this video is to Showcase that this game when its characters don't Goof Off can actually have some grounded and serious interactions worth highlighting so without further Ado let's get started saphir's past saphir is a night of brodia who like her Brody and peers has grown up through the war with ellusia she is from a fishing Village who suffered great loss at the hands of volusia's counter-attacks 30 years ago in one of the raids she witnessed the death of her parents and her best friend saphir is one of the few characters we play who has had to deal with the consequences of the war between brodia Andalusia innocent people whose lives are changed forever her support with Louis and Lyndon showcase the pain she continues to deal with even 30 years later Louis and Safir break the ice in their sea support he offers her tea to help soothe her nerves as she was kept up all night by recurring bad dreams in the B support she's still dealing with the dream and she explains that she relives the day her parents and best friend were killed in front of her she goes on to explain how Vivid the dream is and that she had hoped it would fade away as she got older but in spite of time passing and her station as a royal Knight of brodia it's still just as traumatic as ever with the damage already being done Louis understand is that he can't do anything to help her stop these nightmares so instead he thought of the idea to brew her tea from home so it may stir up some positive memories and Sophia hopes that remembering the moments with her loved ones will create happy dreams you carry with you painful memories that never fade though you dearly wish they would I have seen you struggle with these memories time and time again now I cannot banish them for you I haven't that sort of power I suspect that no one does but lately I had a thought painful memories are not the only ones that can be tenacious we are confronted with saphira's childhood loss with Lyndon as well Lyndon is a retired Royal Knight of elusia and participated in wars in the king's name putting two and two together saphir approaches Linden but hesitates to ask her question okay about 30 years ago he'd already begun your career as a soldier of Volusia right indeed I had I joined as a royal Soldier almost immediately upon graduating elusia's National Academy you must have taken part in campaigns against brodia around that time then yes yes I did if I were to name a town or Village in brodia would you remember if [Music] no this is inappropriate I shouldn't be asking saphir I uh I'm sorry to bother you I hope I didn't defend in the B support Lyndon does Research into zafira's past and realizes exactly what Sofia wanted to know whether Linden participated in the attack that killed her parents and best friend Lyndon offers an extreme solution should it mean Sofia could gain some way to ease her pain for her to kill him as if to say Linden is a personification of the ellusian army 30 years ago I still to vast we're on the same side now there's no need if you want to hate me saphir you have the right even if you wanted me dead I'd allow it if it would ease your pain what why would you say that because I mean it I may not have done any harm to your parents personally but I was a soldier in that War I can easily see a world in which it was I who ended your parents lives I I am a man long past his prime I'd happily go to my end if it would bring you relief and although words can change nothing now I do apologize I am truly profoundly sorry I can't do this excuse me finding it unreasonable saphir excuses herself from the conversation upset in the a support Lyndon brings up the conversation again thinking that saphir this whole time held a grudge against him since he participated in the war it's why he offered himself to her but he's misunderstanding her someone else who misunderstands Safir is alir who is worried that the ferocity behind saphira's fighting style is motivated by something dark in the B support saphir admits she fights so hard because she in her own way wants to live up to what her friend could have been the strongest Knight in brodia but Elia wonders if there's a desire for vengeance against eluzia II she does admit that she still holds hatred for illusia but further states she pushes herself to honor her friend who is killed the support ends with another concern from alir fighting with a chip on her shoulder with grief may not be what her friend would have wanted for her but instead if they were her they just want her to be happy time and time again older characters often have something unique to offer and support conversation Department because they're more lived in than their younger allies Sofia is an example of how the war has affected someone admittedly a tragic backstory is nothing new to Fire Emblem but between Louis and Lyndon it's handled tactfully Louis knows a painful memory can't be fixed by something like tea and she will have to deal with this memory forever and Linden apologizes for his leap in judgment about her feelings at the time even if his heart was in the right place I think saphir supports are a good start for this topic as the next two subjects are measured and grounded in a similar way but aren't overly dark or creepy like say in previous videos where I highlighted creepy and dark moments Alfred's sickness Alfred at first glance is a kind of a weird combination of traits he is a very skinny kid but is constantly thinking and talking about training he absolutely loves exercise and is always trying out some new workout routine in fact his support with Boucheron is all about him trying to figure out boucheron's secret to his massive build with Amber he asks him if he's ever heard of a medicine that makes you Ultra muscular called Sue protein basically he's always aspiring to get huge so it's weird that he's just this skinny kid right Alfred has actually been suffering from a severe illness since childhood and he's found that Fitness and keeping his Vigor up was something that allowed him to continue his fight against it it's kept secret from almost everyone except Celine and their mother and in fact the few instances where his illness is brought up in his support conversations are with his sister in this support chain Alfred is digging a hole in the ground because he heard the Army was low on water and thought digging a well would be a good idea Celine is chastising her brother because she's getting frustrated at Alfred's impulses to just turn everything into a workout which makes the Crown Prince come off as barbaric Alfred is a bit of an airhead who isn't thinking things through but also doesn't really consider the consequences of his actions because his heart genuinely is in the right place and is taking the wrong things away from celine's point the a support begins with Celine walking in on Alfred digging another well because it's training but the tone is the opposite from before instead Alfred is uncharacteristically wincing in pain struggling to keep himself up it puts a lot more into perspective of Alfred's personality Alfred what's wrong don't worry saline it's that's just an attack it'll pass soon an attack is it your old illness I was doing so well part of my life was supposed to be long gone wait here I'll fetch someone at once no stop what why should I I don't want anyone to see me like this not our allies the emblems or the Divine dragon I can't let them see this a weak Prince unfit the fight who could collapse any day none of them would see you that way they're far too gracious for that but I would still know and besides I don't want them to worry about me as far as they're concerned I want to be the spirited prince who loves working out just let me rest for a while I'll be fine please Saline very well but know that if your condition ever worsens I will seek help thanks it's true he's a happy-go-lucky guy who has a naive streak but people do look up to him as a bundle of energy and someone dedicated to self-improvement and he doesn't want people to think he's the weak and sickly Prince he used to be he trains to continue to be who he really is you know that guy who his allies can depend on this episode is the complete opposite of that and it's really relatable too it's like how he responds to Celine sure his allies may look past this episode of weakness but it's the fact that it happened and when someone sees you like that you can't take it back I'm sure we all have vulnerable moments that despite our best efforts to fight them and hold them down we'd still rather deal with it ourselves than feeling embarrassed that someone else saw us like that I know that I've had plenty of those kinds of moments when his attack settles down the siblings speak of Happiness after Alfred thanks her for being there for him but it's now Celine who shows her own vulnerability reflecting on how this war has affected her the sadness she felt over being forced to leave the castle and the dread of wondering what would happen if their mother or Alfred died in battle and now what would happen if his illness claimed his life shockingly the last thing actually can happen if he's not paired with a leer he does Die Young it's rare that Fire Emblem Cuts its character's lives short after the game like cythia's shortened lifespan canis dying in a snowstorm and Clive being killed by Pirates if Matilda died those come to mind I know people really dislike when a character they are attached to dies even after they beat the game the life of these characters is uncertain even after the last health bar on the final boss goes hortensia's regret like I mentioned in my last video Hortensia is one of those characters who I thought I would not like based off her design which I still don't like and her first impression upon fighting her I found her pretty cringe but she does have a pretty decent little character Arc going on in the main story having to do with accepting her father the king's fate and ultimately needing to fight him Hortensia in her supports has several moments of important growth where we see her take things more seriously she's young immature and has a tough time wading through her emotions but is incredibly smart and talented and knows that elusia will be depending on her two supports come to mind that show Hortensia having to navigate through situations that anyone would find difficult first her acceptance Avail the girl who when she was mind controlled killed her dad in the sea support she completely denies any hope Vale has to talk about Hyacinth or what happened between the two of them the memory of veil laughing as her father was dying is burned into her mind and for her it doesn't matter whether or not she was controlled it's that it happened and she can't shake off that image she has contempt for Veil and wants nothing to do with her blaming her and the general worship of the fell Dragon for her pain when Veil tries to explain that being a fell dragon has given her nothing but hardship she scoffs at the notion because she only views a failed dragon as a cruel yet powerful thing not who Vale is a young girl being persecuted for something she can't control Vale then tracks down Hortensia and tries to explain herself more despite her continued dismissal Vale tries to explain that her mother was just a regular Dragon but was herself persecuted by humans for being sambron's partner and when they saw that Veil didn't age they targeted her too because they then knew that she was a dragon as well vale's story was meant to explain that being a fell dragon has been miserable and has given her entire life pain and loneliness and it's hardly what Hortensia thinks it is it's enough to move Hortensia to apologize for being cruel to her and both girls essentially leave with a clearer understanding of one another but letting bygones be bygones but hortensia's regret over dismissing Veil without even giving her a chance to explain herself catches up to her and in the a support she admits she was wrong and offers to try being friends with no guarantees that she can ever truly forgive her although when she realizes is that both veils were so different than even their taste in food was completely opposite she becomes even more intrigued and excited at the prospect of bending the wound from their past I can understand hortensia's complete dismissal of veil an older more mature person like mavier or Vander is capable of separating her past actions with what she's doing to redeem herself but Hortensia has the temperament of a kid because she's 14. and to me this support does a good job of letting her develop into a more forgiving character when it comes to Linden she's wrestling with another regret having to do with her father's death Hortensia looks up to Lyndon and hopes that he can teach her about magic but Linden turns down hortensia's request because he simply doesn't have the energy left to return to tutoring on top of his other responsibilities like fighting in the Army but Hortensia doesn't quite understand it can we talk Ed hoping you might for giving me some as I said before princess Hortensia I need energy for teaching anymore besides I've heard that you're already top of the class in the illusion Academy are you not there's no reason to rush your education take the time to grow my father didn't live long enough to see me make it on my own that's why I'm in a rush I don't want any more regrets like that ah of course I want my father to rest knowing I can take care of myself like your children do you can help me with that can't you in the a support she's seen talking to herself worried about what she can do for Lucia with Ivy slated to be Queen and folks like Linden even in his Advanced age still contributing to elusia's reconstruction she wonders where she even fits in the whole thing and pleads to her father for help Linden swoops in and gives her some encouraging words that she serves their Kingdom well at first she doesn't believe him and puts herself down comparing herself to Ivy Lyndon then recounts a story where he who was vouching for hi since older brother her uncle in a struggle for the throne when her uncle eventually lost and fled the kingdom Linden held resentment towards the now King but the same feeling was not shared towards Linden himself but one day he uttered the same words to Linden as he told Hortensia it's what makes him sure that he cared and valued Hortensia when he was alive and it lifts hortensia's spirits up Hortensia is often shown as a brat who oozes overconfidence but the support showcases that Hortensia does care about finding her lot in life she shows nothing but respect towards Linden and despite him refusing to teach her magic she takes away an important lesson anyway that things will be okay and she's on the right path this is more of a wholesome end than a serious moment but I figured I should end this brief character analysis on a positive note I wrote this video before engages DLC characters were released so I don't know what kind of value they provide for good characterization but as it stands the point of this video was to highlight moments where engages cast isn't fully embracing their silly tropes and colorful personalities there's of course many more serious moments than just with these three but these were some that I've been meaning to talk about for a while because they stuck out to me mavi or yunaka and even someone like fogato have serious moments in their supports so maybe I'll cover those in a separate video If you guys really want to see something like that I hope that this video did give people a better impression of engages cast I know it's really easy to fall into the Trap of comparing three houses as cast with this one since a lot of Fire Emblem fans are new these days and haven't played our watch support conversations from past games but I'll be honest there's really like no cast that really compares to the amount of trauma that those fodlin kids went through giving Gage's cast a shot like I did and maybe you'll have a good time I've opened up Channel memberships before now channel memberships were on the streaming Channel and were personally a good way for me to experiment with streaming on YouTube but I've decided to bring it to the main Channel instead Channel memberships currently give you the following perks a member badged next to your name custom emotes members only status updates behind the scenes videos and exclusive q and A's this is a great way to support my channel directly and you can make use of these memberships today as I'll be streaming Fire Emblem gauges Wave 4 DLC thanks for watching deuces [Music] thank you

Channel: Faerghast

Views: 25,670

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Id: 2gk73B5mWno

Length: 19min 45sec (1185 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 06 2023