#for every Bernadetta there's like five Citrinnes in terms of variance in support topics

[emblemxeno]

The people who want supports removed from FE don't quite seem to understand that bloating the main story or plot significant script to make every single character relevant is terrible for pacing in a video game, especially for RPGs.

Actually, now that I think about it, lots of criticism from certain sects of the community towards FE writing quality and supports and the subsequent suggestions towards 'fixing' the alleged issues always seem to misunderstand how video games as a storytelling medium should be constructed so to not exhaust the player. Limiting player interactivity and agency (e.g. no supports or potential character building and the gameplay benefits as rewards for that) to such a degree is just as bad as bloating a game with too many mechanics, gameplay styles, or resources to manage (i.e. the common criticisms for 3H and Engage).

Not to mention that if you don't have some kind of material to flesh out characters, you get a Radiant Dawn scenario where most of the new cast are flat as boards, or an Echoes scenario where it's very easy to miss extra backstory if you don't visit villages at specific points in the campaign.

The video in question that's floating around regarding this topic mentions that Path of Radiance's base conversations would be an appropriate replacement, but... Path of Radiance had both base convos and supports. New Mystery and Echoes did this as well! 3H did it too, with its only issue being an extension of the problem that silent/dialogue choice centered avatars can create. It never had to be one or the other, and it's strange that it's presented as such.

Now, supports as a system can definitely be revamped or trimmed, I agree with that. But removing them entirely? When those are a major factor for why the series has now achieved mainstream popularity? Nah, lmao.

#fire emblem discourse #fire emblem #i can also understand the opinion that characters basically have to “undevelop” or reset back to square one for each new chain #and that can seem empty or cheap #but IMO that only applies if you're using every single character and that's NEVER been expected lol #not to mention that even if a character learns a similar lesson in different chains #it's still a unique scenarion for pairings to interact in that wouldn't otherwise occur #people also overestimate how often this happens too i bet #for every Bernadetta there's like five Citrinnes in terms of variance in support topics