FE Question Meme
Jan. 28th, 2026 01:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
steakinthedaylightTagged by kradeelav, technically. I'll tag someone on a certain Discord I'm in *shrugs*
Questions for copypasting.
1. First game played
2. Best Story
3. Most hours in
4. Favorite male character
5. favorite female character
6. Best villain
7. Favorite class
8. Most replayed
9. Permadeath or no
10. Japan only games played
11. Favorite support conversations
12. Most underrated female character
13. Most underrated male character
14. Villain you wish you could recruit
15. Favorite weapon
16. Swords, Axes, or Lances?
17. Favorite mechanic
18. Least favorite mechanic
19. Feature the series should bring back
20. Feature the series should remove
21. Weakest story
22. FE or Advance Wars
23. Favorite music track
24. Favorite level
25. Recommended starting entry in your opinion
26. Portable or console entries
27. Most overrated male character
28. Most overrated female character
29. Fire Emblem Heroes
30. Hot Take
My Answers
1. First game played
I borrowed Echoes from my friend. I played it to the end, but got stuck on the final level. And then my 3DS was drowned in rain! So, gotta restart that.
2. Best Story
I am not a good judge of this. I like FE4. I like the world and the themes and the characters. And so the plot also engaged me.
3. Most hours in
I played Fates a lot. Each route several times, trying different pairs and classes. Really ghe gameplay was the best part, it's easy and not tedious to experiment with.
4. Favorite male character
Seliph as I wrote here. There's probably more I could write, I just am not in the right mood.
5. Favorite female character
I don't know why, but this is difficult for me to pick. There are many female characters I like a lot, but not many stood out to me as "I'm thinking about her ALL the time". This is likely just my tastes being more inclined to men though...
6. Best villain
I want to say Lyon but, I don't really see him as a villain per say. I prefer it that way too, that the antagonists have at least something small besides being evil, even if they're definitely horrible people. I like how Lyon was driven by his insecurity and desperation, and even stubborness.
7. Favorite class
I think I like flying classes the most. Any that use weapons besides lances stand out to me. So I'd say Wyvern Riders, Dracoknights, Pegasus Knights, etc. I also think Manakete and Chameleon are fun, if hard to utilize.
8. Most replayed
I replayed Fates a lot back on my old 3DS, because it was just that fun. These days I plan on playing Genealogy more.
9. Permadeath or no
This choice is more relevant to rom hacks for me. If they're going to present lots of characters with several relationships and sub plots then I kind of don't want to get any killed after a while. They don't all have that though. So I tend to lean towards classic, but I don't have any strong feelings about it in particular. Rather, I think casual modes can be experimented with. Find some sort of consequence for having your units die too much. Hack examples: FE5 New Theory gives any unit knocked out max fatigue. Illuminated cuts HP by 25% permanently.
10. Japan only games played
1, 3, 4, 5
11. Favorite support conversations
The first that comes to mind is Eirika and Seth A. Seth's matter of fact tone and Eirika's emotional tone contrast each other well, and I really like Seth's kind of guilty admission of his feelings.
12. Most underrated female character
I tend to avoid the fandom in English these days, so I don't know who is getting the most or least praise. So I'll try and think of characters I didn't think I'd like as much as I thought.
There's something about Caeda's personality that draws me to her. I think it's that she highly empathic but can also be manipulative. She convinces several people to join the Altean army, using different tactics. It comes off to me as her being a rather impressive people person.
Sara in FE5 stands out to me because of her backstory, ability, and general demeanor. Also because a good chunk of characters in that game have little else going on, but then she...
13. Most underrated male character
As with 12 I'll mention someone I ended up getting into more than I thought I would. That would be Julius. He became a vessel for a dark god, and it splits his family apart. I wonder a lot about who he was before being possessed, and how much of his personality is left afterwards. I see it as his existing teaits become darker and twisted with Loptous' influence. I think it would be interesting to compare with Lewyn and Forseti.
14. Villain you wish you could recruit
I am pretty sure Arion was meant to be recruitable in FE4's Endgame, but I guess they didn't want to have a new playable character in the last map? Not sure.
15. Favorite weapon
I found Sacred Stones S Rank weapons really fun. Saleh with Excalibur is such a nuke.
16. Swords, Axes, or Lances?
I think I just like the shape of Lances the most, haha. And it has fun variants compared to swords. Swords are a little lower to me because they don't usually have a 2 range variant that isn't magic. But to be fair 2 range lances and axes are almost never magic. And axes I can't help but associate with early game brigands and pirates, and eventually falling out of use... Devil axes stand out of course.
Other types of weapons: Bows are hit or miss (lol) but I feel like an army is empty without at least one sniper. I wish Falcon Knight used bows in more games too! Magic is also fun. I prefer Anima due to it drawing from elements and nature. Dark magic has had some really cool animations.
17. Favorite mechanic
This is very benign but I enjoy small QOL convenience things like showing which units a selected unit can Talk to. Oh, I also like Rescue. It helps a lot in a pinch.
18. Least favorite mechanic
Specifically the aspect of Capture in which enemies can capture your units but then when you get them back, ALL their items are gone. If there is a way to get them back I haven't found it, but gosh that sucks... especially in Thracia 776 where items are scarce!
19. Feature the series should bring back
I did like Castles in FE4, I think there's more you could do with that. Though I get why it hasn't come back in that form. FE4 is just designed differently in many ways from the rest of the series.
20. Feature the series should remove
Not remove per say, but heavily streamline the base mechanics from Three Houses and Engage. They take up too much time. I think Fates did this better. My castle felt easy to manage, could be mostly optional if one wished, and you could decorate it. In fact if something like My Castle and FE4 castles existed, that would be pretty fun! But mmm yeah the monastery got old after the fourth playthrough.
21. Weakest story
I'm split between FE7 and Crimson Flower. But probably the latter, even though I finished that one and not FE7. I don't know why they chose to write it that way compared to other routes in the game. And FE7, I couldn't keep myself that invested in the main plot after Lyn's story. Her plot had a sense of urgency to it that made it satisfying to finish. Eliwood feels dry to me as a main character, but I like Hector's attitude. I started playing it again so maybe my feelings will change.
22. FE or Advance Wars
Haven't played enough Nintendo Wars to pick, sorry! They're both made by Intelligent Systems so I imagine there is some similar design philosophy.
23. Favorite music track
I enjoy SNES music, so I enjoy much of FE4's soundtrack... hey can you guess which game is my favorite yet? :D Fates and Echoes has a lot of great music tracks too.
24. Favorite level
I remember enjoying the final map of Conquest. It's in the same room as the penultimate chapter, but you go down instead of up. And I like that the final boss used Pair Up. I know there are more levels I really like, but I can't put my finger on it!
25. Recommended starting entry in your opinion
See, this series has shifted to having sucj vastly differing entries, I couldn't say which one is best to start. I think it depends. If you are starting out on turn based strategy, I would try FE7. If you like retro games, start with FE3. If you... want to engage in fandom, FE13 or 16.
26. Portable or console entries
I am a portable gamer 95% of the time. I have been using emulators a lot on my 3DS + Steam Deck. So it's just a plus to be able to play these games on the go. There's not that many portable entries in FE, is there? At least if you don't count the Switch [2] as portable.
27. Most overrated male character + 28. Most overrated female character
I will have to collectively say the entire cast of FE16. I stopped getting the appeal after 5 years... but Three Houses still gets SO MANY FANFICS. It seems many of its fans won't even glance at other FE games... more power to them but I can't help be a bit sad/annoyed.
29. Fire Emblem Heroes
I started playing around Book 3 I think. I have mixed feelings on this entire game... I was actually in it for the plot after a while, and that has since gone downhill/crazy/stupid. Also it has never been presented narratively or visually that well.
The base gameplay is a fun condensation of TBS and FE's formula (actually I wonder if there could be a version of it for Nintendo Wars). I've also outgrown gacha as a game mechanic, I much prefer IRL gachapon now, and in video games it can feel a lit like an uphill battle. Especially with the infamous power creep. And then there's FEH Pass, which makes you pay for features that other mobile games give you for free. Not a good look!
Also there eventually became too much content? Lol. Just kind of, not mindless, but samey maps to play. And a LOT of units to collect. After a while the main appeal of the game was seeing old characters get new voicelines and art, and that's something I can get from a wiki walk, so. Playing it is kind of pointless for me now. I'm surprised it lasted 9 years.
30. Hot Take
I probably have more but here's the first that came to mind: Book V of FEH is actually really good. Conceptually at least. It's tragic and terrifying what Reginn goes through; her life up to that point was a lie planned out by a crazy person, her brothers are not actually related to her, one of them hates her and the other has gone insane. I also like how she was drawn, her expressions feel genuine to me. And the bits of worldbuilding we get are cool too, such as how the machinery is systematically powered by magic.
I wrote about my initial feelings in 2022 and archived it here.
I would go as far as to say this concept is too good for FEH and deserves more attention as a full game. Or at least a small game. Like a Rom Hack that expands the world and takes out the FEH relation... perhaps I'll conceptualize something one day.
I have a list, haha. Subject to change mostly with additions.
1, 3, 11, and 12
Marth x Tiki x Caeda and any combination of such
2 and 15
Zeke x Tatiana
4
Sigurd x Deirdre
Ayra x Lex
Lewyn x Tailtyu
Seliph x Tine
Ares x Lene
Julius x Ishtar
Julia x Ced
Julia x Julius
8
Ephiram x Eirika
Eirika x Seth
Artur x Lute
Amelia x Neimi
14
Corrin x Niles
Corrin x Reina
Xander x Charlotte
Laslow x Peri
Kana x Selkie
Kana x Kiragi
Siegbert x Velouria
16
Byleth x Linhardt
Byleth x Yuri
Dimitri x Flayn
Questions for copypasting.
1. First game played
2. Best Story
3. Most hours in
4. Favorite male character
5. favorite female character
6. Best villain
7. Favorite class
8. Most replayed
9. Permadeath or no
10. Japan only games played
11. Favorite support conversations
12. Most underrated female character
13. Most underrated male character
14. Villain you wish you could recruit
15. Favorite weapon
16. Swords, Axes, or Lances?
17. Favorite mechanic
18. Least favorite mechanic
19. Feature the series should bring back
20. Feature the series should remove
21. Weakest story
22. FE or Advance Wars
23. Favorite music track
24. Favorite level
25. Recommended starting entry in your opinion
26. Portable or console entries
27. Most overrated male character
28. Most overrated female character
29. Fire Emblem Heroes
30. Hot Take
My Answers
1. First game played
I borrowed Echoes from my friend. I played it to the end, but got stuck on the final level. And then my 3DS was drowned in rain! So, gotta restart that.
2. Best Story
I am not a good judge of this. I like FE4. I like the world and the themes and the characters. And so the plot also engaged me.
3. Most hours in
I played Fates a lot. Each route several times, trying different pairs and classes. Really ghe gameplay was the best part, it's easy and not tedious to experiment with.
4. Favorite male character
Seliph as I wrote here. There's probably more I could write, I just am not in the right mood.
5. Favorite female character
I don't know why, but this is difficult for me to pick. There are many female characters I like a lot, but not many stood out to me as "I'm thinking about her ALL the time". This is likely just my tastes being more inclined to men though...
6. Best villain
I want to say Lyon but, I don't really see him as a villain per say. I prefer it that way too, that the antagonists have at least something small besides being evil, even if they're definitely horrible people. I like how Lyon was driven by his insecurity and desperation, and even stubborness.
7. Favorite class
I think I like flying classes the most. Any that use weapons besides lances stand out to me. So I'd say Wyvern Riders, Dracoknights, Pegasus Knights, etc. I also think Manakete and Chameleon are fun, if hard to utilize.
8. Most replayed
I replayed Fates a lot back on my old 3DS, because it was just that fun. These days I plan on playing Genealogy more.
9. Permadeath or no
This choice is more relevant to rom hacks for me. If they're going to present lots of characters with several relationships and sub plots then I kind of don't want to get any killed after a while. They don't all have that though. So I tend to lean towards classic, but I don't have any strong feelings about it in particular. Rather, I think casual modes can be experimented with. Find some sort of consequence for having your units die too much. Hack examples: FE5 New Theory gives any unit knocked out max fatigue. Illuminated cuts HP by 25% permanently.
10. Japan only games played
1, 3, 4, 5
11. Favorite support conversations
The first that comes to mind is Eirika and Seth A. Seth's matter of fact tone and Eirika's emotional tone contrast each other well, and I really like Seth's kind of guilty admission of his feelings.
12. Most underrated female character
I tend to avoid the fandom in English these days, so I don't know who is getting the most or least praise. So I'll try and think of characters I didn't think I'd like as much as I thought.
There's something about Caeda's personality that draws me to her. I think it's that she highly empathic but can also be manipulative. She convinces several people to join the Altean army, using different tactics. It comes off to me as her being a rather impressive people person.
Sara in FE5 stands out to me because of her backstory, ability, and general demeanor. Also because a good chunk of characters in that game have little else going on, but then she...
13. Most underrated male character
As with 12 I'll mention someone I ended up getting into more than I thought I would. That would be Julius. He became a vessel for a dark god, and it splits his family apart. I wonder a lot about who he was before being possessed, and how much of his personality is left afterwards. I see it as his existing teaits become darker and twisted with Loptous' influence. I think it would be interesting to compare with Lewyn and Forseti.
14. Villain you wish you could recruit
I am pretty sure Arion was meant to be recruitable in FE4's Endgame, but I guess they didn't want to have a new playable character in the last map? Not sure.
15. Favorite weapon
I found Sacred Stones S Rank weapons really fun. Saleh with Excalibur is such a nuke.
16. Swords, Axes, or Lances?
I think I just like the shape of Lances the most, haha. And it has fun variants compared to swords. Swords are a little lower to me because they don't usually have a 2 range variant that isn't magic. But to be fair 2 range lances and axes are almost never magic. And axes I can't help but associate with early game brigands and pirates, and eventually falling out of use... Devil axes stand out of course.
Other types of weapons: Bows are hit or miss (lol) but I feel like an army is empty without at least one sniper. I wish Falcon Knight used bows in more games too! Magic is also fun. I prefer Anima due to it drawing from elements and nature. Dark magic has had some really cool animations.
17. Favorite mechanic
This is very benign but I enjoy small QOL convenience things like showing which units a selected unit can Talk to. Oh, I also like Rescue. It helps a lot in a pinch.
18. Least favorite mechanic
Specifically the aspect of Capture in which enemies can capture your units but then when you get them back, ALL their items are gone. If there is a way to get them back I haven't found it, but gosh that sucks... especially in Thracia 776 where items are scarce!
19. Feature the series should bring back
I did like Castles in FE4, I think there's more you could do with that. Though I get why it hasn't come back in that form. FE4 is just designed differently in many ways from the rest of the series.
20. Feature the series should remove
Not remove per say, but heavily streamline the base mechanics from Three Houses and Engage. They take up too much time. I think Fates did this better. My castle felt easy to manage, could be mostly optional if one wished, and you could decorate it. In fact if something like My Castle and FE4 castles existed, that would be pretty fun! But mmm yeah the monastery got old after the fourth playthrough.
21. Weakest story
I'm split between FE7 and Crimson Flower. But probably the latter, even though I finished that one and not FE7. I don't know why they chose to write it that way compared to other routes in the game. And FE7, I couldn't keep myself that invested in the main plot after Lyn's story. Her plot had a sense of urgency to it that made it satisfying to finish. Eliwood feels dry to me as a main character, but I like Hector's attitude. I started playing it again so maybe my feelings will change.
22. FE or Advance Wars
Haven't played enough Nintendo Wars to pick, sorry! They're both made by Intelligent Systems so I imagine there is some similar design philosophy.
23. Favorite music track
I enjoy SNES music, so I enjoy much of FE4's soundtrack... hey can you guess which game is my favorite yet? :D Fates and Echoes has a lot of great music tracks too.
24. Favorite level
I remember enjoying the final map of Conquest. It's in the same room as the penultimate chapter, but you go down instead of up. And I like that the final boss used Pair Up. I know there are more levels I really like, but I can't put my finger on it!
25. Recommended starting entry in your opinion
See, this series has shifted to having sucj vastly differing entries, I couldn't say which one is best to start. I think it depends. If you are starting out on turn based strategy, I would try FE7. If you like retro games, start with FE3. If you... want to engage in fandom, FE13 or 16.
26. Portable or console entries
I am a portable gamer 95% of the time. I have been using emulators a lot on my 3DS + Steam Deck. So it's just a plus to be able to play these games on the go. There's not that many portable entries in FE, is there? At least if you don't count the Switch [2] as portable.
27. Most overrated male character + 28. Most overrated female character
I will have to collectively say the entire cast of FE16. I stopped getting the appeal after 5 years... but Three Houses still gets SO MANY FANFICS. It seems many of its fans won't even glance at other FE games... more power to them but I can't help be a bit sad/annoyed.
29. Fire Emblem Heroes
I started playing around Book 3 I think. I have mixed feelings on this entire game... I was actually in it for the plot after a while, and that has since gone downhill/crazy/stupid. Also it has never been presented narratively or visually that well.
The base gameplay is a fun condensation of TBS and FE's formula (actually I wonder if there could be a version of it for Nintendo Wars). I've also outgrown gacha as a game mechanic, I much prefer IRL gachapon now, and in video games it can feel a lit like an uphill battle. Especially with the infamous power creep. And then there's FEH Pass, which makes you pay for features that other mobile games give you for free. Not a good look!
Also there eventually became too much content? Lol. Just kind of, not mindless, but samey maps to play. And a LOT of units to collect. After a while the main appeal of the game was seeing old characters get new voicelines and art, and that's something I can get from a wiki walk, so. Playing it is kind of pointless for me now. I'm surprised it lasted 9 years.
30. Hot Take
I probably have more but here's the first that came to mind: Book V of FEH is actually really good. Conceptually at least. It's tragic and terrifying what Reginn goes through; her life up to that point was a lie planned out by a crazy person, her brothers are not actually related to her, one of them hates her and the other has gone insane. I also like how she was drawn, her expressions feel genuine to me. And the bits of worldbuilding we get are cool too, such as how the machinery is systematically powered by magic.
I wrote about my initial feelings in 2022 and archived it here.
I would go as far as to say this concept is too good for FEH and deserves more attention as a full game. Or at least a small game. Like a Rom Hack that expands the world and takes out the FEH relation... perhaps I'll conceptualize something one day.
I have a list, haha. Subject to change mostly with additions.
1, 3, 11, and 12
Marth x Tiki x Caeda and any combination of such
2 and 15
Zeke x Tatiana
4
Sigurd x Deirdre
Ayra x Lex
Lewyn x Tailtyu
Seliph x Tine
Ares x Lene
Julius x Ishtar
Julia x Ced
Julia x Julius
8
Ephiram x Eirika
Eirika x Seth
Artur x Lute
Amelia x Neimi
14
Corrin x Niles
Corrin x Reina
Xander x Charlotte
Laslow x Peri
Kana x Selkie
Kana x Kiragi
Siegbert x Velouria
16
Byleth x Linhardt
Byleth x Yuri
Dimitri x Flayn
