Fates~ A Year Later

[Res]

On 2/24/2017 at 2:49 PM, Loki Laufeyson said:

Im really trying to figure out just what it is about BR that people are just like "i dont like these characters very much."

Same. I think it's a really likeable cast.

On 2/25/2017 at 4:40 PM, The Malign Knight said:

Pretty much this really. Well, except that I didn't spend any kind of money onto  Fates merchandise because I lacked the money for it. Still,i really love the game and all the three paths. Also, the cast of this game is still my 2nd favorite cast  in the series(both the nohrian and hoshidan one) and the gameplay is super fun in all the paths for me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

[Luna of Dragonblood]

I was late on the Fates train - I didn't get the game until the end of June because I'd been working on a large freelancing project, and got all three routes as a little reward to myself. I've invested ~300 hours (mainly my Revelations file...so much skill purchasing/money and support grinding...I plan on filling the support log for the Gen 1 units and I regret this decision immensely...may just try to get everyone to A rank with each other and S rank only who I want...), but...haven't completed a single route yet... :'D

I've been really slow with playing (on Conquest 20, Birthright 18, and Revelations 18 - the intention was do each the same chapter for all routes, but Chapter 18 happened and then I decided you know what I've changed my mind let's do the rest of Conquest, then the rest of Birthright, and then the rest of Revelations). I've gotten so slow partially out of frustration for Fuga's frustratingly annoying whirlwind of nonsense...and watching Corrin go around making the most ridiculous of decisions with little to no emotional reaction doesn't exactly motivate me to continue, either. Plus, I've been busy playing/doing other things.

All this time later, I find myself more invested in the characters (and have had numerous discussions about them, both for their good and bad aspects) than the actual story. Birthright's story offends me the least (and, I think is the most sensible...even if BR!Corrin is a little too indifferent to/unaffected by the slaughtering Nohrians by the masses...and oddly detached when Chapter 26 happens...), Conquest's is a mess of missed potential and hypocrisy, and Revelations is the magical slide of questions and confusion.

...I think worldbuilding would've helped the story out a lot, too. What's the name of the continent? How did people forget about the magical place just a few generations later? Why does Revelations add the whole shtick of the "HURRY CORRIN YOU NEED TO GATHER YOUR PARTY BEFORE THE SKIES CHANGE", when...that literally isn't brought up/a concern in the other two routes? So many questions with no answers, and it's frustrating me to no end.

Tl;dr: I think I like Fates as a concept. The characters (a good portion of which, I do really like) create so many potentials for interesting conversations, developments, and happenings...but since everything revolves around Corrin, a lot of the gray morality and even a large batch of the characters get thrown aside in favor of patting our dear Corrin on the back for "not doing something as bad as Garon's clearly done so here's your happy-ish ending".

[kcirrot]

I've been playing since launch, probably played each route 5+ times, a lot more for Revelation.  The story is pretty bad but I just spend most of my time trying out wacky combos (Ryoma Troubadours and the like).  It's something to do while on the train to work.

[NekoKnight]

On 2/24/2017 at 2:49 PM, Loki Laufeyson said:

Hoshido's characters arent terrible (unless its like, Caeldori and Asugi cuz omg those two...ugh...Azama is hard to deal with too). I just figured they would cater to a demographic that wasnt really me. Yet, here i only know like two people who prefer Hoshido, besides you. Im really trying to figure out just what it is about BR that people are just like "i dont like these characters very much.

To me, it's just a matter of "twisted but interesting" vs "Straight-laced and boring". I despise the Conquest campaign with a fiery passion but I still think Revelation is worse because it fails to engage the player. Boring is an even worse sin than bad writing. The same goes for character writing. Sakura, Ryoma and Hinoka barely do anything noteworthy in the plot and their supports aren't very noteworthy either. Conversely, the Nohrian siblings play an integral and emotional role in both Conquest and Birthright and have hints of an intriguing backstory. What does Hoshido have that says "Cool, I want to know more about that!"

[Extrasolar]

On 2/28/2017 at 10:12 AM, Luna of Dragonblood said:

I was late on the Fates train - I didn't get the game until the end of June because I'd been working on a large freelancing project, and got all three routes as a little reward to myself. I've invested ~300 hours (mainly my Revelations file...so much skill purchasing/money and support grinding...I plan on filling the support log for the Gen 1 units and I regret this decision immensely...may just try to get everyone to A rank with each other and S rank only who I want...), but...haven't completed a single route yet... :'D

I've been really slow with playing (on Conquest 20, Birthright 18, and Revelations 18 - the intention was do each the same chapter for all routes, but Chapter 18 happened and then I decided you know what I've changed my mind let's do the rest of Conquest, then the rest of Birthright, and then the rest of Revelations). I've gotten so slow partially out of frustration for Fuga's frustratingly annoying whirlwind of nonsense...and watching Corrin go around making the most ridiculous of decisions with little to no emotional reaction doesn't exactly motivate me to continue, either. Plus, I've been busy playing/doing other things.

All this time later, I find myself more invested in the characters (and have had numerous discussions about them, both for their good and bad aspects) than the actual story. Birthright's story offends me the least (and, I think is the most sensible...even if BR!Corrin is a little too indifferent to/unaffected by the slaughtering Nohrians by the masses...and oddly detached when Chapter 26 happens...), Conquest's is a mess of missed potential and hypocrisy, and Revelations is the magical slide of questions and confusion.

...I think worldbuilding would've helped the story out a lot, too. What's the name of the continent? How did people forget about the magical place just a few generations later? Why does Revelations add the whole shtick of the "HURRY CORRIN YOU NEED TO GATHER YOUR PARTY BEFORE THE SKIES CHANGE", when...that literally isn't brought up/a concern in the other two routes? So many questions with no answers, and it's frustrating me to no end.

Tl;dr: I think I like Fates as a concept. The characters (a good portion of which, I do really like) create so many potentials for interesting conversations, developments, and happenings...but since everything revolves around Corrin, a lot of the gray morality and even a large batch of the characters get thrown aside in favor of patting our dear Corrin on the back for "not doing something as bad as Garon's clearly done so here's your happy-ish ending".

Agreed with pretty much all of this. Fates in general is a fun and colorful experience on the surface, but lacks any real staying power and depth, and I think that's its main problem, not to mention the fact that its writing is at times very inconsistent and it falls into many plot hole traps. Awakening had this problem to an extent, but it's aggravated in Fates' case with the great concept. Execution was just botched horribly.

16 hours ago, NekoKnight said:

To me, it's just a matter of "twisted but interesting" vs "Straight-laced and boring". I despise the Conquest campaign with a fiery passion but I still think Revelation is worse because it fails to engage the player. Boring is an even worse sin than bad writing. The same goes for character writing. Sakura, Ryoma and Hinoka barely do anything noteworthy in the plot and their supports aren't very noteworthy either. Conversely, the Nohrian siblings play an integral and emotional role in both Conquest and Birthright and have hints of an intriguing backstory. What does Hoshido have that says "Cool, I want to know more about that!"

Um. Takumi is kind of interesting in a character way... But other than that, yeah, Nohr characters win over Hoshido characters. But I disagree on boring being worse than bad writing. The Hoshidan characters as a whole are just kind of safe, and to an extent, normal and bland. The bad writing of Conquest and a few of the Nohrian supports (**cough* Xander and Peri *cough*) is just downright insulting.

On Conquest they try to have their cake and eat it too, and it just plain doesn't work. You can't be "chillin' with the pals" one moment and decimating a helpless, non malicious country the next. You can't have a morally upstanding guy just shrug his shoulders at slaughtering hundreds just because he thinks his dad will turn nice again. Just. No.