How Important Is World Building To You in FE?

[Interdimensional Observer]

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being absolute disregard for world building and 10 being it's absolutely important and you don't want to do without it at all. How much do you sincerely and in all honesty care about how well built the worlds of FE are?

By "world building" what is meant is how well is the fantasy world constructed by the game developers? Is it immersive? Does it seem realistic? Detailed? Nuanced? A place you would want to go to? How well is the lore developed? How well developed is the geography, natural environments and human cities and other settlements? How well are the politics and government developed? Economics, society, culture, religion, magic, and history? Is the world an actual place with its own identity, or is it just the place where the plot of the game unfolds? How does the world and the main story told interact/intermesh with each other?

I hope I made what world building is clear and understandable.

FE has never been a master of world building by any stretch I would say, but I am interested in how FE does it regardless and I love world building- it draws me to Tellius. But to be fair, I do like history, so I'm not really the normal person here. Hence, I inquire to see how much other FE fans care.

 

I was going to include a second poll on which world was built best, but I opted against it. Many fans have only played the 3DS titles, which are lacking in worlds it is generally agreed. Jugdral and Tellius would most likely vie for no. 1, limited only by the limited number of players of both duologies. Elibe and Archanea would vie for the 3rd slot. Magvel would join the 3DS worlds and Zenith in obscurity. 

However, if you have a strong viewpoint on a certain world, why you think is or isn't well built, go ahead and state it. I won't judge. I might be stung, but I enjoy being wounded by differing opinions- the arrogant ego needs to be scourged and forced into tolerance of diverse thoughts.

[Icelerate]

I voted 8/10 because just like good characterization helps you care for the characters, world building helps you care for the world. This is an RPG with a story so it better have all the elements of one. Though gameplay is certainly more important. 

[Cornguy]

10 for me. I think it does a lot for the story, and makes me care a lot more about what the characters are going through. 

The characters still need to be good of course, but there's more wiggle room if your world building is good.

Like I'd probably care about the Greil mercenaries a lot less if they were in Shadow Dragon, but I might care a lot more about Caesar and Radd if they were in FE9.

[Sunwoo]

I'd like it to be a 10, but 8 would be my minimum.

Yeah, I get that asking for a video game story to be completely rich in background and depth is asking a bit too much. But at the very least background events leading up to the current events of the game, the history of the world, and an explanation of how some of the unique or mystical elements of the universe came to be would be nice to have. Also, giving characters motivation or some reason to care about them is always nice.

[ping]

6/10 for me. Ultimately, I see it as helpful, but not obligatory for a good story. FE8, for example, "works" as far as I'm concerned, even though Magvel really isn't fleshed out beyond what's directly relevant for the story. What do we know about Renais, Frelia, or the theocracy of Rausten, again? I'll admit that the world building is what I like best about the Tellius games (after all, PoR's main plot is very bog standard FE plot), but FE8 is proof for me that you can have a good story without it.

[Azz]

8 for me. Is it of utmost importance? As @ping, you can have a story like Sacred Stones that doesn't have a lot of world building yet still succeeds at telling, at least IMO, an amazing story.

However, to a certain degree, I do think world building is important, especially for games of a grand scale. Again, with SS, it is such a small contained story, world building was for the most part unneeded. However, then you look at Fates which has massive intentions, but thanks to the little world building, it flopped. We don't care about Nohr and Hoshido or any of the other countries because we no nothing about them other than bare bones stuff like how Izumo is neutral and Mokusho is full of assholes. I mean we don't even have a name for the continent.

So yeah, that's me.

[Tuvy2]

My main thing is gameplay, the story could be hit by a truck as long as the characters are entertaining and the gameplay is good.

[Slumber]

It can add a lot. 

I've never respected the writing in Sacred Stones because the game does jackshit to world build, and it becomes incredibly hard to understand how or why things are happening, let alone care about those things.

But I still think a story needs compelling characters and a story to go along with it. The Archanea games are some of the best world building in the franchise, but I just can't care about anyone besides Marth, and I don't really care what they're doing. 

The Jugdral and Tellius games do a much better mix of world building and telling an actual story with characters, and I think overall they're the best when it comes to writing. 

So I'll say a 7. It's something that can elevate the writing in a game, but it can't carry a story on its own. 

Edited November 3, 2017 by Slumber

[Etrurian emperor]

Its not the most important thing but its definitely an important attribute and the lack of world building can harm the overall story. 

One of the reasons I never really felt the story of Sacred stones was that the world building hardly exist. We know next to nothing about Reneais and Frelia is hardly differentiated from Reneais aside from having pegasus. Because the world is so ill defined I have problems appreciating the stakes the story is trying to tell. 

Its incredibly hard for me to really feel the Archenean conflict because the enemy nations don't go much further then ''evil flyer country, evil knight country and evil dragon country with suspiciously few dragons in it''. Aside from the country of Archenea none of the good nations are any better defined then the evil ones. 

Having bad world building doesn't mean you can't have a good story. I'm not to keen on the world building in Jugdral but it still manages to have some of the better stories despite that. 

Having good world building can be a boon to your story. The evil nations in Tellius show this the best. There are some things that set Daien apart from its neighbors and we can see this in their officers. Throughout their boss conversations a running theme appears of racism but also of a warrior society. Plenty of Daien officers are exited to fight strong or unique opponents. 

Begnion bosses also incorporate the traits their country is known for. Their bosses are usually nitwits or soldiers being stuck following the orders of nitwits. This all make boss battles more varied while reinforcing the theme the story is trying to tell. 

[SavageVolug]

A well established world helps to enhance and bring to life the characters which allows for a stronger attachment to the setting, character, plot etc of that game. While I like some of the characters in Fates the fact that their world is poorly constructed results in me having NO IDEA where we are in the world or how we got to ______ location. In all other Fire Emblem games I have a clearer idea how their world fits together and how we get to various places. So while I would not consider it the #1 most important aspect I do believe it is of significant importance and contributes quite a bit to the story and game.

Addittionally, I love it when I can get a sense of "This is a huge world with various cultures and lifestyles" this sensation is something I got when playing the Elibe games, Awakening touched on this although I wish a little more attention had been given particularly how the 3 major kingdoms differed and a clearer distinction between the boundaries of Ylisse and Feroxi, the Tellius game I believe captured this quite well, SoV at least gives me the impression of a big world even if it's only two continents I just wish that format could have been extended to include multiple continents maybe some islands etc. Genealogy of the Holy War also captures the idea of a huge world with various cultures, and lifestyles. (Any other games that do this also I either have not played yet, or have not finished as is the case with Sacred Stones).

[Magical Glace]

It's not the be-all and end-all of a story, but that doesn't mean it's unimportant.  I agree on the mention of FE8 doing well in the story department despite the lack of world building, but on the flip side the lack of world building in FE14 just added to the list of many problems its plot has.  

However, it adds a lot if it is done well, and FE15 is a good example of that.  Gaiden's plot was super barebones.  But Valentia in FE15 is a very well done world, and it does a good job of pulling you into the story.

Overall, I'd say an 8.

[Light Strategist]

I voted at around a 7. I want the world to feel real enough that if I were somehow magically transported there, I'd have a rough idea of my way around and know the name of the continent, but on the other hand, I don't want it to become too significant that the writing for the characters takes a back seat.

[SomethingSharp]

I said 8.  This lines up with what I would intuitively say my favorite FE games are - FE4 and FE6/7.  In particular, tracing back certain characters/countries' lineages to the 12 Crusaders/8 Heroes and the presence of their holy weapons ingame.  I'm a big history buff IRL so well-built histories in games also appeal to me.

[Radiant_Hero_95]

World building has always been something I found important to telling a good story in original world's outside of our own. Although not essential, it can really elavate the story to new levels. (See: Tellius)

I hope for the next FE, they take notes from Judgral and Tellius when crafting lore and story rather then taking from Magvel or Fateslandia.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Radiant_Hero_95

[NekoKnight]

I said 8. The more real and detailed the world, the more likely I'll be able to dive into it. There are some exceptions, such as FE8 that told excellent character stories to make up for the lack of worldbuilding, but unless you do something really impressive, a lack of worldbuilding hurts. Fates probably has the worst of it, having 3 major countries but almost nothing to say about them and no other writing to make it stand out (in a good way).

[Thane]

I believe it's important to know what kind of world you're dealing with and what kind of people inhabit the world. It was the very core principle of the Tellius series and the duology was all the stronger for it. 

I'm going to assume Intelligent Systems has at least partially learned their lesson regarding this, and that it was for this reason we can read about the areas we visit in Echoes and why Alm and Celica have monologues when entering a new dungeon. It wasn't done perfectly, but it was a step in the right direction.

[Book Bro]

I think it's very important. The detailed lore is a big part of why I like Tellius, Jugdral, and Elibe so much (even if Elibe is a lot less developed). It helps add believability to the story when you can imagine the setting as if it were a real place. In comparison, I think a part of why Magvel and Archanea didn't leave such an impression on me despite enjoying both stories is because the worlds are barely developed beyond what's immediately relevant. Valentia in the remake also did worldbuilding very well.

Fatesland in comparison has no actual name, barely there political details, no real history, and a dull map that shows nothing of interest. And the story suffers from it.

Narrators are a huge boon for worldbuilding. I was so disappointed when Awakening and Fates didn't have one. SoV at least brought one back in limited capacity. 

[henrymidfields]

As @Book Bro and others mentioned, it would be one of the top priorities for me as well. FE6's attention on the details of the nations' culture (and generally greyer characterization compared to other Nintendo games characters) was what started my love for the series.

Edited November 10, 2017 by henrymidfields

[X-Naut]

Being more of a gameplay man I went with a 6: it's not too important but at the same time it greatly helps me understand and get engaged with  the story.

[Dandy Druid]

I gave it a 9- it really helps the story IMO. Fire Emblem has had many stories, but the ones that are considered to have the best story also have a good amount of world building, i.e. Path of Radiance and Genealogy. Knowing the world sets the ground for the motivations behind the protagonists and antagonists, and it may explain why they're acting the way they are. Let's compare Thracia to Mokushu, although they both have similar goals, Travant was better characterized because we know (and have seen) that Thracia isn't the most bountiful country in Jugdral. It has a hard time with agriculture due to the geography being mountainous. Travant was militant in order to feed his people, which is an understandable concern for a ruler. Kotaro is an ambitious and power hungry ruler of Mokushu. But why? We never really know- as the background of Mokushu isn't too detailed. We know it's a ninja kingdom that doesn't know the definition of "neutrality", and that's about it. The motivations other than just plain greed and pride. Perhaps if he had more story involvement, and showed up more than once, maybe the motivation would've been more clear.

TLDR: worldbuilding helps, as the conditions of each country may characterize the major actors better.

[edgelordweeaboo]

It's a pretty big deal. Without any world building it's difficult to give much of what's happening any purpose and world building really sets the stage for the game as well. It also adds a lot more depth to the story.