Why is Falchion called Falchion?

[DisobeyedCargo]

Seriously, it's not even a Falchion. It's more akin to a medival arming sword, where a Falchion is more curved and single edged.

[De Geso]

Presumably, Kaga thought "Falchion" was a cool name. He probably didn't know or didn't care that it wasn't exactly accurate.

Edited March 12, 2018 by YouSquiddinMe

[DisobeyedCargo]

6 minutes ago, YouSquiddinMe said:

Presumably, Kaga thought "Falchion" was a cool name. He probably didn't know or didn't care that it wasn't exactly accurate.

It is pretty cool sounding.

[Slumber]

I'm guessing it's because it's because it's made out of a dragon fang, which is shaped more like a falchion?

I dunno. I've always thought it was weird. Every other FE has had proper "legendary" names. But Falchion is just named after a generic type of sword.

[Ae†her]

One could rant for pages on how unrealistic FE games are in terms of ... well everything really. Like why is a Silver Sword more powerful than a Steel Sword?

Also lets ask the question what would be an alternative name for the Falchion if they ever decided to rename it? Which they never ever well, unless they try and retcon it in future FE games where it's the Falchion, but not the exact real Falchion.

[SoulWeaver]

It gets better once you realize that Marth's Falchion is identical in Fates to 'Marth's Spatha' and Lucina's is identical to 'Lucina's Estoc' but really, Marth's Falchion more closely resembles an Estoc and Lucina's is closer to a Spatha.

[DisobeyedCargo]

3 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

It gets better once you realize that Marth's Falchion is identical in Fates to 'Marth's Spatha' and Lucina's is identical to 'Lucina's Estoc' but really, Marth's Falchion more closely resembles an Estoc and Lucina's is closer to a Spatha.

what's next an iron sword having more uses than a steel sword

could they have not called this blade something else. Literally every other legendary weapon has a unique name: Mystletaiin, Tyurfing, Hauteclere, Parthia, Nidhogg, Gradivus, Book of Naga (okay maybe that last one wasn't a good example)

This one is just named after a type of sword it doesn't even resemble.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Let's see you draw a tiny, curved sword sprite in an 8-bit game.

As for why Falchion still looks like this in 2018, no idea. You'd never theorize it was made from a dragon's fang.

[Emperor Hardin]

3 hours ago, DisobeyedCargo said:

Seriously, it's not even a Falchion. It's more akin to a medival arming sword, where a Falchion is more curved and single edged.

Why is a pirate in FE1 named after a woman from the bible.

[Arthur97]

2 hours ago, Emperor Hardin said:

Why is a pirate in FE1 named after a woman from the bible.

Why is an item in Zelda actually called the Bible? Japan seems to love taking things and using them with no concern for context or meaning.

[DuckMannnn]

Just like the fact that Gradivus (AKA Gladius) and Hauteclere (AKA Hauteclaire) are supposed to be swords

Edited March 12, 2018 by DuckMannnn

[Acacia Sgt]

I would have to agree it probably was for the "exoticness" of the name. It's not like it's something new. Like, the Dreadlords in Japan are named after the German numbers, to give another example.

9 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

As for why Falchion still looks like this in 2018, no idea. You'd never theorize it was made from a dragon's fang.

Well, by this point, the design is already iconic. Why change it to another type of sword?

4 hours ago, Arthur97 said:

Why is an item in Zelda actually called the Bible? Japan seems to love taking things and using them with no concern for context or meaning.

Actually, that wasn't Japan. Gomer is the localized name. Original one is Gomesu (Gomez? Gometh? Beats me).

Well actually, in Zelda's case, that was seemed to be deliberate. There's the Bible, yes, but Link's shield also had a cross in it. Adventure of Link also had a Cross item. And this is actual artwork for Link to the Past. I don't know you, but I hardly think they're ignoring context for that.

[Arthur97]

3 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Well actually, in Zelda's case, that was seemed to be deliberate. There's the Bible, yes, but Link's shield also had a cross in it. Adventure of Link also had a Cross item. And this is actual artwork for Link to the Past. I don't know you, but I hardly think they're ignoring context for that.

Well, I don't know how much you know about the Bible, but let me fill you in on one detail: It's not a spellbook.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Arthur97

[Acacia Sgt]

4 hours ago, Arthur97 said:

Well, I don't know how much you know about the Bible, but let me fill you in on one detail: It's not a spellbook.

I own one. I'm aware of what it is and what it isn't.

And that's just it. Is it ever stated the Japanese version treats it as a spellbook? Because there is a difference. The English version treats the Book of Magic as Link learning spells from it, but that's only as far as the English version is concerned, since it's already censoring the Bible into a generic magic book. If no such statement is said of the Bible, then you can't say it's the same thing.

But anyway, my point was in regards to stuff like Link praying before a crucifix, not so much the Bible from the first game by itself. It's not like it's some kind of obscure thing that Hyrule was suppose to be Christian in the early games before the whole thing being replaced with the three goddesses and stuff the series is now known of. It wasn't just stuff thrown in for the sake of it.

[Arthur97]

20 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I own one. I'm aware of what it is and what it isn't.

And that's just it. Is it ever stated the Japanese version treats it as a spellbook? Because there is a difference. The English version treats the Book of Magic as Link learning spells from it, but that's only as far as the English version is concerned, since it's already censoring the Bible into a generic magic book. If no such statement is said of the Bible, then you can't say it's the same thing.

But anyway, my point was in regards to stuff like Link praying before a crucifix, not so much the Bible from the first game by itself. It's not like it's some kind of obscure thing that Hyrule was suppose to be Christian in the early games before the whole thing being replaced with the three goddesses and stuff the series is now known of. It wasn't just stuff thrown in for the sake of it.

They still serve the same purpose. In any case, all the magic in Zelda does go against Christian values, but they didn't seem to care.

[Acacia Sgt]

8 minutes ago, Arthur97 said:

They still serve the same purpose. In any case, all the magic in Zelda does go against Christian values, but they didn't seem to care.

Well, contrary to what some may think, "magic" as a whole isn't what's forbidden. It's "magic" obtained through pagan means. That's usually what the actual witch trials and the like were. Accusations of paganism, not so much using magic per se (or more like, using magic obtained through pagan means). And well, there's no indication in the early LoZ games where the magic came from, now was it? But anyway, this is way off topic.

I still agree for Falchion it is a case of stuff being used for the sake of it, or for sounding exotic and stuff.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Acacia Sgt

[SoulWeaver]

11 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Well, by this point, the design is already iconic. Why change it to another type of sword?

…I was going to use Lucina and Owain's Support Chain as an argument here, since Owain mentions the hilt needed to be replaced, but after reading it, I realized I forgot that the blade doesn't wear down, so…why did it even change form in the first place? Admittedly, perhaps the design of a Spatha looks better or fights better for the timeframe involved compared to an Estoc, but still, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[SMinairo]

Something that bothers me about Falchion, aside from kinda it's name, is how inconsistent the hilt is, because it changes the weapon from an arming sword to a longsword depending on it, and we have images about him duelding Falchion with two hands, while others show the hilt being too short for it. I'd personally say that it's a longsword a weilds it with one hand like Chrom and Lucina. I'm I overthinking a fictional weapon? I totally am.

Also, am I the only one bothered by Marth never being despicted with the fire emblem? I mean, I know that smash already has make everyone think about him in a certain way, but in warriors for example, he should have the shield of seals strapped to the arm like Chrom does at the very least. It also bothers me that he doesn't block with it but that's not for this conversation.

[SoulWeaver]

16 hours ago, Sbuscoz said:

Something that bothers me about Falchion, aside from kinda it's name, is how inconsistent the hilt is, because it changes the weapon from an arming sword to a longsword depending on it, and we have images about him duelding Falchion with two hands, while others show the hilt being too short for it. I'd personally say that it's a longsword a weilds it with one hand like Chrom and Lucina. I'm I overthinking a fictional weapon? I totally am.

Also, am I the only one bothered by Marth never being despicted with the fire emblem? I mean, I know that smash already has make everyone think about him in a certain way, but in warriors for example, he should have the shield of seals strapped to the arm like Chrom does at the very least. It also bothers me that he doesn't block with it but that's not for this conversation.

Chrom doesn't have the Fire Emblem on his arm in Warriors, Rowan and Lianna do. I do agree with the point, though, what the heck? Maybe Marth realized that the Shield of Seals with all the Gemstones basically makes you invincible, and he's such a nice guy that he doesn't wear it to let his opponents have a chance? Either way, he'd better wear it when he gets a Heroes alt in three years sob.

[SMinairo]

9 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Chrom doesn't have the Fire Emblem on his arm in Warriors, Rowan and Lianna do. I do agree with the point, though, what the heck? Maybe Marth realized that the Shield of Seals with all the Gemstones basically makes you invincible, and he's such a nice guy that he doesn't wear it to let his opponents have a chance? Either way, he'd better wear it when he gets a Heroes alt in three years sob.

Oh well, Chrom don't having it in Warriors make it a little better, though it's still weird that neither him nor Lucina have a shield I suppose they didn't make them wear them to not change the blocking animation. And yeah, Marth better gets the shield of seals in an alt at least, he is always portrayed with falchion when he had the shield for a longer time.

[vanguard333]

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎11 at 9:44 PM, DisobeyedCargo said:

Seriously, it's not even a Falchion. It's more akin to a medival arming sword, where a Falchion is more curved and single edged.

You're right about it not being a falchion. However, an arming sword is specifically a one-handed sword. If you look at some of the images of each version of the Fachion: Marth's, Chrom's, and even Alm's (which is a different sword), they all often have a grip that's long enough for two hands. So, I would say it's more of a longsword. In fact, in some pictures of Marth's version of the Falchion, the blade is almost (but not quite) narrow enough for the sword to be an Estoc and I am well aware that, in saying that, a few people reading this will be thinking, "R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1..."

In any case, it is a medieval longsword.

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎12 at 8:46 PM, Sbuscoz said:

Something that bothers me about Falchion, aside from kinda it's name, is how inconsistent the hilt is, because it changes the weapon from an arming sword to a longsword depending on it, and we have images about him duelding Falchion with two hands, while others show the hilt being too short for it. I'd personally say that it's a longsword a weilds it with one hand like Chrom and Lucina. I'm I overthinking a fictional weapon? I totally am.

Not really (to the are you overthinking question). Even if you are overthinking it, I'm a HEMA (historical European martial arts) practitioner, so I end up overthinking this stuff a lot more than that. For instance: why does Ragnell have such a wide blade and widen even more at the tip? Why is there a giant hole in the Awakening Falchion's handle?

[SoulWeaver]

4 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Why is there a giant hole in the Awakening Falchion's handle?

Pretty sure I can answer that one, anyways - to make it match the Exalt's Brand. If the blade is magically locked to a specific bloodline who all just happen to have a super special awesome birthmark showing they can use the sword, it makes sense to try and transfer some aspect of that over to the sword itself, and what better way to do that than to make the entire freaking guard the shape of the Brand? Besides, you know, just carving the Brand on there somewhere.

[Interdimensional Observer]

On 3/12/2018 at 9:12 AM, Acacia Sgt said:

And this is actual artwork for Link to the Past. I don't know you, but I hardly think they're ignoring context for that.

I thought that was from a nonofficial source? Every LoZ since OoT has retconned that into oblivion though and Hylia is now retconning Din, Nayru and Farore.

And if you want to talk poorly named legendary weapons, I can think of a game that has FE beat:

Seriously. Swords have been made with iron since... Roman times? Nothing legendary about that.

 

And then we have other things in FE, like turning the maiden Gawain had sex with despite Sir Pelleas desperately wanting her into a sword (Ettard). And Gawain's wife in another story becomes the blade with which Ike gets revenge for his father's death (Ragnell).

[Acacia Sgt]

23 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I thought that was from a nonofficial source? Every LoZ since OoT has retconned that into oblivion though and Hylia is now retconning Din, Nayru and Farore.

And then we have other things in FE, like turning the maiden Gawain had sex with despite Sir Pelleas desperately wanting her into a sword (Ettard). And Gawain's wife in another story becomes the blade with which Ike gets revenge for his father's death (Ragnell).

No, it's official. People also say the motion that Link does when opening the Desert Palace is the sign of the cross. I've seen the animation, and I could agree somewhat, but I'm not fully convinced. Anyway, yes, OoT (although LttP itself also had elements of it) decided to make up their own things, rather than keep using Christianity. Not that some people have discarded it compeltely. I've seen at least one place headcannon that, since the games with the Christian elements are all in the Decline timeline and as the last games in there, that Hyrule simply went thourgh a switch in religion after the three goddesses failed them. Again, it's someone's headcannon, but I find it interesting, nevertheless.

Anyway... hehe, yeah, I actually find that somewhat amusing. Though if we go there, then we must add Nergal ended up cheating his dragon wife with... his tome (Ereshkigal). lol

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Anyway... hehe, yeah, I actually find that somewhat amusing. Though if we go there, then we must add Nergal ended up cheating his dragon wife with... his tome (Ereshkigal). lol

Cheating with a book is called pornography.

 

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

No, it's official. People also say the motion that Link does when opening the Desert Palace is the sign of the cross. I've seen the animation, and I could agree somewhat, but I'm not fully convinced. Anyway, yes, OoT (although LttP itself also had elements of it) decided to make up their own things, rather than keep using Christianity. Not that some people have discarded it compeltely. I've seen at least one place headcannon that, since the games with the Christian elements are all in the Decline timeline and as the last games in there, that Hyrule simply went thourgh a switch in religion after the three goddesses failed them. Again, it's someone's headcannon, but I find it interesting, nevertheless.

I doubt Christianity is still at all relevant to Zelda, unless Link is Christ and Zelda the Holy Mother (but the metaphor would make Hylia the Heavenly Father, which Zelda can't be since the Virgin Mary is not of a divine nature and so it falls apart). And where the heck is the Christianity coming from? Don't tell me Link is wondering in some woods and then a chase leads him in the Legend of Zelda: Odyssey of Steel to turn up suddenly in Las Vaatigeles.