Is "Teacher" the avatar?

[Dandy Druid]

I'd be surprised if it WASN'T an Avatar.

But I'm interested in how they implemented. From what we've seen so far, they seem silent, but still make choices, like Persona's MC.

[The_antithesis]

The avatar as a Jagen seems like a very good way of balancing out the pros and cons of having an avatar.

On the one hand, IS can please the casual audience by making their custom character utterly OP at the start, which can be good for the power fantasy an avatar creates.

On the other hand, as Jagens tend to be very involved in the story while not actually having much of an impact besides how the main lord is trained, IS can avoid a Corrin situation as the avatar can make the player's choices without driving the plot into a brick wall.

It looks like IS has thought this one through, so I'm optimistic!

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

I wonder how the customization will go(not just talking about appearance) but in stats or growths probably the same how it usually is but who knows.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Blade Lord Lyn

[Humanoid]

When I first started Awakening, I remember being annoyed when Chrom kept stealing my thunder. "Whose game is this anyway?", I wondered. Turns out it was his.

Obviously I now know that even having a player character was considered off-the-wall for the series, but it does mean I have no firm opinion on whether a PC is desirable or not, and likewise don't mind whether they're a central or more peripheral figure in the plot.

I do love choice and consequence though, and while obviously no one is expecting Obsidian or CDPR levels of agency, I'd like to see some "boots"-like choices at minimum. I certainly do remember being annoyed at Awakening's fake choices.

[LorisaGoldfish]

The "I will return here someday, my teacher. Promise me that you won't forget me," bit at the end of the trailer leads me to believe that if Teacher is in fact the Avatar, they might be more plot relevant than what most people seem to want.

[Sentinel07]

18 minutes ago, LorisaGoldfish said:

The "I will return here someday, my teacher. Promise me that you won't forget me," bit at the end of the trailer leads me to believe that if Teacher is in fact the Avatar, they might be more plot relevant than what most people seem to want.

I don't think the Avatar having a significant relationship to the other main characters is a problem.

I think people are just asking for him to not be a plot black hole like Corrin.

[LorisaGoldfish]

19 minutes ago, Sentinel07 said:

I don't think the Avatar having a significant relationship to the other main characters is a problem.

I think people are just asking for him to not be a plot black hole like Corrin.

I totally agree! Just thought it was something of note.

[Azurodin]

Between TheLostWhisperer and I analyzing the trailer over and over, we realized that right at the end when Byleth crits her voice is different from the narrator's. We've already confirmed Christina Vee is the narrator who is Edelgard/Edgelord's voice and the fact that she specified who she played (in a Twitter post) implies somebody else voices Byleth. Not to mention her voice only came in at the exact moment she critted, so this could justify her being female despite the general assumption that it's a male. Therefore this could mean they, regardless of gender,  could be playable besides another stand in role and given how androgynous he/she appears to look (could tie to demonic backstory given name) it seems fitting for the avatar.  

[Nowi's Husband]

I hope they have no personality of their own, only dialogue choices we can make, much easier to project ourselves on.  Like the avatar in Xenoblade X, that was perfect for me.

[NecroJade]

21 minutes ago, Azurodin said:

Between TheLostWhisperer and I analyzing the trailer over and over, we realized that right at the end when Byleth crits her voice is different from the narrator's. We've already confirmed Christina Vee is the narrator who is Edelgard/Edgelord's voice and the fact that she specified who she played (in a Twitter post) implies somebody else voices Byleth. Not to mention her voice only came in at the exact moment she critted, so this could justify her being female despite the general assumption that it's a male. Therefore this could mean they, regardless of gender,  could be playable besides another stand in role and given how androgynous he/she appears to look (could tie to demonic backstory given name) it seems fitting for the avatar.  

I had to rewatch the trailer and it sounds like the opposite to me? Like, Byleth and the narrator sound exactly the same to me whereas Edelgard sounds completely different...

(also I just realized I've been pronouncing her name Eldegard this whole time oops)

Edit: Just watched it again and it actually sounds mixed? Like sometimes the narrator sounds like Edelgard and other times it sounds like Byleth. Are we sure the crit voice is actually Byleth and not Edelgard?

Edited June 13, 2018 by NecroJade

[Thane]

I'm afraid of a silent protagonist, as I feel they very rarely work and that dialogue, especially voiced, tends to get awkward. Sure seems like he'll be silent though. 

[SuperNova125]

28 minutes ago, Nowi's Husband said:

I hope they have no personality of their own, only dialogue choices we can make, much easier to project ourselves on.  Like the avatar in Xenoblade X, that was perfect for me.

Yeees, this is the best type that would work especially for FE. Look at persona they are one of the most successful and loved JRPG series and have protagonists/avatar like that. Then look at fates protagonist/avatar which is hated and criticised. Plus the characters seem intresting and diverse especially the lords and no bland avatar should steal their glory.

[Arcphoenix]

11 hours ago, NinjaMonkey said:

Why would they have you create a MU, and not make them the main character. Oh, and before someone brings up Mark, you don't get to customise their appearance at all.

Kris, Robin, and Mark. Customization isn’t needed for an avatar. Every avatar in Pokémon prior to X and Y wasn’t customizable for example.

I’m hoping if Byleth is the Avatar, he or she plays a Mark role, just able to fight unlike in Blazing. He or she is a participant in the army and a teacher, but not much else to the story – the story being for the lords of the game.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Arcphoenix

[DefyingFates]

12 hours ago, Slumber said:

Which I actually really like. Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri are the focus characters, and the Avatar acts in the background, giving them instruction. 

That's kind of how I always wanted the Avatar to be, ever since the idea was introduced. A Mark with more involvement on the units and a presence in the battle.

Exactly what I'm looking forward to, especially the stuff in bold. I always wished Mark had more of a presence in FE7 beyond being spoken to in maybe three cutscenes, so this seems to speak to me (assuming this assumption is correct).

[Tolvir]

Probably an avatar. I figured they would continue with it.

a couple good signs with it though. 1. They seem silent. That crit quote sounded like Edelgard, so I don’t think it was Byleth. And 2., there might be dialogue choices considering there is at least an interface for it with the weapon skills scene there. So maybe our input as the avatar is a bit more interactive than its been in the past.

either way, I don’t mind. I like avatar characters, so for me this is great.

[EJ107]

They definitely seem to be. But I expected that, so it's not too interesting. I'm far more interested in what sort of protagonist they will be. 

"Avatars" seem to get a lot of hate on these boards for the fanservice aspects, but Avatars in last few Fire Emblem games have  basically just been pre-defined units with a few customisation options. Beyond a single decision or two their actions and relationships with the other characters are static and always play out the same way. Too predefined to act as a true player avatar, but too bland, generic and universally loved by the rest of the cast to feel like a natural inclusion to the world. 

I'd personally rather either have a fixed, flawed and more interesting protagonist who is completely their own character, with maybe a gender choice but nothing more, or an avatar more akin to those you get in Western RPG's, where all of their actions and dialogue are chosen by the player. 

[iavasechui]

I really don’t mind an avatar but I hope supports with avatar will be more organic and less romance anyone of the opposite sex because I miss platonic opposite sex supports.

[Ivy Wife Supremacy]

@iavasechuiI don't....I want romances with my Byleth...(they don't need to have kids after marriage in game) if their gonna stay silent make the romance like the Persona games

Edited June 13, 2018 by Blade Lord Lyn

[iavasechui]

I can deal with persona supports XD love that series but that better not be how class changes are unlocked XD

[Crecentful]

I honestly don’t know what to think of Byleth. Unlike all the other avatars his name isn’t very gender neutral and he looks like he has more of an edgelord personality compared to the other avatars which were mostly blank slates. I think he’ll be a silent main character with very limited customization options, literally just acting as a vehicle for the player to interact with the characters

[Corbin]

I absolutely hope that Byleth is just a more proactive Mark, partially because I'm far more invested in Edelgard, Dmitri, and Claude that I am in him. 

Edited June 13, 2018 by Corbin

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 hour ago, Crecentful said:

I honestly don’t know what to think of Byleth. Unlike all the other avatars his name isn’t very gender neutral and he looks like he has more of an edgelord personality compared to the other avatars which were mostly blank slates. I think he’ll be a silent main character with very limited customization options, literally just acting as a vehicle for the player to interact with the characters

Byleth may not be his official name, however. It may be a player-chosen name.

Corrin was previously meant to be named Kamui (or at least shared an original Japanese name with Kamui), after all.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Etheus

[Sunsurge]

Hmmm. I definitely think "teacher" is the avatar, but I really, really dislike silent protag's (Ludger from Tales of Xillia 2 was done horribly). I love being able to customize a character, but I also love them having their own personality. I think it's why I liked Robin so much. He was friendly and silly and liked books, and he was "mine" because he was a magic swordsman and stuff.

Whereas Corrin was just .... awful. I felt like they tried to give a generic, naive, vague personality and it was poorly done because Corrin didn't really feel like a unique character on their own (like Robin), but just a weird, you're supposed to self-insert, but you can't really because they have SUCH a backstory.

So I'm hoping for a more Robin-esque situation. Where the 3 lords are the main focus, but *you* also are pretty important in some capacity. And even if the end revolves around *you* or a special power, I'm okay with that as long the 3 lords get equal focus. I'm also okay with the "teacher" just being that. A teacher. But I do hope they have some sort of defined personality, and if they ARE silent, I hope the options are wide-range enough (like DA!Inquistion) so it feels as if I can actually create a personality.

So I'm cautious because Robin was done well (imo) and Corrin was done horribly, so they're 50/50 for me.

[Fabulously Olivier]

16 minutes ago, Sunsurge said:

Hmmm. I definitely think "teacher" is the avatar, but I really, really dislike silent protag's (Ludger from Tales of Xillia 2 was done horribly). I love being able to customize a character, but I also love them having their own personality. I think it's why I liked Robin so much. He was friendly and silly and liked books, and he was "mine" because he was a magic swordsman and stuff.

Whereas Corrin was just .... awful. I felt like they tried to give a generic, naive, vague personality and it was poorly done because Corrin didn't really feel like a unique character on their own (like Robin), but just a weird, you're supposed to self-insert, but you can't really because they have SUCH a backstory.

So I'm hoping for a more Robin-esque situation. Where the 3 lords are the main focus, but *you* also are pretty important in some capacity. And even if the end revolves around *you* or a special power, I'm okay with that as long the 3 lords get equal focus. I'm also okay with the "teacher" just being that. A teacher. But I do hope they have some sort of defined personality, and if they ARE silent, I hope the options are wide-range enough (like DA!Inquistion) so it feels as if I can actually create a personality.

So I'm cautious because Robin was done well (imo) and Corrin was done horribly, so they're 50/50 for me.

I don't think I'd hold up Tales as an example series for much (good or bad) anymore. Vesperia was the last great Tales game, IMO, with every game since ranging from decent, if unremarkable (Xillia, Graces, Berseria) to legitimately among the worst games I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing (Zestiria and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World). 

A good example of how to handle a silent protagonist would be the Persona franchise. If FE can base its avatar on that, we may have a success on our hands.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Etheus

[Sunsurge]

6 minutes ago, Etheus said:

I don't think I'd hold up Tales as an example series for much anymore. Vesperia was the last great Tales game, IMO, with every game since ranging from decent, if unremarkable (Xillia, Graces, Berseria) to legitimately among the worst games I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing (Zestiria and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World). 

A better example of how to handle a silent protagonist would be the Persona franchise. If FE can base its avatar on that, we may have a success on our hands.

I actually loved Berseria and Xillia (1), whereas the ones I despise with my entire being are Graces and Zesitira (I don't even consider DotNW a game). But I do consider the Tales of series to be similar to Fire Emblem in the sense of what I expect from a game. These games are NEVER going to be like Persona or Dragon Age or any of the major players, so as a standard I think Tales of is a good comparison for the games.

But I was more saying I really don't want them to do a silent protagonist at all, and I fear that if they DO it, it will come out being the mess that Ludger was from Xillia 2.