Parallels between Fire Emblem games and Genesis's studio discography

[Von Ithipathachai]

So in case some of you can't really tell, I've become a big Genesis fan.  I'd like to share an interesting relationship I see between the popularity of Fire Emblem games (not including remakes) and the popularity of Genesis's studio albums (except for From Genesis to Revelation, the debut album which I'd rather pretend doesn't exist).

The first five games in the series (Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden, Mystery of the Emblem, Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776) were made with Shouzou Kaga as a development leader.  Meanwhile, Genesis's second through sixth studio albums (Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) were made with Peter Gabriel as the lead singer.  In this way, you could think of Shouzou Kaga and Peter Gabriel as equivalent.  Both the Kaga-era Fire Emblem games and Gabriel-era Genesis albums make up the more obscure parts of their respective series, but are deeply beloved by hardcore fans.

The post-Kaga/pre-3DS Fire Emblem games (The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn) are overall the most popular with 'traditional' Fire Emblem fans even though the Tellius games sold poorly.  Likewise, the post-Gabriel Genesis albums (A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three..., Duke, Abacab, Genesis) are also very popular and more accessible to general audiences, though they don't show the same popularity/sales curve with the post-Kaga/pre-3DS games.  Therefore it might be best to equate Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn to A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering, respectively, and to equate ...And Then There Were Three..., Duke, Abacab, and the self-titled album with the GBA games.  (I know there's one too many Genesis albums compared to Fire Emblem games, and I'll admit this is a weakness of my approach here.)

And then we get to Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance, Genesis's best-known albums and their biggest commercial successes.  They can easily be equated to the 3DS games, specifically Awakening to Invisible Touch and Fates to We Can't Dance.

That said...  I'm hoping Three Houses doesn't turn out to be the Fire Emblem series's Calling All Stations.  :(

So what do you think of this?

[Punished Dayni]

From Genesis to Revelation was buried and released as part of We Can't Dance's special edition then?

[morecowbell]

Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and, uh, Against All Odds.But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist.