We have new info on FE16!

[Aiddon]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

- Archanea wasn't exactly the paragon of naming lands, with the likes of "Gra" and "Grust".  Perhaps "Garrag Mach" means something profound in another language, but I think it's a little silly.

"Garreg' is Welsh and means "stone." Mac is Gaelic and means "son", it's why a lot of Scottich names are one like "MacDonald." It fits considering that "Fodlan" is a corruption of Fodla which is Celtic in origin

[eclipse]

2 minutes ago, Aiddon said:

"Garreg' is Welsh and means "stone." Mac is Gaelic and means "son", it's why a lot of Scottich names are one like "MacDonald." It fits considering that "Fodlan" is a corruption of Fodla which is Celtic in origin

. . .the more I hear of this, the less I'm liking it.  Not the translation, but the place names.

[Aiddon]

4 minutes ago, eclipse said:

. . .the more I hear of this, the less I'm liking it.  Not the translation, but the place names.

They're all from the UK, so it's consistent and derived from Celtic languages. It keeps things differentiated but interrelated. The only character who has a REALLY out there name is Sothis which is from an Egyptian goddess

[Acacia Sgt]

22 minutes ago, eclipse said:

The predominant naming themes in Archanea are Greek/Roman inspired (Macedon, several character names) and Hebrew (again, character names).  Since Hardin's country is somewhat plot-relevant, a random French name would detract from that (but then they get absorbed so eh).  The smaller places wouldn't be as much of an issue.

In terms of unity, Macedon (Greek) is home to Minerva (also Greek), Michalis (wild guess is that it's the French version of Michael, from the katakana), and Maria (Spanish-influenced Mary), with nobles Matthis (Hebrew) and Lena (multiple).  Just from these five alone, there's at least three different ethnic styles of names.  If we ignore the regional variations of names, the country named after the Greek place is home to more Hebrew-inspired names.

Hoshido's aesthetic was very much Japanese, and most of the names matched that.  Caeldori/Rhajat were exceptions, but given the theme that they were under (which I STILL disagree with), it's an acceptable pass.

I'm not sure what Three Houses is going to do, but so far, the biggest outlier in terms of name/place is Claude.  I'm more inclined to have names/places have some sort of coherent theme (especially if they're from real-world places), instead of "let's pick a bunch of names and throw them into a jail cell for two years".

Ah, I see what you mean.

Actually, Minerva is Latin. Athena would be the Greek name. Also, Matthis is more French to me, not Hebrew; and Lena, at least going by this wiki page, suggests a Greek origin as well. Maria is also of latin-greek origin, (the Hebrew word is closer to Miriam). The same wiki also says Michalis is of Greek origin. The wiki has sources to behindthename.com, for corroboration I suppose. Depends how much you would trust it. So all the Macedonian  characters have Greek or Greek-derived names. Minerva, being Latin, could be considered close enough. The only real outlier is Matthis. Though remember that Lena and Matthis's mother was from Grust, so it could be given a pass as it means one sibling simply isn't named from the theme of their homeland.

Well, Macedon still has a bunch of other characters. Though at this point at least half of them are themed.

You know, I could agree on keeping them theme consistant; in that case.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Acacia Sgt

[ZeManaphy]

I really like the effort in trying to make it feel like a school. I’m fine with it being modeled after Echoes, I just wish they did 3D cutscenes instead of 2D. Surprised there’s no Pegasus Knight reclass option or any flying option. Since we saw them from a trailer, I’m assuming there in game, but where?

 

[IEatLasers]

2 hours ago, Vince777 said:

I don't like reclassing in FE so I'm hoping I can play the game without using the feature.

Same it makes classes feel less personal and special 

[eclipse]

5 minutes ago, Aiddon said:

They're all from the UK, so it's consistent and derived from Celtic languages. It keeps things differentiated but interrelated. The only character who has a REALLY out there name is Sothis which is from an Egyptian goddess

Sothis being an outlier makes sense, assuming the story goes in the direction that I think it will.  Mixing Welsh and Gaelic, not so much.

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Ah, I see what you mean.

Actually, Minerva is Latin. Athena would be the Greek name. Also, Matthis is more French to me, not Hebrew; and Lena, at least going by this wiki page, suggests a Greek origin as well. Maria is also of latin-greek origin, (the Hebrew word is closer to Miriam). The same wiki also says Michalis is of Greek origin. The wiki has sources to behindthename.com, for corroboration I suppose. Depends how much you would trust it. So all the Macedonian  characters have Greek or Greek-derived names. Minerva, being Latin, could be considered close enough. The only real outlier is Matthis. Though remember that Lena and Matthis's mother was from Grust, so it could be given a pass as it means one sibling simply isn't named from the theme of their homeland.

You know, I could agree on keeping them theme consistant; in that case.

I don't trust it at all.  For example, a quick search of "Lena" as a name reveals a lot of different origins.  Maria as a variant of Mary makes more sense given the secondary influence of Biblical names, and Michalis' name (which is also derived from the Bible). The fact that Minerva chooses to betray her country and join Marth means that her outlier of a name is a hint of how the story plays out.

If I was a little more well-versed in Catholicism, I'd have more to say regarding Maria.

. . .in which case, I have a very bad feeling about Claude, story-wise.

[IEatLasers]

I am really upset I keep hearing Byleth will be a silent protagonist and I hate when characters talk to silent protagonist. It feels so cheesy and weak 

[HappyHawlucha.]

10 minutes ago, ZeManaphy said:

I really like the effort in trying to make it feel like a school. I’m fine with it being modeled after Echoes, I just wish they did 3D cutscenes instead of 2D. Surprised there’s no Pegasus Knight reclass option or any flying option. Since we saw them from a trailer, I’m assuming there in game, but where?

 

I presume the Pegasus Knight option is just hiding in the reclass menu and will be accessible by levelling a weapon class alongside the Flying attribute. It's a staple of FE it won't be gone and all signs point towards it being there.

[Thane]

I see this is where we discuss the article now. 

So apparently students can come up to you to talk about something, like any concerns or worries they might have. It seems like Caspar is complaining about Linhardt eating too fast and being loud doing so. You can choose between saying "eating fast is not good" and "it can't be helped because we've got a lot to do" (or more literally "it can't be helped because of busy times" but that sounds a bit funny in English). 

Lorenz, the purple-haired guy with the questionable haircut and more questionable honor of being the victim to show off Sothis' turnwheel, says ば、馬鹿な。。。！この僕が。。。敗れただと。。。？which is basically "I-Impossible! I was defeated...?" - he uses the "kono boku", which many might know from "kono Dio da!", which has a bit of an arrogant tone. It'd be like saying "I, Lorenz, was defeated?" Arrogant and an ugly haircut? I know who I'm not using.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Thane

[ZeManaphy]

7 minutes ago, IEatLasers said:

I am really upset I keep hearing Byleth will be a silent protagonist and I hate when characters talk to silent protagonist. It feels so cheesy and weak 

Where did you hear that? I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

[IEatLasers]

Just now, ZeManaphy said:

Where did you hear that? I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

Nowhere official I just see it everywhere as speculation and I believe it! 

I mean, 2 trailers and the main character has had 0 lines. 

[Thane]

3 minutes ago, ZeManaphy said:

Where did you hear that? I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

We've yet to see Byleth speak, and their reply options seem to be done without them actually "saying" anything. They could just be hiding it but I'm getting silent protagonist vibes myself, for sure.

Plus this game seems so inspired by Persona so why not go all the way.

[colossus86]

4 minutes ago, Thane said:

We've yet to see Byleth speak, and their reply options seem to be done without them actually "saying" anything. They could just be hiding it but I'm getting silent protagonist vibes myself, for sure.

Plus this game seems so inspired by Persona so why not go all the way.

We've seen Byleth talk during combat in that commercial a while back

[Thane]

1 minute ago, colossus86 said:

We've seen Byleth talk during combat in that commercial a while back

When was this? And when I say silent protagonist I mean those who don't have any proper text themselves. Link in Wind Waker can both choose his own replies to NPC's from time to time, and can say "come on!" when guiding people, but I'd still qualify him as a silent protagonist.

[redlight]

Fucking finally.

I like the idea of choosing traits for characters, but chance based promotions or whatever it is screams some of the bad stuff Kaga made as design decisions. I hope multiple weapons for tier 1 classes aren't a thing. I just hate unbalance in games

Regarding the whole weapon associated with country thing, if they don't explain the preferences in the game then it'll just sound stupid. Tho the more I think about it there is some sense to be made. Edelgard's country is probably advanced in sciences as magic is a science in this game if I'm not mistakes (doesn't explain axes tho). Knights for Dimitri's country tho it feels cheesy. Claude's country might have a lot of wildlife so people hunt a lot or hunting is some kind of pass time for fun

What is the point of an easier difficulty with time reversal if you have casual mode? I feel as though they should work on the time reversal mechanic as to how much it can do depending on the difficulty and scrap casual. More uses in easier modes or something

I'm hoping the game isn't too easy as I feel like they might dumb down the difficulty for newer players and that'll affect hard mode. I hope the maps aren't that dumbed down that they're just generic open fields.

My favorite take from this whole thing. "We're trying to make a fantasy setting with magic more realistic, but we're JOKINGLY gonna jokingly JOKINGLY include time manipulation shenaniganz". I understand that they want to reuse a mechanic that actually is pretty innovative and has overall positive reception, but it just feels off if you're gonna try to make something more realistic and include something absurd as time manipulation. Yes, it is a fantasy setting with goddesses and dragons, but I'm feeling a clash between what they want to make and what they want to present. The whole science thing feels as though it's just for the sake of the school setting and offers nothing else. My god, if they're gonna make "magic is only used as a weapon" that a lot of fantasy fiction writers make as an mistake while trying to make it out to be a science I'll just face palm myself. I'm applying that concern to black magic or whatever you want to call it.

56 minutes ago, Aiddon said:

They're all from the UK, so it's consistent and derived from Celtic languages. It keeps things differentiated but interrelated. The only character who has a REALLY out there name is Sothis which is from an Egyptian goddess

Then I guess she's from a southern continent or some other place in southern parts of the map if they want to be that meta. Maybe Morpheus. That sounds like a very haunting place if you ask me.

38 minutes ago, IEatLasers said:

I am really upset I keep hearing Byleth will be a silent protagonist and I hate when characters talk to silent protagonist. It feels so cheesy and weak 

Does it say silent somewhere? I can't find it. I recall Byleth having voice in the game from a short ad tho that might be in the same vein as Persona's take in the silent protag

Anyways, buying a Switch is incredibly expensive for me. Even if I am a fan of FE, I'll wait for actually credible people to review the game to see whether or not it's worth buying. I'm just not getting as good as a vibe as I got from Echoes. I mean yeah, if you're having fun then all the power to you, but if the maps and story are boring for me then my reason for buying an expensive console for 1 game isn't worth it. There are other games as well on the console, but I don't have that much money and school costs are an issue. If it it'll receive negative reception from credible sources then I'll wait for the next FE game (which will most likely be a remake of FE4 or 6; not too fond of 6, but if they can work some of that Echoes magic then I'm sold) to come out and maybe try out TH.

Edited April 24, 2019 by redlight

[Interdimensional Observer]

13 minutes ago, Thane said:

When was this? And when I say silent protagonist I mean those who don't have any proper text themselves. Link in Wind Waker can both choose his own replies to NPC's from time to time, and can say "come on!" when guiding people, but I'd still qualify him as a silent protagonist.

And to support your argument, Cross from Xenoblade Chronicles X. They are silent went it comes to actual conversations beyond player chosen answers, yet when it comes to battle, you've the choice of 7 personalities (each a different VA) in English and 10 in Japan per gender when it comes to shouting stuff and making post-battle commentary.

Being vocal in battle =/ being vocal in story and normal conversation. It's the latter which defines whether a protag is silent or not.

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

Yeah, I agree with @eclipse on Golden Deer. The other two houses can get other help.

Though, I wonder if we can get Edelgard to wield axes and magic, as a nod to her country having more mages?

[Onestep]

6 minutes ago, redlight said:

Regarding the whole weapon associated with country thing, if they don't explain the preferences in the game then it'll just sound stupid. Tho the more I think about it there is some sense to be made. Edelgard's country is probably advanced in sciences as magic is a science in this game if I'm not mistakes (doesn't explain axes tho). Knights for Dimitri's country tho it feels cheesy. Claude's country might have a lot of wildlife so people hunt a lot or hunting is some kind of pass time for fun

Weapon Preferences across countries were a thing in real Medieval Society though. The English were famed for their powerful longbows, while the French favoured the use of large mounted forces of knights as their hammer of choice. The Scottish and Swiss made heavy use of pikes in late Medieval warfare as well. That's not to say that other countries didn't have archers or knights or pikemen, but purely that some countries had a reputation and/or preference for specific weapons. While each of the school factions might have a slight bias towards one form of combat, I suspect they'll be quite balanced.

[redlight]

1 minute ago, Onestep said:

Weapon Preferences across countries were a thing in real Medieval Society though. The English were famed for their powerful longbows, while the French favoured the use of large mounted forces of knights as their hammer of choice. The Scottish and Swiss made heavy use of pikes in late Medieval warfare as well. That's not to say that other countries didn't have archers or knights or pikemen, but purely that some countries had a reputation and/or preference for specific weapons. While each of the school factions might have a slight bias towards one form of combat, I suspect they'll be quite balanced.

I mean yeah, but they had reasons for it. If they're just gonna say there's a preference, but not explain the reason I feel as though the worldbuilding will be lacking. Tho that might just be one small nitpick at the end of the day when it comes to the worldbuilding critique

[The DanMan]

What I find interesting is that they seem to have axed the Weapon Triangle.

Lance users gain a skill early on that grants them 20 hit and avoid against sword users.

This meshes perfectly with footage from E3, where Edelgard didn't get any penalties against a sword user but Dimitri had a 100% hitrate vs a 59% one against another sword user.

[Onestep]

8 minutes ago, redlight said:

I mean yeah, but they had reasons for it. If they're just gonna say there's a preference, but not explain the reason I feel as though the worldbuilding will be lacking. Tho that might just be one small nitpick at the end of the day when it comes to the worldbuilding critique

Oh definitely. More world-building is always great. We already know that Fodlan is the country with the deepest ties to the Church though, so they already have a reason to have more knights than the other two.

[Armagon]

On the subject of Byleth being a silent protagonist, that seems weird considering that he doesn't have the traits of one outside of being able to choose a female version. He doesn't have the customization features of Kris, Robin and Corrin but being able to customize the character isn't necessarily an avatar trait. The biggest question mark is that there seemingly isn't an option to rename Byleth. Usually characters with set names aren't silent protagonists though that isn't always the case (see: Link in Breath of the Wild). But for a story driven SRPG, it seems odd that Byleth would be a silent protagonist. 

But if he is an avatar, then i'd actually prefer him to be silent. The issue with Kris, Robin and Corrin is that they all have established personalities and i'd much prefer if an avatar was silent. They don't seem to be taking a page out of Monolith Soft's book completely (i still think Cross is the perfect way to handle an avatar character) but it looks like Byleth might end up being the best avatar character in the series, if i'm right. 

[The DanMan]

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

On the subject of Byleth being a silent protagonist, that seems weird considering that he doesn't have the traits of one outside of being able to choose a female version. He doesn't have the customization features of Kris, Robin and Corrin but being able to customize the character isn't necessarily an avatar trait. The biggest question mark is that there seemingly isn't an option to rename Byleth. Usually characters with set names aren't silent protagonists though that isn't always the case (see: Link in Breath of the Wild). But for a story driven SRPG, it seems odd that Byleth would be a silent protagonist. 

But if he is an avatar, then i'd actually prefer him to be silent. The issue with Kris, Robin and Corrin is that they all have established personalities and i'd much prefer if an avatar was silent. They don't seem to be taking a page out of Monolith Soft's book completely (i still think Cross is the perfect way to handle an avatar character) but it looks like Byleth might end up being the best avatar character in the series, if i'm right. 

TL;DR of it is that it's probably gonna be like Persona.

[eclipse]

25 minutes ago, The DanMan said:

What I find interesting is that they seem to have axed the Weapon Triangle.

Lance users gain a skill early on that grants them 20 hit and avoid against sword users.

This meshes perfectly with footage from E3, where Edelgard didn't get any penalties against a sword user but Dimitri had a 100% hitrate vs a 59% one against another sword user.

Wouldn't be the first time that the weapon triangle vanished, either.  But "implementing" it via skills sounds intriguing.