#Fire embelm three houses imagines

[unmeiokaemasu]

(I’m reading some of the responses and I think this is a genuinely cool and interesting conversation)

It’s true as many have pointed out that Fire Emblem is a franchise that is almost defined by how it reuses and remixes its tropes. I think we’re kind of in a new cycle of that; Awakening was a game that a lot of people felt marked a turning point, it famously being the game that would have sunk the franchise if it failed, only to garner FE more popularity and recognition than ever before. So this trope specifically that Robin arguably codified is probably a result of that (and yes there were a lot of other similarities to Awakening in Engage, especially in the setup)

Engage in particular seems to have been deliberately cobbled together out of pre-existing FE tropes; the story cribs from Awaking and Fates a lot, but the gameplay format is very GBA-era (and possibly reminiscent of other games more, the 3 gameboy advance ones are just the ones I’m most familiar with). After each successive new game after Awakening was a bigger smash, I think Engage is Intsys’ attempt to familiarize the new audience with what the essence of the franchise is - while trying out some modern snazzy mechanics, of course.

This is one of the reasons I love the Unraveled video about fire emblem so much; as goofy as it as and much as it pokes fun at the series’ shenanigans, the idea of comparing the constant reuse of tropes to the Commedia dell’arte is extremely apt I think? Like frankly scarily apt. FE reusing its tropes is extremely deliberate; it builds a brand, and allows each entry to be a continuing exploration of various themes. There’s always a dragon, always a war, powerful forces vying for more power, a lord or several seeking to make things right, themes of the bonds that form under such seemingly insurmountable hardships, and at least one character that makes you go “What The Fuck, Fire Emblem?”

Of course that means that things are going to feel repetitive. There’s only so many times you can self-cannibalize tropes before you’ve basically done every combination imaginable. And I’m not going to pretend that copy-pasting character, story and theme tropes isn’t done to cut down development time just as much as it’s done to make a statement. Even if you love the franchise you’ll have entries that are your least favorite, that you think do the least with the material, and it’s also totally legit to enjoy one and feel like all the others are derivative or lesser versions.

That’s why I think it’s cool that they were willing to take such a big swing on Three Houses, the least-fire-emblem game in the franchise. But just like I’m glad they made Three Houses instead of “Fates II,” I’m glad they made Engage instead of “Three Houses: The Sequel.” (3 Hopes doesn’t count.) I hope they can keep that up. Basically my hopes for the immediate future of FE are a Switch remake of an older game (probably Genealogy, but my personal favorite is Blazing Blade), and then a brand-new story that starts testing the boundaries again.

Also, if you’re someone who’s curious about the stories of the older games and you don’t think you’ll ever play them, I highly recommend shanebrained’s Fire Embelm review series on youtube. The series is chronological so you can see how each game leads to the next, and each video has a story summary, story analysis, and gameplay analysis. I mean full disclosure I watched these before playing any game besides 3H and came to love other franchise entries after knowing their plots, but everyone’s feelings on spoilers are different.

Anyway yeah sorry for adding a mini essay to your post, it just got me thinking and then I couldn’t seep without getting my thoughts out. I think this whole idea is very interesting and I’m glad people are talking about it :’D

I haven't played too many FE games. Is this a common trope? Feels kind of redundant. (Spoilers)

I mean the "having amnesia and later finding out your dad is evil and you have to deal with self-corruption" trope. Granted, curropted Corrin is an AU in FEH, but you get the idea.