#at least for the cornian and drakengard characters

[randomnameless]

More artbook stuff!

Dev notes under the profiles of Aubin, Bruno, Mordon, Berenice, Adel and Travis!

Exposed arms gives "wild" point?

Aubin being from the desert wasn't a definite point, but one that was cemented later on ? I really liked how he recruited/noticed Magellan wasn't himself lol, but as far as "axe guys" go, I really appreciated the fact that Aubin's "reliability" was depicted at first with him willing to throw down his life to let his men escape (something that is alluded to in his Jeremy rapport!) and, on promotion, he gets a shield which, idk, but imo gives him a more "commanding" type than your regular, say, FE axe guys.

Aubin's a nice guy and a nice unit all things considered, and I'm glad the devs really wanted to make him a "reliable" type of guy, especially since he's the first (iirc?) guy you can recruit instead of execute (at least plot wise, Alain decides to hire him instead of killing him!)

Talking about traditional axe guys...

Here's Bruno! Designed to be the Pirate Boss 1.1, but ultimately promoted to playable unit!

I can't say much about his face - even if his large character portrait zooms a bit on it.

Selvie seriously studying his "gluteus maximus" was a bit of a joke rapport convo, but it was fun ngl, Sharon's was the usual "giant brigand with a heart of gold", but fwiw, I prefered his conversations with the Tricorns, both Travis were they come to terms with the fact Travis dumped him to look after his sister, and with Berengaria with Bruno wanting to recreate their bandit/brigand group (which they do, even if Berengaria marries Alain!).

As for his VA, I noticed how possessed!Bruno sounded more composed and articulate that the non possessed one lol (cluing us on a second PT that yep, this isn't the regular Bruno talking) but I won't lie, hearing his seiyuu give his all during the various attacking phases was also a big reason why I didn't bench him lol. And that scene where he joins is really something, you can hear how hurt/upset he is/was when Travis left the group, I agree with the comment, that scene was cool.

Mordon!

"Reborn" ? Was he supposed to die in the original scenario? Poor guy lol.

Even if he might only have been saved to make the Norbelle route available with, uhh, minimum grinding (I say available, not doable since you'd need a lot of grinding to be able to defeat her and get the end of her story lol), I'm also glad he was added!

"Beer-filled belly" lol, while I've read around that some people disliked his character because alcoholism shouldn't be laughed at or something, imo it's obvious the devs went with the "jolly old man" trope, acting sometimes as a mentor, sometimes as a drinking buddy (and the reason why we got to see drunk!Eltrinde).

Cute that the town girl who appears in his ending was retrospectively named, even if she appears twice in the game, maybe to help refocus Mordon's character on someone who, first and foremost, is happy to help people around?

(as long as there is money or booze, he says)

Berenice time!

"tough, strong and cool" women are really something we see mentionned around, and the secret between Berenice's thighs is revealed, much like Mario's mustache!

There's not a lot of notes about Berenice, but fwiw, I really like her interactions with the Clive/Adel duo, and even to some extent, with Gary.

In an era where "strong, no-nonsense women" are supposed to be brutes or look down on people, Berenice being friendly with her pals but still reckoned as a powerhouse with her own feelings about chivalry and helping her comrades was a welcomed breath of fresh hair, even down to her weakness with horses : while it could have been designed as a moe point, it's later explained and revealed that it's a detail that has to do with her standing (rather lack of).

And I also totally don't like her because her Bastard Cross animation is some shit straight up from GBAFE where the Hero critical animation also throws their shield to slice people.

Nope!

Adel and Clive, UO's christmas knights lol

Adel's being a mood maker really shined in Clive and Monica's second rapport convo lol, but I agree with the devs, I hope they'll continue on spending time together (for drinks?) in their later life.

Fun fact, in this artbook's cover, we can see Monica dragging Clive away from Berenice and Adel sharing a drink ^^

For a mood maker, he still has his "serious" moment when he and Clive try to guess who is the "very mysterious" knight Laurent, and in his recruitment chapter not wishing to fight his previous comrades and trying to talk/sway them to Alain's cause.

I wonder if Travis being designed as a "cute guy" influenced his maiden convo lol

i'm half wondering if every drakengard noble is a twink, no wonders why Gloucester worries and believes he can't be an aristocrat

All jokes aside, Travis having an aristocratic/noble background wasn't something I guessed from his design, but as the devs intended, from his various mentions of reading and his love of books.

Coming from another fandom where some devoted people keep on harping about feudalism when the entire playable cast goes to school and has no issue with literacy - save for one specific character - Travis, and thus Fevrith's take on literacy is also, a breath of fresh hair.

I also love the progression of his relationship with his sister, and how it ends with them being together in a non jugdralian way at the end of the war like they promised to at the end of their character arc

(unless Travis marries Alain?)

The only thing I'm a bit miffed on with him is how he is a Drakengardian character while his background doesn't make any sense in the Drakengard arc, like, assuming his dad (who was the royal master at arms! Berengaria was invited to royal ceremonies) died when Soldraga fell, how come he never mentions to Alain that, indeed, his cousin has been living in Drakengard for the past decade, and since the castle fell, she's most likely been in hiding? Joseph's all "we just heard rumours Virginia's been spotted in Drakengard!" when Travis, as Count Zechshelm's son, could have told him since day 1.

Still, he is redeemed imo for being the only loser fooled by Ludwig's "perfect disguise" lol

and immediately loses points because ffs why must he tank things with his face when enemies have under 5% of chances of hitting - which means OHKO - him???? Damn the dodgetanks units!

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Epilogue wise!

Or the credit roll, where only Alain gets an ending based on who got enough convos (+ a plot gizmo) with him, when the other characters do their thing!

Sure, as a FE player, the lack of paired endings based on the rapport convos was a bit annoying, but to be honest, given how the endings for each character have them at least share a screen with 1 or more other character, it's more... telling than shipping X and Y to see what comes out of it.

I mean, before getting Travis and the Tricorns' ending, we have a scene of them mock fighting/training together in the arena ft Amalia, and it's way more interesting and revealing about their character than some random "Bruno married Yunifi and opened a library in Bastoritza, with Travis visiting from times to times".

Sure Monica doesn't... rekindle in her ending her relationship with Clive (FE15xFE16 crossover?) in the ending, but in the playable epilogue aka where Alain can talk to the characters who are next to others and talk to each other... Clive is asking Monica, without any other thoughts, of course, if, y'know, they can meet her grandpa together but, uh, if she would accept to accompany him just because, uh, reasons.

Some ending background scenes, even if they're not in the textr proper, reference support/rapport convos (Mordon and Jerry drinking or Bertand and Govil chilling together) and I like the Cornian Ossan All Stars team practicing together, with Lex - the childhood friend - popping up in the background to watch them, even if we already got/saw his ending in city 1.1 earlier!

It helped depict this world and the characters as alive and interconnected, Lex is said to travel around the world after the war after all!

I regret not being able to use Sanatio more in the game - but that's the way it is lol - because he's kind of adorbs in his rapports, but maybe it's because he's turned in a butt-monkey who buttmonks in his Melisandre and Ochlys rapports lol (also his class is completely stupid) but yeah, called it, Sanatio being the only one who cared about the Orthodoxy, its people and Albion becomes the new Pope after Scarlett ditches her title to make flower crowns with her friends.

Hm.

IIRC the only pairing we have - regardless of the rapport convos - is Virginia and Gilbert, but tbh, if the "plot mandatory" convos tried to sell it, as I noted during the Drakengard saga post, the optional rapport convos (but not only between the two of them! see Aramis and Virginia's!) and the optional "yay we rebuilt Drakengard! Let's talk about the future of the country but wait Gilbert why are you talking with Virginia who's still basically at that point the Princess of another country and not talk to your retainers or even your totes-not big bro?" so their ending doesn't come off as a surprise, and to hammer it even more, the devs have them standing together in the playable epilogue talking about competing again.

I wouldn't say they're as hamfisted as Scarlett being the supposed canon love interest - because Alain marrying his cousin can throw a wrench in that marriage lol - but, uh, yeah. Random Drakengardian NPC foreshadowed it with his "wow Princess Virginia is so cool she rekt'd Giethe! We admire her a lot!" -> Gilbert's approval/opinion/wishes notwithstanding, Drakengardians NPCs like her even if she's from Cornia.

I also liked how Virginia and Gilbert's son will later be doted on and tutored by Leah, Gilbert's vassal who officialy became Virginia's and I found it was a nice callback to her support with Amalia - Leah wants to become stronger so she'll train everyday to defeat her, maybe she will use those polished skills to teach the future Drakengardian prince, since House Zelchesm is busy Tricorning around?

"And Minerva becomes a nun" -> I feel the execution is better here, because Hilda - who rides a flyin lizard and has a younger cleric sister - wants first and foremost to atone for her role in the "keeping the lockdown tight" during the plague, so if she can help by healing people this time I think it's plausible enough that she takes it, even if it means not being a wyvern knight anymore

(will she pioneer a new type of unit in Fevrith, the flying healer, but instead of being on a pegasi, flying healers would ride wyverns???)

As for the elves...

I liked how Eltrinde, to mirror maybe her rapport with people from each land (save for Drakengard?) is said to have travelled around the continent of Fevrith to finally break Elheim's policy of isolationism.

Rosalinde's last rapport convo with her vassal/knight Ithilion was cute, he was angsting about pursuing his romance with a human and being at her service and wanted to break up with his human, so she fires him for around 100 years, so he can live his romance, and then return to her if he wants - and in the ending BG, Ithilion is with his human :) (even in the cover art of the upcoming artbook!)

I'm not going to replay it so soon - but I'll definitely restart a run before the end of the year, on a higher difficulty to get the memetic fish stew ending or to get the utterly depressing Norbelle one.

(i want to try new shenanigans with units damn it like find a way to optimise Gloucester's damage input, do something so Berengaria doesn't die to a breeze and learns how to use her shield and/or make thematic teams like the "drunkards" with Mordon, Jeremy, Gilbert and Eltrinde)