Azel is Cool

Some thoughts on the design of Azel and his place in fe4.

[@ianleather5699]

This is why Fire Emblem's story telling is so fascinating. On its own, Azelle's story is rather basic, a young, unconfident bastard noble with a crush grows more confident and competent as he gets stronger, and most likely ends up in a relationship with someone. Fire emblem makes it special, because you're the one who sets Azelle on that path. You decide to put in the effort to train him, and see him become a useful ally. You decide whether he gets with the woman he's been crushing on or finds that his love lied in his childhood friend. It makes these stories feel all the more grand, and add to the great narrative that is FE 4.

[@CountShaman]

Until the story forgets him completely before the ending where he's brought up again just to draw more attention to Arvis and how "innocent" he is. I like Azelle, don't get me wrong, but it feels like the story handwaves him as a strawman to how "complex" Arvis is, while not even showing any impact his departure would really have on Arvis' character. He's not Arvis' retainer or student, he's his damn brother, and he gets brushed off as someome no more meaningful to that asshole than a standard enemy soldier yet we're supposed to just be okay with it. Sucking up to FE4 for that I won't.

[@nugget3327]

If I’m not mistaken as well there was supposed to be a part 1.5 of genealogy that happens after generation 1 but before generation 2 where Azel takes the spotlight but that was scrapped because arvis was popular and all.

[@ianleather5699]

@@nugget3327 That sounds awesome, I remember hearing about him having a story where he went to confront arvis but was ambushed and stoned in the Yied desert

[@nugget3327]

@@ianleather5699 yes that is the one I was talking about and from what I think that is where most of the offscreen events that were shown in the fe4 menu cutscenes happen, Lewyn battling Manfroy, stuff like that. I really wish that actually became a part of the game if not in a Genealogy Remake hopefully

[@burst2_]

I enjoy early Fire Emblem story-telling. Some of the later games like Fates and Awakening don't have it though because everyone is a stupid joke character. Our social engineering masters don't want us to have more serious/adult themed stories like Holy War which can build character and morality just from reading the dialogue and following along. Part of why this never got released here.

[@Barrylocke]

"Llewelyn's Got Chulainn" I mean it makes no damn sense, but sure, I can ship it.

[@1803jose]

This is nice to look at him in a different light. Honestly he was my "let's make Tyltiu's children useful" father. Since they had a convo and figured their paring is canon too so, all the more to it. Arthur and Tine are monsters, the Fala and Tordo blood combo it's too good for mages.

[@gypsysprite4824]

btw, for the record, the fe4 manga that exists is not to be treated as Canon. as if that'd stop anyone here, myself included, from using as a basis to decide who go best together

[@louiesatterwhite3885]

Lewyn makes Arthur completely break the game wide open, but doesn't really work in LTC play. Also leaves Tinni in the dust

[@ryangallagher9723]

@@louiesatterwhite3885 even with azelle as a dad tine is still nothing special unless you play very slowly

[@projectmessiah]

@@louiesatterwhite3885 But Ced is cooler

[@louiesatterwhite3885]

@@projectmessiah and the most LTC viable child of Lewyn

[@CaptainJackZeppo]

"Azel sits next to Arden" ...I mean, diagonally speaking, he quite LITERALLY sits next to him in the fort.

[@tellierbop]

I think azel has an issue where fire magic is the heaviest and he is portrayed as the : fire mage. His hair is red, his holy blood is a flame his brother has a tome named valFLAME and his fire rank is better than his wind and thunder ranks. Not only is wind and thunder magic way lighter, It also (in my opinion) looks way cooler. Lightning crashing down your enemies and a slash of wind piercing trough the enemy looks better than a dinky fire ball. Lewyn and tailtu also have sprites that are more appealing to a newer player. Lewyn looks like a badass and his class name is Bard which sounds cool. Tailtu is a girl and she joins next to a guy who has a staff that can resurect people and has wrath.

[@hadoukenfighter]

just fixing fire magic would go such a long way to help the poor kid out.

[@lagspike7763]

Idk about this gameplay story coherence stuff all I know is the sound an Elwind makes when it absolutely decimates a man

[@armourslayer8942]

Great analysis video! Honestly, the video felt way longer than 6 minutes and it was sincerely very well scripted. Your points about Azelle were solid, and you even mentioned things people might not notice at first, you clearly love him. However, even though his character and story is good for FE4 standards my problem with him is how little his involvement in the plot is considering his potential, but oh well, at least he's treated like a character and not a soulless unit. But that's besides the point, I hope you keep this quality in future videos and I'll be looking forward to them! :)

[@noishfanboy1141]

yeah been waiting for another fe4 video from you!!!!!

[@captainprivate320]

I see you everywhere dude you’re like the Justin Y. of the fire emblem community

[@noishfanboy1141]

@@captainprivate320 maybe I am

[@MaraudingManiac]

Another aspect about Azel that makes him better than the other "weak at start, strong later" characters in the franchise is that FE4 doesn't punish weak units through deployment cost, since every character can be deployed as long as you have them recruited. Plus, the implementation of the Arena allows you to have at least some degree of EXP available to units with low risk and without dragging out your turn count. If it weren't for how absolutely beyond busted mounted units were, it'd allow each character to feel usable.

[@ajshigeki1449]

Azel is my favourite tbh. Gladdddd to see the boy mentioned.

[@traskmaster9265]

Azel is my favorite character

[@jigjetty5412]

Azelle is and always will be my favorite FE character. I appreciate the Azelle love since no one talks about him. You earned a sub :)

[@darklordxerinic]

Man, as someone who doesn’t mesh with FE4 on a gameplay and narrative level (in terms of the plot itself). I really do admire how much Kaga was able to blend his gameplay and story presentation together. I really liked Azelle from the moment I was given control of him. Granted, Fire and Mage bias is no doubt a huge contender, but he is so satisfying to train up. It’s just a shame that Azelle’s relationship with Arvis (As far as someone who never got past CH5 can tell, feel free to correct me) never gets explored and his ultimate fate is left ambiguous at best, and cruel at worst.

[@jaskaranbajwa8443]

Pretty sure that in canon every male character dies at the end of chapter 5, only Finn makes it out to return in gen 2. Lewyn as well kinda but he does die before he comes back

[@evilmurlock]

I love Azel, he is my favourite unit! Such a cutie too!

[@orange6259]

Man when I first saw azel before I saw anyone I thought he was a girl and quickly realized he wasn’t once his mouth opened lol. But as I played with him more he became one of my favorites. I don’t know why but his just honest feel he has is so nice to have that I can’t help but grow attached to him.

[@gregosa9807]

Crazy how heavy fire tomes are in Genealogy. The standard 12 weight means they weigh the same as lances lol. Sure Marty in the next game has 0 speed but that's not the same as negative avoid.

[@willbill6942]

Just found your channel and I love your videos; such quality content!

[@kladenstein7849]

I just discovered your videos today and binged all your videos after watching your fe8 video. The quality of your videos and the passion you put into it just astonishes me and I really hope people watch your videos more. They're informational and the pacing is fantastic. Keep it up man

[@frknspacewizardbrett6044]

The funny thing about Azel being stuck with Arden is that if they both manage to get to a choke point they make a really good team. In the Prologue if you waste enough time and get Arden on that bridge, Azel can just sit nearby and pick off the brigands and hunters on the other side from relative safety.

[@Facesforce]

While you can do this... *Terminator music begins playing*, Why wouldn't you use Arden to reveal his true nature? That choke point is the first indication of Arden's true power level. There is no Fire Emblem 4, only the Ardenator erasing all humanity from Jugdral in Gen 1.

[@greenhardin1700]

Lovely video! Brilliant work, putting that special Azel feeling into words. I felt that.

[@Suleiman2000]

If Azel Survived the barhara massacre We could've seen even more from him especially on the halfway of the second generation

[@shroomoid9403]

I've only played through FE4 once but I enjoyed using Azelle from the start, and I think I even got him close to level 30. I never knew many people don't actually use him. In my opinion he's a pretty great unit.

[@metroid7299]

Fire magic is heavier even though it has the same weapon might as other tome types. Just get him a wind tome when you get the chance.

[@falavelt]

azelle is such a fun unit to use, great to see some appreciation for him as a unit

[@greenpoolball5136]

Good job making Azel more likable.

[@Skablergen]

I will ALWAYS support first mage boy to join the army in any game!

[@joelcolegrove]

Lex and Azel, the Colgate cavaliers.

[@artsyvids2563]

they look cute, would kiss him

[@danieltwardowski1100]

finally, someone who likes azel besides me, this boy deserves love :(

[@shadownite3378]

I find that even with how heavy fire tomes are, Azelle will generally double the vast majority of enemies the first couple chapters anyways and pretty soon he'll be able to buy a thunder tome. So fire tomes being heavy isn't really a huge issue in that regard, they just unfortunately make him easier to hit (Not that you would want to put your mage on the frontlines anyways if you arent Lewyn with Forsetti), but yeah I would personally rank Azelle above all the other footlocked combat oriented units aside from Lewyn. Genealogy's maps tend to have side objectives and ways to make your footlocked units useful without slowing down your mounted units, with careful planning you can get Azelle to his promotion, especially if you have Sylvia.

[@jonathanplooij3666]

i have always found azel great for guarding castles

[@milovegas123]

Cool channel. Love anyone that loves fire emblem 4, and also think Azel is cool… but I’m waiting for the Arden is cool vid. Arden with the leg ring and pursuit ring is truly a tank

[@akuma_no_asobiba3851]

Don't think anyone will see this but I'm playing through FE4 rn and my azel at level 20 had 16 magic so hearing he should have high magic hurt me a lot

[@SultanHardin]

I think these are good points. However I think perhaps a very simple point is left out. That being that Azel starts out as your first offensive mage. Your next chance to use offensive magic would be on Deirdre...who is not really a unit meant for combat. So skipping her, your next is Ethlyn, who gets the Light Brand in Chapter 2. She is great with it of course, but she doesn't immediately have pursuit and is probably busy healing your mounts most of the time. Lachesis can use some magic weapons, but is held back by pitiful stats pre promotion. You do get Lewyn later there, but he doesn't have pursuit (or Forseti at that point) so while he's good, he can't reliably double. You only finally get mage #2 in Tailtyu in late Chapter 3, and while I could see her being better in her base class compared to Azel due to how Wrath works...this is more than halfway through Gen 1 by now. Let's not forget, FE4 most units have terrible or even non existent res, meaning any magic damage (and therefore mages) will always find some purpose for damage. So even if say, you choose to ditch him later, I find he'd be able to some valuable damage earlier on.

[@Kryptnyt]

Passing down Fala blood (and also swords if you promote him) is a great way to turn Shaky Sword Unit (Delmud or Patty) into Competent Magic Sword Unit.

[@leargamma4912]

He also passes down pursuit for most units that don't get it normally. Considering he is a good dad for even ced, you'd be nuts to think he is a bad dad for anyone that isn't ayra

[@Kryptnyt]

@@leargamma4912 Even giving Ayra's kids 1-2 range is quite a good upgrade

[@ariano1561]

@@leargamma4912 the only paring that id say hes actually bad in is with Edain as Lester is theonly child that cannot substitute the strenght defniciency with magic swords .also their slink is boring story wise bu i digress

[@nightpurple372]

I used Azel in my play through because I value mages a lot and because we had to kill fridges like Langbalt. in chapter 4 he swept the map and helped me get the remaining levels to promote and he kept on slaying.

[@lspuria8440]

Jamke is a cool prince as well despite not having holy blood. No seriously, I thought royalty means holy blood. Does anybody have an explanation that is better than his parents not having it? Is this why king Batou focused on peace because he doesn't have holy blood to be independent? This is just a question that I thought should be put here and would appreciate an answer of some sort.

[@gypsysprite4824]

Verdane is the big exception to the whole "Nobility gets holy blood" thing since literally none of the crusaders went to Verdane to begin a lineage there.

[@lspuria8440]

@@gypsysprite4824 that's a big oof. So they created the big nation of verdane without using holy blood. Impressive but why did the nation become as big as it became without having protection under those with holy blood.

[@gypsysprite4824]

@@lspuria8440 because nobody wants it for most of history. like, Arvis doesn't even bother when he makes his grannvale empire iirc also, i believe it's implied to have taken a heluva lot of effort to get Verane to actually funtion as a kindgom rather than jsut being a bandit hell

[@ThatWanderingDude]

Shoulda been neir who went to verdaine, axes are really symbolic for warriors and brigands. Didn't make sense proto-hector hung around those snotty nobles and didn't make something of himself. We might have even seen swanchik usable instead of being an enemy only weapon.

[@domicraft6341]

Your videos are cool too. Subbed!

[@ness6099]

Also in comparison to Lex, he gets a secret event that solves all his problems; the brave axe is basically better than a pursuit and speed ring for him given he guarantees a double and goes from an 18 weapon weight penalty to only 12. Azel doesn’t need a secret event, but if he had more resources that went towards only him he’d stand out a lot better. I see no problem with giving him Elfire alongside Fire at the start, but also he could get a lighter tome in chapter 1 like wind, or even better the C light tome. I don’t think he can wield light at base, but c light wouldn’t be op on azel. It would just help him with his weapon might and weight, letting him contribute more sooner.

[@ThatWanderingDude]

Eh light magic kinda sucks, it's so damn heavy more than fire which is already heavy. Personally I think just feeding him some ch0-1 kills till he hits 12 by the end of ch1 is enough to make him viable and transition to mage knight which is imo one of the best classes in the game.

[@ness6099]

@@ThatWanderingDude Light tome? It’s 5 weight and 14 might, making it a lighter Elthunder with weapon triangle against all anima.

[@ThatWanderingDude]

@@ness6099 Light tome isn't available till sety steps in during ch8, all the other light tomes available are insanely heavy. Resire, the next tome has 12 weight and aura (the tome available in ch1) is 20 weight.

[@ness6099]

@@ThatWanderingDude The point of this is a theoretical change to the game to give him a tool he can use to stand out better.

[@ThatWanderingDude]

@@ness6099 honestly if I where to change one thing about azel it would be giving him 6 mov instead of 5 to really help out his unpromoted phase. I really hate how horse units dominate over non-horse units.

[@cringekid3993]

My fav FE5 gen 1

[@Xertaron.]

That's the thing about FE4 - it has one of the best characters in any FE game and it more than any other entry highlights the issue of characters not saying anything for the entire game after their recruitment. Noish for example doesn't have a single line of dialogue from the start of prologue all the way to near the end of chapter 5 and even then only if he is paired with Raquesis (which is bad) or Erin (which is non canon). The fact that Azel doesn't have a single dialogue with Arvis, especially in chapter 5, is a huge wasted opportunity. I get that this game was basically one massive experiment - it introduced weapon triangle and very early concept of support system, both of which are completely broken in this game. One massive scenario as opposed to more smaller ones etc. but if any FE game needs a proper remake it's this one. And i mean Final Fantasy 7 type of remake that overhauls the game from ground up. FE11 mostly updated graphics from 1990 game and it suffered as a result, selling poorly to the point FE12 wasn't even released outside of Japan (which is ironic considering it's a much better game).

[@leargamma4912]

FF 7 remake ruined FF 7. You don't know what you are talking about

[@Xertaron.]

@@leargamma4912 I've never said anything about the quality of FF7 remake, I merely pointed out that it did more than just update the graphics which is something i want to see in the remake. But do tell how FF7 remake ruined FF7, I've heard that sometimes, but rarely anyone went into details what exactly is their problem with it.

[@MemeMuseum23]

Damn, now I feel bad for benching him next to Arden

[@nessdbest8708]

its Azelle

[@natsumichan684]

Just give him elfire and the magic ring and it's all over move aside Lewyn

[@metroid7299]

Until lewyn gets forseti 😅

[@joelcolegrove]

Shark is tough.

[@fluffyninja3467]

Andddd now I'm watching all your FE 4 videos. Fuck xD

[@UNKNOWN-ov7md]

I haven't eveen started the video, but I agree with everything said in it (Azelle is great and I will not accept counter-arguments):

[@polyman6859]

It's insanely sad and funny when FE4 fans use the term unmounted like a slur against some units. Anyways solid Azel analysis. There are cooler fire mages like Calil, Tormod, Arvis, Mae, Sanaki, etc but Azel should still be noted for his overlooked potential.

[@RhiannaAtriedes]

Next video: "Arden is cool"

[@leifster7762]

I like Azelle:)

[@Prince_Leif]

Azel is cool I slapped the paragon,magic,defense rings on him and so is Arthur. Too bad Tine Exists

[@776Mine]

Wyatt no