Why Fire Emblem Fates was Censored

In this video, I’ll tackle the development history behind many aspects Fire Emblem Fates is widely known for, such as the multiple routes, who were involved, its music, new gameplay features, the plot and even how it was changed outside Japan. While, yes, I’ll cover the localization changes, there’s lots of interesting stuff, at least to me, that revolves around… not skinship or treehouse changes.
This video contains obvious spoilers for Fire Emblem: Fates: Conquest, Birthright and Revelation
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Subscribe: goo.gl/1xHJzR
Patreon: / ghastpatreon
Twitter: / ghaaast
Instagram: / keegandmeyer
Streaming:
Twitch Streams: / faerghast​
Stream Archives: bit.ly/3vmt3Sr​ (Its the old archive channel)
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Script Writer:
Moltz23 / moltz20
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Sources
1) Multiple Routes
/ 1262040015263215617
iwataasks.nintendo.com/interv...
www.famitsu.com/news/201505/2...
2) Staff and Roles
/ creating-fire-emblem-f...
www.usgamer.net/articles/what...
2.5) Music
www.vgmonline.net/fire-emblem-...
www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000115482
web.archive.org/web/201507101...
Features
www.famitsu.com/news/201505/2...
Skinship
/ on_facerubbing_in_fate...
4) The Story
iwataasks.nintendo.com/interv...
kantopia.wordpress.com/2015/0...
www.siliconera.com/senran-kag...
CH. 15 draft
/ 1277227177906487297
Localization Changes
kantopia.wordpress.com/2016/0...
wiki.serenesforest.net/index....
kotaku.com/the-english-versio...
kantopia.wordpress.com/2016/0...
Fates Staff Credits
nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Fire...
KZbin Sources:
Shadowofchaos • Fire Emblem: If/Fates ...
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Gameplay Footage By:
PM1 / pheonixmaster1
#FireEmblem, #FireEmblemFates, #FE14

[@Faerghast]

Hope you liked this video about Fire Emblem Fates's development! Please keep it civil in the comments! Also, if you enjoyed, please consider liking and subscribing to support the channel. It is less than 400 subscribers away from 85K! Thanks to all my supporters on Patreon as well. Subscribe: goo.gl/1xHJzR Twitch Streams: www.twitch.tv/faerghast (Currently streaming Fire Emblem Three Houses Randomized!) Patreon: www.patreon.com/GhastPatreon Other videos you may like: The Edelgard Documentary. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYG3Z5-lg6ZrbZI 15 REJECTED Fire Emblem Three Houses Ideas from Intelligent Systems kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWbMoYulmsqhnZY What if you could recruit ONE boss from EACH Fire Emblem game? kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4DVZXR9f7Rspa8 Fire Emblem Elitists kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIuzfGmmeZhkndk

[@Fermin-hw5pd]

I would like to see more videos about the game's developments

[@zenronez1158]

@@Fermin-hw5pd yeah what this commenter said

[@zenronez1158]

I'm surprised that hinoka didn't exsist at the start that kind of explain her lack of prescience in birthright Without her who would have replaced in the chapters where she's a boss more capturable bosses or maybe omozu could finally be captured as a returning boss from the prologue

[@alexkoch5543]

Awesome video as always Ghast! If you’r up for a follow up type of video to this, I’d love to see your take on what the story could have been and the changes you’d make to actually make it good. Also maybe touch on the possibility if the three routes were combined into one. I think that’d be an interesting concept.

[@shadowlink121]

Change this videos title. as is, it's super misleading, and quite frankly, a HUGE waste of time for people like me.

[@JohneAwesome]

RELEASE THE KIBAYASHI CUT!!!

[@Fermin-hw5pd]

Would be interesting to see the original plot

[@MrGksarathy]

It probably would still have problems, but it'd be better. Also, it's interesting that he came up with Valla and its designs. Those are incredibly interesting.

[@zenronez1158]

Oh no not another snyder situation

[@MrGksarathy]

@@zenronez1158 Snyder's a hack, and it doesn't seem as if Kibayashi is as much of a hack. I could be VERY wrong, though.

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@MrGksarathy I have seen some of his work, it is pretty well made, at least in my opinion.

[@mc.type_guy]

I really hope we get to see the original script eventually. Dude literally wrote 500 pages when he was asked to write 10. And for just ONE ROUTE. It'd be so sick to read it

[@zachataxxii7126]

Imagine having your whole passion project you worked for so long on just getting gutted and being thrown into arguably the most divisive game in the series. We're not sure on what exactly got changed so who knows how much better it could've been, but that must've been heartbreaking

[@milesbarnes6777]

I really wish Eastern and Western companies would publish the original script (if the writer/s consent to it, of course) when there’s these instances of super long scripts that get shaved down. I wouldn’t expect translations to be done whatsoever. Or let the script writers take their scripts and the company company publishes an “official” or “spin-off” book while the rest of the company is working on an in-development, for example. I love things like the cutting room floor, and I wish such a thing existed for scripts as well!

[@lpfan4491]

Some people say the script likely wasn't that great because they don't like the work of the author. But I honestly think that the original vision should be unaltered if the edits were going to be crap anyways.

[@micheledelloglio5820]

@@lpfan4491 Ok, but one of the main problem of Fates is the total lack of world building and emotional growth. 500 pages for a DRAFT of a story means he literally detailed how many grain of rice Ryoma eats. And, again, it cannot be worst than the original btw

[@dbzfanzone4725]

@@JT-uh8id what continent are they in?

[@mackenzie9329]

Ah, good old 2015 fire emblem drama. It’s almost nostalgic.

[@saucymongoose7246]

Ikr

[@daz1543]

I still can't believe there are people who unironically defend censorship

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@daz1543 I live with three of them

[@Cure-Skywalker]

Man NintenDogs your waifu seems so much more innocent when compared to the implications of teacher/student relationships

[@conspiracypanda1200]

@@Cure-Skywalker idk at least there wasn't much incest in 3H unless you bend the rules and count Rhea. Meanwhile in fates you can hardly make a left turn without a sibling, cousin, nephew or niece cuddling up to you.

[@DavidKyokushin]

The fact that every part of the story was written by different people explains why some characters like Xander basically have split personality disorders depending on where they're talking

[@xdsmile5359]

What about peri azura and even kagero?They are starters with only one or maybe two traits.

[@TheBreakingBenny]

Xander is a doofus on Birthright, through and through.

[@maramba32]

is he really that differnt from conquest/revelations?

[@AmirPrinceling]

@@maramba32 Honestly not really. Ghast made a video back in the day where he portrayed Xander as being inconsistent character-wise due to the fact he is different in supports as opposed to when he's fought as an enemy in Birthright. He's really more of a complex character, but Ghast has made people believe he's just inconsistent.

[@TheGamersState]

So there you have it then; Support Xander and Story Xander really was 2 separate characters.

[@MrSentinel07]

Pretty disappointing that communication was so lacking between the various writers.

[@timjim7163]

That was another localization issue believe it or not All the things that make him seem more apprehensive towards Garon weren’t in the original Japanese

[@lpfan4491]

@@timjim7163 *Cough* You serious?

[@timjim7163]

@@lpfan4491 well, they weren’t as pronounced, to be more precise In any case, it wasn’t as stark of a contrast as we got in overseas

[@VallaPhantasm]

Freaking oof man, Hinoka apparently not existing at all at first makes way too much sense given how shafted she is in Fates

[@MogofWar]

I'd like to see who the original draft said Corrin's father is...Since a lot of the key details in Revalations were not devised until after the games were already in development, if you just played Birthright and Conquest, ignoring the existence of Revalations, the clues you do get mostly lead a completely different direction than Revalations takes you.

[@bobosmith101]

Huh? What was your theory?

[@justinianthe1st790]

Does it? As someone who prides themselves as a Fates Fanatic I cant say I've found anything that points to a different direction. Last I checked all there was was Corrins father being completely unknown. Until Revelation that is.

[@moltz4866]

Also iirc in the three routes (specially Revelation) it's helluva implied Gunter at one point climbed Notre Saggese(?) and was blessed by the old dragon living in it or something just like Xander, Garon and Sumeragi, but nothing is ever really done with this plot point for some reason. Perhaps the purpose of that was present in the original script?

[@MogofWar]

@@moltz4866 It's Strongly implied that When Garon, Sumeragi, and Gunter climbed the mountain it was at the same time, in a single group, that the three had adventured together back when both were mere princes and neither expected to inherit the thrones of their respective kingdoms. Then life happened. Sumeragi's elder sibling dies, Garon's older brother goes mad and has to be put down for the safety of the realm and prince Garon's young children, and things proceeded from there... I don't know how much of this I gleaned the the story or how much of this was my sleep deprived fever-dreams...

[@MogofWar]

@@justinianthe1st790 Perhaps were no actual clues in any direction, but after playing Conquest and Birthright but not knowing about Revalations, regardless of what the narrative suggested or didn't, I was left the distinct impression that Garon was Corrin's actual father.... but we get Anankos instead. Because Mikoto is not the biological mother of any of the Hoshidan Royals, and she apparently Wed Sumeragi already pregnant with Corrin... And Garon seemed dead set on abducting the Youngest child. These were things we knew, and what does that point when you don't know of Anankos or Arete or Valla because you haven't played Revalations yet? But what we do know was Azura, a year older than Corrin, was the daughter of King Garon's brother, who Garon killed in order to become king himself, then Mikoto turns up in Hoshido, having fled her husband, and very quickly marries King Sumeragi while pregnant with Corrin(who has Nhorian features no matter how you customize him or her.). A few years later King Sumeragi gets murked and Corrin gets captured. The Hoshidans get Azura... So if you have this time-line but don't realize that Anankos is Corrin's father or that Valla exists, it's not that big a leap to think... Maybe Mikoto had the been the wife of Prince Garon's brother. Who fled from Nhor to Hoshido a short time after the coup, then married King Sumeragi. In this version events Garon took his brother's wife when he took the throne, but she refused to marry her husband's killer and fled, but was lucky to escape with her own life. Gets to Hoshido (her homeland in this version because we have no informationabout Valla) seeks asylum with Sumeragi who grants it because she was his childhood sweetheart before she got married off to the Nhorian crown prince. He marries her pretty quickly and she becomes queen when his first wife dies in childbirth. (Sakura has double survivors guilt because her mother died giving birth to her, and because Kaze protected her instead of Corrin... And while the other royals don't blame Sakura, some of the nobles seem to because, while it's entirely irrational for her to blame herself or for anyone elseto blame her, the fact that her mother died giving birth to her means superstitious folk will see her as unlucky so she ends up socially ostracized as if Corrin's abduction is her fault even though nobody blames her... incidentally Kaze's guilt derrives from the fact that his job was to guard Corrin but he guarded Sakura instead... ) This begs the question, why the kid exchange happened? Mikoto arranged it, thinking to exchange Sakura for Azura,(remember Sakura was Garon's original abduction target, but he ended up with Corrin instead) Sumeragi ended up dead because he tried to interfere, and Garon was ruthless. I get it, that's mostly speculation, but you know what the weirdest part of all of this is... if this had been the flow of things it wouldn't have changed the the Story of Revalations hardly any at all. Corrin's unique connection to Anankos would have still been a central point to the plot. (Although having Corrin be related by blood to both sets of siblings and Azura be both his/her cousin and half sister would have been a total mindfuck...) And either way it was Mikoto and Azura's "Nana" in Hoshido who had been the ones to teach Azura the Vallan magics... So the connections to Valla and Anankos would still be properly established, but by slightly different means.

[@squatch1565]

Regardless of how accurately the developers followed Kibayashi's original script and the general opinions on the story, I deeply appreciate and respect the passion he had from playing just one game to write so much. #releasethekibayashicut

[@orangeslash1667]

The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@cellanj]

maybe that's why hinoka does nothing at all

[@zachataxxii7126]

It's kinda hilarious how irrelevant Hinoka is despite being marketed as one of the main characters

[@lpfan4491]

The joke is, her inclusion is one of the things many people agree on to be a good change. Just that they did absolutely nothing with it.

[@SuperDanMan11100]

To be fair, she does rescue Corrin in Birthright chapter 15 if you don't save Kaze, but besides giving you another Pegasus Knight, she doesn't do much else.

[@micheledelloglio5820]

@@SuperDanMan11100 Giving how loved Corrin is in the community, i suppose that is her worse sin

[@GaeaRage0798]

@@micheledelloglio5820 At least Birthright Corrin is his/her most decent incarnation.

[@theavsky1428]

No wonder the story in fates became what it was... The fact that the concept of Valla aka AN ENTIRE KINGDOM was added at the end and not planned out from the start explains a lot.

[@MrSentinel07]

Imagine how much better it would have been without Valla. Without Revelation. No hidden kingdom nonsense. No Corrin is from Valla crap. None of that at all. Just the concept of exploring two kingdoms who each believe they're in the right and you have to make a choice between them. So much potential.

[@lpfan4491]

I mean, it was pretty obvious, even without insight. Except for the evil garon-nonsense in conquest, all connections to valla are absolutely random and never come up again. Like they were literally pushed in a week before release or sth.

[@nanalove3819]

​@@MrSentinel07 I was going to say, Revelation could have worked if they write a plot like "trying to reconcile the two kingdom", but then I realized their would probably be that much fight in this kind of story because it would be more a diplomatic one lol.

[@renren47618]

Imagine a reality where Kibayashi thought "Well, maybe it's too late to add Valla to the game, maybe i will take this concept and save for my next manga or If they call me for a new FE game" Probably Fates Story would ended way better than it got, honestly

[@xxProjectJxx]

I think the basic concept of Fates' story is really good but sadly they didn't stick the landing. I'd still like them to try something similar again some time

[@nahte123456]

I mean I don't think Fates has a bad concept, just the writing.

[@xxProjectJxx]

@@nahte123456 yea that's what I was trying to say lol

[@krimsonkatt]

They did with Three Houses. It's basically just Fates but good with large influences from Geneology and Gaiden.

[@nahte123456]

@@krimsonkatt I love 3H but Fates base story is way better, the entire concept of the Roayls, especially Corrin, Xander, Camilla, and Takumi is just perfect for the setting and gameplay.

[@MrSentinel07]

@@nahte123456 I disagree. I think Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude's story is much better than any of the Fates royals. Edelgard alone is better than most lords honestly.

[@rhymeswithmoose228]

I actually would love to see something like the Lightning tribe in future games. A simple implementation would just be the "thunder" personal skill (knows thunder or doubles uses if known otherwise), but some unique spells or classes would be coo..

[@Muriuki34]

They really didn't do enough with the tribes in Fates

[@MrGksarathy]

@@Muriuki34 Yeah. I wanted to know more about the Flame and Ice Tribes. I wonder if there might be a Heroes connection there between Nifl and the Ice Tribe and Muspell and the Flame Tribe.

[@Greideren]

Imagine if they had combat arts based one their elements. Like Frozen Lance for the ice tribe, or Mjolnir for a possible thunder tribe.

[@marcoasturias8520]

Getting something about the tribes that are already in the game would be a nice start. In two routes we go to the ice tribe, while the fire one is never seen.

[@TheSwordsman100]

I never agreed with the criticism that Awakening had a bad story, as it seems to be more against certain old school tropes being used at all than anything to do with actual quality.

[@YingofDarkness]

I always just thought it was average. I was surprised so many people thought it was bad despite very few of the other FE games having what I would consider great stories. Most of them are similar to Awakening to me in that they seem average. Birthright is the same way. It could be better, has some plot holes, but not so much that you are taken out of the experience. Conquest is bad. It is the only FE game I will say that about though, and the gameplay arguably makes up for it

[@madamebkrt]

That's how I feel. Sure, the "Robin is Validar's child" twist was lame, but the writers were at least trying to create something good. I enjoy the fact that Awakening has 3 story arcs, and the medieval time-travelling is an extremely cool concept. Using Marth's descendants to engage the old fans and even fans from the Super Smash Bros. series was an understandable action considering Awakening was supposed to be the last game; not to mention it's as if the series went full circle and finished in the world it began in. The characters were also more understated and relatable than the exaggeratedly wacky cast of Fates. Personally I actually struggle when playing Fates to make my team in each playthrough because there are so many characters I simply do not like and won't use.

[@mercenarybdu]

@@madamebkrt I enjoyed the vast cast of characters. At least it gave me variety than forcing me to use the same ones per run. Also, that's nothing compared to the characters ya gain a hold of in FE6 and FE12. There is a lot of them and they are all gained at various states of the game, if ya know what you are doing.

[@rosegold8115b]

I would love a retelling of Fates’s stories in like novels.

[@xdsmile5359]

I want to know what THE NAME OF THE CONTINENT IS

[@Zekken_The_Lodestar]

@@xdsmile5359 same.

[@xoLoveTruelySucksxo]

like the pokemon adventures manga.

[@dustlotus5129]

Can I get where your profile picture is form?

[@orangeslash1667]

@@dustlotus5129 NOOOOOOOOOOO!

[@ferintown6628]

“In the original cut, Hinoka didn’t exist” I screamed I knew it

[@haroldnecmann7040]

Wait, so who the ara are princess of hoshido?

[@RafTheDude]

I heard somewhere that "Kagero was supposed to be Corrin's Hoshidian sister. But she appeared too similar in appearance to Camilla and so Hinoka was made."

[@Robin-234]

It feels really bad hearing that they tried so hard to make a story that everyone would understand/would make a lot of people emotional and relate to the characters after it's been out for some time because... it really wasn't. And it makes me sad to see how much effort went into the story specifically, when that's the part that people have the most problems with when it comes to fates.

[@shadeofthenight8988]

Ikr I only ever cared about a few characters. the way it was handled is sad because I hate seeing all the potential wasted.

[@MrGksarathy]

The question will always remain, what the hell went wrong in transit?

[@Greideren]

The main problem comes from bad supports and lack of good foreshadowing. Tha Valla stuff comes almost out of left field and how can we forget about Azura's and Hinata's support?

[@MrGksarathy]

@@Greideren Also, Azura had too many potential S-Supports and not enough platonic ones. Actually, everyone had too many bad supports. I would have preferred a Three Houses approach to supports and who could get what rank.

[@Greideren]

@@MrGksarathy Yeah the many S supports were a big issue... They wanted to reintroduce the second gen units since they worked so well for Awakening and were quite loved, but they ignored that their heavy involvement with the plot is what made them so good in the first place. So now we have the outer realms as a cheap explanation and too many supports (specially the S ones) because we need a excuse to have most characters being able to have kids with most characters of the opposite gender. At least 3H solved that by not forcing supports between all characters and not having a poorly justified second gen.

[@gothphoebe]

I KNEW the supports were written by different people

[@definitelynotanarcissist.3135]

Xander is proof of that.

[@remix2593]

yeah, pretty sure I've heard about it somewhere else before on how fates had 3 different writing teams 1 for conquest and birthright 1 for revelation and 1 for the support conversations, unfortunately the best one was limited to only support conversations instead of the ACTUAL story, at least it allowed them to make fates characters interesting tho, like as the guy before me said, xander is proof of this, making some of the dumbest decisions imaginable in the story while having pretty good supports

[@xdsmile5359]

Ok that is just bad planning/cooperation

[@johnathanedwards9054]

My friend: wait, the supports were written by two different teams? Me while cocking my pistol: always have been.

[@SOMEGUY7893]

@@remix2593 Eh even then Xander does take some actions that conflict with his character due to the fact that one of his retainers is Peri so you'll get him never actually interacting with her in a way that's actually really fitting for either of the personalities he has.

[@laddismaximus9535]

These are the games that got me into the series. I know that Fates is a meme in the community, but I still love these games. The story might be whacky, but I love it. The music is so damn good and the dev process was super cool to learn about. So thanks for doing something about what started off my love for Fire Emblem!

[@ZackSNetwork]

Its a meme? It just gets hate on a lot. It has its problems writing wise but, FE games are not well know for good stories really with the exception of FE4 and FE5 however those games stories would be considered sub par compared to other story driven games.

[@laddismaximus9535]

@@ZackSNetwork okay, fair. But I know a lot of people just kinda casually shit on the game, I do as well. But that’s just my opinion so whatever. You have yours and I have mine, but you make some good points about the story.

[@Kairos_Akuma]

Same with the love. I watched some Let's plays of PoR and RD back in the days, but my first FE I played was Awakening and later fates. And even if I know there flawed I love them. I spend HOURS in My Castle and visit others to gather Skills and all.

[@laddismaximus9535]

@@Kairos_Akuma oh yeah I have an unhealthy of hours in birthright

[@onewingedren2228]

I love Fates but i never hold myself of roasting Fates Story when the opportunity comes

[@chackle5002]

hearing the story details, I would love a full-on remake that rebooted the story with a better story, getting to know the other tribes, as we only know of the wind/fire/ice tribes, and how they all have a dragon, that's why they have abilities. and then I guess the lightning village would be a lightning dragon, imagine the characters we could've seen, maybe earth dragons? plant dragon?

[@orangeslash1667]

The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@CometX-ing]

"Don't do anything weird" Somehow they still end up doing something weird.

[@frankreberto9637]

“Don’t do anything weird” famous last words I’m sure that’s never turned into some uhhhhh “interesting” rule 34

[@zachataxxii7126]

Fates will always bring something weird, whether it's the game itself or the people who talk about it

[@Fermin-hw5pd]

@@frankreberto9637 I'm sure some of Fates' first r34 were made because of that

[@MLittleBrony]

"don't do anything weird" "roger, we'll just let the player blow on their spouse's face to cool them down after a bath"

[@DiamondAppendixVODs]

"Try blowing harder next time"

[@loganmiller7827]

That's really interesting that Hinoka used to not exist in the story

[@Yarharsuperpirate]

And she basically doesn't exist in the current story either.

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

Who?

[@SpeckyX3]

Hinoka.... all i know its only ryoma, Sakura, & Takumi

[@Fermin-hw5pd]

GEE, GO FIGURE!

[@johnathanedwards9054]

She was brought back because they needed someone to be Camilla's opposite. Also Hinoka was the first character designed for the game.

[@nfornevermore]

Fates is still my favorite FE game, dumped hundreds of hours into it. Beating all three routes on Lunatic difficulty is one of my greatest gaming achievements, it was such a rewarding experience.

[@Terra_Finale]

I'd really like to see localized difference in the units that can s-support with both avatar genders, like they apparently did in Japanese Fates with Niles and Rhajat. Makes them feel more organic with real sexualities rather than just "playersexual" imo

[@TheBreakingBenny]

I've kinda noticed they don't have anything different to say if they're speaking to same-sex Corrin in the localization

[@Terra_Finale]

Yeah, same for Linhardt in Three Housed, as far as I've noticed (though I could have just missed any differences). I think Nintendo in general have a long way to go in terms of LGBTQ+ rep. It's nice those S-supports exist, but there's still a lot of room to grow.

[@Spore9996]

And more supports for some of the pre-promotes, too. Reina got totally shafted - she only has supports with Corrin, despite her working with Orochi for YEARS, Fuga only talks to Hayato, Flora never talks to anyone except Corrin and Felicia I guess...

[@stormnightmare4378]

@@Spore9996 The worst part about the Flora supports is that she doesn’t have any with the other caretakers. When she fights Jacob, she‘s literally admitting to having feelings for him, but they don’t have any supports if they both join you. And she honestly should’ve had supports with Gunther and maybe even the Nohr Royals too. How come Felicia gets to support literally every dude and multiple girls and she’s stuck with the bland MC and her sis? :(

[@Spore9996]

@@stormnightmare4378 Yeah, it's a great disappointment.

[@zachataxxii7126]

No matter your opinion on the game, I think we can all agree that there should be another FE game with gameplay like Conquest

[@neixom]

But with less gimmicky maps

[@dessam3939]

If any FE game brings back the Fates Pair up mechanic then I’m in because it took Awakening’s Pair up and balanced it without making it boring as well

[@milesbarnes6777]

But also make it possible to allow the player to raise and use a full team of deployment slots into endgame instead of having to rely on only 2-3 units for the later half of the game. If it means having to tone down a mode like Lunatic+ in comparison to Fates, I’d really like to have that happen as well

[@justinianthe1st790]

Hell yeah. Conquest is my favorite FE in terms of gameplay. Really Fates as a whole is my favorite in terms of gameplay.

[@TheRedScizor]

idk the second half of the game's maps are kinda gross

[@Neogears1312]

I’d really like another attempt at a feudal Japan styled game. I’ve gone back to play fates and minus the gameplay it’s the big thing I missed. Almost every game is just Western European influences with a particular hint of Norse and it was refreshing to try other cultures out.

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

My only real issue with Hoshido and Nohr was how...unfortunate implication biases were at play. Like, of COURSE the Japanese nation is considered this poor widdle victim in the game right? Of COURSE the western nation is unabashedly evil right? These nations needed nuance, not this black and white guff.

[@xdsmile5359]

I know both royal family were essentially the same except for hinoka being honrable and Camilla being a walking cow

[@MicaelHD]

@@xdsmile5359 Gingko? You mean Hinoka?

[@Neogears1312]

@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 I mean that’s not really the fault of anything but the split up concept. Nobody talks about Altea being this “poor nation” that’s conveniently not corrupt and pure because it’s the hero’s country. If birthright was the only option this would be status quo fire emblem. Making it possible to side with bern really shows how little depth Lycia really has if you know what I mean. Like ooooh mild hints of corruption we’ll see. Maybe some implied shitty thing that happened off screen. That’s fe home countries in a nutshell. 3h is just the first to spell out everyone’s got their shit their trying to deal with.

[@ununun9995]

yeah medieval fantasy is a bit overdone now in fire emblem i wish they could try it with another setting.

[@FlyingWalrus]

The one thing that always irks me when Fates gets talked about is Soleil's JP supports. A lot of people who aren't that aware of it or aren't Fire Emblem players just think of it as the "gay conversion therapy thing" and the fact that it was a misunderstanding with fan translations bothers me.

[@daz1543]

The media attention certainly didn't help

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@daz1543 Could have been worse, I don't know how, I just know that it could have been.

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

Im frankly GLAD it wasn't a gay conversion therapy thing, better to be a misunderstanding than for the game to genuinely be that awful.

[@monky7106]

I think the "censorship" with the corrin/soleil support was fine, because unless I'm misremembering, it didn't remove the "gay conversion therapy" thing (because that's not what was happening at all, the problem wasn't that she loved girls but rather that she would *faint* just from talking to a pretty one, imagine the consequences of passing out in the middle of a battle - she could get killed) but instead changed the "oh yeah i slipped some magic powder in your drink when you weren't looking" part to something else. That bit seems like a justified removal, even if Corrin had good intentions I can see easily why it made so many people uncomfortable, it's not behavior fitting for a hero (especially not when they're the protagonist).

[@daz1543]

@@monky7106 The fact that it wasn't actually conversion therapy should be reason NOT to change it, besides it was exclusive to Conquest and Nohr isn't exactly what you picture when you think of "Hero" just look at Peri and Niles

[@maramba32]

Didn't even get those other DLC's that the Japanese versions has. Rip

[@justinianthe1st790]

I will never mot be angry at that. The game sold well ffs.

[@ChaolaoFueChi]

Hmm, it was mostly the father and child support

[@alphblishtarl9374]

Yea I’m sad I couldn’t make a team of great lords

[@maxmoroney4607]

Even with the lacking story, Conquest is still absolutely excellent purely because its gameplay is the best in the series

[@johnwise9811]

Facts

[@renren47618]

Did you ever heard of "Good Guy Garon" is a Conquest mod(Only works on Fates Special Edition, that you can only get nowadays by buying it for insane prices or with Emulation/Homebrew), it is a fan made Rewritte for Conquest that fixes a lot of the problems of the game and makes it a great FE story in my opinion even if it is not a mind blowing masterpiece

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

​@@renren47618arrrrr matey

[@FirlowXD]

I adore Fates. I love the world, the characters and the ideas and themes behind the story. I do wish it was done better and I think that world deserves another shot.

[@AzureGreatheart]

When I realized that the story of Fates wasn’t that good, I initially suspected Kibayashi might have been to blame, but after doing some research, I couldn’t find any evidence of him being a bad writer, so I thought that he simply must’ve not been good at writing fantasy specifically, as none of his works seemed to be in that genre. It turns out that even my optimistic views on the situation were wrong, because this cluster&%/+ of a writing team would make *any* story devolve into a complete mess, regardless of its original quality. This isn’t even too many cooks in the kitchen spoiling the soup, this is several different cooks failing to communicate or use the ingredients properly, and somehow ending up with a pizza when I ordered soup, and the pizza isn’t even good.

[@nullvoid7188]

Gotta admit, If someone can fk up soup so bad it turns into pizza. They must lowkey have a talent just can't utilize it correctly.

[@Pablo_Martin_aa]

The boal is pizza and the soap is actually a fruit cocktail

[@looper7159]

I think the gameplay of fates is so damn good. Easily my favorite of all fire emblem games. Story was bad but honestly I don’t even care too much anymore because to me, Fates definitely still has its own merits

[@CodrilePin]

Same

[@orangeslash1667]

@@CodrilePin The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@retto4390]

I actually enjoyed fates it's what brought me back into fire emblem as a series.

[@SlateofGranite]

my thoughts exactly. it wasn't perfect, but it scratched an itch that really needed it.

[@IcanoGihoren]

I struggled to enjoy it but it helps to remember that there are people that genuinely love it and not to be too critical.

[@justinianthe1st790]

@@IcanoGihoren Nah be critical. It's fair to say you cant really appreciate something without being honest with how you feel. I fucking love Fates and Corrin and that will never change. But I do get the issues people have with the both of them.

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@justinianthe1st790 Hello fellow man of culture

[@justinianthe1st790]

@@johnathanedwards9054 My guy! How goes things? I myself am just trying to spread good word on this great game that deserves more love. Especially since (while people are allowed an opinion) it kinda bums me out that Fates seems to be mainly remembered as a controversial game. Again people can be critical and are allowed an opinion, I'm just saying I wish I saw more praise is all.

[@moltz4866]

I had totally forgotten you were gonna go with that title! The editing is pretty fantastic too.

[@GigaMan91]

The only part of the story that got me emotional was Kaze's sacrifice in Birthright because I really liked Kaze.

[@renren47618]

For me it is Azura's death because i'm Azura simp, Ryoma's death and Heirs Of Fate's final chapter

[@XD0002]

15:20 somehow I knew that Twitter would misunderstand a sarcastic tweet.

[@termina9743]

The Camilla dialogue tome difference in the writer's cut is fascinating for me because it feels like something her backstory touches on in fragments seen in supports. Her dialogue in Birthright encounters in particular could have really played up the obsessive possessive tendencies more forcefully.

[@damonrichardson1999]

That saddens me that Valla wasn't even a thought until later. The execution was so messy that they weren't able to flesh everything out. Valla was hinted to heavily so it's strange that they just shoved it in rather than building it up more and fleshing it out. It was like the story was barfed out and it just said "Yep, this is how it all is". I just think that Revelations could have been implemented more carefully and that it could have been great if they weren't just separate writers and they all joined together to let it all flow better. If they fixed those bizarre split personalities (Xander especially), they could have fleshed out the characters and stories even more.

[@miacasual1263]

I would pay so much to read the original cut of the story

[@orangeslash1667]

The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@MetaDash]

Bit late but I'm glad I watched this video after being on a recent Fates kick. I've always felt the story of its development/localization was plagued by misinformation and generalizing back when it was new, so it's good to have more what actually happened....um, together. Back in 2016 you couldn't see any Fates video on the Nintendo channel without it being a bloodbath in the comments.

[@thecthuloser876]

It's interesting to find that the skinship aspects were controversial even among the development team.

[@silentspirit8923]

This is a very informative video. Nice! I have a somewhat new perspective of Fates now.

[@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263]

Fates is a very good game gameplay wise. Just not story wise lmao

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263 Could have been better sure, but there is also the possibility that it could have been much worse.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263 I wonder if three stories was a bad idea, because Fates has more characters than Blazing Sword?????

[@khinzaw77]

The Beruka/Saizo change is the only that actually made me angry rather than just annoyed. They got rid of a meaningful dialogue for a vapid meme.

[@ElFreakinCid]

God, yes, that pissed me off more than anything else. In the Japanese version, we get a deep discussion about their line of work and how it's affected them as people. English version? "Durr hurr, they ninjas so they silent, GEDDIT?!" It's enough to make every other vapid dialogue change look good by comparison, including the one that desperately tries to pretend Elise is an adult and the one that replaces Keaton and Velouria's dialogue with fucking dog-related onomatopoeia.

[@TheXMan]

I always was reminded of an Awakening level when thinking of Fates. It was one where there was a gang war and you could choose one where a character was recruitable, one where you’re on the opposite side, and one where you’re on neither side.

[@justagiantnerd8001]

That was Bunny boy's paralouge

[@zer0name720]

6:08 I play the Japanese version of Birthright & Conquest, and this reminded me of the comedic mileage I got out of naming Corrin 'LOL' and 'HAHAHA' (that's the only English text that appears during exposition scenes). By the time I got to Chapter 3, I was laughing for over 2 hours until I eventually chuckled myself to sleep. The paralogue literally devolves into a battle of which side can shout 'LOL' the loudest. Extra hilarious dialogue: LOL (Corrin): *loses consciousness and faceplants into snow* Silas: LOL! LOL: *gets slash by an axe* Hinoka:　LOL! 大丈夫ですか？！ (LOL! Are you hurt?!) Ryoma: 俺の…白夜王国の負けだ…LOL…　(My -- Hoshido has fallen... LOL...) Azura: HAHAHA、大変です。（HAHAHA, this is a disaster.)

[@CJ-42070]

Pretty funny but why is your comment repeating itself?

[@zer0name720]

@@CJ-42070 Oops

[@TakumiTheHoshidianPrince]

OMG this reminds me of the time I named my Corrin "mon joli cul" who is french for "my pretty ass" The characters were making whole sentences with it and I was laughing my ass of (badum tss !), some examples of what I can remember: Garon: Xander... Kill my pretty ass. That's an order. Ryoma: The flames came from the sword that my pretty ass was holding. Camilla: I swear to protect my pretty ass no matter what ! I think it's one of the greatest names I ever gave to a character.

[@007MrYang]

I bought Conquest first, not knowing that it was it was harder than the other one. I took me forever to beat because I kept restarting if someone died. However in the last map, I decided to just play it through and only about 4 survived lol

[@CJ-42070]

What difficulty were you playing on?

[@007MrYang]

@@CJ-42070 I think it was normal

[@CJ-42070]

@@007MrYang I mean if it was your first fates game, thats understandable. I played Conquest first to because I wanted more of a challenge and I sucked at the beginning.

[@yeollierancher]

Man, same. Conquest was my first FE game and I bought the other two after I finished it. I couldn't believe how easy Birthright was by comparison--

[@623hp]

im ngl, fates content is def some of my favorite stuff to watch, videos like this go craaaazy.

[@TakumiTheHoshidianPrince]

12:52 Well, time to change my youtube name to "Takuma, the Original Script's Prince" But seriously, Fates may be trash in some aspects, but it's MY beloved trash, so learning more about it's creation was great ! :3

[@ShadowoftheMask]

Huh, really fascinating to hear on behind the scenes stuff

[@johnathanedwards9054]

It is still a good game, but now I kind of want the cut content in a Fates remake

[@CodrilePin]

Me too

[@lucinae8510]

With many 3DS and Wii U games now being re-released on Switch, it would be the perfect opportunity to make expanded versions of Awakening and Fates that improves the story and characters.

[@ubercow6611]

I read in the Iwata asks interview that Kagero was supposed to be in Hinoka's place, but got changed to Ryoma's retainer (probably why Hinoka is barely present in Birthright's story) Edit: I remembered incorrectly, it wasn't in the Iwata asks and idk what source the Kagero thing was from

[@CAPAE]

Makes more sense. Hinoka always seemed shoehorned in.

[@moltz4866]

That's not mentioned in the Iwata interview though. In fact, despite how well known that info is, *no one* I have spoken of has any idea of what's the source for that.

[@Neogears1312]

Yeah hinoka was actually just a random sketch the artist made that the said nah make that the older royal sister. It’s one of the reasons Kagero is my favorite character it’s just very interesting the meta history of the character.

[@sageofanys3476]

@@moltz4866 IIRC, that’s because it’s real info + fan theory. It’s true that Hinoka didn’t exist in the first draft, but I don’t believe there was ever mention of another character meant to be the older Hoshidan sister - there might not even have been one. People simply speculate about Kagero because she looks similar to Ryoma

[@Neogears1312]

@@sageofanys3476 .....what are you talking about? the 25th anniversary book confirms the first draft had kagero be the older sibling. It also confirms that Kagero was made earlier than Camila, and Hinoka was also made first funny enough.

[@ThoniusB]

Great timing! I've just recently dived back into this game and playing on Lunatic Classic is giving me a new appreciation for both Conquest and Birthright!

[@CJ-42070]

Same here :D

[@ZahnShiiro]

You know, it makes so much sense in hindsight and I feel really dumb for not even considering it as a possibility, but the idea that all three routes and supports were handled by a wide variety of people kind of explains a lot. That said, with a lot of the interview statements made, half of it feels genuine, half of it feels very "we're trying to save face". I'm sure a lot of passion was put into something as ambitious as Fates, but there's no way they couldn't have seen at least a few of the missteps it took along the way.

[@StarlightKidX]

Didn't think I'd see this topic in 2021, but censorship in general needs to be addressed as a whole, Fates is a perfect example of how bad the censorship was.

[@tyronetiggums6441]

Granted Fates did have a lot of sus things like the face petting and plenty of much worse supports than the English ones. What happened to Soleil though was a complete misunderstanding due to amateur translation and the localizers completely altered her original characterization from someone who admires *all* cute things in general and her flirting not being tied to sexual preference to ambiguously bi but prefers girls and friendzones almost all of her male S-supports with only 2 exceptions: M!Corrin because Kana has to be created somehow and Forrest who dresses like a girl.

[@ZahnShiiro]

I don't know what was going on at Nintendo of America at the time, but they seemed to be on a really weird censorship kick that year.

[@na2154]

Also Heaven, Hell and Earth becoming Sky, Below and Land. Why?!

[@ElFreakinCid]

@@tyronetiggums6441 The skinship thing was not "sus" in the slightest. That minigame's removal can be chalked up to journos overreacting and crying about some Japanese thing they don't get.

[@yeollierancher]

I got into FE through Fates (particularly, Conquest), Nintendo had sent me a discount for my birthday and it was the only game I hadn't played from the list. Didn't know I'd find my favorite franchise this way! In the surprise part... no spoilers, but, I certainly didn't see Ryoma's fight turning out that way. I was in TEARS.

[@renren47618]

I feel really bad for Kibayashi, i wish that one day the original script leaks to the public or gets used for a Remake

[@hadokenexe]

Oh this ought to be a good one!

[@TazTheYellow]

7:40 Actually I'm not surprised at all, because I remember it like it was yesterday. Nintendo was bragging about how they got this professional manga author who scoffed at Awakening's story to write the plot for Fates, and much of the marketing was revolved around, "yes, we heard you, and the story is better this time, we promise." This is why, despite Fates being universally recognized as a superior gameplay experience to Awakening, I never ended up getting Fates, simply for its ultimate failure to live up to that expectation they themselves set. . . . insult to injury being that I actually liked Awakening's story, at least the first time around, and if you ignore the Act II Valm arc completely.

[@AkieAutumn98]

Great video! I've read some of the story development in this game, and it was great to see it covered so nicely. I wish the whole original story as written would be released someday, but doubt that'll happen. Translating it all would be a massive task... The gameplay, flexible difficulty levels, and characters made Fates one of my favorites, although, all-in-all, I prefer the Japanese version. The fact that the festival DLC never got released overseas is really a tragedy. I love seeing the mother-child conversations. They add a very nice touch.

[@Chiplars]

Thank you for the interesting insight into the whole processes!

[@Hypershell]

I loved Fates's concept but hated its execution. The, uh... "fun" of choosing your path at the cash register rather infuriated me. I wanted the special edition that had all three paths on the cartridge, which would have allowed me to make a choice organically AFTER playing the intro, but Nintendo in their infinite wisdom made about five copies for the eBay scalpers and called it a day. I wound up not buying the game at all until a year later, when I picked up Birthright, and quickly got frustrated with how powerless it feels to make one relevant decision and then have no further input. This is a game that pits you against loved ones on either path, yet allows no attempt to reason with them. I'm supposed to just accept that my big sister wants to cleave me in two and that nothing will change her mind. Personal relations influencing battle is not a new thing to the franchise; Radiant Dawn showed two opposing paths simultaneously and was able to implement personal connections into gameplay to much greater success, with numerous characters that either changed sides or refused to battle when faced with specific opponents. And ugh, the censorship and the missing DLC, both are inexcusable. I would say that this game badly needs a remaster on the Switch, but the problem is that if Tokyo Mirage Sessions was any indication, they will fix exactly nothing, and may even just bring western problems back home to Japan...

[@Ellebeeby]

And you can flip certain characters multiple times, like IIRC there’s like five chances across both plots to turn Jill to your side.

[@DN_123]

A fates video in 2021 from fearghast? Bless!

[@sebastianescalante5618]

Even with all of this stuff, I still enjoy Fates as it is, the game play and map design is on point and I find it very fun to play in different styles (Except maybe Ironman and LTC). Clocked 1092 hours of Fates since March 2016 and I don't regret it, not one bit.

[@OwnageMancer]

I really liked Fates, despite all the iffy stuff. Hearing that it could've been even better just makes me hope for some kind of console remake... or maybe something like a director's cut.

[@renren47618]

I think that a Fates Remake is inevitable, these games made good sales and there is a certain demand for it As soon these games get older and more people start hyping a remake, Nintendo will not lose the opportunity, since unlike Genealogy, Fates is way simpler to Remake and way more marketable

[@char1194]

We can never stress enough how much of a madlad Kibayashi was. The absolute INSANITY of doing *5000%* your intended workload out of sheer passion. How many of us can claim to have ever done 5000% of ANYTHING.

[@daz1543]

I don't know which localization was more disappointing, this or TMS. There should be a rule that localizers aren't allowed to remove content or alter anything beyond text

[@lpfan4491]

Not a good idea. Because that means they can't fix bugs or alter mechanics that really suck, like the forgingsystem in japanese FE10(Which is also ironically the game where they probably removed the most overall)

[@daz1543]

@@lpfan4491 True, but since we have patches nowadays those fixes should be international not limited to a specific release

[@lpfan4491]

@@daz1543 While that is true, I would still prefer those positive adjustments being region-exclusive, instead of them just not happening.

[@VeeBungo]

this was really cool! I love hearing about developments! :D

[@_Azurael_]

I really want this game remastered on switch

[@viviblue7277]

The story concept is great but it is written badly and heirs of fates reveals a truly beautiful story that is a menace to understand

[@conspiracypanda1200]

I feel like 3H does what Fates wanted to do with the conflicting forces you can choose between, but even that has constraints and doesn't quite have the exact same angle that Fates was trying to pull off. Both have a particular flaw that drives me up the wall, too: The "dark" or "invading" routes aren't as in depth as I wanted. For instance, 3H doesn't pay enough respects to Edel's route, making it shorter and stripping away all story emphasis through lack of transitional scenes/cutscenes. There are reasons behind Edel's actions, sure, but the game rarely slows down to justify them in her own route. You can actually learn to empathise with her more through the BL portrayal of her! In the end, you kind of just do whatever Edel orders until the game ends and she straight up beats the final bad guys in her epilogue without you (no one would argue at joining Edel in clinically removing the Slithers from existence for all the crap they put her and Byleth through, I think). Similarly, Conquest feels like you're just doing whatever Garon tells you to do with minimal inbetweens and development. The big difference is that the Nohrian siblings aren't fighting because they want to, rather because they have to. Sadly, Conquest isn't a story where Corrin uses smarts and intrigue to fell the regime from the inside. Xander and Camilla hardly go against Garon's orders at all, although Elise and Leo do try to be a bit sneaky sometimes. Everything is all about tip-toeing around Mr King Evil and his stringy sidekick's saturday morning villain schemes. Things do turn around in the final chapters with Corrin asking their siblings to march in on Garon on the Throne of Truth, killing that irritating masked sorcerer on the way, but there's really not much intrigue before that. Worse still is Azura dissapearing with no warning, as if saying "lmao guess you'll have to play Revelations to figure out why _this_ is happening". In the end, I guess it was my fault for having high hopes. I really wanted to see a story that would be theoretically be like being stuck with Lyon from Sacred Stones while he's possessed/influenced (Garon and Nohr equivalent) or fighting for Walhart from Awakening as he campaigns across Ylisse to forcefully squash Grima's summoning (CF and Edel equivalent), but it simply doesn't exist.

[@madamebkrt]

Well said! I don't like Edelgard at all, but her route was so sloppy and didn't do her justice unlike Dimitri and Claude in their routes. You are very right that most of El's route is her telling Byleth what to do and Byleth just doing it, while she keeps a bunch of secrets between herself and Hubert. Despite Byleth perhaps being more important in the Crimson Flower route than any other route barring Silver Snow, he/she is treated as irrelevant aside from being a reliable swordsman and El's occasional shoulder to cry on. Although personally I also think that 3H would have been a better game overall if it had been modified to exclude Byleth entirely and just have you choose one of the three Lords, *or* change Byleth's character up a bit and have him/her be an established character in their own right and not an avatar, so Silver Snow could still exist and Byleth could be an interesting ally or adversary depending on your route, perhaps in a similar way to Berkut in Shadows of Valentia being the second biggest rival to Alm after Rudolph (not counting Duma or Jedah as the latter is more Celica's foe) - Byleth could be that, but to Rhea. And the irrelevant character of Cyril could be removed entirely as Rhea's defacto child or whatever he was supposed to be. Excuse the tangent... I was so excited to play Conquest initially as I thought a more dark Corrin could be fun, and I assumed he/she would have started out on Garon's side, or at least trying to justify his/her decision to follow Garon until eventually Garon's madness became too much to ignore and then there would be a massive rift between the powers that be in Nohr. That's what I assumed...So having Corrin and Co do Garon's every bidding with that ridiculous pacifistic twist to each mission surprised me a lot. Unfortunately Nohr and Hoshido were presented as so black and white, so it seemed that the only way the writers could possibly justify Corrin sticking with the unrealistically evil Nohr was to make him/her the most naive, idealistic idiot who is "simply too kind for your own good". I do think the game would have benefitted from both countries not being so black and white. They should both have more understandable motives and have a combination of good and questionable people among the high-ranking nobility, instead of everyone in Nohr being evil except for the royal siblings, and everyone in Hoshido being good...including the royal siblings. There is such little nuance in Fates. But out of all the Fire Emblem's I've played (Awakening, Fates, SoV - my favourite despite hating Rudolph and having issues with Alm and his rise to power haha, 3H) I found issues in all their stories so I have personally stopped looking to Fire Emblem for superb storytelling...The games are so fun to play though, and the premise of it all is fantastic and full of great potential. It's a shame that each time that potential is at least slightly wasted.

[@aquatrez]

Considering the quality of 3H's localization, I wonder if Fates would've been better received in the West if the same company had done Fates's localization. While it might not have fixed some of the plot contrivance issues, I think it would've resulted in a more serious tone and less memey characters/supports, which would've been more palatable to FE fans.

[@MrSentinel07]

Would have alleviated it a little for sure.

[@timjim7163]

Treehouse handled both though

[@lpfan4491]

Treehouse is an actual meme. I don't even mean censorship-wise, because I don't think people care that they censored a random joke about being flat or a mention of Greil beating Ike. I mean that their quality flactuates so dang much that we basically have a diffrent result almost every time. Fe7: Sheer incompetence at times Fe8: Mostly fine, only a few issues like translating out a mention of Glen in Ephraim-mode Fe9: Outside of a few questionable textedits, ditto Fe10: Literally erasing 5% of storycontent FE Fates: Doing some weird kind of 4kids-localisation FEHeroes: Accuracy changes actively between diffrent pieces of content Three Houses: Similar case of rewriting some stuff as Fates, except actually good this time.

[@aquatrez]

@@timjim7163 You're right. I thought Cup of Tea productions did the localization, but they only did the voices. Guess they learned their lesson after Fates's reception!

[@-lord1754]

@@lpfan4491 Treehouse didnt erase RD story content. It was technically the opposite where they added stuff like Naesalas plotline actually getting properly resolved

[@SoundaSheep]

Great timing! I just started doing an iron man of Birthright, and then I plan on tackling the other two routes, as well

[@wolfgod6443]

6:14 Aaaand just after that request, I get an ad with a dad and son singing about baby shark food...Pretty much sums up my feelings on skinship.

[@rigistroni]

I REALLY wish this game turned out better because the premise and idea for the story are AMAZING. There are so many great ideas in this game that just didn't pan out that well I'm glad they revisited the concept in 3 Houses, which is a must better game.

[@nanalove3819]

Yes, I think they learned from what people said for 3 Houses. Even if it is not perfect it is a good game.

[@rigistroni]

@@nanalove3819 I agree

[@orangeslash1667]

@@rigistroni The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@casagrande__2526]

I really like your videos, for some reason they aways make me emotional and i respect that

[@degrox10]

I sometimes wonder if Fates and Three Houses would exist if the Arron and Samson archtype didn't exist.

[@YukeWeiss]

This was a really super ambitious game that I don't think quite stuck. I've been playing the game on and off over 5 years. I really enjoyed this video though, Ghast! I like these kinds of videos.

[@nintendude1861]

I'm still upset the last 2 festival DLCs never got localized, i want those reward items.....

[@BrickBreakerXX]

Splitting the game into two games was the move that stopped me from getting this game on launch until I luckily found a special edition pre owned

[@jameswittak3483]

I really enjoy the informative videos like this

[@mythoughtsexactly2145]

Great video Ghast! How about you should talk about the Fire Emblem like the thing? There are several of them and it would be nice to know how each one is important or significant for each game/universe As much as I like Fates and 3H's story route splits, it would be nice to have a single route next time.

[@justinianthe1st790]

Yeah the Fire Emblem(s) never really gets talked about in the fandom despite being a literal divine item that determines what happens in the story. I can only assume because sometimes its just something to hand wave or quickly explain something. But I guess Medieval fantasy the game doesnt sound as iconic as Fire Emblem.

[@Ellebeeby]

@@justinianthe1st790 it’s rarely been more than a plot coupon - when it’s even mentioned.

[@justinianthe1st790]

@@Ellebeeby Yup. I fully agree. The last time the fire emblem felt important (besides 3H) was Awakening. Before that it's always just a sudden deus ex machina.

[@mythoughtsexactly2145]

@@justinianthe1st790 lol was the Omega Yato not that important? I havent played Fates and I have a general idea what the other Fire Emblems do but not Corrin's sword

[@justinianthe1st790]

@@mythoughtsexactly2145 I mean...yes?...no? Its important to defeat Annakos, but the characters just bullshit their way into getting it the last chapter. It's still about as important and relevant to the story as any other time the Fire Emblem is mentioned.

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

Fates cast went heavily with archetypes. Soleil was the "Prince", archetype, great with people of the same gender but not romantically. Guess the localisation team just misunderstood that when rewriting the entire character into an airhead with a habit for striping in front of people.

[@sageofanys3476]

Oh I think they knew, I think it’s that the archetype may not be received well by a Western audience that they went and changed it. Fates had many things that were very culturally Asian/Japanese that would either be lost on or completely misinterpreted by the West, I don’t envy the localization team’s position.

[@MrToonlink53]

Still mad what they did to Effie

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

@@MrToonlink53 She became this -> "I train"

[@shinobu3617]

@@bluntlyhonest6803 "I train, and I need to have a deep, man-voice, cause only women using steroids can be strong"

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

@@shinobu3617 ^ that about sums it up.

[@zackybrown8694]

UR videos r always informative and fun

[@dariocarate1505]

In spite of its plot, Fates' has the best and most complete soundtrack in the entire saga. I mean, the composers did an outstanding job creating three different types of music, adapting each sountrack to the route (using different instruments from each culture, so it is indisputable the fact that you can say when you are hearing something from Conquest or not) and the context of the battle (Revelations ost mostly, or even Torns in your). Goddamn it I love it.

[@roaringthunder115]

If they did release the whole Kibayishi story as 2 books, I would read it.

[@orangeslash1667]

The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@stephengleason3059]

Gotta say. As much as I hate to admit it as a long time FE player. It was nice not having to worry about durability

[@infinitetime-space66]

felt that. i wouldnt have used those legendary weapons for a MOMENT if they could break like i have to worry abt when replaying older games. easy? yeah. but it feels like a vacation XD

[@zenkaiboost165]

Hiroki Morishita was also involved in the lesser known Cavalier Duo album. A Masterpiece composition

[@Raquesis]

I feel like Three Houses is what Fates should have been.

[@FieryMeltman]

Three Houses was still clearly rushed and lacking in many ways, but I agree that it's far better than fates and a great game overall.

[@milesbarnes6777]

@Blacc Serpentt I think fans instinctively compare 3H to Fates instead of Genealogy because the hardware gap between 3H and Fates is less than the gap between 3H and Genealogy. If the series were novels/mangas instead of games, I think there would be far more comparisons between 3H and Genealogy

[@Raquesis]

​@Blacc Serpentt Fates and Genealogy are both very good comparisons to 3H. I usually use Fates to compare the routes and stuff with each other, though for gameplay features I usually compare it to Genealogy. For example, Crests and Holy Blood are technically the same thing in their respective games.

[@milesbarnes6777]

@Blacc Serpentt I treat every single game’s gameplay as separate from each other, even if multiple entries were released on the same console. I understand why people compare the plots of each game to each other, but I don’t understand why people compare the gameplay amongst individual entries since the core of enemy and player phase has remained the same for decades. So I was just guessing in the dark since I’ve never understood what “gameplay” actually means when people use that word without naming specific mechanics. It makes more sense to me to compare the gameplay of ATB to non-ATB Final Fantasy entries, which have always had way more total spells and equipment than Fire Emblem. It makes more sense to me to compare different maps than gameplay.

[@Mickymicmike]

@Blacc Serpentt One thing to remember is not everyone is going to know Genealogy, since it doesn't exist in the West.

[@SweaterPuppys]

I played Fates in Japanese when it first came out so seeing how radically different the English version is is almost as if they’re entirely different games

[@zer0name720]

Don't even get me started with the Fates's English voice cast. I love both of Awakening's voice casts as much as each other, by the way

[@Fermin-hw5pd]

@@zer0name720 Is the english voice acting bad?

[@zer0name720]

@@Fermin-hw5pd Fates's is irksome, but not terrible. I personally think the English voice actors were horribly misdirected/mis-casted. Though, there are a handful of characters that are a great fit (i.e. Leo, Felicia, and the Nohr Awakening children).

[@ChevalierSilver]

you think there is enough material to make a video about fates story drafts? I think its a very interesting subject

[@MrSentinel07]

The fact that they had no ideas for Revelations plot at first speaks volumes and shows with how nonsensical it's plot was.

[@hedgehoundable]

I'd have liked to see what the original draft of the script was like. I've also been really interested in the original idea that Kagero was going to be a sibling rather than Ryoma's retainer and Hinoka only exists because of what was basically a doodle Kozaki did on his off time.

[@orangeslash1667]

The good news this that there is a manga based on Fates that is a little better. Its called Fire Emblem If: the Crown of Niberlung.

[@OscarHernandez-dj3yv]

I quite enjoyed Fates and it's story. The only part I did not like was Cotton not actually being related to any the Hoshidan siblings. Kinda defeated the whole purpose of fates when they were supposed to be your bloodline and they just end up being adoptive siblings who you don't remember. All just to be able to marry them.

[@Mana7Origin]

Yeah. The pushed the whole "marry anyone with legs" message way too far. Like... You can't just marry anyone! Stop making excuses!

[@Dennis_Ryan_Lynch]

It’s unfortunate how nuked fates got

[@jeffsmith9126]

Yeah, what was up with 'Nohrian/Hoshidan Festival of Bonds' never getting localised? Does anyone have any info at all? It's like a radar black spot. We just...never got it!

[@NaotoUzumaki]

This is why fate need a remake completely alongside other games in the series. Also having the avatar being the protagonist is not a good move you should be a random villager like Donald or Mozu tbh. Again games should release as they are intended without interference to the story to avoid problems altogether

[@IzalithCelestia]

Incredible video, Faerghast! It’s amazing to see something unbiased and informative (and even somewhat positive) about Fire Emblem Fates. I know it’s flawed, but it’ll always be my favorite FE game. Thank you for covering it!

[@appleseed8282]

Remember how the Treehouse decided to just delete a support solely for a silent character joke

[@appleseed8282]

And how they rewrote another character to be obsessed with pickles rather then trying to convey that he's just a young dude who acts like an old man.

[@MrSentinel07]

Or turned Effie from a soft-spoken polite girl to sounding like a bodybuilder.

[@appleseed8282]

@@MrSentinel07 Or how they rewrote male Kana's S support.

[@johnathanedwards9054]

@@appleseed8282 They did that to most of them, except for the Selkie support, they start dating afterwards.

[@butterman59]

Now I'm curious what the original japanese saizo and beruka c convo was. The ellipses back and forth felt so correct i cant imagine what it originally was

[@vwin9112]

11:02 Frankly even if I never played the games, but seen the supports, I always got the feeling that with Hinoka(or any "bad" influence) around Corrin/Kamui at best...she has the issue to go all crazy and ballistic on anybody who looks at her funny or criticizes her love and methods(especially headbutting them to a pulp)...and guess the original script seems to implied it all too well(not suprisingly with her support with Selena, or Jakob).