The Misunderstanding of Lycia's Champion - Fire Emblem Character Analysis (Roy)

[@jstager]

Okay, that "weak poke" he does is a very effective thrusting technique. He's one of the few lords that have a rapier that actually uses it like a rapier.

[@scarletrose8766]

Eirika uses all swords like a rapier aka fencing moves.

[@sewnmind1786]

All three GBA lords wielding a rapier use it as a rapier.

[@Kryptnyt]

I think it's also worth pointing out Roy's interactions with Merlinus. He's frequently confident enough to usurp his advisor's advice and try something different. It contrasts with Marth just accepting things Malledus says and never having a problem with it, and Leif's interaction with August, where he grows to trust the man greatly, but his conviction and duty causes Leif to usurp him to disastrous results... The FE6 plot with Roy agreeing with every Merlinus suggestion would be a wild ride actually.

[@Mikazuchireborn]

Another reason Zephiel is a great antagonist for Roy: Roy is as ordinary you can get while Zephiel was born with every natural talent you can imagine. While Roy has to struggle just to keep up with others around him, Zephiel is such a genius and so strong that people fear and envy him.

[@Lightningstrike1220]

And Zephiel isn't evil because he simply is, like Gharnef, Ashnsrd, Grima, and so on. He actually is tragic himself and felt he was forced to do what he did after countless assassination attempts against him as a child by his own father. He lost faith in humanity and felt only dragons should rule over humanity. You have to sympathize with him a little, he felt he had no other choice and felt his sister betrayed him. His family betrayed him, and he was alone in his eyes. He did horrible things yes, but he was not all "hahahahah I'm so evil because I can!". He's similar to Duma, Lyon, and Julius, all very tragic characters who got the short end of the stick of fate.

[@eleonorepb4565]

Roy was ordinary until fe7 decided to retcon him to give him dragon blood, at least it's optional

[@arandomguy299]

@@eleonorepb4565 no?, Ninian x Eliwood is not even canon, i personally like it more when Ninian and Nils is together and they have a happy life

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@arandomguy299 that's why I said it's optional, but giving this option really hurt the plot

[@arandomguy299]

@@eleonorepb4565 ohh, aight

[@Emiturbina]

As a Roy fan myself, I have to agree that he has shown way less personality as the other lords, but that's a problem because of how FE6 works, Binding Blade is a game that has a protagonist that advances because of the story, not a story that advances because of the protagonist, like most FE games

[@voltron77]

And that’s a good thing because I reality, the protagonist is more so a product of the story and not the one that causes the story to happen. It’s one of the best parts of Fe6’s plot and why I love Roy so much. He’s basically a 15 year old put in charge of a giant army. He suffers from depression and has a hard time keeping up with the others so it makes sense for him to seem bland, he’s a kid.

[@duwanglover3424]

Id love to see a second game with Roy as the protagonist set a few years after FE6. Give him a chance at showing what he could be as a grown person, while keeping the intent and story of FE6 intact

[@annawilliams8495]

Finally another Roy stan ❤

[@JODA93]

Stan?

[@CallMeSpooch]

@@JODA93 modern day slang for a character they like more than others

[@medoagamer9497]

This is the best fire emblem video I have ever seen, Roy was already my favorite character and this video made me love him even more.

[@himedo1512]

Funnt thing about "weak pokes". A stabbing attack in real like is much deadlier than a slash. Since it goes deeper.

[@scarletrose8766]

Imagine Eirika's pokes she practically lunges in her crit animation before she gets a horse.... But anyways that crit animation alone shows how much deep that stab would have been since she uses her speed to plunge the sword deeper.

[@neihljohnpansit313]

I've never heard of the hate of Roy until now. I think Roy is a very interesting character. He may not show some personality much throughout the story but it's shown much in support conversations, which is one prominent reason why support conversations are a notable game feature in the Fire Emblem series, it helps see the unseen personality in the characters. Who cares about character stat growths? It's the personality and the character of the character that matters most. I'm a fan of Binding Blade, it's the third of my favorite Fire Emblem games, and I'm a bit of a Roy main myself in Smash Bros and I think this video justified Roy very well.

[@darkstorm2579]

How did I not find out about this video until now? This is actually a pretty good analysis on Roy. You've actually convinced me that he is a good character. Well done.

[@daotherkorean2509]

Thank you for this! I was writing a Heroes Support conversation for Roy and I did not have enough knowledge about the Lycian Lord to write effectively about him. (and i was unwilling to play through binding blade)

[@Drew_Apparently]

I absolutely recommend playing through Binding Blade if you ever have the time. Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@d2productions417]

Great video! I love Roy and he’s my favorite lord. I’d love to see more character analysis like on Chrom or something either way great video

[@samirjohnson4524]

Same!

[@samirjohnson4524]

For this video alone, you deserve at least 20k subs. Thank you so much for this!

[@artlover9261]

god... I fuckin' loved this. Roy is the most strongest lord, for his brave heart to stand against a war, being just a kid, and that, takes a lot of courage. Roy, the brave lion.

[@scarletrose8766]

Lol people keep forgetting lyn was a teen shes actually 15 lol. The English version only raise her age cause waifu material lol.

[@DavidHutchinson0713]

@@scarletrose8766 Personally, I think they made the right call. Her artwork just never struck me as saying "hey, this girl is 15"; 18 is much more in line with how she looks in the artwork IMO.

[@Mel-Night]

I'm glad the feed recommended this to me, I think there aren't a lot of videos about this kind of character analisys and to watch one so well made makes me very happy!

[@tobiasvandien3277]

I love this video so much, I always got really sad when I see all of the Roy hate, but the comments here are so warm towards Roy! Roy will always be my comfort character ni matter what happens. He is truly our Boy!

[@Daan_Knobbout]

Roy cool in Smash!! Go fire blade BOOOM!! Our boi

[@theoneandoni5643]

I love this soo much since roy is my favorite lord

[@vocalcalibration8033]

NOW THIS IS THE KIND OF CONTENT I'M HERE FOR!!

[@tutyss2191]

You are so underated... your quality is gingatic keep up this good work

[@___8241]

Find it poetic how the weakest lord gets possibly the strongest weapon in the series.

[@joshuagabrielcatindig7607]

The ultimate zero to hero?

[@vocalcalibration8033]

Well he's not quite the weakest. Stat wise Thracia Leif is weaker. And Lyn, gameplay wise, is probably the worst overall lord.

[@___8241]

@@vocalcalibration8033 Leif doesn't surprise me much, but Lyn? I never would have guessed. Probably because I was so used to crits with her.

[@vocalcalibration8033]

@@___8241 Oh she certainly has her uses. When it comes to deciding if a unit is "bad" or not it comes down to, generally Movement Weapon type Str/Mag Def Speed Everything else While lyn has high crit and speed she kind of lacks everything else that is generally considered "good" when it comes to like optimal play and stuff. SHe's squishy, she doesn't have high movement and she is locked to sword, which are arguably at their weakest in FE7. But I'm rambling, all of this really only matters in the context of optimal play, low turn count kinda' stuff. As far as casual play goes Lyn is fine.

[@himedo1512]

@VocalCalibration lief isn't a fair comparison. Stats cap at 20. Relative to his game. Lief is notably stronger. In his game, lief turns out to be a bit over average unit. Roy is very much "one of your units ever"

[@chikochu9153]

This is a very under appreciated video! It was amazing, I now see my favorite Fire Emblem Lord in a new light. You got a like, comment and subscribe from me. Thanks :)

[@samirjohnson4524]

Yes it is Chikochu! Yes it is.

[@scoffeex1740]

I think the reason people don't like Roy's "personality" is because he doesn't scream like a maniac all the time unlike his Smash Bros counterpart

[@twobrosgamers8426]

Tbh I think of Smash Roy as a grown up version of FE6 Roy, like the young lion finally matured

[@7OnAtuesday]

In feh he does have his screaming moments lol

[@seanjohnson3401]

Well, I do like the hot blooded Roy much more

[@twobrosgamers8426]

@@7OnAtuesday can confirm since I have every Roy in the game

[@westube3493]

ROY'S OUR BOY

[@776Mine]

I love fe6 to death, however Roy isn’t a reason why but this video made me change my mind

[@ryenagade]

This Video Made me Cry, I know Roy is often the most disliked Protag, but the way you illustrated Roy's Arc from being a Naive Boy forced to lead an army, into a a Compitent Leader is honestly heartwarming. He has the attachment for everyone that you don't really see in other games. As a Roy Fan, he is indeed my Boy

[@scarletrose8766]

I think the hate towards roy is that fact he cant kill an enemy on 1 turn and getting shank twice hes dead... Like Roy is a very Fragile Lord .... Sure Lyn is Fragile but she makes it up by avoiding and most of the time she dodge things no issue unless its a weapon with very high accuracy or a very high skill stat enemy.

[@scarletrose8766]

I think the hate towards roy is that fact he cant kill an enemy on 1 turn and getting shank twice hes dead... Like Roy is a very Fragile Lord .... Sure Lyn is Fragile but she makes it up by avoiding and most of the time she dodge things no issue unless its a weapon with very high accuracy or a very high skill stat enemy.

[@radicalcrash]

I think Roy's animation is a confident stab. But it has an air of forced-ness to it. Like he knows the physical form, but doesn't take pleasure in it. Ties in nicely with being freshly trained, but also that he doesn't like to kill. And it's uniform enough that as the story continues, even after he's promoted, it starts to feel lethal. But true to himself. It's miles better than Eliwood and Hector's over-the-top pretentious shit. Though I think Lyn and the twins from FE8 are reasonably well done. Roy's the only one who looks at least moderately realistic. But with a touch of fantasy in the binding blade animation. I've never seen the problem with Roy. Even without all the supports info, Roy is an impressive individual who struggles against a monumentous task with incredibly high stakes. And the little details like his hope someone else would take over, or the way he keeps getting reassigned to lead the army at each critical story beat show growth in a real way. Yeah, it's better in 7 and 8 when they have each other to talk to, and the rest of the army is more involved, but Roy's approach of formality and formula has its charms, too. It's more traditionally epic. It's also interesting that he has to direct the army alone. No tactician, no other lords to share the duty with. As the player, you're doing Roy's job virtually. But in the plot and game, it's just him. Gameplay-wise, especially since I graduated to hard mode, I find Roy to be essential to the early game. And after that, he's a good softener and finisher as needed. With supports, he kills a few paladins and wyvern masters in chapter 21 every time. The late promotion and the overall average-ness sucks, but are extremely over-exaggerated. And he wasn't "designed to be weak." Especially considering he isn't that weak. But passionately disliking Roy and calling him "the worst Fire Emblem lord" is bandwagoning. Having a low opinion is one thing. But Roy's fine for his game. Thinking anything else is little more than immaturity. Good video, though. A viable alternative to consider about a character who is one of Fire Emblem's most popular and well-known for a reason. Well delivered and thought out.

[@torri776]

I think the reason people have become much more forgiving of Roy is because people have become more forgiving of emotionless, super stoic characters. While Roy is still a fine character mainly because of his support conversations with other characters (Lilina's are especially fantastic), his story dialogue is very underwhelming, and I think that is FE6's only real blemish. I also agree that Roy was handled SO well in FE7. That game literally did everything in its power to enrich FE6, which is why it's such a fantastic prequel.

[@voltron77]

Hum, not really. Fe7 did try to enrich fe6, but it also had like twelve plot holes that didn’t makes sense with how they were portrayed in fe6 which is why it’s a pretty bad prequel.

[@absoul112]

Great video. That said as someone who's never been a Roy fan (at least in FE) there's two things bugged me about him that were touched upon in the video. The first is that his characterization is mostly in his supports. This works for a side character, but when you're the main character and also the one who gets more lines in the story than anyone else, your lines should do a lot for characterization and they don't, outside of a couple moments. the other is that other lords in the series do the weak lord thing better than he does. My main examples would be Leif, Eliwood, and Ike (POR).To my knowledge, they aren't criticized for for being bad units to the same degree as Roy is (partially because of the differences between the enemies and mechanics in their games).

[@voltron77]

Well Ike is a strong lord, eliwood is critized for being just as bland and bad as Roy and Leif is actually pretty good.

[@absoul112]

@@voltron77 Ike is a strong lord, in Radiant Dawn. I was referring to him in Path of Radiance. Eliwood is nowhere near as derided as Roy for his character or unit performance. Leif is fine because his game focuses less on combat.

[@voltron77]

@@absoul112 But Ike is a strong unit in path of radiance too buddy. Also, eliwood is as bad a unit as Roy because he’s overshadowed by the two other lords and you don’t even need to deploy him in Hector mode for almost the entirety of the game. Roy at least is deployed each chapter.

[@CipherKnighto]

His progression in competitive play from melee to ultimate reflects this to me as well in smash. Though him becoming as op as he did in Ultimate might be a stretch but still you get the idea

[@mobgabriel1767]

Kaga:you are not actually supposed to reset everytime a unit die Roy:oh i dont think so

[@defenderofthenorth52]

Man I thought this was a video on Eliwood- Agh kidding kidding great video 😂

[@menph1096]

People just don't watch Roy's supports.

[@eleonorepb4565]

Or only the one with Lilina that is really boring

[@SNAKEx197]

I’m playing binding blade, and I love it. It’s my first FE game (besides the mobile game). It feels like I have to be smart and work characters to be stronger. Roy growing as a warrior and leader is why I like him. He isn’t just crazy strong right off the bat, he earns his spot among the greats even being a kid. I hear everyone say he’s useless through most of the game but for my current play through I’ve made him really strong because I’ve been using him at all times when I can. I guess it goes hand to hand, if you think he’s weak and don’t use him because of that, then he will stay weak. Well made video!

[@scarletrose8766]

Its really different for sure cause in FE7 you have hector to basically demolish a lotta thing with hector alone.

[@OchtendjasLama]

Ok, let's be real. ROY IS OUR BOY!!!

[@donte7584]

Roy’s The Boi.

[@OmniMon94]

Even if Roy is a generic lord He isnt the weakest of the lords in story Just gameplay Roys Our Boy

[@onewingedakuma6835]

Finally another Roy fan

[@voltron77]

Roy is my favorite lord he's our boi

[@cheesecheese6459]

hes our boy

[@lennardnorden]

You often hear people saying that Roy is a bland character, but this video really shows otherwise to me. I really don't think he is a bland character

[@Daniel_Coffman]

I wouldn't be surprised if part of his inferiority complex and wish to fulfill expectations is from being the son of the greatest knight in the land who literally saved the freakin' world. Unless it's something like Persona where all of the crises are dealt with from literally inside people's consciences, obviously, people are going to know such efforts, and being the child of someone of such esteem as a great knight or a leader of a country, especially of someone who saved the world like Eliwood did, it would naturally cause people's expectations of what they want you to be to shoot into the atmosphere. I can't say anyone would really be able to see those astronomical expectations that people place on them and just be like business as usual unless that "business as usual" was simply a mask hiding severe depression, anxiety, and inferiority. The game doesn't really go into such things explicitly, and a lot of people in my personal experience tend to be dense on such psychology; even to complain about characters in Persona being exactly how they were written to be and as part of their stresses and lives would naturally dictate; but people really need to learn to "read between the lines" on that and understand.

[@ElitestMTG]

I think Roy's actually better than his Father overall. The Binding Blade is such a boon to Roy's combat.

[@scarletrose8766]

I mean they had to balance him at some point might as well end game that his sword makes up for his well..... Being one of the weaker lords.

[@mobgabriel1767]

Idunn 🤝 roy \/ Being only remenbered for being weak instead their characters

[@BlueMageWithSoulEdge]

You may want to redo the animation portion to keep from looking like an idiot. That "weak poke" is a classic beat lunge. Really dangerous tech in the world of fencing for how effective and easy it is to perform. The animation convey that Roy is classically trained and by the book. In this like one may say navie, since there is no secondary measure taken place; he does it 'cause it is suppose to work. Not taking into account of variables that may fudge it up, or why it works the way that it does. Just going through the motions; doing what he think he should do without understanding why. The secondary shows more movement displaying not only more confidence but more importantly it covers more angles of counter attack. It shows that Roy is no longer expecting success 'cause "he is suppose to do it this way", the movements are now "his own". Advice for the future, if you don't know the basics of something then it is best to not cover it, if minor research is to much. Last thing we need is another Mangs.

[@Drew_Apparently]

I normally don't reply to comments on this video, largely because I really don't like this video and it's honestly pretty poor in quality. Plus I hate being reminded of its existence. But this comment I think is my exception. Really interesting details you listed out. I'll definitely keep it in mind for the future if I ever make videos again. I don't remember what I said in particular in the video, but some of what you said is definitely similar to my modern thoughts on it. Lastly I'd appreciate if the delivery of your criticism wasn't so toxic, but I do respect what I'm assuming is just your care for the subject. I think that making mistakes in covering something is alright as long as you learn and evolve from it, it's impossible to be perfect every time (something I'm still trying to wrap my head around honestly). Also comparing me to a sex offender for not being as familiar with a particular subject matter as I could be, which then results in a mistake and misunderstanding, is an incredibly extreme way of looking at it. Again I'll just assume you are just passionate, but I recommend trying to avoid that type of approach to criticism in the future. Thank you for the comment.

[@BlueMageWithSoulEdge]

@@Drew_Apparently It isn't a bad video. It is that the first portion has your foot in your mouth. If your opening argument has a contradiction, then most will not listen past the opening. Not toxic. Toxic is like say "this is shit; you suck", or lightly threatening you with "cancel" treatment while trying to extort money or power. Just letting you know there's kinda of a problem in the video. Mangs is a sex-offender? Seriously? I stop listening to him years ago, when a lot of Reddit started to repeat his talking points. His stupid, stupid talking points. At on time almost every page seemed like there was a quote or idea from Mangs or Farghest. Absolutely dreadful. It is a good video. Be proud. I hope you make more. You have a good point, but you put your foot in your mouth, at one section. This video can help those that aren't as articulate. I have seen it happen. Anyway it was good. Hope you make more.

[@ZX-Gear]

Wow. People still going on that old narrative? Kinda funny how every other FE Tuber has suffered cause of that whole ordeal.

[@OrangeKyle91]

1:40 It's 15 years, not 10. There's a line in that conversation that says it's been 15 years since Uther's funeral. 5:04 The fact that his animation only changes if you're using the Binding Blade kind of undercuts your point. If he's using any weapon other than the Binding Blade, his animation does not change between the Lord and Great Lord classes.

[@Drew_Apparently]

For the first one, holy shit I completely missed that lol. For the second one, the binding blade is the promotion item for Roy and is a weapon that is completely inaccessible to him before his promotion, so it could potentially be seen as that form of growth considering the change in stance and attacking style he uses with it. Lords by this point in time either didn't promote (Marth) or didn't change battle animations upon promotion (Leif, Alm?) except Seliph due to a horse, so I think it could be a fair assumption to make that this is a sign of physical, and some mental, growth for the character. Could just be me tho. Interesting enough Roy's battle animation in the final game is based on a much older design for Roy. His hair and the gold circle on his chest are the signifiers for that old design. So in some ways my entire argument could just be baseless (sort of at least).

[@aishi_rei]

Me as Elincia Lycia: *MY BIG BROTHER ROY!*

[@thicc6979]

you were talking about the character, but how about we talk about the unit and how much he actually contributes to success in combat game-wise? heh...

[@vocalcalibration8033]

Until about chapter 14 he's an asset dealing with the many cavs and armour knights. Additionally because of how many axe units there are throughout Binding Blades campaign being sword locked really doesn't hurt him that much. After chp 14 he does fall off until he gets the Binding Blade but once he has it he's useful for the rest of the game, albeit not fantastic. Still he makes up for it by being useful dealing with all of the dragons.

[@hailthequeenFM]

Good character, horrible unit.

[@blankblank6214]

How much of his popularity is form Smash

[@samirjohnson4524]

Too much.

[@menph1096]

If people think he's cool, they're a smash fan. If people think he's a legitimately good character, they're a true Roy fan who's played his game.

[@charleskruger8607]

@@menph1096 i really hate his personality in the game but I'm cool with him gameplay wise

[@scarletrose8766]

Im actually neutral i put him below lyn that is lyn only issue is that shes on a game with too much end game lance users which hurts her to shine as to not outshine well fucking Hector.

[@pearljaime2]

Hmmm... so maybe lyn is roy's mom afterall. He inherited his shitness from both Eli and Lyn. Makes sense.

[@eleonorepb4565]

People don't like Roy because they only see his supports with Lilina and those supports are just bland and don't developp the characters

[@charleskruger8607]

Roy is a pretty incompetent tw1t personality wise, his character was really annoying to me but gameplay wise I think he's alright, despite having bad stats he can become stronger and more comptetent, but his personality made me want to m1rder him, I like his personality in smash waaaaaaay more

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

roy is easily one of, if not _the,_ worst lords in fire emblem. good but standard character character, but not-as-good but still pretty ok-ish gameplay character.

[@Drew_Apparently]

Appreciate the response. I'll hope you'll be here in around 5 years when this video gets remade (sorta) and I'll try to blow your mind then about Roy with better written and visually insane work from me. Thanks for commenting

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

@@Drew_Apparently until then, then. was just browsing for fe roy stuff anyways.

[@arandomguy299]

Haaha idc , roy is still bad, cry about it

[@CipherKnighto]

Roy is the goat