The Fire Emblem series has risen to the top of Nintendo's most famous franchises, from the release of the acclaimed Fire Emblem: Three Houses to its featured presence in the Super Smash Bros. series. The series managed to draw in fans with its strategy-based gameplay and charming cast of characters. Not everything in Fire Emblem is unanimously agreed upon by fans, and it has since become a hotbed of division.
As per usual, Reddit has become the website for fans to post their baffling takes on the series. In the eyes of Redditor, everything from individual characters to the game mechanics itself becomes fair game to comment on.
Fire Emblem Fates' Cast Is Underrated
Fire Emblem Fates is best known for being one of the most expensive 3DS games in its complete form, as well as for its polarizing reputation amongst Fire Emblem fans. Despite its reputation, it manages to have fans willing to defend it for its strengths, including a Redditor who deeply analyzed the game's characters.
Reddit u/Wanderer2691 concluded that Fates' problem was that its bright character moments were "locked away behind a litany of supports," which players would have had to work to obtain. While the OP was not wrong, Fates' characters often had characterizations in their supports that contradicted the main story, leading to jarring out-of-character moments.
Reclassing Characters Is A Bad Mechanic
Throughout the Fire Emblem series, a major gameplay feature included the tweaking of units' skills and classes, allowing players in-depth customization of their armies. While most fans have accepted this as a standard of the games, Reddit u/darkblade273 laid out the argument that class changing "is a bad mechanic for a series like FE, and hurts characters" by going against their base archetypes.
Most players promote their units based on their stats and work from there, sticking true to the original intended purposes of the characters. At the same time, however, free class changing has led to some comedic run ideas such as reclassing everyone as Armored Knights.
The Child Mechanic Is Good
Multiple Fire Emblem games, from Genealogy Of The Holy War to Awakening, have made use of the child mechanic, in which the player pairs off units to give birth to the most strategically viable offspring possible. While the mechanic has since fallen out of favor with most fans, Reddit u/greencrusader13 confessed to not minding - with the caveat of wanting "to see it better implemented" in later games.
After its lackluster usage in Fire Emblem Fates and absence from Three Houses, it's unclear if the child mechanic has worn out its welcome for good. For it to come back for another game, they would have to heavily revamp it to keep things fresh otherwise fans will get bored of it.
Fire Emblem Should Cross Over With Genshin Impact
The mobile game Genshin Impact has evolved since its initial launch across systems, managing to attract Fire Emblem fans with its open world and animesque art style. Naturally, plenty of comparisons have been drawn, with one Reddit user proposing a crossover between the two. They cite "all the dragons, magic and medieval elements" as the reason such a thing would work.
This fan's idea seems pretty good on paper, but it falls apart when considering how Fire Emblem characters would be implemented into Genshin. Doing so would require reworking the weapons of all major Fire Emblem characters to fit in with Genshin's lore, as well as changing up their known abilities.
Ótr Is Cute
In Book V of Fire Emblem Heroes, dwarven prince Ótr is one of the most highly anticipated Mythic-tier heroes and most intriguing villains of the current story arc. According to a few lovestruck Redditors, Ótr also has also become known for something else entirely: being adorable. One Reddit commentator sums up their thoughts by stating that if "Ótr got some sleep, he'd be real cute."
Unfortunately for these Redditors, Ótr would not be a good romantic partner in the slightest. Fire Emblem Heroes shows him manipulating the giantess Nótt by using her crush on him to trick her into helping him fulfill his kingdom's love of conquest, with the promise of marriage.
Fire Emblem Awakening Is Broken
While most fans cite Fire Emblem Awakening as the game that saved the series from being shelved entirely, Reddit u/SlowResearch2 outlying their grievances with the games that identified Awakening as being fundamentally unbalanced. They cite the pair-up feature specifically, explaining that "if you use it, you’ll be fine, and if you don’t you’re in a world of hurt."
Awakening is not a perfect game by any means, but it was clear that Intelligent Systems was taking a risk on giving the series another chance. The fundamentals of Awakening lay the groundwork for later entries in the series, with future games improving upon features it introduced.
Ike Is Overrated
Widely known by mainstream gamers for his playable appearances in the Smash Bros games, Ike is considered a beloved character amongst Fire Emblem fans for his hatred of prejudice and loyalty to his friends. Reddit u/Captainmorgan9000 was quick to dismiss Ike's popularity, referring to him as "a lesser version of Alm" from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Commenters pointed out that while Alm and Ike both start off as commoners leading powerful armies, the similarities end there as both characters diverge. Additionally, Ike has widespread appeal from his appearances in Smash Bros and his memorable cutscene from Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode.
Lucina Is A Bad Character
Fire Emblem Awakening introduced the fandom to Lucina, a young woman from the future who became almost instantly beloved by the fans. u/Shannan(Gen. 2) took to Reddit to vocally disagree, claiming that Lucina was "one of the worst characters in Awakening from a story standpoint" because of her somber personality.
While it's true that Lucina doesn't start out as the most cheerful character, it's a little unfair to judge her since Lucina was heavily traumatized by the death of her parents, which is one of the reasons for her serious nature. Additionally, Awakening shows Lucina healing from her past as she grows closer to her father, even allowing her to lighten up near the end of the game.
Azure Moon Is The Worst Route Of Three Houses
Dimitri is considered the breakout character of Three Houses thanks to his tragic past and phenomenal voice acting, and his route Azure Moon is considered the highlight of the game. One Redditor, good_wolf_1999, voiced confusion on Dimitri's popularity, believing that other fans "overhype him and his route too much."
The post brings up some good points, explaining how Azure Moon's story doesn't expand on concepts from other routes and that Dimitri's character arc didn't justify abandoning the rest of Three House's story. While it's true that Azure Moon drops the ball in fundamental ways, fans have still found plenty to love about Dimitri and the rest of the Blue Lions.