Robin is a real character not just a avatar.

[Archimedes]

Okay, well im not sure if this topic or something close to it exists but I really wanna make a point to the people who take Robin as this character with no personality because he is customizable.

First off let me give an example of a character who can be changed around and still is a very well known video game character. Commander Sheppard from Mass Effect. He/She is able to be created from scratch, can decide what that character does, and decide on choices that effect the game. Yet Commander Sheppard is still one of the most iconic video game characters of "modern" gaming. Even with all the changes to him/her they still retain a base character.

Robin is no different and is actually even more of a solid character, there is less things that effect his/her personality (like in game choices that effect you) making him a very defined character like the rest of the FE:A cast. The only real change to his/her story is who you choose to marry, and any of the characters you choose who they marry. All and all hes/shes just a character who you can edit his/her appearance.

I'm just saying all this because I know people who haven't played FE:A or briefly played it and just think Robin is just this avatar, and doesn't deserve a space in Smash Bros.

 

[LIQUID12A]

This would have been more appropriate in the pre reveal era.

And we really don't have any detractors here.

 

[Archimedes]

This would have been more appropriate in the pre reveal era.

And we really don't have any detractors here.

Yeah I suppose I'm a little late, I just felt like sharing my thoughts on the matter.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

I think it would have been better if Robin was established as his own character (kinda like tactician/"Soren"for Chrom), because that would have made me like him quite in an instant over putting myself in his shoes. Feels sometimes disorienting to know that the fella possesses what used to be "my quotes and magic powers".

This is why I wanna do personal Mii Brawler VS Robin on him when I boot the game - to "tip our scales even". I'm Libra BTW.

I also found this great analysis in Tumblr which might prove your point further. It's very well-written and had me become attached and related to the character more. Wish he was really established as his own individual, so I thank Sakurai to make that more preferred foundations to most fans lol

 

[Archimedes]

I think it would have been great if he was established as his own character (KInda like tactician/"Soren"for Chrom), because that would have made me like him quite in an instant over putting myself in his shoes. Feels sometimes disorienting to know that the fella used to have "my quotes and my powers". But yeah. (This is why I wanna do personal Mii Brawler VS Robin on him when I boot the game)

I also found this great analysis in Tumblr which might prove your point further. It's very well-written and had me become attached and related to the character more. Wish he was really established as his own individual, so I thank Sakurai to make that more preferred foundations to most fans lol

Yeah I just read most of it and the conclusion. He really goes into depth on what I was trying to say, very well written too.

 

[Reila]

Most avatars in video games are real characters and Robeen is no exception. I don't know why people even bother trying to argue against that.

 

[False Sense]

Okay, well im not sure if this topic or something close to it exists but I really wanna make a point to the people who take Robin as this character with no personality because he is customizable.

First off let me give an example of a character who can be changed around and still is a very well known video game character. Commander Sheppard from Mass Effect. He/She is able to be created from scratch, can decide what that character does, and decide on choices that effect the game. Yet Commander Sheppard is still one of the most iconic video game characters of "modern" gaming. Even with all the changes to him/her they still retain a base character.

Robin is no different and is actually even more of a solid character, there is less things that effect his/her personality (like in game choices that effect you) making him a very defined character like the rest of the FE:A cast. The only real change to his/her story is who you choose to marry, and any of the characters you choose who they marry. All and all hes/shes just a character who you can edit his/her appearance.

I'm just saying all this because I know people who haven't played FE:A or briefly played it and just think Robin is just this avatar, and doesn't deserve a space in Smash Bros.

I think we had a thread here comparing Robin to Commander Shepard already, actually.

That being said, I agree with all your points.

 

[Fire Tactician]

great analysis in Tumblr

And from that: "He does not have the same opinions and hobbies and skills you do, unless you are also a wood-carving bookworm medieval fantasy tactician who can poison people with your cooking." Ha ha ha!

Despite all of the oddities of Awakening, Robin has been one of my favorite characters because he's such an interesting character. I picked up on most things that this person wrote about, but while I did notice his humbleness, I really hadn't picked up on his lack of self-confidence. This person makes such good points. Honestly, after reading that, I want to rank Robin even higher up on my list of favorite Awakening characters... and thanks to Smash Bros, he may even snag a spot on my favorite video game characters list. Robin has his strengths and flaws, and as much as the writer of that analysis wants us to realize that we aren't Robin, I really can connect with him. We share a bunch of the same faults and hobbies.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

And from that: "He does not have the same opinions and hobbies and skills you do, unless you are also a wood-carving bookworm medieval fantasy tactician who can poison people with your cooking." Ha ha ha!

Despite all of the oddities of Awakening, Robin has been one of my favorite characters because he's such an interesting character. I picked up on most things that this person wrote about, but while I did notice his humbleness, I really hadn't picked up on his lack of self-confidence. This person makes such good points. Honestly, after reading that, I want to rank Robin even higher up on my list of favorite Awakening characters... and thanks to Smash Bros, he may even snag a spot on my favorite video game characters list. Robin has his strengths and flaws, and as much as the writer of that analysis wants us to realize that we aren't Robin, I really can connect with him. We share a bunch of the same faults and hobbies.

I think the thing about how Robin ain't us is because I can still see qualities in him I could use to learn, and when in times of me seeing him down in the game, I'm not gonna really be like "poor baby bawww" like what all some overly affectionate fans can be - more like come to him and give him this imaginary pat on the back (or a hug) and say "it's alright, I know how it feels-" and don't expect him to get better in an instant. Empathy, you know. But if the guy was real, I'd don't want to throw a pity party - maybe just see if there's ways to help him out. (Boy do I wish he was real)

In general, I rather still think these guys as their own individuals like usual instead of relating to them bit too much - so I won't forget what makes them tick and put too much of myself in them despite them sometimes sharing traits with myself.

On the other hand, I want to see Robin do one day is to once feel genuinely happy for what he has done by his own efforts - kinda like overcoming some of his lack of self-confidence. Because if it'd help him, then people with issues like him can also find ways to get better too, or give hope for so.

But hey, the fact that he could take on Captain Falcon, the most beloved memetic bounty hunter of all time... I could quite imagine him (as mature as he is) puff out laughters of new-found self-happiness after the fight was done. (And besides, I'd have more adorable heartwarming things to imagine about.

But really, as his own individual, being in Smash did definitely more to him than what it would have done to Chrom, character development-wise- I could imagine him having more things to be proud of (in secret).

Still, I'm sure he'll also become my favourite and I hope I'll see more about him along with his best bro buddy in the future.

 

[Smallgenie549]

I know Robin is an avatar character, but I would love for him to have an established place in the Fire Emblem/Ylisse universe from here on out, a la Commander Shepherd. With the help of Smash, Robin will hopefully become an iconic character for the franchise who should return for the next FE game.

 

[guedes the brawler]

he is the player avatar... but in-battle i never identify myself as Robin

feels just like any other unit to me, besides when i am in the barracks or the shop

 

[Shadowknight1]

I agree wholeheartedly. Robin is definitely his/her own character, not just a blank slate for the player to push their own emotions onto. That's one of the best things about the Support Conversations, you get to learn so much about Robin(or whatever you named him/her). I thought it was beyond funny when my MU Elyssa was prodding Tiki about her life while Tiki was dozing. Or her reaction when Chrom stumbled upon her in the bath-tent.

 

[---]

Them being their own character is one of the reasons I dislike them (though FE13's terrible story doesn't help either).

 

[Hong]

Again, I loathe that Nintendo of America is trying to sell Robin as an Avatar. I understand why they are doing it, and on some levels it is true in the story. That said, it also carries certain expectations for the player that the game cannot fulfill.

"My Unit" was a much safer approach.

 

[Fire Tactician]

Again, I loathe that Nintendo of America is trying to sell Robin as an Avatar. I understand why they are doing it, and on some levels it is true in the story. That said, it also carries certain expectations for the player that the game cannot fulfill.

"My Unit" was a much safer approach.

I've never looked at it like that before, but I do get what you're saying. While I did enjoy having myself in the story for gameplay and marriage purposes, Robin was obviously an established character. For this reason, I'm glad that Sakurai manned up and named him "Robin" instead of "Avatar" or "Tactician." It helped to give him personality where he really needed it. In such an animated cast of characters, Robin stands out as being one of the "duller" ones in Smash Bros (he's just not as expressive as the rest of the cast), so he needs all of the help he can get (however, female Robin seems to be almost more expressive in a way, so that helps too).

 

[Wintropy]

I feel like Robin's the best of both worlds and a tastefully designed balancing act between "avatar" and "protagonist".

While the Avatar in Awakening does have her own thoughts, feelings, emotions and quotes, I still feel a deep connection to he - because, well, she's me. But she isn't just me: she's the kind of hero I dream of being, but which I am not. She goes above and beyond the essence of regular video game personae to become a profound and wonderful character in her own right.

When I play Nintendo Land, I am playing as myself. The games' stories and dialogue are designed to be as innocuous and simple as possible to ensure that you are just playing as a virtual version of yourself and, ultimately, it's essentially a cosmetic change. It's a cute touch, but it makes no real difference on the actual mechanics and gameplay therein. That's an avatar.

When I play Skyrim, I am playing as my own character. It may not be me, personally, or even a representation of myself, but it's not a character that has any pre-ordained personality or plot threads. I choose their entire character myself, from their appearance to their storylines, and everything is implicit from the choices I make in the game. That's an avatar.

When I play Zelda, I am playing as Link. I may be able to change his name at the start of the game and he may not have any dialogue to speak of, but he is still his own character, and regardless of whether or not I play the game myself, he will always be Link. That's a protagonist.

When I play Valkyria Chronicles, I am playing as Welkin Gunther. I may sympathise with him and I may share the same morals as he does, but I am not him. Welkin Gunther will never be me and I will never be him. That's a protagonist.

Robin is the middle ground between those two. Her dialogue and her plot threads are indeed pre-ordained in the game itself, but I can choose whom I talk to and what paths I take in the storylines; if I don't play the game, Robin will still be there in the game, but she will not be me; Robin is the me that I wish I was, the me that can fight dark gods and save the world without breaking a sweat or losing a life; Robin is pure potential made manifest, and even though you can alter her to your own attributes and make her what you want her to be, she will always be the army's tactician and she will always be a hero.

That's why I love Robin. Robin is me, but somehow, simultaneously, she isn't me - she's everybody all together, and yet, at the same time, she is the archetype of the true hero. She is absolute and eternal; she is the will of worlds and the blade that carves forth brighter futures.

 

[Shadowknight1]

awesome wall of text

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Though personally, as a writer and a fan of thought, even the most blank slate avatars(like the Pokemon trainers) can be given personalities. But when it came to Elyssa(My Unit), I knew pretty quick that she had a personality all her own. One that I deemed feisty as soon as Chrom walked in on her bathing and got all kinds of stuff thrown at him for his trouble lol

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

@ Wintropy And just when I thought none would ever think same as I do yet here it is, a complete bullseye on why I love Robin so much.

Like, the guy/gal is a lot like me but at the same time they're someone of their own - and definitely a person I want to look up to to being better in some ways, and see what he lacks in order to look into him from more deeper levels, and hope best for him during his potential future development. He's definitely someone I feel to being a "friend".

Sometimes makes me think we're two halves of the same whole in Smash when transitioning from Awakening.

 

[IceAnt573]

I really hope SMT x Fire Emblem has Robin and the game gives Robin more distinct character/personality. Maybe Atlus can rub off enough on IS to have Robin be like Yuu Narukami.

 

[Archimedes]

I really hope SMT x Fire Emblem has Robin and the game gives Robin more distinct character/personality. Maybe Atlus can rub off enough on IS to have Robin be like Yuu Narukami.

Doubtful, in that one trailer all the characters they showed in it are probably the ones in it, so Awakening probably gets just Chrom and Lucina.

 

[IceAnt573]

Doubtful, in that one trailer all the characters they showed in it are probably the ones in it, so Awakening probably gets just Chrom and Lucina.

One can still hope. That trailer is missing the lords of Fire Emblem 2-5 which includes Alm, Celica, Sigurd, Celice, and Leif. They would be too much glaring omissions. Also, nobody really knows how far in development this game actually is and we really only got a trailer saying who was definitely in it.

 

[~ Valkyrie ~]

I really hope SMT x Fire Emblem has Robin and the game gives Robin more distinct character/personality. Maybe Atlus can rub off enough on IS to have Robin be like Yuu Narukami.

That'd be interesting. I personally want him to fill back the "supporting" for Chrom if the latter will be playable. I wouldn't mind him as another unit playable though. Wonder if that might happen...

Also on Jugdral-saga being overlooked, I personally will Valflame I.S's headquarters down if that is done.

 

[Robertman2]

Doubtful, in that one trailer all the characters they showed in it are probably the ones in it, so Awakening probably gets just Chrom and Lucina.

That's literally the only info we have about it...

 

[~Radiance~]

how can we be close to avatar if roy is our boy though?

but yea i think robin had a lot more personality in her/him to make them more of a standalone. then again, they are also the epitome of waifu shipping simulator

 

[N7Kopper]

Here's a fun fact for all those "Robin is a halfway between avatar and protag" people.
The Japanese version of Awakening had a voice option for silent protagonist, rendering Robin a completely blank slate (besides the rather annoying heterosexuality) for the player to project themselves onto. This option wasn't allowed for the MU Robin of any given save file in the localised releases, due to needing two separate scripts whenever Robin's involved. And while I absolutely hate the silent protagonist treatment for established characters like Link (who was originally a gender-neutral blank slate, before he was declared male, and Ocarina of Time later established him as a handsome man as an adult, for fanservice reasons - his name, Link, is a reference to him being a link to the game world), Samus, or the Mario Bros., it does have roleplaying merit.

It's compulsory (besides voice acting) for any StreetPass Robins though, and even voice acting goes when playing as a cameo character from a past FE title (who are internally bonus Robins just like the StreetPass characters)

Just a mechanics fact to torpedo any fancy-shmancy theorising about developer intent, there.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Robin is still rather sparse.

 

[False Sense]

Robin is still rather sparse.

Sparse? What exactly do you mean by that?

 

[LunarWingCloud]

At least Robin is interesting as a Smash character. New concept really. Lucina is... Marth with no tipper. Okay.

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

Sparse? What exactly do you mean by that?

I mean she's as well-developed as the average FE13 character.

 

[N7Kopper]

At least Robin is interesting as a Smash character. New concept really. Lucina is... Marth with no tipper. Okay.

IIRC, Lucina was a genderswap alt for Marth, (makes sense, as gameplay wise, Marth uses Lucina's animations and Lodestar is really similar to (Great) Lord) who then got in the roster in her own right... because no tipper.
So, she got in because she's a woman, basically. Go figure.

 

[Ragna22]

I've been playing Fire Emblem Awakening for the first time for the past four days and I agree, Robin honestly feels like part of the main cast as opposed to just the character you created and it's because in most games where you create a character for a story, your character is the center of attention, you get bounties on your head, you're the most capable person in whatever group you're part of, the story is almost always just about you, ect.

With Fire Emblem Awakening, while you're supposedly the best tactition, the story isn't only about you, in fact you're almost just a supporting character, I know Robin has something to do with what happens later in the game, (I'm only 20 or so chapters in so this is just as far as I'm aware and honestly it's the reason I didn't read any other posts on this thread so I can avoid spoilers.) because of what is shown at the very start of the game but for as far as I've gotten, honest the story seems more about Chrom and Lucina than Robin to the point where I often forget that Robin was the avatar character I customized the moment I started the file and I think that's a good thing, a great thing in fact because Robin just seems like a more natural fit to the world as a result.

 

[False Sense]

I've been playing Fire Emblem Awakening for the first time for the past four days and I agree, Robin honestly feels like part of the main cast as opposed to just the character you created and it's because in most games where you create a character for a story, your character is the center of attention, you get bounties on your head, you're the most capable person in whatever group you're part of, the story is almost always just about you, ect.

With Fire Emblem Awakening, while you're supposedly the best tactition, the story isn't only about you, in fact you're almost just a supporting character, I know Robin has something to do with what happens later in the game, (I'm only 20 or so chapters in so this is just as far as I'm aware and honestly it's the reason I didn't read any other posts on this thread so I can avoid spoilers.) because of what is shown at the very start of the game but for as far as I've gotten, honest the story seems more about Chrom and Lucina than Robin to the point where I often forget that Robin was the avatar character I customized the moment I started the file and I think that's a good thing, a great thing in fact because Robin just seems like a more natural fit to the world as a result.

For the record, if you're only 20 chapters in, then you haven't quite reached the point in the game where Robin takes center stage. The climax of the game is focused entirely around Robin; Chrom and Lucina sort of fall to the sidelines in comparison.

 

[Ragna22]

For the record, if you're only 20 chapters in, then you haven't quite reached the point in the game where Robin takes center stage. The climax of the game is focused entirely around Robin; Chrom and Lucina sort of fall to the sidelines in comparison.

Just finished the game about an hour ago and yeah you're definitely right, Robin does get more attention from the plot which is fine, I still really like what they did with the plot though, the end chapters were pretty awesome.

 

[TeddyBearSolid]

Actually, My Unit, or "Robin", technically IS an avatar. This is even directly stated in one of their Smash trophies: "This is Robin, an avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening."

So...

Also, I don't think anyone is arguing that the avatar has a defined personality, but techinically speaking, that doesn't mean they can't be an avatar. For those of you who don't know, in Japan there was a way for the avatar to be a silent protaganist, which sadly didn't come to the United States, but still, you might find that interesting.

Also, Fire Emblem Fates makes a direct reference to "Robin" being an avatar as well. Anyone with a Robin amiibo who sent Lazlow, Odin, or Selena to fight them will know what I'm talking about. It's cool that you prefer to see him/her as their own character, (which in some ways they are) but their primary function is as a self-insert for the player.

By the way, Commander Shepard is absolutely an avatar. Saying otherwise is, frankly, just silly.

 

[1FC0]

Pokemon Trainer is a real character if one picks Red the legend himself but a mere avatar if one picks the female trainer.