Troykv
Smash Master
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2015
- Messages
- 3,990
I understand why Marth/Sigurd/Eliwood/Ike are in the cover art, in fact, I like see them in the cover, I think that they are probably the best options to show the Fire Emblem's Story with only some few pictures ...IS has taste again. This is good news. Ordering solely for that cover, everything else is a bonus. I'm guessing when making the art book, they saw that they made games other than just FE11/13 and suddenly remembered a lot. Hopefully this means good things coming.
I did a lot of research on sales, general fan reaction, polls, and reviews when justifying Roy for Smash 4, and from that:
- FE7 sold incredibly well both in Japan and internationally. It was a risky first step in introducing Fire Emblem to international audiences, and some emphasis on helping international fans identify with Eliwood was made in 7 with Roy's introduction in Melee and Marth/Roy's similarities to him.
- FE4 was one of the best-selling Fire Emblems. While it always was trumped by fellow SNES release New Mystery Emblem in sales, Intelligent Systems claimed FE4 was their best Fire Emblem title by far. It took huge steps in design and was an incredibly accomplished title compared to the first three games. It introduced a lot of quality to the series and advancement of the basics that made Fire Emblem truly stand out, and it's a nostalgic favorite pick for many fans of the series. It may be the most praised Fire Emblem by classic fans.
Jugdral and Elibe are some of the most rich and staple continents of the series, naturally excellent picks for the cover of an art book alongside Archanea. Eliwood and Sigurd are the best candidates to represent those two, and they have legacies beyond first glance. Both of them have sons who lead successful revolutions against impossible odds in stories that expand beyond their own after their time, both of them have palettes in Smash (Eliwood on Roy, Sigurd on Ike; in a way, Marth/Roy/Ike are on the cover; edit: oh hey Ike's on now), and both of them are the main characters of some of the most risky yet successful titles. They expand into much more than most will give them credit for. True Fire Emblem fans who are willing to throw in 3500 yen and up to around 800 in shipping will easily recognize and admire these characters and their inclusion at first glance.
This is a Japanese art book with no word on a translated/international release, and we can't forget that FE4 is a much bigger piece of Japan's history of the series than ours.
Truuuu, Sheik can't do anything if you get out of her easier kill range. Then she has to fish for fairs/dsmash rather than just fish for down throw, and becomes Roy without a sword.
Getting lucky with your own dsmash too also helps a lot.
Chrom and Lucina aren't necessarily large pieces of the history of the series compared to what we have so far, neither is Awakening. Ylisse is simply a one game deal that rides off Archanea's legacy in the far future, we'd more likely see Chrom/Lucina already if Awakening had a sequel (and thank god it doesn't) or significant generation split like Genealogy of the Holy War. Their popularity is easy to milk, that's all they have going for them. Kamui is even less significant than them. A game can sell and do well, but Marth/Eliwood/Sigurd/Ike are much more important heroes who hail from continents with rich lore and multiple games that have shaped the history of the series itself during its golden era. I hate the idea people spread around where Awakening and whatever other new FE stuff should be the definitive heads of the series when they have yet to prove themselves. Sales, being new, and popularity only matter if they act alongside other things that matter for the history of the series.
Marth/Ike/Chrom-only slapped on anything big for FE is Smash 4 pre-release speculation all over again, and I hated those times.
Awakening may have introduced many to Fire Emblem while selling well, but it failed to tie-in with a later title, it alienated and caused concern for many classic fans of the series, and the excuse "Awakening saved the series" fails to sell me when the series has been "saved" multiple times, Jugdral and Elibe being two good examples of this.
I can see a modern lord on the cover coming, but people are giving that sort of thing way too much credit, and a modern lord plus Marth+Ike robbing the cover of several of Fire Emblem's greatest heroes hopefully disgusts whoever's making the artbook as much as it disgusts me.
Nothing personal meant, I just don't see them screwing up like this and appealing to Fire Emblem's lowest common denominator (smash+awakening only) on a 25th anniversary book that's roughly 40 big ones that only dedicated fans will buy.
I'm just... incredible surprised, because the last times that I saw something apparenty focused in celebrate "series story" it was focused in these newer things (and Marth)... Ugh.
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