Now that it's not 3am anymore:
Job 86: Felix, the Forgotten Warrior of Vale
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The main protagonists of each Golden Sun game. Left to right (Isaac, Felix, Matthew) Art by NaZyrus and Nibroc Rock
1. Who is Felix?
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Felix is a major character whose impact rings throughout the Golden Sun saga. He is introduced during the first Golden Sun game during the prologue. During this heart-wrenching scene, we watch hopelessly as Felix, his parents, and Isaac's father are swept away and presumably killed by a storm. This happens in front of the main characters' eyes - including his younger sister Jenna's. 3 years later, as Isaac, Garet, and Jenna make their way through Sol Sanctum on an assignment, they meet a masked figure: Felix, who is revealed to have survived the events of the Storm. Following this, he appears as a major antagonist (not villain!) throughout the first game, aiding Saturos, Menardi, and Alex in their quest to relight the lighthouses and bring alchemy back into the world.
Following the deaths of Saturos and Menardi, Venus Lighthouse is lit at the climax of
Golden Sun. Its violent shaking causes Sheba to slip off the aerie and she is basically doomed to die. However, Felix demonstrates his humanity and jumps after Sheba, leading to the events of the second game.
Golden Sun: the Lost Age opens with Jenna escaping the lighthouse with Kraden, a scholar. The duo find Felix and Sheba on a shore, strength exhausted from swimming. After a few humorous cutscenes where Felix checks if his limbs are intact, the player now takes control of the antagonist and usurps Saturos and Menardi's quest to relight the lighthouses. I won't go into further detail, but throughout the game, Felix is shown to be a more compassionate hero than Isaac was. After the duology of the Lighthouses ends - a new one begins. Though Felix makes no appearance in
Dark Dawn, his legacy has left controversy throughout the land. He is hailed a hero as is Isaac, however, he is portrayed less of one.
Felix has had Smash prominence since Brawl! While he only physically appears as an advanced (ace in
Infinite) spirit, Felix has been in the series since Brawl. The song Battle Scene / Final Boss (Golden Sun), arranged by the series composer Motoi Sakuraba is an a remix of Felix's theme and the final boss theme of
The Lost Age. Isaac's and Felix's themes are significantly different - depending on whether Isaac or Felix is the leader of the party in
The Lost Age, their respective battle theme will play. So yes, Felix does have prominence (and arguably, has been in the series longer than Isaac considering his AT was absent from Smash 4).
Format stealing from Krook aside, Felix is a Venus Adept just like Isaac. What does this mean to someone who has not played Golden Sun? Felix is an Earthbender. He, like Isaac, is naturally attuned to manipulating the earth. His domain is over rocks, sand, plants and the like. In Golden Sun, the two play nearly identically in their default classes (Squire class). The only major difference, however, is their stats. While you may ask: why not just make Felix an identical clone of Isaac then?
The Lost Age, Felix's starring role introduces several new summons and psynergies that can allow Felix a wider move pool. Aside from Isaac's throws, all of his moves pull from psynergy in the first Golden Sun. This can allow for us to pull from
The Lost Age for the job's special and Final Smash. For example, instead of Judgement, we can use Catastrophe, a summon introduced in
The Lost Age.
Aside from moves, Felix also has the potential to be mechanically different in a competitive sense. I imagine Felix to be slightly stronger and heavier than Isaac as a result of his time training in Prox with the villains. Additionally, he has access to a unique psynergy called "Sand" that can be used during rolls. Like Samus and Dark Samus before him, this change of hitbox could either make Felix laggier or faster (depending on the implementation) than Isaac. Overall, Felix has the capability to be an echo with variation.
4. Addressing Problems and other Information
The largest issue I see in the way of Felix is why we should even add him. Felix is echoing a newcomer from a niche, dead JRPG series. This is a valid argument, however, one that should be ignored. As stated by Masahiro Sakurai himself, it doesn't matter if the character is recognizable, it only matters if they are fun to play. The way I see it, Smash Bros. is a way for Nintendo to show off and advertise their versatility as a developer (Despite the 8 Fire Emblem characters and the inevitable one we will add). The additions of third parties show their willingness to collaborate with other companies. Because of this, it is clear that many are introduced to several new series because of Smash. Isaac and Felix represent something Nintendo has done in the past but no longer does - traditional turn based RPGs. I'm basically rambling about Smash speculation at this point so I'll end this point and go onto the next.
If you haven't already - please listen to
Felix's theme. There's a reason why it got into Smash.
Because of how he is portrayed in the
Golden Sun series, I consider Felix a "rival" character akin to Kirby and Meta Knight. Debuting as an antagonist, then a protagonist, then a questionable figure in history, Felix could definitely be written as a villain if so necessary. Some NPCs even describes Saturos and Menardi's group (including Felix) at one point in the game as being very forceful (for lack of a nicer word) as they make their way to the lighthouse.
That will conclude my thoughts about Felix at this point, so please consider voting for my baby hobo boy.
