ML Rant: Most FE Lords Don't Deserve a Place in Smash #CloudSharks

I might just make this whole ML Rant I usually did in my bio into an actual series.

I am incapable of making a good TPL or a TPL at all.

Cover Image is a bit clickbaity but let me explain.

This may be controversial, but just give me a couple of minutes to explain.

I know the whole topic of "Fire Emblem Rep in Smash Being Misrepresented" has been done to death so I thought of something else.

Ok it kinda follows the same vein BUT IT'S DIFFERENT I SWEAR

Although Fire Emblem is a great series, I don't think most of its lords deserve place in Smash.

Ok wait that could have been said better. What I REALLY meant is that, with most of the lords and their base moveset, they just aren't interesting enough to be in a game like Smash.

But Sakurai can make anything work in Smash, right?

Yeah, he can, but that doesn't mean the end product is always going to turn out fine.

With all this said, allow me to begin.

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The Lords of the Series

Fire Emblem has a lot of lords to choose from. From Hector, to Ephraim, to Marth, there are plenty to choose from. What do they all have in common? It can't be their weapons, some use swords while others use lance's or axes. What they all have in common is something that, at surface level, wouldn't seem like a problem for a game like Smash, but is very much as prominent as anything else. I'm talking about the way they act.

MAYBE it was a slight generalization to call all lords the same with the way they act, but really only a few lords stray from the uptight and strict way that most lords act (Ike, to some extent) but generally most lords act like this.

And the way they act carries over to Smash. Their entire personality just feels like a copy and paste for each character, from their voice lines to victory lines among other things like their animations and even their facial expressions. They are always so formal and really there's not much variety since most of the lords in the Fire Emblem games are like this. So that leaves a question, which lord would actually bring some variety into Smash?

Well, I don't think any would, if I'm being honest. There's a huge lack of variety when it comes to the lords of the series, and them having a different weapon than a sword doesn't exactly guarantee that they would be a good character to have in the game.

Which brings me to my next point:

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They Have a Generic Base Moveset

Let's just take a look at a few examples.

Here's Marth's moveset in his games:

Now, I'm not saying something can't be made out of nothing, it's just that there is very, VERY little to work with here.

Characters like Wii Fit and R.O.B are examples of characters starting from nothing, but even they have more interesting movements than most of the FE characters. They had even LESS to work with with Wii Fit and R.O.B and still somehow made them far more fleshed out than a character with an actual moveset. Why? Because really, what else do the characters do in FE other than swing some sort of weapon? Granted Roy was able to incorporate fire into his moveset like in his actual game:

And honestly, on that concept alone they could make Roy more interesting, but even with that concept in mind it's just hard to represent a franchise with such little to work with.

Again, with the case of R.O.B and Wii Fit (and other characters too), I can actually see the characters pulling off the sorts of moves they were given despite little to no games being made for them at all. I can SEE Wii Fit incorporating yoga into her moveset, and I can see R.O.B incorporating Laser eyes and propelling himself with a rocket engine because it makes sense based on their design. I can't see anything that they could come up with to further flesh out Fire Emblem characters, no matter the weapon they use.

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Robin and Corrin

Actually works fairly well. In some newer and older games in the franchise, some characters are set to using a specific type of magic, but with Robin (and a couple of other characters) he can use all types of magic, including curse magic like Nosferatu. This represents the mages in FE fairly well, and he was also able to incorporate melee combat into his moveset as well without it seeming off.

Him carrying the Levin sword (and swords in general) also makes sense, and his addition to the game was well needed.

Mostly the same case with Corrin. We all know how shit Fates was, but Corrin was able to represent the game fairly well, and give us a fresh look at the series with him Corrin occasionally turning into a dragon with some moves, him only altering some parts of his body to pull off certain moves, and his usage of the chainsaw like blade Yato.

THESE are good additions. I said that when taking a characters attitude and personality into , although it was important, I think Robin and Corrin more than make up for this with the moveset they give us.

Who Would Be a Better Candidate for Smash?

First let's start off with who we should cut.

Although Marth is extremely basic he deserves a place in Smash simply for starting the series off. Otherwise, he would be cut.

Roy, eh. I mean the only thing he has that is slightly interesting is his ability to wield fire, but I don't think much else could be added onto his base moveset except maybe a long ranged fire attack (which he really doesn't need). Although Roy represented the GBA era (arguably the best era) of Fire Emblem, I don't think he deserves a spot just based off of that. If we were basing this based off of the era each came from would essentially mean that (almost) every character would just keep their spot. For that reason, I think Roy should be cut.

Don't even get me started with Chrom and Lucina neither deserve a place in the game since we have a much more interesting character already leading the charge in of representing Awakening, and it's Robin. We don't need 3 Awakening reps.

Ike is very basic as well. It's the same case with Roy, he has a sort of blue fire effect to some of his attacks but it isn't enough for him to deserve a spot. Cut him.

And I've already stated my opinions on Corrin and Robin so:

WHO IS A BETTER CANDIDATE JUST SAY IT ALREADY

SHUT UP I WAS GETTING TO IT

In of lords there are very little to work with. Just because Ephraim swings a lance doesn't mean he's an interesting character, and just because Hector swings an axe doesn't make him anymore interesting either.

Honestly the only other FE lord I can think of that is remotely interesting is:

Byleth!

The only reason being that he can incorporate his whip sword hybrid into his attacks. Granted we already have a whip in Smash BUT WE DON'T HAVE A WHIP SWORD

And honestly I feel as if he represents a new age of Fire Emblem since 3 Houses changed up the FE formula quite a bit, which makes Byleth deserving of a spot.

Not only this but Byleth would be able to use any weapon he wanted in the game, since that is how the game works.

Anyways, I'm getting a bit off track.

Does This Mean Regular Units Would Be a Better Fit?

Not exactly, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see some other units other than lords be added to Smash.

Some regular units do have an edge when it comes to personality when comparing them to the lords, but they are still weighed down by the fact that most of them also use regular weapons that we've already seen a dozen times (excluding the Magic, Beast, and Dragon classes but they've already been incorporated in some way as well).

Wyvern Riders would be an interesting addition, maybe Archer units as well, although there is only so much you can do with a bow.

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This blog kinda went all over the place with the point I was trying to make so I'll reiterate it.

Most Fire Emblem lords in Smash do not deserve a spot because:

1. Their personalities are bland and very similar to one another.

2. Their games showcase them performing basic sword/lance/axe etc. attacks that don't really bring variety to a game like Smash.

3. Robin and Corrin are good examples of what types of characters (in my opinion) SHOULD be represented in of their uniqueness in Fire Emblem.

Td;lr version

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So, that's the blog. Not really good at ending these sorts of things off.

I suppose I should clarify that this is for an event and I am part of the:

#CloudSharks

Don't hesitate to disagree with me or share your own opinions in the comments, I'd love to hear them

This was kinda a shorter blog than I intended to make, but I think it turned out alright.

Hope you enjoyed it. Later.