I mean, a good execution doesn't stop the base concept from being absolute garbage.
The base story concept (the whole Hoshido Nohr thing) seems okay tbh. The strength of that, and whether it turns out cliche or very good, depends on execution.
I could care less about petting or incest. Gameplay has been confirmed to be good by people who have played it. Characters and story have generally been stated as good by people who have played it. That's all I need.
The gameplay could be the absolute greatest of any Fire Emblem game but you still bounce off your sister's boobs in a first-person cutscene and that makes me not want to play it.
That's a shame imo.
On forums where I hang around, this tends to be a common opinion
Playing an rpg for the story? All rpg and game stories are shit.
You want a story? Read a book. Not a manga. A book.
I don't quite agree with that. I like game stories, even if I don't think they have the depth of great literature. I like fantasy, adventure, and escapism, and I like those things in an interactive medium like games because they let me
pretend I have friends get immersed in the world and atmosphere.
But, what I look for in games, whether it be on a story or gameplay basis, is some sort of emotional reaction. And gameplay absolutely can do that. Most games these days don't, but gameplay has every potential to deliver heart pounding excitement, nail biting tension, and gut wrenching visceral reactions that leave you feeling like you had an experience.
Fire Emblem gameplay already does that.
So now that I know the gameplay is up to or beyond the series standards, I already know I'm going to have an experience. Hopefully the story will also give me a different, but equally great, experience alongside it. But either way, I already got all dem feels I need to justify the time and money I'll be putting into the game.
Honestly, I'm sick of the whole pointless debates about story and characters from people who not only
haven't played it yet, but don't seem to value gameplay too much. I'm getting close to just muting this thread, because these opinions are rather worthless to me.
Fire Emblem Fates seems to ironically caught between two, on the one hand it wants to be a tragically written story about family and bonds and which is more important to any individual player, but at the same time it wants to copy Awakening so bad, especially one of the most prominent mechanics, that whole dating sim aspect.
I agree petting vs dramatic story is bad for tone.
But if it turns out the story is good and the characters are likable, and it seems to be heading that way, at some point I just stop giving a fuck and enjoy what's good.
It reminds me of a friend of mine who wouldn't watch South Park for years because it was "too filthy" and then finally caved ten years later, at which point it instantly became one of her favorite shows of all time.