I think Finn deserves an honorable mention, even though he’s more of a squire, and less of a retainer; -He served Quan loyally through two wars (against Verdane and Augustria) without ever leaving his lords side. -He stayed behind to protect the king of Lenster, while Quan rode of to Barharra. -Finn then escaped Lenster castle with Leaf and Nanna when it was attacked by Leydrick, and subsequently went on the run from the empire for years, moving from village to village while dragging around two kids. Even during these difficult times he made sure they always had food to eat, often going hungry for days himself to ensure they never even suffered. -After finally escaping the empire's eye, he settled down in a small village, literally raising Leaf and Nanna as his own children until they were teenagers. -When Leaf set out to fight against the empire, Finn joined him as his advisor and bodyguard, and fought with him for the entirety of Jugdral’s second holy war, being the only character in Jugdral to fight in both generations. It is revealed in Fe5 that without Leaf’s efforts in Thracia, Celice would probably not have won the war, so indirectly, Finn is actually responsible for the Lopto empire being vanquished. -Even after the war was over, Finn continued to serve Leaf the rest of his life, he took a small 1-2 year break to head to Barharra to look for Lachesis, but returned to his lords side when he failed to locate her. Finn really went above and beyond what is required of a retainer/squire, the devout loyalty of one squire is the whole reason an entire continent survived!
Ok i can see why finn deserve best retainer but i still think its understandable ghast best (more like fav but its not that different at some perspective) retainer is forde. But its more like a running joke for some people in the community to always disagree. But at least this make sense regardless of the intention for some.
I haven't seen Finn as best retainer and I'm mad. Like this guy was in 2 generations and two games. He raised his lord's kid when Quan was murdered. Not mention would go without food to feed Leif and Nanna for years. Finn is loyal beyond loyal and deserves this title without a doubt.
Sigh Niles, Xander, Leo, Azura, Nyx, Shigure, Shiro, Forrest, and Siegbert would all like to have a word with you I don’t deny there is truth to ur claim and yes the main plot to Fates is garbage but not all the characters are as one note as u may think
9 out of 73 characters having good supports are not favorable odds, but I do know what you mean. Supports are one of the best things in Fates, or at least it's where the best writing is. Also those characters you mentioned, in their supports with others, make the other unit seem better, so their quality branches out. However, in a game that's about marketing its units, and for so many to be lackluster, a few exceptional ones don't make up for it. It doesn't help that Xander and Azura are terrible in the story, which undermines their supports, and Leo is the only Lord on that list with good dialogue in story and supports. But for only 1 out of 10 lords to be exceptional in both, I don't think that's a positive. Though I'd argue Takumi is good in both too, and maaaaybe Elise and Sakura.
Agreed. But, just to add to that list of good Fates supporters, here's my list of characters in Awakening I ended up liking way MORE than if I hadn't read their supports at all: Henry, Lon'qu, Gregor, Virion, Libra, Walhart, Vaike, Gaius, Lon'qu, Cherche, Stahl, Maribelle, Panne, and Olivia, to name a few. And hell, love their supports/character or hate 'em, Tharja and Cordelia's supports give so many layers to their character.
You can say what you will about Awakening and Fate's characters and supports, but I think it says a lot that personally, they both gave me a much greater appreciation for supports overall and now I'm making more attempts to do them in any game where they're present.
I really like Erika as a character, I felt that she's a naive character done right. She's a noble not in an uptight way, she's (despite what people said about her being stupid) very well versed in conversations and knows how to make people feel genuinely at ease. She taken to fighting due to her own accord, and unlike Elincia who's on her own, trained herself to compliment her brother Emphraim cause Emphraim will be king.
Not to forget the fact that she actually got ready to kill Leon in the end unlike many other naive personality protagonists. Really showed her acceptance
So after listening to this, I've realized that Laslow/Inigo heavily parallel Forde. Low key badass swordsmen, womanizer, momma's boys, practice a hobby that reminds them of their mother that they try to hide, and aim to bring smiles to everyone. I like Laslow, but Forde pulls it off better.
***** It's true that Cavaliers are very good.They combine high movement, well rounded stats and weapon triangle control into a versatile package. So they usually can deal with anything that doesn't have a beast killer or a Zambato.
I gotta say, hearing you talk about a character you love with so much passion and enthusiasm is always great in this little series you have, but especially in this video. As my first game in the series, Forde wound up being my first exposure to the characters like him that I'd grow to love and favor so much, but I sadly didn't give him as much attention as I really should have. I'm also disappointed in never having gotten that goddamn beautiful support with Erika back then. While my favorite knight of his archetype was Stahl for the longest time, I'm starting to think Forde's making his way up there pretty quickly.
This was an incredible video, and it really makes me want 2 things from Fire Emblem even more: 1) More supports that build upon each other like this rather than always starting with a blank slate with different characters 2) An easier time gaining supports in the older games because although they had better supports overall, I hated how you were limited to 5 supports per character per playthrough.
17:57 This might be captain obvious but I think his choice of painting landscapes is also symbolic. In landscape painting there are no people in the pictures, but I think you could also say that the people are missing. So landscape painting could be symbolism of empty space that was once filled by his parents. Edit: I didn't watch the whole video before making this comment, oops xD
Ghast Station incredible! brilliantly put together video, and made me really change my opinion of him. I just wrote him off as a mediocre unit and irrelevent character, but its pretty obvious now hes a lot more. Great job!
Late to the party but whatever. The way you presented fordes relationship with eirika made it look like forde looks up to eirika like a mother figure rather than a crush or what not. Including everything you said fordika shouldnt be a ship cause forde doesnt "necessarily" have those feelings for her, especially if my theory is correct and forde actually Does look up to eirika like a mother figure. But other than that good video
This video was amazing. You made me see Ford in a whole new light; he's this spiritual/emotional badass. I hope you do more GBA supports. Maybe Ross and Gracia. It's among my favourites.
This was a really good one. I was always a fan of Forde’s supports with Eirika, but the connections you draw to his support with Franz are something I’d never considered before, and it makes it that much better.
SS for me my money is probably one of the least memorable Fire Emblem games cause aside from Lyon as a villain...most of the game is incredibly basic in terms of plot and character tropes
Forde's support with Eirika reminds me of the book Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse. The plot of the book is about Goldmund being abandoned by his father after his loving mother died and so after growing up in the monastery travels the countryside chasing memories of his mother in art.
Would Matthew count? He kind of takes duties to Hector and Hector claims that he is his man in Hector mode. He also gets special convos with Oswin (who later swears to follow Hector). If Matthew does count... Matthew for best retainer.
That's a fair point. He is technically a retainer, and I would definitely say he is easily one of the best characters in the series. We get to see a lot of different sides of him, and he doesn't feel inconsistent.
Kieran Moran I still prefer Legault. Also, I think all of the retainers in GBA FE are Marcus, Wolt, FE 6 Merlinus, Elen, Milady (Milady is my 2nd favourite :D and she's the only one who get hard mode bonuses who auto-joins you), Vanessa, Gilliam, Moulder, Kyle, Forde, Kent, Lowen, Sain, Oswin (for more than just Hector, people who haven't read his support with Priscilla), Matthew, Bors, Alen, Lance, Dozla, Isadora, Seth, Franz, Lucius, Florina, Dorothy and Harken (I think). These are the "sort of" retainers (they're not really retainers, but they act like one): Wendy, Barth, Oiger, Treck, Noah, Jaffar, Shin, Ziess, Saleh and Dieck. I think I missed a few.
I really wish that we got more backstory from Stahl apart from just "I have brothers and my family has an apothecary." He is just that one character you love when you've supported him with who he can support with but you'll forget if you haven't used him.
I'm so happy you made this series, and this video is the most impactful so far. It's a wonderful love letter to the franchise as a whole, and the way you structured the episode really made Forde's character come together in a new way for me. Thank you!
Love this, Forde has always been one of my favorite fe characters because of his supports. His B support with Vanessa however I think develops Vanessa only. She talks about innes and kind of reminds us she has a crush on him and is slightly embarrassed about it. That's just how I interpret it
Ghast. Litterally marry me. I don't care if you're straight! Joking aside, I can't put into words how happy I am that you made this video. Finally, someone does the best Christmas Knight justice! It just... feels amazing.
Felecia is the best retainer because she stays with you no matter what side you choose and decides to aid you in a heartbeat. Flora fights you in every route and Gunter falls down the canyon but Felecia with her flame shurikens is always there.
I remember doing a bunch of support grinding in Sacred Stones. It was long ago, and I didn't get too far with it or really appreciate how deep some of them can be.
This was was my favorite episode of support science so far. It's supports/characters like these that I love so much in FE, because they make the characters feel more real. There are some characters that make it very obvious what they are from the get go, and that often comes in the form of a gimmick. With Forde and other such characters, their gimmick isn't shown from the moment they join, with his being painting. We get a good feel for his personality initially, but his gimmick isn't shoved in our face. Then, the gimmick itself doesn't consume his character at all, but enhances it. Some characters simply revolve around a single for trait, making conversations feel repetitive and boring after a while. With characters like Forde, It is important to them, but subtle. I feel like Sacred Stones probably did the best with these concepts in general, and made for one of the best overall casts in the series.
Sacred stones was my first introduction to the fire emblem series and after watching this i realized i overlooked forde to easily when i played through (to be fair i liked the stuffy characters more back then(kyle,seth,etc.))This and a few other of you videos have been fun to watch and listen to since i found this series.
This convinced me to use him next time I play SS. I kinda wrote off all of the cavaliers aside from God-Emperor Seth. I appreciate these kinds of videos a great deal
Wow, haven't ever looked at him that much. This was pretty awesome and really showed how much supports can do for a character in a game with a large cast.
Dozla was a Summoner in my Randomizer. He has transcended using axes normally, and managed to make dark magic work for him simply by its statistical similarity to axes.
this was amazing! i hope this becomes a series man! this really fleshes out the character and creates a new view of the character that i never had before. Thanks man! Here's for the best of you man! take care
Holy shit dude. I was only about 80% in agreement with you about Forde being the best retained until you got to Eirika and the smile he thought he lost forever. That actually made me shed some man tears. It was at that point I was sold.
In my opinion as much as i love fe8 its plot are a bit different kinda (at least its NOT ANOTHER DRAGON) but what truly shine is the support i wouldnt mind placing it one of the best (regardless how many people say its ez, if its that ez beat the entire game with just iron sword without any sort of grinding and rng abuse)
As much as Sacred Stones gets a lot of shit, it have the most fleshed out support conversations of Fire Emblem. When I finished Sacred Stones, I found myself reading all of the support conversations... and then reading all of them again. They're just that good. Forde is just one of the shining examples. For me, the most relatable character was Vanessa. What I really love about these conversations is that it fleshes out one of Fire Emblem's core themes that the people behind war aren't just droves of nameless soldiers, but individual people with personalities and feelings and loved ones. That's why each soldier has a face and a quirk. While, say, Awakening mostly plays off of the quirks (I say mostly because some good conversations, like Henry/Olivia), Sacred Stones deepens these quirks and fleshes them out to be, well, real people. Forde's story was about loss and coping with it through art, something I'm very familiar with. I really like how your videos highlight this.
Nice breakdown! I can't wait for your next one. I think for your next one's you should look into Takumi and Leo's Supports. And I'm not just talking about their Supports with each other. Both of them have Supports that allow for character growth on their parts. Takumi's are about him realizing his own worth, and Leo's involve learning to be more accepting of others and less harsh to them. Check it out.
its really nice to hear you talk about Forde hes my favorite chracter in sacred stones but i had rerally bad luck with his growths so he was near useless on tyhe battlefield its nice to know what im missing
Really great character spotlight! Forde is a really great character, and like you said, makes really good use of the silly side of the Christmas Knights feel deeper. The only thing that bothers me is that he paints and sleeps _on the battle field_. I feel like if they had just changed it a bit so it was more that he was doing it when he was on guard duty or something, it would feel much better. I also feel like he seems a bit inconsistent between his support with Erika and his support with Vanessa, mostly because he seems a lot more gentlemanly in his one with Erika than his one with Vanessa. I personally prefer how he acts in his support with Erika, since the flirtatious cavalier has been done before. Overall, he is still really great, and I love using him along side his little brother Franz.
Jagen, Frey and Cain are better imo; Jagen served Altean royalty until death, he stayed with Marth through 2 wars despite his age, he suggested ideas to Marth but took his commands as absolute and only went against Marth’s idea of sacrificing himself. Frey fought alongside Marth and is supposed to be the character who sacrifices himself for Marth. Cain served the Altean royalty and fought alongside king Cornelius, he only fled from the fight at the King’s request to tell Marth about what happened, he did so despite major injuries and prioritised his message over his life (or he’d heal his wounds somewhere), he fought through 2 wars for Marth and swore loyalty to him, he took on Jagen’s job of training knights after Jagen’s retirement, he didn’t stop to heal even after reaching Marth because he was so loyal he’d fight despite his injuries, he felt shame at fleeing from the battle against Gharnef and Gra despite his orders because he didn’t want to leave his allies to die. Abel is a filthy traitor though. (They might not be especially deep characters, but they’re the best as retainers.)
I have always liked Forde as a character, and this is largely why. I paired Eirika with Forde in my first playthrough and it was so good. I always use Forde. I don't always pair Fordika, but I always use him. Even if Forde is stat-wise the "worst" Paladin in Sacred Stones, he is still a Paladin, one of the best classes, and I like his personality. And having Forde and Seth charge together into the fray, with Kyle and Franz right behind, and Amelia stumbling along somewhere in the back... It is a great headcanon.
Gameplay wise, every unpromoted unit in SS that has/can get a horse all have the exact same problem: They aren't Seth. Great analysis and love the SS attention!
The awnser did not surprise me...as my 3rd fave retainer in fire emblem, he defiantly deserves.the place. Sccred stones was also my first Fe game, which explains why I defence it alot.
Can we also just mention how Forde is literally one of, if not, the best cavalier in Fe. I mean, i went through the majority of Sacred Stones without using him for every chapter and i brought him back around chapter 18 for supports and he /still/ kicked ass, literally the enemy could be 10 levels above him or even a promoted class and he could still kill them in two or three hits. Dont even get me started on how amazing he was after being promoted into a Paladin. Just destroyed everything.
I played Sacred Stones forever and a day ago, but never spared Forde a second glance. I hadn't even recognized that he was the womanizer of the group, having favored his brother Franz over him from the start. But after watching this video? Boy, do I wanna use him! I'm still not the biggest Fordika shipper, but you made a compelling argument, no doubt. Thank you for your incredible work, as always!
Dang. i love this video. I love all of these Support Sciences, but this one was especially great. Maybe it's just because FE8 is so much better than FE14, but this was just so interesting to listen to. I love how it sounds like I am reading an accademic essay or speech. i can tell a lot of work when into what is being said and in what order, and I am extremely pleased. Awesome video.
Forde was the Christmas knight I used in both Ephraim and Erica's story between him and Kyle, I don't know why but hey he just stuck with me until the demon king got rekt. (kyle died in one and was benched in the other)
I knew it was going to be Sacred Stones, but my go-to would be Seth. I'm definitely biased though, since he's one of my favorite Paladins in the series.
Eirika's Mary Sue powers strike again!! Jokes aside their ending is very sweet. I just wish she had more of a personality so that I could actually ship them, but maybe you'll make an analysis on Eirika in the future and prove me wrong? Who knows. While Forde is my favourite christmas cavalier I gotta agree with the majority here that Fin is probably the best retainer though!
Kinda like Finn. He was a retainer to Quan and literally raised Quan's son and Lachesis's daughter. (At least I think. That's what I've heard I never actually played the game)
DAMN, I never saw Forde like this. I always thought of him like this goof fellow with sporadic moments of seriousness, but this really opened my eyes. It's really incredible how deep of a character he can be. He's such a nice person. Heck, I even teared up a bit thinking of how much he had gotten through during the game.
Okay I know that Ike isn't a lord persay, but since no one else is mentioning it down below, Soren. You could easily say Soren is Ike's retainer (HE IS THE GREIL MERCENARIES STRATEGIST) and his character, personality, and dynamic with Ike is amazing. Seriously I actually SHIP those two badly.
I recommend you guys to play Fe 4 an consider Finn I know he is overrated but he seriously dedicated to his job Dude preferred to feed his lord's son rather than him eating ,doing that for weeks
For some reason, I was expecting either Titania or Seth, but Forde is a great character, too. Even though I lost him in the battle with Lyon, as he was underleveled. And a Paladin.
Oh, guess I forgot about the silhouette. But Miledy would be a good contender for this spot, too. Sain, eh...not as much, he's a fun character, sure, but he can sometimes just lack substance, kind of like Forde, but too often, really. Kind of like Inigo/Laslow, really.
![Sain: Just an Archetype? [Fire Emblem: Support Science #22] Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jlzNH7C0qog/mqdefault.jpg)
![Sain: Just an Archetype? [Fire Emblem: Support Science #22] Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword](/img/tr.png)
![Fire Emblem Fates: Doting and Disturbed. [Support Science #2] Fire Emblem Fates](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AF97hm3SqjI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Yoder: Binding Blade's Hidden Gem. [Fire Emblem: Support Science #6] Fire Emblem Binding Blade](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LA6luUM_ozg/mqdefault.jpg)
![เจ็บที่ยังฮัก - ม่อน วรวิทย์ [ Official Mv ] จอนนี่มิวสิค](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KALIGSRSjFs/mqdefault.jpg)
I think Finn deserves an honorable mention, even though he’s more of a squire, and less of a retainer;
-He served Quan loyally through two wars (against Verdane and Augustria) without ever leaving his lords side.
-He stayed behind to protect the king of Lenster, while Quan rode of to Barharra.
-Finn then escaped Lenster castle with Leaf and Nanna when it was attacked by Leydrick, and subsequently went on the run from the empire for years, moving from village to village while dragging around two kids. Even during these difficult times he made sure they always had food to eat, often going hungry for days himself to ensure they never even suffered.
-After finally escaping the empire's eye, he settled down in a small village, literally raising Leaf and Nanna as his own children until they were teenagers.
-When Leaf set out to fight against the empire, Finn joined him as his advisor and bodyguard, and fought with him for the entirety of Jugdral’s second holy war, being the only character in Jugdral to fight in both generations. It is revealed in Fe5 that without Leaf’s efforts in Thracia, Celice would probably not have won the war, so indirectly, Finn is actually responsible for the Lopto empire being vanquished.
-Even after the war was over, Finn continued to serve Leaf the rest of his life, he took a small 1-2 year break to head to Barharra to look for Lachesis, but returned to his lords side when he failed to locate her.
Finn really went above and beyond what is required of a retainer/squire, the devout loyalty of one squire is the whole reason an entire continent survived!
I don't think any retainer has done more for their lord than Finn has
Its a shame FE4 didnt have supports. I would love to see his interactions with the other characters.
Ok i can see why finn deserve best retainer but i still think its understandable ghast best (more like fav but its not that different at some perspective) retainer is forde.
But its more like a running joke for some people in the community to always disagree.
But at least this make sense regardless of the intention for some.
Le rant I respect it
fancy meeting you here
I haven't seen Finn as best retainer and I'm mad. Like this guy was in 2 generations and two games. He raised his lord's kid when Quan was murdered. Not mention would go without food to feed Leif and Nanna for years. Finn is loyal beyond loyal and deserves this title without a doubt.
Hashtag FInn Deserved Better
Yeah let's be honest Finn is the best retainer... of all time! I still prefer Forde but objectively he's the best by FAR
Forde has supports, but Finn is the best retainer always.
Marrow Fields He also has a sick lance.
Finn's incredible.
Remember when supports actually used to build character instead of establishing the same character over and over?
SugoiDude Yeah. but now it's just "HEY LOOK AT MY STANDARD CHARACTER TRAIT"
Sigh
Niles, Xander, Leo, Azura, Nyx, Shigure, Shiro, Forrest, and Siegbert would all like to have a word with you
I don’t deny there is truth to ur claim and yes the main plot to Fates is garbage but not all the characters are as one note as u may think
9 out of 73 characters having good supports are not favorable odds, but I do know what you mean. Supports are one of the best things in Fates, or at least it's where the best writing is. Also those characters you mentioned, in their supports with others, make the other unit seem better, so their quality branches out. However, in a game that's about marketing its units, and for so many to be lackluster, a few exceptional ones don't make up for it. It doesn't help that Xander and Azura are terrible in the story, which undermines their supports, and Leo is the only Lord on that list with good dialogue in story and supports. But for only 1 out of 10 lords to be exceptional in both, I don't think that's a positive. Though I'd argue Takumi is good in both too, and maaaaybe Elise and Sakura.
Agreed. But, just to add to that list of good Fates supporters, here's my list of characters in Awakening I ended up liking way MORE than if I hadn't read their supports at all:
Henry, Lon'qu, Gregor, Virion, Libra, Walhart, Vaike, Gaius, Lon'qu, Cherche, Stahl, Maribelle, Panne, and Olivia, to name a few. And hell, love their supports/character or hate 'em, Tharja and Cordelia's supports give so many layers to their character.
You can say what you will about Awakening and Fate's characters and supports, but I think it says a lot that personally, they both gave me a much greater appreciation for supports overall and now I'm making more attempts to do them in any game where they're present.
I really like Erika as a character, I felt that she's a naive character done right. She's a noble not in an uptight way, she's (despite what people said about her being stupid) very well versed in conversations and knows how to make people feel genuinely at ease. She taken to fighting due to her own accord, and unlike Elincia who's on her own, trained herself to compliment her brother Emphraim cause Emphraim will be king.
Not to forget the fact that she actually got ready to kill Leon in the end unlike many other naive personality protagonists. Really showed her acceptance
You know, seeing this vid makes me wish there wasn't a limit to the amount of supports a unit can get, in the GBA and tellius games.
Hopefully the remake solves that. Late, I know.
If they move to improved 3 houses dialogue I'd be okay with it. But if they move to cookie cutter conversation of fates and awakening then no thanks
me with Nino
I think a big reason for the limitation is paired endings. Though they could fix that with A+ and S supports where you can only pick 1
Best retainer? Finn would like to have a word with you. Dude fights in like 3 different wars.
So after listening to this, I've realized that Laslow/Inigo heavily parallel Forde. Low key badass swordsmen, womanizer, momma's boys, practice a hobby that reminds them of their mother that they try to hide, and aim to bring smiles to everyone. I like Laslow, but Forde pulls it off better.
Kalvin Khon Ford isnt a womanizer
+Aron Johansson he does have one flirtatious moment, but inigo exaggerates it
Kalvin Khon Fords doesn’t try to hide his paintings
inigo serves more to highlight olivia than act as a fleshed out character himself
though I suppose the same could be said about most of the children
"See, I like this...but this is better."
"There is one particular retainer that outshines the Fates Cast?"
Me: "It's gonna be Finn! It's gonna be Finn!"
"His name is Forde"
Me: "WAT."
I mean, both of them are better then any fates retainer, so he's not wrong
That guy that I benched because I had enough cavaliers?
tbh I don't blame you. In terms of gameplay he's kinda the worst of SS's cavaliers
Justplay more on skill than anything, he has decent HP to tank, but he cannot widstand kyle's strenght and Franz's speed
***** It's true that Cavaliers are very good.They combine high movement, well rounded stats and weapon triangle control into a versatile package. So they usually can deal with anything that doesn't have a beast killer or a Zambato.
Daraen YT I get very stingy with promotion items outside of the newest games. With Binding Blade, I only had enough knights crests for Lance and Alan.
+danilius 01
I take it that you haven't played Shadow Dragon?
Wow. Forde and his supports are better than the entire story of Fates.
@xlrmeg21 You feel proud of yourself?
Its not that hard to be better than the story of fates😂
*SHOTS FIRED!!!*
@@estebanlara2394 Bernie is better than Fates story. Same with Gilbert
I gotta say, hearing you talk about a character you love with so much passion and enthusiasm is always great in this little series you have, but especially in this video. As my first game in the series, Forde wound up being my first exposure to the characters like him that I'd grow to love and favor so much, but I sadly didn't give him as much attention as I really should have. I'm also disappointed in never having gotten that goddamn beautiful support with Erika back then.
While my favorite knight of his archetype was Stahl for the longest time, I'm starting to think Forde's making his way up there pretty quickly.
*Sain*
@@dr.uselessYIIK *Yes.*
I liked the man the moment he and Kent arrived.
This was an incredible video, and it really makes me want 2 things from Fire Emblem even more:
1) More supports that build upon each other like this rather than always starting with a blank slate with different characters
2) An easier time gaining supports in the older games because although they had better supports overall, I hated how you were limited to 5 supports per character per playthrough.
17:57 This might be captain obvious but I think his choice of painting landscapes is also symbolic. In landscape painting there are no people in the pictures, but I think you could also say that the people are missing. So landscape painting could be symbolism of empty space that was once filled by his parents.
Edit: I didn't watch the whole video before making this comment, oops xD
Happy Holidays Fam!
SS was released in '04.
If you didn't play it, do that over winter break :3
Ghast Station by 3.14r8ing?
Ghast Station incredible! brilliantly put together video, and made me really change my opinion of him. I just wrote him off as a mediocre unit and irrelevent character, but its pretty obvious now hes a lot more. Great job!
Enjoyed this game alot. Thanks for the recommendation
Late to the party but whatever.
The way you presented fordes relationship with eirika made it look like forde looks up to eirika like a mother figure rather than a crush or what not. Including everything you said fordika shouldnt be a ship cause forde doesnt "necessarily" have those feelings for her, especially if my theory is correct and forde actually Does look up to eirika like a mother figure.
But other than that good video
Fredrick literally set the ocean on fire.
He is very fond of starting fires.
This video was amazing. You made me see Ford in a whole new light; he's this spiritual/emotional badass. I hope you do more GBA supports. Maybe Ross and Gracia. It's among my favourites.
*forde
wow, I never liked Forde. I thought he was a slacker. These supports paint him in a whole new light. Thank you for a fun episode.
Heh, paint...
I try
E D W A R D E L R I C
Why did I see it coming. I guess Franz is Al then. All the more reason to make him a Great Knight!
W O K E
@@justplayfly where do I fit Amelia in then? I put Franz with her.
Forde has always reminded me of Edward Elric tbh
Forde was certainly one of my favourite characters in Sacred Stones. Paired him with Eirika on one of my play throughs.
This was a really good one. I was always a fan of Forde’s supports with Eirika, but the connections you draw to his support with Franz are something I’d never considered before, and it makes it that much better.
>my 3rd favorite FE Character gets the spotlight
F O R D E B O Y S
Sacred Stones still has the best supports in Fire Emblem.
JordanD1337 lie again (thats not meant to be hostile just constructive)
JordanD1337 Depends, but that is just an opinion
Nah it's 7
SS for me
my money is probably one of the least memorable Fire Emblem games cause aside from Lyon as a villain...most of the game is incredibly basic in terms of plot and character tropes
Well over 130 agree so you can throw its a lie arguement out of the window although this define the whole community but still a lot of people love fe8
Forde's support with Eirika reminds me of the book Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse. The plot of the book is about Goldmund being abandoned by his father after his loving mother died and so after growing up in the monastery travels the countryside chasing memories of his mother in art.
WRONG, gunter is clearly best retainer because of his amazing supports
Ryomathekillers Not to mention his amazing growths and stats.
his stats or on par with fe 1 jaigen and that is why gunter is best unit in fates
Ryomathekillers Gunter's Revelation supports are particularly good.
Ryomathekillers Gunter x Corrin best ship, especially in Revelations.
Ryomathekillers Gunter was a major help for me when beating Birthright, honestly broken.
Would Matthew count? He kind of takes duties to Hector and Hector claims that he is his man in Hector mode. He also gets special convos with Oswin (who later swears to follow Hector). If Matthew does count... Matthew for best retainer.
XiaoPan1987
Of course, Matthew is a great character.
That's a fair point. He is technically a retainer, and I would definitely say he is easily one of the best characters in the series. We get to see a lot of different sides of him, and he doesn't feel inconsistent.
Draco Blackstone Plus he makes a fantastic assassin :D
Kieran Moran I still prefer Legault. Also, I think all of the retainers in GBA FE are Marcus, Wolt, FE 6 Merlinus, Elen, Milady (Milady is my 2nd favourite :D and she's the only one who get hard mode bonuses who auto-joins you), Vanessa, Gilliam, Moulder, Kyle, Forde, Kent, Lowen, Sain, Oswin (for more than just Hector, people who haven't read his support with Priscilla), Matthew, Bors, Alen, Lance, Dozla, Isadora, Seth, Franz, Lucius, Florina, Dorothy and Harken (I think). These are the "sort of" retainers (they're not really retainers, but they act like one): Wendy, Barth, Oiger, Treck, Noah, Jaffar, Shin, Ziess, Saleh and Dieck. I think I missed a few.
I really wish that we got more backstory from Stahl apart from just "I have brothers and my family has an apothecary." He is just that one character you love when you've supported him with who he can support with but you'll forget if you haven't used him.
I'm so happy you made this series, and this video is the most impactful so far. It's a wonderful love letter to the franchise as a whole, and the way you structured the episode really made Forde's character come together in a new way for me. Thank you!
Love this, Forde has always been one of my favorite fe characters because of his supports. His B support with Vanessa however I think develops Vanessa only. She talks about innes and kind of reminds us she has a crush on him and is slightly embarrassed about it. That's just how I interpret it
Best retainer is Finn
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinn~~
Ghast. Litterally marry me. I don't care if you're straight! Joking aside, I can't put into words how happy I am that you made this video. Finally, someone does the best Christmas Knight justice! It just... feels amazing.
Justplay / Jad MARRY ME
Welp someone got the cold shoulder
Felecia is the best retainer because she stays with you no matter what side you choose and decides to aid you in a heartbeat. Flora fights you in every route and Gunter falls down the canyon but Felecia with her flame shurikens is always there.
Thanks for doing these videos Ghast!
I love all the appreciation you're doing for the story and characters of FE, especially Sacred Stones!
I always loved Forde when I was younger. Forde is what Sain, Saul, and basically every other FE womanizer if they were more like human beings.
Who knew a car brand could be a good retainer?
I remember doing a bunch of support grinding in Sacred Stones. It was long ago, and I didn't get too far with it or really appreciate how deep some of them can be.
This was was my favorite episode of support science so far. It's supports/characters like these that I love so much in FE, because they make the characters feel more real.
There are some characters that make it very obvious what they are from the get go, and that often comes in the form of a gimmick. With Forde and other such characters, their gimmick isn't shown from the moment they join, with his being painting. We get a good feel for his personality initially, but his gimmick isn't shoved in our face.
Then, the gimmick itself doesn't consume his character at all, but enhances it. Some characters simply revolve around a single for trait, making conversations feel repetitive and boring after a while. With characters like Forde, It is important to them, but subtle. I feel like Sacred Stones probably did the best with these concepts in general, and made for one of the best overall casts in the series.
i wish i had seen this video when it came out, thank you for giving the recognition one of my favorite characters deserves
Sacred stones was my first introduction to the fire emblem series and after watching this i realized i overlooked forde to easily when i played through (to be fair i liked the stuffy characters more back then(kyle,seth,etc.))This and a few other of you videos have been fun to watch and listen to since i found this series.
^_^ Forde is probably one of my favorites in the series.
This convinced me to use him next time I play SS. I kinda wrote off all of the cavaliers aside from God-Emperor Seth. I appreciate these kinds of videos a great deal
Ghast, I would love to hear your thoughts on Soren. He's only got two supports, but he's one of my favorite characters in FE.
At the start of my video, my prediction is Finn.
FUCK
Chris Mele thank you for feeling my pain
Wow, haven't ever looked at him that much. This was pretty awesome and really showed how much supports can do for a character in a game with a large cast.
DOZLA IS THE BEST RETAINER
Edward Schmidt no, hes kinda bad. decent to protect that chic you get on the level you get her though
MaraYoworld O-0 hes better than babying ross, and if you don't train up garcia hes pretty good
Edward Schmidt Rennac is clearly the best
Dozla was a Summoner in my Randomizer. He has transcended using axes normally, and managed to make dark magic work for him simply by its statistical similarity to axes.
Dozla is an enabler...
Edforde and Alfranz Elric
this was amazing! i hope this becomes a series man! this really fleshes out the character and creates a new view of the character that i never had before. Thanks man! Here's for the best of you man! take care
Holy shit dude. I was only about 80% in agreement with you about Forde being the best retained until you got to Eirika and the smile he thought he lost forever. That actually made me shed some man tears. It was at that point I was sold.
Seriously, Sacred Stones is the best story in the series.
Seriously? Not any of the others? Not even Blazing Blade?
In my opinion as much as i love fe8 its plot are a bit different kinda (at least its NOT ANOTHER DRAGON) but what truly shine is the support i wouldnt mind placing it one of the best (regardless how many people say its ez, if its that ez beat the entire game with just iron sword without any sort of grinding and rng abuse)
It's simple and I like that. It's really simple so it wouldn't get bogged down big time like a more complex story... like Fates (?)
Seriously loving this series. Thanks for the great content!
As much as Sacred Stones gets a lot of shit, it have the most fleshed out support conversations of Fire Emblem. When I finished Sacred Stones, I found myself reading all of the support conversations... and then reading all of them again. They're just that good. Forde is just one of the shining examples. For me, the most relatable character was Vanessa.
What I really love about these conversations is that it fleshes out one of Fire Emblem's core themes that the people behind war aren't just droves of nameless soldiers, but individual people with personalities and feelings and loved ones. That's why each soldier has a face and a quirk. While, say, Awakening mostly plays off of the quirks (I say mostly because some good conversations, like Henry/Olivia), Sacred Stones deepens these quirks and fleshes them out to be, well, real people. Forde's story was about loss and coping with it through art, something I'm very familiar with. I really like how your videos highlight this.
Nice breakdown! I can't wait for your next one. I think for your next one's you should look into Takumi and Leo's Supports. And I'm not just talking about their Supports with each other. Both of them have Supports that allow for character growth on their parts. Takumi's are about him realizing his own worth, and Leo's involve learning to be more accepting of others and less harsh to them. Check it out.
this video put tears in my eyes. that's how good forde's supports are.
its really nice to hear you talk about Forde hes my favorite chracter in sacred stones but i had rerally bad luck with his growths so he was near useless on tyhe battlefield its nice to know what im missing
Great video man. I enjoy the discussion of supports from the GBA games, so definitely keep doing more of this.
Forde's character truly is a gem. All the backstory on those paintings are so heartfelt. Just a shame about his stats tho
And the fact he and Franz looks like Ed and Al from FMA 8D
Me: "Please let this be a Seth Video"
Ghast: "Forde..."
Me: "For fuck's sake..."
Great Video tho
Really great character spotlight! Forde is a really great character, and like you said, makes really good use of the silly side of the Christmas Knights feel deeper. The only thing that bothers me is that he paints and sleeps _on the battle field_. I feel like if they had just changed it a bit so it was more that he was doing it when he was on guard duty or something, it would feel much better.
I also feel like he seems a bit inconsistent between his support with Erika and his support with Vanessa, mostly because he seems a lot more gentlemanly in his one with Erika than his one with Vanessa. I personally prefer how he acts in his support with Erika, since the flirtatious cavalier has been done before. Overall, he is still really great, and I love using him along side his little brother Franz.
In my current playthrough of SS, I am using Forde because of this video, it made me appreciate his character
Jagen, Frey and Cain are better imo; Jagen served Altean royalty until death, he stayed with Marth through 2 wars despite his age, he suggested ideas to Marth but took his commands as absolute and only went against Marth’s idea of sacrificing himself. Frey fought alongside Marth and is supposed to be the character who sacrifices himself for Marth. Cain served the Altean royalty and fought alongside king Cornelius, he only fled from the fight at the King’s request to tell Marth about what happened, he did so despite major injuries and prioritised his message over his life (or he’d heal his wounds somewhere), he fought through 2 wars for Marth and swore loyalty to him, he took on Jagen’s job of training knights after Jagen’s retirement, he didn’t stop to heal even after reaching Marth because he was so loyal he’d fight despite his injuries, he felt shame at fleeing from the battle against Gharnef and Gra despite his orders because he didn’t want to leave his allies to die. Abel is a filthy traitor though. (They might not be especially deep characters, but they’re the best as retainers.)
I have always liked Forde as a character, and this is largely why. I paired Eirika with Forde in my first playthrough and it was so good. I always use Forde. I don't always pair Fordika, but I always use him. Even if Forde is stat-wise the "worst" Paladin in Sacred Stones, he is still a Paladin, one of the best classes, and I like his personality. And having Forde and Seth charge together into the fray, with Kyle and Franz right behind, and Amelia stumbling along somewhere in the back... It is a great headcanon.
The story between Forde and Eirika just gives me the goodliewoodlies! ^-^
Admittedly, a tall order indeed to find who else could stack up to his character, but it's breath of fresh air coming off of the bs with Story Xander
I haven't even waited for you to get anywhere: Forde's one of my favourite characters in SS
Gameplay wise, every unpromoted unit in SS that has/can get a horse all have the exact same problem: They aren't Seth.
Great analysis and love the SS attention!
Good video, man! Sacred Stones was my first FE game and the one that got me into the franchise.
Remind me to pair these two next time I play SS.
The awnser did not surprise me...as my 3rd fave retainer in fire emblem, he defiantly deserves.the place. Sccred stones was also my first Fe game, which explains why I defence it alot.
Can we also just mention how Forde is literally one of, if not, the best cavalier in Fe. I mean, i went through the majority of Sacred Stones without using him for every chapter and i brought him back around chapter 18 for supports and he /still/ kicked ass, literally the enemy could be 10 levels above him or even a promoted class and he could still kill them in two or three hits. Dont even get me started on how amazing he was after being promoted into a Paladin. Just destroyed everything.
I've come from the future to deliver this message: Forde is the worst cavalier in the game and on all the GBA games (except Amelia).
Amelia is Nino lv trash unironically
Nigga.... Your videos are awesome. Finally someone who's a lot more intellectual with these games.
>No Finn.
0/10 Literally unviewable.
If Forde ever gets voiced, in Heroes or a Remake, I hope his VA will be Vic Mignogna
I played Sacred Stones forever and a day ago, but never spared Forde a second glance. I hadn't even recognized that he was the womanizer of the group, having favored his brother Franz over him from the start. But after watching this video? Boy, do I wanna use him! I'm still not the biggest Fordika shipper, but you made a compelling argument, no doubt. Thank you for your incredible work, as always!
Dang. i love this video. I love all of these Support Sciences, but this one was especially great. Maybe it's just because FE8 is so much better than FE14, but this was just so interesting to listen to.
I love how it sounds like I am reading an accademic essay or speech. i can tell a lot of work when into what is being said and in what order, and I am extremely pleased. Awesome video.
o god the whole portrait thing is reminding me of the lost canvas
"Christmas knights"
I'm never EVER going to play these games again without thinking of that.
Forde was the Christmas knight I used in both Ephraim and Erica's story between him and Kyle, I don't know why but hey he just stuck with me until the demon king got rekt. (kyle died in one and was benched in the other)
I knew it was going to be Sacred Stones, but my go-to would be Seth. I'm definitely biased though, since he's one of my favorite Paladins in the series.
Eirika's Mary Sue powers strike again!! Jokes aside their ending is very sweet. I just wish she had more of a personality so that I could actually ship them, but maybe you'll make an analysis on Eirika in the future and prove me wrong? Who knows. While Forde is my favourite christmas cavalier I gotta agree with the majority here that Fin is probably the best retainer though!
Frederick is the best retainer you can’t change my mind, the man is literally perfect
How about Marcus? He literally is the retainer for 2 generations of Pherae Lords. He is also a father figure to Ellwood, Roy, sain, and Kent
Kinda like Finn. He was a retainer to Quan and literally raised Quan's son and Lachesis's daughter. (At least I think. That's what I've heard I never actually played the game)
Yeah i can see that except finn have more tragic setting so people sympathize more
I was so excited when you said it wasn’t in FE14 but... Seth though...
Hey Ghast could you continue your hacking tutorials series plez
I think the "working behind the scenes" was trying to put a good word to try and get Vanessa with Innes?
you ought to do a video on which princess is the best. So many to choose from, so many mary sues.
17:34
HAHA! I see what you did there!
I love Forde. He's my favorite red knight, second being sully. Keep up the good work, Ghast!
What about me? :(
@19:46; Possibly brought along by Erika flashing him.
Sacred Stones is one of my favorite FE games...right next to Gaiden of course :).
DAMN, I never saw Forde like this. I always thought of him like this goof fellow with sporadic moments of seriousness, but this really opened my eyes. It's really incredible how deep of a character he can be. He's such a nice person. Heck, I even teared up a bit thinking of how much he had gotten through during the game.
This was really well done, and now I really want to play this game.
Intersting character analyse I almost beat FE7 and move on to FE8. I heard sacred stones has pretty amazing cast.
Ghast: Forde is the greatest retainer!
Me: you mean the guy I used as a meat shield in that one dessert chapter?
Best Tactician next!
maybe robin. it takes a special talent to have eyes on the entire battlefield and fight on the front lines at the same time
very mad guy He goes with like 12's MU
Okay I know that Ike isn't a lord persay, but since no one else is mentioning it down below, Soren. You could easily say Soren is Ike's retainer (HE IS THE GREIL MERCENARIES STRATEGIST) and his character, personality, and dynamic with Ike is amazing. Seriously I actually SHIP those two badly.
Jose Cocco sameeee
You mean that guy who hot overshadowed by his brother who was a great Knight by the time they met in game.
Seth. Just, Seth.
Shera Wizard Too broken, which is why he is the best. He also was the OG Frederick
Besides his actual use as a unit ingame, personality wise his role was very emphasized and he did it pretty well. Especially the part with Orson.
thats prob my fav scene in the game
I recommend you guys to play Fe 4 an consider Finn
I know he is overrated but he seriously dedicated to his job
Dude preferred to feed his lord's son rather than him eating ,doing that for weeks
Very Seth
Loving these vids man. Keep em coming.
For some reason, I was expecting either Titania or Seth, but Forde is a great character, too.
Even though I lost him in the battle with Lyon, as he was underleveled. And a Paladin.
Dim Ap I expected Sain or Milady, then I saw the sillouete.
Oh, guess I forgot about the silhouette.
But Miledy would be a good contender for this spot, too.
Sain, eh...not as much, he's a fun character, sure, but he can sometimes just lack substance, kind of like Forde, but too often, really.
Kind of like Inigo/Laslow, really.