Thanks for taking the time to read through my counterargument! Though you seem to understood the points that I was trying to make, it seems that the story still falls flat in your eyes, due to not agreeing with how they approach the route as a whole. I understand that sentiment. Personally, @Ohdeargods, I see the two routes as representing Kamui's internal conflict. To follow your ideals of justice while sacrificing your bond with your family (Byakuya) or to abandon your ideals for the sake of protecting your family (Anya). Revelation, therefore, represent Kamui's refusal to sacrifice one or the other. That is what I believe to be the main intent to FE if's narrative, and the story resonated with me because of it.
That part about internal conflict and choosing between the Family whom raised you or your "True" Family was a big selling point for me as well. The big problem for me, however, was the lead-up to that point: having that internal conflict be predicated on Garon being Evil kills a lot of the complexity of that decision. If it weren't for killing Mikoto, Kamui would have no real reason to join Byakuya's side. If Mikoto stuck around for the whole game, and knowing Kamui is firmly anti-war, perhaps that alone would justify taking Byakuya's side. Hell, you could even write it that the explosion wasn't caused by Anya at all, and was merely fingered as the scapegoat by
a certain Serpent to justify war. Anyway, my point is that the conflict being so black-and-white is why the story falls apart for me. Written as it is, the decision works for Byakuya's route, but not Anya's.
Apologize for all the rambling! I just really enjoy Kamui as a character and this stems from my initial experience of being misled to thinking that this game's story was trash due to the vocal consensus in the FE community (like you mentioned earlier). It wasn't until I started to discover analysis and written posts, from story analyzers (who are for more literate than most of the FE community), that examine the story for what it is, that my perspective to the narrative change. If you are interested, I can share a well-written essay that details Kamui's journey in both Anya and Byakuya.
Honestly, Kamui's character isn't even an issue for me. He reacts pretty underdstandably to everything that goes on, especially in Birthright. It's all the plot contrivances that happen around Him (Anya ch. 15, mainly), that make Him appear far weaker than He really is. In spite of my criticisms of Conquest, that final act is still probably my favorite part of the game, period. There's this air that you're doing something wrong, the pain and tragedy that you know is going to happen, but you can't stop it, and can't turn away from it. Those final maps being scored by "A dark fall" is the icing on the cake. Going to keep it spoiler free, but I love chapter 27's atmosphere, and the music that plays within is by far my favorite in the game.
It's honestly refreshing to see someone make the case that If is well-written, even if I disagree.
Ultimately, my favorite game in the series is Shadows of Valentia, because, in my opinion, it did what If tried to do, and did it right, by portraying the "plentiful Kingdom" in a more negative light, while still making Rigel the aggressor and making it clear there needed to be balance, along with some solidly written villains.
Not gonna go into much detail as it's been some time since I played and I may be remembering wrong, but both Conquest and Birthright (especially Conquest) are supposed to be tragic routes.
They definitely are, and it's one of my favorite aspects of the two routes. I just wish the tragedy didn't feel contrived, especially in Birthright.
The Anya route ultimately falls flat for me, because Aqua has absolutely no qualms with the family THAT RAISED HER being potentially killed. There are millions of better ways for Aqua to be written in this route, and way better ways to ultilize the Byakuyan throne. For example, it would have been a better twist if she was a spy relying information via Suzukaze and telling them about their plan to expose Garon via the throne. With Lilith's pocket dimension(because it exists in canon), it would easy to hide the Byakuyan siblings from Garon and fake their deaths. Of course, that's assuming they would go through with the plan in the first place.
Perhaps it's because I played Conquest only once (10 years ago), but I honestly forget what Aqua even DOES in that route, beyond the crystal of plot bullshit that justifies the second half of the game. So, perhaps my grievances with the plot lie mainly with Her. I think, ultimately, they needed a reason to have your dancer be present in Conquest and didn't think about the implications of fighting Her siblings (putting Her in the same boat of squandered moral dilemma as Kamui,I suppose).
It's funny, at the end of the day, that If still has all this back-and-forth 10 years later, when, despite using similar plot beats, Engage just can't command the same level of discussion (we all know why, but it's still funny).
