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Meta Month, Day Two
Sep. 2nd, 2011 06:51 amGot a review the other day for "An Extension of the Weapon," which brought some of my initial feelings re: FE11 back to the surface.
I realize that FE11 and FE12 are likely not intended as actual deconstructions of the heroic myth that their NES/SNES counterparts established as the basic tropes of Fire Emblem. I realize that, in the sense that I admit I see no sign in the actual publicity and marketing that these games were intended as tongue-in-cheek takedowns of the source material.
Damned if they don't still read that way to me. In between the way FE11 demolished so many things that people held close to your chests about Fire Emblem (go ahead, waste your own army-- no consequences-- hell, there might even be a reward!), rebooted characterization (that village girl made you feel guilty because you were planning to do what?), and was weird in general (why is the Army of Light a bunch of sellswords, ignoble deserters, and anyone else who can be bribed, blackmailed, or wheedled into the cause?)... followed by the way that FE12 bends the FE3 material like a pretzel in the service of a Marty Stu who demonstrates that the Game Hero has even worse shortcomings than we expected...
Yeah, they still read like takedowns to me. Maybe that wasn't the goal. Maybe there was a rogue element in IS who subtly sabotaged the reboot project. I don't know, but all the weird stuff is there, intentional or not, and taking the position that it's all part of the deconstructive fun sure makes me more comfortable.
I realize that FE11 and FE12 are likely not intended as actual deconstructions of the heroic myth that their NES/SNES counterparts established as the basic tropes of Fire Emblem. I realize that, in the sense that I admit I see no sign in the actual publicity and marketing that these games were intended as tongue-in-cheek takedowns of the source material.
Damned if they don't still read that way to me. In between the way FE11 demolished so many things that people held close to your chests about Fire Emblem (go ahead, waste your own army-- no consequences-- hell, there might even be a reward!), rebooted characterization (that village girl made you feel guilty because you were planning to do what?), and was weird in general (why is the Army of Light a bunch of sellswords, ignoble deserters, and anyone else who can be bribed, blackmailed, or wheedled into the cause?)... followed by the way that FE12 bends the FE3 material like a pretzel in the service of a Marty Stu who demonstrates that the Game Hero has even worse shortcomings than we expected...
Yeah, they still read like takedowns to me. Maybe that wasn't the goal. Maybe there was a rogue element in IS who subtly sabotaged the reboot project. I don't know, but all the weird stuff is there, intentional or not, and taking the position that it's all part of the deconstructive fun sure makes me more comfortable.
