Apparently I haven't posted this one here, which surprises me. I posted this originally on Reddit three years ago. It's topical because of Ishtar's new alt in FEH. Here you guys go:
Shockingly, I am going to criticize Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War today. I will discuss the popular enemy character Ishtar. Ishtar recently was added to Fire Emblem Heroes as an ascendant form, and she’s a character whose portrayal I have been lukewarm on. But there’s some good things about Ishtar that should be discussed, so keep reading for that. As always, unmarked spoilers are ahead.
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Ishtar is the daughter of Blume (or Bloom), the Duke of Friege, and Hilda. She receives major Thrud blood from her father, making her the heir to the Mjölnir. Ishtar was also betrothed to Julius, the heir and de facto ruler of Grannvale, at some point before the beginning of the second generation.
At the time of the second generation, House Friege rules over the Munster District on behalf of Grannvale. We first hear of Ishtar from a village in Chapter 7, which mentions that she and her brother Ishtore are “fine youths.” The village also tells the player that Ishtar was assigned to guard the city of Munster. Shortly into the next chapter, Ishtar is summoned by her father to Connaught where he was forced to retreat after a defeat at Ulster. She is asked by father to fight Seliph’s army since much of Friege’s forces have already been decimated; these losses included her brother Ishtore and her cousin Tine. Ishtar agrees to do so on the condition that Bloom allows her to use Mjolnir, asserting that with the weapon she would be able to dispatch the rebels herself. Ishtar then gets defeated [1], but she is warped away by Julius. After this a conversation is unlocked between Seliph and Tine (or Linda) about Ishtar and Julius. Tine tells Seliph that Ishtar was “like a sister” and one of the few people who treated her well.
We next see Ishtar at the beginning of Chapter 10, again with Julius. The two discuss the child hunts being executed in Miletos. Ishtar is clearly uncomfortable with the child hunts. She does not directly oppose the child hunts but raises concern that too many children were captured and that Arvis opposed the hunts, perhaps an attempt to stall the child hunts. Julius is dismissive of these concerns and leaves to check on Arvis. Afterwards Hilda appears. The dialogue between Ishtar and her mother takes a different turn as Ishtar is clearly submissive [2]. She seems to be uncomfortable with Hilda trying to rush her into marriage with Julius but is unable to vocalize her concern. Hilda then echoes Bloom’s earlier conversation that Seliph had murdered their family members, but unlike her husband she chooses to send Ishtar to Miletos to assist in transporting children to Belhalla for Julius.
After the gate to the northern side of Miletos is opened, Ishtar is seen again with Arvis in Miletos castle. Arvis attempts to order Ishtar to release the children but he is stopped by Julius. After Julius is done handling business with Arvis and Manfroy, he proposes to play a game with Ishtar to see who can kill a member of the rebel army (i.e., a player unit) first. Ishtar graciously accepts the offer and plays along with Julius’ game, and unlike earlier she seems to have no reservations with this. If she does “win” by killing a player unit, she feels triumphant in doing so and if Julius “wins” she congratulates Julius. It’s unclear why Ishtar has no reservations with this while she has reservations with Julius’ other endeavors.
Finally, Ishtar appears in the final chapter alongside Julius. When Friege is seized, it emerges that Ishtar had hidden away children there - the same children who were slated to be sent to Belhalla. According to an NPC, Ishtar was “kind and caring” and worked behind the scenes to help the children escape. Afterwards, Ishtar volunteers to strike out in front of the Deadlords to fight Seliph’s army. Julius is reluctant to let her go and accuses her of wanting to die to escape him, but Ishtar insists that she still loves him. As a result Julius allows her to leave to fight against Seliph’s army. If you fight her with Tine, Tine will try to convince Ishtar to change sides, but Ishtar refuses - not out of hatred towards Tine, but because she feels that it is impossible for her to do that at that point. Then she dies (or disappears when Belhalla is seized if she somehow is not killed), bringing an end to her story.
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Ishtar is usually characterized as being a member of the “Camus archetype” of enemies that have noble intentions but refuse to leave the antagonist side out of loyalty. Ishtar adds a different layer to this archetype because it is not just this ideal of loyalty that drives her to continue fighting on Grannvale’s side. Firstly, Ishtar’s immediate family members were all killed by Seliph’s army. This hits close to Ishtar, both with Ishtore and Bloom who are framed to have at least some kind of morals and with Hilda who is framed to be unambiguously evil. Secondly, Ishtar is romantically attracted to Julius. It is understandably hard for her to go against her love interest. Both of these are elements which were not present with the original Camus and which most of Camus’ successors did not share [3].
My biggest issue with Ishtar is that the reasoning of her family being killed is not very developed. Ishtar does not express this feeling until the final chapter when she speaks with Julius for the last time - Bloom and Hilda both touch on this point, but Ishtar does not spend much time sharing that emotion in either conversation. Ishtore having little development does not help either as his death should be impactful on both Ishtar and Tine, yet he is little more than a mook and we don’t know much about him other than others saying that he was nice. This leaves the player with the impression that Ishtar’s primary motivation is her love for Julius, which takes away from the interesting element of being driven by grief over family.
Ishtar also compares unfavorably to Arvis. She never addresses Julius’ possession which makes her appear foolish, unlike Arvis, and she never has the courage to openly challenge the child hunts like Arvis does [4], only limiting herself to covertly hiding away children and trying to find excuses to delay the child hunts. This diminishes the credibility of Ishtar as having “noble intentions.” Even worse than that is the bizarre scene where she gleefully participates in bloodsport with Julius for no apparent reason other than to have fun. I am unsure what the purpose of this was, but it makes it appear that Ishtar has no issues with Julius beyond the most obvious in the child hunts. One could even go as far as to interpret that Ishtar is morally almost as bad as Julius because of this scene. However, I think that it is more logical to say that the scene was botched and Ishtar was meant to be someone who has good morals all-around but happens to be on the wrong side.
On the other hand, it is quite possible to attribute these shortcomings to the game’s age. In defense of Ishtar, I think she is still more interesting than some of the other antagonists within this game like Daccar or Brian. Her interactions with Hilda and Julius reflect a character who is stuck in a bad situation, not too unlike Eldigan beforehand. Continuing the analogy with Eldigan, there’s no equivalent to Lachesis either. Nobody clearly offers Ishtar a spot in Seliph’s army - not even Tine does that. And perhaps her choice to die in battle at the end of the game is some kind of agency for Ishtar. She chooses to die the same way her family did rather than subject herself to the mercy of Seliph or Leif who very well could look unkindly upon Ishtar’s complicity with the Empire’s subjugation of Thracia. It’s a fitting end to a tragic character arc, not too dissimilar from the other tragedies within Jugdral.
Footnotes:
Tine/Linda has unique dialogue if she fights Ishtar. Ishtar expresses disappointment in Tine for joining Seliph.
Some have characterized Ishtar’s relationship with Hilda as abusive. I do not agree that Hilda is outright abusive to Ishtar, but I do think it is unhealthy. Perhaps Hilda reflects the real life phenomenon of parents living vicariously through their children.
Debatably Brunnya and Selena had romantic attractions to the figures they served, although neither one was betrothed like Ishtar was.
She does challenge the child hunts in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, but that is beyond the scope of this essay. See the comment below for more.
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Ishtar does appear in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 as an NPC in two scenes, all of which involve Julius. In the first scene, Chapter 4, she does openly challenge the child hunts (unlike in FE4) and cites the opposition of her father and brother; however, Julius tries to clarify that he "only" wants to force the children to fight against each other for spots in the Empire and then sweettalks her to distract. In Chapter 17, Ishtar appears along with Reinhardt, a Friegian knight who is close to her, as she summoned Saias to try to heal Julius of a fever implied to be caused by his possession. Finally in Chapter 21x, Julius and Ishtar discuss traveling to Miletos as Hilda wants them to check on the child hunts there. He again tries to sweettalk her but threatens to kill Reinhardt if he is seen around her again, showing his envy towards him.
I think Ishtar's appearances in FE5 really make her more complete as a character. It addresses the issue of Ishtar seeming to be unaware of Julius' possession as we see that Ishtar is disturbed by Julius' mood swings between when he acts romantically towards her (with Loptous' influence being weaker) and when he acts cold and violent (e.g., with Reinhardt). We also see her challenge the child hunts. Her weakness of being attached to Julius is more evident as Ishtar despite being aware that something is wrong cannot bring herself to openly defy him, even when he threatens one of her closest confidants. We also see a bit more development in Bloom's opposition to the child hunts which by proxy develops the family aspect of Ishtar more.
Rhapsode’s Top 10 Favorite Fire Emblem Antagonists
Hey guys, so I wanted to do something a bit special because of a few asks I’ve gotten from time to time. Namely, who are my favorite villains in FE. Thing is, I wanted to do something with this for a while outside of an ask, and hear I am.
Now before I even start, these are all MY OPINIONS. These are my favorite antagonists in FE, not some objective masterlist that means anyone who isn’t on here is a bad villain. If you agree with me on this list, great! If you think I got everything wrong, I respect that opinion.
So if I left out any of your personal favorite villains in FE, let me know in a reply or reblog.
Now a little bit of criteria on how I had made choices,
Uniqueness: What does a villain bring as a character. Because FE is nothing if not a bit archetypal.
Impact on the Narrative: Now I think a good villain should be an active participant in the narrative as well as have a level of relevance. They also should have relation to the lore of the world they’re in.
Personality: In my opinion even a poorly written character with a magnetic presence can be more tolerable than a poorly written character with no personality
Were they satisfying of a boss in game: While FE emphasizes narrative, it has some terrific gameplay. So I would hope the opposing units really give you a run for your money.
Oh and fair warning, this will have spoilers.
With all that out of the way, sit back and I’ll tell you all about my favorite FE villains!
10. Uhai (Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade)
Yeah, so, we’re starting with probably the most tertiar antagonist on this list. While Uhai might not seem that important in the grand scheme of things. Being a Black Fang member who’s scared of what Nergal is going to do and is out for Ninian.
So why did I pick him over other Black Fangs or Saceans?
Well in terms of Saceans, I really felt Uhai brought the most personality compared to someone like Glass, who was pretty basic. Especially for Lyn’s final villain. Uhai definitely felt the most… “Sacean,” if that makes sense. Having a code of honor and integrity. As well as acting on self preservation.
And while Uhai isn’t my favorite Black Fang, he shows something different as being one of the original fangs and having this sense of honor. Which was a really nice reminder about the humble origins of the Black Fang.
I also really like how he could’ve easily killed Lyn when he kidnapped her, but let her go to kill her as a warrior. Given Lyn’s underlying theme of fighting sexism, to have an opponent that didn’t factor in her gender and would fight her on equal terms, it was a really cool scene.
Sadly, he’s just a minor antagonist and if he got more time like being a part of the Four Fangs, I think he could’ve really added more.
9. Orson (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones)
Orson seems pretty simple all things considered. He loved his wife, Monica, and after losing her, he is willing to make a deal with the devil to bring her back. It’s not much, but I think what plays into the effectiveness is seeing him before his wife is revived and having him on your team, then watching what he has become after her revival.
Having a villain who starts off as a playable character and then later is an antagonist is always tricky. From a story perspective, you spent time with them that even you, the player, feel negatively affected by the heel turn. However, from a gameplay aspect, it's a tad annoying if you spent time grinding them.
Orson, is pretty obvious in that he’ll be turning against you, but we really see him as a somewhat charming and endearing guy at first. But then when he returns to Renais to be with his wife, it leads to one of the most unsettling narrative shifts I think FE has done.
We see him now in charge of Renais, but now more mentally disturbed, physically malnourished, and locking himself away from the rest of the kingdom to be with his wife. Seeming like magic has possessed him. But when you find that this is due to being reunited with his wife who is now just a corpse that can only say “Darling” you really feel this messed up mood permeating the chapter.
There's so much unsaid, and I think that it works to the advantage of the story. Comparing the Orson you meet when he’s your ally to the Orson you meet as an opponent, it really doesn’t need to be said how he fell so hard. That Orson has given up so much and now that he has his wife back he’s just convincing himself that she’s alive.
While another villain on this list did the heel turn far better than Orson, I still think that the sheer shock of Orson’s story really makes you feel for him, while just wanting to end him.
8. Bloom, Hilda, Ishtar and Ishtore (Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War)
So this one is definitely cheating.
While only two members of the Friege family could really stand on their own as definable villains, I actually think when all are together they offer something more unique for FE. Families of villains are a bit of a rarity in FE, especially ones whose family dynamic is well defined in the main story, and not supports.
But with Bloom, Ishtar, and Ishtore, you get to fight all of them in a chapter thanks to the set up of the Genealogy of the Holy War. It allows for a more unique encounter and this growing feeling of outrage if you end up killing a member of the family.
House Friege continuing on as secondary antagonists in the second generation was a great addition. Giving this sense of history repeating itself, with Bloom seemingly no better than Reptor from the first generation, but where as he is a power hungry politician, Bloom shows some shades of gray in his detestment of Child Hunts and actually being a somewhat decent father figure to Tine. Which actually leads to some interesting contrast to his wife, Hilda.
Hilda is easily the most monstrous of the family, and while I was considering her to be her own separate entry, as she is possibly the most wicked and cruel female villains in the entire franchise. Driving Tailtiu to death, and using Ishtar as a step towards more power. Her additional role a matriarch of the household who married for Bloom’s money and power, adds an extra layer to the band of villains.
Ishtar and Ishtore also offer a role as both not being Child Hunt supporters but act in different ways to them. With Ishtore not getting involved and instead spending more time on Liza and Ishtar actually working with Arvis to free the children rounded up.
As a family unit, it offers a lot of unique villain interaction that I’m sad the limited technology of the time couldn’t capture all of. I’m glad that games like Fates have tried making family units as opponents, but I’d like to see a dynamic similarly fleshed out as the Frieges.
7. Jedah (Fire Emblem Gaiden/Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)
Okay, how the hell did this guy so high up on the list? No joke, Jedah started at the bottom when I first started this list. I mean, he’s just another Gharnef. What makes him all that different from Nergal or Manfroy?
Well, truth be told, what got Jedah so high up for me is presentation. A lot of Gharnefs are the big game manipulators, and sometimes that can be frustrating if you’re not really in the character. I think Manfroy is one of the most effective villains, but he’s not particularly stand out.
Nergal is a far more justifiable villain with his motivations, but he’s basically corrupted by “Darkness.”
Jadah, especially in FE15, oozes personality and charisma. I give a lot of points to his more inhuman design that went beyond just making his a wrinkly old man. As well as his expressions. When playing Three Houses, I was shocked at how stone-faced Thales was. But with Jedah, I feel like the artists took a lot of opportunity in giving him a face that could contort in such a way to to sell how much of a schemer and villain he was.
He has this look of a guy you love to hate.
Also, in terms of story, Jedah really does eclipse Rudolf as a villain (Yes I know, Rudolf is not really a villain) and is easily a more proactive villain than even Berkut. While Jedah serves Duma faithfully, the purple baddie still seems to have done more as an antagonist then the detriorting dragon.
He’s really the most satisfying overarching villain next to Berkut. And power, don’t get me started. While Gharnef’s Imhullu seemed relatively foreshadowed on how he wouldn’t be beaten by normal means, the first time I fought Jedah, I was surprised just how much of a gap in power there was between us. As well as the terrors he summons for the first time are more lovecraftian than the other terrors you fought before.
While Jedah is definitely a fun villain, his greatest weakness is that he is unquestionably in the morally black category. The man sacrificed his own daughters to prove his loyalty. Before then, there was a bit of an argument to be made that witches were just a sign of society and that offering up your soul for more power was just common in a power focused structure. But sacrificing your daughters is a tad on the unforgivable side.
As well as his end goal is really just war and conquest, while being Duma’s number one servant. So ultimately, he’s not very complex. But that lack of complexity still added a chaotic edge to Echoes that was really welcomed.
6. Reinhardt (Fire Emblem: Thracia 776)
Now speaking of complexity here we get, who I consider the best of the Camus archetype. First off, I really like how Reinhardt is built up as the second coming of Crusader Thurd. Especially if you’ve played FE4 and know just how much of an obstacle Ishtar, Bloom and Ishtore were.
Second is just how tragic his story is. I never really cared for the romance between Camus and Nyna, so at times I didn’t really care for his internal conflict. But the fact that Reinhardt has eyes for Ishtar to the point that Julius is feeling jealous and stripping him of his title. You also get the heartbreak of his sister, Olwen choosing to side against and how much denial he feels until Saias needs to point out how Olwen made this choice herself.
It’s just sad to see a guy who comes off as so imposing and level-headed have so much internal strife because his convictions of loyalty keep putting him on the wrong side of things. At times it feels like you can invest more into him than Lief, I really hope to see an expanse of him in a remake.
Reinhardt is not a character I enjoyed fighting because I wanted to see him be with the Liberation Army. He’s suffered from Julius’s pettiness. He knows how bad things have gotten with Grannvale’s expansion. Yet he just won’t because of his loyalty to his home.
(I like to think that if you release him, he goes onto serve Tine and Arthur.)
Now, as I said, he still fits that Camus archetype. But unlike Camus or someone like Xander, I wish I had more of an expansion of his loyalty to Friege. I know he loves Ishtar and he probably has some ego built up about “second coming.” But if you’re not a fan of, “he did this out of love.” You’re probably not gonna like him. As a lot of the Camus archetype have always suffered from a, “why are you so loyal.”
People like Dedue and Catherine had the benefit of being playable characters, so you could support them and peel back a lot of their reasonings. And even Camus got more of a reason when he became Zeke and was saved and given a new life in Rigel.
So while Reinhardt makes for a great adversary, I do find him leaving me wanting more that other rival characters could give me.
5. Grima (Fire Emblem: Awakening)
(Note: I’m using masculine descriptors for Grima because I’m personally more used to male Grima and male Robin)
Here’s another baddie I wasn’t too sure where I was gonna put on the list. I knew I wanted him on here, but again, I wasn’t expecting Grima to be so high. He’s built up all throughout Awakening, as well as turning out to be reincarnated in the main character, Robin. Already does push him up on the list. But if you were to dissect his personality, he’s really just your godly final villain, who condescends down on you.
But there’s actually a lot more to this monster than you’d expect.
At first, I see a lot of similarities between him and Duma: Cult worshipers, really powerful dragon, catalyst for a war etc. But Duma as a villain is due to the dragon deterioration. Sure, he’s got bad followers, but losing his sanity kinda enabled them. But Grima… This guy wants to wipe out all life because he can.
Grima is much more a force of nature as a villain. He doesn’t try to dress up his simplistic desire with fancy philosophy. No, he embraces just how above everyone he is and how he’ll enjoy wiping them out.
Not only that, but design-wise… Holy crap.
The sheer size and power of Grima, coupled with one of the most unique designs for a dragon, makes for a truly nightmarish foe. The boney, almost mechanical way Grima turns his head when ready to attack, just sends shivers down my spine. His size and pension for only wanting to destroy all life really gives off this sense of being an inevitability. A force that can not be stopped from washing over the world.
It really works with the overall theme of Awakening. Robin trying to forge his own identity and is not tied down to fate. But how exactly can you fight that fate when its just so intimidating? Why with friends, of course! The final moments of Robin and Chrom slaying Grima is one of the most tragic things I’ve watched. With Robin knowing he needs to die to prevent Grima, but the only way to kill Grima is with a Falchion in the hands of Chrom. So Robin must be slain by his best friend, the one he’s gone through hell with and gave him a chance at making this new life for himself. It’s a final battle that breaks my heart.
Speaking of final battles, Grima offers one of the most unique environments for a final battle. Using that monstrous size to serve as a stage for your final fight against the Grimleal on the back of their god. Not to mention the priest warping in to keep bogging you down as you try to get off that killing blow on the Fell Dragon.
The background added by Shadows of Valentia about a young Grima actually being an alchemic monstrosity made to find a way to cheat death not only elevates Grima thematic impact, but also make him more like a lovecraftian horror. Which is something rare in this series.
That said, the biggest fault in this character is hw sidelined he is. There’s nothing wrong with a simplistic villain, but even in Robin form, Grima really doesn’t take much part in the events. I would’ve liked more interactions with him and Chrom or Robin before the revival.
I also completely understand if someone doesn't care for the “kill all people in the world,” type of villain. What is the endgame after destroying everything? Guess make some zombies.
I do argue that Grima being a force of nature makes him unique to the whole point of “what happens next?” But again, as a finally boss, I can see if that’s not your style. And while I think the simplicity is kinda beautiful, I myself have a preference for more complex villains.
4. The Black Knight (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn)
Hoo boy, I’m not gonna make any friends with this one.
How do I even talk about this guy properly? Mainly due to some narrative… Disconnects... between Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Well I’ll just try and keep with his outing in Path of Radiance.
Black Knight has easily some of the most thematic presence in the series. His anonymous name and sleek design make almost all of his cutscenes a treat. Just stepping onto the battlefield and killing Greil, with the only hint of who he is being that he was one of Greil’s former students already sets him up as an anomaly.
But something you notice quickly, Black Knight has chivalry. He offers to give Greil the legendary blade of Ragnell so they can have an even fight. Sure, Black Knight wants to kill his mentor to prove he has become better, but he’s not gonna do it unfairly. And he lets Ike keep Ragnell, so that he can truly grow as strong as Greil and then give him a true fight.
Speaking of Ragnell, I actually love how it and Black Knight’s Alondite blade are sister swords. Setting up for a rivalry that goes beyond just Ike getting revenge for his dad. It leads to a lot of interesting encounters over the course of the game, building up to a crescendo of when Ike will finally defeat the armored menace. It honestly makes for a more compelling final brawl than Ashnard.
Also with Ashnard, we come back to that whole chivalry thing. Because while Ashnard displays himself as a “Mad King,” Black Knight still honorably serves him. In fact, while I’ve seen many people debate the true identity of Black Knight, I actually like the idea that he was just a student of Greil. He needs no true identity except being an embodiment of knightly principles and power.
For all the good and bad that entails.
Leading to great parallels between him and Ike. Ike being a mercenary whose principles differ so much from the Black Knight make him an ideal opponent for the Black Knight.
Now all that said, we need to get to the big but. The actual identity of the Black Knight being Zelgius raises a lot of questions and messes with the consistency of the story. I genuinely feel like it would be more powerful if Zelgius was his own character. While the ambiguity of the Black Knight added to his.
The best moment in Radiant Dawn for me is honestly his end, where he’s at least proud to have helped perfected Ike’s swordplay. But after that, I can’t exactly say he’s the same character. And that unfortunately keeps him from being any higher on the list.
3. Berkut (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)
Top 3, everyone! And we’re kicking it off with the Rigelean Prince, Berkut.
After coming off Fates, there was this really big cloud hanging over the FE fandom if they’d actually be able to recover from their dip in storytelling. And then Echoes came up with the game-exclusive addition of Berkut.
Berkut really was a return to for with understandable villains. Having grown up being a noble of Rigel and as nephew of Rudolf next in line for the throne. In a society that prides itself on power, Berkut was only ever asked to be strong enough to ascend to that title of king.
And when you first see him dancing with Rinea, he really does seem invincible. Dancing in the conquered halls of Zofia Castle with his one true love as he does not need to take to the battlefield to assist in fighting the Deliverance. Only bothering to fight Alm as “sport.”
At first, he really just comes off as an arrogant Blue Blood that you wanna knock off his horse. But after he loses once and sees Alm’s brand, it just starts this downward spiral. Begging is uncle for one more chance, rejecting the help of Nuibaba’s mirror, only to use it out of fear that he might actually not be able to win against Alm.
Also, massive props to Ian Sinclair as Berkut’s english voice. As FE had started going fully dubbed, Sinclair brings such a performance as the deteriorating prince.
I like he even makes more dynamics with the Duma Faithful, believing that they’re supposed to serve his house and respect him, but Jedah counters that their real allegiance is to Duma. Tempting Berkut with his power. But Berkut himself even finds Duma’s strength disgusting.
When he finally falls after Rudolf naming Alm his true heir, so see just how low he’s fallen as he sacrifices Rinea to make his pact with Duma and use his new mystical enhancements to take out the Deliverance golden boy Alm, once and for all.
Berkut’s story is easily an ideal tragic character. Very powerful and smart, but flawed. His own fears motivating his actions as well as the constraints of his society and family pressure. Add on how he’s made that he will not marry Rinea until he becomes Emperor, as he feels that is only when he’s worthy enough, and this guy’s basically telegraphing the grave he’s about to dig himself.
No way can I undersell how much Berkut seemingly revived faith in writing for future FE antagonists as the series was still suffering from the… mixed reaction to Fates.
2. Edelgard von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
God what have I not said about Edelgard? Well if you want to read more comprehensive stuff I’ve written about her, you can find it here.
But in short, Edelgard was a phenomenal twist character. Built up slowly over the course of the game and the fact someone as high as a lord would secretly be planning to destroy the church was a shock.
Her role as the most intellectual of the three house leaders, motivated by logic and pragmatism offered a unique opposition to the over emotional Dimitri. Her being the product of crest experimentation and the second wielder of the crest of flames makes for a pretty powerful backstory. Not to mention being one of the few lords whose political system we fully get to see realize. With the multiple ministers having robbed power from her family.
Her relationship with Dimitri is also one of the sweetest villain backstories. You see the two actually sit down and try to end this and you know it’s probably only because of their shared past. The oath of the dagger of how they both have made their own paths that veer off in different directions is the first signs of turmoil that El has felt ever since her declaration of war.
And then there’s her final fight. I don’t think I have felt a more satisfying final battle than with Hagemon Husk Edelgard. The long throne room crawl as guards and monsters poured in to try and stand in your way. All whlie Edelgard tries to snipe at you from a distance with her new fireball technique.
Also if were giving points to acting, Tara Platt brings a great performance as both Edelgard and the Flame Emperor.
Now like Black Knight, the biggest flaw is a lot of minute nitpicks that really add up over the multiple routes. The Black Eagle route even seems to do away with a lot of Edelgards ambiguity. But if you stick to BL and GD Edelgard, you have one of the best antagonists in the series. Leaving me excited what FE17 has in store.
1. Arvis (Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War)
Yeah, you all knew this one was coming. The OG Flame Emperor himself, Arvis.
So for those who don’t know, Arvis was basically Edelgard before Edelgard. Having watched corrupt nobles run Grannvale for a time as well as grown up under the self destructive Duke Victor, Arvis had intended to make Grannvale a more fair world. Free of prejudice and pain.
Use the feuding lords to his advantage to claim land and renown, Arvis also stayed by the current King of Grannvale, Azmur. Earning him some brownie points. Arvis’s alliance with Manfroy and the Lopto Sect ultimately leads to him getting his chance at the throne. With Manfroy finding the long lost granddaughter (and wife of Sigurd) Deirdre, wiping her memory clean and “conveniently” leaving her for Arvis to find and fall in love with.
By marrying and impregnating the newly found prince, Arvis was named Emperor Regent by Azmur till their child came of age. However, to unilaterally have Grannvale under his control, he had to take out Sigurd in one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the history of FE, The Belhalla Massacre.
At first Arvis seems like this manipulative puppet master with delusions of conquest, but the more you learn about him and the environment he came from. Arvis truly wants to make a better and more fair world. And unlike someone like Zephiel, he doesn’t think that means wipe out all humans. You see that he doesn’t even hold contempt for Sigurd, more indifference as he regrets that Sigurd would not be able to see Arvis’s new world.
But with his ultimate tragedy being that faustian deal he cut with Manfroy ultimately led to the birth of Julius. Who, with the Major Loptous blood, would go on to not only be Loptous’ vessel, but also wrestle away power from Arvis. The tragic irony of what secured his hold on the throne being what ultimately makes him lose it. Add on some more angst as he realizes that Deirdre is actually his half sister and that Manfroy’s intention was for them to bear a child like Julius, you have easily one of the most tragic tales in FE.
We also see more of the dynamics of Arvis in the Seliph book of FE4. Actually trying to save all the children taken by Julius with Ishtar. As well as his love for his own children, Julius and Julia, going out of his way to save Julius and finally face his reckoning against Seliph.
His battle is brutal, as after what he did to Sigurd, you want to beat down Arvis with Seliph. You want nothing more but to his rule. But as you’ve gone on, you see just how much of person Arvis is. And while you want Seliph to get his vengeance, it doesn’t make the fight any easier as you are left to wonder what things would be like if Arvis was Emperor without Manfroy using Julius.
His final words to Seliph just echo in your head, making you wish there was a better way this could’ve turned out.
If there is one negative I could say about Arvis, its the fact he basically monopolizes the story for his own. His actions basically pushing so much of the narrative he eclipses Sigurd. But honestly, if we got a remake with more time devoted to character interaction in Sigurd’s army, I think it would balance out nicely.
Welp, that’s my Top 10 FE antagonists. Let me know if you agree or disagree. And if this gets enough hits, I might do similar posts in the future. Till next time, take care!
