But like. He didn't have a character arc. He just reaffirmed the thing he was already doing and has always been doing, and confirmed it's also what Dan Feng would have done.
Which. Is kind of crazy, given "what Dan Feng would've done" caused a lot of problems... (plus the responsibility he took on for Terravox which is kinda... okay what on earth does this do for Dan Heng's character. in the slightest.)
It's kind of not great, paired with the Trailblazer's journey to become a Deliverer (meaningless; they took the role and barely got to do anything with it beyond ferry around a Coreflame Evernight got for them), or March and Evernight's (no growth for March, either).
It's just... a tragically stagnant group of characters. I don't necessarily want some dramatic character-changing development, but something beyond "well, Amphoreus gave me a power-up" would be nice...? It's especially damning with Dan Heng, given how loaded his history is.
It's also very odd to have March talking about how Nameless aren't supposed to be making decisions for other worlds, but rather walk alongside them. But all three of them weave themselves into Amphoreus' mythology permanently, as far as they're aware?
Because it's not going to be permanent, the game doesn't really see the hypocrisy, but like... March doesn't know that at this point! So why is she using this line against Evernight?! Can the game comment on the contradiction a bit?! (Which is also completely contrary to the aesop Mydei learnt in 3.1?!)
I'm not sure if I understand your critique of March's words to Evernight about trailblazing and how them weaving themselves into Amphoreus's mythology gets in the way of that. Could you elaborate?
Sure, I'll try...
I do think that being a Nameless runs runs completely counter to the decision to become part of Amphoreus' creator-god pantheon in a really big way. Especially given the knowledge the characters are operating with at any given time.
I also think Trailblaze is kind of a wishy-washy, poorly explored path that the writers keep accidentally writing against in really awkward ways, so it's hard to get a grip on what it's meant to be versus how its presented...
Fortunately, Amphoreus provided us two pretty solid definitions of 'what is trailblazing' to work with beyond Himeko's standard 'explore, establish, understand and connect'.
Before Amphoreus' destruction, Phainon summarises what he's learnt about Trailblazing from Dan Heng to implore the Trailblazers to leave the world - "[Belobog] taught me that the fate of a world should be in the hands of its people. And… even if the Nameless are willing to risk everything for an unfamiliar world, in the end you still have to embark on a new journey and go to the next world that needs saving."
It's not a big deal that the Trailblazers are willing to make sacrifices for Amphoreus, but at the end of the day when the journey is done, they should be able to leave.
Anything obstructing that should then be a big deal, as its counter to the path these characters have chosen for themselves. So it becomes imperative that HYV can sell a good reason why the Nameless would be willing to make the journey-ending decision to permanently tie themselves to the fate of a world and, beyond that, explore what making that choice means to those characters.
In Amphoreus this is especially important, because assuming a Titan's divinity should, as far as the characters know, force them to stay through Era Nova and the subsequent reincarnation of the world as a new race of Creator Gods. That should be a big deal! We get an event reaffirming how important being a Nameless is to the Trailblazer right in the middle of this, even!
Additionally, March to Evernight about her plan to obliterate Amphoreus to save the universe; "the meaning of Trailblaze is to "explore, understand, establish, and connect. It's not about standing above the cosmos as some kind of savior. It's about walking alongside every world within it."
And. Well. *gestures at 3.4*
To me, the issues we run into are;
Trailblazer casually decides to assume the Authority of Time and never questions that decision in any meaningful way despite it meaning the end of their journey as a Nameless;
Trailblazer literally usurps Phainon as the world's savior/the Deliverer/bearer of the Coreflame of Worldbearing, in his fight to save Amphoreus and literally the entire cosmos;
Evernight makes the decision for March to tie herself permanently to Amphoreus by assuming Time's Authority; March doesn't seem to have any strong feelings on that choice being made for her at all.
These are all things that do run counter to the dev's explanation of what Trailblazing should be, but... not a whole lot is actually done with that...? Like, a contradiction on its own isn't a bad thing. The characters involved in those contradictions aren't addressing them in any meaningful way though, so the contradictions are just kind of. There.
I'll give Dan Heng a pass because his decision is purely fueled by trying to survive Era Nova to help his friends, but it should be a way bigger deal for Trailblazer and March?
(And yes, in-universe, they needed to have someone assume the Titans' authority but... the characters should still have feelings about it...?)
The fact that Trailblaze isn't really getting brought up in this element of the character's paths is kind of contributing to why Trailblaze just feels like a very wishy-washy concept that gets pulled out whenever the characters need to say something inspiring, but doesn't seem to mean much to them personally.
On Trailblazer usurping Phainon as the Deliverer... ugh, that really depends on Phainon's role in 3.7. It's very awkward for the devs to go "this journey isn't about being the One True Hero" and then immediately have the MC turn around and snipe that role from Phainon (and being less interesting besides) - but the real issue will be if Phainon Does Something Big in 3.7 or not. If he does, no big. But if he doesn't... well, given March's line, that's a real problem. Because then the TB will have done exactly that.
I hope that made sense, but that's how its coming across to me atm?
Additionally, I know the Watchmaker ended up being a Big Deal in Penacony, but he did have to leave the Express and cease being a Nameless to do so... that is kind of the read on that it means to 'get BIG involved in a world'.
Ah, okay. I understand what you mean now even if I ultimately disagree on it. I should point out though that Mikhail never stopped being a nameless. He's referred to as one by both Himeko and Pom-Pom, both directly and indirectly. The path of the Trailblaze is an inherently broad one since it is all about moving forward however and whichever way that entails. See the following quotes as examples:
"'Trailblazing,' means taking paths your predecessors foreswore, and venturing even further..." - Caelus/Stelle, "In Our Time" Trailblaze Mission
"The Nameless come and go. Some find a place they want to stay while others keep moving forward, just like the silver rails that never stop... That's the Astral Express." - Misha, "Sweet Dreams And the Holy Grail" Trailblaze Continuance Mission
"Mikhail, remember: whether you leave or stay, the Astral Express will always be the home of the Nameless. Pom-Pom will always be here... waiting for your return!" - Pom-Pom, "Sweet Dreams And the Holy Grail" Trailblaze Continuance Mission
"That, to me, is the Permanence: to trailblaze into the future, endlessly and eternally." - Dan Heng Permansor Terrae, CHRYSOS Magazine
"Even if they left the stars behind them, their Trailblaze would not be over. That's also what the conductor thinks, isn't it?" - Himeko, "Long Day's Journey Into Night" Trailblaze Mission
"Just keep moving forward. In your own way." - Phainon, "Back to Earth in Evernight" Trailblaze Mission
Given how Mikhail, Tiernan, and Razalina were still treated as Nameless by both Himeko and Pom-Pom so by that logic, Caelus/Stelle, Dan Heng and March 7th would therefore be treated the same way. Deeply involving yourself with a planet's personal affairs doesn't stop one from being a nameless at all.
As for Evernight taking the authority of Time? Given Evernight's whole plan was to essentially delete Amphoreus off the map to begin with, taking the Time authority would just be dealt with anyways by proxy if her plan had succeeded. Of course, plans have changed but what's done is done.
Plus, March's real gripe with Evernight was that her whole plan would've invalidated March 7th's involvement of being on Amphoreus since she experienced everything alongside Caelus/Stelle & Dan Heng by proxy since she was hiding in the camera. Evernight wanted to keep March's dream of Trailblazing with her friends to continue but deleting Amphoreus now would get in the way of said dream once March informed her of her experience through the camera so Evernight really had no option but to relent in the end regardless.
It's also worth noting that Dan Heng was already willing to lay down his life for Amphoreus long before he obtained the divine authority of Earth from Terravox back at the end of 3.3. He even says as much that it is the destined course a Trailblazer cannot escape.
Sorry for the insanely late reply. Life's been busy and pretty good at keeping me distracted as well.
Having now seen DHPT's trailer it's.... a bit sad how much emphasis they put on DH finding his friends again after they were lost in Amphoreus, but for the Trailblazer that in-game translated to a single animated cutscene...
I was a bit disappointed they decided to use the "I waited 1000 years for you" thing for two characters across two patches, but in Dan Heng's case especially I wish we'd gotten a proper adventure in a dungeon that he digs the TB out of, rather than a few flashbacks where we look back on the Quintet again.
DH hasn't actually done much in Amphoreus, so his Big Moments feeling so insubstantial is a real shame. Evernight fared better, technically, but I do wish this storyline had spread over .5 and .6 (and saved Cerydra and Hysilens for later)
I kinda felt a similar sentiment although mine were more of a "switching when events take place" kind of ordeal. I talked about it in HSR leaks subreddit but I do wish Dan Heng returned to Amphoreus during the time when Stelle/Caelus were stuck in the exomyth. That way, we get to have his and Cyrene's POV. Perhaps have Dan Heng meet Terravox before he disappeared in collaboration with Evernight, Cyrene employing the same method she did with Cerydra of showing the Trailblazer's memories but instead of past adventures, it's specifically the last cycle so that the current heirs understood Trailblazer and Cyrene's determination as well as letting them know of Phainon and his entire struggle. Plus, have Evernight try to enact her plan once TB comes back while Lygus is trapped and save Lygus as the final fight before we presumably go fight Irontomb.
But then I feel that would require a whole patch in of itself and Amphoreus, much as I love it, is already long enough as it is, man. Everything surrounding March and Evernight was pretty perfect though for me, although I do wish her Myriad Celestia was incorporated into the story like how Dan Heng's animated short was.
It also would've helped make the trio reunion more effective if we got more moments between them before we got into Amphoreus. At least have like one Trailblaze Mission or Continuance somewhere but focused on their bond much like how the Fate collab continuance focused on Trailblazer and their choice to be a nameless.
Really, this would've been solved if Trailblazer actually got to spend some time in the new cycle and be the deliverer BEFORE getting yeeted off to the Exomyth by Lygus.
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