@The Zekenator thank for giving me some deets, though you aren't selling me amazingly well on the rest of the threads
I did know that church is pretty much a rethread for the most part and was the one I was leaving last, though I'll probably pass at this point. I do find it interesting that Claude sounds so irrelevant in the other threads when he should be a huge player no matter what, though
Dimitri did end up being just a rabid dog on his story, so I guess they all get kind of shafted when they aren't the main character..
Which route would you say is the most satisfying then? Also, I gather there is no "true ending" like in other narratives or anything of the sort then?
I aimed to set expectations low because 3H is a stupid long game if you try to play all of it and in my opinion it really isn't worth it as someone who got invested enough to do it all and is fine with JRPG writing most the time. It is too long for a whole lot of just above average jrpg stuff at best (and church route was the biggest waste of time I've ever played in Fire Emblem). I can play maybe 3 jrpgs of similar writing quality by the time I finish all of 3H and this is with me knowing the meta game decently so I know how to just blitz the maps. I also think the gameplay is weak too, especially on repeat playthroughs where monastery tedium really sets in, the maps are super duper rehashed to a comical degree.
Imo, Blue Lions while disappointing to me (and many people disagree with me on why so YMMV) in some ways, I feel its ending is overall the most complete and okay. Its ending cutscene if you are invested in the Dimitri and Edelgard dynamic is actually quite nice. Claude is a retard, but at least he existed in the plot unlike Dimitri in Claude's route who exists for 5 minutes and does nothing of substance beyond be some brief drama. Edelgard is also the best in Dimitri's route imo, at least overall writing wise. If this was just Dimitri vs Edelgard, it'd probably be a better story overall. The only reason it disappoints me is because it had the strongest plot until it fumbles the bag by the time it needs to start to wrap because the developers ran out of maps to extend the length of the route.
It is like they realized they need to get to endgame and just rushed the development. Blue Lions also has the honor of answering the least questions about everything if you play it first, you learn nothing about mole people and Edelgard has some missing context still. This is while Rhea is barely present to explain stuff too.
Golden Deer to me answers the most questions, and ends okay. The bigger problem is Claude is just badly explained, his whole motive just sucks and he's the most boring of the main figureheads. He's only relevant when he's with Byleth which is extremely weak.
Both Black Eagle routes suck ass, just for different reasons. I don't even hate Edelgard, I just think she's badly handled overall.
There is no true ending in the strictest sense, the writing never made me think one ending is the true definitive end, they all end in their own way. You can pretty much wrap up the true ending as "Whoever wins the war gets to decide how it ends", or if you want to be less charitable and more mocking "Whoever gets to keep Byleth is the true ending"
The only character with consistent relevance is Edelgard, everyone else just seems to lose relevance post time skip at random. Although because you're just going to pass on going further. Dimitri is extremely funny in the church route where
Gronder happens off screen, Dimitri and his entire army dies except for Dedue who tries to 1v1 Edelgard when you siege her throne room by climbing the side stairs, and Claude is implied to have just fucked off out of the plot like a bitch while his army dies, and Edelgard is wounded. It is effectively GD, but no Gronder in the church route. And then this cutscene happens right after Gronder.
