GOLDEN DEER CHAPTERS 1-3 SPOILERS
Hello Gamepressians!
I’m sure you remember me in my previous thread on 3 Houses (if not that’s cool…
)
Anywho I’ll be making some follow-up threads that is just me on my journey with the game and wanting to share my opinions on everything, characters, plot, game play, etc., which will probably change over time.
Follow up threads will only be made after a significant amount of progress is done by me (ex: finishing 5 chapters or smth, or if the story has more plot added to it.
Paparazzi:
@af1899
@RoysOurBoy
@Dei-Dei
@TeaTime
@nobody625
@TheEternalShade
These people requested to be tagged in these to be caught up and if you want to be as well be my guest
Just tag me in a reply and ask and ill happily oblige 
There’s gonna be quite a lot of these (i hope) since it’s me recording my experience with the entire game. All routes, DLC, and such
If you want to discuss spoilers with others just hide them plz or else I call the battalions to run you over 
Although I will be discussing spoilers myself (
hypocrite), but it’s only what I’m aware of
I’ve listed the chapters I’m caught up with above so if anyone wants to discuss those chapters openly you may, though bear in mind some haven’t played the game yet
I know 3 chapters isn’t a lot done from the time I got it till now but I really want to go at my own pace. I’m in no rush to finish the game.
Without further ado let’s begin!
Characters
Characters in my eyes are what make a game appealing and this game is no slouch when it comes to having good characters. There’s so many you meet at once its kind of overwhelming, but man do I enjoy it. I’ll list each character i can remember at the top of my head and give a quick thought on each of them. Later threads will only discuss a character if they are introduced, characterized/developed more, or anything of the like. I’ll try not to put spoilers in the characters list so people can see my opinion of them without giving away plot
If I missed a character just ask me about them and ill give my thoughts
(Some may have more description than others but that is because I need more time with them)
Claude: the house leader himself and reason I chose GD first really earned his title The Schemer
He really wanted to rig the mock battle and I’m just casually agreeing with him 
Sad we didn’t actually get to rig it 
Aside from that he is actually really analytical of his surroundings and assumably knew about the enemy’s true motives with the note I will bring up in the plot section
Byleth: yeah he’s the protagonist and is what you make of him but just wanted to mention that I’m glad he’s actually a little accurate in smash with his poses and quotes and certain attacks
Hilda: Dear God why is she just me as a female? She is so lazy but when she actually accomplished something she’s all like wow I actually did this didn’t I? I’m pretty good at this. She’s also the closest friend to Marianne it seems and honestly they look like cotton candy together its so cute 
Lorenz: I really enjoy this guy. He’s a little bit of a snob and stuck up at times and that can get on my nerves but I think that was the reaction the developers tried to make players have. He has achieved C support with Claude and theyre off to such a rocky start that I wouldn’t call it “support” if I’m being honest
Raphael: big boi big appetite, but i knew there was more to him than that. His Marianna C support was pretty cute and he doesn’t see her differently for anything she like. I may have not been able to give him a bouquet of flowers for his birthday…b-but don’t worry I’m making it up to him by letting him have dinner with me a few times. I know he’ll like it
Ignatz: for a second I thought he was an atheist when he was talking about the goddess and her existence but I guess he was just curious. He likes to know things and see how they work or look like and that is very relatable. I just have the need to understand how something works and ask why.
Anna: I assume she’s DLC cuz i spent like 2 minutes reading through a bunch of content that was available at the home screen and it said Anna. She’s just as money dependent as I expected and I love it. Still kind of strange she is a 26 year old in the class but Lysithea is 15 and Hilda is 18 so I guess age in the class isn’t important (like college). Also glad she’s level 5 when you get her cut i did not want to make her catch up with the others.
Leonie: she has this obsession with trying to be like my in-game father and I can respect that. Everyone wants to impress their idols and Leonie is no exception. I need to see more of her to get a clear thought of her cuz rn she’s just a Jeralt fanatic (don’t hate me)
Lysithea: ok don’t screw up this description TMFM can see this
So in all honesty Lysithea in Feh was one of the main reasons I wanted to get 3 Houses. Her voice and personality just blend perfectly and I just love her in all aspects. The whole don’t treat me like a child is kind of a repetitive thing in media but that’s fine, cuz she makes up for it by just existing. My little brother adores and whenever he watches me play he makes sure I talk to her, try having dinner with her, and such. Her sweet tooth can get the best of her but she needs to eat her veggies
She does her own thing in class and she has her own goals, so I respect them and let her choose
Marianne: 
I will protect you with my life. I find it adorable she likes horses and I will make sure I train her to ride a Pegasus or horse so she can always have one by her side. She really doesn’t like conversing with me or the students but I’m slowly trying to get her out her comfort zones
With that those are all the Golden Deer students (i think)
Now I will give a few thoughts on the others if i remember them all
Dimitri: Tell me who you are 
Dedue: he has some aura around him that makes me respect him
Edelgard: quite the competitive one during the mock battle, telling me I was gonna regret my choice of not joining the Black Eagles
Hubert: scary…possibly a vampire (Note to self: put garlic in his dish)
Ferdinand Von Aegir: name speaks for himself. He’s so noble. He’s amazing. He’s Ferdinand Von Aegir!!
Annette: I hear she likes to cook but I also hear she shouldn’t…hmm…oh well only one way to find out
Mercedes: i honestly have not spent enough time with her woopsies
Sylvain: I’m scared to let him join my class with how he is with women
Cyril: oh now you talk to me
Shamir: you can’t just waltz into my class like that
Bernadetta: gave her a stuffed bear, still won’t come out 
but she did join me on a mission
Felix: why can’t we actually spar?
Catherine: stab me with Thunderbrand I don’t really know if she’s a good person after the Lonato thing
Lonato: I pity you
Christophe: oops
Kostas: your job sucks
???: mystery person in red armor who Kostas listens to (Let’s pretend 
didn’t happen) I want to know their motives (still using their since I shouldn’t know them)
Flayn: I get this 
now
Seteth: can someone tell me how he is related to Rhea, I know he’s Flayn’s brother. [Learned that’s a spoiler so don’t tell me]
Rhea: you are beautiful yet shady
Sothis: lived her personality in Feh and I knew she would be great in the game
Also this:
That’s all characters so far if I missed some, which I did, tell me and I’ll give a quick thought
Plot (Spoilerish)
That opening cutscene was GORGEOUS 
and that lady looks oddly similar to Rhea 
. Besides that why are you calling the sword mother? Better question who is your mother? These probably won’t be answered in a while.
I hope there are more cutscenes like that
Aside from that that ??? person is very mysterious in terms of motives and already seems really ruthless from their interaction with Kostas. They also have some beef with Rhea in hiring me as a teacher. In fact everyone has some problem with her. It makes me very suspicious of her and I don’t know whether to trust her or not. Catherine is kind of cruel for killing Lonato’s son (it was his son iirc) and I despise the kill all disbelievers of the church idea. Also there’s 10 relics 
? I actually thought the 4 correlated to the house leaders and Byleth were the only ones, but I’m glad I was wrong. It gave me a nice surprise. Claude’s royal status is a bit of a mystery to me now thanks Lorenz but I’m sure I’ll get clarity. Speaking of clarity, Dimitri really is keeping to himself right now and I wonder what lies beneath that noble mask. Oh well, Blue Lions is the next route for me do maybe I’ll get a clear answer from there 
I’m really interested in where this is going in terms of story but despite people saying GD has the “weakest” plot it’s still rather enjoyable. It also means if I’m that impressed by GD’s plot then the others are bound to also be amazing.
Also how come Claude is not able to be in a romance with Male Byleth
Gameplay/Battles
As Swift as Wind and Fodlán Winds are such great tracks to hear while battling. And the music while exploring the monastery is also pretty neat (I hear some Edge of Dawn in it)
I really like the battle mechanics of this game. I’m pretty such weapon triangle no longer applies if I’m right and now it just depends on class, which was confusing at first but I got used to it
Speaking of which it was so overwhelming the first few hours of me playing the game as I had no idea what was going on but I got the hang of it, unless they add more things. I kind of wish things were taught a little slower to better grasp topics better but oh well. The free roam is pretty neat, not as impressive as BOTW but nonetheless. Its kind of funny that I’m the only one running faster than the speed of light while everyone moves a pixel per hour, I really do stand out there.
Battalions are the most hilarious mechanic for me.
They literally just run you over and they can MISS. HOW DO YOU MISS SOMEONE WHEN THERE’S 20 OF YOU. DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO TURN? I love it so much. You don’t know how much I laugh whenever a battalion misses. I don’t even care that mine missed I’m still gonna laugh. Freaking Lonato used his Battalion and he missed and I was just dying of laughter.
I’m still not sure how countering and critical hits work though. I guess when a bow shoots from afar you can’t really counterattack but ill understand that soon. And I assume crits are random?
Oh yeah Raphael with gauntlets is also amusing. If he dodged an attack he retaliated with a kick in the face. 10/10 kick Raph.
Cooking and Eating with others is really cute too
YOU CAN FEED THE ANIMALS
I forgot about the greenery (probably should use it more)
Divine Pulse is pretty sweet, why couldn’t you use that in smash
Being able to trade weapons is really helpful in certain scenarios
The little MVP thing after a match is such a call-out for not using certain units
There are these yellow and purple fields on the map that give free stuff and who could resist free?
Few Gripes
- The barriers are a little annoying. I walk to a gap i can clearly fit through but that is not allowed. Gets a little on my nerves but no game is perfect
Why can’t I walk through people talking there is ample room - In game text is a little small sometimes. Is there a way to enlarge it? Dialogue is different its pretty decent size and the characters talk anyways, but tips and such are super difficult to read. I have to lean forward to see it and I was using my glasses
- Side characters are kind of dumb in terms of AI. Some just try to walk past a couple of people talking and they just continue despite it.
- Map
The map doesn’t rotate as you move and it gets kind of hard to navigate left and right in it. At least fast traveling is a thing
But to be fair I have gotten accustomed to these so its not really that big of a deal anymore
And there we have it! My pure thoughts on the game so far. Man this took long but the next ones will be shorter since I won’t have to discuss anything besides plot and my thoughts on the plot, with the addition of a few characters that could be introduced.
Until next time, bye bye 
(May or may not have gotten somethings wrong so feel free to correct me)
