History Fridge / FireEmblem

*** ''Engage'''s secondary weapon lollipop (name pending) makes sense in the relationship between martial arts, represented by Combat Scrolls, and the Bows, Daggers and Tomes they're effective against; A bow is an ineffective weapon for a close-range confrontations, as evidenced by very few allowing units to strike at melee in the majority of games; there are real life unarmed self-defence techniques for use against people armed with knives; and as established above, casters are typically on the frailer side while a tome, like bows, aren't typically effective melee weapons.

* The ArtificialStupidity can be largely explained by the fact that a lot of the enemy platoons you fight are headed up by GeneralRipper types [[BadBoss who will eagerly execute their men]] for even the ''slightest'' hint of insubordination. Sure, blindly charging at you will most likely get them slaughtered, but ''not'' blindly charging at you will '''''[[YouHaveFailedMe certainly]]''''' [[MortonsFork get them slaughtered]]. (This doesn't help explain it when [[AFatherToHisMen the enemy commander]] is ''[[BenevolentBoss not]]'' the sort of guy who'd do that (Camus, Mustafa, et al), but those tend to be the exception rather than the norm, and they more often than not have superiors who ''do'' fit the “follow my every command to the letter or die horribly” mold.)

*** Ike does not get the princess, but he ''does'' get the [[spoiler:[[YaoiGuys prince]]. Of Daein, no less]]. FridgeBrilliance indeed.

** Why is Dark magic usually confined to a handful of characters? It's actually hard to use, and it apparently is easy to become corrupted by the lust of pure power. In addition to the social stigma (Canas and Knoll insist it's ''ancient'' magic, not evil magic), there's very few people who teach it, and most find it easier to learn Anima and Light magic instead. (Also, there are no real risks to Anima and Light magic, while Dark magic is ''very'' dangerous to wield -- as proof, Canas mentions his brothers becoming [[EmptyShell soulless husks]].) So, the combination of stigma, few people who can teach it, how tough it can be to master yourself, as well as the fact that learning said magic is quite literally do or die, and that's why there's very few dark magic users around.

** Ena is almost killed by the Black Knight after her failure to stop Ike. The Black Knight confesses he did not deliver a clean blow despite stating that he would execute her. If Ike does not [[spoiler:defeat the Black Knight]] in Chapter 27, Ena is recruited [[spoiler:instead of her grandfather, Nasir]]. Ena comes automatically equipped with the skill 'Miracle', [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration which nullifies lethal blows.]]
** Ranulf is a [[MightyGlacier very slow and very defensive]] unit, completely at odds with the archetype of [[FragileSpeedster cat laguz]]. However, after seeing the character archetypes that the beast laguz actually exhibit (cats being combative and tigers being pacifists), Ranulf certainly fits more into the latter, and shows no traits of the former. If he's not going to act like a cat off the battlefield, why should he on it?

** Some people were disappointed Ike didn't marry Elincia as per convention for every ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series of the main character getting hitched with the princess. The reason was pretty simple. Ike's father was a Daein Knight and people would know that Ike is by blood a Daein. If Ike asked for Elincia's hand in marriage, he would have caused a political incident that could spark another war. So both backed off from any idea of a marriage, let alone an affair.

* ''Fridge/FireEmblemThreeHouses

* In ''Awakening'', Nah will tell her father that her foster family was brutal to her. If her father was the Avatar, that means the incredibly cheery Morgan was also subject to that.
** Not true. Nah was raised by her father's ''friends'', not his family. More specifically, one of her father's friends from the army.
*** Unless what you're saying is that ''Morgan'' was also abused. Sorry. I thought that you thought that Morgan abused Nah.
* In ''Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken'', when you achieve the HHM extended ending, you learn a lot about Nergal's past. You can infer Nergal's motivation for doing what he does. [[spoiler:You learn that, when Nergal went to search for his missing wife (the dragon Aenir), he sent his half-dragon children, Ninian and Nils, through the Dragon's Gate. His only goal, throughout the entire game, is to call dragons through the Dragon's Gate. That's all he wants. '''He just wants his children back.''' He has been so corrupted by the power that he needed to get his children back that]] he has completely forgotten them and the reason he needed the power in the first place, and he doesn't even recognize them as they stand in front of him. He has become so corrupted by the power that he [[spoiler:'''laughed as his daughter was cut down by the man she loved, and he laughs while his son falls to his knees in pure agony as the only thing left that he cares about dies''']]. Going even further, and even darker, imagine how Ninian and Nils feel throughout the entire game. Imagine what they are going through, because ''they '''know'''''.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Ike and Soren's (and to a lesser extent, Soren and Stefan's) supports reveal that [[spoiler:Soren is a Branded]] and the Laguz effectively ignored his existence as a child. Why then, did Lethe and Mordecai acknowledge him when they met? Soren was with Beorc. Those Beorc were willingly traveling with Soren, so to the Laguz that clearly meant they could not have known what he is. They ''had'' to acknowledge him, because otherwise they'd be forced to admit to one of the greatest secrets of the Laguz.
** FridgeBrilliance in that it explains why Lethe is especially hostile with Soren, even after she warms up to Beorc slightly.
* FridgeHorror that has permeated the fanbase in the Tellius series: Soren is Branded. Branded age slower than beorc. Soren has a beorc around his age as a LivingEmotionalCrutch and OnlyFriend (at least). That's unlikely to end well.
* Although it has since been averted, thanks to DLC, the original ending to ''Awakening'' states that most of the second generation stays in the present era with their parents and younger selves, with Lucina disappearing shortly after [[spoiler:Grima's death/sealing]]. This implies that the people who literally traveled across time to save their world ''completely abandoned it'' upon saving this world. Even if Lucina had returned on her own, she lacked the ability to either slay or seal the [[spoiler:Grima]] of her world, essentially making her romp to the past useless for her own timeline.
** Actually, [[spoiler:Grima]] followed her to the past, so [[spoiler:he died/got sealed there]].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' specifically Ewan and Dozla's supports. At first I didn't think much of them. Then it struck me! I never really actually consider Ewan anything special in the game, but Ewan really is thinking about ideas for two inventions we use in ''this'' universe. Because of the fact that, in my opinion, all of the ''Fire Emblem'' games are set in separate, yet similar medieval-ish fantasy settings, Ewan is actually a genius thinking of bright new ideas. In the B support, Ewan was thinking about "coaches that could travel in the air" (some sort of a plane, perhaps?) and discussed using Pegasus Knights but realizing the problems. Then in the A support, Ewan talks about "people far away from each other talking" using magical devices (telephones?). Furthermore, the fact Ewan mentioned that he got in trouble for the fact that he thought about these "outlandish things". Maaaan, this is a revelation for me!
** Another one for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', also concerning a support with Dozla, coincidentially enough. In Dozla's supports with Garcia, Garcia mentions how in the old days, it was important to be trained in multiple disciplines, even if you end up specializing in one overall. The B and A supports then go to [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious attempts where the two try archery and magic, not to have much success.]] The Fridge Brilliance, however, comes with the remakes of Marth's games, ''Shadow Dragon'' and ''Heroes of Light and Shadow''. These were the very first ''Fire Emblem'' games, putting them in the 'old days' of the series. The new reclass system allows nearly every unit to change to a new class, where they can learn the use of a new weapon while keeping the weapon experience they had before while their stats and growths change in the process. And finally, except for some rare occasions like the fighter who can become a decent dark mage and the cleric succeeding as a Pegasus Knight, the unit would most likely have been better off in the class they started out in. Just as Garcia and Dozla found out in their supports. - Grithalmur
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'': How thrown in Marcia and Tanith's A support seemed. Tanith thought ''Marcia'' had so much potential to be commander of the Holy Guard that she swallowed her pride and admitted it? Really? Marcia? She never really struck me as uh, a leader type. But then sometime later I was looking at her behaviour around [[LazyBum Makalov]] and realised how much she was acting like Tanith (just with {{Unusual Euphemism}}s). That's the potential Tanith sees in Marcia! The perfect successor!
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'': It had suddenly occurred to me that in both the chapters where you can recruit Wallace -- one in Lyn's story, the other in Eliwood's/Hector's (if you fight Lloyd first rather than Linus) -- the map is a FogOfWar. This would seem to be a coincidence -- except that Wallace has ''{{no sense of direction}}''! Even if this was ''not'' a deliberate joke on the character, I'm still very impressed at the appropriateness of it all -- especially since the alternate 'Four-Fanged Offence' (where you fight Linus) is noticeably ''not'' a FogOfWar.
* Another one regarding ''Blazing Sword'': Renault [[spoiler:spent most of his life as a mercenary]] and only became a bishop late in life. This explains why his magic is so abysmal and his magical resistance is only a few points higher than his physical defense (which is actually pretty high for a magic-user). [[spoiler:If strength stats for magic-users and magic stats for weapon-users were available in the GBA games, Renault would probably have an abnormally high strength stat for a magic-user, quite possibly even already coming capped (since the Bishop class would probably have a very low Strength {{cap}}) -- not that this would mean anything, as a Strength stat would be completely useless for a magic-user given the operating mechanics in these games.]]
** Another bit of insight into ''Blazing Sword'', which I'd picked up on awhile ago but didn't realize that it wasn't intuitive until I read the game's entry on AnotherSideAnotherStory. There may be a bit of FridgeHorror mixed in here. Why does Karla only appear in Hector's Story, when the chapter she appears in is not one of the ones exclusive to said story? Well, quite simply, it's because in that story, [[spoiler:she happened to be passing through a village on her search right as it was attacked by bandits and was killed in the attack]]. I actually discovered this completely by accident. There was one time when I was playing through Hector's Story and she ''didn't'' show up, and then I realized that on this particular run-through I had failed to [[spoiler:get the Elysian Whip]] in Chapter 25 -- [[spoiler:an item that is handed out ''by Karla'' when you visit the chapter's lone village]]. And since Chapter 25 of Hector's Story ''doesn't'' appear in Eliwood's Story at all, your army couldn't ''possibly'' have [[spoiler:saved that village]]. This also proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hector's Story, not Eliwood's Story, is canon. --[=SpiriTsunami=]
*** To explain: "Blazing Sword" is the prequel to "The Sword of Seals," and in-game, the Myrmidon Fir has ties to both Barte and Karel (Supports reveal that Barte is her dad, whereas Karel is her uncle). How is she related to both of them? [[spoiler:''Karla'' had to be her mother -- in Karla and Barte's ending in Hector's Path of ''Blazing Sword'', it mentions that they had a daughter together before Karla died of illness after the events of the game. This explains why Karla doesn't appear in "Fūin no Tsurugi" if she had survived the war.]] Thus, in order to for both games to remain canon, Karla had to survive the events of "Blazing Sword."
*** Not necessarily. Bartre's ending is the same in both Hector's and Eliwood's stories: He marries his mortal enemy, whom is none other than Karla. So Karla obviously exists in both paths, even if you never see her in Eliwood's.
* One for ''Radiant Dawn'': Ashera is the goddess of order, which is, of course, why her biorhythm does not fluctuate '''''at all'''''.
** Another one from ''Radiant Dawn'': Why, when the Valkyrie's Magic stat cap is so much higher than its Strength stat cap, is Mist only able to reach SS-rank in swords? Well, [[HeroicLineage because she's Greil's daughter]].
** Also from ''Radiant Down'': Part 4 involves TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt caued by a mad goddess and efforts to reverse it. Why, then, would the survivors split into three groups? In ''Fire Emblem'', you have [[QuantityVersusQuality the best Quality of troops versus the best Quantity of troops the enemy brings against you]], therefore grouping all your troops in one location is just begging for all the enemies to gang up on the weak link, or any link at all, and wear them down until they die. Therefore, splitting up in teams is the best way for the player army to fight the much larger enemy army by forcing them to split down and lose the advantage of numbers without you losing your advantage of quality. Splitting into three armies is just a larger-scale version of that.
* It may be a bit weird to see an enemy having mastery of ''Strike'' weapons, as the enemy in question is basically a mage. ''But'' that enemy is Ashera, one half of the creator Goddess of the world. This is a play on that [[TemptingFate fate-tempting]] line:
--> '''[[TooDumbToLive Fool]]''': ''"Smite me, O mighty smiter!"''
* Thieves can't promote in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', but they can in ''Blazing Sword'', which takes place twenty years prior. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, maybe? Consider that the only two Assassins in ''Blazing Sword'', Jerme and Jaffar, are both Black Fang operatives, one of your two thieves is Legault, who is an ex-Black Fang member, and you obtain the Thief promotion item from Sonia, who has ties to the Black Fang. The Thieves can't promote anymore because the Black Fang, the largest Assassin league ever to exist in Elibe, no longer exists by that time!
** It gets better; Matthew, the only non-Black Fang who could become an Assassin, inevitably spends quite a bit of time in the same party as former Black Fangs Legault and/or Jaffar. Also, you could get a Fell Contract from the Secret Shop in the penultimate chapter... but to gain access to the Secret Shops, you need to steal the Member Card... from a Black Fang thief. And the Secret Shop that sells Fell Contracts is not too far from the building where you encounter that Black Fang thief.
* In general, why Dark magic is usually confined to a handful of characters. It's actually hard to use, and it apparently is easy to become corrupted by the lust of pure power. In addition to the social stigma (Canas and Knoll insist it's ''ancient'' magic, not evil magic), there's very few people who teach it, and most find it easier to learn Anima and Light magic instead. (Also, there are no real risks to Anima and Light magic, while Dark magic is ''very'' dangerous to wield -- as proof, Canas mentions his brothers becoming [[EmptyShell soulless husks]].) So, the combination of stigma, few people who can teach it, how tough it can be to master yourself, as well as the fact that learning said magic is quite literally do or die, and that's why there's very few dark magic users around.
* Some people were disappointed Ike didn't marry Elincia as per convention for every ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series of the main character getting hitched with the princess. The reason was pretty simple. Ike's father was a Daein Knight and people would know that Ike is by blood a Daein. If Ike asked for Elincia's hand in marriage, he would have caused a political incident that could spark another war. So both backed off from any idea of a marriage, let alone an affair.
** Additionally, Ike ''hated'' being a noble for the brief time he was one in ''Path of Radiance'', and renounced his title and went back to being a common mercenary as soon as he could. Elincia, meanwhile, is [[TheHighQueen the best Queen Crimea could ever ask for]], and an entire part of ''Radiant Dawn'' is spent showing how fitting she is for the role. For them to be together, either Elincia would have to give up the throne, which would be very bad for Crimea, or Ike would have to become a noble and live at the palace, which he'd hate. Circumstances mean a relationship between them couldn't work.
** Ike does not get the princess, but he ''does'' get the [[spoiler:[[YaoiGuys prince]]. Of Daein, no less]]. FridgeBrilliance indeed.
** Plus, Elincia ''can'' get [[LadyAndKnight her own Knight!]] And it's Geoffrey, who's had a BodyguardCrush on her for a long time and is ''far'' more used to noble life than Ike will ever be.
** Also, Elincia fills the same role as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Nyna]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade Guinevere]], as the princess in exile who the heroes helped to restore their respective kindgoms.and never end up as the main character's love interests for reasons such as political issues or the princess already has someone in mind.
* Ena is almost killed by the Black Knight after her failure to stop Ike. The Black Knight confesses he did not deliver a clean blow despite stating that he would execute her. If Ike does not [[spoiler:defeat the Black Knight]] in Chapter 27, Ena is recruited [[spoiler:instead of her grandfather, Nasir]]. Ena comes automatically equipped with the skill 'Miracle', [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration which nullifies lethal blows.]]
* How come Seliph is specialized in killing mages? Given how the cult has taken over Jugdral, he figures the best way to solve the problem is to focus on those responsible for the misery of everyone.
** It's important to note that amongst the Legendary Weapon users, Seliph and Aless are essentially a Paladin with Swords as their preferred weapon. Gae Bolg and Gugnir are wielded by DragonRider, while the Helswath are a thrown Axe. It makes tons of sense that the only close range weapon that is wielded by non-airborne units are given the strongest anti magical capabilities.
* Almost every main character is nobility or royalty, and they find this out early on. This is probably to give troops a reason to defer to them, and why the main character can command troops to begin with. People command armies either through experience and skill or inheriting the post. It's why the unexperienced character can command troops in the first chapters. In ''1'' and ''12'', Marth is a prince, so he can command (in ''3'' and ''12'', he's also an experienced leader). (Sorry, don't know about ''2'', ''6'', or ''8''). In ''4'', most of the playable characters were nobles, but they followed Sigurd for various reasons (Azel wanted to rescue Adean, Lex was along for the ride, Quan vowed to help him, and Ethlyn was his sister), and they followed him for his cause later. The second half was because the characters wanted Seliph to ascend the throne. Most of the ArmyOfThievesAndWhores in ''5'' followed Leif for a lot of different reasons (from ideals to payment to not being executed), but Finn trusts his prince's judgement and Evyel trusts Finn. In ''7'', Kent and Sain started out protecting Lyn, and followed her to help her save her grandfather. Ike's not a noble, but the Greil Mercenaries follow him since he's Greil's son, so this counts (Shinon and Gartie are noted exceptions). In ''13'', Chrom is fairly seasoned; the Shepherds follow him because he's the captain, not because he's the prince.
** In ''Gaiden'', Alm is the lost prince of Rigel, but doesn't discover it until the end. However, before that, he is thought to be the grandson of the Golden Knight Mycen. Celica, in the meantime, begins as a warrior priestess, and is then revealed to be the lost princess of Zofia. In ''Sword of Seals'', Roy is the son of Lord Eliwood, thus making him a commander of the Lycian League, plus he's explicitly filling in for Eliwood, who is unable to fight or command due to illness. He also gains a lot of authority when he becomes the protector of Princess Guinevere of Bern. In ''Sacred Stones'', Eirika pretends to be a mercenary named Erina at first, while Ephraim leads a guerilla force of Renian knights. By the time they reunite, both are backed by Frelia's forces.
* In ''Path of Radiance'', Ranulf is a [[MightyGlacier very slow and very defensive]] unit, completely at odds with the archetype of [[FragileSpeedster cat laguz]]. However, after seeing the character archetypes that the beast laguz actually exhibit (cats being combative and tigers being pacifists), Ranulf certainly fits more into the latter, and shows no traits of the former. If he's not going to act like a cat off the battlefield, why should he on it?
* In the Tellius duology, Ena's overall stats are weaker than you'd expect from a Dragon Laguz, but the epilogue of ''Radiant Dawn'' reveals that [[spoiler:she's been pregnant with Rajaion's child the whole time. Her stats are what they are because she's holding back on purpose so as not to endanger the baby. Especially since Rajaion ''dies'' and [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy that baby is all she has left of him]]]].

* The undermentioned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs US commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' makes a lot more sense when seen as the group of bandits Dorcas was with before he defected to Lyn's party. For one thing, the group is made up of scraggly, hairy men that normally comprise the early-game bandit groups, rather than the {{Bishonen}} men and even prettier women that comprise the player characters. The bandits would also [[BadBoss be more likely to poison one of their own]], not only out of [[KickTheDog inherent cruelty]], but also out of [[PragmaticVillainy incidental pragmatism]]: Dorcas is revealed to be a GentleGiant that only joined the bandits to help his ill wife, a nature of which would likely impede the nefarious activities of the group. Therefore, [[TallPoppySyndrome he was the easiest target for being poisoned]].

*** To explain: [[CaptainObvious "Blazing Sword" is the prequel to "The Sword of Seals,"]] and in-game, the Myrmidon Fir has ties to both Barte and Karel (Supports reveal that Barte is her dad, whereas Karel is her uncle). How is she related to both of them? [[spoiler:''Karla'' had to be her mother -- in Karla and Barte's ending in Hector's Path of ''Blazing Sword'', it mentions that they had a daughter together before Karla died of illness after the events of the game. This explains why Karla doesn't appear in "Fūin no Tsurugi" if she had survived the war.]] Thus, in order to for both games to remain canon, Karla had to survive the events of "Blazing Sword."

** Another one for ''{{Fire Emblem}} Sacred Stones,'' also concerning a support with Dozla, coincidentially enough. In Dozla's supports with Garcia, Garcia mentions how in the old days, it was important to be trained in multiple disciplines, even if you end up specializing in one overall. The B and A supports then go to [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments hilarious attempts where the two try archery and magic, not to have much success.]] The Fridge Brilliance, however, comes with the remakes of Marth's games, ''Shadow Dragon'' and ''Heroes of Light and Shadow''. These were the very first ''Fire Emblem'' games, putting them in the 'old days' of the series. The new reclass system allows nearly every unit to change to a new class, where they can learn the use of a new weapon while keeping the weapon experience they had before while their stats and growths change in the process. And finally, except for some rare occasions like the fighter who can become a decent dark mage and the cleric succeeding as a Pegasus Knight, the unit would most likely have been better off in the class they started out in. Just as Garcia and Dozla found out in their supports. - Grithalmur
* ''{{Fire Emblem}}: Path of Radiance'': How thrown in Marcia and Tanith's A support seemed. Tanith thought ''Marcia'' had so much potential to be commander of the Holy Guard that she swallowed her pride and admitted it? Really? Marcia? She never really struck me as uh, a leader type. But then sometime later I was looking at her behaviour around [[LazyBum Makalov]] and realised how much she was acting like Tanith (just with {{Unusual Euphemism}}s). That's the potential Tanith sees in Marcia! The perfect successor!

* ''{{Fire Emblem}} Sacred Stones,'' specifically Ewan and Dozla's supports. At first I didn't think much of them. Then it struck me! I never really actually consider Ewan anything special in the game, but Ewan really is thinking about ideas for two inventions we use in ''this'' universe. Because of the fact that, in my opinion, all of the ''Fire Emblem'' games are set in separate, yet similar medieval-ish fantasy settings, Ewan is actually a genius thinking of bright new ideas. In the B support, Ewan was thinking about "coaches that could travel in the air" (some sort of a plane, perhaps?) and discussed using Pegasus Knights but realizing the problems. Then in the A support, Ewan talks about "people far away from each other talking" using magical devices (telephones?). Furthermore, the fact Ewan mentioned that he got in trouble for the fact that he thought about these "outlandish things". Maaaan, this is a revelation for me!

* Thieves can't promote in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Sword of Seals]]'', but they can in ''Blazing Sword'', which takes place twenty years prior. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, maybe? Consider that the only two Assassins in ''Blazing Sword'', Jerme and Jaffar, are both Black Fang operatives, one of your two thieves is Legault, who is an ex-Black Fang member, and you obtain the Thief promotion item from Sonia, who has ties to the Black Fang. The Thieves can't promote anymore because the Black Fang, the largest Assassin league ever to exist in Elibe, no longer exists by that time!

* In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'', Ike and Soren's (and to a lesser extent, Soren and Stefan's) supports reveal that [[spoiler:Soren is a Branded]] and the Laguz effectively ignored his existence as a child. Why then, did Lethe and Mordecai acknowledge him when they met? Soren was with Beorc. Those Beorc were willingly traveling with Soren, so to the Laguz that clearly meant they could not have known what he is. They ''had'' to acknowledge him, because otherwise they'd be forced to admit to one of the greatest secrets of the Laguz.

** Actually, [[spoiler:Grima]] followed her to the past, so [[spoiler:he died/got sealed there]].

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs The US commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' is a good example of the confusion that can arise from GameplayAndStorySegregation. On one hand, the "trust nobody" tagline makes sense in the context of the setting: the player's band of warriors routinely has to deal with the consequences of shadow politics, in which betrayal and attempted assassinations are common elements. However, none of this affects the player directly, as the battlefield is strictly divided between friendly and enemy units, with no amount diplomacy beyond convincing certain enemies to join your side. In fact, said enemies are the ''only'' defectors on the battlefield, and on the player's side they will remain as loyal as every other playable unit; the player would not be able to recruit them if they were to take the "trust nobody" tagline at face value.

* ''{{Fire Emblem}} Sacred Stones,'' specifically Ewan and Dozla's supports. At first I didn't think much of them. Then it struck me! I never really actually consider Ewan anything special in the game, but Ewan really is thinking about ideas for two inventions we use in ''this'' universe. Because of the fact that, in my opinion, all of the ''Fire Emblem'' games are set in separate, yet similar medieval-ish fantasy settings, Ewan is actually a genius thinking of bright new ideas. In the B support, Ewan was thinking about "coaches that could travel in the air" (some sort of a plane, perhaps?) and discussed using Pegasus Knights but realizing the problems. Then in the A support, Ewan talks about "people far away from each other talking" using magical devices (telephones?). Furthermore, the fact Ewan mentioned that he got in trouble for the fact that he thought about these "outlandish things". Maaaan, this is a revelation for me! -Sovvil

* This troper is a huge fan of ''{{Fire Emblem}}: Path of Radiance'' and has replayed it numerous times, so listing all the moments of FridgeBrilliance would be blatant {{Entry Pimp}}ing and AuthorAppeal. (But I have to say, the choice of affinities can be quite delicious -- Ike and Elincia as Earth and Heaven, Titania and Soren as [[http://omgdragonfly.deviantart.com/art/Tactical-Advice-76244158 Light and Dark]]...) But what really struck me was how thrown in Marcia and Tanith's A support seemed. Tanith thought ''Marcia'' had so much potential to be commander of the Holy Guard that she swallowed her pride and admitted it? Really? Marcia? She never really struck me as uh, a leader type. But then sometime later I was looking at her behaviour around [[LazyBum Makalov]] and realised how much she was acting like Tanith (just with {{Unusual Euphemism}}s). That's the potential Tanith sees in Marcia! The perfect successor! -omgdragonfly
* I had a sudden, absolutely ''hilarious'' bout of insight regarding the character of Wallace from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade''. It had suddenly occurred to me that in both the chapters where you can recruit Wallace -- one in Lyn's story, the other in Eliwood's/Hector's (if you fight Lloyd first rather than Linus) -- the map is a FogOfWar. This would seem to be a coincidence -- except that Wallace has ''{{no sense of direction}}''! Even if this was ''not'' a deliberate joke on the character, I'm still very impressed at the appropriateness of it all -- especially since the alternate 'Four-Fanged Offence' (where you fight Linus) is noticeably ''not'' a FogOfWar. - Tropeers/CaellachTigerEye
* Another one regarding ''Blazing Sword'': Renault [[spoiler:spent most of his life as a mercenary]] and only became a bishop late in life. This explains why his magic is so abysmal and his magical resistance is only a few points higher than his physical defense (which is actually pretty high for a magic-user). [[spoiler:If strength stats for magic-users and magic stats for weapon-users were available in the GBA games, Renault would probably have an abnormally high strength stat for a magic-user, quite possibly even already coming capped (since the Bishop class would probably have a very low Strength {{cap}}) -- not that this would mean anything, as a Strength stat would be completely useless for a magic-user given the operating mechanics in these games.]] --@/{{SpiriTsunami}}

* One for ''Radiant Dawn'': Ashera is the goddess of order, which is, of course, why her biorhythm does not fluctuate '''''at all'''''. --[=SpiriTsunami=]
** Another one from ''Radiant Dawn'': Why, when the Valkyrie's Magic stat cap is so much higher than its Strength stat cap, is Mist only able to reach SS-rank in swords? Well, [[HeroicLineage because she's Greil's daughter]]. --[=SpiriTsunami=]

--> '''[[TooDumbToLive Fool]]''': ''"Smite me, O mighty smiter!"'' --AKITN

* The ArtificialStupidity can be largely explained by the fact that a lot of the enemy platoons you fight are headed up by GeneralRipper types [[BadBoss who will eagerly execute their men]] for even the ''slightest'' hint of insubordination. Sure, blindly charging at you will most likely get them slaughtered, but ''not'' blindly charging at you will '''''[[YouHaveFailedMe certainly]]''''' [[MortonsFork get them slaughtered]]. (This doesn't help explain it when [[AFatherToHisMen the enemy commander]] is ''[[BenevolentBoss not]]'' the sort of guy who'd do that (Camus, Mustafa, et al), but those tend to be the exception rather than the norm, and they more often than not have superiors who ''do'' fit the “follow my every command to the letter or die horribly” mold.) --Tropers/{{Luigifan}}

* In ''Awakening'', Nah will tell her father that her foster family was brutal to her. If her father was the Avatar, that means the incredibly cheery Morgan was also subject to that. -GlaceonMage

** Another one for ''{{Fire Emblem}} Sacred Stones,'' also concerning a support with Dozla, coincidentially enough. In Dozla's supports with Garcia, Garcia mentions how in the old days, it was important to be trained in multiple disciplines, even if you end up specializing in one overall. The B and A supports then go to [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious attempts where the two try archery and magic, not to have much success.]] The Fridge Brilliance, however, comes with the remakes of Marth's games, ''Shadow Dragon'' and ''Heroes of Light and Shadow''. These were the very first ''Fire Emblem'' games, putting them in the 'old days' of the series. The new reclass system allows nearly every unit to change to a new class, where they can learn the use of a new weapon while keeping the weapon experience they had before while their stats and growths change in the process. And finally, except for some rare occasions like the fighter who can become a decent dark mage and the cleric succeeding as a Pegasus Knight, the unit would most likely have been better off in the class they started out in. Just as Garcia and Dozla found out in their supports. - Grithalmur

* The undermentioned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs US commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' makes a lot more sense when seen as the group of bandits Dorcas was with before he defected to Lyn's party. For one thing, the group is made up of scraggly, hairy men that normally comprise the early-game bandit groups, rather than the {{Bishonen}} men and even prettier women that comprise the player characters. The bandits would also [[BadBoss be more likely to poison one of their own]], not only [[KickTheDog out of inherent cruelty]], but also out of [[PragmaticVillainy incidental pragmatism]]: Dorcas is revealed to be a GentleGiant that only joined the bandits to help his ill wife, a nature of which would likely impede the nefarious activities of the group. Therefore, [[TallPoppySyndrome he was the easiest target for being poisoned]].

* The undermentioned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs US commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' makes a lot more sense when seen as the group of bandits Dorcas was with before he defected to Lyn's party. For one thing, the group is made up of scraggly, hairy men that normally comprise the early-game bandit groups, rather than the {{Bishōnen}} men and even prettier women that comprise the player characters. The bandits would also [[BadBoss be more likely to poison one of their own]], not only [[KickTheDog out of inherent cruelty]], but also out of [[PragmaticVillainy incidental pragmatism]]: Dorcas is revealed to be a GentleGiant that only joined the bandits to help his ill wife, a nature of which would likely impede the nefarious activities of the group. Therefore, [[TallPoppySyndrome he was the easiest target for being poisoned]].

* The undermentioned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs US commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemBlazingBlade'' makes a lot more sense when seen as the group of bandits Dorcas was with before he defected to Lyn's party. For one thing, the group is made up of scraggly, hairy men that normally comprise the early-game bandit groups, rather than the {{Bishōnen}} men and even prettier women that comprise the player characters. The bandits would also [[BadBoss be more likely to poison one of their own]], not only [[KickTheDog out of inherent cruelty]], but also out of [[PragmaticVillainy incidental pragmatism]]: Dorcas is revealed to be a GentleGiant that only joined the bandits to help his ill wife, a nature of which would likely impede the nefarious activities of the group. Therefore, [[TallPoppySyndrome he was the easiest target for being poisoned]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs The US commercial]] for ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword]]'' is a good example of the confusion that can arise from GameplayAndStorySegregation. On one hand, the "trust nobody" tagline makes sense in the context of the setting: the player's band of warriors routinely has to deal with the consequences of shadow politics, in which betrayal and attempted assassinations are common elements. However, none of this affects the player directly, as the battlefield is strictly divided between friendly and enemy units, with no amount diplomacy beyond convincing certain enemies to join your side. In fact, said enemies are the ''only'' defectors on the battlefield, and on the player's side they will remain as loyal as every other playable unit; the player would not be able to recruit them if they were to take the "trust nobody" tagline at face value. Also, [[BadBoss why would the good guys]] [[KickTheDog poison one of their own comrades]]?

* The ArtificialStupidity can be largely explained by the fact that a lot of the enemy platoons you fight are headed up by GeneralRipper types [[BadBoss who will eagerly execute their men]] for even the ''slightest'' hint of insubordination. Sure, blindly charging at you will most likely get them slaughtered, but ''not'' blindly charging at you will '''''[[YouHaveFailedMe certainly]]''''' [[MortonsFork get them slaughtered]]. (This doesn't help explain it when [[AFatherToHisMen the enemy commander]] is ''[[BenevolentBoss not]]'' the sort of guy who'd do that (Camus, Mustafa, et al), but those tend to be the exception rather than the norm, and they more often than not have superiors who ''do'' fit the “follow my every command to the letter or die horribly” mold.)

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'', Ike and Soren's (and to a lesser extent, Soren and Stefan's) supports reveal that [[spoiler:Soren is a Branded]] and the Laguz effectively ignored his existence as a child. Why then, did Lethe and Mordecai acknowledge him when they met? Soren was with Beorc. Those Beorc were willingly traveling with Soren, so to the Laguz that clearly meant they could not have known what he is. They ''had'' to acknowledge him, because otherwise they'd be forced to admit to one of the greatest secrets of the Laguz.