I mean, despite being personally on board with the game, it's not hard to see why such a departure from what is usually expected from the series in terms of narrative setting and game structure would worry a lot of people, specifically when you consider:I have no idea why people are being so negative. Everything they've shown so far suggests they've taken the right lessons from their mistakes with Fates.
-A vocal portion of fanbase has been dissatisfied with the series increasingly leaning on otaku pandering and played out anime tropes, and school settings are the grandaddy of all overused anime tropes right now (alongside isekai), so it's not an unfounded fear to assume the franchise will lean even harder on those aspects that some fans already currently dislike.
-IntSys hasn't exactly proven themselves narratively as of late, a remake of a 20 something year old game notwithstanding. They've yet to earn that trust back with an original title and the school setting only amplifies worries that the main narrative is going to be some farcical conflict secondary to the school hijinks and relationships, on top of being a setting that lends itself to episodic/slice-of-life format of storytelling, which was something Fates was criticized for.
-A lot of people are fond of FE's simplicity, so the further customizability and deeper RPG elements that have been seeping into the franchise as of late won't necessarily be a hit with everyone. There's also the worries that the focus on rpg systems and grinding means we'll get subpar map designs and balance again.
-General worries as to what this means for the future of the franchise. Are traditionally structured, politically driven entries going to be sidelined for this new direction, or is this just a gaiden type of deal?
It's going to be a very divisive entry, at least until it releases, and there are a bunch of reasons as to why that is. Some people, myself included, are glad to see FE reinventing itself and are optimistically curious to see how all those changes play out, but others just wanted a polished iterative sequel with a good cast, map design and story with nice production values in HD, and that's understandable.
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