So who did you pick to romance and why?

[That Terrible Biscuit]

It was actually tough for me because I've bonded with a lot of characters especially seeing their struggles and backstories. Despite being a game I can imagine them being heartbroken not being picked but I suppose thats life in general.

Originally it was Alisha especially on CS1 and 2 because she was sort of the default pick and the first girl you interact with at Thors. But then I went for Laura on CS3 simply because she was an absolute tank and still can be at times (Randy is actually my tank now)

I was going to go for Sara because hot teacher, slightly older and she obviously had both experience as a Bracer and instructor and thats probably what inspired Rean to be an instructor himself. I barely bonded with Fie because I didnt like how they changed her, she changed too much IMO from CS2 to 3. I went off Laura too because shes too obsessed with swordsmanship and thats not changed since CS1. Its basically her entire life always wanting to get better despite already being there. Then there's Juna but as shes developed she seems like a younger version of Estelle.

But this was a tough decision. I kept reloading the save just to see some differences but I managed to get Alfin, Elise, Towa, Musse, Altina, Alisha and Emma.

Alisha's actually felt more organic and believable but she was still the default girl to me. Altina I felt someone to protect like a little shy sister, Musse who I do like but she still seems manipulative to me. Towa and Rean seem more brother and sister than Alfin and Olivert.

In the end I went for Emma which is surprising because I didnt bond with her that much on the previous ones. She was like the bookworm boring class president. During CS1 I actually believed Celine was just a secret pet she was keeping because pets werent allowed at Thors.

I think from CS1 to 4 Emma has always had this symbotic link to Rean, shes known quite early on that he's an awakener, shes nudged him towards Valimar and prepped him to be compatible with the mech as with Celine and her creator Rose has nurtured him too. Rean probably has more of a connection to the Hexan Clan than he does in Ymir. Celine also protects him too more than 1 occasion towards the end of CS1 and following him into the Black Workshop to keep his ogre power in check. Lastly and SPOILER but Emma was willing to turn into a vegetative state when she tried to destroy the curse in Rean's spirit.

So thats mainly why I chose her. And of course hot sister and hot grandmother :P

[Barefoot]

you know im 100% behind you on Emma that's my girl from 1st-4th and bonus what you said

Originally posted by That Terrible Biscuit:

So thats mainly why I chose her. And of course hot sister and hot grandmother :P

Edited: didn't know about sister and granny but was a nice surprise to find out later on

[Koby]

I chose Laura in CS1 but then learned Alisa was the one Falcom kind of pushes as canon so from then on I always made it a habit of choosing Alisa to see those scenes in my initial playthroughs (although generally with loading saves I can view the final scene with every character anyways).

[s.schieber]

I will admit that I have a hard time resisting the urge to romance Sara, but... I can't bring myself to because I am kinda rooting for her to one day get to ride off into the sunset with Victor Arseid.

For me... I will admit I have also gone with Alisa because she really does feel like the one that writers are pushing for and that generally means that the relationship feels like it developes more organically between them in turns of writing (like I felt it did between Lloyd and Elie in the Crossbell arc even though you could romance a few of the other ladies).

In retrospect though I really do think the chemistry that Rean had with either Laura or Emma felt way more natural though.

[That Terrible Biscuit]

Originally posted by s.schieber:

I will admit that I have a hard time resisting the urge to romance Sara, but... I can't bring myself to because I am kinda rooting for her to one day get to ride off into the sunset with Victor Arseid.

For me... I will admit I have also gone with Alisa because she really does feel like the one that writers are pushing for and that generally means that the relationship feels like it developes more organically between them in turns of writing (like I felt it did between Lloyd and Elie in the Crossbell arc even though you could romance a few of the other ladies).

In retrospect though I really do think the chemistry that Rean had with either Laura or Emma felt way more natural though.

Alisa is what you'd call the default girl in a harem anime they shared too unique moments at the first half hour of CS1 and that was bumping into each other during enrolment and of course her landing on top of him when they fell down a trap door. Its them cliche moments and Alisa is the tsun character, always denying she had an interest in Rean so yes I can relate being steered more to her than the rest.

I would actually like to know how many people went for each girl. Rean and Laura obviously have something in common and thats swordsmanship though Rean uses a tachi and Laura a
two-handed great sword. But to me it just consumed too much of Laura's personality. At least with Rean he had a secondary aspiration and that was being an instructor. Sara going with Victor?? Isn't there like a 18yr age gap? lol

I was near going for Elise because of the non-blood related sister thing but shes done less in the series compared to two where you could actually use her in combat. But I had a long think and I just thought Emma was the right choice for reasons I explained above which il say again I barely interacted with her on previous games. Every character contributes to something but I think if it wasnt for Emma and Celine Class IV wouldnt have awakened Valimar or at least not be able to use him. That was sort of Emma's main goal, enrol at Thors, uncover the mystery of the old school building (which kind of reminds me of the old building at Jenis now), Find an awakener and use him against The Gnomes and lastly seek out Vita. Its lofty goals and she managed to do it

[Stabbey]

Originally posted by s.schieber:

For me... I will admit I have also gone with Alisa because she really does feel like the one that writers are pushing for and that generally means that the relationship feels like it developes more organically between them in turns of writing (like I felt it did between Lloyd and Elie in the Crossbell arc even though you could romance a few of the other ladies).

This is largely the reason I went with Alisa as well. In CS 1, I picked her largely because as the obvious suggested choice of the writers, I figured (correctly) that the developers would put the most focus and effort into her path.

It was the reunion scene in CS 2, where she correctly nailed Rean's thoughts and feelings in the CS 2 prologue without even being there that I became convinced she was a very solid match for Rean. And I really like the arc of their romance between CS 3-4, which is distinctly different from that of the other possible romance options.

[Exarch_Alpha]

Emma, she has the best pair of Pom Poms and has a good progression in stats. Mages good, so...

[That Terrible Biscuit]

Originally posted by Exarch_Alpha:

Emma, she has the best pair of Pom Poms and has a good progression in stats. Mages good, so...

Oh yeah if you outfit her with the right orbments and gear she can tarnish the battle area. Same with Musse if you focus on aliment afflictions cause shes got good range too

[Ooka Shaka]

My blind playthrough I romanced the Way of the Sword... oh and i guess Laura by proxy. My current run to mop up all the remaining achievements is Towa, Girl needs a break from all the work she does.

[Histidine]

I'm a boring person so I too stuck with quasi-canon girl Alisa all the way through the series.

Even after the scene in CS4 where she all but dumps Rean, just so the player can change course without feeling bad truly Cold Steel's harem romance format was a mistake.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3012619952

[Stabbey]

Originally posted by Histidine:

I'm a boring person so I too stuck with quasi-canon girl Alisa all the way through the series.

Even after the scene in CS4 where she all but dumps Rean, just so the player can change course without feeling bad truly Cold Steel's harem romance format was a mistake.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3012619952

I actually got why she did that though. She suffered a series of major shocks at the end of CS 3 and never had time to properly process and deal with it. Honestly I was incredibly impressed that she was still standing at the start of CS 4, because that is a lot of mental stress to be under.

While Rean was imprisoned she likely reverted to her old pattern of bottling it all up. Then after he was retrieved, she learned that he was likely not going back to normal, and was also faced with a choice between fights to the death or going insane. Having to deal with the possibility of losing Rean for good so soon after getting him back... along with all the other problems on her mind, it's no wonder she was messed up in the head a bit. Anyone would be.

At least Alisa breaking up with Rean leads into Rean being the one to pursue the relationship. I really felt that was special and worked.

[Mr. Do Everything]

Total Fie Supremacy

[That Terrible Biscuit]

Originally posted by Stabbey:

Originally posted by Histidine:

I'm a boring person so I too stuck with quasi-canon girl Alisa all the way through the series.

Even after the scene in CS4 where she all but dumps Rean, just so the player can change course without feeling bad truly Cold Steel's harem romance format was a mistake.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3012619952

I actually got why she did that though. She suffered a series of major shocks at the end of CS 3 and never had time to properly process and deal with it. Honestly I was incredibly impressed that she was still standing at the start of CS 4, because that is a lot of mental stress to be under.

While Rean was imprisoned she likely reverted to her old pattern of bottling it all up. Then after he was retrieved, she learned that he was likely not going back to normal, and was also faced with a choice between fights to the death or going insane. Having to deal with the possibility of losing Rean for good so soon after getting him back... along with all the other problems on her mind, it's no wonder she was messed up in the head a bit. Anyone would be.

At least Alisa breaking up with Rean leads into Rean being the one to pursue the relationship. I really felt that was special and worked.

So she has her feelings returned only to dump him in the end? lol I suppose it does prove its the true relationship route. I suppose out of most characters Alisa carries this burden where shes a part of everything bad in the world because of her father. She will also feel part responsible for Altina and Millium, created to experience life but also be sacrificed for
The Gnomes gains

[s.schieber]

Originally posted by That Terrible Biscuit:

Originally posted by s.schieber:

I will admit that I have a hard time resisting the urge to romance Sara, but... I can't bring myself to because I am kinda rooting for her to one day get to ride off into the sunset with Victor Arseid.

Sara going with Victor?? Isn't there like a 18yr age gap? lol

I mean, yeah, but Sarah's only a few years shy of 30 and Victor's in his Mid 40's. They are old enough that it's not *that* creepy!

[Brave Sir Robin]

I picked Sara in the early games, but the writers mostly forget she exists after CS2. Went with Emma after that.

[spectre199]

Sarah
Fie
Princess Alfin
Musse