Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, the free-to-play mobile game in Square Enix’s retro-inspired RPG series, is getting its latest hero. The new warrior is a noble princess dressed in a shining suit of silver armor with accents of red cloth, not to mention her dazzling white hair. The character is named Aedelgard and ... wait a minute, let me look at that art a little closer. That’s just Edelgard von Hresvelg from the critically acclaimed Nintendo Switch exclusive Fire Emblem: Three Houses, isn’t it?
Hey, Square Enix isn’t even being subtle about it! The character design itself feels like it could be an alternate outfit for Eldegard in her own game, as the silver armor and red accents are nearly identical to so much of her attire. The white hair is also a pretty distinctive feature. But what really gets me is that Square Enix named the character Aedelgard - A Edelgard. This has got some very strong “you can copy my homework if you change the answers a little bit” energy.
Of course, the name and character design could just be a coincidence — right? But then there’s the brief footage in Aedelgard’s trailer that paints a picture of what type of person she is. In one scene she says, “Country, skin color — these are irrelevant to me! What I want is ability and a noble spirit!” This tracks pretty well with Edelgard’s values in Fire Emblem: Three Houses as a person who is driven to fight against the inequity and oppression of the world.
And listen, Square Enix, I’m not actually mad that you made an Edelgard clone to put in your game. In fact, I’m into it. If you ask me, I think everybody should put Edelgard in their game. Despite loving the mainline Octopath Traveler games, I have never once tried Champions of the Continent. But you better believe I hit that download button as soon as I saw Aedelgard. Why? Because every game would benefit from having my beloved Edelgard von Hresvelg in it.
That’s right, I am an Edelgard defender and I won’t apologize for it. She’s perfect, fight me. Without spoiling too much about the plot of Fire Emblem: Three Houses (which is still very much worth playing if you haven’t already) Edelgard is quite the polarizing figure among fans. Some argue that she’s maybe a bit of a fascist who’s committed crimes against humanity, while others think she’s just really pretty and nice to have tea with and uh, maybe you just don’t get her like I do! Hmph!
But seriously, Edelgard is a great example of a complex female character in games that is written incredibly well. She’s a compelling figure in the game, one who does have good qualities, like her aforementioned desire to bring a level of equality to a world that has hurt her and so many others. If her character has influenced Aedelgard in Champions of the Continent, then that’s something to look forward to, because even a pale imitation of Edelgard is likely to be a fascinating character. Even if nobody can outshine the original.
