Boey

"Times like that, it really hits home how we were born into different stations. Me, I just go through life focused on whatever’s right in front of me."

- Boey in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Boey (ボーイ Bōi, Boowy in the Japanese version) is a playable character from Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He is 16 years old.

Profile
Boey is the son of a fisherman and an eager apprentice Mage who is devoted to Celica's protection. He is like a younger brother to his childhood friend Mae, who constantly teases him. He joins Mae and Celica out of concern for the two of them.

In Chapter 2, Boey tries to act tough in front of Celica before a boat skirmish by making a quip at an unsuspecting old man, however, Celica informs him of a cantor on the other ship, and as a result, Boey starts panicking. While talking to Celica after the battle, He makes a recovery and puts up his strong front again.

When the Mila Temple is seized In Chapter 3, Celica will promote and don the Zofian Circlet. After Mae remarks on how beautiful Celica looks, Boey calls her an "idiot" for not using the correct name, Anthiese, as Celica has just assumed her heritage and is now displaying it publicly. Celica assuages Boey by telling him she prefers to be addressed by Celica.

After the war, he stays with Mae, finding happiness in their bickering.

Personality
Boey, growing up in an impoverished household, is very insecure of himself, but because he values his impression on others, he tends to talk in formal speech mannerisms and highly of himself to overcompensate his image. However, he is more bark than bite, and is terrified easily. As a result of said cowardice, Boey does not actively enjoy engaging in battles. He speaks in a very calm, refined, yet often condescending manner, however, he has been shown to act rather moody. Due to his efforts being focused into said overcompensation of abilities in his speech mannerisms, he is not adept at confronting his own feelings while hiding behind his serious and mature front.

Mae, being a close childhood friend and rival of his, recognizes these flaws and pokes at his insecurities and cowardice, often mocking him or telling him to "grow a spine." In turn, he often hurls minor insults at her and plays along with their bickering. At the end of the day, however, Boey appreciates Mae's company and greatly values her. In the Japanese version of Echoes, Boey's comfortableness around Mae is shown by him dropping his formal speech inflections when the two interact outside of the main story.

Towards the end of the game, Boey attempts to ween himself off of his front, giving up his act of the idealization of his personality. He acts in a more jaded and earnest manner and only wishes to return home to his family after the war ends.

Recruitment
In Chapter 2, talk to him at the Priory (needed to progress).

Growth Rates

 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 15%
 * 10%
 * 20%
 * 40%
 * 0%
 * }

Overall
Boey, like Mae, is a unit that starts off decent when you get him at the beginning of Celica's route. He quickly learns the Thunder spell, making him a 3 range unit just like Mae. Mae starts off being a more potent offensive unit than Boey when you get him, and Boey will continue to fall behind her and other Mages in usefulness as it takes him a long time to learn his more potent spells as well as grow into his niche.

Part of Boey's problem is that he starts off with very low base Speed that will never get fixed due to his abysmal Speed growth. However, Boey does have one significant advantage over other Mages, and that is that he is the most durable of all of them. He has very high HP growth for a Mage, and the highest Defense growth among all Mages (he is even tied with Kliff, Tatiana, and Saber for the 2nd highest Defense growth among all units, with only Est's being superior). The high HP is certainly nice to offset the HP that is deducted when casting spells, but the better Defense and HP advantage is somewhat diminished by his low Speed since virtually every enemy in the game will Double Attack him, and it takes time for his Defense to become respectable enough for this perk to really become apparent. In all though, Boey eventually gains enough Defense and HP at higher levels that he becomes Armor-esque in his ability to withstand physical attacks, winding up surpassing even many of your physical units in this regard.

Boey is not without his uses. He is capable of strong single hit damage, has a potential range of 3, and receives a boost in potency after obtaining Sagittae since the high damage of that spell and the heavy Weight suits Boey's stats. The problem is that just about every other character in Celica's route is capable of dealing more damage than Boey, have access to better spells, and have enough Speed to Double Attack some enemies, so Boey struggles to really stand out.

SpotPass
*Enemy only, joins unequipped

Personal Max Stats

 * 52
 * 40
 * 41
 * 40
 * 39
 * 40
 * 40
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 55%
 * 30%
 * 25%
 * 45%
 * 1%
 * }

Description

 * Skillful Survivor
 * A mage from Novis who grew up dirt-poor. Of calm demeanor, but not great at magic. Appears in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Base Stats
Rarity:

Gaiden
"Lady Celica, don't get down on my account!"

- Boey's death quote in Gaiden

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

 * Boey/Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Quotes

Heroes

 * Boey/Heroes Quotes

Gaiden

 * (If Mae is alive)
 * "As always, he does nothing but bicker with Mae. Perhaps, for the two of them, that is true happiness?"


 * (If Mae is dead)
 * "Now that Mae's gone before him, he realizes his own heart for the first time." "However, time cannot be turned back."

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

 * (If Mae is alive)
 * "After returning to the priory on Novis, Boey weathered a trying courtship with Mae until the two were wed. Children came soon and in plentiful number, giving the pair a host of new excuses to argue. Joy takes curious forms at times, but Boey was a happy man indeed."


 * (If Mae is dead)
 * "Only after losing Mae did Boey realize the nature and intensity of his feelings for her. Wracked with regret, he poured himself into his work, ultimately succeeding Nomah as high priest of the priory. He spent his life there aiding the poor in humble—yet rewarding—service."

Etymology
"Boey" is a corruption of Bowie, an Irish and Scottish surname, derived from the Gaelic nickname buidhe, meaning "yellow" or "fair-haired".

Trivia

 * Boey has had three different hair colors: he has red hair in Gaiden, green hair in the manual for Gaiden and in Awakening, and white hair in Echoes.
 * In the Japanese version of Echoes, Boey uses "ore" as a personal pronoun, further expressing how he attempts to sound strong in front of Celica and company. However, the irony of this usage is that he is a coward, which greatly juxtaposes the main use of said pronoun.
 * In Gaiden, Boey uses "boku" and maintains generally informal speech mannerisms, a stark contrast to his Japanese Echoes self, in which he uses very formal inflections in his vocabulary.
 * In Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Celica states that Boey reminds her of her presumed-dead brother. This can be connected to the fact that both significantly value the opinions of others of themselves.
 * Boey has two brothers.
 * Boey has a strong fondness of oranges and is the only member of the entire cast of Echoes that loves "plain" category provisions.
 * As revealed in Fire Emblem Heroes, Boey enjoys watching the sea.
 * Boey's artwork in Heroes depicts him wielding an Excalibur tome.