Games you are playing

[scy]

[Hong]

Fire Emblem: Awakening, the demo.

Presentation is a hybrid of 3d era and prior. Unfortunately the wrong things are mixed and matched; 3d battles, 2dish map graphics. That being said, it is still infinitely better than the horror that was Shadow Dragon. Love or hate; the map sprites are actually kind of cute. Conversations pre and post battle are no longer just character art rendered over background images or using the map system; Chrom and company converse together just like any other game, in full 3d. This is good. The character art overlays are still there, but at least you can actually see the characters express themselves in full form, and commit the actions that they imply. Not going to give an assessment on the sound yet, but the voices are good so far. Much better than the random drunkards they dragged into the studio for the Tellius games.

Speaking of things that I cannot comment on yet, there is a lot to take in as far as systems go. If you joined the series when it ventured out of Japan on the GBA or if it is your first title, much of this will be new to you. For veterans, it brings back elements of Gaiden and Genealogy of the Holy War, but even then you have a lot of old habits break and new mechanics to understand. Best to go into this like it is a new game series all-together, even though much of the same strategy applies. You still have your lord, your Jeigan, your weapon trangle and general objectives to work with.

The pairing system is... interesting. I do not like how characters show up in battle to help a friend but do not actually do anything. Actually, it is kind of funny. Like WHY ARE YOU HOPPING AROUND AND NOT HELPING ME OH MY GOD IM DYING HELP. Silliness aside, it will help to alleviate those situations where you have units standing around that cannot engage the enemy due to limited space. In previous titles, I only field two or three core melee units at any given time, because some are too fragile to take the front-line, or there are only a few choke-points that need attention. Let's not forget those times where you have like five people just chillin' in the throne room without anything to do. Now you can pair two characters up together who fulfill similar roles, or use the blessings of one class to aid another. For example, you can rotate tanks as their health gets low, or bring your healer with cavalry to provide aid across a larger battlefield.

All in all I can summarize Awakening with the word "fresh". The tone of the story, the presentation, the plot and the mechanics just feel like they set out to make a good game, instead of being bound by needless tradition. Fire Emblem did not need to be changed, but that does not mean change can't bring about a better product if you have an open mind. From this demo, I am happy that I have pre-ordered it. If you like the Fire Emblem series, try it. If you don't like the Fire Emblem series, but like Strategy/RPGs, try it. Unfortunately the Internet has already spoiled some of the game for me (even though I explicitly told people to shut their mouths), but the plot still has me interested thus far.

And there's Chrom.

[PLA]

Ni No Kuni demo fun. Stupid time-limit.

Professor Oak will tell you about fighting with monsters, kind of like Dragon Quest.
It reminds me most of Lostmagic. But not as spartan. Friendlier.

Who wants to wizard?

[Reynard-Miri]

Oo, oo, me, me! I want to wizard!

[PLA]

^ Oh, and the special edition comes with 300 pages of hardcover wizard-tome.

[ZetaBladeX13]

Uploaded a new card for Ragnarok Odyssey on Near:

* Feoh Aesir Hammer Card (Cost: 20):
- Improved AP Recovery (Increases AP recovery rate)
- Scavenger Hunt (Increases item drop rate significantly)


Update/refresh your Near and then check for Near "Gifts" by talking to the Angeling in your room.

[scy]

@Awakening - He's not really a Jeigan. Closer to an Oifey, really. There's not really any "trap" characters with terrible growths.

The 3D effects in Awakening are actually kind of nice. They're subtle but work really well. The voice work is a lot better than I expected for an NoA job, honestly.

Edit: Also, if I recall JP impressions, a lot of people consider it the best Fire Emblem in awhile. Then again, after Shadow Dragon ...

[Kimiko]

[ZetaBladeX13]

I can also near a card with Luck up which gives extra rewards after a mission (sometimes weapons/cards, too!).

Or perhaps a better weapon for Archer?

[Skele Von Mann]

[CD-Man2021]

I just tried Awakening's demo today. Do mounted units not get their leftover movement spaces after doing an action anymore? It wasn't that big of a deal in the demo, but it might be bigger in the actual game. Also, what decides whether or not an ally will attack when adjacent to another ally instead of just giving them a buff and hopping around?

edit: I also had a PSP fall into my lap today. No games or charger, just the PSP. Anyone got any recommendations? I don't really play a whole lot of Playstation games. I've got Kingdom Hearts and Persona 3 as games I plan to buy, but aside from that I've got nothing.

[Hong]

[scy]

Oifey is "good Jeigan" basically; a pre-promote that doesn't end up being bad.

My biggest complaint, and if you haven't noticed it yet then this may ruin everything about the game for you, is this:

[Reynard-Miri]

Another important aspect of the Oifey (if memory serves) is that you want to be careful about how you use him early on. He may end up being good, but if you over-use him he'll still eat the exp that your other guys need.

[Hong]