Etrurian emperor

Oh...hehe...oh nooo no no. She did a social media ''oopsie'' and got fired. I'm on two minds on the matter. On one hand I think gigantic or otherwise very rough woman like Vaida or Unicorn's Amalia to be hilarious and I do love seeing them. On the other hand I do agree with the sentiment that a woman being ''strong'' meaning she has to have masculine traits is lazy and not entirely sending the right message. I think Titania has the right idea. Very capable and still clearly a woman without having much masculine traits.

Two years after the reveal we have our first gameplay footage! After the stream early access is opened to the public. I don't know how long the first game's early access took but I sure hope we'll get Hades II sooner rather than later. Some notes Instead of Achilles we now have Odysseus. He always struck me the more interesting Trojan war hero. Hypnos is the only one of the original household that available at the start. For a certain definition of available anyway. Old gods return with Demether, Poseidon and Aprodite having a new design and new boons. And Aphrodite remains naked. Of the old gods Artemis seems to have an acceded role and its implied Hermes has too. First region is Erebus which is a region that wasn't in the first game Zagreus sis is driven but is implied to secretly be a bit timid. She noticeable has to brace herself when answering a boon. Rather than just Hades Persephone and Zagreus are gone too. One shudders to think about what happened to Cerberus. While poor Cerbykins is missing the new character has her own pet in the form of a frog who's significantly less cool and less cute then Cerberus.

Asugi is a big one for me and he brings down Gaius by association. The big reason I hold Asugi in contempt is because I don't think Gaius deserved his own clone. Tharja and Cordelia were at least a phenomenon during Awakening so them being cloned made sense. But who ever talked about Gaius? I know he ranked high in one poll where the western fans weren't even consulted but more should be required.

Now that I think about it that seems to be a running theme for female flirts. Dorothea and Charlotte both have reasons and goals attached to their hunt for a man, while the boys are just allowed to be horny for horny's sake. The exception being Sylvain who's a flirt because he's the worst.

I've been pretty tired of multiverse stories for a while now with Bayonetta 3 being the point I got most annoyed with it. FF7 gets kind of a pass since it doesn't really adhere to the multiverse style. Its just the same story told a bit different rather than ''Wutai Sephirot and Shinra executive Barret''

The reverse side of that other topic. What minor character do you have a noteworthy negative reaction towards despite their lack of importance. I suppose what character is minor or not is subjective so feel free to name anyone you think fits, whether it be playable characters without much presence in cutscenes or minor bosses and minor or relatively major villains. For me the most noteworthy candidate for such unappreciation is Kotaro because I think he's about the worst written character in fates. If you betray everyone without rhyme or reason then you're not a schemer nor an opportunist, you're just a buffoon instead. Kotaro had no reason to go pick a fight over a single prisoner, and trying to exterminate the royal family of the country he was trying to ally with over such a squabble is just dumb. Even Iago has more logic to his actions. Speaking of poorly written we have Yukimura who is very chill about you trying to take over his kingdom but turns around and deems you an unforgivable monster if you just want to stay neutral. For the Leicester Alliance its Acheron and Judith. There were many good ways of showing us an example of an opportunistic small fry noble of the alliance but making him a gigantic loser who only ever picks the losing side surely isn't one of them. Judith meanwhile seems to be there solely to give us an NPC Alliance ally who's not Holst which seems a waste. Radiant Dawn's Levail exist solely to highlight an aspect of the Black Knight that drags down his character and which I think is a failure. As such I think Levail fails as well. No levail, a man who murders someone just to see if he can is not the last true knight on Tellius. It might have worked if we see the Zelgius fanboy slowly get corrupted into someone who behaves as the Black Knight, but they missed that chance by pretending there isn't any difference between Zelgius and the Black Knight.

I'd say Lang scores a lot of points. He's an overly evil douchebag, but in a role and position where he's exactly what he's supposed to be. Lang's meant to be so evil that it shows how far Hardin has fallen, and be powerful enough to be an early game antagonist. In both aspects he succeeds. I think the key aspect to his success is that unlike many villains who hold this role Lang is never depicted as incompetent, allowing him to be a serious threat.

I'm actually really surprised Yukimura got to be in the game. He's old, he's an afterthought narratively, he's as unpopular as he should be and he's poorly written. Nice to see Mozu, Hayato and best girl Candace though. For the forging bond its probably inevitable Hayto, Ricken and Lysithea will all scream ''NO YOU'RE THE KID!'' at each other.

In Engage it would be Morion and Seforia, to the point I'd probably have preferred them over their kids. Morion's weird contrast between being a warmonger while at the same time a really chummy guy is interesting, and its actually quite sweet how the ultimate macho man is so loving towards Alcryst who's anything but. I think he deserved better then become a moron and die. Seforia meanwhile is a character that just seems a ton of fun which we didn't get to see much of since she stays in the castle all the game. I like him too. I appreciated there was some nuance to his status as the rookie of the group since when he speaks with Ryan he comes off as a very caring older brother who's clearly successful in mentoring Ryan.

I thought he was talking about Valter. On that topic I've always had a soft spot for Caelach. Clearly the least plot important member of the evil trio but I think that kinda enhanches him. He's a very human antagonist from very humble origins. He doesn't serve dark gods, doesn't want to destroy the world, isn't insane but just wants a throne and a fat paycheck.

Its a bit strange to imagine him as ''minor'' due to how iconic he is, and how much he's playable compared to everyone else but Haar counts. He's not a main character after all or even particularly close to any of the main characters. His closest bond is with another minor character. And yet for some reason the funny sleepy guy with little plot relevance gets boss conversation with about any enemy imaginable, and practically none go for the low hanging sleep gimmick. Its nice how an unimportant gimmick character can ''trick'' you like this.

I think Azelle's a very good candidate. Among all the Fire Emblem characters he's kinda one of a kind. I don't think there are many other characters who are direct relatives of the main antagonist without being long lost children. Alm and Alear barely know their evil dads but Azelle was directly raised by Arvis and the two seem to have a complicated but relatively loving relationship. I don't think there are many bastards in the series either. There's also a lot of potential for growth in Azelle. He starts out as a meek boy in his brothers shadow but might grow into someone more confident. His stats seem to kinda reflect that as he goes from footie rookie to pony riding mage knight if you train him. Vaida and Niime are everything Fire Emblem females usually aren't and that already makes them great. There's Tormod and Muarim. Aside from being very nice guys who fight slaves and are friendly to just about everyone their bond is also just wholesome. Its sweet the two are so devoted to each other despite not needing to be. Even more so when Muarim's backstory gives him all the reason in the world to want nothing to do with Tormod, but instead he raises him as a loving dad. And despite Muarim's patience with Tormod defeat quotes show he's not afraid of putting his foot down, no longer humoring Tormod's pretention of leadership and just ordering him back into line. Kasatai from Path of Radiance has a pretty impressive collection of good and bad traits that balance each other out. He's as bloodthirsty as you'd expect but also shows discomfort at the idea of Crimean civilians dying for his kings plans, he's skeptical about Ena's position of leadership but rather than being the biggest jerk about it he just tells it to her while being cordial and not seeming to blame her. This skepticism later turns into great loyalty. Despite clearly being a racist he does seem to really like and respect Ena. Count Erwin Fritz Gloucester was a nice black horse among the new additions in Three Hopes. Three Houses only portrays him in the most negative of terms so the more positive spin Hopes gave him was surprising. He's still scheming and somewhat disloyal but for a cause. Rather than being the biggest prick out there his shady actions just stem from him wanting to provide for his territory and keep his citizens safe. The game seems to depict a man who's naturally nice but steels himself to do his duties. Later on when freed from his job we see a dorky old man who's not unlike his dorky son.

My guesses are evil Arval or possessed Shez, Loptyr Julius, fallen Alear and evil Veyle. With the right combination of these characters you can even have the banner set up of three females to one male that IS prefers. One idea I always liked is a morph of one of the FE7 lords being a duo hero with Nergal. The lord in question being the main unit and Nergal being the cheerleader in the context that he's puppeteering their movements. Maybe chaining him to Lyn can get IS over their unwillingness to give Nergal his due.

Kitra and Nina seem significantly younger than the rest of the cast. For me there was a team with Travis and Berengaria up front, and Yahna aubin in the back. Travis dodges most things, Berengaria is a solid all rounder who attacks anytime Yahna debuffs enemies, and Aubin as well as Berengaria have row attacks. Yahna's ice coffin is always useful , and teleporting ensures the team could go where most needed. The other team was a Drakenhold team of Gilbert, Aramis, Gloucester and Hilda. Gloucester attacking a whole row and Hilda having that spear that allows her to dive bomb the entire field generally took care of most problems, and Gilbert buffing them certainly helped them do it better. Oh and Aramis was there too.

Alain can marry furries, he can marry little girls, he can marry his cousin and he can marry in a way that breaks up a lesbian couple. What Alain cannot do is marry a guy. That's kinda cringe but Its nice the game at least has some fun with the male events. Not the low hanging fruit of ''lol you picked a guy'' which is also cringe, but more the chaos of the conversations. Jeremy wanting to go sell off the ring before he learns it will curse him, or Jerome's buddy hiding in the bushes so he doesn't run off.

Not really though. In Smash Ganondorf if Falcondorf who randomly throws around punches instead of using the sorcery or swordplay he's known for.

Make Ganondorf be Ganondorf.

Like usual Bakugo wins the official My Hero popularity poll. I don't dislike the guy but I've always been really confused about his consistent popularity. What's the guy's draw? Most people would say his character development but his issues always felt really...small. At the end of the day all Bakugo had to redeem himself from was ''just'' being a childhood bully. And while Bakugo seems a pretty vile case of a childhood bully it still feels small when you compare the deeds he needs redemption for to those of Endeavor who did far more damage and has far more to atone for. Some say its because his personality is amusing. To an extend I would agree that Bakugo can be such an ass that he ends up being more funny than horrid, but even then I often find his antics to be kinda repetitive, especially with Shoto. In short he's not as lovable as Deku, doesn't get the prettyboy vote like Shoto, doesn't have the depths of Hawks and certainly doesn't have the development of Endeavor, so I find it curious he consistently beats them all.

Oh dear. Male Units are going to become even more of an opressed minority now.

I know Fire Emblem nations thrive on child soldiers but Lissa seems weirdly young even by those standards. Most child canon fodder seem to be in the 10-12 range and the baby banners are hovering around that age too. But Lissa seems more in the 4-6 range which gets silly. I guess it tracks since Lissa already was younger than most the cast but its still silly. I know we had literal baby Est too but she was an accessory rather than an actual unit.

Given how baby Lissa is basically confirmed we can say the same of baby Chrom, and while not as likely baby Maribelle is at least a possibility. I wonder where Frederick fits in. He's not all that old, but the age difference between him and the lord siblings seems large enough that even aged down he'd be too old for a baby banner.

The devs have said there's no plans for DLC content. I don't think hopes for DLC were realistic to begin with since Vanillaware might not even have the resources to do it if they wanted.

Having fully completed the game I'd say I rank the regions like this Drakengard: I think this region has the best balance between gameplay, story and the open world. Drakenhold isn't quite as open as Cornia, especially not the central portion where a canyon funnels you into a single direction, but you have some choices to make. You can go south through the desert and reach the coliseum through that way, or you can take the central route and just keep walking forward. I heard the bosses in the coliseum chapter even changes depending on which route you pick. You can also chose to start the final mission from an alternative angle and miss out on Gilbert. I don't know why you'd want to do so but if you're weird then you can. Storywise I think Drakenhold is the best of the regions. Its weakness is that it kinda lacks villains, but the route makes up for it with a bigger focus on the protagonists. It doesn't hurt that most characters Drakenhold focuses on tend to be characters that I like. Drakenhold also benefits from a concrete theme. Through several pairs of characters the theme of family is definitely a key focus of the route. On the gameplay front Drakenhold has two of the best stage in the game. The Coliseum stage stands out for being a rare defend type mission where you can really play around with catapults and barricades. Soldraga too was one of the better stages. Fighting your way through a city and then up a mountain to take the castle is quite a fitting finale. Cornia: Surprisingly tutorial land was among the regions that impressed me the most. More then any other I think Cornia embodies the idea of Unicorn Overlord as an open world game. This to the point I'm a bit disappointing the other regions don't really give you the freedom Cornia does. In Cornia I feel you really have the freedom to go wherever you want. For the story this can be a bit silly, but it was still really refreshing when I first played the demo. Aside from what order you go through the stages there are also some interesting choices to make. In terms of story and gameplay Cornia is just fine and certainly misses the ''oompf!'' of some later regions but the freedom and good first impression makes up for that. Maybe its going to rank lower if I replay the game, but for now I'm feeling very charitable to Cornia. And while the stages start small the later ones become quite big which was an exiting development to witness. Elfheim: Elfheim ranks in the middle of the pack. It pretty good. I like the Elven twins, and it has a neat collection of stages. Special note to the final one which is quite big and while it doesn't have a boss that's difficult per so I still think she's got an interesting gimmick, and a cool playstyle. Where Elfheim stands out is that its the most villain focused of all the arcs. Both Gailey and Alcina get more focus than villains in other regions, and you can even fight Baltro for once. Neither of them are particularly great villains but they do their job well and I like them. On the downside the elven sisters don't seem as involved as the Drakenhold or Bastorias cast. I also like Elfeim as a setting. The elves being snooty about humans, getting enslaved by humans and that the light elves are racist against dark elves isn't anything special but its still a nice bit of flavor. They even went to the trouble to give Dark elves their own city and shopkeeper designs. An added bonus is that the backgrounds are by far the most beautiful. Where Elfheim stumbles is that it feels quite linear. Its mostly just a straight line with little directing you off the beaten path. You can technically go north for a bit but there's barely anything there. I never felt there was much of a choice to make, or chances to recruit characters in different orders. Albion In Albion you can just feel that time and budget had ran out. Albion is quite a bit shorter than the previous regions, and I think you recruit fewer units from there as well. To make up for it the stages tend to be longer and more complex. Both the bridge chapter and the final Albion chapter are among the longer and better stages in the game. The plot is fine. The plot twist is so predictable that Galerius spoiled it for you ages ago, but its still quite fine. Angel boy is a good enough antagonist and Dimitri...uh I mean Nigel carries his role well. Albion also redeemed Scarlet a bit by implying she does indeed have a life outside Alain and has hobbies other than wishing to be his girlfriend. As a setting Albion's a nice simply church kingdom. Its got angels, it got churches and its got choir music in the background. Its nice. As far as the open world goes you can approach Albion from either the south or the north. Its not a huge choice, but its there. Bastorias Up last is Bastorias. It has some good bits. Having owl mages will never stop being a cool concept, and Yunifi's both cute and a great unit. It also sees the return of the best side villain of the game. Still, its the story that ensures the region doesn't click with me. The main theme of the region being a hunt for a mighty Mcguffin and that you more or less liberate the region by accident while searching for it is weird. Its a set up that doesn't really fit the tone of the game. And while the main villain is cool in concept I couldn't take him serious. There's a big twist about him that's so easy to spot that I was completely caught off guard by the game assuming it even was a twist to begin with. I thought everyone in the cast already knew this particular fact about the region's villain. Like Elheim I think its too linear. You start out liberating the capitol on the far east and then its one straight line to the far west. In terms of gameplay I think Basorias overall has good stages with ''To resist or Yield'' in particular being among the bigger, more dynamic stages in the game. On the other hand those fox units annoyed me a lot, and while owl mages are the definition of cool their large numbers and long buff animations make the fights drag out a bit too long if you don't want to skip animations.

That's like picking between your children. I'd say these ones certainly deserves a mention though

You'd think Framme losing to Michalis of all people is an april fools joke but alas. Team Linhart here I come.