Lord_Brand

I would argue X3 has the hardest Sigma battles, but X4 took me quite a few tries as well, particularly for Zero. X6 meanwhile has the hardest stages.

I'm thinking the expansions could expand on the Past/Future theme, either by exploring other concepts through that lens or by adding, say, alternate timelines, time travel, or extraterrestrial stuff Notably, both Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra provided the player with a choice of two forms for their Legendary or two Legendaries, so I'd expect DLC for SV to do the same. Though I'm not fond of the Galarian fossils, I do find their 1/2 + A/B combination style interesting and would like to see that explored through other Pokemon, including legendaries. Say, a choice of four different legendaries, perhaps a bipedal humanoid or a quadruped plus either the past or future treatment. On that note, fossil legendaries in general would be novel. In fact, the concept works so well that I'm surprised they haven't done it already. Maybe the legendary fossils are broken into pieces, and in order to resurrect them, you must find all the pieces and assemble them? I'm also expecting to see more Paradox Pokemon. I'm already picturing a future version of Machamp called "Iron Arms" that would be Fighting/Steel.

I've noticed some Mega Man games seemed harder when I played them on the Legacy Collection than when I played them over a decade ago on the Anniversary Collection. X4 also felt a lot harder when I played through it on the LC than back when I first beat X4 on the PS1. Might be a result of modern games often being easier and more casual than the classics of the 80s and 90s, which were designed to be as hard as possible. Players who've been gaming for a long time might have gotten used to the more laidback modern games, and thus have lost some of that edge they developed when hard games were virtually all they played.

They could play up the cloud aspect, yeah. Perhaps have it stand on a single large cloud. Come to think of it, very few Flying-type Pokemon have used a method of flight other than wings to justify them being flying-type. Like, imagine if there was a Flying-type Pokemon based on a magic carpet? Or a Steel/Flying type with propellers? But yeah, I like the idea of a Raikou variant that's Flying-type and themed on clouds, providing a thematic connection to the Electric type.

Since we have gotten Ocarina (Adult), Twilight Link, and Twilight Zelda in some form in past Smash games, I'll give them revamped movesets as well. Ocarina Link's moveset would feature the items he gets to use as an adult in Ocarina of Time. His Bow could allow you to select between normal, Fire, Ice, and Light Arrows (might be a good alternative to my Inventory mechanic in general, just letting the player choose different kinds of arrows on the fly), each with their own properties. Normal Arrows charge the fastest, Fire Arrows leave a flame behind, Ice Arrows can freeze, and Light Arrows hit the hardest. Since Adult Link doesn't get to use the Boomerang, his Side Special could instead be Megaton Hammer. He could swing Biggoron's Sword for his smashes and perhaps his forward air. P1: Kokiri Tunic P2: Goron Tunic P3: Zora Tunic P4: Dark Link P5: Gold Tunic P6: Purple Tunic P7: Orange Tunic P8: Fierce Deity Link Twilight Link's N Special could be the Hero's Bow and Bomb Arrows, his S Special is Gale Boomerang, and his D Special would be the Shadow Crystal, which he uses to transform into Wolf Link & Midna. WL&M is faster but lighter than TL, and emphasizes close range combat more. Midna handles items and grabs, using her prehensile hair for the latter. WL&M's N Special is Dark Energy Attack, where Midna raises her hand and summons a circle of dark energy around Wolf Link. Once released, Wolf Link will attack nearby opponents. WL&M's S Special is Lunging Bite, based on WL's Jump Attack in TP. WL&M dash forward and, upon contact with a foe, WL will latch on and continue damaging them. WL&M's U Special is Warp, wherein Midna opens a Twilight Portal and warps herself and WL a short distance away. P1: Hero's Clothes/Green Fur P2: Zora Armor/Blue Fur P3: Magic Armor/Red Fur P4: Ordon Goatherder/Ordinary Wolf P5: Dark Link/Weakened Midna Colors P6: Pink Zora Armor/Pink Fur P7: Gold Tunic/Golden Wolf P8: Sumo/ Twilight Zelda's new moveset makes good use of the rapier she was seen wielding in TP. Her specials are named after the four Light Spirits: Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. Additionally, two of them are based on attacks she uses as Puppet Zelda. P1: Standard Dress P2: Cloak P3: Green P4: Ilia P5: Red P6: Puppet Zelda P7: Blue P8: Twili Midna

I would like to rework Link's moveset, though I am debating if my primary change would be for the best gameplay-wise. The change I speak of is the addition of an Inventory that would allow him to map different items to his N Special, including the Bow, Boomerang, and Bombs. His Side Special would become the Pegasus Boots on the ground and Roc's Cape in the air while his D Special would become the Power Bracelet/Glove, with which he picks up a bush, pot, or rock. Though I think that's more faithful to his home series, I am concerned that it would mess up the flow his existing moveset has, where you can smoothly flow from one projectile to another. Also, because I have ideas for different Link fighters, I'd want to change the "main" Link's costumes to his Original and Past designs, using green, blue, and red variants for each, as well as a Dark version of Original Link and a purple "Ravio" version of Past Link. By the same token, I'd overhaul the "main" Zelda's moveset so she uses the Magical Rod, elemental Rods, and possibly other magic items. Her P1, P3, P5, and P7 costumes would be Original Zelda wearing pink, green, blue, and red dresses, her P2 costumes would be her Past design, her P4 costume would be a blue variant of P2 or possibly Marin, her P6 would be Oracle Zelda, and her P8 would be a recolor of P6 based on Hilda from ALBW. Ganondorf's specials would be overhauled to reflect his magical abilities. His N Special would become the magic fireball as it should have been. His side special would have him bring out the trident used by Phantom Ganon and perform a dash attack with it. His U special would reference his ability to fly. His D Special would be the quake punch he uses to cause platforms to fall. And of course his smashes would make use of the Gerudo sword as before. Though I know many fans - myself included - want to see Zelda fighters beyond Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, I do think there is ample potential for different Links and Zeldas that represent different games or groups of games in the series. That said, I would bring back Ocarina Zelda as part of Sheik's moveset. As in, I would bring back the ability for Sheik and Zelda to transform using their D Special, and that Zelda specifically would have the Goddess spells as her other specials. Sheik's own moveset would be altered, making use of her dagger seen in official art for melee attacks and with reworked specials referencing the songs she teaches Link.

I'm cool with those becoming moves, incidentally. In fact, you make me want to brainstorm designs for them here and now. Tornado - Flying, Special, 100 BP, 100 Acc, 10 PP. Can hit Pokemon in the semi-invulnerable phase of Fly, Bounce, and Sky Drop, and if it does, will deal double damage to those Pokemon. In team battles, hits all adjacent Pokemon. Tsunami - Water, Special, 70 BP, 100 Acc, 10 PP. On the turn this move is used, an earthquake occurs, dealing Ground-type damage to all adjacent Pokemon (70 BP) and hitting Pokemon in the semi-invulnerable phase of Dig. On the second turn, a wave of water strikes the field, hitting Pokemon in the semi-invulnerable phase of Dive. Punch - Fighting, Physical, 40 BP, 100 Acc, 35 PP. Tornado as a Flying-type counterpart to Earthquake is so genius, I'm amazed it hasn't been done already. Tsunami could be a tweaked Surf, but I kinda like the idea of paying homage to the connection between earthquakes and tsunamis in real life, thus Tsunami could be a two-phase attack with the first phase being Ground-type and basically a weaker Earthquake while the second phase is a weaker Surf. I'd rename "Jab" to "Punch" and have it be the basic vanilla Fighting-type move. Moves that invert the effects of weather are novel. I could see that working for Legendaries in particular. A long time ago, I came up with a Ghost-type counterpart to Tri Attack that would make use of the other three most common status effects: Tri Terror - Ghost, Special, 80 BP, 100 Acc, 10 PP. Three spirits attack the target and have a chance to inflict confusion, poison, or sleep on them. A recent move category that I came up with is a series of "type addition" moves that add their respective type to the target's next move. This is similar to Electrify, but rather than replace the move's type, it adds the type to that move, making it effectively dual-type. This can be useful for both offense and defense; an incoming attack can be granted a type to which the user is resistant or immune, or in a team battle, the user can target their ally to make their next attack more effective against one or more of their opponents.

Nowadays, I can relate most to Trevor Belmont's "tired of the world's shiitake but still willing to do the right thing" mentality, though that's mostly his Netflix series depiction.

I'm talking about a move literally called Fire Ball. It's the most iconic kind of fire attack in the public imagination, yet Pokemon has never featured a move by that name despite adapting the similarly iconic Thunderbolt from day one. Eight generations and there's still no Fire Ball attack. It's baffling. Flamethrower and Heat Wave are actually burning moves themselves, and the latter is basically a tweak on the former save for double and triple battles where it has the distinction of hitting multiple targets (and also is associated with Pokemon who are either Fire-type or fly, owing to the Japanese name: Hot Wind). Mystical Fire lowers Sp. Attack rather than Sp. Defense. So, there really isn't a true Fire-type equivalent to Shadow Ball thus far, making Fire Ball the perfect candidate for one. That said, a Fire-type multi-hit does sound novel, though I'm inclined to simply call it "Rapid Fire", for a similar flavor as Bullet Seed. Volcanic Volley makes me think of some kind of lava catapult.

Don Quixote is another interesting suggestion. The energy suggestion is interesting - makes me think a Fire-type Regiheat would be a good followup. And if Grass and Fire Regis are added, it'd only make sense to add a Water Regi as well, perhaps representing a "fluids" category of which Poison could also eventually be part. Ground could get Regiclay as a further addition to the materials group, not to mention a nod to the most traditional material for crafting golems. Funnily enough, the dark matter/dark energy concept might be better represented by Ghost or Psychic, Ghost because it's the type actually associated with darkness as an element, Psychic because it also seems to be associated with physics, though I could also see those types forming a mind/heart/soul trio with a Fairy-type Regi. A Dark-type Regi would represent well the concept of anarchy or chaos, being the type that would be most associated with criminals and villains. A Fighting-type Regi could likewise embody order, honor, discipline, and "true fighting spirit". Sooner or later, we're probably gonna have Regis of all 18 types. I could see Paldean variants of the Beasts being Ground (Entei), Ice (Suicune), and Flying (Raikou). Like the birds, they could get signature moves that reference their original types, like Burning Earth, Cleansing Blizzard, and Thundering Storm.

They also rerailed Knuckles big time with the prologue, "Divergence". Just looking at clips makes me realize how awesome a new Sonic anime could be.

The Swords of Justice are inspired by the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan, so building on them would be kind of odd. But if they chose to do so, I'd accept it. Maybe the new one could be a Dark/Fighting or Ghost/Fighting type based on Zorro? The easiest addition I see is Regiwood, a Grass-type titan. I'm also surprised we haven't seen a Dark-type titan yet, to represent all the types weak to Fighting.

Yes, I am aware of the console-sales differential, another reminder that one of my favorite game series is niche and doomed to be forgotten in favor of Yet Another Street Fighter/Resident Evil/Monster Hunter game.

Ah. Well then, here's a longplay video to give you an idea. As for Mega Man 11's gameplay, it's pretty faithful to past games with a few changes: The charge shot and slide are back! Rush Coil and Rush Jet are now mapped to their own buttons (X and A respectively on Switch), which makes using them a heck of a lot more convenient. The only drawback is that they now run off a shared meter, so using one too much results in losing access to the other. The silver lining is that this also makes it easier to keep them recharged. The Power Gear and Speed Gear are mapped to the shoulder buttons, L for Power and R for Speed. Both are quite useful. Power Gear not only enhances the strength of your buster, it also makes your Special Weapons more powerful in a manner highly reminiscent of charged special weapons in the MMX series. Speed Gear functions as a time slow ability on demand and is easily the best new thing in the game. Despite the two functioning as a pair, you can only use both at once when you're low on health. The Robot Master bosses all get brief voice clips at the start of their fight similar to Mega Man 8. Good way to show off their personalities without resorting to long-winded conversations. The Robot Master and fortress bosses all use one of the two gears (and one of them uses both; I'm sure you can guess which one) once they get low on health. Half the Robot Masters use Power Gear, while the other half use Speed Gear. If you use the shop a lot, get used to hearing the following voice clips. They repeat every single time you get ready to buy an item, confirm your purchase, or bring up the Parts menu. "Are you sure?" "Tada! All ready! Good luck out there, Mega!" ("Are you sure? Tada! Are you sure? Tada! Are you sure? Tada!...") "Yo, Mega! Can I interest you in some parts?" Proto Man and Bass sadly are completely absent save for a mention of Proto Man in one of the enemy bios.

I'm guessing Digital Trends is full of those kinds of reviewers who look for any excuse to bash a game for the sake of controversy and thus exposure. Basically the kinds of people who say "There are no good games, only bad games and worse games (except those we're paid to praise)." So, I wouldn't take their input into account. Honestly, I'd give YouTube gamer reviews more credit.

Like Mega Man Legends? Well, like I said, I'd reimagine the 2D games as full 3D worlds with more story and character development going on. It'd be like watching an anime unfold. I've even thought of writing up a script for a prospective animated adaptation of my "New Age" series. On the subject of "Mega Man in 3D", I'd be intrigued if X9 took another stab at 3D and did it better than X7, but given how long the X series has been dormant, it'd probably be wiser to stick to 2D for that one as a way of reestablishing the series' conventions, like MM9 and 11 (mostly) did for Classic.

It saddens me to see the Blue Bomber reduced to a second fiddle, but ever since X7 nearly killed the franchise as a whole, Mega Man has struggled to find a stable release schedule. Add in the failures of ZXA and Starforce, and, well, it's not hard to see why, on a fiscal level, Mega Man just isn't considered as viable an investment as This Year's Street Fighter/Resident Evil/Monster Hunter. And yet, those three franchises don't interest me half as much as Mega Man. If my Mega Man X remake series could take off, I want to believe it could help turn the franchise into a juggernaut like never before seen with how it'd update the gameplay to fit into sprawling 3D worlds, with bigger, more ambitious stories and more developed characters to match. And yet, I think a lot of fans would miss the traditional simple 2D gameplay. There's no denying that Mega Man has a popularity belying its comparatively humble sales count, though. The sheer amount of fan art and fan projects that come out every year is a testament to the Blue Bomber's enduring presence in the media.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/11/mega-man-11-becomes-best-selling-entry-in-the-series-35-year-history That's...pretty significant for Mega Man, I'd say. This makes MM11 officially the most successful Mega Man game now. I wonder how this will affect the Blue Bomber's appearances in X DiVE, Smash, and other future projects? Like, when Smash 6 happens (and don't bother telling me it won't), will they change Mega Man's moveset to represent 11 more? Will they add the Double Gear system to his moveset somehow? As for X DiVE, could they maybe celebrate this development with an event for Mega Man 11, complete with a new Hunter Program, weapon, and boss?

Flamethrower inflicts burn, not Sp. Def reduction. It's kinda like saying Psybeam's redundant with Psychic around.

Sounds like they may in fact implementing something similar to this concept, called "Paradox Pokemon", some of which are Ancient, others of which are Future. Yep, it's official. Ancient and Future Pokemon are in SV. Good call, Perkilator!

However, Chrom and Lucina do have access to lances (via Great Lord and Cavalier), axes (via Great Knight), and bows (via Archer), so in my opinion their movesets should be changed to incorporate these as well. That at least would represent the various recurring weapon types in the Fire Emblem series. While we're at it, they could get unique costumes for their different classes as well: Lord, Great Lord, Cavalier, Paladin, Great Knight, Archer, Sniper, and Bow Knight. If we want to distinguish Lucina further, she could get costumes referencing her different possible mothers: Tactician (Robin), Pegasus Knight (Sumia), Cavalier (Sully), Troubadour (Maribelle), and Dancer (Olivia), leaving Archer as her other default class option and, let's say, Myrmidon as the second-most common class she can inherit after Pegasus Knight. Her specials could incorporate tomes and staves to reflect her expanded skillset and make her distinct from Chrom.

Here's a hot take: Mega Man 2 is not the best game in the series, not even close. Is it better than Mega Man 1? Yes. Is it a good game? For the most part. Is it a fun game? It can be. But it's far from the most fair or fun entry in the series. Major points of contention: There are times when the game's design is just plain unfair. Major examples being Quick Man's stage, Boobeam, and the final boss. Quick Man's Stage because the lasers require such precise timing that they just aren't fun to deal with. Boobeam and the final boss because they're only weak to specific weapons, one of which is very easy to run out of, and if you run out, you have no way of refilling those weapons except getting a game over. The game was made at a time when epilepsy wasn't yet well-documented, and so features some god-awful full-screen flashing, most pronounced with the intro to Wily Castle and the Mecha Dragon fight. It took until Mega Man 7 for them to finally rectify this issue, though it was at least downplayed in the later NES installments. I prefer later Mega Man games with sliding, charge shots, Rush, Eddie, Beat, the shop, and currency drops. Those were all nice additions that have since come to define the series, and their absence in MM2 makes the game feel really minimalistic and sparse. Now, as for what is the best entry, that's a tough call as there are certain games that stand out to me for one reason or another, but each one also has issues that make it so I can't say any one Mega Man game currently is the best in my view; rather, I have several favorite entries that each contain some, but not all, elements of my ideal Mega Man game. Mega Man 4 had one of the cooler RM cycles of the NES era. The weapons weren't quite Thunder Beam or Metal Blade crazy, sure, but they were overall much better balanced. Pharaoh Shot's unique charging method allows for some really clever tricks, and Flash Stopper is a vastly improved Time Stopper. MM4 also established a firm cycle of weaknesses after 2 and 3 both jacked around a great deal (what with 2's cycle being heavily lopsided and 3 actually being a weird 5-3 split, which I want to think is a product of the game's rushed development cycle, pun unintended). I also like Dr. Cossack and Kalinka, and would welcome their return in a future game (Mega Man 12, maybe?). Point of contention: The weapon cycle is just a bit too standardized; each weapon deals exactly 4 points of damage to the boss weak to it with the exception of Flash Stopper. Mega Man 7 has one of the best shop systems in the series, along with a really cool upgrade in the form of the Super Adaptor (which feels like a predecessor to MMX's Capsule armors). I'm baffled the Adapter has yet to return in a mainline entry (again, Mega Man 12 would be a good time). The fact Bass has gotten to have his equivalent show up in later games just makes the SA's absence all the more egregious. If nothing else, they could create a successor called Super Adapter II or something. Points of contention: The boss cycle is split into halves despite not being composed of existing Robot Masters, which feels a little unnecessary. The Wily Capsule is also ridiculously hard to the point of not even being fun. Mega Man 9 has perhaps my favorite weapon cycle of the series thus far, not to mention the first (and currently, only) female Robot Master boss, Splash Woman. It also features a shop more like MM7's after MM8 replaced it with a much more limited and less appealing part shop (and removed a lot of the items I've grown to like in the process). I also like how the ending features all eight Robot Masters rebuilt, returned to their benign programming, and interacting with the core characters to boot. Point of contention: The removal of the charge shot and slide was wholly unnecessary and in fact a downgrade to the gameplay as a whole as the removal of the slide meant Mega had fewer options for avoiding attacks and also reduced the stage design potential, not to mention the game offers zero story explanation for the absence of the abilities. Mega Man 11 not only brought back the slide and charge shot, it also introduced the Double Gear System which offers some interesting new wrinkles to the gameplay. Power Gear is basically the Classic version of charged Special Weapons and is available from the get-go to boot, while Speed Gear is basically Time Slow but always available. The fact the bosses all get to use one or both gears is also really cool. I hope to see Double Gear return in MM12, both as a gameplay feature and as a tactic for the bosses. I also appreciate seeing another ending scene where the Robot Masters are rebuilt and returned to benign programming; an ending that shows the Robot Masters being rebuilt and restored to their original functions or repurposed really should be a staple of the franchise, especially if goofy antics or heartwarming scenes ensue. Points of contention: Now Proto Man and Bass are absent, without so much as DLC stories to give them some kind of presence. I also find the Robot Masters a bit lacking compared to 4, 7, and 9, as much because they missed a big opportunity to add more female Robot Masters. They really should try for a 4-4 split if possible going forward, or even experiment with a mostly or all-female roster.

I've followed the games, but the only one I've played since Riders: Zero Gravity are Dash and Mania. Though honestly, I'd say the Hedgehog's games have improved over the past ten years. Yeah, I know Rise of Lyric and Forces aren't considered that great, but even they at least look better than 06 and the Rivals and Rush titles, to say nothing of the writing (Rivals' writing is horrendous even by Sonic game standards, and Rush Adventures' is scarcely better). Sonic may not be at his all-time high, but he's certainly not at his all-time low, either.

I like Star Fox Adventures and don't mind that Dinosaur Planet became SFA, I just wish they did more with the concept and DP's characters.

DLC from a Capcom IP? Well that's...unexpected. Mega Man DLC when?