Omegaprism

I would really like a new shape shifter type of class, but instead of copying other units badly they would equip all sorts of different stones like manaketes. Different stones would not just give different stat boosts, but whole different forms. It could act like the greatest hits for the various beast-type units across the series, and the really powerful stuff would just be harder to find and/or more expensive. Transforming would last a whole turn instead of for just one combat, so the shifter could change into a four-legged form for greater overland movement, or a flying form to traverse some water or high mountains. The various forms could be really good at their chosen specialty, but each one would have a pretty big weakness (with the possible exception of a theoretical legendary stone, because legendary weapons should be so good they should always be worth the struggle to get them) and you would have to commit to one type for a whole turn.

I am currently about 20 hours into Stellar Blade, and while the characters are nothing to write home about the combat is sublime and the overall aesthetic is pretty strong. There is a pretty impressive enemy variety, and every boss battle feels like an epic struggle so far. I am also at the part right before the end of the story in Unicorn Overlord. The game is fantastic, but I have a problem where I don't want it to end and so I'm dragging my feet on just getting the final mission done. Somewhere in all the miasma of spring quarter doldrums at school I found the time to play Scarlet Nexus. I am still trying to decide if I really liked it or not.

If I may, I would like to argue a case for Reese being in a higher tier. My reasoning is that he is an example of a lord type unit that comes with his own horse right off the bat, no less than two absolutely bonkers prf swords for free over the course of the game, a very easy (or possibly inevitable) promotion, and a weird but effective example of giving great returns for whatever you invest. He is the only unit who has a whole subsection of the office/town portions devoted to powering him up, and many of the benefits of buying furniture for Reese's office are rare or unique. He is one of the very few units in the game that can get the armsthrift ability, which significantly increases the longevity of all of his equipment. Everything costs a pretty penny in a game that is notoriously stingy with its money, but you also do not have to buy any furniture if you don't want. His stat growths are actually quite impressive for Berwick Saga, and he learns some very nice skills. The inability to field him in most of the side quests does on its surface hurt his availability, but if you use him at all in the main chapters he will have no trouble keeping up based on the foundation of his durability and high movement alone. the side chapters are more for your other squishy units that need catching up to him, if you ask me. I'm not saying he is the second coming of Sigurd or anything, but he can charge into the front lines, hit really hard when he needs to, gives a passive hit bonus within a decent radius, and is among the most durable lords I've used in my history of playing SRPGs. Personally I'd put him at A rank. I had other thoughts about Larentia, but I have to get back to class. To be continued!

Hey, I just finished it too! It was certainly quite an experience in changing the way I approach games like these, but when the final screen faded to black and I was greeted with the title once more I was left with a great sense of accomplishment. I also want to chime in and say that Aethin's English translation patch is top notch, and I am so grateful that someone took the time and effort to make this game playable to an old anglophone like me. Great stuff! Now at last I have checked that big item off of my mental list, and I can tackle Vestaria Saga. Onward!

That's not a bad list of elements you've got. Overall I would say character connection is priority number one for me, to the point that I can trudge through an awful story for the sake of seeing more of my favorite characters in a game doing stuff. Second on the list is the rpg elements. I naturally gravitate towards raising up at least one unit that needs a lot of babying in every game (shout outs to Mozu), because the payoff is usually quite satisfying. The story is usually a really nice bonus for me. If the game has a good story, I'm all in. Inject it into my veins! But in the more likely scenario that the story is mediocre or even really bad I will give the game a pass if every other element is still really good (my example here is Engage, which is among my least favorite FEs storywise, but there are a few characters I really like and the gameplay just really hits the spot for me). The other elements are all great, but some solid rpg elements and fun characters will give a Fire Emblem entry a lot of credit in my eyes.

Oh man, the Ursula quest is such a friggin' grind. It'a great for quickly gaining affinity with common blades, though. I've been sitting on my game in chapter 8 because I feel like I have to complete the charts for a bunch of my rare blades or their related side quests will reset or glitch out (although that got patched, right?). Am I worrying needlessly? Should I just finish the story and power through on new game plus? Apparently it's just way more convenient.

I often fantasize about being a supervillain in the classical comic book sense (super smart, an army of minions, infinite money, and a sweet secret base) so that I could actually make the world a better place. Trying to change big things will instantly earn you the label of villain from those in power because they like things the way they are, even if you are doing things like curing diseases and planting super crops in starving countries. They will use excuses like, "You didn't go through the correct diplomatic channels," or, "You violated a trade agreement," or, "You stole some corporation's patents to do this (my absolute favorite made-up excuse, because copyright law is so screwed up in favor of corporations that they don't even have to have a legit claim, they can just say they do and immediately ruin everything)." And if I had to genetically engineer an army of mutant super panthers to protect my hard work from the corrupt and the powerful, so be it. All I want to do is make a post-scarcity society, where people focus on self-improvement instead of accumulating wealth. History will remember Dr. Ultrapocalypse as a futurist and a humanitarian! *Shakes fist*

Anybody here old enough to remember the ancient (by internet standards) webcomic Megatokyo? Way back in 2001 it was the bee's knees. Then an extremely erratic update schedule and a series of questionable creative decisions pretty much tanked its popularity. I went back and looked at the site a few years ago, just to take a trip down memory lane, and the comic was still going, to my surprise. No idea why anybody still reads it though. I saw somebody mention Shoryuken.com and I can't disagree there. It also reminded me of a sister site, called Eventhubs (yes that is one word in this context). They put up a paywall to access the site a few years ago and it killed their reader traffic. Actually, I used to cruise through a whole bunch of fighting game centric communities, and they went through something of a renaissance after Street Fighter 4 released. Almost all of them have since deflated back to their default state of half-death since then due to the fact that fighting games don't get annual releases and are not popular with the tween and college bro crowds.

Bayonetta 3 (switch) The Takeover (PC) Dragon's Crown (PS4) Fire Emblem (switch) Devil May Cry V (not announced yet, but I'm calling it for PS4) Also, any Wii U exclusives that are not Smash Bros, Zelda, or Mario that get switch rereleases, I will encourage with my money. I'm looking at you, TMS#FE.

The "bullet sponge." This is the kind of enemy that has a truckload of life, damage reduction, periods of invulnerability, and super armor. Their attacks are hard to avoid at first, but easy to see coming after you get clobbered once or twice. Then the fight becomes a boring slog as you dodge their massively damaging attacks and chip away at their deep well of life because your weapons and attacks are universally like hurling ping pong balls at a tank. These guys are most often associated with the fake difficulty that @Hawkwing was talking about. For a fine example of a game built on bullet sponge enemies, and how it fails to make the game any fun, look no further than Devil May Cry 2.

Right in the first chapter they make a big deal out of the torture attacks. These are good silly fun, but largely unnecessary unless you really like using the angel weapons that enemies drop. The real big damage comes from Bayonetta's Wicked Weave attacks (the giant demon fists/feet/etc typically at the end of a button string). Don't worry about racking up style points at first, and just focus on landing those big hits. They give you breathing room, do a lot of damage, and are worth plenty of points. Also, really small enemies and ones that fly are mostly not worth chasing down with your melee attacks until you get pretty good at the game and buy the rest of Bayo's moves. Just use your lock-on gun attacks to clear them out. Also, since you're just starting out, do not neglect the lollipop creation! breaking furniture and stuff around the stages nets you a whole bunch of materials for free, and using an invincibility lollipop to just wail on those really troublesome enemies while they slash at you in vain is a great relief. Using items tanks your score, but for your first time through the story, who cares? Save your pure platinum aspirations for after you unlock all the stages. Invincibility lollipops will make your life so much easier, and so will the life refill lollis. You can mostly skip the magic refills, though, unless you really love the torture attacks. One final thing: The accessories in Rodan's shop are fabulously expensive, so it's best to aim for one and buy it, then kind of ignore the rest until you buy out all of the witch hearts and moon pearls. Most players, myself included, recommend the Moon of Mahakala(sp). It gives you a parry with no limits that grants total invincibility... provided you can time it right. It's also one of the few accessories that doesn't cost any magic to use. In all likelihood you're not going to unlock a more useful accessory until well into the postgame. Once you get that, the flock of bats, and the aerial dodge, your umbra witch will be much harder to kill. I keep thinking of more advice, but it's starting to get granular. Just enjoy it, and be prepared for a challenging, but rewarding, action game experience!

After blowing over 120 orbs on the fallen heroes banner without even a pity breaker, I got mah boi Grima. A timeline of my thoughts: Welp, I've got 9 orbs left. I haven't gotten a green orb to show up in a while, so this will be my last desperate gasp Oh, hey there green orb! Where ya been? C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mooooooooooooon! YES! Ooh, a SPD base of 8! Is he a speedster? That'd be weird and awesome. Oh, nope. No he isn't. Aaaaaaaaaand he has a RES bane. And it turns out RES is his superbane. Well, at least I got one. Would it be worth sacrificing a Valter to give him Panic Ploy? That is a lot of HP. Hmmmmmmm...

I can assure you, Astra makes a world of difference on Camilla. I haven't tried out Minerva yet, but if she shares her moves with Camilla, it will have the same affect on her too. The wyvern rider type gains the most benefit from Astra in your army. It is like playing a different character.

Ugh, that reminds me, the first six rare blades I got were Zenobia, Dagas and Agate on Nia, and Boreas, Floren, and Kora on Rex. Gatcha elements! F#$&'em, right?

Whoops! You are right. I guess I just missed it when I gave a cursory scan. My bad!