Robin Goodfellow

ASMR audio in a video game? I don't have ASMR, but it's still interesting. I didn't know this was a thing I wanted in my life until now.

Nor do I, but these out of touch adults on the censorship committee may see what they consider "animated characters, bright colors, cartoonish expressions" (which may be more or less accurate depending on who you ask) and immediately label it as something kids will want, even if it isn't marketed at them. Games like GTA, Halo, and Call of Duty all attract children despite not being made for them. It's parents' faults for not knowing what is appropriate and what isn't, not the developers or marketing team or even the ESRB.

I haven't "followed" it, but I am aware of it (I've actually read the second link you posted before), and I do find it troubling. I vaguely alluded to it and how damaging it is to open communication in another thread... but I think I offended some people so I left the thread. What troubles me the most is that it' MY generation doing it, and I've felt for a long time like my generation would be a solution, not a problem. Sad to see that dream being subverted. EDIT: Ah, but more to the point, what I meant by my comment on parents' involvement was directed more at the ESRB and how poorly it is used than all that. Censoring this game and giving it a lower rating simply because of the perception of Nintendo as a "family friendly" entity is a poor move considering parents should be more proactive in researching their children's entertainment.

No, it's from Shakespeare, though in Googling Captain Earth it seems there are some references to ol' Willy's work (Midsummer Knights! I lol'd!). ^^; Not sure what the spoiler is, though, so it probably isn't. If a character perma-dies in a cutscene and there's no heavy-handed foreshadowing that it could be prevented, chances are that I will have no clue and play on without going back. My first run on Awakening I started over part way through because I found out that I killed Gaius and totally missed it. And it isn't really my first Fire Emblem game, so talk about feeling dumb...

Earnest question here, and I'm sure it has come up elsewhere many times, but can anyone briefly explain why you would play classic now that casual exists if you plan to simply reset the game? People who play classic and just let it play out obviously are more hardcore than some of us. (I can't do it! Gotta save everyone!) I don't have a problem with it, I just wonder what people's personal reasons are. Is it like self-inflicted punishment?

"I am so humbled to accept this Over-thinking Underachievers' Award...!" Haha, sorry. I tend to read too deeply.

Parents are out of touch with their children. Americans are taught to grow up and leave childish things behind (though this seems to be on the decline somewhat now that the baby boomers are outnumbered) so when they get older they have no interest in their child's likes or dislikes.

I apologize if what I said offended you. It was intended to provoke thought, not anger. Though I disagree, I will not "correct" you and will endeavor to be more articulate in the future.

[spoiler=Spoilered just in case...]I would say that the changes to Fates regarding units pairing up has a significant impact on strategy and the difficulty of the game based on my [intentionally] limited knowledge of the game.

Y'know, Halo is rated Mature, but because it's developed in America and is about guns and the military, I guess it just sells better. But I do believe that America would put an M rating on Fates due to "suggestive dialogue and sexual themes" if they didn't censor it. America is MUCH more comfortable with violence than it is with sexuality (though the former is still rallied against by some). Game of Thrones somehow manages to do both, and I've yet to hear anyone condemn it... hm. I hope they don't censor it though, and if they do, I hope it's small stuff. I couldn't care less if they cover up cleavage and the like, but keep the dialogue and mechanics in tact, please. I think my main fear is that they will under stock the game, especially the limited edition stuff. It seems like NoA is deliberately ordering fewer copies of things (amiibos, OMG), but I can't figure out why since they don't make any profit from the scalpers and second hand market and they don't seem to be interested in doing additional orders of stuff. But yeah, I check for places to pre-order maybe three times a day lately.

I've been hanging around on internet forums for the past 16 years, so I'm familiar with snark and belligerent behavior (like the condescension in your reply). It's just exhausting, though I've actually managed to have some very good experiences with online communities that are purely constructive and polite. People can walk away from something they don't like, they don't have to mouth off to people who do like it. The reverse is true, too. So... there is no way to avoid being hypocrite here if I try to explain my reasoning to you. You won't understand my own subjective views unless you choose to make an active effort. I will simply note that you have a problem with the game and go on to see what other people who do like it are talking about.

There are a lot of people responding to each other very rudely here. Intelligent Systems never promised any of us a 100% serious, gripping, character-driven plot with no deviation from the tone or continuity of past titles. People who cannot tolerate the mere existence of something that they disagree with (or that disagrees with them) are the most universally damning problem of humanity as a whole. That kind of thinking is the basis for every kind of hate group you can name. The game has not even been released in a version that I'd wager the majority of us can read, and already there are some of us who are crying foul about the watering down of plot and characterization. Our generation (I'm guessing just about all of us were born between 1982 and 2000) is so fixated on controlling our own subjective realities and trying to make the world conform that we can't even be civil with people who are part of our own subculture. It's very disheartening, and I wish that we could all just agree to disagree and give the game a chance (or not, and still not be rude about it).

Normal, casual, Nohr path for starters. I plan on getting the special edition if they release it here and doing all three paths. I'm mostly in it for the story and characters. I like building my team, but I don't like doing it all on paper (or spreadsheets, or whatever planning method) before I actually play. I really enjoyed that about Awakening. I could level up any or all of my characters and decide which ones I liked best as I tinkered around with my lineup throughout the game. I'm not generally what I would consider an elitist, but I wonder about the concern over difficulty with the addition of phoenix mode... Even if there's a full turn where a unit is gone, that's effectively an invincibility switch. I wish I had played through Awakening on hard mode to begin with to help stretch it out some more (I only picked it up around February or March). On the other hand, it may be a sign that Intelligent Systems is so confident in their story that they think the game will be compelling enough to draw people in who aren't the least bit concerned with the game play...? That's a prospect I can get behind. Hearing lots of praise for the story. (Which is doubly encouraging because I see lots of complaints about "fanservice" ruining the franchise. So if this game can truly satisfy both camps, that will be fantastic.)

Honestly, the game's mere existence is fan service if you really think about it. We are lucky to be getting it at all. And I can almost guarantee that a majority of the more "objectionable" content won't pass censorship exams on arrival in the US. Bravely Default had some costume adjustments, and they were hardly necessary (or effective in some cases). But really, everyone here should just remember that this game should not even be happening and we are fortunate to be getting it.

In another thread I mentioned Bungie's Destiny and how it was a hacked-off end product still bleeding from it's wounds, and people are still devouring it despite the complaints and the fact that they are paying for overpriced DLC. I was one of the minority who complained of the lack of concrete narrative and real [not-recycled] content. Fates looks like it has all of the base work finished with a lot of things that might be considered DLC elsewhere (My Castle certainly sounds like something you'd have to pay extra for on day one with American developers). And people are complaining about it? If you order a steak dinner and get upset about having to trim the fat off, don't complain to the chef and have them cut the fat off of everyone else's steak. That's THEIR steak; let them eat it if they want. You can ignore your fat and be content.