vanguard333

I know what you mean; one of the main advantages of 3D models over 2D sprites is that you can give 3D models a lot more expression. And yet, if anything, the models in the Diamond & Pearl remakes somehow seem less expressive than the 2D sprites. Indeed; it is annoying that they didn't bother to incorporate any of those improvements that Platinum made.

I'm not a fan of Warriors games, but I do have two ideas for Warriors spinoffs. To save space, I will put them in spoilers: Hyrule Warriors: Breath of the Wild Prequel: Black Clover Warriors:

Yeah; from what I've seen, these aren't really much better than the originals. For me, the deal-breaker was twofold: 1. The visuals. I see people who defend the visuals say either, "It's faithful to the original" or "It's like the Link's Awakening remake and you liked that". My response to the first is that it really isn't; it is on the surface, but there's little depth to it from what I've seen. It honestly detracts from a lot of what Diamond, Pearl and Platinum were trying to achieve with their art style; the rival doesn't seem to come across as nearly as impatient or hasty as he did in the original for an example, and the cold, history-rich atmosphere of the Sinnoh region also takes a hit. My response to the second argument is that I liked Link's Awakening's art style because it had a ton of charm and attention to detail and it fit both the atmosphere of the game and its main plot twist; the Diamond and Pearl remakes' art style has none of those things going for it. 2. The lack of any of the improvements Platinum made to the 4th gen. I am someone whose first Pokémon game that I owned was Diamond and I really enjoyed it, and even I admit that Platinum was a massive improvement in a number of key ways, and the Diamond and Pearl remakes don't seem to have any of those. Why would I buy a remake that doesn't have any of what Platinum added? Even ORAS bothered to add the postgame Delta Episode to add in at least some of the improvements Emerald made over Ruby and Sapphire, and Platinum was a far bigger upgrade to Diamond and Pearl than Emerald was to Ruby and Sapphire. Good job. I'd love to replay Platinum, but my 3DS has been dead for months and I lost the charger.

Well, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have released. I haven't played them, nor do I intend to do so.

Dark Type isn't actually referring to darkness and shadows; it's referring to stuff like underhanded tactics. The Japanese name for the type directly translates as "evil". That said, I think a light type would be cool. It could still be good against dark as light can be seen as exposing the underhanded tactics and such. EDIT: I think it does make that steel would resist light, since steel can be reflective.

I see. The show is really good; definitely worth watching. (See the spoiler tag below for a synopsis): That said, I mainly brought it up because it uses spider mechs rather than human-shaped mechs and I was wondering if those would work. Then again, Age of Calamity managed to have a guardian as a DLC fighter, so a spider mech should be no problem.

That makes sense. By the way, what did you think of that suggestion I made in regards to your idea of a super robot warriors (the suggestion of adding 86 to that list of robot/mecha anime)?

@Fabulously Olivier Why did I have a feeling that your list would be all Musou crossovers? One good addition to this might be the anime 86 EIGHTY-SIX: it's a brand new mecha anime that's really, really good. I mean, the mechs used in it aren't humanoid mechs; they're spider mechs. But it should still work for Warriors gameplay. If you haven't seen this show, here's a small clip of an action scene from it to show what I mean:

Indeed it is. One thing I particularly enjoy about Battle Network is that it proves that RPGs don't inherently need a level-up system to have clear progression. One problem I have with a lot of RPGs these days is that the level-up system feels tacked on, unnecessary, and often runs counter to a lot of what the game's trying to do, especially in areas like the combat system. The Witcher 3 comes to mind as an example: the level-up system combined with the equipment system take a combat system that is otherwise built around preparation and thinking ahead; you know, like a hunter of monsters, and turns it into yet another generic combat system that's all about the numbers. So, yeah; I love how Battle Network instead gives clear progression by having the player gradually gain access to better battle chips and more customization options rather than having some arbitrary number go up, and in the end, it's how the player chooses to build their deck, and how well they adapt to the opponent, that matters.

Thanks. I honestly didn't know about the report function.

I haven't played Final Fantasy 15, but, as far as I know, the main criticisms of its combat system is that, while there is a lot to it potentially, you apparently never actually need to use most of it or think about what you're doing; something about how the inventory system works and how you have time to use a revive if you run out of HP. Of course, I'm just trying, very badly, to summarize something I vaguely remember other people saying, so take all this with a grain of salt.

Hm... I'm not sure which RPG combat system is my favourite overall, but I can list a few that stood out to me in positive ways. One thing I can say about all of the ones I particularly like, though, is that they present what I consider to be real challenge. To me, challenge is how much a game makes you have to engage with its mechanics, and difficulty is just how hard it is to physically carry out what the game wants the player to do. RPGs present potential for fantastic levels of challenge without having to be too difficult, but they rarely live up to that potential. The Souls games, in my experience, are too dependent on dodge-rolling and i-frames and raw difficulty. Xenoblade games, meanwhile, are not difficult, but rarely present much challenge due to the MMO-style button-cooldown combat system. The ones that stand out to me are the ones that do live up to that potential, and here they are: 1. Final Fantasy 7 Remake: This is the best combination of action and turn-based combat that I have ever played (granted; the list isn't very long), but I love how there is so much to consider, both in customization and in moment-to-moment decisions, and you do have to make those considerations carefully. 2. Bug Fables: As far as purely turn-based combat (apart from the action commands obviously) goes, this is probably the best I have played. Customization is very thorough, and there are a lot of decisions to make every single turn: you can pass one party member's turn to another, but every additional turn a party member has has them deal less damage on the additional turn, you can have party members rotate/swap positions so long as no one has run out of turns, with the one in front doing more damage at the cost of being more likely to be attacked by enemies, and careful decision-making on positions and the order in which your party members attack can make a huge difference in battle, especially since each party member not only has different skills, but also different basic attacks: Vi can hit airborne enemies, Leif can hit underground enemies, and Kabbu can ignore a point of enemy defense as well as damage turtled-up enemies. There is a ton to consider in building your team and using your team, and I really like it. 3. The Megaman Battle Network series: This is easily my favourite action RPG series, and the unique combat system is a big reason why.

Shouldn't this be in the Fire Emblem Fates forum, not General Fire Emblem?

Basically, what do you think could be a neat idea for a spin-off title for an existing game series? They could be a crossover, a game where the protagonist isn't the series' protagonist, genre spinoffs, etc. As per usual when I make topics like these, here's two examples: Example 1: Series: Metroid: Now that Metroid Dread has apparently brought the series back on track (I say "apparently" only because I'm not a longtime fan and I've only played Dread and Super) and made it more popular than ever before, I think it might be interesting to see them revisit the idea of a spin-off where you don't actually play as Samus but as some random Federation soldier, but this time in an actual Metroidvania format. The premise would be that the player character is a rookie Federation soldier whose squad is sent to investigate something happening on a planet, only for the mission to go awry and for the rookie to be the sole survivor with no way to leave the planet or call for backup. Since they're not Samus, but a regular Federation soldier in over their head, this would not only justify having zero upgrades at the start of the game, but it would also potentially make the enemies in the game seem all the more threatening and it would be a perfect opportunity to experiment with brand new upgrades that aren't as powerful as the typical Metroid upgrades (since, if I understand correctly, Samus' upgrades are usually Chozo tech and are more advanced than what the Federation can use; someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this). It would also allow for the game to be smaller in scale. Example 2: Series: The Legend of Zelda: A Zelda game where the player plays as Zelda, who has to protect Hyrule while Link is unable to do so for some reason (be it from journeying outside Hyrule before the game began or some other reason). It would focus less on exploration and more on puzzle-solving (to fit the use of the Triforce of Wisdom rather than Courage), and magic would be used instead of items.

Byleth and Edelgard is pretty good. Most Byleth x another character romances are hindered by Byleth being a blank slate that hardly shows expression and doesn't really have dialogue (well, they have dialogue options, but they don't amount to much and you don't actually see/hear Byleth say anything), but I think, with Byleth and Edelgard, they did sort-of manage to work around it and make the dynamic more mutual. By mutual, I mean that their dynamic and s-support are able to show that Byleth helps Edelgard learn to trust, and Edelgard helps Byleth learn how to feel.

I haven't really done any pure magic builds for Byleth, but my preferred setup for Byleth that I like using a lot is a hybrid build where I mainly train him in swords, faith and authority, I keep him as an Enlightened One, and I give him a rapier+ and a levin sword+. Since Byleth learns the Grounder and Bane of Monsters combat arts, that plus the rapier+ means he can deal effective damage against any unit that can take effective damage. Him having a levin sword+ gives him 1-3 range and a magic attack (as does aura, but that's only 1-2 range and doesn't utilize Swordfaire). Byleth's white magic spells are very unremarkable: heal, nosferatu, recover and aura. But, since Enlightened One Byleth can dodge frequently (and because I like giving him the Shield of Seiros and Weight -3), he can be a front line unit that can also heal, which is very useful. I did try training him in reason after training everything else, but I never ended up using his reason spells; he gets far more mileage out of healing and using a levin sword+.

That's exactly what it was; as I explained to Etrurian Emperor, by finding out that she's Zelda, it sinks in to her that everything: Aryll and the others being kidnapped and Link being roped into all this, was because Ganondorf was after her, and so, in that moment, she was remorseful and apologetic to Link. It was not out-of-character for Tetra, nor was it her suddenly becoming a demure damsel; it was a moment of remorse after finding out that she inadvertently dragged Link and Aryll into all this. Yes; Phantom Hourglass was the real waste of Tetra's character. Who was it on the Zelda team that thought: "Okay, Wind Waker ended on Link and Tetra setting out together to find new lands, so the logical progression from that would be for Tetra to spend the sequel as a statue and for Link to explore islands with two other people rather than Tetra and her pirates"? Who thought that was a good idea. Don't get me wrong; Linebeck is a great character, but we really should've gotten a game of Link, Tetra and her pirates.

Why do so many people interpret that scene that way? Tetra did not become "suddenly all demure and helpless". One aspect of Tetra's character that was established very early on was that, for all her sassiness and fierceness, she is quick to blame herself for things; when Link's sister gets abducted by the Helmaroc King, Tetra initially refused to help until the Postman pointed out that the bird was originally after Tetra, at which point Tetra immediately agreed to help Link. When Tetra finds out that she's Zelda, it basically sinks in to her that, the whole time, Ganondorf was after her; that all the abductions, as well as Link being pulled into this, were a result of Ganondorf being after her, and she expresses remorse. It's an understandable moment of weakness and remorse. The next moment that we see Tetra: when she wakes up during the fight against Ganondorf, she's right back to her sassy and fierce self; further reinforcing that before was just one moment of weakness. What I especially don't get is, not only is it a bad interpretation, but there's a game where Tetra is treated far worse: Phantom Hourglass, yet all I ever hear lately is how badly Wind Waker mishandled her character (when it didn't do so at all). Let's not forget that Wind Waker ended on Link and Tetra setting out together, and Phantom Hourglass' idea of following up on that was having Tetra immediately get abducted by Bellum before spending the rest of the game as a statue. The whole thing about a character suddenly having the damsel mindset is that all there agency is lost, and it doesn't get any more agency-reducing than being reduced to a literal block of stone for the entire story. @Lord_Brand Link and Zelda in Breath of the Wild is definitely a good example of a romantic dynamic between characters, but the best example in the Zelda series is undoubtedly Link and Zelda in Spirit Tracks.

I finally finished World of Light in Smash Bros. Ultimate. That's one game finished that is actually on the list of games I wanted to finish. At this point, I just need to finish Three Houses and I'll have finished all the games on that list that I actually still want to finish: I'm not going to finish The Witcher 3; I can see why people like it, but I'm just not a fan of certain aspects of the gameplay, nor am I probably going to finish Ys 8 since I've read the ending and it stinks, and I can't finish FF7 Remake right now since my PS4 isn't plugged in.

Well, I've been playing Metroid Dread. There's a separate thread for discussing that game, so I'll just say here that it's certainly interesting game, and that I'm saying this as someone whose first experience with the Metroidvania genre was playing Super Metroid a few weeks ago.

@Lord_Brand That sounds interesting, though it also sounds like it would be more complicated to implement. There's a reason that the world maps of Subspace and World of Light were static images with not much to them. Don't get me wrong; I would like to see the next game have the map be more than level/fight select.

I decided to go back to Smash Bros. Ultimate, now that I have a joy-con that doesn't drift. I haven't played it since around the time of the first wave of DLC fighters, so the updates took over half an hour. I decided to finish World of Light, since I was midway through it when I stopped playing. I have to say, repeatedly battling spirits, even if the better ones are almost like a puzzle for finding the best way to counter them, is a chore, as was going back and forth between fighting Dharkon's spirits and fighting Galeem's spirits in the third part in order to avoid either of the bad endings. However, the final part does have a proper epic weight to it, and not just in presentation. It doesn't have quite the gameplay/narrative buildup to it that the fight against Tabuu had in Subspace Emissary, but it honestly surpasses that in a lot of ways: Being able to play as Master Hand and beat a huge wave of enemies is just awesome. Picking three fighters with which to do the final part was neat. The climb, while a little frustrating, helped a lot in providing buildup to the fight against Galeem and Dharkon while also reminding me a bit of the platforming in Subspace Emissary, fighting all the prior bosses was cool; I particularly liked the way in which the player gets to select the order in which they want to fight each of the bosses. Then, fighting Galeem and Dharkon simultaneously; not only is it a fitting final boss fight, but I like how their own attacks hurt each other, which is a great help for fighting against two bosses that will often attack simultaneously. If the next Smash Bros. game acts as something of a relaunch, I hope it has an adventure mode that takes the best of all three adventure modes: Melee's, Subspace Emissary and World of Light. For World of Light, it would definitely be presentation and there being more to the world map than just as a level select.

It goes as far as shortly after you beat the first intact E.M.M.I and get the ability to stick to magnetized walls and ceilings. Once you go through a particular door that can only be opened by clinging to the magnetized wall in front of it and bringing down said magnetized wall, the demo ends. EDIT: Well, I bought Metroid Dread. A lot of what I said about the demo stands (mainly because I'm not far past the demo's content; I just beat the scorpion monster that had the invisibility device). One thing that I didn't consider too much but I've grown to far more strongly notice and dislike is the way in which the game railroads the player into going forward: if you want to backtrack after obtaining a new item to see if any of the collectibles you had to pass by can now be collected, the game will not let you; it will add new obstacles just to make it that you're stuck; unable to do anything except go forward. I just want to collect one missile tank near the starting area that can be accessed via the magnet upgrade, and yet, from the moment I got that magnet upgrade, the game has contrived its way into making impossible for me to go back including, from debris and lava-mushroom monsters suddenly appearing in hallways to doors becoming unusable for no reason except to make the player unable to go back. It is beyond infuriating. EDIT: Well, I just completed Metroid Dread with 99% item completion. It would've been 100%, but there was this shinespark puzzle in Burenia that I just found to be impossible. Even after watching a video and figuring out how to do it, I just was not physically capable of doing it, no matter how many times I tried; I just didn't have the reflexes necessary. That to me is what separates challenge from difficulty: challenge is how much you have to figure out, and difficulty is how much you have to succeed in doing, and this particular shinespark puzzle was just too difficult for me. The rest of the game, while presenting similar level of challenge, was far more manageable in terms of difficulty.

Well, I just tried the Metroid Dread demo. One thing I will point out right away is that, normally, demos that are the first portion of the game let you save your progress so that, if you decide to purchase the full game afterward, you don't have to start from scratch; you can continue from where you left off, but the Metroid Dread demo, despite being the first portion of the game, doesn't let you save. If you buy the full game, you have to start from scratch. I really do not understand why they did that. Anyway, as for my first impressions of the game: it was interesting. I expected Samus to have a lot more mobility than she did in Super Metroid, both because it's been 27 years and because I've watched reviews of Metroid Dread, but it still caught me off-guard quite a bit. I suppose one thing is that I never played Samus Returns, so I'm not at all used to the melee counter. Even so, when I am able to pull off the melee counter, especially when I'm able to do so while moving, it is a lot of fun. Another thing that surprised me was the wall jump; it was far easier than in Super Metroid, to the point of feeling automatic. I expected it to be easier than in Super Metroid, but I wasn't expecting it to be this easy. That said, there are a few things that feel a bit clunky to me: for example, shooting while moving is more awkward for me in this game than in Super Metroid, and I think it's because, in Super Metroid, you used L and R to change aiming direction and the d-pad to move, whereas in Super Metroid, you have to do all that on one control stick. It's not as easy for me to get used to it as it was for Super Metroid, and I'm someone who was not at all used to using the d-pad for movement until fairly recently. Granted, the game does provide 360 degree aiming by holding L, but it does mean coming to a halt as far as I can tell (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That actually would've been perfect in Super Metroid, where I was a lot more slow and methodical. Here though, I feel encouraged to try and maintain some momentum, so coming to a halt every now and then does feel a bit weird. This is admittedly just a minor issue. In regards to the E.M.M.Is, I'm not normally a fan of this brand of stealth, especially since, in the first bit at least, it's not really stealth; it's running from the indestructible instant-kill monster, and I don't think I've ever liked that in a game. But it's honestly well-integrated and fairly fun. I like that it's clear which sections the E.M.M.Is reside within, so there's no reason to be surprised when one shows up. Overall, it's a very interesting game. I might get the full version. But, if I do, I won't like having to retread the whole first section all over again.

Yeah; Nintendo wasn't perfect under Iwata, but it was a lot less anti-consumer, and it was obvious that he actually cared about the products rather than just profit. You're an aspiring game developer? That's cool. I hope that goes well (and if you ever have any advice for me, since I'm also trying to make my own game, please don't hesitate to offer it). As for making a console, these days, the only way a console can survive is by offering something substantial that PC can't provide; Sony and Microsoft's wars over exclusive titles are only postponing the inevitable. Nintendo found this out the hard way with the Wii U: they never found a reason why the second screen would be a substantial benefit compared to what it cost in terms of performance, whereas the Switch actually offers convenient portability.