Slumber

You've been far from obnoxious. My wall of text wasn't me being upset at you or anything. It let me do a little venting of my own, since I really haven't been a fan of the way Nomura has worked for over a decade now. Not just in the project he takes on(Probably just coincidence that I haven't really liked anything he's worked on since KH1), mostly just in how he tackles projects. FF's always been a favorite of mine, and I've been upset over its handling pretty much since the old-guard left during FFX's development, and Motomu Toriyama became Square's golden boy alongside Nomura. The series' reputation has been... more than a little tarnished since they took the reigns.

This is how I've felt ever since the second game came out. I would have much preferred if each game was a different story about the bad guys and the Heartless trying to use Disney worlds to do various nefarious deeds. KH2 took a hard right on that idea, and instead just used the fact that Disney was around to springboard into a... pretty bad anime plotline with an EPIC OVERARCHING STORYLINE! It felt like a lot of the premise of the first game(Worlds merging together, thus allowing Final Fantasy and Disney to mingle with each other) was just cast to the sidelines. In 2 especially, the fact that Disney characters were even around felt like an after thought. There really wasn't a reason anymore that you needed to be chasing these Hot Topic anime cliches through Disney worlds, and the game just fell off for me. Birth By Sleep kind of got back on track, at least with making the whole Disney aspect of the games relevant again, but it was still sticking to the... just awful storyline that CoM(CoM's story is, as you said, passable, but it introduced the OXIII, who have been a blight on the franchise ever since) and 2 brought to the series.

It'd be one thing if this happened with every director, but this is a very Nomura thing. I admit the FFVII Remake thing is not fully his fault, but at the same time, it's been 3 years since we've gotten an update of any kind on that game, other than "Oh yeah we fired the old guys and now it's all in house and we're in full production now", which we got earlier this year. 3 years from the planning stages(For a game that's already been made, mind you) to finally starting the project is an insane amount of time, and they still have nothing to show for it. Unless they come out and reveal that the whole game is nearly finished within the next year and say that it'll be out by 2020, they're already behind schedule for a typical AAA game. And their last statements still indicate that the game is episodic, meaning that we're still under the assumption that we're not even getting a fraction of the game after 4 years of planning and development. Most games are conceptualized and finished within the amount of time it took Nomura's team to go from the planning stages to the production stage alone. FFXV took 10 full years to develop, 8 of those being under Nomura's guidance. You know what happened in 8 years? There were 4 Souls(Demon's, Dark Souls 1-3), and a conceptual spinoff with Bloodborne, and the franchise's style has infected the gaming zeitgeist. Entire franchises come and go within 8 years. That's roughly triple the development time of most AAA titles. Then Nomura left the FFXV development in early 2014 to focus entirely on Kingdom Hearts 3, a project that's been planned and has been in the pre-development stages since 2010, and development proper started around 2013. The game's not coming out until 2019. That's 9 total years of work that has gone into KH3, and even the 5 years of full development is an insanely long development time. These long development times are something that are distinctly Nomura. I can't think of a single other game director who is as bad at managing time as he is, which leads to conflating budgets, which is why Square is in dire straits right now. It's actually astounding to me that he still has a job. Konami straight up dropped Kojima as the development of Metal Gear Solid 5 was nearing completion precisely for this same reason, but Kojima only took about 4 years to nearly finish that game. Kojima is possibly the second most infamous example of a game director taking too much time on projects, but even Kojima at his worst never took much longer than 4-5 years to conceptualize, plan, and develop a game. Death Stranding will likely be out in 2019 or 2020, maybe 5 years at most after he was tossed to the curb. And Kojima has had to start his own development studio and acquire funding on top of the typical development steps to get that game off the ground.

Depends on your tastes. There's nothing that's outright objectionable in KH quite like there is... frankly, all throughout Fates. KH is far more up its ass with how self-important it is, which only gets more aggravating the more the script looks like it was written by a 13 year old who watches too much anime. Which has been the series in every game after the first. I'd say on a very base level, KH has the worse writing, but there's not any one single thing that would piss somebody off like with Fates... where there's about two dozen things that would piss somebody off.

I'm not saying mental health is the ONLY issue here. Obviously we need sensible gun control. But actual treatment would have likely prevented this. PTSD isn't a joke, and therapy exists for a reason. And I'm not actually sure stricter gun control would have stopped this. This wasn't some random angtsy teen that got a hold of his dad's rifle, or a crazy dude who walked into a Cabella's to arm himself. This was a marine vet. Veterans are a group of people who get carte blanche when it comes to gun ownership in quite a few parts of the world, including places even with sensible gun laws. Just about the only people who basically aren't given a free pass are people who are dishonorably discharged. Even if it wasn't the case that vets just have guns, good luck trying to stop them from getting one. I don't even think the dems would dare restrict access of guns to vets in America. It'd just be too taboo, and it'd make them big targets for these kinds of politics. "THE DEMS DON'T WANT THE PEOPLE WHO PROTECT THIS COUNTRY TO HAVE GUNS RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE" You can argue for stricter gun control all you want, but this case is perhaps the textbook argument for mental health treatment as preventative care for violent incidents, simply because of how impractical gun control is in this one case.

Matsuno still stops by every now and then to give consultation and guidance. He's one of the people helping with the FFXIV Ivalice raids. He's still clearly invested in Ivalice stuff, but I think the act of directing a mainline FF game kind of killed his enthusiasm to really get knee deep in a big project, and it's why he left Square. I don't think it'd be too far to ask him to be an advisor of sorts to another big Ivalice project. If somebody else directed, while he gave some input, I'm sure everyone'd be happy. Either way, Square really needs to get some competent directors for FF games. Somebody who can either manage a project(Not Nomura) within a reasonable timeframe and budget, and somebody isn't a complete dipshit/somebody who doesn't let their weird fetishes dictate their work(Not Motomu Toriyama). Those two have been their big show runners for a decade now, and I don't think anybody really wants them back. Or at least, I don't think anyone would really be frothing at the mouth for more of their projects, which is really what Square needs. Tabata looked promising because he was capable of wrangling such a massive project like FFXV, even with its glaring flaws... but he's gone now.

Character-wise: I like enough to explain: 1. Leif. Just about the only lord with a believable story of growth. Shit hits him hard, and he learns how to be a good leader in the most trial-by-fire lord arc in the franchise. When he fucks up, he fucks up hard, and it's almost never undone by some weird story cop-out. It makes his eventual success all the more enjoyable and deserved when he finally leads possibly the weakest liberation force in the franchise to victory over one of the most ruthless armies in the franchise. It's also refreshing that he straight up just wants to murder the antagonist of his game, and doesn't mince words about it. It all helps him feel very human. Liberating the Thracian peninsula may be his ultimate goal, but Raydrik's head is the icing on the cake for him. 2. Hector. A brash brute with a self-conscious side that was worried about his image that was really well done. While it may just be head-canon and a gameplay mechanic to incentivize playing his campaign, I always felt it spoke to Hector's character that he's the lord who really fully puts together what happened with Nergal, and the overall story of FE7. 3. Micaiah. I actually really like her story, and that she doesn't always do the morally right thing. She shares some of the things I like about Leif. She's the leader of a scrappy resistance force that's trying to liberate her country. It kind of hurts her that all of this(The good and the bad) was orchestrated on her side, though. It makes her growth seem a bit artificial, and we really only get like, 1 or 2 chapters of her recovering from this revelation, as she essentially gets high-jacked by Yune for the last chunk of the game. 4. Ike. The closest thing to a "Commoner works his way to greatness" story in the franchise, and it's handled pretty well. He's not just some perfect guy who fits perfectly with the higher-ups in the world and does everything right. RD kind of just turns him into a meat-head, though, which I always felt wasn't the best direction for him. 5. Alm. I do wish he was more like his Awakening interpretation(Never thought I'd say that), but him being an earnest goofball is a decent way of handling him just being a typical "good lord". It gave him a lot of characterization. 6. Sigurd. Him as a character is kind of bland. He's brash and self-righteous in the way a lot of FE protagonists are. What I do appreciate is that his actions and character are what lead to him being the perfect scapegoat for Alvis and the Lopto Sect. Him taking advantage of the strife in Jugdral to do good for the continent only makes it that much easier for the powers at hand to brand him as a traitor. I enjoy him being kind of a "deconstruction" of a lord character, even if it only really works in the meta sense. I like, but don't feel like explaining: 7. Lyn 8. Celica 9. Seliph 10. Marth I don't like, but don't feel like explaining: 11. Roy 12. Lucina 13. Eliwood 14. Chrom 15. Eirika I hate enough to explain: 16. Robin. Fine for the first 2/3 of the game, but then they high-jack a story and become the complete, total center of attention. Everything that happened prior? Turns out it was ALL because of Robin. Every single thing, and now suddenly the whole world revolves around them, and an otherwise unremarkable story and game completely falls apart the moment they take the spotlight. Beyond this, Robin's just kind of a doofy nerd that everyone loves unconditionally. There's enough there to not totally loathe Robin. 17(Tie). Corrin. Robin, but without the chunk of the game where everyhing's going fine without them. Three routes give different versions of the character, and they vary by quality. From "Meh, could be worse" to "Oh no, this couldn't be worse". Just a... bad character on their own, and the story so totally focuses on them that they doom the plot by proxy. 17(Tie). Ephraim. The biggest Gary Stu in the franchise. From the moment Ephraim first appears, he's not only beating insurmountable odds, he's torturing the odds, brutalizing the odds, and then burying the odds 6 feet under the ground. People can't open their mouths around him without slowly gravitating towards his pelvis. And he's a goddamn plank of cardboard while doing it. His saving grace is that he never does the dumbest thing imaginable like his sister. And when he does do something stupid(Like storm a castle with an army of 4 people), it works out overwhelmingly in his favor, so it never feels like the plot if being carried by his ineptitude like Corrin. On the flipside, it'd be sooooo much better if he ever once felt the consequences of his actions. At least Corrin lost friends and family in ways that weren't out of their control.

Howdy.

This was a soldier who was recommended treatment after displaying signs of PTSD, but was cleared after a quick examination. This is something that was absolutely preventable if mental healthcare was taken more seriously.

The Ivalice team is still there, and a number of the people involved with the Ivalice games are still there... though... I don't really know what they're doing beyond consultation for the FFXIV raids. Maybe we'll get an Ivalice game next. Also, I feel bad for Tabata. He basically took over work from a maniac and salvaged what was there and got a working... ish product out in about 2 years. Having your entire life be "Make more FFXV content" for 5 years seems like it'd be soul crushing.

Double post, but new topic: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-resigns-at-trumps-request/2018/11/07/d1b7a214-e144-11e8-ab2c-b31dcd53ca6b_story.html?utm_term=.3089a46426bf Sessions has been fired(Technically he resigned, but he was told by Trump to resign).

Native Americans are one group that has absolutely EVERY right to be offended. They were borderline genocided and are still treated like trash in the country they discovered and inhabited for over ten thousand years. It'd be one thing if this had a purpose, but... it doesn't. Mr. Game and Watch really doesn't need this. There's 0 harm in removing it, vs. potential harm in keeping it.

Minnesota went all blue, which is nice. Every level of the state government is blue. I think people saw Dayton doing a good job. Business has been booming in MN under him, and the Republican smear campaigns held little weight to people who knew this. As a state that typically switches up the governors by party every 2 terms, Walz beating Johnson so handily should say something. EDIT: Scratch that, MN senate is still red. Either way, 2/3 control of the state government is better than the 1/3 we had before.

I realize how stupid it is to be optimistic at this point. But I'll try.

I don't see it being too huge of a problem. Should Wisconsin go blue(Which is may), Michigan go blue(Which it probably will) and Pennsylvania stay blue(Which it has), it might help quite a bit in 2020. I don't think Trump is very well liked in those states currently, and them going for him in 2016 was a big reason he won. Should that hold true to 2020, there's no real legislative nonsense republicans can pull to stop those states from going blue. On the flip side, it might make getting Ohio and Florida harder for dems to pick up in general in the future.

Politics have taught me to never trust anyone named Paul, Rick, Scott or Ryan. Especially if your full name is any combination of the two. Paul Ryan's political career will be one of those that people would get super sad about if he wasn't such a massive wuss. The journey from presidential hopeful to complete joke and the scapegoat for his party was... quite something. Losing his job knowing that the president he's sucked up to will hate him will make it so much better. Then all of the stuff in between, like RATM telling him to fuck off during his run... One can only hope Ted Cruz eventually gets a similarly fitting end to his political career.

We can stifle the country's bleeding for another 2 years, at least. We still will need proper treatment in 2020.

Pretty much. I think fans of franchises with games that are coming out within the next few months, or have released within the last year are the ones who are the most sure right now.

I am skeptical that they'd include an 8th gen Pokemon. The release of the next generation of Pokemon is way too close to the projected final date for Smash DLC(Probably October-November 2019, to the projected date of the fifth fighter being February 2020), if these 5 characters are indeed the only 5. They have 3ish months to pick, plan, design and build a whole new fighter, which seems way too early. Sakurai's already been given his choices. Not that I would doubt that he'd get early intel on some stuff like Pokemon to make plans ahead of time, but a whole year seems really far in advance. Plus... as nice as a Smash bump is, Pokemon really doesn't need it. Pokemon's totally fine on its own, and the crazy amount of crossover it has with Smash is probably more to due with how well Pokemon fit into Smash. Nintendo's calling the shots, and I think if they were to promote a new title that might need a bump(Fire Emblem) or an older one that couldn't be hurt from more exposure(Xenoblade), they'd pick those over Pokemon. Of course, I've been wrong with Smash before. Within the last week or so, even. But an 8th gen Pokemon just feels off this early.

That's like... everybody. Well, except Sony.

Yeah. Forgot about that. The fact that Pit wears a toga and a laurel crown should have tipped me off.

Yeah, that seems like an oversight.

Maybe they want people to think Nana and Popo are siblings as opposed to love interests? Or maybe it's just to confuse everyone, which Nintendo is very good at. Also game designer and boxart designer not having the same ideas wouldn't surprise me, since that happened all the time in the NES era.

I was talking about their in-game sprites: I could be seeing "braids" as just creases in their parkas, but they have pretty dark skin in-game. Though now that you've showed me, it's clear they went with that artstyle for their depiction in Smash, which is why they look like white Kirbys in parka-mechs.

Oh, ouch. Quick Draw I always remember being a reliable recovery option for Ike that really helped compensate for Aether, so having ONLY Aether seems really bad. Sounds like complete edge-guard bait. I made it half way down the list without realizing the names. I got to Pokemon Trainer and saw Michael Vick and was like "WHAT?!"