Interdimensional Observer

The DQ love? True, considering the myth that DQ can't be released on weekdays there because too many people will skip work or school that day. Dragon Quest is quintessential in the Japanese gaming soul. More than Zelda, considering Age of Calamity sold less there than a Konami game (yes, they still make them) thats railroads and Monopoly. -Just felt like throwing that weird tidbit in as an aside.

Theres a very long demo on the eShop for Dragon Quest XI. Just sayin' if you want a free sample of the very first JRPG franchise, which to this day modernizes, but remains rooted in tradition and always has a place for charm and cheeriness. Sounds strange for a game about the Japanese mafia, but I got the impression Yakuza doesn't take itself very seriously.:

At least for movies, they sometimes point out the obscure artistic stuff that doesn't make bank (which does disconnect them from the mainstream, but I'd say let that public TV aspect die and focus the ceremonies on the praising of good art), not to brush diversity problems in that industry aside. Video games I don't think need award ceremonies. A JRPG franchise created by Atlus, wherein a group of teenagers live ordinary lives of high school and side jobs and the silent MC bonds with his fellow heroes over the course of weeks and months. When you're not doing that, you leap into dungeons and engage in traditional turn-based RPG action, using the power of Persona, one's inner self manifested in the form of a deity, demon, or other mythological entity with magical powers. The plots always involve some aspect of human psychology and fighting the evil that lurks humanity's collective unconscious. My current avi is Apollo, Tatsuya Suou's ultimate Persona, from Persona 2. Persona 1 and the Persona 2 duology- Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, define "old Persona". The changeover to including life-sim aspects happened with Persona 3, and because Persona 3 financially succeeded where P1 and P2 failed, it became the formula copied by Persona 4 and Persona 5. Spinoffs include two Etrian Odyssey-styled dungeon crawlers, two 2D fighting games, three dancing games, and one Warriors-esque game. Persona 5 has brought the Persona franchise to new levels of popularity and acclaim. Although Persona did begin as a spinoff of Shin Megami Tensei, with Persona 3 and beyond, it has greatly exceeded SMT in popularity and has truly come into its own as an independent series. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona share in turn-based combat and dungeon crawling, but thematically, SMT is a lot darker and bleaker. The first SMT involved Thor pretending to be the US Ambassador to Japan, who on the Abrahamic God's orders, sent ICBMs to nuke Japan because demonic infestation made it unclean and undeserving of salvation, after a demon ate your mother and pretended to be her to try to kill you. -This was just halfway into the game. The demon wanted to kill you, because you are he who art destined to be the Messiah who in the end shall side with: the law-or-die angels led by the God, the chaos-or-die demons led by Lucifer, or humanity itself. In other words, it's the happiest line of video games on Earth.😁 It's a little bit of living a simple, cheery fantasy life. Decorate a house, catch bugs and fish, befriend cute villagers, make elaborate pixilated prints for clothing. It's very relaxed, and not for me. The games are best enjoyed playing slowly, a little bit every day or a few times a week, you appreciate its charms in bits as your life progresses IRL. It's too slow and uncomplicated for me, my tries with the games have seen me play it for about a week IRL before getting totally bored and dropping it, but I can see how someone might like it.

Oh. Don't have access to nor want VIIRemake, NGL the ending doesn't sound like what I would've wanted, but Cloud returning to good original form is pleasant news. The classic Four Classes of Light would make good costumes. All three of those excluding Warrior got clean and charming 3D models in Mario Sports Mix. Not so sure of Garland.

You say "good bases", but you're playing Ironman and his Lck is 2.☠️ That and the kinda meh 19 Str should sink him for you. Michalis's survival is maybe a little too happy though. And his ending is slightly badly written, how do historians not know if he ruled Macedon again? The alternative historians say is that he left to conquer another continent. He does get an alright one-part conversation with Minerva, and he tells Kris in their one convo why he is unable to break the spell holding Maria captive, or rather, doesn't want to despite Maria being his beloved little sister.

Good point. If he could rotate between Paladin and Dark Knight, it could make for a solid gimmick. Use the powers of the dark blade to KO your enemies, but at the price of increasing your %. Paladin would need either: minor healing abilities, heavy weight, a defensive moveset, or a combination of the three to be a counterweight to dark side's risk. To borrow from the special battle where Cecil undergoes his shift, if a Paladin will sheath his sword, the Dark Knight will draw his. Attack and defend as the battle tells you. What???????😮 One of the bad/alternative endings or something? And why the reference to a rock band whose singer has too much chorus?

Korcha from Chrono Cross or else! Since you ruled out Ayla... I'll say Robo, please don't kill me Frog.😆

I'm not sure who, if you told me right now to name a second FF character not Sephiroth, I'd pick. But the first name that comes to mind is Terra. FFVI is well-regarded, it's Square's final fantasy game with Nintendo, and although she nominally uses a sword, she would be very magical. FF's spell conventions are so noted that KH and Bravely use them. Because Cloud can't cast Thunder, let Terra fry him a Thundaga and he goes Limit Break on her, she'll Aeroga back onto the stage. Good point. Will be nice to see Sora speculation quelled a little. If new Assist Trophies were part of DLC, which they aren't, I wouldn't rule out the impossibility of making the SNES doll one of them. It'd give the age-old desirers a taste of him in action, that'd sate them more. Acacia Sgt. has mentioned this too. Chrono Trigger is peak 16-bit RPG bar none, so its near-titular character would be appropriate.

This idea was used for Berwick Saga I believe. You get a rare items for every four characters that die, up to 16 deaths. Valkyria Chronicles 4 has a Cenotaph where you can revive dead characters in the postgame, and I think if a character dies, you get a little memento accessory from them, the bonuses offered are generic, but the item itself is individualized. Casual mode stands in the way of any graveyard idea though. No locking content to Classic.

Final Fantasy does not need two representatives, and not from the same game, the game which is noted for being Square's departure from Nintendo. If we had to get another third-party JRPG character, someone from Tales would be new and better. And were we to get a second representative for a third party already in Smash, I dislike the Wisconsin level of cheesiness of Sonic, but I think I'd have preferred Tails or Shadow or Knuckles over Sephiroth. I don't have Smash Ultimate, I don't know who I'd actually want for DLC, and although I understand why most characters got picked, Se-phir-roth! is another reason for me to not feel anything towards it. Please note, I have nothing against FF, FFVII, or Sephiroth. I played the original game, I don't love him, I don't hate him. So, the same as Cloud? The original is the only good one and that sucks because the original game has aged like organic bread in a rainforest?

5-8 does not ensure quality. PoR had duds and most characters there had only 3 chains on average. However, I don't object to less, I'm simply cautious of treating less = better as a divine axiom. I was left wanting for more. There are some scenes that worked nicely there, and maybe it's because I liked those scenes that I wanted more. More from Sierra and a Tia-Xeno conversation come readily to mind. Of course, what I really want is a cool Tia & Sennet campaign, why Kaga have them do so much stuff offscreen with a band of nice characters and a donkey? Although now that I think about it wouldn't be that hard or different from usual, when I get to emulating again, I think I'll do an all-males run of TRS. It'd be my third, I already did an all-females run (that admittedly wasn't finished), so the menfolk deserve a chance. Enteh and Katri will receive honorary manhood because living is manly, Lee will be the second Marlon pick (I'm gonna try Narron for the first time), and Ms. Warp Staff will receive the manhood honor too, because losing one's sanity to a godawful map is not manly. For a second opinion on SRW, judging solely from the two GBA OG games and the first Masoukishin (and the two Endless Frontier games, the second of which has a good SRW-esque vibe to its cast and writing in spite of being a JRPG spinoff), it kinda is. Some maps being short and more cinematic than challenge can create a feeling of "3H imbalance" at times. But the games do let you fast forward through the dialogue. And first time around, I think all the dialogue is still enjoyable. It's well presented I suppose, and an interesting for being an alternative direction to what FE does. It could be all of them (minus Aaron & Aria) in one as different costumes like DQ Hero, actually. Their physical frames should be similar enough that nobody would notice if it seemed odd. They can all use the same weapon types, and Micah doesn't need to use his Wooly aspect. I would ask, in the absence of a Story of Seasons rep (the classic SNES-64-Back to Nature appearance would be my pick for a such character), that the RF character throws hoes, hammers, axes, sickles and watering cans into their arsenal of attacks. Unless you live with others and they complain you've left them with water that'd be right at home off the coast of Antartica. Also, water thats too hot is bad for your skin, though I keep repeating this health error. One could say, I'm not sure how much I believe this or what makes me want to suggest this, is that the more casual moments can be more humanizing. Plot can give people stuff to say, "Oh no, we must stop Evil Dude at the Cave of Importance. Let's go!", "I'm sorry your big brother had to sacrifice himself in front of us Cute Dudette.", these sentiments are constructed by the narrative, they can be customized to align with the character's personality, but they're artificial and generic to an extent. When things are chill, the characters aren't being guided as much, there is less prefabricated tropey text to fall back on, hence, there is a chance for things to be more natural, more real. A hero is acting extraordinary in heroic moments, they aren't as relatable, because IRL we're rarely heroic; hanging out is never heroic, it's mundane, as we are. Zhou Yu is looking just a little devious there. Does he see a Wei wooden coffin-to-be floating on water in the distance? 🔥 I have not seen this, I'll have to look it up later.🤣 I've nothing against Sephiroth, but why double up on that franchise? And why from the game where SE first jumped ship from Nintendo? TBF, Nintendo Aerith'ed themselves with the cartridge choice. If they wanted to do a third-party RPG character, why not pick a franchise not in Smash, theres still enough of those. Why not a Tales character? Yuri, Lloyd, this Velvet girl I don't know much about. Or Haken, Namco owns him, and he'd be fun in Smash, total super-duper pipe dream I've spontaneously generated for myself right this second. I've already blessed him with the power to walk on land:

I understand. My perspective on Child of Light is that it was "faux-indie", made by a major company, but with the artsy appeal of some indie games. If you want to be artsy, and "artsy" often equates to "short", then you best do it well. The perceptions that areas were cut and things rushed, not helped by the sudden dragging from the penultimate boss to the final boss, undermined that poignance I was supposed to feel. You're looking at it more from a gameplay perspective, I think I'm looking more at the story. I almost never go indie with my game choices, so I was expecting a good indie feel according to my preconceived notions, with the gameplay a nice second that made getting CoL more palatable to me.

I'd say my major gripe with the game is that it feels rushed. It needs probably another two or three areas. You shouldn't get the stars right when your journey begins, and it doesn't have a real final dungeon; I think the world map has an unused area with a name label on it. This is a big issue, because the game is already short, so for it to feel rushed is a serious blow. Otherwise, the game worked for me.

Interesting. Kefka-esque, yet the opposite of Kefka, considering by the time you fight him, he's all "I'm a god and I'm bored, life is meaningless and hopeless". Must be Valkyrie Profile hamsters then. That dead little franchise had hamsters show up as its super-deadly-must-avoid enemy in its reoccurring bonus dungeon.

True. In Brawl, it was "OMG 90s rivalry and Snaaaaaaake!" it was unprecedented. It was still cool in Smash4. But by the third time, the luster has faded, it's expectable and ordinary, even overwhelming the DLC. There are those who would argue "well Nintendo is out of good first/second party choices, third-party is the only way to go". To which I say true, Bandana Dee won't elicit the greatest enthusiasm, but I don't care. Sometimes, the seconds or the thirds of a franchise sitting in the shadows, could be more fun and creatively made than some third-party hotshot. And, it's a Nintendo game, why shouldn't it be primarily filled with Nintendo's creations? Persona getting repped makes little sense when the two Q spinoffs is all Nintendo has gotten of it, at least B&K defined part of the 64 era and DQ fits the usual Nintendo vibe with 1-6 and 9 & 10 all originating on Nintendo platforms. I hope it's just a phase, and that after this current legal wildfire passes, new vids will spring up again. Draggy! Nice to see you again! You doing okay? We've missed you. And don't fret over feeling insignificant. I've thought of the eventual death of the universe sometimes and driven myself into depressive mortal anxiety as a result before, because thoughts of the ever-expanding universe and trillions of years of existence which will meet its own demise one day does that to you. Politics can also lead me to feel insignificant. It's a very understandable human feeling. You're not alone, none of us are all that great by ourselves, which is why we have each other.🙂

I thought most political scientists agree that a parliamentary system is better, even the American scholars in the field. More "checks" in the American system, but it's more legislatively constipated too (which is sad when it's the good stuff that doesn't get done). As a rather unserious thought, I wonder if Trump would prefer a parliamentary system. Sure, he'd no longer have as many of the rituals of state due to a figurehead of some kind for that role, but isn't there usually a shadow government in parliament whose potential PM come the next election can harangue the actual PM on a daily basis? Trump loves stealing attention, him at one of those UK "Prime Minister's Questions" sessions sounds like an idea a political cartoonist could have some fun with. The presidential primary system is simple.: Starting at the end of 2023 and continuing into the election year, the Republican parties of each state hold primaries and caucuses, during which people can vote on who they want as their party's nominee. Depending on the state, it is possible only registered Republicans can vote in a primary/caucus. In other states, it is possible for people of any party or no party at all to vote on who they want as the Republican party's candidate. Provided you filled out the proper paperwork in advance, anyone can run for the nomination. The person who actually gets the nomination is whoever, as a result of the state primaries, wins the most delegates and crosses the necessary minimum threshold of them. If nobody has enough delegates to earn the nomination by the time of the Republican National Convention held in the summer, and there is a last patch of delegates and political rigamarole will pick the nominee. The Democrats use a similar system. The primaries function even in years wherein the current President of the United States is of the party and is eligible to run again, although you'd have to really disliked or controversial within the party to lose the nomination if you want it, so it has never happened. Critics of the primary process say that low voter turnout in the process means it favors the more hardline elements of the party. However, one could argue the opposite that the party elite, although they're not supposed to interfere, are able to manipulate things to a preferred outcome, which is usually more centrist. Trump in 2016? Maybe a failure of the party elite. Biden in 2020? Sounds like the party elite might've won. I don't study this enough to say which critics are right. Trump could run as an independent, there is nothing stopping him. Although his grip on the Republican Party right now is so strong that it would seem unnecessary. A strong third party can assure the victory of the other side too. The old election of 1912 wherein the Republicans were split between Bull Moose TR and Republican Taft got Democrat Wilson the White House. Much more recently, you could say even a small third party can be "dangerous", Jill Stein may have played a role in Clinton's demise in 2016.

Supposedly, American political parties change roughly every 30 years. From Washington (1792) to the Era of Good Feelings ending in 1824 you've the first system of Federalists and Democratic Republicans. Followed by Whigs and Democrats from Jackson (1828) through the 1850s which culminates in the dissolution of the Whigs, the formation of the Republicans, and the explosive goodbye called the Civil War (1860). Starting at the Civil War and going through the Gilded Age ending in the election of 1896 is the third American party system. McKinley (1896), Theodore, Taft, Wilson, and the three Roaring Twenties presidents are the ones who presided over the fourth party system. The Great Depression (1929) results in the New Deal, which fundamentally changes the Democrats and the role of government and hence creates a fifth party system. The end of the "Consensus" era of American politics due to Vietnam, civil rights, counterculture, and the Republicans going racist in the late 1960s would be about when things shift over to a sixth system. After this, things get too fuzzy and too recent to identify if there has been a shift. But as I said at the top, these supposed changes happen about 30 years. If 1968 and the election of Nixon marks the start of the sixth party system, then 2000 would be the general election that marks the end of the sixth and start of the theoretical seventh. Except, does it feel like we're in the seventh still, or have we gone past that point? Going back to the second system, its last decade, which we could say we're in for the seventh, did see the Whigs die off shortly after 1850, and yet the system wasn't entirely dead until 1860. The current dissolution of old Republicanism may soon likely be completed, but it may take until the 2024 Republican primaries with whomever it nominates to officially confirm it I suppose. How the Democrats emerge at the end of this historical cyclical construct based on real events, I do not know. But they may be changed, and if they are, I can only hope it's for this country's betterment.

Take a joke, you'll live longer.😝 I wasn't seriously advocating for Smash in FEH, I was merely continuing my above jest with a little more truthful detail. I know what you actually meant.

So, you're saying TMS is unimaginably fundamental to FE's existence?😜 Your simile is flawed. Remember, it's Melee that turned Faia Emuberumu into Fire Emblem. And to this day, it's the major reason Red Marth has any popularity in the West, BindRemake isn't until 2022 or 2030.

I was aware of this. I know Nayru once had a paintbrush and that Farore might have been a singer. I know the reason why Seasons has the tougher bosses and Ages the tougher puzzles is because they used to be Mystical Seed of Power and Mystical Seed of Wisdom respectively. I was merely contemplating whether keeping colors as the core concept (because time travel is ultimately more important for Ages) for a hypothetical third Oracle game was still worth it.

Being the Oracle fan I am, I'll take anything, scrapped or new! Although, too many ideas at once would be bad, colors and times of day sounds like it could end up as a mess where no aspect is fully fleshed out. I'd go with times of day, think its potentially more nuanced. Sure it overlaps with Oracle of Ages somewhat, but not exactly. You could see morning, day, evening, and night as a thematic intermediary between Seasons and Ages. It is the passage of time, like Ages, but, this is a slower movement of time, during which nature fundamentally changes. A desert in the day is very hot, a desert at night is very cold, it is in a sense two different "seasons" that happen on a daily basis. However, it's worth noting Veran already froze the time of day in Ages to build the Black Tower over the duration of one supremely long day. Colors can have gameplay complexity, I think there are some modern games that play with color as an essential gameplay aspect. But, it doesn't feel as coherent with seasons & ages. I'd want to ponder why Mystical Seed of Wisdom was considering color too. Was it because the games were to be released on the Game Boy Color? Would it be as special now? Certain Oracle of Ages puzzles come to mind as already using the color aspect, to what some would say are questionable results. I will say though I love how whimsically vibrant Oracle of Seasons was, for the limits of the GBC, it was beautiful, and I'd want any Oracle remakes/third game to capture this anew somehow. And again, a new core concept would be wholly agreeable with me too. I'm no good with coming up with ideas, so Nintendo would have surprise me after surprising me with the miracle that'd be Oo3. Funny. But in your scenario, Hylia is potentially evil and Ladydorf is potentially dateable by Link. That is actually worth a chuckle.

I had a dog who liked going under the Christmas tree. Not because they wanted to be a present, but because the lower branches made for a good backscratcher, likely because the sweater we put on them was itchy. No, Rath "married" Sacae: Although I'm fine with him and Lyn. Honestly though, I do like the idea of a person who conceives a child with nature itself. Could add a slight twist to RF if the MC being an Earthmate started as a single parent.

I've similar thoughts. Call me a scholarly serious stick in the mud (not that Canas is incapable of being used warmly- see his supports) if one must. Thats not a bad idea. Dark magic is capable of driving you wild, Nergal being the greatest example of this, but what if the insanity did not drive you to wanting to conquer the world or destroy it all? Henry could've been a milder case, where one failed to achieve the sublimation of the self that Bramimond has, but haven't become a crazed beast either. You lack for some common sense and socially acceptable behaviors, but not all of them.

Snow flurries! Snow flurries! Winter has arrived for me. It's not going to stick, it's still in the mid-high 40s F (7-10 C) where I am, but for the winter Romantic I am, a little thing like this is 😄. Why not? Had a hard time deciding on a single snow track to post, considering I already used up Flanoir, and are saving Valak for a later time.

There is going to be a lot of sharply different opinions on this I'd say. But, as for myself, I'll try to keep it relatively short, simple, and not harsh.: Micaiah Part 1, She is fine, a bit rushed unfortunately, maybe a little overcome by her powers for a moment or two, but fine. Part 3- She is shorn of her powers and body-slammed with the Blood Pact. I appreciate her struggling in a hopeless and impossible situation. Part 4- She is sadly swallowed by her powers in the form of Yune possession now, and Ike. Elincia: She is filler, irrelevant to the main plot, but good filler. She was a deuteragonist in PoR who didn't develop much, but was in the limelight. In RD, she gets to step out of Ike's shadow and experiences good character development. She goes from timid, indecisive, and unable to confront her own nobles, to being able to stand with confidence as an equal of Tibarn, a monarch with far more experience and everything else. Ike I don't mind a stoic badass with a liking to fight, at least he keeps it in check. Lack of development is okay. I don't blame Ike for all the favoritism the plot gives him. Him being placed on the objectively good side of the P3 conflict is to Micaiah's detriment, and him being the star of Part 4 Final is to Micaiah's tragic loss. These are faults of the writing that do involve Ike, but I wouldn't say they're written such that I can blame him directly. -But can I really blame a fictional character who by not existing IRL has no agency of their own? As for what "blame him directly" would mean, maybe, if I should make this divide, I could use Sacred Stones for an example. Ephraim has to rescue Eirika in Scorching Sands, to Eirika's loss as a character. Ike vs. Micaiah in Part 3 isn't the same, because RD wanted to have Beorc vs. Laguz conflict, it assigned Micaiah to the Beorc side to give it a hero. Which wouldn't be bad were it not for the two sides being lopsided in favor of the Laguz. There is no greater reason why Eirika had to be rescued by Ephraim. Again, I don't know if I should make this distinction. I don't always regard my own "developed" arguments as ironclad, I accept that I could be wrong. Skrimir Yes! I count Skrimir. Call me biased towards him if you will. Why not count Tibarn as the equal to Skrimir? Tibarn is old and though he changes a little, he is mostly a pre-developed character. And unlike Ike, he can't ever have claimed to have been mostly undeveloped. Tibarn, like Soren, Sanaki, Ranulf, Pelleas, and Elincia actually, are deuteragonists who form RD's unusual for FE attempt at something of an "ensemble". Skrimir is a deuteragonist I think you can say, Ike and Micaiah are the only true protagonists there are. However, I insist that Skrimir is the closest we get in either Tellius game to a main protagonist for the Laguz. Which is odd, when you consider the Tellius (which to be fair was always defined with Ike as its main hero) is quite often about Beorc and their alternatively violent and peaceful coexistences with the Laguz. Skrimir has a character arc. He starts as a proud, hotheaded beast who hates tactics, loves charging into battle, and ends up calming down and learning the importance of strategy. It is not complicated in the least, but this growth which takes place over Part 3 and ends with Part 4 Prologue, is something I've come to like.🙂