Interdimensional Observer

Sorry then for missing such basic information! >_<

XC2 has the heroes of that game getting an invitation from someone, they walk through a portal, and end up in a dimensional crossroads of sorts- The Land of Challenge. The nonsensical Nopon Archsage who brought them there introduces them to Shulk and Fiora from XC1, and within the confines of this The Land of Challenge, they can fight together. Elma shows up in this place, tricked by the Nopon Archsage who visited NLA into using a special combat simulator. She thinks the heroes are virtual Ganglion in said simulator, and they have to fight back against her as a boss. After the heroes win, the trick ends and everything is explained, Elma makes friends, and she can within the Land of Challenge fight with them. If you then win a second battle against Elma, which is tyrannically uncontrollably hard even on Easy, the Nopon Archsage gives her the power to be brought into XC2's world and she can be used there. She has a few scenes there, but nothing affecting XC2's plot. And, just so she doesn't have to worry about the Lifehold Core running empty while she's gone, the developers wrote it so the Nopon Archsage says that while Elma is in that simulator that lets her cross into the Land of Challenge, time moves at like 1/1000000 it regularly does. It'd require centuries in it for any significant amount of time to actually pass in Mira. -So long story short, it's pure fanservice through and through. I saw this was revealed off to the side for Switch on the same day as the Nintendo Direct: It already has a dedicated website. It's a sequel to a minor-but-apparently-good PS1 strategy game. If the reviews check out well, I might get it. And on an Xenoblade note, this game has the character designer from XC1 and XCX coincidentally.

I don't speculate, nor do I keep wishes. But I am going to ponder, when will 5th be announced, and when will they release? Does Smash want to end the year with the 1st Wave finished? If so, then maybe early November for Terry? At that time, the 5th will be revealed, and they'll be added just in time for Christmas?

She is in Echoes too I strongly recall. But since she only uses Aura there, if you do as you did above for the NES original and drop her HP low enough there so she can't Aura, then you can trap her and she'll never be able to attack again. She won't warp to a heal tile, only walk to one. I usually let her brother deal the hurt and take the agony in return. But, I don't remember if Taharrah has Fortify there, or if he has a lackey that does. Or if that did anything to screw up containing Delthea. I don't think so.

*Does a look over Sessions Skills, ignoring the 2 everyone has without El-/EX levels.*: Itsuki: Sessions off of 6 different attributes Tsubasa- Sessions off of 3 different attributes Touma- Sessions off of 3 different attributes Kiria- Sessions off of 3 different attributes Eleonora- Sessions off of 3 different attributes Mamori- Sessions off of 4 different attributes Yashiro- Sessions off of 4 different attributes Now I see... 😐 This isn't so bad factoring in the two Session Skills without El-/EX levels everyone has. Itsuki gains nothing new to Session off of from them, but everyone else does. Kiria gets a 4th attribute to Session off of, while everyone else goes up to 5. There is the issue of having only 6 Session Skill slots until the final Stage Rank 20 is reached. And even then, Tsubasa and Touma must sacrifice an El-/EX to make room for increasing Sessioning diversity. Giving up one or two El-/EXs for a weaker skill does potentially hurt damage output, and it will affect what Sessions are possible. On the surface though, trading Sword-Lunge EX for Wind-Wind on Tsubasa as example can be pretty reasonable. If Tsubasa is Sessioning off a Focused Blade from Itsuki, then you can't expect Sword-Lunge EX to deal that much damage, since the enemy very likely has Lance resistance due to using an Axe. Wind-Wind on the other hand if it Sessions off of a Zandyne from Kiria, will hit for extra damage. Yet, what of later parts of a Session sequence? What if getting rid of Lance-Lunge EX stops Yashiro from then following Tsubasa's Session off Focused Blade with a weakness-hitting Lance-Slash EX? This can't be predicted so easily. The Power of El-/EXs is more than double that of their basic versions. However, from what I understand of SMTIV's mechanics concerning Skill Power, then that isn't too significant if the exact same mechanics apply to TMS. If Touma trades Sword-Lunge EX for Axe-Blaze and neither hits resistance or weakness, then Touma is hitting for only 37 less damage at any level with any Str stat. Is 37 damage that significant? I don't think so at all. But I forget enemy HP values and normal damage outputs. Though, if everyone loss the same small loss in aiming for Session diversity, that would be about 200 damage you'd be missing out on. I doubt the situation would be so though bad though, provided that Session Skill diversity made for parts of the Session to hit weaknesses when it couldn't prior. Yet in the end, this wouldn't make the game felt to be any harder or easier if you went for Session Skill diversity or power. It seems very minor. -Though returning to the original point with Itsuki, he is the only one with an El-/EX Axe- Session Skill. That I recall was a problem since I didn't have Axe-Blaze/Axe-Lunge on Touma/Tsubasa, it shut down Mamori's offense a few times in normal battles when the enemy nulled/reflected/absorbed Itsuki's Elthunder or whatever would have followed it. Given Barry is going to be Axing it up, I'd hope Tiki or Maiko would have stronger Axe- Session Skills. And, a solution to being able to remove Itsuki, would be adding a Radiant Skill that lets Itsuki Session before the members in the active cast do. From what I recall, Sessions always have to start with somebody not in the sub-cast, though I forget if the third active person also has to Session before the sub-cast does.

I've never played Undertale, it didn't interest me. I did want to see what the hoopla was over the game, and so read a gameplay and plot summary online. And hearing that Undertale is all memes and funnies going to guess Sans gets his name from the font "Comic Sans"? The supposedly most hated font in existence. Having two Nepfans with similar Nepnep avis on one board going back and forth in replies, makes it it look like to someone quickly skimming as if it is the same poster/clones. Does the lavender lady have some super-speed afterimage trick? On the topic of XC1DE, will they be adding the Fashion Armor feature from XCX? XC2 didn't have armor slots, so it had to make the costumes into Accessories/Aux Cores. But, XC1 doesn't have to do that, which is better for gameplay freedom anyhow, even if the costume Accessories had great effects. And if an XCX port or XCX2 should happen, and it so happens we get XC2 characters in the game, can we not get Rex? Why?: I would assume, and prefer, that XCX keeps its more realistic aesthetic than plain old XC's. And when I think about what Rex would look like in that "(through the filter of anime) realism", I'm not sure he'd look good in it. Rex is too much of a child visually, and that I think is to his detriment. I'm afraid he'd make me want to dip my head into that acid lake in Cauldros. Nia I would say would share Rex's problem. Tora, while viable as a Nopon, has Poppy, who would also seem out of place. Morag or Zeke therefore would look much better I believe, since they're both more mature. And I'd say Morag more so, since Pandoria might be a touch too unrealistic, whereas Brighid seems more readily adaptable. And actually thinking on it, there aren't any human children in XCX IIRC. Lin is considered a child of 14 years, with that innocence being part of her perspective and Tatsu relationship, but she doesn't look the most "childlike" to me. It's almost like she was forced to be a child, or that a child was forced to look adult. One or the other. Which then leads me to think, if there are no children in NLA, did they all die with the Earth? Or did they not have mimeosomes and they've been sleeping in cryostasis in the Lifehold Core the entire time? The former possibility seems too cruel. But if merit chose who got on board and who didn't, then I can get the cutting of dependents. NLA has plenty of young adults and adults who look like they'd be fertile. But, maybe Rex wouldn't look that bad with greater realism.

Yes, right from the trailer. Was that floating island with the blue underside originally there though? Prolly not, but TBF, the Shoulder was unfinished.

I have 3H now, and a Pro Controller, and Ys VIII, and FFXII. But, I need to find something to do with my life. Can't be a layabout forever.

The ability to swap Itsuki into the sub-cast, this is the biggest problem I have with the game as is. Only 3 battle slots, one always occupied by Itsuki. Tweaks to tighten the plot a bit. Tweaks to polish up the characters, particularly the Mirages. That the new trio of 95% certain-to-be-playable Maiko, Tiki, and Barry have good availability. New playables who barely have any playtime is bad. At least one substantial new dungeon. I'm not expecting any major gameplay changes, this is only an enhanced port, not a reimagining or a sequel.

But she did otomes with prettyboys before 3H. Does this suggest she had limited choice on the designs she drew? Wasn't that something Kozaki ran into with Fates?

I once heard Brexit described as "a solution in search of a problem". With the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 80s and early 90s, the Labour Party moved more towards the political centre. In response, some in the Conservative Party believed they had to find a new way to differentiate themselves, and so they stumbled on the idea of Brexit. Although, another, different source said that the Conservatives have had a problem with "Europe" since Thatcher. And that prior to Brexit, the idea was to massage the problem, which never exactly sufficed, and now the massage has been thrown out the window. Said individuals sounded trustworthy and intelligent, but I haven't a clue how accurate those descriptions are.

Looking at Barry, if you pause the trailer at 0:58, you get a good look at his Carnage Form. Or a Basilio Mirage. I could it being see either, though Vaike is a blonde like Barry. And whichever he doesn't get I could see being added as a new boss in some side content. Barry either way should be a "Barbarian", the non-Armor Axe "class" of enemy which the heroes didn't have anyone belonging to. Although he is wearing silvery armor, it is much less than Mamori's. And, nobody on the player's side share classes. Itsuki and Yashiro are "Lord" and "Myrmidon" respectively. Maiko should be getting her own class, given there isn't a third sword one as is. And Tiki will have a new one too, with a Wyrmcide weakness if enemies get to use that now. Some basic deducing of the new playable trio's primary attack attributes: The trailer also makes clear that Barry's weapon attribute will be Axe, and his primary elemental attribute will be physical Force. Tiki will have Fire as a primary elemental attribute in the form of magical Fire. That will be good, since Touma and Yashiro were both physical Fire primaries, unable to learn Bolganone and leaving out of the player's hands; Tiki should be getting that ultimate spell. Maiko we know is Sword for her weapon attribute, but we don't know her elemental and whether she is physical or magical regarding it. Nobody in the base game has two weapon attributes, so we can rule that out for now. Having Sword makes her like Itsuki and Yashiro, so she can't have either's primary elemental attribute or else she is the exact same. Itsuki's primary elemental is magical Elec, and Yashiro's is physical Fire. Since Body and Mind cannot be Session'ed off of barring the addition of new Sessions Skills, if we exclude having the other of magical Fire or magical Elec, then that leaves Maiko with either Ice or Force. Of these two, given the black dress and change from dark to light blue hair, we can assume Azura as Maiko's Mirage. If we assume Azura, then we can recall Azura can bend water in Fates. As ice and water are the same thing in two different forms and SMT usually only has an Ice element under which watery things are placed, then, it is safe to say Maiko will be Sword+Ice. As for physical or magical ice, Azura canonically would say magical. And it wouldn't be impossible due to redundancy with Kiria, since Touma and Yashiro already overlap as physical Fire. Tiki's second primary attribute is unknown. Dragonstone or Breath or that TMS enemy-only "Bite" as a weapon attribute is unlikely. Because then that would mean inventing new Session Skills to flow from it and assigning the new weakness to enemies. Sounds like too much work. Save ManaTiki to Special Performances and whatnot. Tiki does use a staff in the Bloom Palace, and see she is magical Fire. Kiria uses "Rods" as her Carnages to cast magic, which look similar to staffs. So it is not unfeasible that Tiki's own Carnages will be Staffs and that she will be like Kiria a double primary magical unit. When Touma, Eleonora, Mamori, Yashiro, and what appears to be Barry, are alllllll purely physical, another "mage" like Kiria will be appreciated on the "superficial balance" level. Tiki would fulfill that role. What then will be Tiki's second magical elemental attribute for the sake of Sessions? She already has Fire. I would rule out Force, since Barry is already adding a Force Sessionist. Since I deduced Maiko will get magical Ice, I can rule that out. Why add two Ice Sessionists? Furthermore, SMT traditionally considers Fire and Ice opposites weak to each other on demons that exude the one or the other. Which gives more reason to doubt Ice on Tiki. Therefore I can assume Tiki will be Magical Fire & Elec. I could very well be wrong, and Elec isn't traditionally very draconic in FE. But this is my guess.

Normally, I would not advise running into the camera if you're trying to flee from something, but this is a .gif of beauty. Never realized just how good Simians were as pitchers. *Yawn* So am I. Partly because a dog of mine was walking around throughout the night because their mind was a little fried after a ~monthly three-day fit of ~10 seizures. They just wouldn't go to bed. They're fine now thankfully. The story is weak, the characters can be tropey, and the entire J-pop and slice-of-life humor can be serious turnoffs for some people. The game's use of FE is mostly stylistic, with some gameplay references such as physical attacks being divided into Sword, Lance, Axe and Bow elements. But it is by no means a typical FE with the characters you love as you know them in it. But you will see Anna -and sir, she needs you to pay for that curry so hot it'll bring the unconscious back to life. Nor is it an SMT, no bleak post-apocalyptic world, no alignment system with varied endings, no demon recruitment. Nor is this a Persona game, contrary to what people smear it as, for: the life sim aspects, social commentary, and psychological collective unconscious mumbo jumbo; are greatly lacking compared to P3 and beyond Persona games. So then, what is it is, and what are Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE's strengths? The core strength of TMS is its gameplay. The combat is up to Atlus's usual turn-based standards, making this game more of an SMT in practice. Targeting enemy weaknesses trigger Sessions, where the other characters automatically gang up and pound away on the targeted enemy. This is like the Demon Co-Op attacks of Strange Journey, which shares a director or something with TMS, and from what I hear, All-Out Attacks in Persona 3 and beyond. A quality-of-life in the form of a "Quick Session" option has been added to this game's Encore edition. This should correct an issue well-noted about the original version- sitting through every Session adds up as time wasters. Spell names and some physical attacks use SMT standards. From Agi to Zio with Mediarahan and Myriad Arrows in between. SMT -kajas, -kundas, and -karns return too. The original game has 7 playable characters, and thing are pointing towards Maiko, Tiki, and possibly even Barry gaining playable status in the Encore edition. 10 characters is good. And while you have only 3 out fighting at any time, the rest gain EXP in reserves, and you can swap any non-Itsuki character for one in the Sub-Cast without wasting a turn. Unfortunately, as that exception indicated, one of three character slots is always locked to Itsuki, even when in a handful of fights a second character slot is locked. This very annoying, and unfortunately, the Encore trailer did not show it whether it is possible to remove Itsuki in this port. I hope they do, or at very least that they patch it in. No reason Itsuki has to be in every skirmish. The game has multiple difficulties. Hard, which I played on in full, is a fair challenge, some bosses proved outright difficult. There was a Lunatic, but it was NG+ only in the original version, so I don't know how hard that is not having played it. The game's dungeons are pretty good. Compared to the glorious Nocturne, the greatest of SMT's 3D dungeons, TMS is weaker, but it is much better than say IV and Apocalypse. In dungeons, enemies manifest as anonymous phantom-like things that will chase after you if you get close enough and then begin a battle. So like SMTIV. Reds are your standards, while the once-in-while black ones are Savages who will likely maul you if not absolutely prepared, and it's best you flee using the guaranteed "mercy action". Itsuki can swing his sword on the field to knock down non-Savage enemies, giving you sometimes an advantage in battle if you then choose to fight them. To strengthen your characters, you upgrade their weapons by acquiring Performa from slain enemies and bringing it to Tiki to convert into via Carnage Unity into new Carnages- weapons. Each weapon contains a set of skills to obtain, be they commands, passives, or session skills. Learning the same skill twice can strengthen it a little, to a point. Everyone has a limited number of skill slots for each of the three types, with a bit of variety for customizing what you give them. Radiant Unity provides for a separate set of passives that don't use the same slots. Just using the characters increases their Stage Rank to unlock the Performa needed for these. Eventually, you will unlock Class Change, which will alter the appearance of a character's Mirage, permanently unlock a couple new Carnages for creation, and provide stat boosts. The two Class Change options of each character gives different Carnages and distribute the stat boosts differently, for a minor optimization aspect. Each main character except Itsuki also has a set of three optional sidequests that unlock over time. It puts them through a little character development, and unlocks for them new SP-using commands called Special Performances, or random-but-powerful Ad-Libs, or random-but-also-strong Duo Arts. Graphically, the game takes pride in its colorful, dashing aesthetic. It's pushing no realism boundaries, but the garish flair certainly works for me. Has some decent anime cutscenes, used primarily for song sequences. Musically, the game is pleasant on the ear, no problems in this soundtrack. Everything works for what scenario it is intended for. There are the J-pop songs written exclusively for this game smattered about, but you can skip past them if you want. Some of them aren't half bad I'll admit. In Conclusion: If you can accept this isn't SMT nor Fire Emblem but an independent Altus project with Fire Emblem veneers, then the game isn't so bad. If you can successfully accept, ignore, eyeroll, and or laugh at the silly anime-Jpop elements, the game is even better. It won't be perfect, but the strength of the turn-based JRPG gameplay is enough to make it seriously worth considering. The score you give this can reasonably range from 7-8.5 I'd say. Maybe 6/10 if narrative matters that much to you though you still don't think it the be-all-end-all of games. But anything less I think would be sign less of "fair dislike", incongruence or just a lack of interest, and more outright hate for this.

Why are you posting THAT? I know too well what that is, I'm just asking why. -Don't get my hopes up. Is it symbolic of XCX now? An old piece of tech, wasting away in distant waters? Yet to be lifted out and brought life again on Switch?

You could just kill most of minions to send his AI into "Must retreat and get reinforcements!" mode. Then you can surround him and he'll never attack you.

Raising Dancer BST is just wrong. Powercreepy creepy creep. But at least these units are incapable of getting extra turns, right? But, with the glimmer of hope that TMS now stands a razor thin chance of being in FEH again, this pleases them greatly. Hee hee hee...😈 Since technically 9 of its 10 characters can sing. And not technically, 8/10 still qualify as refreshers.: Yashiro the Sword Infantry Singer (boring yeah I know) Kiria the Blue Tome Infantry Singer Eleonora the, possibly Blue Bow, Infantry Singer Mamori the Axe Armor Singer Tiki the Breath Singer, who might be a Flier given she can levitate a little Tsubasa the Flier Singer with either Lance, Green Tome, or Staff Itsuki should count as a Singer even if he doesn't sing other than that one time when everyone does. Since his Strike A Pose! is the closest thing to an actual FE refresh in TMS. He'd be either a Blue Tome Infantry, or a Sword Infantry likely with a Falchion, so an anti-Dragon Dancer. And now that Maiko looks playable, she should be Singer/Dancer. Because scrapped plans for TMS originally had her being playable with an FE Dancer as her Mirage. And it could very well be she'll be get a Mirage like Phina, Olivia, or Azura. Looks like twin swords so far. Boring, but we'll see.

So, what does this bump become at 40? How much higher?

Nope, I wouldn't say it's him. Not without indisputable or heavily implied evidence. TMS was made with Shadow Dragon specifically in mind. Nothing in it explicitly acknowledges Mystery of the Emblem. Draug can never wield an Axe as a Knight or General in any of his four games. Therefore, Azura could use swords. An Azura Mirage would mean including a popular character, so there are logical grounds for making her Maiko's Mirage. Clever connection, it could work. Agreed on all these points, especially the last. Having what looks like 10 playables now, but only 2 of the 3 active slots in battle be open, is really really really annoying.

Alas, Smash abides by its rules. It must be the main character of something, other characters can only get in secondary slots. And only first/second party franchises of sufficient popularity have the luxury of multiple character slots. But, they were a little lazy with DQ Hero here, since DQIII's has a female version that looks not that different from the male, but they haven't included it, right? As a sad fact of gaming, major franchises are usually represented by male characters. Or at least they have been.

TMS YES YES! But do I double dip? I'm not sure, normally I just buy a game once and thats it. Do I lay down another $60 for mostly the same game? And, I don't feel like diminishing my poor Wii U by taking away one of the rare things on it I'd play again. Though it looks like this game is making Tiki and Maiko playable, which is really awesome- provided they good availability. And oh yeah, Barry too looks like he is a fighter now. >_> Maiko was supposed to be playable originally, as a Dancer, which at the time would have meant Olivia. But going for the more popular and recent Azura it seems is absolutely fine and reasonable. The Quick Session feature sounds as though it addresses one of TMS's QoL problems, which is a good move. But, what remains to be seen and which concerns me, is whether I can take Itsuki out of the active cast. 10 playable characters, but only 3 active slots with one locked to single character, is very limiting. Even more binding is when certain fights lock a second slot too. ...SMTV? Is Atlus still in an existential crisis over the franchise's direction after Apocalypse? Looks so much better now. Now this reminds me of Primordia in a good way. The Wii let the creativity shine through despite graphical limits, but HD makes everything better even so.

Wasn't there plans for a scene where they return to the place where you get the ether cylinder at the start of the game, where, as you know... Exploring the BLS would definitely interest me, even if it looks redundant with the Leg. Maybe we'll find a lone surviving giant living in that one big house? Highly intelligent Tirkins or a new species or Nopon living in the tiny hovels. -Though they could bulldoze that stuff from the beta BLS and replace it with normal Homs settlements. If there is any minor addition to XC1 the game should make, it's a feature to turn off EXP gain, or gain at least from quests. Or just get rid of that darned level curve altogether. It does nobody any good. And I hope they add playable...

I AM FLOORED BY THE TOKYO MIRAGE SESSIONS #FE ENCORE ANNOUNCEMENT! Now there MUST be a chance that TMS crew will get into FEH! I don't give a teenage alien that FEH doesn't click with me, that this may finally be a reality at all makes me happy!: But given Fire Emblem Warriors got nothing in FEH, I better caution myself for disappointment.

YES TMS!! Do I need to say more? For its many faults and my initial hatred against this, I am TRANSFORMED by this announcement! Once I cool down, I'll post more substantial comments, but I had to record this raw and boundless feeling!

Have to disagree on Holmes. He is the only of the four "lords" to not be a copy of someone prior. His personality can be criticized as insensitive, and he could be nicer to Katri, but it is refreshing when Runan's has been done to death in FE. Not to say the Marthian personality is wholly unlikeable, I do like FEB2 Marth and Leif, but Runan IMO doesn't stand out positively for me, I say kinda bland. Picks up a bit later I admit. Runan is at his best when he has someone not-so-proper to be bounced off of, who breaks their properness and makes them seem more real. And Holmes provides once such personality. Likewise, I find Eliwood's best moments to be with Hector, or maybe Lyn. EliwoodxNinian bores me to tears, Fiora ain't any better; why even Marcus can be a good counter to Eliwood's straightman. Not to say I love jocks, Ephraim is on the whole a jockstrap to me (but I'll still give him credit in the funnies with L'Arachel). Holmes furthermore seems smarter than Runan, and much more capable on his own. You're little assessment of Holmes is undermined by the fact he knows he has made a bad move when he sees Kranion. Not one of those fools who plunge blindly into battle aggressively. Don't try to disagree. You can't reach out and fire back, but I can to you, I've got a Blessed Bow.😜

She could use Wind, but so could every other magic user who wasn't a High Priest (so, not Saias, Safiya, Schroff, and Tina). And Olwen only had a D Wind rank, which is the lowest possible usable Wind rank, since the basic tome is D instead of E for some reason. And the other two she could get access to are both A ranks, which is impossibly high to achieve for her without massive grinding. Even though I'll never play this game again, I still want to see Asbel come along. Thracia's dedicated Wind mage not-Ced, balanced with the Thunders of Olwen and Illios, the Lights of Homer and Linoan, and the Fire of Miranda.