Interdimensional Observer

Whatever you call the opening to the ballet Spartacus. Those drums are so intoxicating! Spartacus as a whole is good, but the opening from the music to the dancing and the stage presentation itself hooked me from the get go. (Seeing manly Roman soldier doing leaps in leotards was also funny.) Also, as cliched as it is, Chopin's Revolution is magnificent, so dire, so perilous- such is revolution! His Raindrops is also beautiful, if even more melancholic. (Thank you Eternal Sonata.) I really need to listen to more Classical music, I plan to see a livestream of Swan Lake produced by Bolshoi later this month. Thank you video games for getting me to like this stuff!

Certain affinities only. Mounties or footies only. Mages only.

That was just me joking about the Omega Yato. I questioned whether I should have said sword or not, but I opted to keep the minor joke.

Points for trying to make us laugh. Fan psychological theories are as overdone as anything with games perhaps (Majora's Mask), but this was good. IS in all calmness, sadly would deny that this was what they were going for. Yet you left one looming question of vital importance unanswered: Are Camilla's based on reality, or wholly reflective of an unconscious desire in Corrin? That was a joke.

How about we make it a musical! I'm joking! (I don't actually like musicals.) But I saw somebody pondered turning Fates into one on GFAQs. Somebody wrote a piece even: Something like this playing in the CGI scene where they're on the battlefield would be nice. And can't forget all the choreography done by the generic soldiers in the hack ground as it happens.

I'm feeling its going to be not modern enough to draw in the less hardcore fans. I won't mind, but I feel the sea change is just going to turn off too many used to things as they are in Awakening/Fates. The supposed "game hate cycle" is a cycle of human memory in general. Nowadays we look back on the Middle Ages of Europe with such nostalgia when they, to put it in vulgar terms, sucked. 1950s America is another example- they were great... if you ignored the fears of nuclear annihilation, McCarthyism, and if you were a straight white male of politically "moderate" views. Heck the Bush 2 administration is starting to become a source of nostalgia even. But no politics!

Archers/Snipers aren't that good in PoR with the effective bonus being trimmed from 3x might to 2x. Though unfortunately it appears FE has had even worse. T776 gives you Tanya (okayish) and the proto-Outlaw Ronan. And then we have Awakening and Virion. Oh the queasiness he gives me! Did IS learn NOTHING about what made early Archers in many of the games prior to FE13 so garbage?! Takumi and Niles remedied that concern, though BR!Setsuna worries me that they haven't learned enough. My long-held resentment toward Virion has at last been released. On the RolfxMarcia thing, I didn't mean it in all due seriousness. Their support is cute, and the idea of pairing such a sweet innocent boy with a nice and perky young woman is entertaining. In seriousness, Marcia probably sees Rolf as a little brother in their support conversations. Also, a number of Rolf's supports are built around his innocence and how he basically is too young to fight/has to mature due because he is fighting. Dunno if that features in any of FE6's young characters' supports. And on that note, Rolf's Tauroneo support gives some good Home Alone vibes for some reason.

The actual Fire Emblem. It's been: a gloried lockpick (Of destiny!), nonexistent, shield that seals, a family crest that amounts to nothing, a seal on a sword of seals, a succession item, a stone of light containing darkness, a medallion holding chaos, a chainsaw of destiny, and even an opera. This is the question I ask- how much of a role should the Fire Emblem play in the plot? Most games, even the very first Fire Emblem, generally relegate it to a minor role despite being titular. I'd personally say that Tellius does the Fire Emblem best, Lehran's Medallion has substantial importance from the beginning to the end of PoR. It remains important in Part 3 of RD, and while the Medallion itself is no longer that important in Part 4, the Covenant it symbolized and Yune- that which gave its fiery glow (you could call Yune herself the Fire Emblem) are extremely important. Plus, Ike as Hero of the Blue Flames (with that blue flame aura) connects the Fire Emblem and the main character together better stylistically than Marth/Chrom with the Fire Emblem being used as a shield. Fates shoehorns in the Fire Emblem it seems. Awakening's use of it, though okay in principle, I feel could have been better executed. Perhaps if we dumped Valm and reworked the gemstone collecting thing. If you treat all five Sacred Stones as Fire Emblems, Magvel did decently. FE7's Bern arc did well with the Fire Emblem, but was just an episode in the whole of things. I guess FE6 was okay if you consider the Binding Blade an extension of the Fire Emblem. Jugdral I like because it's proof IS can write good plots without centering things on the Fire Emblem.

Seems to me that T776 had a bunch of interesting ideas, just not the best execution. Fatigue, Capturing, and Fog of War all are ideas that can potentially work, they just didn't have the time/resources to get them to in T776. Stuff like healing staffs missing and random warp tiles into an inescapable room of pure death were just plain bad though. As for weapon durability in Fates. I kind of like that it doesn't exist. Mostly because I'm such a rare resource hoarder, hoarding pre-purchasable Silvers and Killers, Braves, Legendaries, Effectives, and Stat Boosters because I fear for "emergency situations" where I will just HAVE to use them. Said emergency situations never actually happen, and instead the stuff just rots away in my inventory. Fates freed me to actually use them all for once without fear of misuse. I don't forge in Fates, but overall, I don't think the absence of durability, and the introduction of drawbacks to compensate, made anything way too good or bad (outside of Rajinfried obviously). Nostanking was nerfed, but still viable. Silvers were player phase only, but okay. Killers probably should have not gained that 4x multiplier. Effective weapons perhaps need another flaw, as you'll only bring them out against units they destroy. Braves were perhaps slightly too inaccurate, but otherwise fine player phase tools (Serpent Spirit is redundant with Lighting though and one of them shouldn't have existed). Duals- give them an AS loss or something I'd think they'd be balanced. Venges were okay (as were the Spies) but they just come so late, at so high a rank, and don't have 1-2 range. Javelins and the like were balanced as well. Hagakure and Waterwheel were interesting in that they're Legendaries that focus on defense instead offense, and the rest save maybe Aurgelmir were good player phase only weapons restrained by the difficulty of getting to S rank.

The problem with the whole "creation of a new Valla thing" is that it is made of both Nohr and Hoshidan lands. But the thing between them is the Bottomless Canyon, not suitable for human existence. And if Corrin got the canyon plus a large swath of actually livable land on both sides of the canyon, we'd basically have two totally different culturally and possibly economically territories divided by a great burdensome nullity. Basically a Pakistan and Bangladesh scenario, only better in the sense we don't have an India between them. Or perhaps the Habsburg Empire is a better point of comparison. Either way, with Corrin the Naive as its ruler, I doubt said kingdom would be all that stable or prosperous in the long term.

Monsters are pretty weak, even the stronger ones for the most part. Valni can be completed after the route split ends or something, so a ~20/10 team should sweep it very easily. A couple of the latter Lagdou maps are a bit tough, mostly due to Stone/Shadowshot Gorgons IIRC. The last one is nothing but Draco Zombies, which can 2HKO everyone and are durable, so bring some dragon-slaying weapons and take out no more than 3 at a time.

Artur is pretty good, use him. In a no grind run, Natasha will hardly have any time to use Light Magic unless you promote her early, and L'Arachel will need an early promotion to use it at all (unless you do a lot of Barrier/Torch Staff spam for either girl). Light Magic isn't radically different from Anima, if anything it is a little inferior against most things, for a Sage, it will only see use when fighting Dark Magic users. That said, if you want a Light Magic user, make them a Bishop- the tripled might against all monsters is pretty sweet for the handful of chapters they feature in. Plus, Artur gets a C Staffs on promotion to Bishop, but not Sage (D instead), which means he can Restore from the start and with a little training gets Physic access. Moulder is okay, his Magic is low and his only meaningful distinction is his high Con, which means heavier tomes hurt his Speed less- you can do without him.

I think it says something that Effie is constantly raised up and shot down when comparing units. Maybe it just has to do with Fates's being recent and popular, but the other hand, it might be a sign that IS finally made an Armor Knight not unabashedly outclassed (I know Oswin and Gatrie exist, but I don't think anyone would argue them as vital as some do Effie). Takumi is a similar deal with the Archers, one that even some non-super casuals admit to being rather usable and solid. Yet of course, others, recognizing the classic flaws of Archers as still largely existing, are not so persuaded that Takumi is worthy of being in the highest echelons.

RD also adds Shine Barriers, which can make it impossible to cross the bridge without fliers for several turns IIRC. I kinda wonder why the one bridge which seems to connect Daein and Crimea would be ridden with pitfalls is both games. Isn't that kinda bad? On a logic note, wouldn't it have been better for the Laguz Alliance to treat the Oribes/Riven as a chokepoint and just stave off Daein assaults from their side of the bridge while Ike and the LA army invade Begnion again? If they encountered a Daein army in the field, it'd take much longer to recoup its losses and the Senators would have to acknowledge this- sort of saving lives from Daein, no? (Logic isn't the strong suit of late Part 3.)

The one instance in gaming that pops in my mind wherein the name of a mythological/famed person is actually used for a normal person, something common in reality but lacking in video games, is in Tales of Symphonia. But...

Ludveck is self-centered and wanted to save his own skin, better living in prison than dying a rebel if all you wanted was power for yourself. I think the question must be asked whether he really meant all he said, namely this line: “Exactly, Your Majesty. If you truly had the power to quell the civil war… As long as I could affirm that, even if I were executed as a traitor, I would have no regrets. Was that the truth. Or was he just saying that to improve his bargaining position? It is possible he did honestly ideologically feel Elincia was a weak leader and Crimea needed a replacement, and also that he thought he was the only one suited for the task. Basically, he could have been both egotistical and selfless/ideological at the same time. Plus, he had Lucia captive when he got captured. Ludveck thought Lucia would work to emotionally bring down Elincia, who would then free him and give in to his demands. He never expected Bastian to prepare a countermeasure for that (now that I think about it, Lucia owes Bastian big time).

One criticism I have of procs is that they cannot be trusted to activate when you need them, Classic FE has permadeath after all, you must assume the worst. They amount to bonuses more than actual reliable damage/kill increases. I concur a blend of Fates and Tellius would work best. Fixed and irremovable Class Skills like Wary Fighter on Generals, Tellius-styled Personal Skills where you can assign whatever, and maybe even as a frilly touch the Fates-styled Personal Skills. Also I prefer scrolls-learning to class-learning and instituting a point-based Skill cap. It is also worth noting TRS and BS for their skills ideas. TRS has many characters learn skills by hitting reaching certain levels. And it also has houses you can visit in certain chapters to learn certain skills in exchange for money. Because some of these places cannot be revisited (or so I think), it means if you place a given skill-teaching house early enough, you can deny the skill to a character who would otherwise be too good with it. BS has command skills that go on cool-down for a number of turns after you use them (as someone else already pointed out). When they're ready to be used again, you can wait forever before using them once more. BS also has command skills which you cannot use if you move beforehand on that turn. Both BS and TRS do have proc skills too, so cool-downs and procs can coexist. We should wait and see how Shadows of Valentia does skills, which seems to be equipment-based.

Bosses need not look evil. Nor: ugly, extravagant, strange, angry, cunning, pathetic, or any basically like any other negative trait. How about a generic boss who is disarmingly normal looking? Grunt: "Commander! The enemy is here!" Generic Boss: "Well we're prepared for it, let's end it before the upper brass starts to criticize our performance. We'll put their heads on spikes and array them along the nearby roads to intimidate the local populace. The standard procedure, just as we had done with those uppity peasants last month." Or, how about a young and handsome guy who sincerely believes in the ideology the villain is espousing? Who cannot be persuaded to leave, but is not a fanatic? Grunt: "My young commander, the enemy is attacking Tor Garen!" Generic Boss: "So Begnion has lent support to the Crimean pretender. Well sorry for her, but Ashnard is my ticket out of poverty. A successful military career should free me from want and let me live a decent life. If Ashnard goes and the nobles start infesting the officer corps again, or if I fail to achieve, I'll never find a good girl, start a nice family, and die happy. Instead, I'll die a sad indebted drunk."

I'm in agreement. I love Part 2, it works as almost its own standalone short story. Sure, it was really rocky gameplay wise, and another chapter or two could have helped the plot a bit more. But it was a light yet serious interlude that quite possibly was better executed than the Parts 1&3 it rests between. And yeah, Elincia's dear Crimean retainers needed more supports in PoR, but they joined so darn late. Better than Ena or Nasir though who joined so late they couldn't get anything. As for the skeletons of supports in RD, it makes sense from a gameplay perspective with the Part system constantly changing your team and everything around it. Though they still could have attempted a bit more I feel.

After long consideration. I'll pick for Azura... Kinshi Knight. Less generic than Falcoknight, and you don't have one on your team already. I was considering Sorcerer as viable (comparable Skill and Magic to Odin, but more Speed), but it'd be second fiddle to your Corrin. I considered Strategist via Elise, but that'd have I think only 23 magic or something by 20/20, much too low and she'd be relegated to staffing. Kinshi Knight will also free up your Spirit Dusts for Odin or Percy. I'm much too considerate. Enjoy your third flier, that First Blood aught to help with Hinoka!

The sacred stone giveaway drops her likability like a rock. Awakening's exaggerated portrayal of her as incredibly naive is not without a grain of truth behind it. Erika's not that bad (I generally try to be rather gentle in my criticism), I prefer Ephraim though. I mean he is a pure warrior at heart, nothing majorly different from Sigurd, Hector or Ike, but I just like him more. Points for Ephy for telling Myrrh to lay off on that whole "big brother" cliched thing that the Japanese find cute. I also prefer Eph!Lyon to Eri!Lyon. Guy who thinks he is acting of his own free will, but is actually not > guy who is clearly tragically possessed.

In every fanbase for a given game, there are fans who wish the mythological backstories provided became their own games. It. Never. Happens. Well, almost never at least. The mythological backstories exist as accessories (well, pretty important accessories) to the actual events of the game. I'm not exactly opposed to it, I'm just outlining a reality. My personal choice for a never happening thing would be a Magvel prequel, seeing how we don't even have the names of three of the five legendary heroes. That lack of detail means that while Grado and Latona can serve as poster boys who get much of the visible in advertising limelight, the three unnamed heroes could be left in the dark. As we play the game, we could be surprised by who ends up being the legends. Imagine that we get a strong guy who we totally think has to be the Jehanna legend, but surprise! They die and a pathetic nobody in the shadow of the expected hero ends up developing into the true legend of Jehanna.

Loptyr is another name for Loki, the Norse trickster god who killed Baldur (with mistletoe (Mystletainn) by giving it to Baldur's brother Hodr (Odo)). So he is in all likelihood male, but I don't think he'd mind a female host if that is his best/only choice. Though there is one funny incident where turned into a mare (female horse) to trick a stallion, had sex with it, and later gave birth to the flying eight-legged horse Sleipnir, who he gave to (his half-brother?) Odin.

I'd love to play any Japan only FE with a translation available, and I actually went ahead and tried emulate TRS, but I failed somehow with my Mac. Maybe when when the family PC gets replaced I'll see about keeping the old for myself for emulation. I'd probably skip Gaiden with the remake coming out. It'd probably be just too archaic to waste time from my finite life to bother with.

My Validar critique was less me not liking his skin or denying that he is human (he is), as it was me just harpooning his design in general. It's so bad. Sure it stands out vs. Gharnef/Judah/Manfroy/Veld/Nergal/Lyon, but in an atrocious way.