Klytus

Depsneds upon who I get by then. Currently, I only have one healer (Clarine), and she's a 3-star, so it'll definitely be her if I don't get a better unit by then.

I find myself using dual attack much more often than dual guard, mainly because it keeps both characters free for the next round. That said, dual guard has saved my butt a couple times when I neglected to see a defensively weak character was in range of enemy attack. There are some levels in which dual guard seems a necessity in order to survive the early waves.

You kids have it rough these days. Back when I was in high school, we didn't know what games were coming out until we saw them on store shelves, and all we had to go on for game content was the artwork on the box. "A spaceship? That reflects my interests! Buy it!"

Taking the day off from work...I'm not going to get anything done when I know the Fates SE is waiting for me, and this way I'll get a few hours of gaming in before the kids get home from school. Anyone else have the luxury of doing this? It helps when I've got 20 vacation days to use up in a year.

I preordered mine at a GameStop the Saturday after the Direct. Read an article that the SE was running out, so I drove there half an hour before they closed to get it in. The guy said that was the last night for preorders, and they've confirmed a couple times that I'm good (when buying other games and finishing the payment). With the Awakening preorder, the Gamestop shipment was delayed about a week. I didn't want to wait, so I picked one up at Target to get it on day one; figured I'd still buy the GameStop release to get the art book, then sell the extra copy. When I went to pick it up, there was a kid there trying to buy one, but GameStop was old out except for preorders. I let him pay for mine, he took the game, and I kept the book. Serendipity.

My bad. Saw "...discussion of games unrelated to Fire Emblem..." and didn't click through before posting here.

Updated. Still available.

Hurry up, though...it opened at 3pm EST. http://www.gamestop.com/accessories/roy-amiibo-figure-gamestop-exclusive/128269

This is exactly the kind of thing you're going to get from the DeNA/Nintendo deal. TCGs are huge on mobile devices, where fans of the genre are already used to dropping money on new packs, the real-world equivalent of IAPs. If a digital version of this isn't released (at least in Japan), I'll eat my hood.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a Fire Emblem game hits iOS and Android, but it won't be a full Fire Emblem experience. Nintendo is not doing this to bastardize their 3DS and Wii game sales, they're doing it to support them. So, I'd expect a mobile title to launch alongside a future 3DS or Wii U release (or NX, or whatever) that drives interest to the major game. Something that will earn you enhanced armor, weapons, relationship boosts, etc., but that can also be played on its own. The relaunch of Club Nintendo is all about creating an account that can communicate across devices, so this game would tie into that to share assets. As for gameplay, although a touchscreen is perfect for Fire Emblem style gameplay, I expect something more like a TCG or something that's boiled down to the battle elements, much like Final Fantasy: Record Keeper or Terra Battle. Regardless, I'll be meeting with DeNA at E3 again this year, and will hopefully get some details from them...although I imagine Nintendo won't let them talk about much.

Nintendo will rightly use this game to build hype for the E3 presence, so we're sure to get updates via Nintendo Directs between now and then. It won't disappear from radar as SMTxFE has. Between this, the Amiibos, and the FE characters in Smash Bros. and Codename STEAM, Nintendo obviously believes in the series once again. And let me be amongst the first to say THANK GOD I didn't shell out the money for the inflated Marth Amiibo prices when he disappeared so quickly.

Considering it's being developed by Atlus, I always figured it'd lean more towards SMT style gameplay. My thought was that instead of summoning demons, the SMT characters would summon characters from FE games. Maybe a few FE characters are central to the story, but the rest would be peripheral "demons" that you could "summon" from the FE universe for specific battles, picking your favorites and leveling them up much like in a FE game. I also think they'll use the turn-based battle system grid from Devil Survivor Overclocked, since it's more like the battle system of FE. As for whether it ever happens, if we don't get news by E3, I'll figure it's been scrapped.

Picked the game up at Target this morning. They had two copies. According to the Target website, 5 of 7 stores within a 50 mile diameter have copies in stock.

Then I guess I share one with Nah.

A Target near me has it in stock, so I'll buy it there tomorrow morning, pay off my GameStop pre-order so I can get the art book. Pick up the GameStop game when it finally shows up, then take the game back the next day without opening it for a full refund. Get the game sooner than GameStop can deliver, and still get the art book.

My GameStop of choice in Ohio (there are five within a 10 mile radius) assured me my preorder would be in tomorrow. I've waited this long...I can wait another day. Seems downloading it is kind of a pain, anyway: Fire Emblem Awakening causing some 3DS e-shop delays

A guess? Not this year. Considering they didn't show a second of footage...not even concept footage...it's not far along at all. Hopefully we'll see more at E3 (and to think I was considering not attending Nintendo's presser this year). When they announced this game, I was thrilled. I've recently played Devil Survivor on the 3DS. It was fun for a while, but I lost interest about 3/4 of the way through and never finished it. Good story, good characters, but too repetitive. So, my second thought is that I wonder if this means no true Fire Emblem game on the Wii U. Because that would suck. My guess is that the game will likely take the turn-based gameplay and demon fusing component of the Shim Megami Tensei games and throw the Fire Emblem characters into it, as I came away with the impression that Atlus is calling the shots here. Maybe they keep the perma-death element, but I can't imagine they will. Combat in these games is REALLY hard. I was kind of hoping for a Fire Emblem / Warriors crossover, as that makes more sense to me, but oh well.

Europe got Shadow Dragon, Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story before the U.S., so I don't feel bad for you guys at all. In fact, I imported the European Shadow Dragon before it was even announced for U.S., if I recall (again, I played it on that damn 5 hour flight to San Francisco for Macworld). On the other hand, I think it's much more likely that they release the FE 3DS in Europe than in the U.S. I'd have to consider buying another 3DS XL if they released an FE version of that here, but there's no way I'm going back to the smaller screen of the 3DS.

Dammit! That's the day after I get home from covering Macworld | iWorld Expo. Would've been great to have it a week earlier so I could play it on the flights to and from San Francisco. But I likely wouldn't have gotten any work done at the show, so it's probably for the best. Really thrilled to have this finalized. Now I just need to get through the New Mystery English patch.

Bravely Default is a distinct possibility, as Square-Enix has registered an "All the Bravest" trademark and domains. Seems a likely match (for a game that would never be called "Bravely Default" in the U.S.), but whether that's it and whether it's just for Europe, if so, are up for speculation.

Nintendo has announced the North American Nintendo Direct will happen tomorrow at 9am PST, specifically to announce "more info on upcoming Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games." Think we'll finally get a U.S. release date on Fire Emblem: Awakening? Aside from Luigi's Mansion 2 and the new Castlevania game, I don't think they have many other big ticket 3DS games to talk about.

Never mind...found exactly what I needed. Took an additional patch for the OS X version, but it's up and running beautifully.

Timing is great. I just finished my third playthrough of Path of Radiance before losing GameCube compatibility on my Wii U upgrade. I know we can't talk about ROMs, but how about emulators? Can some recommend (not point to) a decent DS emulator for OS X? And is there a difference between a DS and DSi emulator that would affect this patch? If not OS X, I can boot up in Windows 7 and use an emulator for the PC.

IGN's reporting that there'll be a Nintendo Direct event tonight (tomorrow) in Japan that'll his us at 8pm PDT tonight. NoE will have their own even at 4am PDT. NoA has announced they'll be releasing their news at around 8:30 PDT. I'm unreasonably hopeful that the separate events mean completely separate announcements, meaning we may finally get word of the American release now that it's out in Japan. I'd love to get my hands on a demo at E3 this year.

I'm not saying it's the intent, but that it could be the effect.