DarthMikey

Campaigns are losing steam and candidates are panicking across the board in the face of Trump. I'm guessing many of them thought he would show some sign of fizzling out by now, and he's still getting all the media attention while they flounder beneath the 10% polling line. The concept of Trump actually getting the GOP nomination; which is slowly becoming a more viable option; is both hilarious and terrifying. On a slightly unrelated note, I wasn't aware that David Duke almost became a senator at one point. Imagine the national embarrassment (or worse, lack thereof) over that one...

They are usually not a great class, since their focus on HP and Strength above all other stats tends to make for very stilted, mediocre units, but they're also better in certain games than they are in others. The more balanced Tellius fighters (Boyd, Nolan) tend to fare a lot better than the especially lopsided GBA fighters (Wade, Bartre, Dorcas), for example.

I don't blame them in a sense, if this is what they're doing. The Wii U has been met with endless hard luck from the start (though Nintendo takes a solid chunk of the blame for it all), so they might be yearning to wipe the slate clean and start over with a totally different system. The thing about Nintendo is their eagerness to innovate with console designs is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, that sense of creativity is what's driven them from the start with the Game and Watch handhelds and Famicom/NES on up to today; on the other, they have a propensity for putting out consoles that come off as gimmicky or childish. The exact same thing might happen again with the NX, as I've read reports that sources claim Nintendo's planning for it be a handheld/console hybrid in some way. That sounds like exactly the sort of idea that could unexpectedly soar (Wii motion controls) or embarrassingly plummet (Wii U gamepad). ...Or, you know, the reports are all hogwash and the NX is still a mystery. :I

Orson. I vote Kyle, he never seems to get used.

[spoiler=Albums]Very interesting albums! I've never even heard of either artist, and I found both albums pretty interesting. Artaud was, without a doubt, a very pretty record; lots of careful, highly melodic guitar playing, gentle, shuffling rhythms, and gorgeous vocals from Spinetta. If this album really is regarded as one of the best Argentine rock albums, I can easily see why, though honestly I got more of a softer, folk-ish vibe from the album as a whole, along with, of course, some elements at play from Hispanic music. I agree with others that it's a little more difficult to appreciate the songs without understanding the lyrics, but the melodies touch you enough that it almost doesn't feel important when you're listening. A great album, definitely one to remember. Favorite songs: "All The Leaves Are Wind," "Trickery" (gonna try and trust Google Translate on those names...) Spiderland was like a totally different ball-game. Creepy, nervy, grim, non-traditional rock with buckets of atmosphere; it definitely strikes a unique chord, and does so very well, practically enveloping you in its world of gloom. I thought the singer was one of the most interesting parts of the whole album's sound, even though I don't really consider myself a fan of his style; muted, rambling whispering alternating with crazed, manic growling. The vocals are always mixed-down and a little out of the way, though. On the one hand, this makes them a unique tool that add to the overall atmosphere more than serving as the centerpiece of each song, but it also makes a lot of the vocal tracks feel almost like afterthoughts to me, like random improvisations done at whim over the base music. Still, the instrumental compositions were great, and driven by a talented, well-trained band with a great sense for dynamics. I don't know if Spiderland converted me to post-rock, but I certainly appreciated it and got a good sense for the sorts of ideas that drive the genre. Favorite songs: "Nosferatu Man," "Good Morning, Captain" I have a recommendation of my own, though it might come off as kind of a boring choice after the last two. Try to bear with me, though! [spoiler=Midnight At The Movies] Justin Townes Earle ~ "Midnight At The Movies" Genre(s): Alt-country, folk rock, Americana Year of release: 2009 (I'm sorry to say I can't actually find a YouTube link for the entire album; you'll have to turn to Spotify.) Midnight At The Movies is a pretty genuine, raw, simple singer-songwriter's album, with a lot of the instrumentation reflecting Earle's old-timey tastes (at least at this point in time; lately his style has leaned more towards a weird, rather white mix of Memphis soul and acoustic rock). I think he's a great songwriter; "Mama's Eyes," "Can't Hardly Wait," and "Black-Eyed Suzy" are all big favorites of mine; and his voice, while it might come off a little limited in range at first, is quite expressive, and I personally like his deep baritone timbre. It's not a perfect album, but I do think it's quite a good one, and while the rootsier sound may not suit everyone's tastes I hope you'll give it a chance anyways.

My big problem with the Gen IV games was just how slow everything was. It was definitely the worst in D/P, but I found it only marginally fixed in HG/SS. The running speed felt like it should have been the normal walking speed, and the animations felt as twice as long as those of every other gen. Those sound like nitpicky complaints, but the sluggish engine genuinely ruined some of my enjoyment of those games.

I tend to like the funnier/brasher characters even though I'm not too much like that myself. Hector, Farina, Bartre, L'Arachel, and Dozla are all favorites of mine, among others I forget. In terms of characters I just relate to personally, I've pretty much always liked Canas, Sue, and Forde in that respect.

I would agree on FE13, though I do feel that longtime Fire Emblem fans would probably tend to have more jaded opinions on it than the general gaming populace just because of its differences from past games. On Pokemon, I honestly wasn't aware that Gen IV was at-large overrated (if it's not usually considered the worst gen by Pokemon fans, then it's at least very rarely considered the best from what I've seen). I personally like Gen V but it's probably a more valid candidate in that respect, since while there are detractors, fans seem to have a mostly positive opinion of it. But, of course, I could just be ignorant.

For me, when people talk about these sorts of things it's always implicit for me that it's just their opinion. Unless they do something specifically to indicate otherwise, I'm generally willing to give the benefit of the doubt that they don't think their word is God on the ultimate quality of a game. My point certainly wasn't that people's thoughts are invalid just because they think more of something than I do, and I didn't mean it if I came across that way. To me it's all just difference of opinion, and I don't see a problem with everybody expressing their own.

I don't know if this opinion would be considered controversial or not, but almost every console Zelda either is overrated or has been at some point. Wind Waker seems to be in vogue now as the one getting a lot of praise. Of course, that's not to say that Zelda isn't a great series, and I don't have a problem with people talking about their favorite, it's just that I've seen some die-hard fans talk up their favorite installment as some transcendent event of mystical power instead of just a great video game.

Huh, thanks for the responses. I have to admit I've never seen one of the Ambassador games in action on the console, so I never really knew what the deal was in regards to how the emulation worked. I guess it could be one of those things where some games are released as New 3DS exclusives, if it strikes Nintendo's fancy.

Yeah, I figured they would cash in on this in Japan due to the Roy reveal. It's a good thing for Japanese players since carts might be a little hard to find now. Sorry if I'm straying too far off-topic, but since it's been mentioned, does anyone know why GBA games haven't gotten proper release on the 3DS VC? Downloadable GBA games were given to 3DS owners as part of the Ambassador program a while back, so the technology seems to be there. Is it just another move to try and boost the Wii U's sales with any possible stimulus, however tiny? (I.e., you can only get your beloved GBA games on Wii U! Buy it now!!!)

In FE4, chapter 10 is probably the hardest objectively, but I honestly find 7 more irritating due to its length. Chapter 2 can also be kind of a pain if you're trying to clear all the side objectives (save all the villages with Lewyn, get the Knight Ring, get the Pursuit Ring, etc.). FE5 is a tough one. Recruiting Xavier makes 18 the most annoying by far to me, though there are several other notorious ones that deserve roasting. I always hated 8x because of Gomes, and all four Manster chapters have their irritations and foibles.

Welcome to Serenes! Pretty much any type of Fire Emblem fan is welcome here. I always thought Beowulf was interesting and wish he had been given more dialogue in the game; his conversation with Raquesis in chapter 5 alone intrigues and brings up a lot of questions. I like his design, too.

About Kent and Sain, I tend to have the opposite thing happen instead of what most people have expressed; even though Kent is a good unit, I almost never use him because Sain turns out good enough that Kent basically becomes a less useful version of him, and I like to have more variety in the types of units I use. Other than that there aren't many good units that I outright avoid using. Seth is the only other big one I can think of. On my first (unfinished) playthrough of FE9 I avoided using Marcia for some reason (I think because her dialogue annoyed me), but on my second one she was the team MVP and I ended up liking her in general, so. :I

I don't think I do either now that I re-read the first post? Excuse me while I cry.

I think this is a great idea, but maybe you should just organize a queue in the first post? People can post the album they want to be reviewed whenever they want, and when the time comes they can post the link and a description and everything. Or they could just post all of that when they first are added to the queue, assuming they won't remember when the time comes for their album...

ohhhhhhh Great stuff! I watched the FE6 0% growths playthrough after it was finished and really liked it, and this is just as good. It's a lot easier for laymen like me to understand what's going on and why certain moves are being made with the commentary, and it feels crisper and livelier this time around (though still laid-back and informative, which is the way I prefer it in a playthrough like this).

Freedom to me is basically just being unrestrained, though that means we can only ever be so free. Freedom when it's discussed politically usually seems to mean being unrestrained by other people, particularly those in power. Freedom is always a slippery slope to me because you can argue that so much as having basic laws is a repression of freedom. Of course, you can just say "people can do whatever they want so long as it doesn't harm other people," but pretty much everyone has a different definition for what exactly that means, as there are a lot of things you can do that inadvertently harm others and people tend to want to restrict different things, and restricting all of them you can think of tends to involve totalitarianism. I'm not some kind of fascist or nihilist, I'm just young and uneducated and a little cynical.

I think it's a little disingenuous to say that Obama had a giant base of experience, but I do agree that he was more prepared than those with agendas against him would like you to believe. Carson's entire rise to fame confuses me a little. To my knowledge he only came to be viewed in pretty much any political light at all after the one speech he made at the National Prayer Breakfast a few years back. He at least seems nice and is obviously accomplished in his own field, but I don't understand where he thinks the rationale was for a presidential campaign when all he's really been doing politically is making comments on TV the last few years.

Whether you're towards the left or the right, I hope you can recognize the hypocrisy in criticizing Obama for lack of knowledge/experience before he was elected and then buying a Ben Carson bumper sticker. (Of course, I guess you could argue that Carson has more life experience in general, but the issue here really relates to knowledge of government and policy.)

America's political system has been splitting and shifting and rolling around since it first existed, just as it is in most countries around the world. I wouldn't surprised to see a re-alignment across the board within the next twenty or thirty years. I don't have much hope for the Republicans this election to be honest. If they're not energized enough to win after four years of Hillary then we will probably be looking at a party on the verge of breakdown.

Probably mid-to-late 20s judging by his design. Not all that old but certainly older than Roy and Lilina.

Just basing it on personality... huh, I guess I don't have too many strong preferences. I always thought Corple was sort of interesting (especially since kid characters tend to just be mischievous and annoying while he felt at least somewhat fleshed out) whereas Leen doesn't have much character other than being Ares's love interest and... being a dancer, I guess. :I Other than that I guess I'll go with Fee over the kinda boring Sety, Larcei over the more boring Ulster, Tinny over Arthur (mostly just because I like Tinny's join conversation in the current patch where she basically just says, "Sure I guess, I've got nothing better to do," in response to being asked to join the army; a girl after my own heart), and I don't have well-defined opinions on the rest. I like Faval and Patty equally, and the rest I don't really have a preference one way or the other.

They're both great but very flawed games... I like FE4's sense of scale (even if it can be clunky) and story, and it set the standard for a bunch of stuff the series would do in the future, but FE5 is more interesting in a gameplay sense, and is more challenging to boot. Plus, while FE5's story isn't great, it has kind of a unique tone that the series has never really pulled off the same way before or after. It genuinely feels like you're a tiny rebel army fighting a huge empire, particularly in the earlygame and even more particularly in Manster. I don't know if I can give the edge to one or the other. Both feel different from the later games mechanics-wise in their own ways, and both have a lot of good and a fair bit of bad. I'll very slightly tip my head at FE5.