Things you love, things you hate?

[TwinBlade]

That's exactly why they don't have adept in this, doubling characters already gives you so many possible hits that adept is pretty much redundant.

[shadowofchaos]

Hate: No Adept, which means no theoretical 40 hit combo. Friggin' hate that.

You couldn't 40 hit combo in FE10 either. Adept doesn't activate with Astra. However *I* made it so by hacking. XD

[Sunwoo]

I'm not a fan of the tactician character in games like FE, to be honest. So many characters already in the cast, do you REALLY need an analogue of yourself in it? (Mind you, this is just me.)

[TwinBlade]

Seoyeon, to me.. Yes. From a Role Play standpoint, it makes it much easier to put yourself in the game. Like you're the one out there and really a part of it all. Especially since you can design him to suit you, which makes it all the easier to pretend you're the one fighting out there. That's how I feel anyways.

[Strunk]

Personally, I think of the Tactician, or Mark, as his own character, as opposed to a stand in for myself. That's why I sometimes think the Tactician would do something one way, and I would do the same thing in a different way. I'll probably end up feeling the same way with My Unit, and whatever his default name is.

Especially considering My Unit and the Tactician may be the same character.

In closing, I actually like the Tactician as a character.

[Sunwoo]

Seoyeon, to me.. Yes. From a Role Play standpoint, it makes it much easier to put yourself in the game. Like you're the one out there and really a part of it all. Especially since you can design him to suit you, which makes it all the easier to pretend you're the one fighting out there. That's how I feel anyways.

The thing is ... I don't want a character in something like FE to be an analogue of me. I am not a character. I don't want to be a "character" who is integral to the plot when the game already has so many more interesting characters already. Like I said, this is just me and my weirdness. But for a game like FE whose main selling point is character development and loads of character, I'd rather that all characters just be "established" and not "customizable" like the Tact. I wish they'd just given the tactician a definite gender and name and stuff.

[shadowofchaos]

Especially considering My Unit and the Tactician may be the same character.

Not MU themselves, but their son/daughter Mark might be.

The thing is ... I don't want a character in something like FE to be an analogue of me. I am not a character. I don't want to be a "character" who is integral to the plot when the game already has so many more interesting characters already. Like I said, this is just me and my weirdness. But for a game like FE whose main selling point is character development and loads of character, I'd rather that all characters just be "established" and not "customizable" like the Tact. I wish they'd just given the tactician a definite gender and name and stuff.

Well their default name is "Rufure".

*shrug*

Think of the MU like the "customized" pairings of FE... like how certain characters who are children of established characters have options for their mothers/fathers. And in the case of FE4, replacement characters altogether.

Edited September 21, 2012 by shadowofchaos

[Strunk]

Not MU themselves, but their son/daughter Mark might be.

Are you sure?

From what I've read, in Lyn's DLC chapter, she says that My Unit seems to be the same person as Mark, the Tactician. I could easily be mistaken, or the site I read it on could be, but I seem to remember it being specified that My Unit was the person she was talking about, and not Mark.

[shadowofchaos]

Are you sure?

From what I've read, in Lyn's DLC chapter, she says that My Unit seems to be the same person as Mark, the Tactician. I could easily be mistaken, or the site I read it on could be, but I seem to remember it being specified that My Unit was the person she was talking about, and not Mark.

That would make sense, considering how that specific kid that MU has named Mark's default class is also a tactician and has traits of their parent. Lyn could be saying that the parent reminded her of her "Mark".

*shrug*

[TwinBlade]

The thing is ... I don't want a character in something like FE to be an analogue of me. I am not a character. I don't want to be a "character" who is integral to the plot when the game already has so many more interesting characters already. Like I said, this is just me and my weirdness. But for a game like FE whose main selling point is character development and loads of character, I'd rather that all characters just be "established" and not "customizable" like the Tact. I wish they'd just given the tactician a definite gender and name and stuff.

Well as I get into the series with a deep love for all characters and get attached with them, to me to Role Play that I'm out there is really nice. To put myself in my favorite series is pretty cool for me :)

[Strunk]

That would make sense, considering how that specific kid that MU has named Mark's default class is also a tactician and has traits of their parent. Lyn could be saying that the parent reminded her of her "Mark".

*shrug*

That's very possible. Either way, getting more information about this subject from Awakening will be very nice, indeed.

[Sunwoo]

Well as I get into the series with a deep love for all characters and get attached with them, to me to Role Play that I'm out there is really nice. To put myself in my favorite series is pretty cool for me :)

I suppose that's how we differ. I do NOT want to put myself in any series of games or shows or books or whatnot.

[TwinBlade]

I suppose that's how we differ. I do NOT want to put myself in any series of games or shows or books or whatnot.

Well I don't expect everyone to feel that way, but for those of us that do, it's a nice addition. For those that don't like it, they should have made a default character under genders in case people want him to be a character that completely belongs in the game.

[nocturnal YL]

I don't like putting myself in games (or any kind of fiction) either. I just ended up using default Chris in FE12. (With games where the main characters have no default name, however, I have a problem with those.)

@shadowofchaos

I remember Pelleas' video very well.

[Ein]

MU has their own personality/character. They don't HAVE to be you. Just think of them as a character you can customize who everyone wants silly Bor-Bor.

[Raven the Obsidian]

Likes:

-Double and Dual are fantastic mechanics that are excellent implemented - due to the phenomenal enemy strength, they actually matter rather than just being there to overkill things more

-Tremendous versatility in what you do with your team - split promotions, reclassing and MU allow for lots of different ways to play the story, and nearly infinite ways to configure your postgame team(s)

-DLC and Spotpass characters results in nearly 200 playable units altogether

-Cheap DLC add a lot to the game. And that's even considering without ANY Spotpass or DLC, Awakening is already by FAR the meatiest of any FE game so far, Spotpass and DLC honestly make it more akin to two games in one

-Huge amounts of Supports, even if some aren't so good... (though that could possibly change depending on the quality and writing of the localisation)

-A fantastic cast of characters

-A great bunch of extras, such as Unit Viewer, Movie Viewer, Support Viewer and for novelty, the Fortune Teller can be amusing

-Excellent interface, by far the most user-friendly and accessible in the series

-Very good graphics, the maps and battle scenes are marvellously detailed, and the models are great looking. And the sprites on the map are ridiculously cute and charming.

-A sweeping soundtrack that you only come to appreciate more hearing it in-game

-Well done cutscenes and voice acting

Dislikes:

-3 save files is not nearly enough.

-The models lacking feet is mildly annoying

-It sucks up too much money

For those of you hyped up for the game, your hype is well-justified.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Raven the Obsidian

[TwinBlade]

Agreed with Raven. 3 save files is pretty dumb, we need the amount FE10, and even the amount FE9 has would be better than 3. I'm probably mistaken but can't you put those saves on an SD and not have to worry about losing them?

[nocturnal YL]

4800 yen for 300+ hours of gameplay? I don't think it sucks up too much money for me (unless you mean otherwise by "sucks up money"). I could have used the same money to get a game that keeps me occupied for less than 30 hours.

Now that the Unit Viewer is brought up, I'd say I'm dissatisfied with the fact that it's nowhere as good as Sound Room, where you can close the system and continue to listen to the music (like FE12, 3DS Music, etc). Also, no epilogue/staff roll music in Unit Viewer.

FE13 Extras is nowhere close to FE12 Extras, IMO.

[Othin]

The DLC so far costs another 6100 yen at full price, with another ~650 for the remaining OWR and UT maps and who knows how much for FoD. Well worth it, but not cheap.

On another note, Raven brought up the interface. I want to emphasize a couple of specific aspects: the way the improved direct target-select system makes it n easy and fast matter to implement complex strategies without even needing to bother with the menu and the way the enemy attack range viewer allows you to highlight the whole enemy range while still keeping individually selected ranges distinctly visible through using different colors for the two. Both are huge conveniences.

[TwinBlade]

I just remembered one of the things I loved most. Maps! Most of them have a few areas with only one or two tiles to move through that are easily defended, I love maps like that. Plus with doubles and such, you can defend really really well.

[BrightBow]

Well, I try not to spoil myself so I don't really know much but there are a few things I think I can adress.

Likes:

-The game mechanics seem to have finally being improved

As much as I like the Telius games, I can't help but admit that they simply reused old mechanics from past games since FE8, with the difference that they actually worked back then (Skills, Leader ship Stars, Personal weapons for normal units...). And the new ones tended to be mechanics that didn't matter either. (Biorhythm, Map Affinity...)

It's somewhat ironic that the game actually grows past those issues in an entry that's supposed to "contain the best of the past Fire Emblem titles" or something along those lines.

-The endless game seems to work properly

I mean, you actually get a decent amount of cash during any encounter and pretty much anything can be bought. Not that I'm a fan of this sort of play but the point is that it was just broken in FE8.

-Casual mode for all difficulties

Yeah, I would prefer that mode wouldn't be there. It pretty much removes the series cornerstone in my opinion. On the other hand, in order for a mode to work at all the enemy would need to be strong enough to wipe of all PCs from the map. The hard modes should be able to pull of. So at least there is a point in having it available.

-Battle animations look promising

Dislikes:

-My Unit

I kinda liked it in FE12 but that was because it was a remake. It's fun having your own Mary Sue in an existing story. Like how it's done in Kingdom Hearts, for example. But with a cast of entirely new characters it will probably take attention away from them. I can't see how that could work out.

-Nono

Obviously I don't know to much about that the characters yet...But I think I heard enough of her for a few comments.

She is a little girl with an even childisher personality who wears ridiculously little, who one can marry and have children with... Why? Just Why?

It doesn't help knowing that Fa teaches us that dragons are to be considered as old as they look and Ninian and Nils teach us that dragons don't age much in a thousand years.

There is really so silver line to be found here. The whole thing is just as disturbing as it gets.

-Inverse

So her choice of wardrobe is justified by her being a seductress?

It doesn't matter how many of these characters are created in fiction: This whole "Women's sexuality gives them power over men" thing is entirely nonsense.

You can manipulate people in a thousand ways... but not like that.

How do people keep coming up with these characters? Do they think so low of men that they think they can be played so easily?

-Time travel

I sooo can't see this work out. At all.

-The art direction.

I really liked the art in the past games. In a genre were people usually think that nothing but underwear is the best gear to wear for war and adventures, it looked really good and practical by comparison. Together with the tension created by the mortality of your average character, it gave the whole game a really nice atmosphere. I consider myself someone who plays games more for the story then for the gameplay, so I really appreciated that.

That pretty much flies right out of the window here.

Par for the genre, this game makes the armors look like they simply exist to be fashionable.

And as usual the female designs tend to suffer a lot from it. I wish I could only complain about breast plates, Serge's back or the awkward poses but then we get stuff like the Dark Mage outfit which leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. *sigh*

And of course they kept all the stuff I already disliked in the past: High heels, stockings, naked legs... *sigh*

Characters and atmosphere suffer from designs like that. If someone is supposed to be a badass warrior or an intimidating authority figure, they should better look that part. If they can't pull that off, I wish they would just leave females out entirely.

-DLC artwork

I can't approve from putting so many different art styles into the game. Consistency is important. Otherwise the whole things just feels messy.

Besides that, the art of the male characters, with the exception of Ike, is pretty awesome.

On the female side... it's pretty much the opposite.

Lyn, Est and Eirika look pretty good but the others either don't look like the characters they are supposed to be or the art in general is just bad.

Like, Catria. She has an entirely emotionless face and a pose that looks she is falling backwards.

Zero expression and a dumb pose... I can't believe how the art fails on such basic things. The most elementary things before I would even consider art to be at least decent.

Edited September 21, 2012 by BrightBow

[Onestep]

Well, I try not to spoil myself so I don't really know much but there are a few things I think I can adress.

Likes:

-The game mechanics seem to have finally being improved

As much as I like the Telius games, I can't help but admit that they simply reused old mechanics from past games since FE8, with the difference that they actually worked back then (Skills, Leader ship Stars, Personal weapons for normal units...). And the new ones tended to be mechanics that didn't matter either. (Biorhythm, Map Affinity...)

It's somewhat ironic that the game actually grows past those issues in an entry that's supposed to "contain the best of the past Fire Emblem titles" or something along those lines.

-The endless game seems to work properly

I mean, you actually get a decent amount of cash during any encounter and pretty much anything can be bought. Not that I'm a fan of this sort of play but the point is that it was just broken in FE8.

-Casual mode for all difficulties

Yeah, I would prefer that mode wouldn't be there. It pretty much removes the series cornerstone in my opinion. On the other hand, in order for a mode to work at all the enemy would need to be strong enough to wipe of all PCs from the map. The hard modes should be able to pull of. So at least there is a point in having it available.

-Battle animations look promising

Dislikes:

-My Unit

I kinda liked it in FE12 but that was because it was a remake. It's fun having your own Mary Sue in an existing story. Like how it's done in Kingdom Hearts, for example. But with a cast of entirely new characters it will probably take attention away from them. I can't see how that could work out.

-Nono

Obviously I don't know to much about that the characters yet...But I think I heard enough of her for a few comments.

She is a little girl with an even childisher personality who wears ridiculously little, who one can marry and have children with... Why? Just Why?

It doesn't help knowing that Fa teaches us that dragons are to be considered as old as they look and Ninian and Nils teach us that dragons don't age much in a thousand years.

There is really so silver line to be found here. The whole thing is just as disturbing as it gets.

-Inverse

So her choice of wardrobe is justified by her being a seductress?

It doesn't matter how many of these characters are created in fiction: This whole "Women's sexuality gives them power over men" thing is entirely nonsense.

You can manipulate people in a thousand ways... but not like that.

How do people keep coming up with these characters? Do they think so low of men that they think they can be played so easily?

-Time travel

I sooo can't see this work out. At all.

-The art direction.

I really liked the art in the past games. In a genre were people usually think that nothing but underwear is the best gear to wear for war and adventures, it looked really good and practical by comparison. Together with the tension created by the mortality of your average character, it gave the whole game a really nice atmosphere. I consider myself someone who plays games more for the story then for the gameplay, so I really appreciated that.

That pretty much flies right out of the window here.

Par for the genre, this game makes the armors look like they simply exist to be fashionable.

And as usual the female designs tend to suffer a lot from it. I wish I could only complain about breast plates, Serge's back or the awkward poses but then we get stuff like the Dark Mage outfit which leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. *sigh*

And of course they kept all the stuff I already disliked in the past: High heels, stockings, naked legs... *sigh*

Characters and atmosphere suffer from designs like that. If someone is supposed to be a badass warrior or an intimidating authority figure, they should better look that part. If they can't pull that off, I wish they would just leave females out entirely.

-DLC artwork

I can't approve from putting so many different art styles into the game. Consistency is important. Otherwise the whole things just feels messy.

Besides that, the art of the male characters, with the exception of Ike, is pretty awesome.

On the female side... it's pretty much the opposite.

Lyn, Est and Eirika look pretty good but the others either don't look like the characters they are supposed to be or the art in general is just bad.

Like, Catria. She has an entirely emotionless face and a pose that looks she is falling backwards.

Zero expression and a dumb pose... I can't believe how the art fails on such basic things. The most elementary things before I would even consider art to be at least decent.

Welp, you seem to be the first person who's list of dislikes is bigger than their list of likes.

[BrightBow]

Welp, you seem to be the first person who's list of dislikes is bigger than their list of likes.

I think if I would answer just as elaborate to the game mechanics then on the art, it might easily be the other way around.

It's just that the thing about the mechanics is so technical, I will probably get things confused when going by memory. It's easier to judge those when I actually get to play the game anyway.

I'm not afraid in regards to the image section since Vincent hides the spoiler images so it's easier to comment on that but who knows what I end up digging out when looking up the mechanics.

[Arch]

Things I like:

• The gameplay experimentation. The series was long overdue for a breath of fresh air in this department.
  
• Gryphon Knights.
  

Things I dislike:

• The sheer ungodly amount of blatant fanservice is irritating to the extreme.
  
• Lack of separated Light and Dark magic also ruffles my jimmies.
  
• Children from the future. Period.
  
• The generic-anime flavor of the game's art-style.
  
• Iris' fashion-sense is absolutely ludicrous.
  

Wow. My dislike list is longer than my like list. That's a surprise...

Edited September 21, 2012 by Arch

[Othin]

Welp, you seem to be the first person who's list of dislikes is bigger than their list of likes.

Actually, even mine was about twice as long.