Pair up system is much more refined here, I also like the characters in Awakening overall a little bit more, this cast is little too segmented and the kids don't stand out as much.
I'm just happy we have a good and proper paladin bad ass, series should always have a bad ass paladin/knight lord.
Armor design is also much stronger, no more goofy cavs,knights,great knights, and heroes.
The only interesting use of Dragon Vein I have seen, so far, is Paralogue 2: Where you can drain and fill the different moats. Otherwise it's been super gimmicky.
My Castle is a great proof of concept but I'd like to see it expanded upon significantly. The current implementation has some issues.
I'm not a huge fan of how they changed level ups and promotions. Seems more punishing and makes it harder to build characters "properly" without using step by step guides.
These are my thoughts exactly, for every category.
Maybe it's nostalgia, I get nostalgic over things just a year ago. The music and characters were just better in Awakening imo. And despite time travel, the story was okay fundamentally. These games are definitely funner as a game, though.
I guess I'll keep slamming Kaze into the line-up. Hopefully I get better weapons. Got a flame shuriken, but that scales with magic? So not sure if he's the best option for it.
I guess I'll keep slamming Kaze into the line-up. Hopefully I get better weapons. Got a flame shuriken, but that scales with magic? So not sure if he's the best option for it.
Kaze works really well with a Rinkah pair up and steel shuriken, forged if possible. His speed is ridiculous enough the penalty doesn't really effect anything, and Rinkah's pair up patches up all of his weak spots.
I guess I'll keep slamming Kaze into the line-up. Hopefully I get better weapons. Got a flame shuriken, but that scales with magic? So not sure if he's the best option for it.
It is really lame that only the males on both sides get a unique weapon for themselves and not female characters, Kamui as the exception.
Why doesn't Hinoka get something similar to Gae Bolg, Or Camilla get some legendary axe? Who thought it was a good idea to give an emotionally unstable kid an all powerful bow?
Some thoughts on Fates so far (beat Birthright Hard and Conquest Normal, starting Revelation soon):
Compared to Awakening, the maps are certainly more complex this time around, and the games feel much more balanced. I enjoyed the weapon advantages/disadvantages and learning how to use new classes (ninjas in particular). I also liked how battles are much less chance-based compared to Awakening, which had % activation rates for Dual Guard and Dual Strike. I think skills this time around are also less about activation rates, though they still exist. The way reclassing and stuff works is pretty nice this time around too, though I end up sticking to characters' default class lines anyway lol.
The new weapons and classes add layers of depth to the games, with ninjas being especially fun to play with. They really shine against mages, who haven't had a direct weakness until Fates due to their exclusion from the traditional weapon triangle. I think I still miss durability, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. The Fates team did a pretty good job of balancing stuff this time around so you don't get overpowered messes like in Awakening.
Having said that, I think the games are still heavily flawed. Many maps feel tedious to complete because obstacles are overdone in this game, or terrain that bears too much importance to the tide of the battle (in the past, terrain was at most a minor annoyance or a small part in where you take your units). I feel like DV ruins the flow of some battles when enemies use it, and sometimes it can be really difficult to control for it without being forced to turtle or break your pace (e.g.
the second fight against Camilla in Birthright, in which her DV destroys obstacles and damages a ton of your units in a certain range)
. I wasn't a huge fan of recycled maps between the games. Like, yeah the objectives are different, but I guess aesthetically it was too familiar to make it feel fresh enough. Luckily, at least between Birthright and Conquest, they're not too frequent.
I still don't like how the paralogue system works, as in you have to S support essentially everyone to unlock maps. It forces me to deploy units I'd rather have nothing to do with just so I can support grind to unlock maps. So instead of deploying characters I think are optimal or characters I like, I end up having to waste a deploy slot for people like Hayato to get hooked up. It's a pain in the ass and doesn't really add to my enjoyment. The only reason I do it is so I get more maps to play. :/
Compared to Awakening, the localization's not quite as polished IMO. Voice actors often feel miscast, unlike Awakening's all-star cast which sounded amazing. The text doesn't feel as flavoured either. Awakening's characters all had very distinct verbal tics, like Maribelle's lady-like dialogue, Lon'qu's stiff, brusque lines, etc. I didn't feel this was the case in Fates (they even completely removed Mozu's country accent, which was disappointing). It still does the job OK, but 8-4's work was just amazing and hard to top.
For me, I'd rate it in terms of the games I've played 10 > 9 > 12 > 7 > 8 > 14 > 11 > 13. Definitely not enamoured with it, but it's still fun enough.
It's a comparison between a great localization with a couple questionable dialogue choices to what's very possibly the worst anime dub of all time. Not at all understandable in my book.
It's a comparison between a great localization with a couple questionable dialogue choices to what's very possibly the worst anime dub of all time. Not at all understandable in my book.
I was meaning it from a "change for the sake of change" angle. Both have examples of this. But you are correct. The degree of stupidity is much, much worse in 4Kids One Piece.
I was meaning it from a "change for the sake of change" angle. Both have examples of this. But you are correct. The degree of stupidity is much, much worse in 4Kids One Piece.
Not to go down a rabbit hole, but I understand why they did not want to show a kid having a gun to his head or a character smoking on a Saturday morning cartoon. How they handled it is another matter.
Not to go down a rabbit hole, but I understand why they did not want to show a kid having a gun to his head or a character smoking on a Saturday morning cartoon. How they handled it is another matter.
Personally, I think they work very well. In a game whose mechanical changes rely far more on positioning than the last entry, the ability to alter the map allows the player a lot more options strategically than if they were not present.
Okay previous comments about "I think Kaze might be as good as Ryoma because of availability" were before I saw what Birthright 25/27. Other than a beefy Corrin with a really good build I don't know who else could pull off the kinds of feats Ryoma does. He's like Sety in FE5's last few chapters in terms of the enormous weight he carries while also somehow being available for like 10 chapters before that?
Scarlet is really good but I'll admit I didn't really use her very well because I didn't want to be her husband and I didn't know how I should deploy her without supports.
Okay previous comments about "I think Kaze might be as good as Ryoma because of availability" were before I saw what Birthright 25/27. Other than a beefy Corrin with a really good build I don't know who else could pull off the kinds of feats Ryoma does. He's like Sety in FE5's last few chapters in terms of the enormous weight he carries while also somehow being available for like 10 chapters before that?
Ryoma is a fucking beast. Him and Corrin were the ones who pulled me through the last few chapters of birthright. I think they were my only two units to hit (and in Corrin's case with the help of an eternal seal, exceed) max level.
I was meaning it from a "change for the sake of change" angle. Both have examples of this. But you are correct. The degree of stupidity is much, much worse in 4Kids One Piece.
Gotcha. Anyway, I've blocked 'em all and I'd rather not jump further down this rabbit hole.
Having fooled around with the My Castle for a while, I gotta say I think they handled the "rubbing" mechanic as well as they could. I don't know if the sleeping/bath steam segments were in the Japanese version but I'd imagine it feels just as intimate (if not more so) if you're into that thing.
Wowwww. I just got so lucky...on chapter 12 Birthright
when you have to escape with Corrin while Xander and them chase you down. I took a gamble and wanted to take down all the enemies minus Garon... all hope seemed lost, Corrin and Reina were paired and Corrin had 3HP left. Xander was at 22HP and he also had an archer with him in Attack Stance. The archer initiates an attack and somehow someway missed his attack on Corrin with a 95% chance hit rate, which filled up my Guard Stance blue meter thing. Xander attacks Corrin but Reina protects him due to them being in Guard Stance. Xander then initiates another attack with the archer in Attack Stance... Zero damage...then bam- Corrin activates Dragon Fang while in dragon form and kills Xander with one-hit! LOL.
I ended up routing everyone on the map except you-know-who. So satisfying!
