3DS Catch-all

I think Shining Force was actually Sega's response to Fire Emblem. They're very similar, but naturally Fire Emblem has evolved in very different ways.

Thank you all! I'm basically sold on Awakening now.

maverickz wrote:

Thank you all! I'm basically sold on Awakening now.

I juuuuust finished playing that. It's awfully fun. I wish I had read this tips/tricks guide before I had played instead of after. Worth checking out before starting.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
maverickz wrote:

Thank you all! I'm basically sold on Awakening now.

I juuuuust finished playing that. It's awfully fun. I wish I had read this tips/tricks guide before I had played instead of after. Worth checking out before starting.

Damn I wish I had those when I tried, and bounced off of, FE:A.

I bit the bullet (bill) and bought a New 3DS on Saturday. Took in a bunch of old collectors editions of games I wasn't play and that really helped bring the price down. I can't get over how amazing the 3D is! I fired up my old 3DS last night to play some Mario Kart with my nephew and even after a day of use, I already started to hate the 3D on the old system

ccesarano wrote:

I think Shining Force was actually Sega's response to Fire Emblem. They're very similar, but naturally Fire Emblem has evolved in very different ways.

I never really thought of that, but it makes total sense.

I am vaguely interested in the new Fire Emblem game, but the way it's structured is confusing to me. What's the easiest way to get both games at once so I don't have to find out I bought the wrong version halfway through?

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I am vaguely interested in the new Fire Emblem game, but the way it's structured is confusing to me. What's the easiest way to get both games at once so I don't have to find out I bought the wrong version halfway through?

Buy either game at retail or on the eShop, and get the other one digitally for $20. It'll be available from an in-game menu called "Other Paths" or something to that effect.

Do you know you will want to play both parts?

Birthright is the one for first time players (or less experienced)

Conquest
is for experiences players

SixteenBlue wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

I think Shining Force was actually Sega's response to Fire Emblem. They're very similar, but naturally Fire Emblem has evolved in very different ways.

I never really thought of that, but it makes total sense.

For what it's worth, the director of the first Shining Force has outwardly mentioned some other games as an influence, including Dragon Quest and Silver Ghost, an obscure Japanese PC game from the late 80s:

Games TM interview wrote:

Shining Force was launched in March 1992. “At that time, the games industry’s way of thinking about role-playing games put the emphasis squarely on telling an interesting story,” Takahashi laments. “That was apparently the purpose of role-playing games – just to tell a good story. However, I’ve always believed that engaging battles are the most crucial factor in an RPG. Even today, you see many role-playing games that are designed according to a philosophy where battles are just a bonus and the story is the main thing. I could never accept that and I wouldn’t go along with it. RPG players spend such a great amount of their time in battle that there’s no way a battle system should be treated merely as something that’s tacked onto a good story.”

As it transpires, a relatively obscure Japanese PC game called Silver Ghost, released by Kure Software Koubou in 1988, exerted an influence on the design of Shining Force. “Prior to Silver Ghost,” Takahashi explains, “I didn’t like tactical simulation games at all – they gave players too much time to think… their tempo was all over the place. But Silver Ghost was different: it was a simulation action type of game where you had to direct, oversee and command multiple characters; it was the title that convinced me simulation games didn’t have to be crap.”

...

“My basic stance as far as RPG development is concerned, is to produce worthwhile and enjoyable battles. Shining Force was the first embodiment of that philosophy. I felt that the primitive battles in games such as Wizardry and Dragon Quest were enjoyable, but we introduced the notion of ‘distance and range’ to form Shining Force’s tactical battles. However, in order to produce and hone that battle system we had to go through an incredibly difficult period of experimentation with trial-and-error procedures… We overcame so many obstacles to develop that battle system, but it was a labour of love and we ended up deeply attached to it.”

There are rumors circulating of a Disney-themed Art Academy. While only rumors at this point, I'm basically already to shut-up-and-take-my-money.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

There are rumors circulating of a Disney-themed Art Academy. While only rumors at this point, I'm basically already to shut-up-and-take-my-money.

This will be my experience with Disney-themed Art Academy.

IMAGE(http://achewood.com/comic.php?date=08122004)

I will say that after my time with Art Academy on the Wii U, they do a pretty darn good job of walking you through the whole process so that you make something reasonably good.

But being able to free-hand even just a single pose of Anna or Elsa, or even Mickey, would basically make me my daughter's heroine.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

But being able to free-hand even just a single pose of Anna or Elsa, or even Mickey, would basically make me my daughter's heroine.

THIS. Haven't played the original, I have no artistic skill whatsoever, and I will buy a Disney themed Art Academy on day one, no questions asked.

I'm probably the only person who cares but in case I'm not, Yokai Watch finally got a European release date. 29th April. Behold my tears of tortured happiness.

Now I'm wondering what this means for Fire Emblem. I thought we might get that in April because that's what happened with Awakening. Either we'll have a longer wait than I anticipated, or I'll have another busy 3DS month. February has been crazy for 3DS games!

frogbeastegg wrote:

I'm probably the only person who cares but in case I'm not, Yokai Watch finally got a European release date. 29th April. Behold my tears of tortured happiness.

Good on you guys! I totally dig that game, which still weirds me out as it's such an easy game.

Collector's Edition of Bravely Second dispatched! That'll help temper the jealousy I have of you North Americans that get to play Fire Emblem this month.

Just picked up the New 3DS version of Xenoblade Chronicles. It's my first exposure to anything in the series. While the graphics aren't exactly great, I'm immensely entertained that the cast appears to have been voiced entirely by UK actors. Makes me miss the ol' homestead, it does. I suspect that this will be the game that keeps me entertained during my upcoming travels.

Well, I will be upgrading to the New 3DS XL. I have a blue regular XL. When I bought it blue and red were still the only available models.

I happened to be on Target's website and was surprised to see they had the Fire Emblem Fates edition in stock. That it seems to be a small print run and already hard to come by I decided to go for it. I like that the design is subtle and might require a double-take to notice that it is not plain black and white.

A couple more eshop sales until Mar 7:

Conception 2 for $9.99
Etrian Odyssey IV for $9.99
Etrian Odyssey Mystery Dungeon for $19.99

Fan Made Announcement Trailer:

Well, a year after release and with a new Nintendo system on the horizon somewhere, I finally upgraded to a New 3DS XL. Ultimately, it worked out that I waited as I was able to get a Fire Emblem Fates edition and I reeeeallly like the design of it.

I loved my trusty blue 3DS XL that I've had for about 3 years, but I like his design even more. Besides it being faster and the improved 3D (I didn't play with the 3D on much with the old system but I will probably use it a lot more now), I appreciate a lot of the little design differences: moving the headphone port, the small home button, the new start/select buttons. The c-nub and the extra shoulder buttons I don't really need, but it's nice to have them available if for some reason I do end up playing something that uses them.

Anyway, I had to share my excitement. Carry on...

Taharka wrote:

Fan Made Announcement Trailer:

Ok. It made me laugh.

So the combat tutorial for Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is nothing more than your little Navi-like character telling you to read the Battle Guide, plus a prompt to practice attacking if you want.

You can also speed up all dialogue scenes.

I may be in love.

See? Why doesn't anyone listen to me?

If I started listening to you, who would I have to listen to next? I'd be packing around a garion-approved copy of Yokai Watch before I knew it.

I don't think listening to garion is the same thing as listening to the voices inside your head.

And yet both sound like a bad idea.

Yokai Watch is good, though. It's utterly charming, combat's just frantic enough to cover the fact that it is pretty simple, and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. It's a great palate cleanser after a bigger RPG.

Well, I absolutely can't listen to cube.