Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Goodbye Tri!

Well, today is finally the day. After many years, and thousands of hunts, Monster Hunter Tri is finally shutting down. Just last month Capcom released Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the Wii U, and now today they are finally putting an end to the original. Later tonight the Tri servers will be shut down, and an end to a Monster Hunter era will finally come about, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell of a game.

You see, Monster Hunter Tri is what one might consider an MMO. You create your own character, get stronger, go on quests, and team up with friends online. Although there is in fact a single player mode, it really isn't the main focus. The main focus of the game is entering the city, walking through the gate, and playing with others online as you team up to take on the second "half" of the game. The thing is, in Tri the single player and online modes are in fact games of their own. While you do keep your same characters, the quests in each are different, and you'll have access to different content as well. For example in the offline mode you can take on village requests, but in the online mode you'll be able to fight exclusive monsters and go on exclusive quests. This half of the game is in fact only online, and after today it will be completely cut off.

Yep, that's right. If you don't have a Wii U, but you have the original Monster Hunter Tri, after today you'll be losing about half of the game. Not only will you be forced to go on hunts solo for now on, most of the quests and monsters will now be completely off limits. There's no "offline" city for you to access, and there is no way around this. The moment the servers go offline, they will be gone. This will be a major problem for many out there, but at the same time it wont be for others. With MH3U now out on the Wii U, and with thousands of players active, many of the Tri hunters have already made it their new home. Even so, Tri will always hold a special place in their heart, so even they are sad to see it go.

It was a good run Tri, but now we all have to say goodbye. Thank you for the memories.
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Monday, April 29, 2013

Microsoft IllumiRoom

Well, it turns out Microsoft is working on something a little bit different for next gen, and we are finally having our first look at it! Check out the new "Microsoft IllumiRoom" in action. (And thank you IGN for the video!)


So, what do you guys think? Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about this. While I think the effect idea could be used in some pretty nice ways, I also feel that it could be EXTREMELY distracting! I mean, to get this thing to even work right you would have to play the game in a dark room (or at night), and as the state in the video, it wont work perfectly for everyone. You're going to have different colors from the wall and furniture around your TV, and that's going to prevent you from seeing a perfectly clear image with the correct colors. Then, when it does work, are you really going to be able to focus on the game? While I do really like that snow effect, seeing the game shift and move around my walls might throw me off....

Well, anyway, what do you guys think? Like the idea, or think its just a flat out gimmick?
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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Fire Emblem Awakening: Galeforce Party Building Guide

Well today I decided to post something a little different. Instead of posting a news article, review, or a video, I decided to go ahead and post a full game guide for Fire Emblem Awakening! Now that the game is out world wide, I'm sure quite a few people would be interested in this; a guide on how to build a "Galeforce Party!"

Fire Emblem Awakening: Galeforce Party Building Guide
==================
Table of Contents:
==================
[*]FAQ Information

 [*-1]About
 [*-2]Version Info
------------------
[1]Intro
------------------
[2]What is Galeforce?

 [2-1]Why is it important?
 [2-2]How do you get it?
------------------
[3]Passing it On

 [3-1]The Support System
 [3-2]Passing on Skills to Gen 2
 [3-3]Recruiting Children
------------------
[4]How to Build a Galeforce Party

 [4-1]Marrying off Chrom
 [4-2]Planning The Rest of Your Team
 [4-3]The Children
 [4-4]Pairing the Children
------------------
[5]Team Examples Male and Female MU
------------------
[6]Questions and Answers
------------------
[I]Legal
------------------
[X]Credits
==================


========================================================================
[*]FAQ Information
========================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------
[*-1]About
------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone, what's up? I'm NettoSaito and you are reading my Fire Emblem
Awakening: Galeforce Party Building Guide. Now although this is only my second
guide for GameFAQs, I am no stranger to the gaming world, and helping those
who are in need. I've been running a gaming blog for quite some time now
(Netto's Game Room), and writing gaming tips is just a part of the job.

So anyway, with that being said, I really hope this little guide helps you
out, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me. If you have any
issues understanding the guide, if you notice any errors, or just want to
give me some feed back; please feel free to email me at:
NettoSaito@hotmail.com.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[*-2]Version Info
------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.00 - 4/28/2013

This version is the complete guide. All information has been included, and
currently all questions have been answered; however this may change. In the
future issues may show up, and more questions may be asked. If this is ever
the case, I will in fact update this guide. Still, until then, this guide is
in fact complete.

========================================================================
[1]Intro
========================================================================
Fire Emblem Awakening is the first Fire Emblem game to be released on the
Nintendo 3DS. It mixes 2D sprites with 3D maps and battle scenes, it allows
you to create your own character, it allows your characters to get married,
and it also allows you to change your characters classes anytime you want.
While some of these changes and features are simply graphical changes, others
are in fact part of the core gameplay. So, just where am I getting at you
might ask? Well, let me explain.

Unlike past games in the series, Awakening is a game that gives you complete
freedom over what happens. You have a world map where you can fight random
enemies, you truly can change your characters class to just about anything,
you can teach your characters different skills, and you can marry your units
to eachother to create child units as well. In short, you can flat out build
your team however you want, and because of that, pretty much everyone who
plays this game will end up with a unique team. So, that is why I decided to
write this guide; to help you guys choose just how to create that team.

Although there are many ways to build an amazing team in Awakening, a lot of
people will normally agree on one thing; you want to have as many units as
possible with the skill called "Galeforce." It is one of the best skills in
the game, and if you do everything right, you can make a truly amazing party.
Now, don't get me wrong, this guide isn't here to tell you what you HAVE to
do to make a Galeforce party, it is simply here to tell you how to do it. The
fact is, there's actually many different combos of units out there, so even if
you plan on playing this game your own way, you can still follow this guide.

Even though you will basically have complete freedom over your party, there
are still in fact a few guidelines and pairings you will HAVE to follow. Still
I'll be covering that later on in this guide. If you're already confused by
what I have told you, don't worry. You'll understand very soon... So let's
get started!

========================================================================
[2]What is Galeforce?
========================================================================
So, just what is Galeforce? Well, to put it simple, Galeforce is a skill in
Fire Emblem that only a select few female units can learn. It is a skill that
is learned when you get a "Dark Flier" to level 15, and it is also one that
can be passed down to the second generation of units. But, just why is it
important, and why have I written an entire guide just to help people build a
"Galeforce Party?" Well...

------------------------------------------------------------------
[2-1]Why is it important?
------------------------------------------------------------------
The reason Galeforce is an important skill is really quite simple. It is a
skill that allows you to move twice in the same turn IF you have killed an
enemy unit. See why it is important now? Well if not, let me go into farther
detail.

As you may already know, Fire Emblem Awakening is a Turn Based Strategy, and
normally you can only move each of your units once per turn. You can move
them across the map, and either attack an enemy unit, stop on a support panel,
open up a chest, open up a door, pair up with a unit, trade items with a unit,
or do a few other select commands. Still once you finish these commands, your
unit will be stopped dead in their tracks, and you will have to wait till your
next turn if you want to do anything else. With Galeforce, you will be given
a second move if you killed an enemy unit.

Now, at first this may not seem like that good of a skill, but hear me out.
While it is true when you first start the game you may not be killing every
enemy you attack, but if you follow this guide, or get later into the game,
you will in fact be getting at least one kill everytime you attack. Your units
will be come stronger, you'll be using the weapon triangle to know which enemy
you should be attacking, and you'll also get to the point where your units
will attack twice during a single attack. Heck, this can actually go even
farther! If your attacking unit is paired up with someone with an A or S
support level, that paired unit will be helping you attack as well. Not only
will your leading unit hit twice during an attack, their support will also
be striking twice, and this can even be farthered with the right weapon. Later
on in the game you can actually get weapons that allow each unit to stirke 4
times in a single move, and with your paired up unit you'll be striking a
total of 8 times instead.

So, either way you look at it, you WILL be killing EVERY enemy you attack with
just one move. You'll walk up to the enemy unit, you'll attack it, they'll
die, and thanks to Galeforce you'll be given another move. Now what do you do
with that second move? Well, why not attack another enmey? Really you could
take out two units in a single turn with just one of your units, and that will
save you a lot of time in the long run; however why stop there? That's just
one unit with Galeforce attacking twice, but what if you have an entire party
of Galeforce users, what then? Well, then you'll be clearing out entire maps
in just a few turns, that's what!

Either way you look at it, Galeforce is an amazingly strong skill, and it
will make quick work of your enemies on any setting. That is why it is
important, and why you'll want to get it.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[2-2]How do you get it?
------------------------------------------------------------------
Although I already touched on how you get the skill in the opening, there
really is a lot more too it than that. You see you're going to need to do
quite a bit of extra work, and that extra work will in fact turn into a grind.
While getting the skill is actually pretty easy, it will take about 30 minutes
or so (depending on the character), and that can become pretty boring. So, to
help with that, here's a mini guide with some quick tips to help you on the
way.

(Note: I recommend working on this AFTER Chapter 14 of the main story. At
that point in the game most of the shops you need will be open, and you will
also have Chrom married off. If you are yet to reach Chapter 14, you may want
to read "[4-1]Marrying off Chrom" in this guide before you get anywhere near
it. Chrom has a few options on who he can marry, and if you want to build a
Galeforce party, there is one character you'll want to avoid marrying him to,
and that would be Sully. To put it simply, you can marry him to ANYONE besides
Sully!)

Step 1) Making Pegasus Knights

To get the Galeforce skill, you are first going to need to turn all of
your female units into the "Pegasus Knight" class. Now, keep in mind that
not all females will be able to become a Peagsus Knight (don't worry it is
easy to check which ones can or cannot become a PK), while some will in fact
start out as one. If your female unit started out as a Peagsus Knight, well
this step is already finished, and you can move onto step 2. If not, then
you'll want to keep reading.

In order to change a female into a PK/check if a female can become a PK, you
need to first get a "Second Seal." Now at the start of the game you'll be
given very few of these, but there is an easy way around this. If you have
married the character "Nowi" to another unit already, once you hit chapter 14
in the main story, a side chapter will open up to recruit her child "Nah."
After you have finished Nah's chapter, a shop will open up that does in fact
sell Second Seals. Still, this isn't until later on, so you might actually
want to hold off on this step until then. Marrying off the units is in fact
more important than getting Galeforce, so you may actually want to skip to
"[4]How to Build a Galeforce Party" in this guide. Still, before Nah's
chapter, you will come across a few Second Seals, so just make sure you make
them count.

Once you have a Second Seal, get your female unit to at least level 10, and
use the seal on them. At this point a list of classes the unit can become
will show up, and Pegasus Knight should be one of them. If this is not the
case, then the unit cannot become a Pegasus Knight.

Step 2) The Dark Flier

After you have turned your female unit into a Pegasus Knight, you are going
to have to do some grinding. The next step is to get the unit to level 10, and
change them into a Dark Flier. In order to do this, you'll need to first get
your hands on a "Master Seal" (which you can buy in shops around chapter 14),
and then you'll be able to use it on your PK. Just like before, a class change
screen will in fact pop up, but this time around there will be two choices.
The first choice is a Falcon Knight (which you may want to use LATER on), and
the second choice will be the Dark Flier. This is the class you MUST pick,
and it is where you will finally learn the Galeforce skill.

Step 3) Learning Galeforce

The final step is the easiest, but it also takes the longest; you are going to
have to grind your unit to level 15. Just with with every class in the game,
at level 15 the Dark Flier will learn its advance class skill, and in this
case you'll be learning Galeforce. Once you've got the skill, feel free to
do whatever you want with that unit. I'd recommend using another Second Seal
on them to class change them into whatever class you want. The good news is
since the Dark Flier class is level 15, the Second Seal will actually allow
you to change your character into any base OR promoted class, so you cut out
quite a bit of grinding as well!

Even so, this is only half of the battle. You are still going to need to do
this with all of your other characters, and you're going to have to build
supports, and pass on the skill to generation 2. Yep, this guide is just
getting started!

========================================================================
[3]Passing it On
========================================================================
The next step in building a Galeforce party is to know how to pass it on,
however that is going to take quite a bit of work, a lot of planning, and
you will need to fully understand just how the support system works.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[3-1]The Support System
------------------------------------------------------------------
In Fire Emblem Awakening the support system plays a key role. By having
stronger supports with characters, pairs will do better when they fight
together, and if you get supports high enough between a male and a female,
they will get married and produce a child. Now the units you pair together
will be VERY important, so I'm actually going to dedicate an entire section
to this later, but until then I'll explain how it actually works.

Every single time your units fight next to eachother, or in a pair, they will
gain support points. If you gain enough of these points between two units, a
special support conversation will open up in the support menu. The game has
three levels of supports between normal units (such as two male or female
units), but between most male and female units there will be a four support.
While supports C, B, and A are your standard friendship supports, the final
male x female only support is the S level. At this level the two characters
will admit they love eachother, they will get married, and that will cause
their child from the future to appear. This child will receive skills, stats,
and classes from its parents, and it will outclass your generation 1 units.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[3-2]Passing on Skills to Gen 2
------------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to pass a skill onto the second generation, there is one thing
you must remember, and it is something that is VERY easy to overlook. The
skills passed onto your unit's child depends on what skill is located in the
LAST SLOT of your skills. You see, every unit can equip a total of 5 skills
to be active in battle, and you can freely rearange them. If you want to pass
a skill onto your child, you simply make sure it is in the SLOT FIVE.

If you want to have a Galeforce party, it is EXTREMELY important that you
make sure every single female unit has Galeforce in slot five, and it is very
important that you double check that the child did in fact get the skill
before you recruit them and save your game. If the child shows up without
Galeforce, double check that you've got it in slot five.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[3-3]Recruiting Children
------------------------------------------------------------------
After you have made it to Chapter 14 in the main game's story, things begin
to change. Every time you marry your units, a new chapter will be opened up
on the world map. These chapters will be your child's chapter, and this is
when the generation 2 units are created. The moment you play that chapter,
your kid is generated, and the only way to undo it is to reload the game. At
this point you may want to hover over them on the world map to make sure they
have learned the skills you wanted them to learn, and if they have, you can
then recruit them by talking to them with their mother.

========================================================================
[4]How to Build a Galeforce Party
========================================================================
Now that I have explained all of the key basics required to understand this
guide, lets get to the real deal!

------------------------------------------------------------------
[4-1]Marrying off Chrom
------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you go off matching everyone up, it is first very important to decide
on just who Chrom should marry. The thing is Chrom has a few options to pick
from, but they aren't all the best choices. The Women Chrom can marry are:

-Female My Unit (Avatar)
-Sumia
-Olivia
-Maribelle
-Sully

And who you pick really depends on how you're playing the game. Now first of
all, if you are the Female Avatar, I STRONGLY recommend that YOU marry Chrom.
You see, the Female Avatar allows Chrom's children to become just about EVERY
class in the game, and it will also produce the strongest Lucina possible. If
you want to build a "Perfect Party," I strongly recommend this option. If you
are a Male Avatar however; your options are narrowed down to three.

If you're the Male Avatar you should either marry Chrom to Sumia, Olivia, or
Maribelle. While Sumia is the "canon" choice for Chrom (and the choice I
personally prefer), the other two work as well. The only problem is that Oliva
shows up the chapter it is too late, and because of that you'll REALLY have
to grind supports with her and Chrom. It is very easy to miss out on marrying
her, and that's one reason most people don't bother with it. Besides, there
are better options for Olivia, so you may just want to marry her to someone
else.

Now as I said before, you do NOT want to marry Chrom to Sully. If this is
the case, Lucina will NOT learn Galeforce, and neither will Kjelle (who is
Sully's daughter). Marrying Chrom to Sully is the worst possible thing you
can do in the game, and it will put you behind other players. This really
isn't good if you plan on battling your friend's team with street pass.

So anyway, once you have picked a wife for Chrom, we can then move onto
building the rest of the party!

------------------------------------------------------------------
[4-2]Planning The Rest of Your Team
------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay so Chrom is taken care of, and you have either married off Sumia, Olivia,
or Maribelle, but even so they will still appear on this list. You know who
you married to who, so from now on it will be your job to keep track of
things. You may actually want to copy this list to make the pairing process
easier.

Now, the pairing process is going to be broken into a few groups. I'm going to
list who you MUST pair up, I'm going to list who you could pair up, and I'm
going to list a few other options you might want to consider as well. Still
before we get this part started, there is ONE rule you MUST understand!

When you pair units, you ALWAYS want to pair units together that you actually
like. You want to pair units you like with other units you like, and above all
these units that you like must be units that you ACTUALLY USE! You do NOT want
to pair you like and use all the time with a unit that you never use. This
will not only hurt your strategy, but it will hurt your party in general. So,
please keep that in mind, before you actually decide anything.

------------------------------------------
[Possible Male Avatar Pairings]

Now, personally I just recommend you marry your Avatar to whoever you want;
however, there are a few pairings you might want to consider. The thing is,
your Avatar's child can transform into every class that their sex can learn,
and this can really help out a few characters. You see, these character's
cannot learn Galeforce, and their kids can't either; however the Avatar
can fix that problem! So, if you want an extra character with Galeforce,
here's a few pairings you can do.

Male Avatar x Nowi
Male Avatar x Sully
Male Avatar x Tharja

All three of them combos will produce a daughter who can class change into a
Pegasus Knight, and learn Galeforce because of it. Still you don't have to
actually do this if you don't want to. Personally my favorite character to
marry is Cordelia, so I never paired with any of these either.

------------------------------------------
[Pairing Donnel]

Here you have a few options for the character Donnel, but this is something
you actually MUST do (well I strongly recommend it at least). For Donnel you
can do any of the following pairs.

Donnel x Nowi
Donnel x Sully
Donnel x Tharja

Just like with the Male Avatar, marrying one of these three girls with Donnel
will produce a daughter who can become a Pegasus Knight. This is something
you will really want to do if you care anything about the second generation.
Which you should.
------------------------------------------
[Pairing Gaius]

Gaius is another character who has a male only class which will pass down
to the second generation as the Pegasus Knight class, and just like the Male
Avtar and Donnel, you might want to concider one of the following pairs.

Gaius x Nowi
Gaius x Sully
Gaius x Tharja

Still, once again this is up to you. Personally I prefer to pair Gaius up with
another character, so this is something I normally don't do. Especialy since
I prefer to pair Tharja up with Henry, and Nowi isn't a character I normally
use. It is up to you though, so feel free to do whatever you want. If you
took my advice on marrying the MU, Donnel, and Gaius, then you'll have three
extra characters with Galeforce.

------------------------------------------
[Galeforce Pairs - Mix and Match]

The following are "Galeforce Pairs" you can create in generation 1. Really you
can do whatever you want here, but once again I recommend you pair up units
you actually use with eachother. I will also leave the MU out of this list.

(Females)

Lissa
Cordelia
Olivia
Maribelle

(Males)

Frederick
Libra
Lon'qu
Gregor
Henry
Vaike
Ricken
Virion
Stahl
Kellam
Gaius
Donnel

------------------------------------------
[NON Galeforce Pairs - Mix and Match]

Once you have matched them up, you can then move onto the NON Galeforce pairs.
These are pairs where the females will NOT have Galeforce, and you will not
be able to pass down Galeforce to generation 2 with. Also keep in mind that
I listed Donnel's and Gaius' pairs on this list as well.

(Females)

Sully (Unless Paired with Donnel or Gaius)
Nowi (Unless Paired with Donnel or Gaius)
Tharja (Unless Paired with Donnel or Gaius)
Panne
Cherche
Miriel

(Males)

Frederick
Libra
Lon'qu
Gregor
Henry
Vaike
Ricken
Virion
Stahl
Kellam
Gaius (Unless Paired with Sully, Nowi, or Tharja)
Donnel (Unless Paired with Sully, Nowi, or Tharja)
------------------------------------------
Once you have paired everyone off, gained Galeforce and put it into your
fifth skill slot, your children will be ready!

------------------------------------------------------------------
[4-3]The Children
------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have followed the pairing guide, you will have the following children.

(Females)

-Morgan (if you have a Male Avatar)
-Lucina (Chrom's Daughter)
-Severa (Cordelia's Daughter)
-Cynthia (Sumia's Daughter)
-Kjelle (Sully's Daughter)
-Nah (Nowi's Daughter)
-Noire (Tharja's Daughter)

(Males)

-Morgan (if you have a Female Avatar)
-Inigo (Olivia's Son)
-Owain (Lissa's Son)
-Brady (Maribelle's Son)
-Gerome (Cherche's Son)
-Yarne (Panne's Son)
-Laurent (Miriel's Son)

If you have followed the guide, made sure every female who could learn
Galeforce has Galeforce, then the following units will have it by default.

-Morgan (if Mother could learn Galeforce)
-Lucina
-Severa
-Cynthia
-Inigo
-Owain
-Brady

Do you notice anything? Yes, that's right, I listed three males on that list.
Although Galeforce is NORMALLY a female only skill since only females can
become a Pegasus Knight, they CAN and WILL still pass it down to their male
children! This is why it is very important that Galeforce was in slot number
five, because there is no way to undo it if you mess up. Sure the daughters
can just class change into Pegasus Knights and learn it on their own, but the
sons cannot.

Now if you listened to me about the Male Avatar, Donnel, or Gaius, then the
following daughters will be able to class change into Pegasus Knights
themselves, and learn Galeforce. Normally, this isn't possible, but like I
said, them three male characters were a special case.

-Kjelle (Sully's Daughter)
-Norie (Tharja's Daughter)
-Nah (Nowi's Daughter)

If you paired everyone up correctly, and did in fact pair the Avatar, Donnel,
and Gaius to Sully, Tharja, and Nowi, the units you will end up with, with
Galeforce will be as followed:

-Female Avatar
-Sumia
-Lissa
-Cordelia
-Olivia
-Maribelle
-Morgan
-Lucina
-Severa
-Cynthia
-Inigo
-Owain
-Brady
-Kjelle
-Norie
-Nah

For a grand total of 15/16 Galeforce units. You could also recruit other units
from spotpass/streetpass, but for the sake of this guide, we are just going to
leave them out.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[4-4]Pairing the Children
------------------------------------------------------------------
The final step in all of this is to pair the children up, but that's something
you will have to do on your own; however I can give you some advice. The thing
is, basically all of your female children will have Galeforce (minuts a few
depending on what you did with the Avatar, Donnel, and Gaius), and so will
most of the male children. Basically only a few characters will be left
without Galeforce, and THEM are the units you'll most likely want to pair up.

If you pair Galeforce males with Galeforce females, you'll be creating pairs
that can move three times in a single turn (instead of twice), and that will
give you a MAJOR advantage! Just imagion if you're playing a map where the
goal is to simply kill the leader. You could move your Galeforce pair out,
kill the closest unit, move across the board, swap the characters around,
attack with the second member of the pair, then move for a THIRD time, and
most likely make it up to the leader. You could then kill the leader, and
finish the entire mission in a single turn. This will be the case for quite
a few of the DLC chapters, and it will really help you speed through them!

As for the characters who don't have Galeforce (both male and female units),
well, they won't be as useful. Sure you can still use them if you want, but
they will just be taking up space in your party. The best thing you could do
is to pair them up with a unit that has Galeforce (like you will have to do
for the generation 1 units), but that isn't the best choice. Still, it is up
to you to decide.

========================================================================
[5]Team Examples Male and Female MU
========================================================================
Now I know that the this guide may not have been the easiest to follow. If
you know little to nothing about Fire Emblem Awakening/just started playing
the game, you may be a bit confused; so I decided I'd go ahead and include
an example for both the Male and Female Avatar side. Now these examples are
actually based off of a team I built for myself, and one I built for my friend
with a few minor changes. Personally I didn't follow my guide 100% on all of
my playthroughs, so my "personal" team isn't truly a "Galeforce Party."

Also keep in mind that most of these pairings were also made by choice. They
may not produce the best possible units for you, so I don't recommend that you
follow this 100%. They are just examples to give you an idea of what you COULD
do.

------------------------------------------
[Male Avatar Pairing Example]

(Gen 1)

MU x Nowi
Sumia x Chrom (One Has Galeforce)
Sully x Donnel
Lissa x Frederick (One Has Galeforce)
Cordelia x Lon'qu (One Has Galeforce)
Panne x Gregor
Olivia x Henry (One Has Galeforce)
Tharja x Gaius
Maribelle x Vaike (One Has Galeforce)
Cherche x Virion
Miriel x Stahl

(Gen 2)

Morgan x Owain (Both Have Galeforce)
Lucina x Inigo (Both Have Galeforce)
Severa x Brady (Both Have Galeforce)
Cynthia x Gerome (One Has Galeforce)
Nah x Yarne (One Has Galeforce)
Noire x Laurent (One Has Galeforce)

------------------------------------------
[Female Avatar Pairing Example]

(Gen 1)

MU x Chrom (One Has Galeforce)
Sumia X Frederick (One Has Galeforce)
Lissa X Libra (One Has Galeforce)
Sully x Donnel
Cordelia x Lon'qu (One Has Galeforce)
Panne x Gregor
Olivia x Henry (One Has Galeforce)
Tharja x Gaius
Maribelle x Vaike (One Has Galeforce)
Nowi x Ricken
Cherche x Virion
Miriel x Stahl

(Gen 2)

Kjelle x Morgan (Both Have Galeforce)
Lucina x Inigo (Both Have Galeforce)
Severa x Owain (Both Have Galeforce)
Cynthia x Brady (Both Have Galeforce)
Noire x Gerome (One Has Galeforce)
Nah x Yarne(No Galeforce)

------------------------------------------

As you can see, if you use a Female Avatar, you should end up with a stronger
party, with more Galeforce users. Not only can the Avatar become a PK, she can
marry Chrom and make Lucina one of the best characters in the game, and she
can pass Galeforce down to her son, creating an extra male for generation 2.
The only real downside to picking a Female Mu is the fact that at least one
of the three none Pegasus Knight girls (Tharja, Nah, and Sully) won't be able
to pass the class onto their daughter. Still it works out.

========================================================================
[6]Questions and Answers
========================================================================

Q)WHAT IS A 3DS?

A)Oh God... Well... Just how do I answer this one? I mean I don't even know if
this is a joke or not, but whatever. The Nintendo 3DS is a Nintendo handheld
video game console and the successor to the Nintendo DS. It has a top screen
which can display games with a 3D effect, and a bottom touch screen, and it
is the system this game must be played on.

------------------------------------------

Q)WHERE CAN I GRIND THE BEST?

A)Ha, well, there's two places I tend to grind. The first is the Prologue,
and the second is Paralogue 4. While the Prologue has weaker enemies that can
help you level your units to level 10, Paralogue 4 is a completely boxed in
map. Here the enemy must fight your units one on one, and you can easily clear
the entire map with a single pair. Not only is the EXP fast, but every 2-3
runs on this map should also get you another support level for your pair.

------------------------------------------

Q)Where can I grind low level characters the best?

A)Check out the question above this one, but it really is best to try and
level up each character equally as you go through the story chapters.

------------------------------------------

Q)Are there some classes that are useless?

A)Well, I wouldn't say there are useless ones, but chances are you won't even
use half of them. I mean, sure, all of the classes can be useful, but
sometimes you won't even bother with them. For example you could become a
Berserker and use an ax, but you could also become a Wyvern Lord as well.
It uses an ax to attack, but it is a flying unit. Then again it is also weak
against magic, so maybe the Berserker would be your better option. Even so,
that is up for you to decide. YOu WILL completely ignore some classes, while
others you will be using all the time. While you may want to change to other
classes to get their skills, that may be the only time you'll actually use
that class.

On a side note, you may actually want to class change your male characters
into male only classes to get some skills to pass down to their daughters.

------------------------------------------

Q)Can some "useless" characters become usefull?

A)Wow, another question asking about useless things. Anyway, once again, it
is really up to you to decide if they are useless or not. I mean you CAN make
a character useless by not pairing them up, turning them into a class you
don't need, and by giving them weak weapons, but that's your fault. If a
character just doesn't work out for you, you could try changing their class,
or you could pair them up with another unit you find "useful." Like I said
during the guide though, your non Galeforce users won't be as useful.

------------------------------------------

Q)Can I marry Anna or Tikki or Say'ri?

A)Yes YOU can, but no, your other units cannot. Only the Avatar can marry
extra characters such as these, and that includes the download paralogue
character's as well. For the sake of this guide, and for the sake of not
spoiling them, I'm not going to even say who they are. You'll figure it out
when you get there! (Note: Their child will be Morgan, and only Morgan.)

========================================================================
[I]Legal
========================================================================

This Fire Emblem Guide was created by NettoSaito and has been authorized for
use on the following websites.

GameFAQs -
http://www.gamefaqs.com

Netto's Game Room -
http://www.nettosgameroom.com/

If you would like to use this guide on your website, please contact me by
email at NettoSaito@nettosgameroom.com. Thanks.

========================================================================
[X]Credits
========================================================================

Well that's it for this guide! I just wanted to thank Nintendo for releasing
such a great game, and I would like to thank all of you for reading as well!

Also I'd like to give a shoutout to GlacialLeaf and Cheerfuljochan over at
Netto's Game Room! Thanks for getting me back into Fire Emblem Awakening. Now
I'm addicted to it again...... Darn you!

=============================================================================
- NettoSaito -
=============================================================================
Copyright 2013
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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Miiverse Now on PCs and Mobile Devices!

It's been awhile since Nintendo announced its Miiverse service with the Wii U, and since then one thing has always been missing; PC and mobile device support. Back when Nintendo first showed it off to the world, they told us that we would be able to log in from our computers and other devices, communicate with friends, and post; however this was not the case at launch. For the past few months Miiverse has been exclusive to the Wii U, but now all of that has finally changed!


Now, by going to https://miiverse.nintendo.net (or by clicking on the link at http://www.nintendo.com) you can log into the Miiverse service from your PC or other devices! Although anyone can access Miiverse, if you want to sign in or create an account, you still must own a Wii U to do so. Nintendo still hasn't set up a way to bring your account completely off the Wii U, but at least this is finally a step in the right direction!

On the PC Miiverse you can access your User Menu, you can check Miiverse news, you can view your Activity Feed, you can check your Notifications, and you have access to all of the communities (including ones you have saved in your favorites); however some features are still missing. While you can read and comment on any post, it seems that you still cannot make your own posts. In an announcement made by "Tom," they stated that the web version is in fact still in beta, so some features will be missing for now. In other words, things wont be staying like this, and we should be able to make our own posts in the future.


Although the Miiverse web version still isn't complete, it is a very nice feature to have, and it makes posting a whole lot easier! Sure it still isn't quite a full replacement for Nsider, but it is the next best thing.... For now.
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Metal Gear Solid: Legacy Collection

A few days ago Kojima Tweeted a picture of what appeared to be something called the "Metal Gear Solid: Legacy Collection," but no one really knew what it was. Was it another game collection? Was it some other form of MGS merchandise? Well, it turns out it was in fact the former!

The Metal Gear Solid: Legacy Collection will be released on the PlayStation 3 this June, and it will include the following:

  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions
  • Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
  • Metal Gear Solid 3 HD (which also includes Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2)
  • Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (HD Remake)
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 (Updated Trophy Version)
  • Both MGS Graphic Novels 
Although the collection doesn't have a price listed, I have a feeling we'll have to pay quite a bit if we want to own this collection for ourselves. Either way, if you're a die hard Metal Gear fan, this one might be a must have, and if you've never played a MGS game before, now is the perfect chance! This collection includes EVERY game besides Portable Ops, so it pretty much is the complete package!
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Sunday, April 21, 2013

NGR Tomb Raider Review Wins GameFAQS Review of the Month!

Today I have some exciting news to share (well exiting for us)! As you may or may not know, most of our reviews here at Netto's Game Room are also uploaded at the gaming website GameFAQs. Now originally our reviews were going to stay exclusive to Capcom-Unity's version of the Game Room, but after a few people sent me feedback requesting that I uploaded the reviews to GameFAQs as well, I decided to go ahead and try it out.

Personally, I love GameFAQs. It is my number one go to gaming site on the web, I love the forums, and it is also the website that has always been there to help me out whenever I got stuck. I've been going to it for many years now, and I know it is a site I will continue to use for years to come.

So now, what does this have to do with anything? Well today I'm happy to announce that our Tomb Raider review has won GameFAQs "Review of the Month" contest for the month of March! It is the third NGR review to have the honors of winning this reward, and I would just like to say how much we really appreciate all of your support! You guys are the reason we keep reviewing games, and I would also really like to thank GameFAQs for picking us as one of the five monthly winners!

Now I know it may not sound like much, winning only three times that is, but I would like to explain the rules of the contest. You see, you can in fact submit as many reviews to GameFAQs as you want, but you are only allowed to enter a SINGLE review in the monthly contest. If you submit more than one review, your submissions will be pulled from the running. Since we sometimes review around five games a month, it really is hard to choose which review we feel is worthy of even being entered in the contest, and for the month of March we just happened to pick Tomb Raider as our entry.

Since this is only about our 5th time entering the contest, winning for a 3rd time is really a big accomplishment for us all here at the Game Room, and once again I just wanted to say thank you! Thank you for supporting us, and thank you GameFAQs for choosing us as a winner! I will personally make sure the prize money is well spent!

GameFAQs March Winners:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/2000097-review-contributors-general/65993150

GameFAQs Review:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps3/615699-tomb-raider/reviews/review-153574

GameSpot Review:
http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/809000/platform/xbox360/

Capcom-Unity NGR Review:
http://www.capcom-unity.com/nettosgameroom/blog/2013/03/10/tomb-raider---review

NGR Review:
http://nettosgameroom.blogspot.com/2013/03/tomb-raider-review.html

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Black Rock Shooter: The Game - Finally coming to the West!

Quite a few years ago "Black Rock Shooter" was announced for the Sony PlayStation Portable. It was an action RPG based off of, well, Black Rock Shooter, and it was going to be one of the last PSP games to come out. Well the game was released in Japan, and soon after it fell off the grid. Despite the fact an English released was announced, we never heard anything about the game after that. Well here we are a few years later and NIS has finally confirmed an English (digital) release! Just check out the new trailer!


Really it is quite shocking to hear from this game again after all of these years, but there ya go BRS fans! The game is in fact coming out, and it'll actually be here in just a few days! Still kind of hard to believe we are getting a new PSP game though.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The Legend of Zelda 3D

Remember when Nintendo said they would love to see the world of The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past in 3D on the 3DS? Well, most fans took that to mean they wanted to create a remake of the game, but it seems that isn't the case. Today Nintendo has finally announced the newest Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS, and it is actually quite shocking! The next game will be a sequel to A Link to the Past and take place in the same world (not some strange island)!


While the game does in fact take place in the same world as LttP, it is in fact a new game. There are new areas to explore, new dungeons, a new story, and many new features as well! While some of the old tools will in fact be returning, quite a few new abilities will be featured, and thanks to the 3D effect, the development team was able to add layers to the world as well. This time around dungeons build upwards towards the sky, and that alone adds a whole new level to the gameplay (in more way than one).


On top of that, a brand new ability has been added in as well. This time around Link will be able to transform himself into a 2D drawing, and walk along the walls! This allows Link to reach areas that would normally be off limits, and it adds a whole new level to puzzle solving.


Really, everything about this new Zelda game is just something you need to see for yourself; so why not check it out? If you have a Nintendo 3DS, right now you can open up the eShop and actually watch the game's trailer in 3D! I strongly recommend checking it out as soon as possible since 2D images really doesn't do this game justice!

If you're a fan of Link to the Past, well, it looks like the game you've been waiting for is finally here! It's been a long wait, but I'm sure it was well worth it!
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Nintendo Bringing Japanese Games to the West

As you may or may not have heard, Nintendo is currently working with Japanese game developers to help bring Japanese exclusive games to the West. If you have been following any news concerning any of these Japanese games, I'm sure you already have heard the news, but it seems Nintendo would still like to remind us of them.


The first of these games is the Final Fantasy title "Bravely Default." Created in the style of the PlayStationOne Final Fantasy games, and The 4 Heroes of Light on the Nintendo DS, Bravely Default has a unique style of 3D models, prerendered backgrounds, and it also features flashy turn based battles. The game features a wide verity of endings, a wide verity of classes you can turn your characters into, and it also features a brand new battle system where you can either choose to attack, or skip your turn for bonuses. Although the game has been out for quite awhile in Japan, it wont be coming to the US until 2014.


The second game Nintendo is helping bring over is actually a series of games. Remember awhile back when I reviewed Liberation Maiden and mentioned that it was a part of a collection of games called "Guild01?" Well it turns out Nintendo will be bringing over the second series of games as well, aka, Guild02! Guild02 features three games, and each one is unique.

The first of which is a game called "The Starship Damrey." In this game you explore a dark spaceship with no guidance what so ever. You search the ship, uncover clues, and try to figure out just what happened and why you are there. It is a graphical adventure game that takes place from the first person point of view, and it seems to be the most interesting out of the three.

The second game is a game by Inafune (who most know as the father of Mega Man), and is called Bugs Vs Tanks. In this game you control a WWII era tank that has been shrunk down to the size of a bug. Yep, that about sums it up! You fight off bugs with tanks, and that is all there really is too it. It's a sort of top down arcade shooter, and is sure to be a nice mini game. Great for you arcade fans out there!


The third and final game is unique game called "Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale." In this game you live out the life of a young boy in a world where the monsters from Japanese monster movies come to life every Friday. It is a unique game where the story unfolds in the events around you.
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VC Coming to Wii U and EARTHBOUND!

Very soon the Virtual Console will finally be making its way over to the Wii U. Up until now gamers had to access the VC by going to the Wii menu, and they could only access a few select VC titles from the eShop, but this will no longer be the case. Now the full Virtual Console service will be accessible from the Wii U menu, but with a few twists of its own! Coming with the brand new Wii U VC is the addition of Game Boy Advance games, as well as one  other game that fans have been asking for for years!


Yep that's right! After years of trying, fans have finally talked Nintendo into releasing EarthBound on the Virutal Console in the west! For quite some time Mother 2 (EarthBound's Japanese title) has been up in Japan, but due to legal issues it has never been able to make it to western shores. Well now it seems that Nintendo has finally worked out the issues, and we will finally be getting what we want!

Thank you Nintendo!
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Pikmin 3 - Flying Pikmin

Remember back at E3 when a flying Pikmin was noticed? Well Nintendo has finally confirmed it! It turns out the pinkish flying Pikmin will in fact be one of the Pikmin you can use in game, and it will have quite a few different uses! Since this Pikmin can fly, you can use it to carry objects over water, fire, and other traps which may keep your Pikmin from progressing. They will also be able to reach higher areas, and take down flying enemies. I know this news doesn't really come as a shock, but it is nice to see that Nintendo has finally confirmed it!

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Yoshi's Island 3D

Yoshi's Island 3D is the 3rd entry in the Yoshi's Island series which started way back on the Super Nintendo. Originally titled "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island," Yoshi's Island has since grown into a series of its own with quite the large fan base!


Although currently not much is known about Yoshi's Island 3D, we do know that it is a Yoshi's Island game. The game will focus on Yoshi carrying Baby Mario on his back, and you will be able to use a wide verity of moves to protect him. Yoshi will be able to eat enemies to turn them into eggs, he will be able to throw the eggs at other enemies, he will be able to use his standard hover jump, he will be able to use his ground pound ability, and once again the health system will in fact be Baby Mario. Instead of taking damage when getting hit, Yoshi will be completely fine while Baby Mario floats out into the sky. If you can save Baby Mario before time runs out you can keep on going, but if you lose Baby Mario it is game over. As for the game's art style, well, it is a little bit different.


The Yoshi's Island series has always been known for its style. It uses a unique hand drawn art style, and because of that just about everything pops. The world feels alive, the music is great, and the entire experience is just flat out enjoyable; however it seems this time around they are doing things differently. While the game still retrains some of that hand drawn sketchy style, the game is in fact in 3D. Enemies and objects pop out, while the rest of the world seems to be flat. It is a 2.5D style Nintendo has been using for quite awhile now, but it still may take quite awhile to get used to.


Yoshi's Island 3D will also feature quite a few new features as well, such as a brand new giant egg, but we'll have to wait for Nintendo before we learn anymore. Will the other babies be making their return? Well it is hard to say, but personally I'm hoping this game will take the series back to its roots!
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Donkey Kong Country Returns - Update

Once again, another small update. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D was announced last Nintendo Direct as well, and this time around Nintendo wanted to fill us in on the new features the 3DS version will have. While the 3DS version will include the original game, it will also include a "New" mode which features a few changes. This mode is there to make the game easier, and more fitting for on the go gaming.

First of all the new mode will provide you with more health. While the original game started you out with 2 hearts and let you upgrade to three hearts, New Mode starts you out with three hearts and allows you to upgrade to five hearts. Second of all new mode will also feature a wide verity of items to help make the game easier as well. While one item is a balloon that carries you up to a platform if you fall off the cliff and die, another item allows you to take more than one hit with the mine cart.

Besides making the game easier, there will also be a brand new world to play through as well! Once you complete the game this new set of levels becomes unlocked, and is sure to give long time fans a reason to pick up the new 3D version.
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New Luigi U - Update

Another small update, but an important one! Last Nintendo Direct Nintendo talked about the New Luigi U DLC for New Super Mario Bros U. This DLC replaces all of the levels from the main game with brand new levels, and the game focuses on Luigi; however they didn't really talk about what the game would actually be like.


It turns out the Luigi in this DLC will be the Luigi seen in "Super Mario Bros 2," and in the GBA Mario games. He'll have his higher jump (where he kicks his legs to gain air and stay in the longer), and he will also slip and slide as he runs. This will not only allow Luigi to reach areas Mario couldn't, but it will also make controlling him more of a challenge. On top of that ALL stages will have a 100 second time limit, and stages will be challenging!

To sum it up, New Luigi U will be a challenging "game," and is sure to push everyone to their limits!
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Mario Party "3D"

The Mario Party series is one of the most well known Mario spin offs out there, and they have been released on every Nintendo console since the Nintendo 64. Just like the name implies, Mario Party is a party game that plays out a lot like a board game. You pick your character, role the dice, make your way across the board, land on special spaces which cause you go either gain or lose coins, or cause a special event to happen, and then after everyone takes their turn you play a mini game. The series is highly addictive, and the perfect game to play with friends and family.


Mario Party "3D" (as we are going to call it) is the next entry in the series and it is coming out on the Nintendo 3DS. This time around the game features a wide verity of game boards each with their own gimmicks and sets of rules. While in past games each board played out just about the same, this time around each board will have a different goal for you to complete, and obstacles for you to face. For example one board has a giant bullet bill which will come flying across the screen if you roll it on the dice. The stage features spots you can get in to be safe, but it also halts your progression. It is up to you to decide if you want to take the risk and stay out in the open, or if you want to get back to a safe area.


Right now not much else is really known about the game, but it will make use of the 3DS's features for its mini games, and it will feature at LEAST local multiplayer. If the game will have online or not is currently unknown.
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Small Mario Golf 3D Update

Well, once again Mario Golf was brought up at Nintendo Direct, but what do we really know about it? It turns out Nintendo plans to announce more about the game later on, but until then we only know a little bit about its key features. First of all it will have an online mode so you can compete with your friends, it will use a community system like Mario Kart 7 where you can create/join fan communities, and it will also allow you to customize tournaments and set your own rules.

Other than that, the game is in fact Mario Golf, which is none other than a golf game. If you've ever played a past game in the series, or know anything about Golf, I'm sure you know what to expect.
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Mario & Luigi Dream Team - Update

Well today was Nintendo Direct, and once again we have quite a bit of gaming news to cover! So over the next hour or so this blog will be updated to help fill everyone in. Now if you want to watch Nintendo Direct yourself, you can find it by simply going to the Nintendo Direct Page on their website. So, with that being said, lets get started!


Our first bit of news from Nintendo Direct is the news about Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. As you know the new game will be released on the Nintendo 3DS, but until now we really didn't know too much about the game itself. The story is about Princess Peach being pulled into a Dream World, and once again Mario has to go save her. Mario and co were trying to enjoy their vacation on Pi'llo island, but it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon.

Just like in past games, Mario and Luigi must work together using their special moves to progress through the over world, but just like Bowser's Inside Story, the game also features a 2D "Dream World" section as well. In these sections you will be able to interact with Luigi on the touch screen to help Mario navigate through the world.


The game's battle system will be the standard Mario & Luigi battle system, but with a few twists. The game will make use of the 3DS's features such as its motion control to preform new moves.

Although Dream Team is the same Mario and Luigi we've all come to know and love, it seems to really pack a punch, and it will be offering us a wide verity of features never before seen. If you're a fan of the series, it is sure to be a must have!
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Monday, April 15, 2013

Valkyria Chronicles III - Could there still be hope?


Back in 2011 SEGA released a game called "Valkyria Chronicles III" on the PSP. At this point in time, Valkyria Chronicles was already known by many gamers for its unique real time twist on the tactical role playing genre, and it was also a series that had became known for its great story. The original game featured a personal war story that fans fell in love with, its unique canvas art style made it stand out, and its deep tactical gameplay kept players hooked. It was one of them "hidden gems" that was released only on the PlayStation 3, and in the early days it was one of them games that made the PlayStation 3 worth owning (heck, it was why I personally bought one)!

When Valkyria Chronicles II came around, fans were once again excited to jump into this world, but things had changed. The game was being released on the PSP, its story focused on a military school, and the scale of the maps had to be cut down due to it being on a handheld. Even so the game managed to greatly expand on the gameplay of VC, it added in many new types of soldier classes for your units to be, it featured hundreds of missions, and it still was able to provide a deep story that got fans hooked. Even so, due to the fact it was on the PSP the game didn't sell very well in the west, and that was a major problem.

Valkyria Chronicles III once again expanded on the gameplay of the VC series, it returned to the series roots with a darker story, and it also featured branching story paths for the first time! It was a game fans were really looking forward to, but sadly SEGA decided not to release it in the west. Once again the game was on the PSP (which is now a dead console), and due to the second game's failure SEGA felt it wasn't worth the risk.

Now here we are, two years later and the game still hasn't seen the light of day. While the game was a hit in Japan, it continues to stay there with almost no chance of it ever seeing western shores. That is, until now!


Although VC3 remains a Japanese exclusive, part of VC3 will finally be making its way to the west, and with that comes new hope! As you may or may not know, a Namco Bandai x Capcom x SEGA game called "Project X Zone" was released on the 3DS in Japan awhile back, and now after going through a massive legal mess, the game will finally be getting an English release! The game features a wide verity of characters from each of the companies main game series, and among them characters is the cast of Valkyria Chronicles III! Standing in a sea of familiar characters, the VC3 cast will be some of the few that will really stand out to the western audience, and that just may be enough to spark some interest.

Throughout gaming history cameo characters have always been the ones to spark the most interest. These unfamiliar characters show up, fans begin to wonder who they are, they look them up, find out about the game they are from, and sooner or later the game series once again sees the light of day. If it wasn't for Marth and Roy showing up in Smash Bros Fire Emblem may have never came to the west, and if it wasn't for Pit showing up in Brawl Kid Icarus may not have been revived.

Even though nothing is official, there is always a chance that Project X Zone is the final push VC3 needs. Up until now die hard VC fans have been on their own in the fight to bring VC3 to the west, but hopefully new fans will take interest and join the fight as well! Valkyria Chronicles III may still have a chance!

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Picked up the Mass Effect Trilogy!

Wow, what has it been, almost two years? Well, if you're a long time reader, you'll remember my post about the original Mass Effect. You see, when Mass Effect first came out, I actually missed out on it. It was a game that I was interested in, but at the time I didn't own an Xbox 360, and up until Mass Effect 3 was announced other games kept getting in my way. I'm really not sure why I never checked out the game earlier, but when I heard the 3rd game was finally going to come out and end the trilogy, I decided it was time to finally pick it up.

Really I've got a lot of great memories playing through the original Mass Effect (which was actually one of the first games I fully covered here on the Game Room), and that Summer still holds a special place in my heart. Basically, I flat out loved the original Mass Effect! I loved the story, I loved the RPG elements, the gameplay was great, I really liked the entire universe, and I really couldn't wait to finally move into Mass Effect 2. That summer I spent a great deal playing Mass Effect, a great deal playing Mass Effect 2 (which was actually given to me as a birthday present), and quite a bit of time swimming, hanging out with friends, and playing other games as well. Every time I look at the boxes sitting on my shelf, all of them memories come back to me; however it isn't all fond memories.

Not too long after I finished Mass Effect 2 my Xbox 360's disc drive broke down. Still to this day I cannot play games on the console, and I really don't have much of a reason to risk trying to get it to work. With that being said I was never able to play Mass Effect 3, and I ended up losing all of my hard work. After that I figured that I would just be done with the series, and wait for the next saga. Still, things do change!

The other day I decided to finally pick up the Mass Effect Trilogy for the PlayStation 3! Playing this game has brought back all of them fond memories, and I once again remember why I loved the game so much! It is really nice to see the first game in the series on the PlayStation 3, and because of that I am finally able to play through the entire series again! However, this time I will actually be able to finish it! Personally, I cannot wait!
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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Tales of Xillia - English Trailer and Voice Actor Info

Well if you're a fan of JRPGs, I'm sure you already know what I'm about to say. The Tales of Xillia English Trailer has finally been released, and we finally get our first REAL look at the voice actors! So, just who are they? Well how about we take a look at the trailer first?




So what do you guys think? Personally I'm liking the voice actors (although Milla's may take some time getting used to), and I'm happy to see that its actually done very well! I mean, sure, maybe the acting isn't "perfect" (nothing is perfect people), but I don't think we'll be seeing any cringe worthy dialogue in this one!

Anyway, although not all of the voice actors have been confirmed, a few have, and others you can easily pick up on if you're an anime fan or JRPG fan.

  • Jude will be voiced by Sam Riegel, who is known for a wide verity of roles (including Flynn Scifo from Tales of Vesperia)
  • Milla is voiced by Minae Noji, who is just about the only member of the cast you may have not heard of. While this is her first video game, she has been in a few TV shows as well as movies. She is also mostly known for her role in the soap opera "General Hospital."
  • Alvin is being voiced by Matthew Mercer, who is known for a wide verity of roles as well, but currently a lot of you may know him as the voice of Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening.
Currently the other VAs have not been confirmed, but I will update everyone as soon as possible. On top of that a  collectors edition has been announced as well for the US! The collectors edition will be sold at $99.99, it will include the game, an art book, the game's soundtrack, as well as a model of Millia. For more information, check out the following link!

http://www.gamestop.com/ps3/games/tales-of-xillia-collectors-edition/109114


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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Update and a "interesting" Game crash.



Hello there my dear readers!!! Time for a small update. Yes I haven't been posting that much and I do apologize for that readers >_< life has been keeping me busy with work and so on but I am working on a Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of fate review but it wont be released any time soon, just a heads up.

But what I wanted to mention also is that I have been playing Sly cooper thieves in time and I have been enjoying it a lot even though there are some problems with it (will probably make a review of it in the future so I will explain more then). . .  But here's the thing as I was 7-8 hours into the game the game froze up on me at one point I restarted the console and tried again and the game froze up yet again!!! But that's not the worst part OH NO . . . . . . . My save file had been deleted and I had no backups. . . . .


. . . Yeah . . . A future tip readers always make two save files. . . . Always. . . .


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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

PlayStation Vita - Update 2.10

Well, normally this isn't the sort of thing I would report on, but this is an update Vita owners have been asking for, for a long time! Just last night I was browsing the PlayStation Store on my Vita, and after closing it to open up my Netflix App I noticed something was strange. I was unable to access Netflix, and soon I was greeted with a system update message. So, what did this update add? Well....

First of all the update added in the ability to watch videos with the web browser. Up until now if you wanted to watch something online you would have to use a special app (for example Youtube, Netflix, and Nico Nico), but now it seems some videos will in fact load. Still this isn't the biggest change.

Finally, after asking for almost a year, SONY HAS RELEASED FOLDERS! Yep that's right! Now by clicking on an app in your LiveArea you can send it to a folder! Folders hold up to 10 apps/icons, and they can also be named to anything you want! For example you could sort your PlayStation One titles into a PlayStation One folder, you could move your PSP games to a PSP folder, your Vita games to a Vita folder, etc. Up until now there were only so many pages worth of apps that you could have loaded on your Vita at a time, but now that limit is just about gone! Chances are, you can even fit everything on a single page now thanks to these folders!

Really I'm not sure why it took Sony so long to release this update, but if you've been collecting Vita games and downloading games from the shop, I'm sure you were already running out of space; space you can now get back due to these folders!

Thank you Sony! (My Vita's LiveArea looks so much cleaner now!)

2013-04-10-113501 2013-04-10-113427 2013-04-10-113434 2013-04-10-113439 2013-04-10-113444
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Monday, April 8, 2013

Final Fantasy XIII - Review


Final Fantasy is a long running series of JRPGs that originally started back in the 1980s on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The first game in the series was an RPG that allowed players to create a party of their own characters, and then sent out on an adventure in a completely open world. Players got to explore the world, go to towns, talk with NPCs, fight monsters, level up, and slowly uncover the story as they progressed through the game. Back then the game was revolutionary, and because of how well it was received, many sequels soon followed.

Each and every one of these sequels featured its own cast of characters, story, and world to explore, but at the same time some of the same gameplay elements remained. While the earlier games focused more on a fantasy setting, later games such as Final Fantasy VI (released as Final Fantasy III in the west) focused on a more modern day/sci-fi setting. Because each game was in fact different, fan bases formed for each and every single one, and even still today the Final Fantasy fan base as a whole is split. While some fans prefer the characters, story, and fantasy setting of Final Fantasy IV, others may like the modern day (and more mature) styled Final Fantasy VII. Despite having favorites, fans of the series have just about always looked forward to the newest entry in their favorite franchise, and Final Fantasy XIII was no exception.

Final Fantasy XIII is the 13th main entry in the Final Fantasy series (excluding spin offs, and sequels to other main entry titles), and it was also the first Final Fantasy game to be released on an HD console. Originally developed as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, the game was released on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2009 in Japan, and 2010 in the west. The game featured amazing visuals, a catchy soundtrack, and it was going to be the biggest Final Fantasy game to date; however things do change.

The thing is, Final Fantasy XIII is NOT your standard Final Fantasy game, and when going into this game you really have to understand that. The truth is, Final Fantasy XIII is more along the lines of a stand alone title, just with the Final Fantasy name. This simple fact has caused quite the outrage among fans, and still to this day (4/8/2013) it is the topic of very much debate. So, for this review I am going to be putting that all aside, and review this game how it was meant to be. It is a game of its own, and it is NOT a sequel to any other Final Fantasy game. This game is the flagship title of the "Fabula Nova Crystallis" series, and it really shows.

The Story of Final Fantasy XIII:

Final Fantasy XIII opens up with a train of prisoners being transported to a place known as "Gran Pulse." Pulse is a large planet the smaller planet of "Cocoon" orbits around, and it is known as "hell on Earth." Since they are born, the people of Cocoon are taught horror stories about Pulse, as well as the great war that broke out between the rulers of Pulse and Cocoon; the creatures known as fal'Cie.

In this world, the fal'Cie are great and powerful beasts which control just about everything. While one acts as the "sun" of the world, another is the source of all electricity, and others simply take care of the world itself. Although the fal'Cie of Cocoon do everything they can to help and protect the people that live there, the fal'Cie of Pulse only want to destroy all life, and that is why they create L'Cie.

If chosen by a fal'Cie, a human can be transformed into what is known as a L'Cie to barrow the fal'Cie's power. L'Cies gain the power to use magic, and they are also given a "focus" to complete. Focuses are basically missions the L'Cie must carry out for the fal'Cie, and if they do so they'll be transformed into a crystal and live forever; however if they fail, they'll turn into a monster and be cursed for the rest of their lives.


After a Pulse fal'Cie is found near the town of Bodhum, the government exiles everyone in the town to Gran Pulse by train; including a young girl named Sarah Farron who had been turned into a Pulse L'Cie. In order to save her sister, heroine Lightning Farron hijacks the train, frees the prisoners, and soon finds herself caught up in a massive battle with the government's special forces.

As a resistance group lead by Snow (who just happens to be Sarah's fiance) and his gang "NORA" battles the government's special forces, Lightning along with a middle aged man named Sazh make their way toward the ruins where Sarah was being held. Meanwhile a young boy named Hope, and a young girl name Vanille are pulled into the battle as well, after Hope's mother volunteers to help Snow, only to be then killed in the process. In the end, all five characters find themselves in the ruins where Sarah was being held.

The opening of Final Fantasy XIII is flat out chaos. It is very hard to understand what is going on, you really have no idea who these characters are or why they ended up getting mixed up in this mess, and terms are thrown around like crazy. The good news is there is a log you can read to help clear up the confusion, but for the most part you stay in the dark until later on in the game. Throughout the game scenes from the "13 days," which was originally included in a prequel novel, become unlocked to help fill you in, but until you've seen them all the story can be quite confusing.


Soon after arriving in the ruins, all of the characters find themselves face to face with the Pulse fal'Cie, Sarah is turned into a crystal, and as a result they become L'Cies themselves. With no other choice, the party of strangers go on the run with no real destination in mind. They are wanted criminals, they are L'Cie, and the entire world fears them.

The thing about Final Fantasy XIII is, the game is heavily story based, and it is not an easy story to understand. The simple fact is, if you only play through the game you'll be missing out on a lot of the story, and you may not even be able to understand what is actually going on. A lot of the game's story is told in the datalog where you can find background information over every aspect of the Final Fantasy XIII world, and even learn more about each character's motives. This may not be the best way to tell a story I'll admit, but it does provide a deep and complex story most JRPGs tend to lack. The story on its own is a truly unique story, and it is filled with quite a few plot twists as well. Unlike most Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy XIII's story isn't a generic save the world story, rather a more personal one.


Like in most Final Fantasy games, each character in FF13 has their own unique personality, and that really helps bring the game to life. While Lightning (the female Cloud as Square Enix calls her) is the strong willed soldier with a hidden softer side, Snow is the jock who is full of himself, Hope is your standard 14 year old who doesn't want to have anything to do with what is going on, Vanille is the happy go lucky girl of the group, Sazh is the father figure who is willing to do anything for his son, and Fang is the woman with a mysterious past who you just can't help but not trust at first. The entire cast is lively, and they really complement each other.

The New Gameplay Style:

As I said before, when playing Final Fantasy XIII you really need to see it as a game of its own. While past Final Fantasy games featured a world map to travel, towns to explore, and dungeons you had to complete from time to time, Final Fantasy XIII has NONE of that! The game plays out in a linear fashion, and is unlike any other JRPG out there.

The entire game is basically you traveling from point A to point B. Now from time to time the path will split off, or give you the option to explore and look around, but for the most part you are on the run! In the opening scene of the game you're trying to make your way to the ruins, soon after you're running from the government, and not too long after that you'll be in a city trying to make your way to one of the key character's houses. The game plays out a lot like a movie, and for the most part you will never find yourself backtracking; in fact you can't even return to earlier areas in this game. Each chapter plays out like a chapter in an action game, and that may be a problem if you were expecting a standard Final Fantasy game.

Now although the game is in fact linear, that really doesn't mean it is a bad game. Now sure it is not a standard Final Fantasy, but that also means XIII is able to do things other games were unable to. Since each area is linear, you get to explore some very unique areas, there is a tighter focus on the story, and it also allows for some pretty impressive set pieces which have been very limited in past games. Now sure games like Final Fantasy VIII featured sections where you could run through battlefields, but them scenes were pretty limited, and very rare as well. In XIII you'll be making crazy jumps, watching some crazy action based cutscenes, and you'll get to see some impressive landscapes while doing so. You never see generic open world maps, you never see generic cave based dungeons, and you never have to worry about solving the same puzzle more than once. Once you finish an area in game, it is done for good, and you'll never have to play it again unless you restart the game; however this isn't the only difference in XIII's gameplay.


Another major difference is the fact that the game doesn't use a standard shop system. You'll get items from the enemies you fight, and all weapons will actually be found as you go through the game, meaning you can actually miss out on weapons in this game; however even that isn't too much of a problem. Instead of buying new pieces of equipment, this time around you use items you find to upgrade your weapons into higher levels. Now although some weapons do in fact have different abilities, all weapons do end up being around the same near the end of the game, so it is really up to you to decide which ones you want to use; same goes for the accessories you can equip.

Different accessories you find in game will give you different abilities that can help you out in the long run, but they aren't really key to surviving. Sure it can be nice to have that extra boost in power, but none of the equipment is truly life saving, and it is really up to you to decide how to handle it all.

On top of that, enemies do in fact appear in front of you, and you enter battle when you touch them. If you want to fight them you can, but if not you can simply avoid them. For anyone who hates random battles, this is a great addition, and it allows you to choose your own battles. Don't want to fight that type of monster? Well then don't! Once you get into battle however, things are a LOT different, even considering how different the rest of this game is.

The Battle System:

Battles in Final Fantasy XIII play out in real time, but the game is still in fact menu based. While in past Final Fantasy games you picked an attack/move for each character and then selected an enemy to attack when it came time for your turn, this game does away with all of that. This time around you only play as the party leader, and you have a wide verity of attacks to pick from. On the left side of the screen you have an ATB bar which is broken up into sections, and each attack requires a section of that bar to use. By mixing and matching attacks, you can create your own custom combos to unleash on the enemy all while the rest of your party attacks on their own. For example you could use an attack, attack, attack, magic, magic combo on your enemy, or you could even chain a combo of buffs together to save on time and get your buffs over with. On top of that you don't actually have to use all of your bar in a combo, and you can simply attack by hitting a button after you're done picking your moves.


The game also features an "auto battle" system where the game picks what it feels the best attacks are, but this can really take away the fun. If you really want to just mash auto battle and let the game do all the work for you, you can, but it is always better to just do it on your own. Later on the game actually stops holding your hand, and the level difficulty really takes a step up. Sure you could try to auto battle it if you really want to, but chances are you'll be dying quite a lot; however even that is different from past games in the series.

This time around if you die in battle, you'll actually be given the option to either retry the battle, or you'll simply respawn right in front of the monster that killed you. You cannot get a true game over in this one, and since save points are so spaced out that is really a good thing! Its never fun to run half an hour into a level only to be killed by a random monster along the way.

Paradigm and Leveing Up:

The Class system and Level Up system are two features most Final Fantasy games have used. Different characters would be able to use different weapon types, they'd gain different abilities, and as you killed monsters you would gain EXP to level up. This is just a standard for Final Fantasy, as well as most other RPGs; however this too has been changed in Final Fantasy XIII.

Replacing the class system is what is known as the Paradigm system. Paradigms are different roles your characters can take on, and each one has different abilities associated with them. For example the "Commando" role is your standard combat role which focuses on melee attacks, while Ravager is your magic using role. Each character starts out with three roles for them to use, but others become unlocked later on.


While outside of battle, you can actually create "decks" to be used in battle. These decks allow you to set what your character's roles in battle will be, and it allows you to switch to them on the fly. For example you may have a deck where Lighting is a Commando, Snow is a Commando, and Hope is a Medic, but you might also have a deck where Lightning is a Ravager, Snow is a Ravager, and Hope is a Ravager as well. Although you cannot change characters roles individually, the deck system is fast and easy to use, and it allows you to create some unique teams. Also by switching between these roles the moment your current attack combo ends in battle, you can actually cause the ATB bar to refill to max without waiting. It is a great way to keep your combos going, and a great way to quickly switch between roles as well since it cuts down on the wait time.


As for the level up system of Final Fantasy XIII, it too is very different. Whenever you kill an enemy you actually earn points which can be then spent to level up your Paradigms. Each role has a sort of grid sphere system where you can spend points to move to the next sphere. Each sphere will either unlock a new ability or attack for you to use in battle, or it'll increase your stats. For example in the Commando role you'll be finding more spheres that'll increase your attack power, while in the Ravager role you'll be finding more that increase your magic ability. This allows you to customize your characters, but at the same time it also keeps you on track. As you progress through the game more abilities are added to the grid, and until you reach that point in the game you'll be unable to advance in level. This prevents you from ever being over leveled, and it keeps your stats around the level they should be.

The Eidolons:

Like in other games, summons do return to Final Fantasy XIII, but they have been changed as well (what a shock)! Each character in game will receive an Eidolon, which will be gained after fighting them at specific parts in the story. To get an Eidolon you have to either beat it by force, which can be quite challenging and possibly a game ender for some, or you can do a specific action to "tame" them over time. Either way the Eidolon battles are in fact some of the hardest parts of the game, and they may even prevent people from advancing any farther; however once gaining an Eidolon things become a lot easier!


When in battle you can summon your Eidolon to take the place of your other two party members for a short amount of time, or you can transform the Eidolon into a vehicle/mech/some sort of creature your character will then ride on. When in this state a series of button promps show up on screen for different moves,  and you can then unleash a series of special moves on your enemies. This can really help change up battles and give you an advantage, especially since summons heal your party as well, but for the most part they really aren't all that necessary. With the exception of a few battles, Eidolons are normally pointless to use, and you really shouldn't need them to give you an edge in battle. Still they are quite fun to use from time to time!

The Good and the Bad:

Final Fantasy XIII is a hard game to judge when it comes to its pros and cons. If you look at it from a Final Fantasy standpoint, the game really isn't that good compared to the rest of the series. No world map, no towns, its very linear, and it has completely changed the formula! For anyone who is looking for a standard Final Fantasy game, they won't be finding it here; however if you judge this game as its own game, then that's when the pros come into light.

First of all the game looks flat out amazing! The HD visuals are really nice to look at, and the entire game is just filled with eye candy. You'll be running through some simply stunning areas, and you'll actually want to take the time to slow down and take a look around. On top of that these areas are accompanied by a very nice soundtrack which you may find yourself standing around just to listen to! Overall the entire presentation of the game is great, and it really helps make it a lot more enjoyable.


The gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII can also be seen as a really nice aspect as well. XIII is unlike any other JRPG out there, and that in my book really makes the game worth it. Sure it isn't the standard Final Fantasy most were hoping for, but once again try to put that aside to see this game for what it is. Most JRPGs have you running around a standard world map, you go to a town, you find out something happened, you get pulled into some mini story you might not even care about, and then you travel to the next town just to do it allover again. This is the type of game JRPG fans have been playing for many years now, and it can become quite old after awhile. Final Fantasy XIII actually breaks away from the mold, offers us a completely new experience, and is a very nice break from the same old style we've became used to. The battle system is fast and fun, the set pieces are nice, and its nice to be able to progress without ever getting lost for hours. You always know where you are going, and the game runs a lot smoother because of it. Now later on the game does in fact open up with a MASSIVE open area for you to explore, with hundreds of side quests and bosses for you to battle, but that doesn't happen until the second half of the game.

Although many people may consider how different this game is to be a bad point, there are also a few bad points about the game itself as a "stand alone" game. First of all, the game is HUGE in file size, and that causes problems for the Xbox 360 version as well as problems with the PS3 version. While on the Xbox 360 the game had to be broken up into three discs with reduced visuals, the PS3 version is on a single disc WITHOUT an install option! Now this may not sound like a bad point, but since the game is on a dual layered disc, it can be quite hard on the PlayStation 3 console's disc drive, and that can cause problems in the future. Now for the most part this isn't something you should worry about (heck a lot of PS3 games are in fact the same way even in 2013), but it could be an issue for older PS3 models. Second of all the game has a very strange camera system which some people might have a hard time getting used to. The camera swings and moves all around the character a lot like a camera in a movie. Now this does give the game a cinematic feel, but it can also be hard to see where you are going, and it can take quite some time to get used to it.

The final downside of Final Fantasy XIII is actually one I have mixed feelings about. Even when you get to the larger open area near the end of the game, there still aren't any standard RPG areas to go to. Now I'm not saying the game needs towns, NPCs, and other standard elements to be good, I'm just saying that it would have been nice to have more of a verity. When you reach the end of the game it actually turns into a grind which could have been easily avoided. You'll have to fight monsters hoping they drop materials you need, and you'll be spending a lot of time trying to get rare drops just to make cash. If there were some kind of extra area that wasn't an open field or side quest based area, then a lot of this needless grinding could have been cut short.


All and all, Final Fantasy XIII really isn't a bad game. If you're looking for a standard Final Fantasy game--you wont find it here, but if you're looking for a completely new JRPG experience--then this may be the game for you. If you consider XIII to be its own stand alone game, then you'll find it is worth picking up.

In the end I give Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 and Xbox 360 an 8/10. Personally I love the game, but it does have a few drawbacks which prevent it from being a "perfect" unique title.
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