Just some small tweaks

When Fire Emblem Fates launches next week (finally) you'll have a f??ew options to choose from when creating your avatar. It's not a whole lot, but it's enough to differentiate your Corrin for when other players stop by your castle, so it's worth checking out this app to get your priorties in order. I recreated mine while I play the game for review, which is pictured above.

I'll never forget one of my friends, who spent two hours customizing his avatar in Skyrim to look exactly li??ke Brad? Pitt. Get all that done ahead of time!

Kamui Customizer [Serene Forest]

The post Customize your Corrin before Fire Emblem F??ates launches appeared first on Destructoid.

Robin, Ike, Marth, Lucina

I've been playing Fire Emblem Fates this week (Nintendo sent the Special Edition cart that has all three versions) for review, and I've had a chance to test out the amiibo feature. To my surprise some folks didn't even know the game had that functionality, so I figured I'd dish a bit?? on it.

In short, it's a small heaping of fanservice. Currently supported amiibo include Robin, Ike, Marth, and Lucina, who eventually join your roster, and also make cute little appearances in your home base, dubbed the "My Castle" system. Once you've reached the forked path at Chapter 6 you'll tec?hnically unlock the mechanic, but it's not until Chapte??r 7 or so that you can really start using it.

Basically, tapping a figure to the bottom screen of your New 3DS (or the accessory) will warp that character into your castle. Initially players can go up to them and chat a bit (they'll spout a few lines of dialogue at a time), some of which break the fourth wall and allude to their appearance in Super Smash Bros. You'll also get to acquire items from them like Marth's Tiara or Lu??cina's Butterfly Mask, and on their third meeting, ??you can fight them, after which they'll join your cause. Figures are locked to one use per Chapter, so you'll have to queue up another battle before interacting with them again.

I really like the feature, as it's an extra way to spend some downtime in your castle while you're doing other things like interacting with party members and collecting crops. Is it "$13 per figure fun" though? That depends on how much mileage you get out of them, and if you also use the toys for their Super Smash Bros. and Code Name: Steam capabilities (along with tertiary functionality in Chibi-Robo, amiibo tap, Captain Toad, Mario Party 10, Super Mario Maker, and Yoshi's Woolly World).

Since the Roy and Corrin amiibo aren't actually out yet, support for Fire Emblem Fates has not bee?n confirmed. You can probably bet that they'll be added in the form of a patch though.

The post Here’s how amiibo work in Fire Emblem Fates appeared first on Destructoid.

It's basically the same

Fire Emblem Fates has been getting a lot of flak for cutting its "skinship" petting minigame in the western localization, but now that?? the game is in the hands of a select few (I got my copy earlier this week), we can see exactly what was altered.

Polygon did a bit of streaming yesterday, and as you can see in the video, it's basically the same. You go to your private quarters, meet up with a member of your party in an intimate way, and raise your affinity level with them -- you just don't get to pet or rub them with the stylus (here's what it looks like in the east, which is likely NSFW).

To me, it's not nearly as bad as when Sega removed Hostess Bars from the Yakuza 3 localization entirely (and the Quiz Show, which I'm still miffed about). I'm rather indifferent to it as I'm mainly just glad the functionality and reward is still there, but to see people being called "weird" because they want it in is kind of sad. Fire Emblem already deals with enough heavy themes to the point where sexual sounds are probably one of the ??least concerning things about it.

The post See how Nintendo altered the Fire Emblem Fates ‘petting’ minigame appeared first on Destructoid.

It's a tad confusing

We've known about the packaging strategy for Fire Emblem Fates for a while now, but at this point, we've collectedly had time to marinate over it and really think about what we're going to do. After all, the game is coming out in a mere few weeks (!) and I want to know what you guys ar?e planning on doing.

For those who are confused, this is how it's going down. Nintendo will release two games -- Birthright, and Conquest. Both games are the same until Chapter 6, at which point they do their own thing. You can also buy a third story (Revelation) in the form of DLC, or just spring for the collec?tor's edition, which comes with all three on a single game cart.

As for me, I already pre-ordered the entire affair given how good Awakening was.&n??bsp;With a discount, it comes out to $64, which honestly isn't bad considering the amount of content I know I'm getting (plus an 80-page artbook and a carrying pouch). I'm still anxious to see how it turns out in the end though.

The post Are you okay with Nintendo’s decision to split Fire Emblem Fates? appeared first on Destructoid.

Six within a month

Fire Emblem Fates is just a few weeks away (February 19) and I'll finally have a reason to re-glue my face to my 3DS and play nosy match-maker. But the two versions of Fates are just, uh, two of the JRPGs (and adjacent genres/styles) available for the 3DS in this e?arly part ??of the year

There's the Monster Hunter-ish, MMO-lite Final Fantasy Explorers, which just came out. Chris noted, "But players who are willing to jump in with both feet will find a lot to love, and that goes double if you're planning to play through the adventure with a friend." This one's already out.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam -- that's the regular Mario & Luigi RPG series plus Paper Mario -- is also already out??. Laura ?reviewed it last month when it released in the UK, calling it, "really rock solid game, with a few visible creases that need to be noted before purchase."

Project X Zone 2 is full Japanese gaming fan service with appearances by the likes of anyone from Street Fighter's Ryu to Devil May Cry's Dante and Vergil to Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki to SPace Channel 5's Ulala. It's coming to 3DS February 16.

Bravely Second: End Layer hits Europe on February 26 and the states on April 15. There are 12 new jobs in this old school JRPG from Square Enix, including Catmancer, a class that trains cats to use enemies' skills (like the past game's Vampire). Another involves throwing cake at people. It also tried to "take the pain out of the grinding" with a "let it ride" system where random battles will flow into one another so you don't have to run back and forth to trigger another. The caveat is that if you finally lose, there goes all the accumulated experience from those battles. It also "might be longer than Bravely Default."

Plus, here are some actual lines of dialogue from Bravely Second: End Layer. Note: "Ba'als"? is pronounced "balls." Like balls??.

• "She studies Ba'als."
• "Ba'al buster Magnolia Arch is on the job."
• "A new Ba'al is headed this way and it's my job to bust it."
• "It's...it's huge [referring to a Ba'al]."
• "I'm Magnolia Arch and it's time to bust some Ba'als."

The localiza??tion team went Ba'als to the wall wit??h this joke.

Oh, hey, Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow -- yes, the originals -- are coming to the 3DS eShop on February 27? Time to find out how well that game is actually balanced 20 years later. Also to argue over which version's sprites were best.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King and Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past are also coming to 3DS in 2016, with Dragon Quest VII coming first. It won't have random battles, instead getting treats like Dragon Quest VIII with enemies on a world map and other additions.

The post Nintendo 3DS’s spring is an oasis of JRPGs appeared first on Destructoid.

Waifu wars return to 3DS next month

Fire Emblem Fates has been out in Japan for a while, but I love Awakening's person-story-focused shipping mechanics, which really elevates the game into something consuming, so I messed about in both of the upcoming US versions, Conquest and Birthright.

Fun aside, I stumbled on a Gamefaqs thread for an Awakening article I wrote. Everyone was real nice, paused to yell at a troll shitting on Fire Emblem, and then was real nice?? again. Good job, internet.

Just some explanation on the release: like Pokemon, buy the version you think you want. They're identical until chapter 6, at which point the stories diverge. You're given a "choice," but that choice is play the version you bought or pay?? $20 for the other one, which is to say it'd be weird to not b??uy the one you want to play.

If you missed Awakening, it's classic tactics-style turn-based strateg?y with lowkey dating elements (paired units form bonds and can marry). Th??is is still the case, but now the characters have feet.

That's not all that's new. There are little touches abound. Phoenix Mode revives dead allies right after the turn, so it's super-casual. There's a first-person view in the battle mode (though if you're anything like me you'll turn the 3D fights off anyways in favor of faster sword-shaking-sprites and falling numbers. "My Castle" mode -- real-time barracks -- is built up with Dragon Vane Points to build shops and daikon gardens and springs, netting you items. You can visit other castles over StreetPass or protect your own in one-on-one battles. There's also local and online multiplayer (with handicaps to account for level discrepancy) for direct battling. The first DLC map will feature Awakening characters and be free.

On the pure turn-to-turn side, there are new classes like Butler and Maid whose Live to Serve ability grants them health when they restore an ally. Turrets also litter the battlefield, though they can only be?? operated by characters with the same affinities (magic users on the Fire Orb, archers on the Ballista). Their range and area of effects are great for weakening oncoming, far off troops, though these weapons won't drop enemies below 1HP.

I started out in Conquest's 10th chapter with my big-bosom sister Camilla (she of the famous gif). This is the more challenging of the two with less resources and opportunity to grind. And the scenario was very back-?against-the-wall, needing to defend a sea port for 10 turns. Rolling out with a crew you're not familiar with slowed me down at first,?? but I was handling things pretty ok.

Later in the fight the opposing force took advantage of a spot on the field that those with dragon's blood (like the customizable lead Corrin) can activate abilities. In this case, it cleared all the water from the port and allowed full traversal between canals and waterways. Later, in Birthright, I used it to call down a bolt of lightning that reduced high-HP'd, opposing boss Camilla down to 1HP to finish her off easy (in Birthright she's fighting against you).

I'm still pretty turned off by the three storyline paths that make for an $80 game, but everything else about Fates feel like smart additions to a solid core. Well, except the protagonist turning into a weird Pokemon-looking dragon for certain attacks. I imagine I'll pick my one canon/point of view and stick with it, though that also might mean waiting for the third Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation.

The post H?ands-on with Fire Emblem: Fates comes wit??h Maid service appeared first on Destructoid.

'Making changes is not unusual'

With all the controversy surrounding Fire Emblem Fates (what arena of gaming doesn't have controversy surrounding it these days?), Nintendo has finally spoken up on the matter of same-sex relationships and the dreaded drugging issue. In short, they've confirmed that the game will have the form??er, sans the latter (which wasn't really the case to begin with).

Speaking to Siliconera, a representative for Nintendo stated:

Making changes is not unusual when we localize games, and we have indeed made changes in these games. When we localize a game we do so in order to make it appropriate for that particular territory. All our choices were made from that point of view. In the Conquest edition a male main character created by the gamer can pair up with another male character (Niles) which ultimately leads to marriage. Similarly, in the Birthright edition, a female main character created by the gamer can pair up with and eventually marry another female character (Rhajat). Like married couples of the opposite gender, these same-sex couples enjoy the stat boosts that come with marriage, which means when they are paired up in battle they are stronger than when they are apart or paired up with another character. In the third edition, Revelation, that will be released as DLC in the eShop on March 10, ??a same-sex marriage is possible regardless of the sex of your main character, as both Niles and Rhajat can be encountered in this edition.

In other words, like many games that are localized for the west, content might be altered for a different audience. It's a definite shift from their stance on Tomodachi Life, where same-sex relationships were not included by defa??ult -- and a glitch was removed that technically made them possib??le (among other bugs that were mixed in).

Nintendo Responds To Changes To Fire Embl??em Fates’ Western Localization [Siliconera]

The post N??intendo expands upon same-sex relationships in Fire Emblem Fates appeared first on Destructoid.

Only a month off

Fire Emblem Fates will be released on February 19, 2016 in the US, and Nintendo is ringing in the new year by gearing up for launch. The new teaser site is up, which includes some localized video and screen????shots.

I have the ultimate edition pre-ordered, even though I'm pretty bummed with the way Nintendo decided to handle the whole situation. If you're going physical, the game is basically split into three different releases at launch -- and the only way to get the third part physicall??y is to buy the collector's edition.

Fire Emblem Fates [Nintendo]

The post It’s nearly here: The Fire Emblem Fates US site is up appeared first on Destructoid.

FEF(os)

Fire Emblem Fates, which is not coming to the United States until 2016, has been out in Japan for a while and is being supported with DLC. Today marks the start of a month's worth of free maps, one of which includes characters from the previous entry, Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Look, it's stalwart bores Chro??m and Frederick. Where are Anna, Olivia, and Stahl?

The first three maps (The Paradise Struggle, Sacred Mountain of Fear, and Encounter with the Awakening) are out now and more will be releasing as the month goes on. It will be interesting to see how Fates handles its western release, including whether ??or not this DLC will be packaged in.

「ファイアーエムブレムif」の追加マップ配信が順次開始。初回となる本日は無料の「覚醒との邂逅」を含む3マップがリリース [4gamer via Siliconera]

The post Fire Emblem Fates gets A??wakening characters as DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't mind if I do!

Before you crack into Fire Emblem Fates and fully commit to your custom-made avatar, let's melt some time away with this web-based character creator?? ??put together by LuminescentBlade.

The free tool allows you to customize your avatar to your heart's content with ?a few clicks. There are options for their build, face, hairstyle, hair color, accessory, facial feature, and expression. Best of all, this character? creator has the always fun "randomize" button if you just want to see what's possible.

Give the Fire Emblem character creator a whirl and show us you?r angsty people. It sure would rule if every game had one of these.

The post I’m hooked on this Fire Emblem character creator appeared first on Destructoid.