First Random Last |

You are currently browsing the archive for Analog and D-Pad



24

One Square At A Time

July 29, 2019 by Tim


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

52 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
NNextremNN
NNextremNN
5 years ago

Just play without permanent death?
I mostly play for the story anyway and don’t have the time for perfection.
I also created couples which I thought were fun or would make a good fit and not create the perfect offspring.

p.s. yes I know neither of these have been features of the first games.

James Rye
James Rye
5 years ago
Reply to  NNextremNN

Or he could just savescum like every 5 minutes.^^

NNextremNN
NNextremNN
5 years ago
Reply to  James Rye

Not sure about the new game but if you’re not playing on an emulator with save-states you can only save before or after mission and during only to shut down the system. So savescuming means restarting a mission as soon as something goes wrong. And I already had to do this to not accidentally missing or killing potential companions.

Permadeath is still an interesting option for those who like this kind of thing.

ArdentSlacker
ArdentSlacker
5 years ago
Reply to  NNextremNN

As an older guy… yeah, restarting a mission as soon as a thing goes wrong sounds right. It is just… the only way to do it, because you can’t eliminate RNG.

Jaysburn
Jaysburn
5 years ago
Reply to  NNextremNN

You do only save before missions, but the last few Fire Emblem games have had a feature that allows you to rewind time during battle a set number of times. You get more uses of it per battle as the game goes on.

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

He’s referring to Echoes. It was introduced there I think, and carries over to Houses.

Jaysburn
Jaysburn
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Hmm I thought Fates had it too, but apparently just Echoes and now this game.

Casra
Casra
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

So, do the exploits of Ethan… bore you? Since.. well, he can’t die? I guess you could find someway to make him die in an infinite and painful loop causing his mind to.. well snap isn’t really a good term for him but still…

NNextremNN
NNextremNN
5 years ago
Reply to  Casra

Have you seen Ajin Demi human? Not the best anime in art or story but the idea of what would happen to infinite respawning humans would is interesting

The Legacy
The Legacy
5 years ago
Reply to  NNextremNN

But I thought Ethan was already playing without permanent death? ?

Havok
Havok
5 years ago

Hey Tim. When are you going to bring back CS-GO guy (I can’t remember his name right now). Didn’t really get him when you first introduced him but since i’ve been getting into CS for the past few years i kinda miss him now.

Ven
Ven
5 years ago
Reply to  Havok

That would be Rob, good sir.

Ashi
Ashi
5 years ago
Reply to  Havok

Rob works at Satan’s-Poop-Depository-I-mean-Megagame

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
5 years ago
Reply to  Ashi
Alaris
Alaris
5 years ago
Reply to  Havok

Rob works at the other game store in this continuity. He has popped up a couple of times.

Leon
Leon
5 years ago

If only life was turn-based…….

Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Leon

Technically it is… Of course some old CRPGs (thankfully only a few) had time-limited turns that had you auto-wait if you didn’t do anything for 5 seconds or so.

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
5 years ago

Good thinking, but dumb tactics, Ethan. Lucas attacks with arrows, so he’s obviously an archer. Don’t just sit there in range; you need to either dart in close or hang back.

TheMistDevil
TheMistDevil
5 years ago

Love the D&D easter egg.

Egas
Egas
5 years ago
Reply to  TheMistDevil

It’s a Fire Emblem reference, and it’s not really subtle enough to be an easter egg.

Chunky
Chunky
5 years ago
Reply to  Egas

There is a players handbook poster behind Lucas

Egas
Egas
5 years ago
Reply to  Chunky

Ah, damn. It’s right in the corner, near his elbow on the first panel, right?

I thought that TheMistDevil meant the whole “one square at a time” thing, as D&D can be square-based if played on a map, although hexagons are more common.

Chunky
Chunky
5 years ago
Reply to  Egas

It’s behind Ethan
Got my wires crossed

Caleb
Caleb
5 years ago

And this is why I don’t like permadeath. Too much stress, I just wanna enjoy the gameplay and story and not have my heart torn from my chest if things go wrong. I get why some people like it but… I just can’t.

Vandril
Vandril
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

It looks like you can turn back the hands of time to any point in the battle. I just completed one of those turn-limit battles and cut it close at turn 24 (I wanted all the things, dammit!), and I decided to check the time-reversal on a whim. I was able to go back to the beginning of the very first turn.

If there’s a limit to how far back you can go, it’s so far you’ll probably never notice it.

Caleb
Caleb
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

That’s interesting, and when I have the money to buy the newest game maybe that will make me give permadeath a try. I do understand why people find it appealing, it’s just not for me. To each their own as they say. Personally I’ve never had any trouble forging connections with the characters even with permadeath off, and when the enemy brings one of them down, I still feel that rage of “YOU HURT MY PRECIOUS BABY” and proceeded to wreck the offending units. Hell with the previous FE game I played, the other one with the multiple houses/storylines (was… Read more »

Ichiyama22
Ichiyama22
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

They brought back the Turnwheel mechanic from Echoes? Welp, one more reason to save up for Three Houses, I guess!

When Echoes introduced the mechanic, I was definitely in the camp of “It’s good because it makes Classic a little less scary for newcomers.”

PCO
PCO
5 years ago

I don’t have adblock, so when I load your site a video taking up 1 quarter of the screen that autoplays (thankfully no audio) pops up. I don’t know why you’ve decided to go this route, but I think it might be better to get a more conventional, less intrusive ad platform…

Hunter
Hunter
5 years ago

Hey Tim

I heard you’re going to do another Kickstarter.

Do you plan to have a cameo appearance for people who pledge a lot of dollars?

Hunter
Hunter
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

As you say, more trouble then it’s worth, but I was prepared to throw my wallet at the screen to get my second appearance.

I was the poor bastard whom The Troll had kidnapped. The thought of a second bad day for my fictional character amused me.

Humson
Humson
5 years ago

Sorry if you mentioned this before, but which house did you end up going with?

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Now, which house did ETHAN go with?

Patrick DiSandro
Patrick DiSandro
5 years ago

Wait, I thought he hated JRPGs? Possibilities abound! 1) He started trying jrpgs to impress Emily. He’s still trying some in case they get back together. 2) He jumped on the new Fire Emblem game because despite constantly mocking the mainstream stores, he’s a slut for whatever the current ‘in’ game is. Will next page be Lucas informing him that there’s an entire franchise? 3) He has a really weird and hipster-geek definition of gaming genres. In his mind ‘jrpg’ just describes any rpg he doesn’t like. 4) He still doesn’t like jrpgs in general, but a good game is… Read more »

Patrick DiSandro
Patrick DiSandro
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

That one was listed. It was 3.
I was really hoping it was going to be 1 or 4.

NNextremNN
NNextremNN
5 years ago

That’s not a “weird and hipster-geek definition” it’s a strategy game first if anything J it’s a JTBS. And while it has an japanese art style the powers of the characters are way less over the top then what you would except from what’s commonly referred to as JRPGs. Considering the couples and kids you could make in previous games you also had more control over the characters then what you usually would have in an JRPG.

Patrick DiSandro
Patrick DiSandro
5 years ago
Reply to  NNextremNN

But they weren’t called ‘jrpgs’ because they had a japanese art style, or even just because they came from japan. Not every rpg made in japan is a ‘jrpg’. Before there used to just be ‘rpgs’, they were a genre, a broad genre. The wide umbrella included turn based, tactics, text adventures, ATB, strategy, etc etc etc. But by the end of gen-5, it had become a generally popular opinion that “Rpgs are the best games.” Beyond a personal opinion way, they just had a reputation for being the real ‘work of art’ games. Almost every new rpg WOULD sell.… Read more »

NNextremNN
NNextremNN
5 years ago

Well yeah the “J” addition is a bit strange anyway because it more defines a region then any real gameplay specification. But it’s often associated with some gameplay elements. But If you take away the story, character Interaction and art style or the “J” (if you want so) your not left with an RPG your left with an TBS. It would more resemble an fantasy XCOM (or banner saga? never played that) then a Dragon Age. JRPGs are also described to be a lot over the top like summoning Bahamut and blasting a 9999 dmg Fireball all over the screen… Read more »

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago

So, meta question about the comic. After the end of Ethan Prime’s run, you stated that you were going to use the players for the more “One Off” comics to avoid things happening like they did introducing the Linux user in the house which eventually evolved into a penguin trying to take over the world. You made a big thing about developing personalities for the players, and you kept to using them for a good while. Now Super Ethan’s universe has stabilized story wise, and your one off comics are being told out of the Super-verse and I can’t remember… Read more »

BakaGrappler
BakaGrappler
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Makes total sense. but I do hope you don’t fall into your previous pitfall of “Oops, now what am I supposed to do with this thing” that you so lamented last time. But the key here is that now you have choices in how you can present your jokes, since you didn’t really have that before.

Looking forward to more content in the future. And I hope you never end up overextending yourself. I mean, you have a lot on your plate, man.

okay
okay
5 years ago

Ethan: I don’t like JRPGs

Also Ethan: I can’t walk across my own store because I’m so obsessed with a JRPG

??‍♂️

EMMachine
EMMachine
5 years ago

Never played Fire Emblem, but if gameplay is like Advanced Wars or Wargroove, Lucas could simply have said “End Turn”

Kritoche
Kritoche
5 years ago

aw yeah. I started genealogy of the holy war and enjoying it very much. hope that other games even more awesome