Genre: Strategy Developer: Intelligent Systems System: 3DS
Music:
(Ignore "Revelation" in these, this music is also in Conquest)
Chapter 27 Battle Prep music
New Power (Endgame Battle Prep music)
0000000 I just completed this game on the hardest difficulty--Lunatic Classic Mode. No spoilers, but in terms of difficulty,
let's just say this game is a real treat. I was about to throw in the towel before I went into hyper-determined mode this morning and just did it. I should
mention that this game is only doable in this highest difficulty if you buy certain DLC--Ghostly Gold, Boo Something, and Melee Museum, for gold, exp, and weapons,
respectively. I got about halfway through this game before I realized I was doing this all wrong and I needed the DLC.
0000000 Overall, the game is fun. It's extremely hard. I frequently shouted "Fuck this game!", especially toward the end.
I do like that the game was hard, unlike the first two Shinging Force games. Those games were fun, but you weren't stressing over every little detail and
coming up with overarching strategies for maps. In this game you do, and that's part of the fun. That said, I think its difficulty at times felt artificial.
The Kitsune level, one of the hardest levels in the game, was hard, but not fun. In this level, you could only attack the Kitsune (these wolfmen creatures),
if they weren't in the "leaf" mode (for lack of a better term), and there was a whole group of them, half of which were in leaf mode and half that were not.
Or, in the wind level, the man-boy Hayato cannot be captured to use in your own team, but he also can't be a target of Entrap because the designers were sadistic.
Hayato snipes at you with the HP halving staff, whatever it's called. And then there's Invasion 3, a map that offers no rewards but is sure to kill off your characters.
What?
0000000 In this branch of the story, you side with your adoptive family, and Corrin has this theory that he has to side with
the evil side in order to bring peace, because... ? In any case, it was fun, there are some interesting characters. There are also some not-interesting
characters, one of which I purposely let die because I couldn't stand him. I am also very annoyed that there wasn't a lot more homosexual stuff--you could make
an "A+" relationship but there was absolutely no dialog. I wonder if there was dialog in the Japanese version and for whatever reason the homophobes at NOA
decided not to translate. Probably. Still, there was one character, Forrest, that was a real treat, although despite being obviously very feminine, Corrin
asks if he's gay and he says he's not. Ok, that's disappointing.
0000000 The game took 120 recorded hours to beat (i.e. the time spent that it reads on the save file), but it must have actually
took 300+ hours after you factor in all of my failed attempts at various levels. This game doesn't get the highest score for Hours of Gameplay because
so many of those hours were super frustrating and just a waste of my time.
0000000 In conclusion, easily one of the best games ever. I'd put it up there with games like Suikoden, FF3 (or 6, if you prefer), FF7,
Chrono Trigger, Shining Force II (which I never reviewed, but it's one of the greats).
~ Adam Henderson
Game Difficulty Rating:
9/10 AGONIZINGLY DIFFICULT
90% Amazing graphics for a 3DS title.
90% Amazing music. Listen for yourself.
75% Lottery, building your own castle was new
80% Docked for having only one level to grind in.
75% 300+ hours, but many hours will be wasted.
75% Story was lackluster--not thought provoking.
OVERALL SCORE = 80%
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