The Other Side of the Fourth Wall

Some Fire Emblem: Three Houses spoilers follow  Some time ago, I posted an entry arguing why Crimson Flower is the best route in Fire Emblem: Three Houses . One reason is the only thing it does not have in common with the other three- you do not have to reclaim Garreg Mach from the bandits who are squatting in it. This mission is a necessary part of the story, but unfortunately ends up being a frustrating slog in which your tactical choices are unfairly limited. The Story First, some background. At the end of White Clouds, the first part of the game, Edelgard leads the Imperial army in an invasion of Garreg Mach. If you joined her in the Holy Tomb, you will be part of the attack, but otherwise, you will fight against her. The outcome also varies based on the route. If you fought with Edelgard, Rhea will transform into her dragon form, resulting in Byleth falling unconscious and disappearing for five years, but will ultimately retreat with her followers. If you fought with the Church, R

Shonen manga have long been criticized for giving preferential treatment to male characters. In series with many battles, male characters tend to get more screentime, more fights and more victories. Bleach is no exception, since while the female characters aren't necessarily kept off the field of battle, not many of them win fights against male opponents. Female characters can play important roles (albeit with a glass ceiling, since there are never more than two female captains out of thirteen at any one time), but many female characters' personalities revolve around male characters. Earlier this year, CBR.com published a top 10 list about how Bleach "nerfs" its female characters . The article isn't wrong to note that Bleach sometimes fails to treat its female characters as equal to its males, but the way  it goes about proving this point leaves much to be desired. The article has factual inaccuracies, and somewhat questionable choices when it comes to examples. W

Welcome to the inaugural installment of the Attorney Case Files. Like the Danganronpa Case Files, this will look at a case in the series.  Apollo Justice is one of the more divisive entries in the Ace Attorney series for many reasons. It takes place seven years after Trials and Tribulations, introduces a new protagonist, has previous protagonist Phoenix Wright return as more cynical and morally gray than before and makes other changes fans were hesitant to accept. The third and fourth cases were relatively weak in certain ways (I may do an entry on either one in the future) That said, the first trial of Apollo Justice is considered to be the best case in the game (which, admittedly, doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment), largely because of the twist involving the culprit's identity. There's a bit more to it, though, so I'll explore why it's a fairly strong first case. The First Half The first half of the case helps establish the basic facts and serve as a tu

Here is yet another guide on writing, this time focusing on user reviews. I will focus on some of the mistakes that I saw on various sites, and how best to avoid them. Making Your Review Too Short I went into this in more detail in a previous entry . Essentially, while reviews should be concise, reviews that are too short fail to express anything. Reviewers may not get bored reading short reviews, but that doesn't help if they don't learn anything. Making Your Review Too Long This is as much of a problem as making reviews too short, but not entirely for the reasons you would think. While some sites have generous word count limitations, that doesn't mean you should necessarily post an extremely long review. Not everyone has the patience to read it, especially not when there might be dozens of other reviews. Long reviews often tend to ramble or go off on tangents, both of which sould be avoided. TV Tropes has a strange quirk in that while it has a word limit of 3,000 characte

Might and Magic VI is so far the only Might and Magic game I have played; once when I was younger and again somewhat more recently. In the past, I abandoned the game midway through, but I was recently able to see it through to the end. It was overall a fun experience, even if the endgame devolved into traversing large dungeons full of hordes of enemies and repeatedly shooting aliens with lasers. If you haven't played the game, and only vaguely heard about it as a high fantasy RPG, that sentence may come as a surprise to you, and for good reason. The blasters are only obtained in the penultimate dungeon, the Control Center, near the end of the game. The inclusion of ray guns in the series isn't too surprising if you know the context, since the series features science fiction elements. The Kreegan invaders look like demons, but are actually aliens, and Tomb of Varn, the dungeon before the Control Center, is a structure left behind by a spacefaring civilization. This entry will lo

Spoilers for Octopath Traveler follow  Octopath Traveler is mostly an enjoyable throwback to classic RPGs, but not without its share of flaws. Its greatest flaw, apart from the lackluster overarching story and few interactions between the travelers, is the final dungeon, the Gate of Finis, which is accessed by completing each traveler's story and a few side quests. The dungeon has only two large rooms and features eight rematches with bosses- the Chapter 4 bosses for Ophilia, Therion, Olberic and Primrose, as well as the Chapter 3 bosses for Cyrus, Alfyn, Therion and H'aanit- before the two-phase final battle. It's impossible to save or leave once you enter, and if you are defeated, you must start the dungeon over again. This, combined with the underwhelming conclusion to the main storyline, makes it the weakest part of the game, and I will look at how it can be improved. As you can see, this blog entry involves Octopath Traveler's endgame, and will naturally involve sp