Gotta pause Tales of Vesperia for a bit since I'm somehow doing...
post
-launch coverage for Emio: The Smiling Man. But I'll jot down some thoughts while I've got a sec.
Yuri is great. Watching The First Strike beforehand, I was already all-in on him (and yeah, I know there are continuity errors between the prequel flick and the game).
Flynn's a fantastic foil for Yuri. He looks a bit too similar to Ioder, though! If Ioder's hair were a little darker, I'd assume they're related.
Rita is best girl right now. I've warmed up to Estelle but you won't catch me with a user name referencing her by contrast - I'm sticking with my classic SaveRita handle.
Repede is a good boy.
Karol is pretty whatever. I'm not finding him grating, but he's definitely... "the kid." Well, and I guess Patty is also "the kid." Seeing her pirate lingo English dialogue mismatch the Japanese dub that I've got going, though - that's comedy enough that I'll give her the edge over Karol.
Combat is... I don't know. I'm not great at it. It feels clunky. I had the same issue with Tales of Symphonia, though. I have this compulsion to just get in there as Yuri and slash everything to pieces, which naturally prompts enemies to gang up on him and stagger the heck out of my out-of-control passions. I'm improving, though. Nothing is actually giving me trouble except the specifically manically-unbalanced fare which is just... it's wild. That stuff is wild.
I dig the production values! It's a nice-looking game and a nice-looking remaster to boot (performance leaves something to be desired however). Was the "Equip" option in shop menus in the original version(s)? Because I always appreciate that. Almost as much as the even better "Equip now?" prompt when purchasing new gear in games like Persona 5.
The extra titles DLC spoiled the rest of the party, lawl.
Quinton
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