Would it be correct to assume that The Realm Reborn will just be a standard expansion pack?
Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
Fall 2012 (Part 4) - The Seventh Generation's Last Haunts
Among The Dead
Among The Dead is an action/horror game published by Electronic Arts and released on the Sapphire and the iTwin. The game puts the player right in the thick of a zombie outbreak, and in contrast with survival horror games, this game gives the player plenty of bullets and waves of enemies to kill, playing more like an arcade title than a traditional horror game. It's a third person shooter spanning several areas, with the player starting out in the middle of an office building infested with zombies and being forced to fight their way to the airport, with schools, shopping malls, and packed streets all along the way. The game starts the player out with a pistol, but has plenty more weapons for them to collect, with a weapon selection almost rivaling that of a Turok game. There are shotguns, automatic rifles, and even grenade launchers available to the player, and zombie limbs go flying with every shot, providing plenty of opportunities for blood and gore. The player isn't always fighting alone: sometimes, they'll have a companion, and two players can enjoy the game at once, either online or locally. The game also has lots of action setpieces, with fairly forgiving quicktime events scattered throughout, but also spectacular action shots like the player setting a huge explosion trap for zombies and then having to outrun the fireball, or a helicopter landing in the midst of zombies and chopping them up with its blades. It's not quite as over the top as a Dead Rising type of game, and despite some silly moments, it does take itself fairly seriously, with the zombie outbreak rarely played for laughs and the protagonist sometimes forced to kill friends who have been turned. It's not as serious as a Last Of Us type game though, and its plot is structured more like a traditional action movie (there are some parallels with games such as Dead City Beat, which Among The Dead takes some cues from). There are a few human baddies as well, though the player won't go around mowing down humans. It's always a big deal when a non-turned human ends up being an antagonist, and the protagonist is reluctant to kill them, even though some of the human villains do some fairly despicable things. In addition to picking up new and more powerful weapons, the player can also upgrade their weapons with parts and attachments to make them fire more rapidly, increase their clip size, or do more damage, with some attachments even changing the type of ammunition fired. Among The Dead is a mid-level budgeted game, with decent graphics but more of a focus on gameplay and smooth animation than on graphical detail. The game features a voice cast consisting mostly of voiceover veterans, with Josh Peck as the voice of the game's protagonist Arvin, and Lauren Landa as the voice of Arvin's love interest Michelle. The game's plot is straightforward, essentially involving Arvin attempting to survive as zombies take over his city. He eventually rescues his girlfriend Michelle from a horde of zombies about to kill her, then attempts to get the two of them to an airport, where his friend has a small plane that can evacuate them. On the way, they encounter a corrupt cop, an unscrupulous TV reporter, and finally, the scientist who set off the whole outbreak in the first place. They also encounter various survivors that they have to help, including Michelle's little sister at a school and a kindly old couple holed up in a shopping mall. They finally manage to make it to the airport, only for the plane to be swarmed and destroyed by a zombie horde. Eventually, Arvin, Michelle, and their few surviving allies manage to stumble their way onto the last boat leaving the city. As they leave, they look back to see fire and smoke rising over the buildings, with thousands of zombies still swarming.
Among The Dead is released on October 12, 2012, to a strong critical reception. The game ends up being quite a fun and addictive sleeper hit, with lots of zombie mayhem and a plot that keeps the player riveted even if it isn't the best in its genre. The game also garners a bit of controversy for its heavy violence, but most players don't mind, and the controversy only raises awareness of the game, which boosts its sales. It wasn't intended to be a major hit for EA, but ends up being one of their biggest games of the year, and a sequel is moved quickly into production.
-
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6 is an action/horror game exclusive to the Apple iTwin. It continues the story of the previous Resident Evil games and is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 5, which saw the deadly P-Virus, a variant of the T-Virus which mutates people into hideous plant creatures and also causes ordinary plants to mutate out of control, spread amongst several human populations. It also saw the death of Chris Redfield, who sacrificed himself to prevent a further infection. The game's protagonists are Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who team up for the first time since Resident Evil 2. Leon seeks to save the world from Wesker, who has acquired a P-Virus sample and intends to spread it amongst the world population, while Claire seeks revenge on Shini Marakami, the scientist who allowed the P-Virus to escape the lab and who seeks to profit from the virus itself, though her motives are explored heavily in this story and aren't exactly what one might expect them to be. Resident Evil 6 plays much like its predecessor, focusing more on action-style gameplay, though there are some harrowing horror/stealth segments, and ammo is kept fairly limited except for certain segments of the game. The chemical mixing system from Resident Evil 5 is gone, replaced with an extensive item and weapon modification system that helps the player deal with the various advanced plant creatures they'll be forced to encounter. Leon and Claire generally spend more time together in this game, and co-op missions are introduced for the first time, allowing two players to team up either locally or online, and even allowing a single player to use the iTwin controllers to control both Leon and Claire simultaneously during certain segments of the game. Indeed, this game was designed with the iTwin in mind thanks to its exclusivity, and this allows for more motion control segments and unique control segments than ever before, though traditional controls can still be used. The game takes place heavily in urban areas, much like the action focus of OTL's Resident Evil 6, though this game sees buildings and plant mutations woven together in such a way that players will often find themselves wandering through a corridor, only to realize they're inside a giant tree or climbing a huge flower. The main element of horror in this game comes from a sort of "the plants are alive" theme, with the player never quite knowing which blade of grass or which flower will strike at them (there are shared elements between the plant horror in this game and the mission "There Stands The Grass" in Fallout New Vegas). The element of plant horror was seen in Phytogenesis and Resident Evil 5, but it's never been truly explored like it has in this game. In addition to the plant-themed creature horrors, there are plenty of human baddies to fight, including Wesker and several of his lieutenants. Shini is the second major antagonist, but she has her own agenda and seems to be one with the plants (indeed, she's one with them in more ways than one). Leon and Claire's characters are both heavily explored in this game: Leon is consumed by his sense of duty, seeing every failure to save a life as a personal failing. Claire is consumed by revenge and wants to kill Shini for what happened to her brother. There are other new protagonists introduced, including a young mayor's aide named Karen and a hired assassin named Bo. There's also the return of some familiar characters from earlier in the series, most importantly Sophie from Resident Evil 4, who is now 13 and who returns to play a major role in the game's second half. Resident Evil 6 features significantly improved graphics from its predecessor, though it doesn't look QUITE as good as the Sapphire and Xbox 2 versions of Resident Evil 5, due to being on a less powerful system. The game does feature some graphical tricks to approximate those games, and is one of the iTwin's best looking titles overall.
The game starts right in the middle of some dramatic action, with Leon helping to evacuate some people from a crowded building. He's eventually cornered and about to be killed when Claire shows up and saves him, and the two stay together for a significant amount of time afterwards, fighting their way through a series of buildings and battles in order to find and reach Wesker. They eventually end up in a sewer overrun by plant mutants, and partly through, they are separated for a short while. Leon meets up with Karen, who is helping the mayor and his entourage to evacuate, while Claire is briefly captured but manages to break free, ending up hot on the trail of an assassin named Bo who is working for Wesker. Leon and Karen have some horrifying encounters in which the mayor's entire entourage is slaughtered and the mayor is mutated, but Leon manages to kill the mutated mayor and helps Karen evacuate to safety. He reunites with Claire, who lost Bo's trail, and the two make their way to an offshore facility where Wesker is said to be holed up. However, it's actually Shini, and she is keeping someone captive... Sophie, who seems to have lost all semblance of her powers from Resident Evil 4. Leon and Claire fight their way through the facility and manage to rescue Sophie, but in attempting to get revenge on Shini, Claire nearly gets all three of them killed, leading to a rift between Leon and Claire. Claire leaves on her own, while Leon and Sophie are evacuated by one of Karen's friends to another secure facility, this one in the middle of another large city. Claire eventually meets Bo again, but learns that Bo isn't actually working for Wesker. He's a double agent, working for the United States government, and the person he assassinated for Wesker was actually another agent who faked his own death to get Bo into Wesker's inner circle. Here, Claire learns the extent of Wesker's plans, then learns that she needs to reach a facility, the one where Leon and Sophie were headed. Sophie, it turns out, actually plays a major role in Wesker's plans. The facility (and the surrounding city) is besieged by Wesker's troops, who also manage to gas the facility with the P-Virus. Leon, Sophie, Karen, and a few others make it to a safe room, and Leon and Claire end up having to fight their way to each other. Meanwhile, Karen is attacked by a plant mutant, but Sophie manages to save her. As it turns out, Sophie is able to use the P-Virus to gain control over plants, not just infected plants, but all plants, and this is a power Wesker wants to take advantage of. Leon and Claire race to Wesker while Wesker's troops battle Bo's agents outside the facility, before Bo and his agents are attacked by plants. Wesker manages to capture Sophie, while Bo is the last survivor of his unit and is infected with the P-Virus. Leon and Claire battle an infected Bo, while Karen evacuates the facility, promising Leon she'll bring someone who can help put an end to all of this. Leon and Claire go to rescue Sophie from Wesker, who decides to allow Shini to conduct the experiments on her. Shini and Sophie seem to have a strange resonance with one another, and despite being a sociopathic villain, Shini seems to develop a protective instinct toward Sophie. Meanwhile, Leon and Claire reach Wesker's base. They split up briefly but spend most of the time exploring together, battling dangerous plant mutants all along the way. Wesker and Shini eventually come to blows over Sophie's fate, and Wesker seems to kill her, prompting Sophie to escape her cell and attack. Wesker tells Sophie that she has a special mutation that allows her to control abnormal cellular structures after coming into contact with certain viruses, speculating that Sophie herself could be a human/viral hybrid. Sophie attempts to attack Wesker, first with plants and then with her T-Virus mutations, but he repels her attacks, revealing that he's experimented on himself as well. He plans to extract her cells and inject them into his body, which would give him control over all plant life, and once he perfects the T-Virus, he speculates he can gain control over all animal life as well, including humans. Before Wesker can subdue Sophie, Leon shows up. Leon begins to battle Wesker, while Claire goes to confirm Shini is dead, only for there to be no one there. Claire follows a trail while Leon and Wesker engage in a spectacular boss battle. Eventually, Sophie wakes up and helps Leon, and Leon manages to finish Wesker off once and for all. Meanwhile, Claire follows Shini's trail to a lab where Shini appears to be experimenting again. Her wound is leaking blood, but the blood is dark green, and is more like chlorophyll than actual blood. Claire realizes that Shini is more plant than human, and has been ever since the events of Phytogenesis. Her unique brain chemistry allowed her to keep her human autonomy, but she is still influenced by the P-Virus cells, and acts as the virus' protector. Shini is a unique being: the first ever sentient plant. It also explains why she had an affection toward Sophie: Sophie was inadvertently controlling her. As Shini and Claire converse, Claire realizes that Shini's wound is healing, and tries to shoot her, but the second wound heals quicker than the first. Shini also tells Claire that she too is part plant, to a lesser extent, due to her own P-Virus exposure. The game's next boss battle begins, with Claire attempting to kill Shini, who is self-mutating into more plantlike forms. Claire finally lands a finishing blow, only for Shini to transform completely, turning into a huge plant monster somewhat like a miniature Biollante, with tentacle-like vines that crush everything in their path. Sophie arrives and attempts to control Shini, but Shini repels it with her own overwhelming power. Leon and Claire must team up to take down Shini, who continues to grow and mutate as the fight goes on. Eventually, Karen's help arrives in the form of some Apache helicopters, which rain fire from the skies down on Shini. Leon and Claire finish the job, and the plant monster collapses into a mass of destroyed plant matter, with Shini's body seemingly consumed within. Sophie, Leon, Claire, and Karen survey the destruction. The world is saved, and Chris Redfield is avenged. However, deep under the mass of destroyed plant matter, a human figure emerges. Shini is alive and seemingly human again, her plant cells seemingly having expelled themselves out when she transformed into the creature. She disappears into the chaos, though we see at the end that she touches something and it grows a single flower, indicating that some semblance of her plant abilities have remained.
Resident Evil 6 is released on November 16, 2012, and receives immediate praise as one of the iTwin's best games of the year, with particular praise going to the game's atmosphere and combat. It's considered one of the scariest Resident Evil games in recent memory, and is also praised for wrapping up most of the ongoing storylines in satisfying fashion (though it does leave Shini, a fan favorite villain character, alive to wreak havoc in a future game). The game is praised for pushing the iTwin fairly close to its limits and utilizing its controls in a unique way. However, some Nintendo fans do criticize the game and bash Capcom for not porting their games over to the Sapphire, but this has been an ongoing point of controversy ever since Capcom began developing exclusively for Apple. The game sells a massive amount of copies, becoming the year's top selling new iTwin exclusive, with huge sales in both North America and Japan. It's considered a major Game of the Year contender and also potentially one of the best survival horror games of all time. Shortly after the game's release, Capcom confirms that Resident Evil will remain exclusive to Apple consoles going forward, and that a game is already in development for the Virtua.
Among The Dead is an action/horror game published by Electronic Arts and released on the Sapphire and the iTwin. The game puts the player right in the thick of a zombie outbreak, and in contrast with survival horror games, this game gives the player plenty of bullets and waves of enemies to kill, playing more like an arcade title than a traditional horror game. It's a third person shooter spanning several areas, with the player starting out in the middle of an office building infested with zombies and being forced to fight their way to the airport, with schools, shopping malls, and packed streets all along the way. The game starts the player out with a pistol, but has plenty more weapons for them to collect, with a weapon selection almost rivaling that of a Turok game. There are shotguns, automatic rifles, and even grenade launchers available to the player, and zombie limbs go flying with every shot, providing plenty of opportunities for blood and gore. The player isn't always fighting alone: sometimes, they'll have a companion, and two players can enjoy the game at once, either online or locally. The game also has lots of action setpieces, with fairly forgiving quicktime events scattered throughout, but also spectacular action shots like the player setting a huge explosion trap for zombies and then having to outrun the fireball, or a helicopter landing in the midst of zombies and chopping them up with its blades. It's not quite as over the top as a Dead Rising type of game, and despite some silly moments, it does take itself fairly seriously, with the zombie outbreak rarely played for laughs and the protagonist sometimes forced to kill friends who have been turned. It's not as serious as a Last Of Us type game though, and its plot is structured more like a traditional action movie (there are some parallels with games such as Dead City Beat, which Among The Dead takes some cues from). There are a few human baddies as well, though the player won't go around mowing down humans. It's always a big deal when a non-turned human ends up being an antagonist, and the protagonist is reluctant to kill them, even though some of the human villains do some fairly despicable things. In addition to picking up new and more powerful weapons, the player can also upgrade their weapons with parts and attachments to make them fire more rapidly, increase their clip size, or do more damage, with some attachments even changing the type of ammunition fired. Among The Dead is a mid-level budgeted game, with decent graphics but more of a focus on gameplay and smooth animation than on graphical detail. The game features a voice cast consisting mostly of voiceover veterans, with Josh Peck as the voice of the game's protagonist Arvin, and Lauren Landa as the voice of Arvin's love interest Michelle. The game's plot is straightforward, essentially involving Arvin attempting to survive as zombies take over his city. He eventually rescues his girlfriend Michelle from a horde of zombies about to kill her, then attempts to get the two of them to an airport, where his friend has a small plane that can evacuate them. On the way, they encounter a corrupt cop, an unscrupulous TV reporter, and finally, the scientist who set off the whole outbreak in the first place. They also encounter various survivors that they have to help, including Michelle's little sister at a school and a kindly old couple holed up in a shopping mall. They finally manage to make it to the airport, only for the plane to be swarmed and destroyed by a zombie horde. Eventually, Arvin, Michelle, and their few surviving allies manage to stumble their way onto the last boat leaving the city. As they leave, they look back to see fire and smoke rising over the buildings, with thousands of zombies still swarming.
Among The Dead is released on October 12, 2012, to a strong critical reception. The game ends up being quite a fun and addictive sleeper hit, with lots of zombie mayhem and a plot that keeps the player riveted even if it isn't the best in its genre. The game also garners a bit of controversy for its heavy violence, but most players don't mind, and the controversy only raises awareness of the game, which boosts its sales. It wasn't intended to be a major hit for EA, but ends up being one of their biggest games of the year, and a sequel is moved quickly into production.
-
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6 is an action/horror game exclusive to the Apple iTwin. It continues the story of the previous Resident Evil games and is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 5, which saw the deadly P-Virus, a variant of the T-Virus which mutates people into hideous plant creatures and also causes ordinary plants to mutate out of control, spread amongst several human populations. It also saw the death of Chris Redfield, who sacrificed himself to prevent a further infection. The game's protagonists are Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who team up for the first time since Resident Evil 2. Leon seeks to save the world from Wesker, who has acquired a P-Virus sample and intends to spread it amongst the world population, while Claire seeks revenge on Shini Marakami, the scientist who allowed the P-Virus to escape the lab and who seeks to profit from the virus itself, though her motives are explored heavily in this story and aren't exactly what one might expect them to be. Resident Evil 6 plays much like its predecessor, focusing more on action-style gameplay, though there are some harrowing horror/stealth segments, and ammo is kept fairly limited except for certain segments of the game. The chemical mixing system from Resident Evil 5 is gone, replaced with an extensive item and weapon modification system that helps the player deal with the various advanced plant creatures they'll be forced to encounter. Leon and Claire generally spend more time together in this game, and co-op missions are introduced for the first time, allowing two players to team up either locally or online, and even allowing a single player to use the iTwin controllers to control both Leon and Claire simultaneously during certain segments of the game. Indeed, this game was designed with the iTwin in mind thanks to its exclusivity, and this allows for more motion control segments and unique control segments than ever before, though traditional controls can still be used. The game takes place heavily in urban areas, much like the action focus of OTL's Resident Evil 6, though this game sees buildings and plant mutations woven together in such a way that players will often find themselves wandering through a corridor, only to realize they're inside a giant tree or climbing a huge flower. The main element of horror in this game comes from a sort of "the plants are alive" theme, with the player never quite knowing which blade of grass or which flower will strike at them (there are shared elements between the plant horror in this game and the mission "There Stands The Grass" in Fallout New Vegas). The element of plant horror was seen in Phytogenesis and Resident Evil 5, but it's never been truly explored like it has in this game. In addition to the plant-themed creature horrors, there are plenty of human baddies to fight, including Wesker and several of his lieutenants. Shini is the second major antagonist, but she has her own agenda and seems to be one with the plants (indeed, she's one with them in more ways than one). Leon and Claire's characters are both heavily explored in this game: Leon is consumed by his sense of duty, seeing every failure to save a life as a personal failing. Claire is consumed by revenge and wants to kill Shini for what happened to her brother. There are other new protagonists introduced, including a young mayor's aide named Karen and a hired assassin named Bo. There's also the return of some familiar characters from earlier in the series, most importantly Sophie from Resident Evil 4, who is now 13 and who returns to play a major role in the game's second half. Resident Evil 6 features significantly improved graphics from its predecessor, though it doesn't look QUITE as good as the Sapphire and Xbox 2 versions of Resident Evil 5, due to being on a less powerful system. The game does feature some graphical tricks to approximate those games, and is one of the iTwin's best looking titles overall.
The game starts right in the middle of some dramatic action, with Leon helping to evacuate some people from a crowded building. He's eventually cornered and about to be killed when Claire shows up and saves him, and the two stay together for a significant amount of time afterwards, fighting their way through a series of buildings and battles in order to find and reach Wesker. They eventually end up in a sewer overrun by plant mutants, and partly through, they are separated for a short while. Leon meets up with Karen, who is helping the mayor and his entourage to evacuate, while Claire is briefly captured but manages to break free, ending up hot on the trail of an assassin named Bo who is working for Wesker. Leon and Karen have some horrifying encounters in which the mayor's entire entourage is slaughtered and the mayor is mutated, but Leon manages to kill the mutated mayor and helps Karen evacuate to safety. He reunites with Claire, who lost Bo's trail, and the two make their way to an offshore facility where Wesker is said to be holed up. However, it's actually Shini, and she is keeping someone captive... Sophie, who seems to have lost all semblance of her powers from Resident Evil 4. Leon and Claire fight their way through the facility and manage to rescue Sophie, but in attempting to get revenge on Shini, Claire nearly gets all three of them killed, leading to a rift between Leon and Claire. Claire leaves on her own, while Leon and Sophie are evacuated by one of Karen's friends to another secure facility, this one in the middle of another large city. Claire eventually meets Bo again, but learns that Bo isn't actually working for Wesker. He's a double agent, working for the United States government, and the person he assassinated for Wesker was actually another agent who faked his own death to get Bo into Wesker's inner circle. Here, Claire learns the extent of Wesker's plans, then learns that she needs to reach a facility, the one where Leon and Sophie were headed. Sophie, it turns out, actually plays a major role in Wesker's plans. The facility (and the surrounding city) is besieged by Wesker's troops, who also manage to gas the facility with the P-Virus. Leon, Sophie, Karen, and a few others make it to a safe room, and Leon and Claire end up having to fight their way to each other. Meanwhile, Karen is attacked by a plant mutant, but Sophie manages to save her. As it turns out, Sophie is able to use the P-Virus to gain control over plants, not just infected plants, but all plants, and this is a power Wesker wants to take advantage of. Leon and Claire race to Wesker while Wesker's troops battle Bo's agents outside the facility, before Bo and his agents are attacked by plants. Wesker manages to capture Sophie, while Bo is the last survivor of his unit and is infected with the P-Virus. Leon and Claire battle an infected Bo, while Karen evacuates the facility, promising Leon she'll bring someone who can help put an end to all of this. Leon and Claire go to rescue Sophie from Wesker, who decides to allow Shini to conduct the experiments on her. Shini and Sophie seem to have a strange resonance with one another, and despite being a sociopathic villain, Shini seems to develop a protective instinct toward Sophie. Meanwhile, Leon and Claire reach Wesker's base. They split up briefly but spend most of the time exploring together, battling dangerous plant mutants all along the way. Wesker and Shini eventually come to blows over Sophie's fate, and Wesker seems to kill her, prompting Sophie to escape her cell and attack. Wesker tells Sophie that she has a special mutation that allows her to control abnormal cellular structures after coming into contact with certain viruses, speculating that Sophie herself could be a human/viral hybrid. Sophie attempts to attack Wesker, first with plants and then with her T-Virus mutations, but he repels her attacks, revealing that he's experimented on himself as well. He plans to extract her cells and inject them into his body, which would give him control over all plant life, and once he perfects the T-Virus, he speculates he can gain control over all animal life as well, including humans. Before Wesker can subdue Sophie, Leon shows up. Leon begins to battle Wesker, while Claire goes to confirm Shini is dead, only for there to be no one there. Claire follows a trail while Leon and Wesker engage in a spectacular boss battle. Eventually, Sophie wakes up and helps Leon, and Leon manages to finish Wesker off once and for all. Meanwhile, Claire follows Shini's trail to a lab where Shini appears to be experimenting again. Her wound is leaking blood, but the blood is dark green, and is more like chlorophyll than actual blood. Claire realizes that Shini is more plant than human, and has been ever since the events of Phytogenesis. Her unique brain chemistry allowed her to keep her human autonomy, but she is still influenced by the P-Virus cells, and acts as the virus' protector. Shini is a unique being: the first ever sentient plant. It also explains why she had an affection toward Sophie: Sophie was inadvertently controlling her. As Shini and Claire converse, Claire realizes that Shini's wound is healing, and tries to shoot her, but the second wound heals quicker than the first. Shini also tells Claire that she too is part plant, to a lesser extent, due to her own P-Virus exposure. The game's next boss battle begins, with Claire attempting to kill Shini, who is self-mutating into more plantlike forms. Claire finally lands a finishing blow, only for Shini to transform completely, turning into a huge plant monster somewhat like a miniature Biollante, with tentacle-like vines that crush everything in their path. Sophie arrives and attempts to control Shini, but Shini repels it with her own overwhelming power. Leon and Claire must team up to take down Shini, who continues to grow and mutate as the fight goes on. Eventually, Karen's help arrives in the form of some Apache helicopters, which rain fire from the skies down on Shini. Leon and Claire finish the job, and the plant monster collapses into a mass of destroyed plant matter, with Shini's body seemingly consumed within. Sophie, Leon, Claire, and Karen survey the destruction. The world is saved, and Chris Redfield is avenged. However, deep under the mass of destroyed plant matter, a human figure emerges. Shini is alive and seemingly human again, her plant cells seemingly having expelled themselves out when she transformed into the creature. She disappears into the chaos, though we see at the end that she touches something and it grows a single flower, indicating that some semblance of her plant abilities have remained.
Resident Evil 6 is released on November 16, 2012, and receives immediate praise as one of the iTwin's best games of the year, with particular praise going to the game's atmosphere and combat. It's considered one of the scariest Resident Evil games in recent memory, and is also praised for wrapping up most of the ongoing storylines in satisfying fashion (though it does leave Shini, a fan favorite villain character, alive to wreak havoc in a future game). The game is praised for pushing the iTwin fairly close to its limits and utilizing its controls in a unique way. However, some Nintendo fans do criticize the game and bash Capcom for not porting their games over to the Sapphire, but this has been an ongoing point of controversy ever since Capcom began developing exclusively for Apple. The game sells a massive amount of copies, becoming the year's top selling new iTwin exclusive, with huge sales in both North America and Japan. It's considered a major Game of the Year contender and also potentially one of the best survival horror games of all time. Shortly after the game's release, Capcom confirms that Resident Evil will remain exclusive to Apple consoles going forward, and that a game is already in development for the Virtua.
Shoot him again... and again. Also look for any potential vats that his clone bodies or eve uploaded computer minds where Resident Evil will make cyber-zombies
Dude's up there with cockroaches and Ozzy Osbourne in the list of things that could survive a nuclear holocaust unscathed.
BONUS: Fire Emblem: The Jugdral Crusade/The Last Great Supernova Game
(Authors' Note: This game was actually supposed to be posted in the last topic, as it came out in North America right around April 2012! It slipped my mind to post it, so I'll go ahead and post it here now.)
(The following game summary was given to us by the user eldandythedoubter! The plot/gameplay information came from him, I added a bit of game details at the beginning and the commercial/critical performance information at the end.)
-
Fire Emblem: The Jugdral Crusade is a tactical RPG for the Game Boy Supernova. As IOTL, the series begins to shift to handhelds around this time, with this being the first major game in the series to be released exclusively on a handheld machine. Because of the game's epic scale, it's the first and only Supernova title to come on two discs instead of one.
Jughart is the prince of the Desert Kingdom Yied. It is the second youngest kingdom of Jugdral and was founded by Lene and her husband Luchabra (for the sake of shipping, we might as well have the replaceable characters be canon in this verse). By the time of shadow dragon, Yied and all of Jugdral has been in a crop famine brought about by a lack of rain. As the people begin to riot, one island is rising to help alleviate the famine and rising to power: The Dragons of Orgahill. Orgahill is the youngest kingdom of Jugdral and for 10 years, they've have seen plentiful harvests on their land. This has been claimed to be done by the god of Orgahill: The Azure Dragon Qing Long.
Common interpretation of Qing Long. The only difference is that the blue body feels like blue water. Normally, the followers of Qing Long are food missionaries to the mainland continent but they are regularly being attacked by bandits and soldiers of the other noble houses. So now they are escorted by the largest military force on Orgahill: The Leviathans. The game begins when a new alliance of Orgahill, Agustria, Verdane, and Hezul invade Granvale and manage to annex it, declaring the Azurian Empire. Their next target: Yied.
Chapter 1: Innocence dies.
We are introduced to Jughart, his Guardian Steward Wyvern Knight Joesph, and his little sister Claudia, who's a healer. These battles are as follows:
battle 1: Rout the enemy bandits.
battle 2: Reach the other side of the map
battle 3: Hold off the enemy for 20 turns
battle 4: Defeat the Enemy Commander, Dakam.
Despite fighting well, Yiedhall falls, the king is captured and Joesph is killed covering Jughart and Claudia's retreat.
Chapter 2: The Bandit Lord.
It has been 3 years since the fall of Yied, and Jughart and Claudia are thieves in Silesia. While still very angry at the Empire for taking his home, Jughart only does his theft on officials in the empire. Innocents do not get hurt under his land. But with the growing number of resources being stolen, the Empire sends one of the Leviathans to rout out these bandits: Lady Toya: the bloodbender. This is a risky attempt. So along with Claudia, the mage Dove (Hawk and Patty's descendant), and the cavalier Hodor (he's not a descendant of anyone, I just want to throw in a ASOIAF reference) They begin a plan to take out Lady Toya:
battle 5: a decoy squadron led by Hodor will fight the garrison. Survive for 15 turns.
battle 6: Dove and her squadron will lure Toya's lieutenants: Ram (sage) and Rem (Hero) into 2 buildings filled with oil barrels. Lure your enemies into the appointed spots.
battle 7: Jughart and Claudia infiltrate the garrison building to kill Toya. Rout the enemy.
battle 8: The battle against Lady Toya begins: Defeat the enemy commander.
This battle goes well but Jughart and Claudia falls short as Toya unleashes her special power as a leviathan: bending the blood in your body. The two only manage to kill her only thanks to Zephyr (Seliph and Julia's descendant), the last prince of Granvale.
Chapter 3: Revelation of Granvale.
Zephyr explains to Jughart and Claudia on how the Dragons came to take over his kingdom. After Seliph’s death, crops began to fail in Granvale. Zephyr’s father, Shem tried his hardest to keep the lands running but after a riot to take the next convoy of food to capital was quelled, he met a man named Nereid. He used his power to cause a week of rainfall in Granvale. Nereid would do this once a month to ensure that Granvale would have plentiful harvests for the rest of his days. Shem immediately converted to Azureism and raised Nereid to a position of high power in the kingdom. On the day of his fifteenth birthday, Zephyr discovered the conspiracy of Nereid and his fellow dragons to kill the rest of the royal family and replace his mother with one of their leviathans. This plan succeeded getting rid of Zephyr’s entire family and Shem taking Lady Payaha as his new wife. He’s been on the run ever since.
With Toya dead, the garrison escapes Zubeck castle and are currently gathering forces at the capital Silesse castle. This leaves Zaxon, Thove, and Saliane weakened and vulnerable to attack.
Battle 5: Approaching Zaxon castle. Get to the appointed area of the map.
Battle 6: Zaxon siege. Dismantle the 4 magic barrier towers.
Battle 7: The battle of Thove. Rout the enemy
Battle 8: The battle of Saliane. Free the VIP Lady Lumina (Fee and Febail’s descendant.)
Battle 9: The battle of Silesse. Defeat the enemy commanders: The Leviathan Garreth who can shoot lightning and King Falcon (Hawk’s descendant), who can shoot wind.
With the two dead, Silesia is free from the Leviathans and Nereid has taken notice of them.
Chapter 4: Invasion of Thracia
With Silesia free, the dragon invasion force in Thracia is partially cut off and isolated in the forest of Manster. Jughart begins his capmaign to take out this force while sending Claudia and Zephyr to negotiate with Queen Rebecca to join the war. But standing in their way is the creator of the Manster forest: The Leviathan Hood, who can grow saplings while also being a good archer.
Battle 10: Thracian assassination. Prevent the squad of assassins from killing Queen Rebecca. Rout the Enemy.
Battle 11: Relief of Grutila. After saving the Queen, Claudia and Zephyr are sent to Grutila foretress to take out another squadron of dragons who had been split off from Miletos, now a territory of Granvale. There Zephyr and Claudia meet the General: Rebecca the lass. If you need a reference for how she is battle and in personality, just think of current day Becky Lynch on twitter.
Battle 12: Cat & Mouse in Manster. Jughart and his forces reach the Manster forest, but now they must navigate the forest around Manster castle while dodging Hood’s merry men of tricksters. Rout the enemy while using the traps to your advantage.
Battle 13: Manster Castle Siege. Occupy the gate of Manster castle.
Battle 14: Manster Castle Interior. Defeat the commander Hood. He escapes after the battle to report back to Nereid. They plan to lay a trap at the next territory Jughart will attack: Miletos
Chapter 5: A reversal of fortunes?
With almost all of the eastern half of Jugdral liberated, Jughart and his allies begin their march to Miletos.
Battle 15: Crossing the border. Break through the wall of stone created by the Leviathan, Craglodge.
Battle 16: Chronos cathedral. Survive for 20 turns.
Battle 17: MIletos castle. Defeat the enemy commanders in a duel. Here you fight Craglodge and Hood with only two members. After the battle, Nereid tries to take Jughart down with a lightning bold but Claudia pushes him out of the way. Disc 1 ends with her in a coma.
Chapter 6: A cure for the curse.
WIth Claudia now in a coma, Jughart and Zephyr head to Issach not to convince King Shannan to join their offensive to retake Yied and Granvale, but to find the oldest healer of their time, Lady Lana the Lifesaver.
Battle 18: Sophara bandits. Rout the enemy with Jughart and Zephyr only. Lady Mareeta will assist you as an NPC but can only be recruited by Zephyr.
Battle 19: Issach castle. Duel King Shannan and his son, Manta. Manta is the current wielder of the Balmung. Defeat the enemy commander.
Battle 20: Vengeance for Riovough. Ren, illegitimate son of Galzus returns to bring vengance against Shannan against the heir of Granvale with the help of the Leviathan, Amru. Amru has the power to increase the intensity of the sun and will make the map slowly sap your hp every turn. Rout the enemy in 40 turns.
While Ren can be saved at the end, it is only through the words of his sister Mareeta can he be recruited. They proceed to head to the border lands between Yied and Issach to find Lady Lana: The Desert Vale Mountians.
Battle 21: Defeat the mountain clans.
After defeating the clans, Lana reveals herself and Jughart begs her to save his sister. Lana agrees and they make their way back to Thracia.
Chapter 7: The Siege
While Jughart and Zephyr continued their journey to Issach, Rebecca must lead the bulk of her force to fight off the combined Dragon army.
Battle 22: Survive the border siege for 30 turns.
Battle 23: Escort the civilians to the safe haven.
Battle 24: Disrupt the enemy supply route by taking the enemy supply town.
Battle 25: Jughart and Zephyr return. Defeat the enemy commander, Betelgueze. He’s not a Leviathan, but he is a great knight with high resistance to magic and physical attack.
After repellling the enemy, Jughart and Zephyr return to lady Lana who is currently working her magic on Claudia. It works and Claudia opens her eyes to see her brother and their allies in good health. But this moment of happiness is cut abruptly when the temprature drops to less than 30 degrees F and a portal opens. Everyone in the room finds themselves held down by their blood and coming out the portal is Dakam, who we thought defeated early in chapter 1, Toya, who we defintely killed in chapter 2 but is little more than a doll, and their master, High Priest Nereid. He looks over at Jughart and Zephyr and smirks, pulls out a knife and stabs Claudia straight in the gut, cuts out her heart, and then holds it up at their faces. Then he leaves the room. This is the end of Jughart the bandit prince and the beginning of Jughart, the Atheist King.
Chapter 8: Retaking the homeland
Nereid has taken Claudia and Lena’s corpses back to Orgahill and both Zephyr and Jughart have seen their war efforts take on a massive buildup to retake Granvale. But both of the leaders have ulterior motives as they head toward Bellhala castle.
Battle 26: Siege the castle town of Midgurd. You must capture the 4 entrance points to the castle and its 4 exits out into the wilderness.
Battle 27: Sneaking through the sewers. Just a simple rout the enemy mission.
Battle 28: Defeat the King and Queen. We’ve reached our crux point. Shem and Pahaya are damn powerful in their own right, Shem being a Knight Lord who wields Tyrfing and Pahaya is a sage with the power to create ice and snow storms. Be very careful when approaching either of them because they essentially use the strategy of take a spot and tank any approaching units.
With Pahaya dead on the floor, Shem holds her in his arms as Zephyr and Jughart stand over him. Zephyr wants to just capture Shem and have him devote their forces to stand against Orgahill. Jughart on the other hand, agrees and after making a public announcement doing so, Jughart still has Shem “executed” quietly for treason against Jugdral.
Chapter 9: The Azure Dragon reveals itself
It’s time to take back their homeland Yiedhall. But standing in their way is the very man that lead to the death of Jughart’s parents: Leviathan Dakam.
Dakam:”So the prodigal son returns, only to die in the halls of his own home.”
Jughart: “You. You took everything from me. You turned this desert into a frost bitten desert. You killed my parents and my most loyal vassal!!! AND FOR WHAT?!”
Dakam: “I do as my god commands, heretic. To ensure that his order will not just spread throughout Jugdral, BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.”
Jughart: “You would spread this misery upon every continent?! Famine and Plague upon the world unless they bow to YOUR MAD GOD!!!”
Dakam: “All would bow to the strongest being on this world, and I will the human instrument of its will. But no more talk, COME FORTH TO YOUR END BANDIT PRINCE!”
Battle 29: Defeat the enemy commander. The throne room of Yiedhall castle has only three entrances. 2 one row wide hallways on the side and one row that’s 5 columns wide. Enemy reinforcements can enter the central hall from the other 2 hallways, so try to keep one healer with whoever you’re going to choke those points off. Dakam can summon hailstorms and fog to slow your movements. So keep on your toes and make sure you can strike hard as much as possible.
With Dakam defeated, Jughart lays the final blow by stabbing him in the chest with his sword. His forces move to the dungeon where they find King Rossert a literal husk of a man. He has bags under his eyes, his body is little more than a skeleton, and his hair was as white as stone. He looks upon his son and thinks he’s seeing an illusion of his son. When Jughart tells him he’s no illusion, Rossert smiles and tries to move his hand towards him but fails. Jughart moves closer towards his father and hears his final words: “Reclaim the Holy Weapon Deicide.”
Endgame: DEICIDE!
After finding a hidden passage in Rossert’s chamber, Jughart travels down the corridor to find a hidden armory. There he finds several scrolls speaking of how there is a 13th holy weapon: The Blade of Deicide. A sword that can absorb the life force of any divine dragon. This weapon was forged by a higher power as a fail safe in case any of the divine dragon tribe went mad or power hungry because while they are powerful, the divine dragons were never meant to be the Gods of their world but just the guardians of it. In order to claim the weapon, Jughart must go through the trials of humanity. Which is just 3 rounds of Jughart fighting through monsters. After claiming the sword and returning to his army, Jughart begins the plan to take Orgahill and deal with the Leviathans once and for all.
Battle 33: Defeat Leviathan Nereid. This is no easy fight, Nereid not only has an army of 50 units on his side, flanking him is Toya, Lady Lena, and Claudia as his puppets. Both can use Fortify to heal their entire force while Toya can use her water abilities to throw down your units. Nereid can still use Lightning bolts while also being able to impede your progress to him by flooding certain parts of the map.
Battle 34: The Azure Dragon Qing Long. Once Nereid is killed, the Azure dragon makes his entrance by riding in on a storm cloud. He looks down at Jughart and says:
Qing Long: “Human, why do you fight against your God?”
Jughart: “YOU ARE NOT MY GOD, YOU’RE JUST THE DRAGON WHO HAS CALLED THE MISERY OF MY KINGDOM AND ALL OF THE CONTINENT.”
Qing Long: “It was necessary to bring order to your continent, I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY ASCENSION. NOT BY SOME FLIMSY MORTAL AND NOT BY... (sees the Blade of Deicide and feels the presence of Divine Dragon’s life force.) NOT BY SOME PUPPET OF NAGA!”
Jughart: “Naga? I’m no God’s puppet, Dragon.”
Qing Long: “Then why are you wielding a weapon filled to the brim with her life force? She sent that sword to kill me because she could never accept that I was her better and that we dragons are the GODS of your world. WE ARE POWERFUL AND THAT’S ENOUGH TO INSTILL OUR RULE OVER YOUR KIND!!!”
Jughart: (he’s mad believeing that might makes right over his own superior.) No more words dragon just actions. I shall kill you and bring peace to this continent.
Qing Long: “You will try.”
This battle does not let up as not only do you have to take out a dragon with over 200 hp, the Pavise ability, every turn Qing Long can also use one of the Leviathan powers to pelt your units every time. The only way to begin hurting him is to slash him with Deicide. Every time Jughart gets a hit on him with Deicide, Qing Long will lose one of his abilities and he’ll be able to be harmed by your other units. Power through its fights and the dragon will fall. With Jughart’s final slash, Qing Long falls and his corpse begins to dissolve into the ground. But Jughart can feel Qing Long’s power while holding the hilt. Hearing a voice in his head, Jughart plunges the sword into the ground and grass begins to grow on the ground. Jughart turns to his units and raises the sword in triumph. His army bows in reverence.
The game also has several story DLC packs that release over the remainder of 2012 and throughout the first half of 2013:
Dlc #1: The Leviathan rises. Each map would see you play as Lady Toya, King So sweet, and Need it as they spread Azureism to the masses by any means necessary.
Dlc #2: The Granvale exile. Zephyr's trials and tribulations prior to his introduction chapter.
Dlc #3: The age of man. This one would see Jughart's two oldest children: Claudia and Christopher take the first trial of leadership to decide who will be the next emperor of Jugdral. Both succeed in the trial only to learn that their being sent to two foreign continents: Archanea and Valentia. Why? To learn of the people and to learn of their gods.
Fire Emblem: The Jugdral Crusade is released in late 2011 in Japan, and in April 2012 in North America. It's the last major Supernova game (a few small games would be released afterward, but none as significant or successful). It achieves the best review scores in the series to date, with critics praising the game's gorgeous visuals and epic scale, and is considered one of 2012's best RPGs overall. It's not only successful in Japan, but in North America as well, achieving decent sales despite the Connect having been out for nearly half a year up to this point. The series would continue on the Connect with at least one additional game, but the legacy of The Jugdral Crusade as a turning point for the series and an excellent sendoff for the Supernova can't be overstated.
(The following game summary was given to us by the user eldandythedoubter! The plot/gameplay information came from him, I added a bit of game details at the beginning and the commercial/critical performance information at the end.)
-
Fire Emblem: The Jugdral Crusade is a tactical RPG for the Game Boy Supernova. As IOTL, the series begins to shift to handhelds around this time, with this being the first major game in the series to be released exclusively on a handheld machine. Because of the game's epic scale, it's the first and only Supernova title to come on two discs instead of one.
Jughart is the prince of the Desert Kingdom Yied. It is the second youngest kingdom of Jugdral and was founded by Lene and her husband Luchabra (for the sake of shipping, we might as well have the replaceable characters be canon in this verse). By the time of shadow dragon, Yied and all of Jugdral has been in a crop famine brought about by a lack of rain. As the people begin to riot, one island is rising to help alleviate the famine and rising to power: The Dragons of Orgahill. Orgahill is the youngest kingdom of Jugdral and for 10 years, they've have seen plentiful harvests on their land. This has been claimed to be done by the god of Orgahill: The Azure Dragon Qing Long.
Common interpretation of Qing Long. The only difference is that the blue body feels like blue water. Normally, the followers of Qing Long are food missionaries to the mainland continent but they are regularly being attacked by bandits and soldiers of the other noble houses. So now they are escorted by the largest military force on Orgahill: The Leviathans. The game begins when a new alliance of Orgahill, Agustria, Verdane, and Hezul invade Granvale and manage to annex it, declaring the Azurian Empire. Their next target: Yied.
Chapter 1: Innocence dies.
We are introduced to Jughart, his Guardian Steward Wyvern Knight Joesph, and his little sister Claudia, who's a healer. These battles are as follows:
battle 1: Rout the enemy bandits.
battle 2: Reach the other side of the map
battle 3: Hold off the enemy for 20 turns
battle 4: Defeat the Enemy Commander, Dakam.
Despite fighting well, Yiedhall falls, the king is captured and Joesph is killed covering Jughart and Claudia's retreat.
Chapter 2: The Bandit Lord.
It has been 3 years since the fall of Yied, and Jughart and Claudia are thieves in Silesia. While still very angry at the Empire for taking his home, Jughart only does his theft on officials in the empire. Innocents do not get hurt under his land. But with the growing number of resources being stolen, the Empire sends one of the Leviathans to rout out these bandits: Lady Toya: the bloodbender. This is a risky attempt. So along with Claudia, the mage Dove (Hawk and Patty's descendant), and the cavalier Hodor (he's not a descendant of anyone, I just want to throw in a ASOIAF reference) They begin a plan to take out Lady Toya:
battle 5: a decoy squadron led by Hodor will fight the garrison. Survive for 15 turns.
battle 6: Dove and her squadron will lure Toya's lieutenants: Ram (sage) and Rem (Hero) into 2 buildings filled with oil barrels. Lure your enemies into the appointed spots.
battle 7: Jughart and Claudia infiltrate the garrison building to kill Toya. Rout the enemy.
battle 8: The battle against Lady Toya begins: Defeat the enemy commander.
This battle goes well but Jughart and Claudia falls short as Toya unleashes her special power as a leviathan: bending the blood in your body. The two only manage to kill her only thanks to Zephyr (Seliph and Julia's descendant), the last prince of Granvale.
Chapter 3: Revelation of Granvale.
Zephyr explains to Jughart and Claudia on how the Dragons came to take over his kingdom. After Seliph’s death, crops began to fail in Granvale. Zephyr’s father, Shem tried his hardest to keep the lands running but after a riot to take the next convoy of food to capital was quelled, he met a man named Nereid. He used his power to cause a week of rainfall in Granvale. Nereid would do this once a month to ensure that Granvale would have plentiful harvests for the rest of his days. Shem immediately converted to Azureism and raised Nereid to a position of high power in the kingdom. On the day of his fifteenth birthday, Zephyr discovered the conspiracy of Nereid and his fellow dragons to kill the rest of the royal family and replace his mother with one of their leviathans. This plan succeeded getting rid of Zephyr’s entire family and Shem taking Lady Payaha as his new wife. He’s been on the run ever since.
With Toya dead, the garrison escapes Zubeck castle and are currently gathering forces at the capital Silesse castle. This leaves Zaxon, Thove, and Saliane weakened and vulnerable to attack.
Battle 5: Approaching Zaxon castle. Get to the appointed area of the map.
Battle 6: Zaxon siege. Dismantle the 4 magic barrier towers.
Battle 7: The battle of Thove. Rout the enemy
Battle 8: The battle of Saliane. Free the VIP Lady Lumina (Fee and Febail’s descendant.)
Battle 9: The battle of Silesse. Defeat the enemy commanders: The Leviathan Garreth who can shoot lightning and King Falcon (Hawk’s descendant), who can shoot wind.
With the two dead, Silesia is free from the Leviathans and Nereid has taken notice of them.
Chapter 4: Invasion of Thracia
With Silesia free, the dragon invasion force in Thracia is partially cut off and isolated in the forest of Manster. Jughart begins his capmaign to take out this force while sending Claudia and Zephyr to negotiate with Queen Rebecca to join the war. But standing in their way is the creator of the Manster forest: The Leviathan Hood, who can grow saplings while also being a good archer.
Battle 10: Thracian assassination. Prevent the squad of assassins from killing Queen Rebecca. Rout the Enemy.
Battle 11: Relief of Grutila. After saving the Queen, Claudia and Zephyr are sent to Grutila foretress to take out another squadron of dragons who had been split off from Miletos, now a territory of Granvale. There Zephyr and Claudia meet the General: Rebecca the lass. If you need a reference for how she is battle and in personality, just think of current day Becky Lynch on twitter.
Battle 12: Cat & Mouse in Manster. Jughart and his forces reach the Manster forest, but now they must navigate the forest around Manster castle while dodging Hood’s merry men of tricksters. Rout the enemy while using the traps to your advantage.
Battle 13: Manster Castle Siege. Occupy the gate of Manster castle.
Battle 14: Manster Castle Interior. Defeat the commander Hood. He escapes after the battle to report back to Nereid. They plan to lay a trap at the next territory Jughart will attack: Miletos
Chapter 5: A reversal of fortunes?
With almost all of the eastern half of Jugdral liberated, Jughart and his allies begin their march to Miletos.
Battle 15: Crossing the border. Break through the wall of stone created by the Leviathan, Craglodge.
Battle 16: Chronos cathedral. Survive for 20 turns.
Battle 17: MIletos castle. Defeat the enemy commanders in a duel. Here you fight Craglodge and Hood with only two members. After the battle, Nereid tries to take Jughart down with a lightning bold but Claudia pushes him out of the way. Disc 1 ends with her in a coma.
Chapter 6: A cure for the curse.
WIth Claudia now in a coma, Jughart and Zephyr head to Issach not to convince King Shannan to join their offensive to retake Yied and Granvale, but to find the oldest healer of their time, Lady Lana the Lifesaver.
Battle 18: Sophara bandits. Rout the enemy with Jughart and Zephyr only. Lady Mareeta will assist you as an NPC but can only be recruited by Zephyr.
Battle 19: Issach castle. Duel King Shannan and his son, Manta. Manta is the current wielder of the Balmung. Defeat the enemy commander.
Battle 20: Vengeance for Riovough. Ren, illegitimate son of Galzus returns to bring vengance against Shannan against the heir of Granvale with the help of the Leviathan, Amru. Amru has the power to increase the intensity of the sun and will make the map slowly sap your hp every turn. Rout the enemy in 40 turns.
While Ren can be saved at the end, it is only through the words of his sister Mareeta can he be recruited. They proceed to head to the border lands between Yied and Issach to find Lady Lana: The Desert Vale Mountians.
Battle 21: Defeat the mountain clans.
After defeating the clans, Lana reveals herself and Jughart begs her to save his sister. Lana agrees and they make their way back to Thracia.
Chapter 7: The Siege
While Jughart and Zephyr continued their journey to Issach, Rebecca must lead the bulk of her force to fight off the combined Dragon army.
Battle 22: Survive the border siege for 30 turns.
Battle 23: Escort the civilians to the safe haven.
Battle 24: Disrupt the enemy supply route by taking the enemy supply town.
Battle 25: Jughart and Zephyr return. Defeat the enemy commander, Betelgueze. He’s not a Leviathan, but he is a great knight with high resistance to magic and physical attack.
After repellling the enemy, Jughart and Zephyr return to lady Lana who is currently working her magic on Claudia. It works and Claudia opens her eyes to see her brother and their allies in good health. But this moment of happiness is cut abruptly when the temprature drops to less than 30 degrees F and a portal opens. Everyone in the room finds themselves held down by their blood and coming out the portal is Dakam, who we thought defeated early in chapter 1, Toya, who we defintely killed in chapter 2 but is little more than a doll, and their master, High Priest Nereid. He looks over at Jughart and Zephyr and smirks, pulls out a knife and stabs Claudia straight in the gut, cuts out her heart, and then holds it up at their faces. Then he leaves the room. This is the end of Jughart the bandit prince and the beginning of Jughart, the Atheist King.
Chapter 8: Retaking the homeland
Nereid has taken Claudia and Lena’s corpses back to Orgahill and both Zephyr and Jughart have seen their war efforts take on a massive buildup to retake Granvale. But both of the leaders have ulterior motives as they head toward Bellhala castle.
Battle 26: Siege the castle town of Midgurd. You must capture the 4 entrance points to the castle and its 4 exits out into the wilderness.
Battle 27: Sneaking through the sewers. Just a simple rout the enemy mission.
Battle 28: Defeat the King and Queen. We’ve reached our crux point. Shem and Pahaya are damn powerful in their own right, Shem being a Knight Lord who wields Tyrfing and Pahaya is a sage with the power to create ice and snow storms. Be very careful when approaching either of them because they essentially use the strategy of take a spot and tank any approaching units.
With Pahaya dead on the floor, Shem holds her in his arms as Zephyr and Jughart stand over him. Zephyr wants to just capture Shem and have him devote their forces to stand against Orgahill. Jughart on the other hand, agrees and after making a public announcement doing so, Jughart still has Shem “executed” quietly for treason against Jugdral.
Chapter 9: The Azure Dragon reveals itself
It’s time to take back their homeland Yiedhall. But standing in their way is the very man that lead to the death of Jughart’s parents: Leviathan Dakam.
Dakam:”So the prodigal son returns, only to die in the halls of his own home.”
Jughart: “You. You took everything from me. You turned this desert into a frost bitten desert. You killed my parents and my most loyal vassal!!! AND FOR WHAT?!”
Dakam: “I do as my god commands, heretic. To ensure that his order will not just spread throughout Jugdral, BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.”
Jughart: “You would spread this misery upon every continent?! Famine and Plague upon the world unless they bow to YOUR MAD GOD!!!”
Dakam: “All would bow to the strongest being on this world, and I will the human instrument of its will. But no more talk, COME FORTH TO YOUR END BANDIT PRINCE!”
Battle 29: Defeat the enemy commander. The throne room of Yiedhall castle has only three entrances. 2 one row wide hallways on the side and one row that’s 5 columns wide. Enemy reinforcements can enter the central hall from the other 2 hallways, so try to keep one healer with whoever you’re going to choke those points off. Dakam can summon hailstorms and fog to slow your movements. So keep on your toes and make sure you can strike hard as much as possible.
With Dakam defeated, Jughart lays the final blow by stabbing him in the chest with his sword. His forces move to the dungeon where they find King Rossert a literal husk of a man. He has bags under his eyes, his body is little more than a skeleton, and his hair was as white as stone. He looks upon his son and thinks he’s seeing an illusion of his son. When Jughart tells him he’s no illusion, Rossert smiles and tries to move his hand towards him but fails. Jughart moves closer towards his father and hears his final words: “Reclaim the Holy Weapon Deicide.”
Endgame: DEICIDE!
After finding a hidden passage in Rossert’s chamber, Jughart travels down the corridor to find a hidden armory. There he finds several scrolls speaking of how there is a 13th holy weapon: The Blade of Deicide. A sword that can absorb the life force of any divine dragon. This weapon was forged by a higher power as a fail safe in case any of the divine dragon tribe went mad or power hungry because while they are powerful, the divine dragons were never meant to be the Gods of their world but just the guardians of it. In order to claim the weapon, Jughart must go through the trials of humanity. Which is just 3 rounds of Jughart fighting through monsters. After claiming the sword and returning to his army, Jughart begins the plan to take Orgahill and deal with the Leviathans once and for all.
Battle 33: Defeat Leviathan Nereid. This is no easy fight, Nereid not only has an army of 50 units on his side, flanking him is Toya, Lady Lena, and Claudia as his puppets. Both can use Fortify to heal their entire force while Toya can use her water abilities to throw down your units. Nereid can still use Lightning bolts while also being able to impede your progress to him by flooding certain parts of the map.
Battle 34: The Azure Dragon Qing Long. Once Nereid is killed, the Azure dragon makes his entrance by riding in on a storm cloud. He looks down at Jughart and says:
Qing Long: “Human, why do you fight against your God?”
Jughart: “YOU ARE NOT MY GOD, YOU’RE JUST THE DRAGON WHO HAS CALLED THE MISERY OF MY KINGDOM AND ALL OF THE CONTINENT.”
Qing Long: “It was necessary to bring order to your continent, I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY ASCENSION. NOT BY SOME FLIMSY MORTAL AND NOT BY... (sees the Blade of Deicide and feels the presence of Divine Dragon’s life force.) NOT BY SOME PUPPET OF NAGA!”
Jughart: “Naga? I’m no God’s puppet, Dragon.”
Qing Long: “Then why are you wielding a weapon filled to the brim with her life force? She sent that sword to kill me because she could never accept that I was her better and that we dragons are the GODS of your world. WE ARE POWERFUL AND THAT’S ENOUGH TO INSTILL OUR RULE OVER YOUR KIND!!!”
Jughart: (he’s mad believeing that might makes right over his own superior.) No more words dragon just actions. I shall kill you and bring peace to this continent.
Qing Long: “You will try.”
This battle does not let up as not only do you have to take out a dragon with over 200 hp, the Pavise ability, every turn Qing Long can also use one of the Leviathan powers to pelt your units every time. The only way to begin hurting him is to slash him with Deicide. Every time Jughart gets a hit on him with Deicide, Qing Long will lose one of his abilities and he’ll be able to be harmed by your other units. Power through its fights and the dragon will fall. With Jughart’s final slash, Qing Long falls and his corpse begins to dissolve into the ground. But Jughart can feel Qing Long’s power while holding the hilt. Hearing a voice in his head, Jughart plunges the sword into the ground and grass begins to grow on the ground. Jughart turns to his units and raises the sword in triumph. His army bows in reverence.
The game also has several story DLC packs that release over the remainder of 2012 and throughout the first half of 2013:
Dlc #1: The Leviathan rises. Each map would see you play as Lady Toya, King So sweet, and Need it as they spread Azureism to the masses by any means necessary.
Dlc #2: The Granvale exile. Zephyr's trials and tribulations prior to his introduction chapter.
Dlc #3: The age of man. This one would see Jughart's two oldest children: Claudia and Christopher take the first trial of leadership to decide who will be the next emperor of Jugdral. Both succeed in the trial only to learn that their being sent to two foreign continents: Archanea and Valentia. Why? To learn of the people and to learn of their gods.
Fire Emblem: The Jugdral Crusade is released in late 2011 in Japan, and in April 2012 in North America. It's the last major Supernova game (a few small games would be released afterward, but none as significant or successful). It achieves the best review scores in the series to date, with critics praising the game's gorgeous visuals and epic scale, and is considered one of 2012's best RPGs overall. It's not only successful in Japan, but in North America as well, achieving decent sales despite the Connect having been out for nearly half a year up to this point. The series would continue on the Connect with at least one additional game, but the legacy of The Jugdral Crusade as a turning point for the series and an excellent sendoff for the Supernova can't be overstated.
Deleted member 100251
Is Claudia by any chances somewhat based off of Claude from 3H? I mean her older brother is a Wyvern rider. Or is this more of a reference to Seteth and Flayn?
we've this far before even 3H was revealed so..nope(If anything...is the minerva/michalis-Althena/Arion reference)
Actually, claudia the elder is more of a template to Awakening's Lissa when I wrote it, claudia the younger is someone I can't get too deep into due to spoilers for part 2 of what I hope to be a trilogy.
Fall 2012 (Part 5) - Gemini's Ruthless Aggression
Railstorm
Railstorm is a futuristic FPS title developed exclusively for the Apple Gemini. The game's main distinguishing feature from other FPS games is its focus on guns that fire bullets at an extremely rapid rate. The protagonist's basic weapon is a minigun, and it goes up from there, with guns frequently able to fire thousands of rounds in a minute, and the player showered with ammo so they can fire quickly without worrying about running out. The protagonist is a supersoldier named Hotch, the subject of a military project designed to create an army of soldiers capable of showering bullets on anyone who stands in their way. After the project is sabotaged, Hotch is forced to go rogue with the project's main scientist, a woman named Elle, supplying him with weapons and funds. The project was sabotaged by a rival branch of the military specializing in cybertech warfare, who attempted to use Elle as their own main scientist, only for her to be rescued by Hotch and driven away. This military branch uses home grown clone soldiers in battle, these clones have been embedded with battle chips allowing them to be controlled from afar. They're heavily armed as well, but not as heavily armed as Hotch. At the same time, a group of space invaders have arrived as well, though the space invaders have human features and are implied to be from a galaxy where humankind also evolved, but indepedently from Earth's humans. The plot is fairly simplistic and is mostly just an excuse for Hotch to mow down thousands of enemy soldiers with his wide variety of guns. Despite the game's flimsy plot, enemy soldier AI is developed extremely well. Enemies will react realistically and will use strategy and tactics, conversing with one another and reacting to Hotch's actions, with one unit that might be coming under fire able to radio to other units to watch out. Hotch's supply of weapons range from miniguns and assault rifles to rapid fire grenade launchers and laser cannons, an old school gatling gun, and powerful handheld railguns capable of firing hundreds of rounds per second at relativistic speed, creating unimaginable carnage on the battlefield. Rather than firing single shots or even bursts of shots, the player is capable of firing constant bursts of high velocity fire, and there are plenty of destroyable environments as well. Soldiers tend to be heavily armored, but this just means that Hotch will need to concentrate more fire on certain units to finish them off. Normal grunts are rarely bullet sponges though, and Hotch's guns can usually take out regular soldiers with a great deal of ease. Enemies will also deploy soldiers in walking mechs, tanks, and helicopters, each of which can soak up a little more damage than a normal soldier. Hotch walks fairly slowly, but the player is able to stow their heavy weapon in order to run a bit faster, depending on what kind of weapon is used. Hotch is also capable of tearing off certain battlements such as stationary gatling guns and missile launchers and using them as weapons, though these can't be stowed and stashed like normal, they have to be set back down somewhere after being used. As expected, enemies have a tendency to die fairly spectacular deaths in the game, and this is one of the bloodier FPS titles to appear on a handheld (or pretty much anywhere), earning a strong M rating. Despite the carnage and the bloody nature of the game, Hotch isn't Rambo. He's quite intelligent and fairly soft-spoken, and isn't really aggressive or bloodthirsty, his preference for big, powerful guns mostly stems from the overwhelming odds he faces and the firepower of the enemy. When he confronts a friend or enemy off the battlefield, he's capable of conversing quite normally with them, in contrast to some of the more "edgy" FPS protagonists out there. The game's character development is one of the few strong things about the overall plot, with Hotch and Elle both getting quite a bit of character development, and the villains also having strong motivations and three-dimensional characters. The game develops most of its plot with mid-mission dialogue and short, well animated cutscenes, and features strong voice acting from a cast that includes Matt Mercer as the voice of Hotch, Tabitha St. Germain as the voice of Elle, and Greg Baldwin as the leader of the parallel human civilization that serves as the main villainous group of the game's second half (which sees the rogue military faction slowly come back over to Hotch's cause as they team up to take the invaders down). The game's graphics are the best ever seen in a handheld game, at least to date, and better looking than any iTwin game (save perhaps for Resident Evil 6). Railstorm also features an extensive multiplayer mode, which features online play and uses dedicated servers to avoid lag during some of the intense gun battles. The game's multiplayer mode includes arenas on land, in space, and even on the sea, with a special "battleship style" mode simulating World War II naval battles with futuristic weaponry. Railstorm is intense, violent, addictive, and fun, and a sleeper choice for the year's best FPS, even over the far more hyped Cyberwar 4. The game is released in November 2012, amidst a wave of much larger console releases. However, for Gemini owners, it's a must-buy, and it's also a game that leads many to consider buying the system during the holiday season, thanks to extremely strong reviews and word of mouth. It's a game that could never be done on the Nintendo Connect, and becomes one of the defining early games for the Apple Gemini, as well as a major catalyst for the handheld's success.
-
Apple's Gemini handheld got off to a rocky start, but thanks to some timely releases this year, particularly Sonic The Hedgehog 6 back in August, the system has gained significant ground on the Nintendo Connect, both in North America and Japan. The most recent major release, Railstorm, is the third fastest selling Gemini game of the year, behind the aforementioned Sonic 6 and the highly successful 2-D fighter Virtua Fighter Infinity. Railstorm is driving Gemini sales at a time when the system needs them most, and despite its high asking price (still $299.99 in most locations) and its lack of a physical software medium, the Gemini is proving to be a capable rival to Nintendo's handheld. The Gemini has seen increased sales through August and September, and in October it sold around 75% of the units that Nintendo's Connect did on a worldwide basis, making October 2012 the third best month overall for the Gemini when compared with Nintendo's machine. We're also seeing Apple finally start to get aggressive with the Gemini's pricing. The system will have several Black Friday bundles, including bundles that include both Sonic The Hedgehog 6 and Virtua Fighter Infinity already downloaded to the machine, and will be priced at $249.99 rather than the normal $299.99 MSRP. We've also seen certain retailers carrying the base Gemini system without any games for $199.99, the same price as Nintendo's Connect. Though the Connect is expected to have another extremely successful Black Friday sales season, Apple's Gemini is expected to have its biggest month yet, thanks to its expanded game library and the aggressive sales. Some analysts even expect the Gemini to clear 10 million total units sold by the end of 2012, which would put it behind the iPod Play in terms of sales pace, but would be a stronger than expected year for Apple after slow Gemini sales out of the gate.
Though fans have been skeptical of Apple's expensive machine, critics have showered the Gemini with praise, lauding its ability to provide console-quality visuals in a portable package. The Gemini, which has been pushed much harder as a dedicated gaming machine than the iPod Play, has also gotten strong reviews from those who have purchased it, with a slightly higher overall software attachment rate than Nintendo's Connect. The Gemini has seen several high profile releases and ports this year, and with Apple stating that the handheld will have streaming capabilities with the Apple Virtua, allowing players to take the next generation of Apple games on the go, it's expected to remain a viable gaming device for years to come.
-from an article on Kotaku, posted on November 14, 2012
Railstorm is a futuristic FPS title developed exclusively for the Apple Gemini. The game's main distinguishing feature from other FPS games is its focus on guns that fire bullets at an extremely rapid rate. The protagonist's basic weapon is a minigun, and it goes up from there, with guns frequently able to fire thousands of rounds in a minute, and the player showered with ammo so they can fire quickly without worrying about running out. The protagonist is a supersoldier named Hotch, the subject of a military project designed to create an army of soldiers capable of showering bullets on anyone who stands in their way. After the project is sabotaged, Hotch is forced to go rogue with the project's main scientist, a woman named Elle, supplying him with weapons and funds. The project was sabotaged by a rival branch of the military specializing in cybertech warfare, who attempted to use Elle as their own main scientist, only for her to be rescued by Hotch and driven away. This military branch uses home grown clone soldiers in battle, these clones have been embedded with battle chips allowing them to be controlled from afar. They're heavily armed as well, but not as heavily armed as Hotch. At the same time, a group of space invaders have arrived as well, though the space invaders have human features and are implied to be from a galaxy where humankind also evolved, but indepedently from Earth's humans. The plot is fairly simplistic and is mostly just an excuse for Hotch to mow down thousands of enemy soldiers with his wide variety of guns. Despite the game's flimsy plot, enemy soldier AI is developed extremely well. Enemies will react realistically and will use strategy and tactics, conversing with one another and reacting to Hotch's actions, with one unit that might be coming under fire able to radio to other units to watch out. Hotch's supply of weapons range from miniguns and assault rifles to rapid fire grenade launchers and laser cannons, an old school gatling gun, and powerful handheld railguns capable of firing hundreds of rounds per second at relativistic speed, creating unimaginable carnage on the battlefield. Rather than firing single shots or even bursts of shots, the player is capable of firing constant bursts of high velocity fire, and there are plenty of destroyable environments as well. Soldiers tend to be heavily armored, but this just means that Hotch will need to concentrate more fire on certain units to finish them off. Normal grunts are rarely bullet sponges though, and Hotch's guns can usually take out regular soldiers with a great deal of ease. Enemies will also deploy soldiers in walking mechs, tanks, and helicopters, each of which can soak up a little more damage than a normal soldier. Hotch walks fairly slowly, but the player is able to stow their heavy weapon in order to run a bit faster, depending on what kind of weapon is used. Hotch is also capable of tearing off certain battlements such as stationary gatling guns and missile launchers and using them as weapons, though these can't be stowed and stashed like normal, they have to be set back down somewhere after being used. As expected, enemies have a tendency to die fairly spectacular deaths in the game, and this is one of the bloodier FPS titles to appear on a handheld (or pretty much anywhere), earning a strong M rating. Despite the carnage and the bloody nature of the game, Hotch isn't Rambo. He's quite intelligent and fairly soft-spoken, and isn't really aggressive or bloodthirsty, his preference for big, powerful guns mostly stems from the overwhelming odds he faces and the firepower of the enemy. When he confronts a friend or enemy off the battlefield, he's capable of conversing quite normally with them, in contrast to some of the more "edgy" FPS protagonists out there. The game's character development is one of the few strong things about the overall plot, with Hotch and Elle both getting quite a bit of character development, and the villains also having strong motivations and three-dimensional characters. The game develops most of its plot with mid-mission dialogue and short, well animated cutscenes, and features strong voice acting from a cast that includes Matt Mercer as the voice of Hotch, Tabitha St. Germain as the voice of Elle, and Greg Baldwin as the leader of the parallel human civilization that serves as the main villainous group of the game's second half (which sees the rogue military faction slowly come back over to Hotch's cause as they team up to take the invaders down). The game's graphics are the best ever seen in a handheld game, at least to date, and better looking than any iTwin game (save perhaps for Resident Evil 6). Railstorm also features an extensive multiplayer mode, which features online play and uses dedicated servers to avoid lag during some of the intense gun battles. The game's multiplayer mode includes arenas on land, in space, and even on the sea, with a special "battleship style" mode simulating World War II naval battles with futuristic weaponry. Railstorm is intense, violent, addictive, and fun, and a sleeper choice for the year's best FPS, even over the far more hyped Cyberwar 4. The game is released in November 2012, amidst a wave of much larger console releases. However, for Gemini owners, it's a must-buy, and it's also a game that leads many to consider buying the system during the holiday season, thanks to extremely strong reviews and word of mouth. It's a game that could never be done on the Nintendo Connect, and becomes one of the defining early games for the Apple Gemini, as well as a major catalyst for the handheld's success.
-
Apple's Gemini handheld got off to a rocky start, but thanks to some timely releases this year, particularly Sonic The Hedgehog 6 back in August, the system has gained significant ground on the Nintendo Connect, both in North America and Japan. The most recent major release, Railstorm, is the third fastest selling Gemini game of the year, behind the aforementioned Sonic 6 and the highly successful 2-D fighter Virtua Fighter Infinity. Railstorm is driving Gemini sales at a time when the system needs them most, and despite its high asking price (still $299.99 in most locations) and its lack of a physical software medium, the Gemini is proving to be a capable rival to Nintendo's handheld. The Gemini has seen increased sales through August and September, and in October it sold around 75% of the units that Nintendo's Connect did on a worldwide basis, making October 2012 the third best month overall for the Gemini when compared with Nintendo's machine. We're also seeing Apple finally start to get aggressive with the Gemini's pricing. The system will have several Black Friday bundles, including bundles that include both Sonic The Hedgehog 6 and Virtua Fighter Infinity already downloaded to the machine, and will be priced at $249.99 rather than the normal $299.99 MSRP. We've also seen certain retailers carrying the base Gemini system without any games for $199.99, the same price as Nintendo's Connect. Though the Connect is expected to have another extremely successful Black Friday sales season, Apple's Gemini is expected to have its biggest month yet, thanks to its expanded game library and the aggressive sales. Some analysts even expect the Gemini to clear 10 million total units sold by the end of 2012, which would put it behind the iPod Play in terms of sales pace, but would be a stronger than expected year for Apple after slow Gemini sales out of the gate.
Though fans have been skeptical of Apple's expensive machine, critics have showered the Gemini with praise, lauding its ability to provide console-quality visuals in a portable package. The Gemini, which has been pushed much harder as a dedicated gaming machine than the iPod Play, has also gotten strong reviews from those who have purchased it, with a slightly higher overall software attachment rate than Nintendo's Connect. The Gemini has seen several high profile releases and ports this year, and with Apple stating that the handheld will have streaming capabilities with the Apple Virtua, allowing players to take the next generation of Apple games on the go, it's expected to remain a viable gaming device for years to come.
-from an article on Kotaku, posted on November 14, 2012
If I lived in this TL I would not buy the Apple Gemini lol, such a high price for a handheld that takes no physical games.
I would have one, provided 256 gb sd cards didn't cost triple digits money.
Would be kind of funny if they did the whole propriety memory cards thing like Sony did.