Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Review

Given the fandom of both the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem games have, I'm surprised with the feeling that Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE flew under the radar. Then again every game lives in the shadows of the colossi that are Overwatch and Pokemon GO currently; regardless of genre.

I've been a fan of Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem games for awhile now. I started the Tensei series with a game called Nocturne and haven't really looked back since. I think the Persona games are Atlus' A+ creations. I adored the fresh aspects to the puzzle genre with Catherine. I think both the Devil Survivor games are some of the best that the DS and 3DS have to offer. Same is said with Fire Emblem and Radiant Dawn. I was truly hooked though when Fire Emblem: Awakening arrived on the 3DS, a game that I still think is the best game on the platform.

So yeah, to say I was excited for Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE might be an understatement.

I found myself in the minority though. The quiet release could have been a response to the fact that the game isn't what the fans wanted. Most people expected a true Fire Emblem/Shin Megami Tensei crossover: demons fighting heroes of old in a combat system that truly embraced the best of both worlds. There was also the fact that the game would be tainted with censorship, a huge turnoff for those who want the original, as if an original is the only way to enjoy a game.

If that's what Nintendo had to do to get the game here for American audiences then that's actually quite fine. The nuances of gameplay and story don't really suffer at all from the very minor bouts of censorship. At the end of the day the game is still very steeped in Japanese culture, so for those still questioning about whether or not to get this game due to the censorship, I really don't see a big deal with the changes.

Ad-lib attacks are a potential reward for
nailing the enemy weakness

Now, what you expected from the gameplay vs. what the game actually is might be a big deal. As mentioned earlier, people wanted a game that combined the best aspects of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei. What they're going to get is a straight up Shin Megami Tensei style game. Is this bad? Not necessarily. I'm a fan of those games. They do an absurdly good job of making turn-based games feel fast. They also reward players for figuring out how to deal with enemies by giving them high damage attack chains. They do a good job of making the player a dictionary for the game. I love this. But if you don't like the Shin Megami Tensei and wanted something more along the lines of Fire Emblem gameplay, you might want to look elsewhere. Or don't, because this gameplay is very rewarding and quite fun regardless of what was expected.

The rest of the fun for the game stems from the wacky light-hearted story that comes with it. The game is about a group of Japanese idols who work for an agency called Fortuna Entertainment. This agency also doubles as a group dedicated to slaying mirages: ethereal beings who want to suck the creativity out of unknowing victims.

Like I said, wacky, but kudos for never shying away from that.

The game is fully dedicated to making this premise inhabitable for your suspension of disbelief by fully buying in. Certain characters in the main cast are singers, models, or actors. Oh, speaking of main cast, that's what your party is called. Anyone who isn't in your main cast are in the sub cast and later on in the game can join in during fights to provide a moment to shine. All the characters are fun, some more than others, but the cast is small enough that you don't fully overlook any of them. In fact, the character I used the least actually ended up being my MVP for the final boss battle.

The story is complimented with cut scenes that imitate the animation style of your typical idol anime. It's a great way to show character performances and some of them are just absurd, in particular Yashiro's performance. My sister was in the room when I initiated the cut scene and she is quoted with saying "This is life-changing." It's an exaggeration of course, these scenes are all in good fun.

If you're looking for a JRPG fix, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is one of the best that I've played in awhile. It's also the first that I've been willing to beat in awhile. JRPGs require dedication and this one was very worthwhile with me clocking in about 60 hours. Some aspects in the story probably won't be remembered, but the story is a fun respite from our wait for their ace in the hole: Persona 5.

★★★★

Why Anyone Would Jump Over Time Pieces is Beyond Me

So. Overwatch comes out soon.

I was given the very fortunate opportunity to play about...

*checks watch*

3 hours of the beta with my sister, who, by the way, was a huge fan of Team Fortress 2.

Our initial reactions have been one of immense excitement.

First off I would like to point out that I was completely sucked into it's intrigue upon watching it's first cinematic trailer. Also, let's be honest. It was actually more or less a short film. Now that's fun. As a filmmaker and critic of both the filmic and gaming spectrum I was hooked. The film wasn't quite Pixar, I knew this in my mind, but it damn sure did a great job of making it feel like Pixar.

The marketing campaign up to this point has followed suit. 2 short films have been released up to the point of this blog post: Recall and Alive. Both are great. Both are immersing me.

And that's the appeal that's really getting me excited not just to play the game of Overwatch, but also what Overwatch is as an entity. It's a game like this has no business having a true immersive universe. A game of this genre calls for good, clean fun with good replayability and updates here and there to keep the game fresh. Where the hell did this sense of story come from?

So I can see some people saying this isn't new... like... at all. It has the gameplay of Team Fortress and the short films are kind of like the ones that Valve also did.

I get that, I really do, but the fact is that plenty of people have done plenty of the same things and what ends up standing out among the sea of clones is execution.

I've felt genuine emotion as I watch Widowmaker jump off the building and aim for her mark in the short film. I shouted an oh no! as my Roadhog was gunned down during an assault mission and leapt for joy as I heard my sister's character: Mercy yell "HEROES NEVER DIE!" It was true. As soon as I heard those words my Roadhog got back up, guns ablaze.

An emotional response like that doesn't just come from intriging world building and being just a fun game. No, I'm giddy just thinking about team comps and strategies. I suppose the feeling I can compare it to was when I signed up to play League of Legends during it's year of inception. I had played games like it before (DotA) but I hadn't played an iteration like this. And I was hooked from that point on.

But this still also feels different.

Blizzard has that kind of attention to detail that makes me feel like there's so much more. I can't wait to see more short films and I can't wait for the open beta. If Blizzard keeps this up, this will truly be a hero that never dies.