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Finally, here is part three. They discuss trying to make the Emblems seem powerful, but without also breaking the game.

Engage is getting an Ask the Developers series. Here is part one.

I'm going to try to avoid spoilers due to the leak, although review embargos are lifting today, also.

Xenoblade is one of the very few Wii games I played exclusively with the Classic Controller because it didn't make use of motion controls or IR functionality at all, and without a right analog stick, you couldn't control the camera other than to realign it behind the character's back. But looking at the instruction manual (remember those?), the remote+nunchuck does indeed work the way you suggest.

The "menu"-based combat was carried over to Xenoblade X, but from 2 onward, everything is assigned to a separate button, so it feels more intuitive. (Although, you still have to take your thumb off the left stick to press the directional buttons, but it's less inconvenient. Also, the later games don't allow you to move and attack at the same time anyway.)

I guess an embargo lifted today, because there's a ton of new previews covering the early part of the game up to chapter 8.

They're all extremely positive, and say that the game has much more of an emphasis on the combat than the social aspects. At the same time, they also say that there are even more side activities to do in the Somniel than there were in the monastery in Three Houses, which seems a little contradictory. Either way, the consensus is that Engage is more like an evolution of Awakening and Fates than Three Houses.

Come to think of it, wasn't Three Houses like an evolution of Shadows of Valentia? It was very ambitious, but also very experimental. Perhaps it was just an odd tangent, though.

Once again, it's time to look back at the games we played in the past year.

My gaming was pretty sparse compared to 2021, and even then, it feels like I'm stretching to find games to talk about. Here is my alphabetical order:

Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong

Technically not the first time I've played the arcade version of DK, but I bought this version this year. There's a certain charm to playing the original version, and it's still quit addictive.

Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong 3

I bought the arcade version after enjoying the NES version via the Switch Online NES library the year before. Another addictive game that I think is underappreciated, and dare I say, I might like it better than the original.

Arcade Archives: In the Hunt

Bought this in preparation for the homage stage in R-Type Final 2. It's a fun and unique shooter with fantastic spritework, and definitely feels like one of the parents of the Metal Slug series (the other being Gunforce 2/Geo Storm).

Arcade Archives: Pirate Pete

When I was very young, one of my favorite games on Atari 5200 was the port of Taito's Jungle Hunt. Originally, the game was "Jungle King" and themed like Tarzan, but after being accused of copyright infringement, the main character was changed to an explorer. Later, the entire game was re-themed again as Pirate Pete.

History lesson aside, this game was sitting in my wish list for quite some time, as I expected it to be the kind of obscurity that Hamster would eventually put on sale. That finally happened, and I picked up the game for fairly cheap. While not the deepest game, I still found it addictive, and I highly enjoyed revisiting it, even with the pirate theme.

Congo's Caper

This was added to the Switch Online SNES library this year, and I played it while revisiting most of the Joe & Mac series. Some people consider it a hidden gem, but I found it somewhat average with some questionable level design.

Joe & Mac Returns

Picked this up for cheap. Unlike other games in the series, it's a single-screen action game in the style of Bubble Bobble. Quite fun, but not super deep.

Moon

This was one of the free indie games I won from Nintendo in 2021. I only finally got around to trying it earlier in 2022, and even then, I played for less than an hour. It was originally a Japan-only indie game made for the PlayStation. It's a clever, fourth-wall breaking adventure game, but not really my thing. I'm surprised I don't see it talked about more among the Mother/EarthBound and Undertale fans, as it seems like something that would be right up their alley.

(On a side note, I still have one indie game left from that contest that I have not yet tried: an action-RPG called Cross Code. Maybe I'll get to it in 2023.)

And finally, here are my Top 3 games of 2022:

3 - Radiant Silvergun

I haven't talked about it much, but honestly, it's quite remarkable that this game finally got ported to Switch, and I absolutely loved finally being able to try the legendary Radiant Silvergun. It's the predecessor to Treasure's more well-known shooter Ikaruga, and while there are some similarities, the games are actually quite different. At heart, though, both games are basically like puzzle games disguised as shooters.

Ikaruga is praised for being a more minimal experience than Radiant Silvergun, but personally, I think I might like RS better. While the levels do go on a bit too long, I think a little fat adds flavor. Also, the tone of the game feels more like traditional Treasure, with its colorful anime aesthetics, silly characters, and goofy sense of humor.

2 - Stardew Valley

This game was a bit unexpected. While I have been interested in trying a farming RPG before, my attention was more drawn to Rune Factory. I've not yet played any game in that series so far, however. There was a Switch Online free trial of one of the Story of Seasons games back in 2021, and while I found it interesting, I wasn't sure if it was for me. This past summer, however, there was a free trial for Stardew Valley, and this one, for whatever reason, clicked with me. I bought it while it was on sale, and figured it would at least give me something to do while I was waiting for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. But I've continued to come back to it since then, as well. I can see why this is the one that made farming RPGs mainstream.

1 - Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Eh, it's pretty OK, I guess.

While I've voiced my issues with it, I've overall highly enjoyed the time I've put into it, and I look forward to the rest of the upcoming DLC. What else can I really say? It probably has the best gameplay and combat in the series, the characters are as memorable as in any of the games, and while it may not have my favorite story, world design, or music in the series, I still consider those elements to be mostly superb.

IIRC, Falcom began working with Nippon Ichi specifically because they agreed to port games to Switch. Nippon Ichi handled the Switch and PC versions of Ys VIII internally. Subsequent Switch ports were handled by Engine Software. (Except for Ys Origin. Dotemu was in charge of that. Not sure who actually did the port, though.)

You might remember that the PC port of Ys VIII was kind of a disaster, and PH3 Games was brought in to fix it. They've handled the PC ports in collaboration with Engine Software ever since. (PH3 was co-founded by Peter "Durante" Thoman, a former fan modder who has a reputation for being an absolute wizard with PC ports.)

The Switch port of Nayuta was the first done in-house by Falcom. From what I've heard, it's excellent, even running at 60 fps.

NISA definitely has a questionable reputation. The length of time it takes for them to localize games is aggravating. (Yes, the Trails/Kiseki series is extremely text-heavy, but they licensed fan translations for Trails From Zero and Trails to Azure, and it still took a long time for Zero to get released. Fans are still waiting for Azure.)

Earlier this year, NISA shut down a fan translation project for Kuro no Kiseki. The project was simply a spreadsheet, and did not require patching or modifying software at all, so a lot of fans saw this as hostile and greedy, like NISA was forcing them to wait for an extremely slow localization rather than being able to play the Japanese version.

Not to mention, Falcom, themselves, has expressed frustration at NISA's localization speed.

Anyway, as for The Oath in Felghana, I have no idea what went into Falcom's decision to port it. I half-expected Memories of Celceta because they did a PS4 port of that a couple of years ago.

IGN and Gamespot posted hands-on video previews on YouTube, based on time they were able to spend playing chapter five. Both are very positive, saying that Engage is the best looking and playing Fire Emblem game in recent years. They also say it has more of an emphasis on the tactical aspects, and less emphasis on the social aspects compared to other recent entries. One claimed that there were far fewer extra things to do in the hub area than Three Houses had.

One detail that caught my attention is that weapon durability has been done away with entirely, so you can use any weapon indefinitely. Personally, I don't mind this one bit.

Also, I just want to say I like Clanne's engaged form. It reminds me a lot of Adol's Silver Armor in the older Ys games.