I don't often share information about myself online, but I think the fact that I'm a musician is relevant to my thoughts here. Most musicians who play an important rhythmic role (conductors, drummers, etc.) all keep a mental list of songs they are intimately familiar with at every tempo for reference's sake; for example, if I need to lead something that I know is at 80 beats per minute, I play a couple of bars of Cbat in my head before I start. Well, the beats here are so earwormingly catchy that I've scratched "120bpm - Stars and Stripes Forever" out of my mind palace and replaced it with "Patapon".

Patapon is one of those games that just works - like the rare piece of music where you don't know if the composer came up with the melody or the chords first (because that melody only makes sense with that specific harmony and vice versa, and both of those only make sense with that specific rhythm), each one of Patapon's mishmash of genres somehow comes together. Part rhythm game and part strategy game with a dash of RPG and town-builder sim thrown in, the player is cast as the god of the Patapon tribe, issuing commands to its soldiers in the form of 4-beat button commands. The need to relentlessly sound the drums without skipping a beat in order for the army to operate at full effectiveness elevates Patapon above its individual genres - rather than just being about issuing the right commands or following the right rhythms, this is a game about multitasking and planning ahead. Since the Patapons essentially follow your commands on a 4-beat lag, you need to read the battlefield situation (unit positioning and things like wind direction), decide what to do, then input the right button combination while thinking 2-4 seconds into the future and taking care not to skip any beats. It's amazingly engaging! The town building and RPG elements also have an important role here, allowing players to gradually unlock and access a variety of unit and equipment types which allow for different playstyles.

I have to say that Patapon appealed to me despite me generally not being a big fan of its main genres. As someone who doesn't enjoy the busywork of strategy games, Patapon's unique mechanics allowed me to issue more general commands and not get caught up in micromanagement, without being boring. And (sorry to brag a bit) as someone who can play lots of stuff by ear and therefore doesn't really see much of a point in most rhythm games, Patapon engaged me by having its rhythm mechanics as a tactical means to an end, rather than simply being "press buttons to play song".

Really, the only reason I'm not rating this higher is that there are certain things that could be more refined (it's pretty easy to get screwed by some enemy attacks that simply give you no time to react, the game doesn't always communicate how you can improve, the movements of some Patapons are ever so slightly de-sycned from the beat so as to be misleading, the minigames lack variety), and I know there are a couple of sequels which I'm really hoping will address those issues.

But this is one of the gaming highlights of the year for me. It's brilliant, it's unique, and it's going to be playing in my head for quite some time.

Story half intentional comedy, half involuntary. Scenes of characters being friends forever as soon as they meet, constant grunts, princesses running around and moaning through the town square, Jack's ``shut the fuck ups'' to villain monologues to put on headphones, listen to music, turn around, go out from the room, turning back again after a few meters and taking them off to chat with colleagues as if nothing were mixed with an overly complicated and poorly explained plot of ancestral beings and amnesiac characters with memories of others and at the same time their own and betrayals within betrayals of very macho males. The result reminds me of the monsters that appear in Silent Hill 3: I don't know what it is and it gives me a certain revulsion, but I can't stop looking at it. A roller coaster of embarrassment, pure enjoyment and laughter. Something memorable, after all. Element that the last main installments of the Final Fantasy saga did not have, where I remember practically nothing about its plot or characters. But I'm sure I'll remember the fucking boss Jack for a while.

The best is his combat. There is no train wreck there: it is simply spectacular. Easy to understand, rewarding to perfect. With hardly any interruptions. Well differentiated combat styles for whatever you want at the time. Positioning, hitting, and an excellent collision system populate the screen, with opponents flying off, colliding with walls, bouncing off other beings, and exploding once they reach a certain critical level, blowing up nearby enemies, creating an strategic and varied combat. Constantly with the job symbols glowing on the characters head when leveling up and that just means more fun: new skills, new job unlocks to try/enjoy.

How good it feels to punch the fucking Chaos.
------

Historia mitad comedia voluntaria, mitad involuntaria. Escenas de personajes siendo amigos forever nada más conocerse, constantes gruñidos, princesas correteando y gimiendo por la plaza del pueblo, ``shut the fuck ups´´ de Jack a monólogos de villanos para acto seguido ponerse auriculares, escuchar música, darse media vuelta, salir de la sala, volver a darse la vuelta a los pocos metros y quitárselos para charlar con los compañeros como si nada se mezclan con una trama demasiado complicada y mal explicada de seres ancestrales y personajes amnésicos con recuerdos ajenos y a la vez propios y traiciones dentro de traiciones de machos muy machos. El resultado me recuerda a los monstruos que aparecen en Silent Hill 3: no sé lo que es y me produce cierta repulsión, pero no puedo dejar de mirarlo. Una montaña rusa de vergüenza ajena, disfrute puro y risas. Algo memorable, al fin y al cabo. Elemento que no tenían las últimas entregas principales de la saga Final Fantasy, donde no recuerdo prácticamente nada de su trama o personajes. Pero seguro que del puto amo alias Jack me acordaré un tiempo.

Lo mejor es su combate. Ahí no hay ningún choque de trenes: es sencillamente espectacular. Fácil de entender, gratificante de perfeccionar. Sin apenas interrupciones. Estilos de combate bien diferenciados para lo que apetezca en ese momento. Posicionarse bien, golpes y un excelente sistema de colisiones pueblan la pantalla, con rivales saliendo volando, chocando con las paredes, rebotando con otros seres y explotando una vez llegan a cierto nivel crítico haciendo explotar a los enemigos que tenga cerca, creando un combate frenético, estratégico y variado. Constantemente con los símbolos de trabajo brillando en la cabeza de los personajes cuando se sube de nivel y que solo significa más diversión: nuevas habilidades, nuevo desbloqueo de trabajos por probar/ disfrutar.

Que bien sienta reventar al puto Caos.

Absolutely slaughters the entire series with the sheer amount of options you have gameplay wise; and the fact that the game expects you to use them.

A return to GBA supports so now I don't need every support to be a tonal wreck between either being way too serious and being took for a joke or a joke and took serious.

Decent story for fire emblem standards.

Ivy is peak.
They made maps fun again. They haven't figured it out for so long. Thanks engage. I love you.

Three Houses was not what I had envisioned when I imagined Fire Emblem on Switch. Now this, this absolutely is and it does an incredible job. Instead of Three Houses, this one took notes from Fire Emblem Fates instead. Thankfully unlike that game and Three Houses this one only has one story, and since it's a Fire Emblem Anniversary game it's a simpler back to roots story. It's really really refreshing to be excited for a Fire Emblem game from announcement to release, feel like this is the one and it is. It's one of if not my favorite Fire Emblem game now.

The changes to the formula all work in the game's favor. Trading priests for Monks allows your healers to have additional utility they didn't before, be it either blocking or fists. While they aren't incredible options, they're still options I for sure got use out of in the early game. A whole new mechanic is the Break system which also came into play more often early on but was a very welcome addition to further emphasize the weapon triangle which otherwise tended to get ignored as things went on. And it still does but when it comes into play you feel it a lot more as it saves or screws you. There's a counter to this too with Knights not being breakable and these new mechanics are all little things that improve the game. You can even have all your friends pound a unit at once...or have them do it to you if you try to juggernaut, so that won't work here anymore. The best one is the bosses, where they have more than one healthbar so you can't just beat them with a single powerful attack, often times you have to coordinate your team to take them down. Bosses also often move which is unusual for Fire Emblem so you have to be on your guard. And then when you beat a map you get to walk around the map and it's like "This is where I just fought and it feels really cool especially if it's an Emblem Paralogue, like you're walking through history.

These incredible mechanics aren't the only thing, there's also the new characters and music that are great. The story is mostly serviceable with only a few parts I'd say are bad but nothing ever reaches Fates levels of bad writing at least. Oh what else to say I could go on all night about this one.

I suppose the flaws: The Somiel is a step up from the Monastery for sure but there's a lot of stuff here that either felt pointless like the fitness minigames or felt unneeded like fishing (even if that is also better than 3H). These only earn Bond Fragments for the in-game gacha which also felt pointless. The only downside in gameplay is the game throws reinforcements to push you to the boss but sometimes it feels absolutely relentless about it to where it gets a bit excessive. But you have 9 rewinds a chapter so all's fair in love and war I suppose.

I was surprised I let some units die this time and that I put thought into "are they worth the rewind/restart" and even realizing that sometimes the answer was no. Honestly, as I learn more about the metagame I'm honestly thinking about playing through Engage again sometime on Maddening and trying new units and classes. This game is that fun. If there's any Fire Emblem you wanna come back to or even try for the first time, it's this one.

Celine is the best by the way.

https://twitter.com/Malcolm_Moon4/status/1620574783980339200?t=ZtUkhZXKB2ftc36k8tv3kA&s=19

Just read this lolz I'm not typing this again.

Goldmary I love you.