Pokemon Black: Finally started this, just got to the town with the first Gym. Chose Tepig cause he's a Flaming Pig, and thus more awesome by definition (no, I am not impressed by Snivy's Smugness, I'm sorry.)
Duodecim: In the middle of the 13th War! Some quick thoughts on the 6 newcomers based off story mode:
Lightning: More or less see what I said about her in Prologus. Not much different, though need to try out some of the moves she didn't have there. Looks like she might be a potential main for me.
Vaan: Easier to use than I expected with his weapon Switch Mechanic, which makes him neat. His non-swap attacks aren't bad, but he definitely improves greatly if you vary your attacks and make use of the Switch properties. Probably won't use him too much, but he certainly is at least interesting, and has at least passable HP Attacks.
Laguna: Ultimecia + Emperor + Physical Attacks = Laguna. Its a screwed up amalgamation but that's the best way I can describe it. He's fun to use nonetheless, which isn't surprising seeing as I liked how Emperor and Ultimecia played. The one thing I didn't like is how the Shotgun was not reliable as an Aerial Counter at all, and that was his fast move. This is later remedied when he gets aireborne Pummel, which is...the exact kind of close range melee move he likes, ie a fast move that's good at getting the person OFF him, so he can continue his range game (Terra's Blizzard Combo had much the same applications). May consider using him.
Yuna: With Terra being a good ranged character w/ some decent Melee compliments in vanilla Dissidia, Yuna is...basically the inverse of that. Good Melee Mage w/ decent Ranged compliments. Nice simple character who isn't ruled by gimmicks, but at the same time, isn't really taking up an already used Niche (Dissidia doesn't really have any Melee Magic users. Kuja was probably the closest, and he was definitely derived based off his gimmick than anything else.) I do hate the fact that her EX Mode offers no Visual changes to her model, cause it shows them being lazy. Was giving Yuna a design where she's holding Nirvana instead of her starting weapon really that hard to do? I mean, they made Ultimate Weapon-based Models for lots of characters in EX Mode as is.
Kain: ...my complaints stand about him before. Jump still has issues as anything but a counter-style HP Move, his brave game isn't strong enough to make up for it, etc. Also, I really do not want to play as him in a closed area, cause pretty much everything he does screams "I WANT OPEN SPACES!" Worth noting that looking up the attack move stats on the Dissidia Forums, his fastest move is 19 Frames. For a melee fighter...that's not exactly a good thing.
Tifa: REALLY shaky start. Her HP Moves are kind of awkward versions of Jecht's, her brave moves have poor range and are hard to hit with, and her Feint Mechanic is unintuitive. Then...she gets a few levels, and gets a lot better. Falcon Kick Burning Arrow is a nice "get in on the guy" move and the existence of Feints means she can use it safer than most people who have that style of move. Light Talon Attack Falcon Dive and Shoryuken Dolphin Blow are excellent compliments that let her deal with people camping above/below her, and Skrull Torch Rolling Blaze is just a nice easy to use HP Attack overall. Reminds me a lot of JP Kuja, only not nearly THAT extreme, in terms of the "really bad at low levels, gets much better once she gets a few attacks", given nothing can be worse than relying on the ORIGINAL Seraphic Star just to win fights (GOOO NA version for making Flare Star an initial HP Attack)
So...Lightning, Laguna and Yuna I can see myself actually using a good deal. Tifa seems to be in an iffy area, and will judge when I use her more. Vaan seems neat, but I'll probably pass on him, and Kain...no. Just...no...
