Super Combo Cast

This month was Fuga: Melodies of Steel, the turn-based tactics visual novel about anthropomorphic war orphans fighting their way through war zone after war zone, looking for their parents, and generally experiencing some beautifully rendered (in a painterly style), but horrific realities of war.

There’s a base management and bit of social sim here as well interstitial between battles, well-drawn characters, as well as some interesting mixes of abilities and tech tree upgrades that reflect the characters.

We didn’t see, at least playing on regular difficulty settings, that Fuga had a satisfactory justification for the tension between survival and sacrifice that is lost from the use or not use of the soul cannon (it being pretty easy to avoid using it), as well as the ultimate point to setting a war story in the way it does (maybe to upend or ideas of fragility by having animals instead of humans?), but we are interested in potentially seeing more from the series to learn how its world and characters, as well as tension, might develop further or differently.

Catch the liner notes here, and consider watching out for our podcast on Tactical Breach Wizards at the end of October.

As an update and re-visioning of 1992’s Fire Emblem Gaiden, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valencia, the last more traditional Fire Emblem on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, has a lot to live up to. In 2026 it carries the weight of its legacy as an NES game originally, as well as the future-directions and approaches it experiments with that are picked up and carried (and not) into newer entries in the series. Echoes, indeed.

There are 3DS specific things here that only could have only been done on that console (relative to the NES original), perhaps to its detriment a little bit. Some dungeon-dwelling action in third person in 3D, which wasn’t really to our taste, though it makes sense in a world where Fire Emblem Warriors (3DS) is developing and/or released around it. There’s also obligatory and sometimes meaningfully expansive cut scene/dialogue additions. But then those additions, a prelude to the much more story-heavy games on the Nintendo Switch like Three Houses and to a lesser extent Engage (as an homage to the whole series its maximalist in a different way), also could be argued against, depending on how you appreciate or don’t appreciate certain flavour profiles of Fire Emblem. Mechanically the weapon triangle is missing here, eugenic marriage-plots, also not here.

So we’ve got a modern take and a throwback in different measures, in light of the month of Fire Emblem: Fortune Weave’s release. A game that looks to, at trailer’s first and second glance, embrace the more expansive Three Houses approach to world and roleplay.

But then series-wide consideration of features and directions for the series fans, anime-influenced or not, 3D-required or not, does relatively little to change the core NES game’s formula — which remains largely transported over if you want to revisit it in 2026. Specifically I was surprised by how intact the first three chapters of the NES game remains relative to Shadows, with the over-world, protagonist split, and branching or alternating/branching paths, all there.

All this is to say, we get stuck in a bit with this one. Lots to think about. We hope you enjoy.

Consider listening to older episodes, as we’ve had a bit of a journey to arrive here, with Fire Emblem becoming one of my favourite series as the podcast has gone on:

https://supercombotech.substack.com/p/super-combo-cast-28-fire-emblem-awakening

https://supercombotech.substack.com/p/fireemblemss

Also check out the liner notes here.

Next month is Fuga: Melodies of Steel, another tactics game of a different variety mechanically, with a somber tone and story along for the ride.

This month (July’s) game was Against The Storm, a city builder, roguelike, sort of RTS mashup, with lots to like in terms of how the game scaffolds play for newcomers and experience players (excellent tutorial and UI for understanding how it works), as well as expansive player choice in terms of victory conditions and flexibility. We talk about those elements, the music, with more of that covered in the liner notes (naturally), as well as how this game compares to things we’ve played in the RTS/4X past.

You can also catch us in August for Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valencia, and some discussion of one of our favourite series as we head into the next game arriving in it, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, which has a release date now in September (2026).

This month’s podcast, for June, was Pocky and Rocky (Reshrined), with Toben splitting time between the SNES original, of which Reshrined is a re-visioning and extension, and the PS4 version. I played on Steam.

This one had us considering the possibilities for a sequel or design update, while still appreciating aspects of the game’s original design ideas (especially enemy variety, aesthetic, pixel art); as an extension to an older-school top-down shooter, we what could have been or could be with a hypothetical sequel? Would the experience be improved by introducing rogue-like elements, or modernized (twin-stick) controls?

Also discussed: Against the Storm, July’s upcoming game, as well as the Steam Machine and its fairly troubled launch (who is it for, what does it say about the industry that it arrives now and at this price, and what would it mean if the game console as a category were to go the way of the consolized PC?).

Check out the liner notes for the usual ephemera and fun extras and next time we will be talking about Against the Storm.

This month’s (May) podcast was all about TetherGeist, a precision platformer from O and Co. Games. Recently released, we talk about the legacy this game signposts with its aesthetic, narrative, and mechanical choices, its smart layering of tether mechanics on top of platforming, as well as who this is for, given that depending on time investment and skill, this game can become quite challenging fairly quickly.

We expect that the speed running community and events like SGDQ, once TetherGeist arrives there, will give this game a long tail and keep it relevant (in the same conversation as Celeste) into the future.

Check out the liner notes here, and tune-in for Pocky and Rocky Reshrined/Original at the end of June.

Thanks for listening/reading!

This month’s podcast (April) was on Final Fantasy X a favourite of Toben’s and a new Final Fantasy for me. We discuss characterization, Sin, the battle system, leveling, as well as position this entry within its long-varying series. How does it compare to some of the more action-oriented final fantasies of the last few years — and what is the best way into the series now that there are so many viable options? How does the pace of this game work to dole out the narrative beats?

Also, please check out the liner notes for great ways to further explore FFX outside the game. And then, of course, check us out in May for our discussion of Tethergeist, an indie platformer with fun movement mechanics and great art that we’ve had our eyes on.

This month’s podcast (March) was on Dredge, the Cthulhu fishing simulator/cozy game from Black Salt Games, published by Team 17. This one impressed us with its integration of Cthulhu fear of the deep and the elder gods, while not really changing the equation or adding much to the idea we had of fishing (in games) prior to playing it. The cozy aspect seemed to present itself most in the cycle of completing tasks like catching and selling fish, upgrading your boat and moving around the various locales from safe harbor to safe harbor. Which, at least for us, did something to dull the frightening edge and eerie tone that the game is trying for.

Check out the liner notes for the usual ephemera and notes on the episode.

And catch us at the end of April for Final Fantasy X, an all-timer for Toben as an RPG and game in general, and a first real play-through for me.

I will (likely) learn to blitz-ball! I think it means underwater polo, but with a lot more style. It also seems to remind me, locale and tropical biome-wise, of Chrono Cross, but we’ll see how it goes.

If you want to donate to help fund our work head here:

https://ko-fi.com/supercombotech

On this month’s podcast we talk about Demonschool, the tactical combat and persona-like RPG set at a gangster, demon and zombie beset college on a mysterious island. We loved the characters, world, and aesthetic with its Sega Saturn leanings, but had serious concerns about the tactical battle system, mini-games and progression systems. If you loved this one, let us know! We want to hear about how it clicked for you. Toben has a companion review in writing to go with our discussion and you can check out the liner notes here.

This month’s podcast was all about Baldur’s Gate 3. We’ve played this one a while, and will keep playing it and discussion was mostly around how this landmark RPG release effects the sort of landscape of RPGs, in relation to BG3’s expansive nature. We also discuss how it manages to adapt DnD, of course, as well as who this game is for, and possibly, gasp, who it might not be for.

Check out the liner notes for links and resources discussed in the episode, as well as the usual ephemera.

Next month (February) is going to be Demon School, which is a return for us to the turn based tactics we love, along with this imagining of what a Sega Saturn RPG in the tone of Persona with modern tactics game play might look like in 2025 (not literally on the Sega Saturn, though I hope that could be real someday).

This month was Earthion, from Yuzo Koshiro and Ancient. This is a modern-developed 16 bit game, particularly for the Sega Genesis (releasing next year on that platform, but here and now on Steam, Xbox, PS5, Switch, etc.).

We talk a bit about Yuzo Koshiro’s legacy and a long career in making games, what the genre has meant to us and our experience with it, this being our first sidescrolling shoot em’ up, as well as the mechanics and systems that work well here to respect the player’s time and also introduce a more modern audience a kind of game and experience that has been around for a long, long time (in 70’s and 80’s arcades, down into home consoles, and still going).

Check out the liner notes for some historical links, as well as the usual ephemera.

And watch out in December and January for some writing we’ve been working on to be posted, as well as for January’s podcast on Baldur’s Gate 3.

Happy Holidays and New Year!