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Ah well. I'm sure it'll still be interesting. :)

Kinda disappointed to see that only two characters of the initial party are psy-users once again, but I suppose I'll see how it works out.

Sounds great! I may end up buying TT after all. (Also, looks like a female protagonist! Hooray for gender equality!)

Do you plan to include any dialogue trees, or will dialogue be purely linear?

Well yes, I'm not presuming anything. I was more concerned about provoking a discussion in general, however.

I agree that it doesn't have to be just homosexuality; as I said, it can probably be used to fit many other things. It was just the first thing that sprung to my mind, due to the aforementioned conversation I had.

I know the title may seem strange. Hear me out.

I'm not saying that the Gift is literally a metaphor for homosexuality, and in fact I think "homosexuality" can be substituted for lots of other things that central religious organizations disapprove of. But it's one of the more controversial issues in today's society, and it's what led me to this conclusion.

The other day, I was talking with a friend of mine, who is a decent fellow, but very entrenched in his religious beliefs. We got into a debate about gay rights, and midway through the conversation, a chill ran down my spine as I realized we were acting out the final conversation between Duvalier and Cygnus, almost word-for-word. We used the same arguments: I told him that there was scientific evidence that homosexuality is an innate thing, not a choice, and he countered that it's not a sin to be homosexual, just to act on those desires (eerily similar to Cygnus saying that whether or not people are born with the Gift, they choose to use it, and that is a sin).

I remember a blog post a while back where Craig was lamenting that so few video game critics earnestly analyzed his game for the writing and "central metaphors". I wonder if this is one of those? I think it is an interesting area of inquiry regardless. What do you think?

Ah, yes, I didn't mean magic necromancy, per se, but something similar to it using the Gift. I do imagine it would be possible to animate a corpse or skeleton? It would probably be the same basic principle as manipulating any other object, just more complicated.

Does necromancy exist (or will it exist) in Cera Bella? Both subjugating spirits and reanimating dead tissue can count.

However, Arman can get Mega Stab. Malis has no such equivalent. I understand that Malis is supposed to be more versatile and generalized, but even still, I think there is too much of a power discrepancy. It doesn't have to be something she gets right out of the box, but it would be nice to see it as a late-game ability. It needn't be as powerful as Mega Stab or even regular stab, but I feel at least some backstab-oriented attack would be fitting.

(I know this is rather...belated. I apologize. Consider this more of a suggestion for future games. Perhaps it can be moved to the TT wish list when/if such a forum is made.)

To me, I find it odd that assassins get a number of powerful attacks with special backstab bonuses, but shadowlings get nothing but shadow blast. Perhaps psy assassins could get a similar attack? Perhaps not matching it in power, but it would be nice to have something assassin-like for a class that is supposedly an assassin.

Alternatively, maybe give shadowblast backstab bonuses.

Which would be in line with Greater Ghosts having cold resistance.

Alternatively, the spirits could simply be pressurizing their energy (or magically solidifying it) instead of freezing it. That would produce the same effect without the cold vs. physical conundrum.

Also, I think spirits only have a cold affinity because "death is cold" is a common trope in media. It seems like affinities only affect purely energy-based powers like the Blasts, anyway.

Because Craig could not (or didn't want to) implement a diagonal shot feature?

Duly noted. I refer you to the second half of my post then.

I think what Ert means is that the edge is merely solidified. If we accept the hypothesis that psy energy (and by extension, spirit bodies) acts like a liquid or gas, then spirits would merely "freeze" the psy energy representing their weapons, causing the energy to solidify and allowing it to interact with physical objects. This would be functionally identical to an ordinary physical attack, not a cold-elemental attack, since the important part is something solid smacking into you, not the freezing temperature. Thus, the spirits' physical resistance would still work.

Edit: I just realized there is support for this -- ghost knights' axes seem to gleam and change somewhat right before they attack. This could represent the solidification.

It is possible that we only see human spirits because we only see them in areas inhabited by humans. Or, if you want a Doylist explanation, because Craig didn't feel the need to design extra sprites. It is entirely possible that we may see the ghosts of other races in future intallments.

SmartyPants, I think what Craig is trying to say is that the answer to your question isn't obvious, but the reason why he won't give that answer is.