tl;dr, Actraiser 3 would be awesome, because of the LEET GRAFIX.

There needs to be an Actraiser 3 for 360. It could be tackled by splitting action in the air and on the ground between Crystalis and The Master. It'd be a 3rd person action/strategy sim game, and Crystalis could defeat demons with his bow by locking on and strafing to dodge attacks. Because he can fly, obviously he's the premier choice for rescuing people from demon attacks and getting places quicker. When Crystalis runs out of life, he plummets to the ground and lays stunned in a protective cocoon for a period of time. All the while you have to lead development of the town, as well as performing miracles to aid the development and to destroy demons. (Imagine the awesome real-time effects for the miracles! )

When it's time to tackle a high concentration of ground enemies in a building, or forest, etc., you switch to the master and it plays kinda like Dynasty Warriors, only without SWARMS swarms of retarded enemies, more like smaller groups of more competent fighters. There would be plenty of challenging fight situations, such as possibly a few wizards are standing back and rezzing everyone you kill, so you have to get them first, etc. The Master would have a variety of magic attacks to use, and a variety of sword attacks and skills that can be used through button combos. To defend, timed button presses will be needed just before an opponent strikes to successfully deflect the attack via a flash barrier, like in Soul Calibur 2. Again, we're not going full on Dynasty Warriors here with mashfests, the encounters will be tighter and more involved, as the enemies can dodge and counter, as well as run or call for backup.

The way you lose would be from the population losing faith in you. If you get knocked out as Crystalis or The Master too many times, witnesses will begin to perceive you as weak. As your public opinion decreases from negative things like failing to rescue demon attack victims, getting knocked out, destroying buildings or letting buildings be destroyed, accidentally killing/wounding townsfolk, etc, they will begin to grow more bitter with you and not develop as fast, not respond as fast to your requests, hold back on offerings, and in general act more coldly. If you finish the mission while they are in this meh mode, you won't get the best possible ending for the level and will miss out on key items that could be uncovered after peace. To raise your public relations, you must do well over a set period of time for them to regain their faith in your ability, as well as good faith/charity actions to them as either apology for mistakes made on your part, or as acts of kindness to improve their mood. If you fail too many times and their faith meter dips too low for too long, you will lose the mission when they become too bitter and decide they don't need your help to protect them from the demons. They will see it as a last ditch desperation effort to kill all the demons themselves, and will obviously fail, resulting in a bitchin' game over screen with a devastated land.

Boss encounters could be Master specific, Crystalis specific, or a combination. If the boss encounter is in or near the village, it shouldn't be hard to say that the people are very much in danger and could be killed by errant attacks by you or the boss. In this case, there would be a strategy involving luring the massive boss out of the town (unless you've developed the town TOO well, and there isn't a clearing or outskirt available to lure him to.)

An additional feature that would make sense in this more action intensive strategy game would be the ability to train troops for combat. The more extensive the development of their fighting skills, the more competent they can become. It will help immensely and by the later stages be completely vital to train squads of fighters to place at key locations, such as possible bottlenecks to cut off demon entry to town, or anti-air units placed high on cliffs to keep flying demons from stepping into their range, effectively keeping them out of certain areas. With the fort being properly held down, you can focus on your objectives more freely.

The game would span several campaigns through a large number of towns, with possible side quests to go on after peace is attained for a land. A long side quest involving discovering clues in each level to the whereabouts of a bonus city/civilization could be attained, and would be an incentive to play through each city and get the best outcome/ending possible for each scenario.

The final encounter with Tanzra could be an epic blockbuster fight, deep in an underground lair, requiring you to switch between The Master and Crystalis as you fight him in the air, on the ground, with magic, and using miracles at key moments. Instead of the "fight all bosses again" device, he could have some very challenging warm up demons as bosses for you to fight before him. As soon as you defeat the last of his final guards, suddenly, immediately, and without warning, he comes CRASHING THROUGH THE WALL SCREAMING [b]YOOUUUUUUU ARREEEEE NOOTTT MYYYYYYYY MAAAAAASTERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b] and IMMEDIATELY begin fighting you. At a certain point in the battle, Crystalis will think that it's too cramped to fight him there, and will get the idea to fire an explosive beam of light straight up into the ceiling to make an escape route to the surface. The Master and Tanzra will be puzzled momentarily, but The Master will know what is in store.

"RUNNNNNNNNNNIIINNNNGGGGGGG!?!?!?!" bellows Tanzra, as The Master replies, "We will never run from you." Just then, they summon an Earthquake miracle, and an explosive geyser of magma shoots up from the ground as Crystalis carries The Master up the shaft, rocks collapsing on Tanzra as he is engulfed by the magma. Just as they escape, an explosion rocks the underground lair/island. Tanzra suddenly bursts from the incredible volcanic plume, screaming in agony and torment, looking even more horribly disfigured in a half-spirit, half-creature guise. He screeches, "YOOOOOOU WILLLL BURRRRRRNN IN MY BREATHHHHH!!!!!!" With a giant volcanic plume of ash quickly traveling towards Crystalis and The Master, they act fast to not be incinerated by the blast. The Master creates a magic shield around the two, as Crystalis fires a holy beam arrow directly at the plume, cutting a path through the cloud. He then uses the Wind miracle to blast them flying straight through the path in the cloud, firing arrow after arrow to punch through. As they approach the center of the cloud, The Master charges his magic energy and fires an amazing blast the sends shockwaves through the cloud, sending the cloud hurtling at incredible speeds outwards and into the atmosphere, creating beautiful multicolored clouds raining down bright white raindrops in very high volumes. It is here, completely surrounded by rain clouds over the ocean/island, that the final battle to finish Tanzra is waged.

After Tanzra is defeated, the duo would make it's goodbye run around the world, like in the first game. But! Just before they go, a teenage girl walks into the shrine. "Thank you for all you've done for our land, and the land of our neighbors. It seems you are on your way, that you must part from us... but we cannot imagine a world without you in our lives. It's not that we can't make it without you, quite the contrary... It's that we love you so! We... want to know... if evil ever returns to this land, that we can have an incredible ally in our fight. Oh please, we do not wish to go against your wishes, but you are our pillar, our strength... We cannot be the same without you! Please! We have too much love! We know you have incredible love for us, of course you do, to get where we are now! *weeping* I beg of you... Our world begs of you... Please stay with us, as so you may never leave our hearts!"

Crystalis begins to speak... "We will always be in your hearts, and we must go. There are other wor..."

"Crystalis." booms The Master.

"Master?"

"I will go."

"Master?!"

"This world clearly is still in need. You have served me well, Crystalis. I find it you have exceeded all expectations, as a companion, and a warrior."

"Master..."

"I grant you my sword, and I grant you the full powers of the divine spirit I possess. You will lead and protect these people to the highest realm of happiness and divinity. You are ready, Crystalis. Ready to be a Master. A Master, to bless the land, to bless the sea, to bless the sky, to bless the entirety of it's creatures. If evil ever returns, you will not fail to purify the land once more. As a Master, you no longer need anyone to get in your way. I will travel to another world, and rest until I am needed again. My great friend... You are needed, here."

"Yes Master!"

"I am no longer your Master. Crystalis, RECIEVE MY LIGHT!"

*Brilliant Flash surrounds the shrine.*

"Farewell."

WHOOOOSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! STRAIGHT UP!

The girl cries, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master Crystalis!"

Crystalis walks out of the shrine to a cheering crowd. "This is my home now. I am your Master!" wild cheering continues.

"We have constructed a beautiful home as a gift of our appreciation of all you've done for us. Please, follow us!"

"Thank you for your many offerings, I wish to fulfill your desires and prolong your collective well-being as best as I can." *Looks up at the sky* "Thank you, _________" (name inputted for The Master) As he walks towards his new home, he whistles for a cab and when it comes near, the license plate says "Fresh" and had dice in the mirror. If anything he could say that this cab was rare, but he thought, "No, forget it, yo home to Bel-Air!" He pulled up to the house about seven or eight and he yelled to the cabby yo, home smell you later! Looked at his kingdom, he was finally there! To sit on his throne as the prince of Bel-Air!

The sheer amount of enthusiasm and tl;dr makes me wonder if that was worth it.

[quote="Blank"]The sheer amount of enthusiasm and tl;dr makes me wonder if that was worth it.[/quote]

Eleven hours later, still wondering. But I'll give you credit for trying.

Any credits awarded, however, are deducted because you posted at four in the morning.

The ending was only tacked on there because I felt it was going too long and I wanted to poke fun at myself. It wasn't the point, there's no win, fail, points, points deducted, etc. The point is the game could be fantastic in the right hands.

...who cares what time it is? I just woke up and wanted to post something long. Fuck, next you'll point out it's my 666 post and chastise me for not posting something satanic.

SERIOUS BUSINESS.

I see. I thought it was one of those monster mash/killing field setups that was ridiculously long.

Anyway, I didn't do anything special for my 666th post, so I really don't think it's a big deal.

actraiser 3 would be a lot cooler on the wii, i think. i didn't read any of that, but i can imagine using the controller like a pointer for the sim part, and during the dungeons turning it sideways. That would be perfect.