That Cecil Dark Cannon I was talking about is the equivalent of the Emperor's Flares. Oh my God. That is so fucking awesome, you actually have to respect Cecil now.
Anyway, like I said before it seems Squall is more about slashes than using shots while using his Gunblade outside of EX Mode. I really like that Beat Fang has more hits to it but at the same time that is kind of terrifying, that shit hurts if you get a Critical Hit. Beat Fang also seems to have a directional control to where you want to send opponents when the attack finishes, a nice addition.
Zidane lost his box of pain? Thanks God because that was probably his most annoying HP attack (it's probably still in). Nice to see he uses his blades as throw weapons during his combos too.
It looks like Brave - HP attacks were removed just because the #1 way to get HP damage may be off wall hits. Being able to knock someone into a wall then go Brave to HP afterwards would be too strong with this system. It's just odd that there is so much wall stun this time around.
As for the shield, I don't know what to think about it. While I like that this is a unique change I'm confused about combat use. Is TN going their DOA route where only blocking specific attacks will get you a guaranteed strike or is there something that has yet to be seen about it? While I like the idea and can see how it will work in 3 on 1 situation I much prefer the old guarding method.
3v3 is going to be a clusterfuck on small stages. Whit bar o opponent's HP bar is how much damage you will inflict if you land an HP attack. Minimap, team stats. This game is a huge step up just in HUD. Music is another step up too.
