With the launch of the 3DS we expected Nintendo to deliver with a plethora of great games. What we got was a mixed bag, and a peripheral (the circle pad pro) that felt awkward and unusable. With disappointments like Paper Mario Sticker Star, and New Super Mario Bros. I figured Nintendo couldn’t release a good game that wasn’t on previous consoles before. Thank God Fire Emblem arrived exactly when 3DS owners needed it, without this game I would’ve most likely ditched my system. Developed by Intelligent Systems, it is a welcome entry into the Fire Emblem franchise. It introduces new gameplay mechanics that I hope are here to stay, as well as a welcomed difficulty range that offers something for every player. It gives homage to old characters such as Marth, as well as including those old characters as bonus maps you can defeat and then add as units in your roster, an addition that veterans can’t pass up! With randomly generated maps of risen, along with street pass challenges there is a lot to do, and you can clock in close to 30 hours just on the campaign alone, but with so much extra to do you can be looking at 60+.
For those unfamiliar to the franchise, and wondering why this would be appealing to the josei audience, I’ll break it down for you. A very welcomed addition and an appealing relationship system is developed through pair-up support on maps that can create relationships over time. Once a relationship has maxed out with two of the opposite sex they can become husband and wife. Around the half-point of the game you can unlock and add their child character to your roster as well. For those who want to maximize the child stats you can pair up based on stats to determine what traits pass over to the child character. For others, (like me!) you can pair up simply based on how their story will carry out. Each character has a distinct personality and make for interesting side stories as you learn about their past and who they are. It gets you attached to the characters in a way the old games couldn’t fully accomplish. So for those josei who love a story driven experience with a customizable romance element, this is definitely a game worth looking into.
This game is a turn-based strategy, so those who are daunted by difficulty can take it at their own pace. The game offers 3 difficulty settings along with a classic or casual mode. This can help anyone enter
into the franchise, so even if you’re still unsure now, just know that the game has something for everyone. I played on hard classic, and although I am a Fire Emblem veteran the beginning was a hard hill to climb. Many units were underpowered, and with only one cleric I reset the game a billion times at least. That being said, soft reset for the game is L + R + Start (most valuable tidbit you should know). You’ll learn early on that pairing up is essential to your victory. This makes the support system that much more important to understand and utilize. All that said, don’t be discouraged, this game gives you a real sense of reward when you win, and you must accept along the way that some units may die (unless you play in casual mode). I would suggest downloading the demo if you’re unsure about the play style, although you can’t fully experience the support system, you will get a good look at the stellar visuals and fluid gameplay.
It’s hard for me to make any complaints about this game, but although this game is nearly flawless, I have a gripe or two. Perhaps the weakest part for myself was a story that took many twists and turns. There was always a main storyline but I felt sometimes you could get sidetracked with who’s who. Despite that, the story does tie-in everything by the end, however I still had some question marks that remained unanswered. The last chapters however, have some of the most gripping moments and that’s where the story shines. This isn’t unlike most Fire Emblem games where you can sometimes get lost by what is going on in the story, but older games like The Sacred Stones on gameboy advance make clear about the overarching problem of a war. This one has villains die and returns, somewhat confusingly. Their motivations are unclear until the end and although that’s understandable it doesn’t make them mysterious, it makes the story a little too caught up in every piece of dialogue that is easy to skip over when they go on and on. But of course you can side-track away from the main story to their dlc that adds for more fun as you go. This includes a particular bride class, which is cute and fun. This game has a lot to offer for both men and women, old and young. I found the game was surprisingly pro-women actually. The women are huge drivers in the main plot, they make sacrifices, they fight alongside the men just as bravely, it’s a great change of pace to most other games out there. The women in the game are fighting bravely and confidently, and in full armor, not in just a revealing metal chest plate and thong. They’re fully armored up and have strong personalities. This is what I love to see in games with a diverse cast. The Fire Emblem series is not shy to this concept, but it’s very prominent in this title. If you’re tired of the damsel in distress type then you’ll breathe a breath of fresh air with this title.
I’m giving this game a 9.0 out of 10. It loses a few points on the steep difficulty at the beginning of the game, and the sometimes convoluted storyline. Otherwise this is a perfect game. With all the truckloads of dlc and streetpass challenges this game will keep you playing for a long time, it certainly has kept me playing.
Thanks for reading and I hope this review helped you in making your decision to check out Fire Emblem: Awakening.
Christina
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