The Fire Emblem series remains to be one of the great, yet almost unknown, series exclusive to Nintendo. Despite its first game being released over 20 years ago, international audiences have only been exposed to the deep story driven tactics series for the past 10 years, with "Fire Emblem" being released on the GBA in late 2003. Since then the series has had sporadic, yet solid entries earning critical acclaim and earning admiration its dedicated hardcore audience. With the newest release, new fans can become part of this niche and hopefully be "awakened" to one of the greatest games released so far for Nintendo's 3DS.
Nintendo and Intelligent Systems have expertly crafted a gaming experience that can appeal to both veterans of the series and newcomers alike, introducing new ideas and concepts without sacrificing the pillars that this franchise has been built on. The core gameplay remains unchanged, which is no doubt a good thing. Divided into chapters or challenge, each "level" involves moving your units on a map to accomplish an objective. More often than not the goal is simply defeating your opponents and clearing the map, but it can include defeating the general, capturing a given location or surviving. While sounding simple enough, its often far from it. The AI is brilliant and punishing, and it requires patience and forward thinking from the player to advance without losing a unit. And in Fire Emblem, once a unit dies, they are gone forever (permitting you don't restart to avoid such a loss). There comes a certain feeling of accomplishment when a given strategy works, and makes the entire game very rewarding.
This will look familiar to long time fans.
To deepen the gameplay, Intelligent Systems have introduced a host of new features. The most readily noticeable feature is the ability to pair units together. When units are paired together, bonuses are given to units in battle, along with chances to double team opponents or protect each other. Some units pair together better than others, which relates to the support system. Supports have been a staple of the series for some time, and has evolved into a vital part of the experience. The system has been slightly modified to allow for an unlimited number of conversations between units (formerly you were limited to about 5 conversations). Additionally, while these conversations not only serve to flesh out and develop the characters, it can lead to developing romantic relationships, which over time lead to the possibility of having kids which can later be recruited into the army you lead. Combine this with the returning (yet slightly altered) feature of changing classes of certain units and the return of branching classes. This allows gamers to play however style they want, effectively customizing their army to cater to their respective style, adding layers to the already deep game.
Fortunately, Intelligent Systems has made this very accessible to newcomers. They are multiple difficulty levels, ranging from Normal to "Lunatic" (Very Hard) with an additional unlockable difficulty level. Also for those intimidated by the prospect of permanently losing units, well, you can turn that off! Combined with a gradual, but informative tutorial system that eases players into the game, introducing new and returning concepts as the game progresses makes Fire Emblem easy to pick up and play without missing a beat.
The game throws you right into the thick of the story. You essentially create (in which you can customize multiple aspects of) and control "the Avatar" also known as "My Unit." Your character suffers from amnesia, wakes up in the middle of a field where he/she meets Chrom. Chrom happens to be the Prince of the Kingdom of Ylisse. Ylisse gets involved in an expansive war and it is up to Chrom, the Avatar and their growing army to stop the war and save the world. In other words, this is the standard Fire Emblem fare. While the story is not exceptionally different from any other different from other entries, Awakening does experiment with the storytelling. In my experience, this is the first Fire Emblem to introduce choices that actual outcomes. Couple with this with the marriage system and the life/death system of your units I mentioned earlier and you feel that your decisions carry some weight with how the story unfolds.
The strength of the story does not come from its rather conservative tale, but it comes from the characters. Because of the ability to have support conversations to build relationship amongst the characters, the gamer is treated to a great deal of expansion and development of the characters. Each character has distinguishable characteristics and personalities. Some are charming. Others are not. Many of the characters undergo a surprising amount of development, so it never feels as if the large cast is cumbersome or deters from the overarching plot. In fact, because of the outstanding development of the characters, you will inevitably find yourself growing attached to a select few which will make the pressing life/death situations you will come across in the core gameplay all the more stressing.
Fire Emblem Awakening pushes the 3DS to its limits, producing a beautiful visual experience. The art style that brought characters to life that was lost in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon returns, finally bringing the charm and personality to characters in both the in-game art, sprites and character models. The art style has a distinct anime feel to it, that works brilliantly in the CG cutscenes. The cutscenes, easily the most impressive aspect of the presentation, are sadly few and far between. The 3D effect does little to enhance the experience as a whole, but it can add some little immersion by emphasizing weather effects on certain maps and make the battle sequences more dramatic. Regardless, I found myself playing with the 3D off more often than not. Fire Emblem boosts a great soundtrack to compliment the dynamic visuals. Some tracks are remade renditions of the classic themes (such as the menu theme). Others are original pieces that help set the mood or emphasize the gravity of the situation. From my perspective, it was more about the use of the themes than the actual composition of the piece.
The cutscenes are very pretty.
With a long, engaging story and a great host of maps to play, there is little doubt that Fire Emblem Awakening will be sitting in your system for some time. With the promise of more DLC to continue the experience, coupled with a multiplayer system including StreetPass team construction and multiplayer battles, there is plenty of reason to pick up, play and never consider putting down Fire Emblem Awakening.
THE RUNDOWN.
Graphics: 9.5/10
Easily one of the best uses of the 3DS hardware so far. Great art design, fully animated battles and dynamic set pieces all fuel an immersive experience. The 3D does little to add to the experience, however.
Sound: 9/10
The music is amazing and its direction even better. Voice acting, when present, is great as well featuring some great casting choices.
Gameplay: 9.5/10
One of the deepest games on the market today. The strategy is satisfying and rewarding, the characters captivating and charming and the customization guarantees you will have an unique and fun experience.
Value: 10/10
The game is long due to the sheer amount of maps and challenges present in the game. The main story takes a while in itself, but combined with the impressive amount of optional levels to, there is a lot of game to go around. Let's not even mention the DLC.
Overall: 9.8
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