Review

Fire Emblem: Awakening review: burning love

Fire Emblem makes its 3DS debut next week with Fire Emblem: Awakening, marking one of the best games on the platform so far.

Steve Watts

January 30, 2013 9:30 AM

Despite a ten-year history in the states and more than double that time in Japan, Fire Emblem has been one of Nintendo's under-the-radar franchises. It's enjoyed its releases and Smash Bros cameos with a quiet but devoted base of support. Fire Emblem: Awakening is coming relatively early in the 3DS lifespan, before many of the company's heavy-hitter franchises make their debut. This is well-timed, as it allows Fire Emblem to step out of the shadow cast by other franchises and prove itself. To that end, Awakening is a near-perfect encapsulation of the series' unique charms. In the most vital ways, Awakening is very similar to its predecessors: an anime-inspired, sometimes brutally difficult turn-based strategy game. Those attracted to the punishing nature of last year's XCOM: Enemy Unknown should find this game perfectly comfortable, as much of the same deliberate thinking defines a play session. Your characters can die, at least in Classic mode, and that makes every move matter. But unlike XCOM, Fire Emblem leans heavily on its cast of colorful characters. Your troops aren't faceless, replaceable grunts, but individuals with their own stories that are integrated into the lengthy campaign. A mismanaged turn could result in the loss of a character that you've gotten to know over the course of hours. I genuinely liked each of my regular team and didn't want to see them harmed. These connections made each loss meaningful, and created greater tension as I struggled to avoid death. Optional story sequences are rewarded with gameplay bonuses, and characters that have spent some time interacting in the Barracks fight better alongside each other. By the end of the game, a few pairs of my best soldiers were nearly unstoppable if they were standing side-by-side. But aside from the gameplay benefit, these dialogue sequences made me familiar with the characters, and all the more devoted to protecting them. The game features a large band of heroes, in part to substitute for any you lose, but you could also turn on the Casual option if the prospect of dying troops causes too much stress. That will simply keep dead units out temporarily, ready to fight again for the next battle. This is a series first, at least for a North American release, and is one of the refinements built to make the experience more welcoming. Simple access to a threat assessment view and a multitude of options for the game speed and battle animations help streamline the experience. The game eases you into its multitude of interlocking battle dynamics and equipment managing systems, and I never felt overwhelmed. Your own place in the tale is partly determined by creating your avatar and determining your relationships. Even though the story boasts a superb localization with its own good-natured sense of humor, it takes an unfortunate and sustained foray into concepts more sci-fi than fantasy. It's the most infuriating kind of sci-fi, in fact: the kind that is never adequately explained. But the characters dealing with these issues are so wholly likable, so differentiated and fun to be around that its easy to enjoy their journeys and forget that the math doesn't always add up. Plus, it doesn't hurt that important moments in the story are punctuated by lush 3D animated sequences.

Fire Emblem: Awakening

These parts -- the story, characters, and systems -- may seem disparate, but they coalesce beautifully. Caring about the characters made me invested in their safety, which in turn impacted how I approached missions, which made plot beats carry a more satisfying pay-off. The experience on the whole is an expertly-tuned piece of gaming machinery, each part turning the gears of another like clockwork. It's one of the most addictive games on the 3DS, and a treat for any who appreciate deep, lengthy video game experiences.

This Fire Emblem: Awakening review was based on a digital version of the game provided by the publisher.

Steve Watts

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January 30, 2013 9:30 AM

Steve Watts posted a new article, Fire Emblem: Awakening review: burning love.

Fire Emblem makes its 3DS debut next week with Fire Emblem: Awakening, marking one of the best games on the platform so far.
- MetaSaval
  
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  January 30, 2013 9:56 AM
  
  I'm so psyched for this game :D
  Also, check your local Gamestops/ EB Games guys. Reports are coming in that the street date has been lifted, so as soon as they get the shipment they can start selling it. The manager at that location does have the final say though, so he might tell the employees to not sell it until Monday. I called my local gamestop (S. Florida) and they confirmed it here. They will sell it to me as soon as they get the shipment :D. Gonna recheck today. Just make sure that when you call the employee actually checks the computer. If they say that "It's not coming out until Tuesday" you already know they didn't check because the game comes out Monday and they are assuming a Tuesday release. EB Games in Canada has already confirmed this on their twitter, Gamestop in the US has not confirmed yet. Just call and see if you get lucky :D
- Vincent Grayson
  
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  January 30, 2013 10:16 AM
  
  A no-death mode for characters sounds interesting, as that's the one thing that I just couldn't stand about FE, especially with how swingy the damage is.
  - [deleted] 354047836
    
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    January 30, 2013 12:10 PM
    
    [deleted]
    - one random winner
      
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      January 30, 2013 12:21 PM
      
      I wanted to get every party member and every interaction (so of course the only way to do that is to have all the party members and play every side mission) and got stuck in a couple of earlier games where I just couldn't keep everyone alive :(. This would make me happier.
    - Vincent Grayson
      
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      January 31, 2013 1:18 AM
      
      Oh, I know. And if the game were full of generic dudes with no story or interactions, I'd be okay with it. But missing out on content makes me a sad panda, and every death means dialogue and story you'll never see and I just can't abide that.
- cloud8521
  
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  January 30, 2013 11:28 PM
  
  wow just started playing today!
  
  .... and its hard as hell to keep everyone alive even compared to older games! the only open in strategy at points is to wait for them to come to you and hope they dont all attack the same guy! i guess thats what i get for just jumping into hard mode this time. Combining units does play a huge rol lin keeping them alive, but the combined units only get 1 move, and the second person does not always attack, and can not use their magic or range to help. so combining a healer with someone while the best way to protect them, will leave you without healing as separating uses both their turns. all makes for a hard ride
  - MetaSaval
    
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    January 31, 2013 10:23 AM
    
    Where did you go to get this game so early? D: