23.7.2014

Warning I tend to write heaps so be Warned!I also won't be talking about the DLC too much, this review is aimed at the bare bone game directly:Fire emblem awakening as if its reviews on the net haven't already said so is a very solid and well thought through game with some people arguing its worth the 3DS aloneThe fire emblem series is a fairly unique series which is primarily a grid based strategy game some RPGs elements mixed in and in depth individual character both main and supporting acting as the players units with the players main goal usually to defeat the opposing force with occasional twist here and there depending on the mission.As mentioned previously each unit is a individual character and thus if killed they wont return thus discouraging the player from throwing away troops during battle. Alongside these strategy elements are some RPG styled elements such as troops having their own classes, skills stats, weapon types, spells etc and can gain exp through various actions and improve themselves overtime. Finally the game combines this with a in depth story the player will follow alongside as they go through the gamesFire Emblem awakening does just that but adds new feature and enhances current ones for the greater good for the seriesThe positivesRegarding new features the game now gives the option of newcomer mode where is a character dies they will return or the series tradition classic mode where if a character dies they stay dead for the rest of the game which can make battle more intense. This is a great feature to attract less experience players to the game though I would still recommend Classic as it teaches you to be more careful and can make things more intense and rewarding.Speaking of accessibility the game even on its default can be challenging but fair and will reward player for playing correctly and being patient. For more daring or insane players there are the higher difficulties to test you skills that provide a great challenge. For newcomers I would suggest normal but the options is there which is good as it pleases everyoneThe story is well done at sometimes predictable sometimes surprising and satisfying once the main story is beaten. People new to the series will not need to keep up to date with the previous installments as the game only references it since the game itself takes part in a different timeline thus making the game further accessible to newcomers The story is complemented by a diverse roster of characters most of which being ingame units for the player to use each with their own different skills, classes. The character are also fairly well done and while at a glance they only seem to have a simple gimmick to then there is a LOT more depth to them through the ingame support system which encourages players to build further support between their units. A fAnother new feature to the game is the ability to make your own character who comes with a set personality and can support with any character in the game and has plot relevance thus making you more part of the game. This character also comes with even further customization than the ingame characters allowing players to customize their personal character to suit their needsUnits that are adjacent or paired up together can support each-other thus providing stat bonuses and other useful perks and will build support if capable which unlock support logs of dialogue between the two characters which increases support levels leading to further bonuses. Some character of opposite genders can even marry which shows bonuses as the game progresses.Another final positive with the characters is customization through the use of ingame items you can change their classes allowing character to fill different roles making every character viable in someway.Outside of the story and character gameplay is good there is a diverse amount of classes and methods available to secure victory making the combat tactical This is all well animated and satisfying especially when a character gets a critical. Speaking of visuals the graphics ingame are adequate but the cutscenes and art style is very well done I just wished there were more ingame cutscenes.The soundtrack is also great again a diverse amount of soundtrack that can nail some scenes perfectly and they can be listens too from the bonuses section on the main menuFinally on the positives here is a heap to do ingame as alongside the main story there of random spawns such as merchants, or enemies to fight in areas you have previously completed, occasionally side missions which are most of the time rewarding such as a new character, a good shop with good gear etc. There is also lots of useful DLC which I would leave till after you beat the game as most are intended for higher level characters. Alongside all this spotpass is also implemented into the game and adds even more including 5 new missions, unique items, item rewards for longer playtime and more. You can even encounter other players computer controlled teams to fight, make your own and have a shot against the games self made teams which feature characters from previous fire emblem installments.there is probably more I can cover regarding positive so onto negatives there is not many but will note them belowThe negativesSome characters could have more supports which becomes more evident later in the gameThe game does give you choices rarely but there isn't many differences between them I would have liked have seen decision making that affect the ingame worldThe game is fairly DLC heavy which can be seen as a downside to some though most of its is good and some useful to the player. Regardless I would refrain till after beating the game as most of is aimed at late game players.Game can require some experience grinding at times especially on higher difficulties though there is a cheap DLC that can deal with the problemThe final negative I can really think of that it does required lots of playtime to get the most out of it so it may not be suitable for those with tight time schedulesThe games complexity and story may make it less suitable for very young 3DS ownersOverall though I think its a good purchase its very addictive, appeals to a wide selection of people and offer plenty of customization for the user and plenty of things to do ingame, I would recommend it

2.5.2013

I had mixed feelings when I pre ordered my copy. While I loved The Sacred Stones and enjoyed Radiant Dawn, I did not like Shadow Dragon at all. Whatever doubts I had soon fled when I started playing.The Gameplay follows the traditional Fire Emblem formula, with some new tweaks and changes. Swords, Axes and Lances work in a Rock Paper Scissors kind of way, meaning you have to balance your party. Bows can attack from a distance, but not up close. Magic (as well as Javelins and Hand Axes) can strike from a distance or up close. Joy of joys, they bought back the Support system from Sacred Stones, and gave it a buff too. In Radiant Dawn, they just used to exchange a few generic lines. Here,you find out a lot about the character's pasts through support conversations, and it makes a gameplay difference too. When you put 2 units side by side normally, the one attacking or being attacked gets a small boost (10% + hit for example) - if they support they get more boosts. Sometimes both characters attack an enemy too. And if 2 opposite gendered units build enough support together, they can get married and have a child, who will eventually join you.You can also reclass your units, although it's much more restricted than Shadow Dragon. This actually isn't a bad thing - it makes them feel a lot less disposable. You can also promote them once they hit level 10 (although I'd recommend waiting until they hit level 20) and they bought the branching system from The Sacred Stones back. That means no 2 playthroughs have to be the same.That brings me onto the Avatar you create at the start of your adventure. They can be whatever class you want once you get a Second Seal, although some classes are exclusive to set genders. So your avatar could be a Dark Knight, while your friend could have a War Cleric. This is one of the deepest RPGs this side of Pokémon.But don't think it's inaccessible. The tutorials explain everything very well, and they're so unobtrusive. Game Freak, watch and learn - the Pokémon series could do with some tutorials like this. It's highly customisable too, although I wish there'd been more options for what I could do with my avatar. To give you an idea of how customisable this game is, you can even leave the original Japanese voice acting in (don't worry you still get subtitles). For the first time, you can even turn permanent death off, although I don't recommend doing that. The game feels better when you know anyone could die at any time.A death sentence for any RPG is a poor story (apart from Dark Souls). Luckily, that's not the case here. I groaned when I found out my avatar had amnesia, but the story's anything but cliche. The characters are all memorable too, from the tomboyish Sully to the vain Virion. Chrom is one of the most fleshed out heroes of the series so far, and you really feel for him during some of the sadder moments. That's all I'll say about the story. I know this will probably fall on deaf ears, but please don't read the plot on wikipedia.As for the graphics...as someone who grew up with Pokémon Red on the GameBoy, I didn't know handheld games could look this good. The hand drawn characters, the weapons that carry over into the battle, and the battles themselves all look great. You can also play the battle with a cinematic camera, a 1st person view or the traditional side on angle. You can also fast forward, slow down and pause the battles, which is a nice feature. Maybe the spells were a bit bland, and Panne looks like a mutant kangaroo in her animal form.The music and voice acting are good too. The characters speak in battle, cheering when they win or crying out in pain when hit (although luckily they don't always cheer, since that would get boring). All the characters have good voice actors that match them, and you can tell they were really trying to make something amazing here. And they succeeded. This is, for me, the best game on the 3DS right now. It's reason no. 1 to own one. Worry not though: when you've finished this, you've got Luigi's Mansion 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Ocarina of Time 3DS, Kid Icarus Uprising, Monster Hunter 3, Mario Kart 7 and later this year Pokémon X/Y and the sequel to A Link To The Past.To sum up, this game's absolutely brilliant. There are a few nitpicks I have, but this is one of the few games that I can put my hand on my heart and honestly say that there wasn't one thing that really annoyed me. If you're a fan of strategy games, this is a must buy.10/10

4.9.2013

The Fire Emblem series has long been associated with Nintendo, I myself had never heard of the games until Smash Bros Melee introduced Marth and Roy as playable characters. Somehow the series had always slipped by me with its Gamecube and Wii instalments, the games then always ending up incredibly rare and expensive. But as soon as I saw it was coming to the 3DS I immediately pre-ordered it deciding to finally give the series a try. I do not regret this decision one bit and if you are also sitting on the fence with this series I hope my review can help you make a decision.The game is set in the kingdom of Ylisse and follows the exploits of Chrom the main protagonist and his band of Shepherds as they set out to protect the land.The mysterious appearance of your created character avatar soon sparks events that see Chrom and his friends facing an enemy far greater than the neighbouring land of Plegia.Fire Emblem Awakening like the series previous instalments is a turn based strategy game with Rpg elements. The main story is split into chapters with side missions becoming unlocked as you progress around the games world map. The general flow is a dialogue or cutscene which sets the scene for the mission, you then review the map, objectives and enemies, deciding which units to use for the battles and where they are placed. Then when you are ready it is straight into the thick of it. The combat is brutal at times with enemies targeting and punishing weaker units moved into dangerous areas, the option to play without permadeath is there for beginners so if a unit falls its merely out for the rest of the battle and not gone forever.Perhaps my favourite part about this game is the characters themselves, these are either met during cutscenes or recruited during the course of the mission. Not only do they each have their own personalities and looks but each unit has different traits and weaknesses which all need to be taken into account even when it comes to something as simple as moving a unit. Before a fight you can equip them with items either found in chests or on dead enemies or bought in the shops which appear on the world map when a chapter is cleared. Characters earn experience as they complete actions during the course of battle such as attacking enemy units or healing allies with their spells, the experience builds up their levels and from certain points you can use Master Seals to promote them to stronger elite unit types or using Second Seals take them back to Level 1 with all previous stats in tow.Another feature is that characters build up relationships as they are partnered together, this means as their support rank goes up they will be stronger and more likely to avoid damage and help each other. This also unlocks a lot of hilarious dialogue as well as marriage eventually in some cases which goes on to have a deeper meaning later in the game.A possible put off for some gamers will be the fact that the game does become a level grind at certain points; this is easily done as reeking boxes bring enemies to the map but I know it put one of my friends off from borrowing it.Graphically I think the game looks fantastic from animated cutscenes, to the map itself, to the character drawings and their models in the battlefield. The most stunning though is the detail on the battlefields with the 3D turned on, birds soar over unit heads and storms lash down and terrain level is easily recognisable. A lot of complaints were made that the character models lack feet but I could easily overlook this for the sake of the overall graphical package.The music in the game is superb, from the various battle themes to the music of the overworld. There is also some voice acting during conversations such as a "hey" from the particular character that is talking and full voice acting during the animated cutscenes.Fire Emblem Awakening was my first introduction to this series and has definitely been the most enjoyable 3DS game I've played so far. I've put 65+ hours into my first playthrough and I am already thinking of tweaks and changes I will make when I get round to a second. If you are looking for a gaming experience which will challenge you, make you laugh and sometimes frustrate you beyond belief then this is that game, absolutely superb.

21.5.2013

It all started off so well. Having whizzed through the tutorial levels and the first couple of chapters I was feeling rather confident and smug... 'I' was obviously a rather good Fire Emblem player. Enemies cowered before me and the ladies worshipped me (in my hazy memory at least).Then things began to take a turn for the worse. I'd chosen 'classic' mode as I'd been advised that this is the way the game should be played. The game introduces new characters as the chapters go on and soon I was pleased as punch to find myself with a flying horse to play with.Impressed with the range that the character could travel I quickly moved in on the enemy's archer for a quick kill. This didn't quite go to plan,and on the enemy's turn (it's a turn-based strategy style game by the way) I soon found my lovely flying horse to be no more....The thing about the 'classic' mode is that once a character dies they're gone forever. Which is important as there are limited amounts of new characters introduced and each of your characters build up a relationship with each other, even eventually getting married if they're that way inclined. The stronger the relationship between the characters, the more they will help each other out in battle. Everyone's expendable, however if you lose your central characters (yourself or Chrom from memory) then it's 'Game Over' time.I quickly learned the hard way that the characters shouldn't be treated as disposable fighting machines, and that keeping them all alive until the end of the battle is really the aim of the game. Switching to 'Casual' mode switches this off and your characters will be back, happy as Larry after the battle, but really this takes away an important strategic element of the game; that of careful tactical planning and constraint.So I carried on, an important lesson learned and began to progress further into the game. I have to confess (before I do I'll just say that I'm not normally a fan of such weak tactics as this, well apart from maybe in Football Manager) that being able to reload your game and replay a poorly fought battle is a useful aid for the novice. I don't like to think of this as cheating, more as a second-chance for a naive player such as myself. As time has gone on I've learned more about the types of tactics required, it's something I've started to do less and less. I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of, who wouldn't want to turn back time and prevent someone they know from being killed?There is a fair amount of depth to this game, not all of it is immediately obvious. Items and weapons are both collectable and purchasable as you go through the game which is pretty straight-forward, as is forging weapons which increases certain stats of weapons you own.An important part of the game however is 'levelling up', everyone's favourite RPG pastime. It's easy to go into every battle gung-ho with your strongest characters but this will prevent your weaker characters from gaining the experience to 'level-up' and become stronger and this will almost certainly come back to bite you in the bum later on in the game. Instead, careful tactics should be used to ensure that whilst you win the battle and don't lose characters you also allow some of your weaker characters to get in on the action and get some experience. I've been pairing-up weaker characters with stronger ones which seems to be working quite well so far.Overall I'm having a fantastic time with this game. The first few chapters ease you in, but the game soon becomes quite punishing and I think this is all for the better. Visually is a mixed bag of treats, the main game plays out over an old-school 2D map, the battles and some cut scenes take place in an impressive (for the 3DS) 3D engine, and there's some nice anime bits thrown in for good measure. I'm not too far into the game so far but I can tell that it's going to be quite a long journey and some extra DLC is available for those seeking more. If you're on the fence I recommend trying the demo in the eShop, I'm sure it's not to everyone's taste but it's definitely worth having a go whether you think this is your type of game or not. You may be surprised at how much fun you have!

19.4.2013

To preface this, FE:A is one of the few non-port 3ds games that are worth getting. I know a lot of people are still undecided on the 3ds, but this game is exactly why you should have one.OK, Fire Emblem is an (extremely) long running series, where battles take place in a turn based grid (very similar to advance wars) with terrain advantages and different units. This is where the comparisons end.Fire Emblem as a series is generally well regarded, with some excellent games and some... not so great ones. Awakening is hands down the best of the bunch in my opinion. The old formula returns with just enough in the way of new mechanics to keep it fresh and scare me (A long time fan) on the higher difficulties.The combat is better than ever with the new support mechanics replacing the old rescue. Your units are different classes, each focusing on different weapons, spells, whatever. They are unique in the way they move across the battlefield and engage foes, archers cannot tackle foes up-close, Pegasi can fly- that sort of thing. You move your units around the grid exploiting advantages of the rock-paper-scissors weapon triangle and terrain or support advantages to kill the opposing force. It seems simple as anything at first but when you get further in the complexities are the difference between life and death- If like me you play on classic, the death of any character is permanent. That's it. Gone. You've been leveling him for 20 hours and got killed by a crit? Doesn't matter. I would still recommend new players to try classic though, it gives a sense of urgency and worry you just don't get if you can lose half your force each fight only for them to come right back. Gameplay is a solid experience and will give you a serious mental workout at times. Oh, and Lunatic mode is as bad as it sounds. It's properly hard.Aesthetically, I was unsure about the translation to the 3ds screen, but it looks gorgeous. The character models look a little off in my opinion when you're just standing around in the barracks talking, but in battle they look excellent and have a great range of combat animations- something the older games were sorely lacking. Having 3d on makes a lot of the levels look amazing, especially when fighting enemies on a hill. It gave a sense of depth I really liked and it made maps slightly easier to understand. The character illustrations are excellent as always, with detail and personality to spare. Speaking of the characters, they're frequently stereotypical game characters but still charming and funny with their snappy dialogue and snippets of very good English (or Japanese if you so wish) voice acting. Improvements to the support system and the addition of a marriage and generations system has made the characters even more fun, with the ability to have as many 'A' ranked supports as you can get allowing you to hear hundreds of extra, often funny conversations between characters. Story is grand in scale, if a bit predictable at times, but it does have you legitimately care about some of the characters.This all leads into an immense game I feel like I could play for hundreds of hours, plenty of missions in the story and a load of side missions as well as random (optional!) battles. DLC maps are on the way too, the game has been out for a year in Japan so expect them to come thick and fast if it sells well (which it will, there were widespread stock shortages when it came out in the U.S earlier in the year).I'm sure I've missed some important things, but get this game if you are even remotely interested in turn based tactical fights, even if you aren't there's a free demo on the 3ds E-Shop to whet your appetite. 5 stars any day of the week.*note* This was written prior to official release, and as such I did not have access to the free DLC map which can be exploited and make the game markedly less challenging. I would strongly recommend playing to the final mission before accessing any of the spotpass or DLC content for the best experience.

7.2.2014

Simply put, I can't put this game down. I've never played a Fire Emblem game before, nor have I played a strategy game beyond the mere basics of Pokemon, and while my skills are dismal in chess, I'm not terribly bad at this. Playing on Normal Mode in Classic (once characters die they stay dead - and I'd definitely recommend using this feature, even if you're a newbie like me) isn't the most challenging, I agree, but it's an easy enough starting point for someone who has no idea what they're doing; hence, me.It did take me a couple of chapters to get used to the battling process - the biggest problem, I found, was that in the first few battles you only have a handful of characters,but by chapter two you're abruptly thrown about ten characters and keeping track of them all was difficult for someone who was still trying to remember the game controls. I ended up repeating the beginning battles quite a few times because I kept forgetting that Archers fight from a distance, Lissa can't fight, Miriel's not the strongest etc etc. But if you persevere you should get into the swing of it pretty quickly.Now I haven't completed the story, but I'm on chapter fourteen and I am a little disappointed at how easy Normal Mode becomes. Once I unlocked challenges (battles on the map that don't contribute to the plot line) I started to level up rather fast - I'm the type of person who spends hours grinding her characters to increase their stats, and Normal Mode has become, well, easy (on that note, there is a huge amount of game play hours in this, so don't worry about it ended as quickly as games like Zelda: A Link Between The Worlds). The battles may become increasingly more challenging as I continue, but while the plot continues I'm going to progressively level my characters, so I'm sceptical. That aside, it is still a fantastically fun game.(Also, I created another account on Hard Mode to see what that was like. It's not exaggerating - it's difficult. I'm really struggling to get past chapter two - it's great fun).Aesthetically, the game graphics are top-notch and everything's such a marvel to look at on 3D. The characters are hugely varied in personality - which I adore - and playing in Classic only makes this more valuable. Some characters I don't mind sacrificing or never using; others are immediate favourites and I couldn't imagine playing the game without them. Plus, the relationship system? It's a delight! The girly, manic part of me cackles at pairing off certain characters; it's a wonderful contribution. (In saying that, some relationships still came as a bit of a shock for me! I just went with it).Oh, the plot! Like I said, I haven't finished it, but it's developing slowly. I did groan at the typical amnesia cliche - but I love it now. Hanging on the edge of my seat for new revelations spurs me to finish the game - the only problem I have is pacing myself! I truly want this game to last forever, but unfortunately there's only twenty five chapters (and a heap of side stories).I would definitely recommend this game. The number of five stars says it all, really - this is a must buy.

20.5.2013

Having never played a Fire Emblem game before (although I was aware of them) I was initially attracted to this game due to the anime inspired art style (yes, I am an Otaku lol) and after reading rave reviews, I tried the demo of it on the 3DS e-shop. One play of the demo was enough to make me place a pre-order for the game that same day! The reason? First of all the game dispelled all of the misconceptions I had about strategy games in general, by being so damned accessible to newcomers. Every new element of the game is explained to you as it is introduced (such as the archer Virion only being able to attack from two squares away from an enemy, the pair up system granting your units boosts to their speed and defence etc).Speaking of the pair up bonus, over time if you pair up a male and female unit in battle regularly, their relationship will improve and they will move up through several ranks in the support system (C being the lowest and S being the highest, although two units of the same gender can only go up to rank A). When they reach rank S, they will marry and have children you can later recruit as allies during the game's side quests, dubbed Paralogues. Pairing up the right units will allow you to pass down certain classes and skills to the children they would normally not be able to access, resulting in a deep, Pokemon style breeding system. You will as I have, find yourself going through the game several times to experience all the different interaction conversations between each character, all of whom you will grow to like as they have been very well developed and localised from the original Japanese.The story takes places over 26 chapters and is well told. You will find that the character you create at the start of the game (whom you can customise and give a name to) plays a central role throughout. The game has 3 difficulties from the get-go. Normal is recommended for players new to the game/genre, Hard is for players who have played the series before (also the "standard" difficulty) and finally, Lunatic is for people who REALLY want a challenge, as it is incredibly difficult even for veteran players. For the first time (to my knowledge) the game also allows you to decide whether you want to play with Fire Emblem's staple "permadeath" system on or off. With it on, you will have to often think several steps ahead of the game's AI, or risk yourself losing one of your units for good (no way to revive them if killed). This is most players' (including myself) preference, but for those who don't want to use it, the "casual" mode allows a fallen unit to return after the battle they were defeated in (they will simply retreat not die).This is a game (much like Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario 3D land, Resident Evil Revelations, Luigi's Mansion 2 etc) that every 3DS owner needs to play. It is not an easy game by any means on the higher difficulties, but it is a rewarding one you will find yourself coming back to again and again.

24.4.2017

As a newcomer to the Fire Emblem series, I have to confess I do not think I am the target demographic. I am a JRPG fan, for sure, but I've generally avoided these 'tactial' RPGs because they feature a few characteristics that I have always found more frustrating than enjoyable, and more restrictive than liberating. Namely: the need to constantly restart (re-roll) in order to get optimal results, and the fortune of RNG ('random number generation).On the plus side, Fire Emblem Awakening features a compelling story, a huge cast and is utterly engrossing, for the most part. I can't fault the effort that has been put in to this. If you enjoyed previous Fire Emblem games, or other tactical RPGs such as Final Fantasy Tactics,or Disgaea, you probably already know and love the series and own the game. If not, I would say there's still plenty to enjoy here and if you can find it at a reasonable price (no longer so easy) it is well worth the investment. The game also features an 'easy' mode for newcomers which removes the game's usual permadeath function and provides additional information during combat to help you make informed combat decisions.So what am I griping about? Well, its the same problem I have had with other heavily scripted tactical RPGs, that is to say those tactical RPGs which do not feature randomised battles. I have already moaned about this with Valkyria Chronicles (which also suffered from this problem) and that is, the game does not reward improvisation, and it utterly punishes any error. The gameplay loop seems to consist of constantly restarting a battle in order to fathom (or obtain through the mercies of RNG) the 'optimal' approach to each scenario. If you fail to follow the 'optimal' path, you will be punished (in Fire Emblem you will be punished by the permanent loss of a character!) At times, you can feel as if you are fighting against the very game you are trying to play.For example, in one early mission you are tasked with saving a villager who takes 2-3 turns to reach. The trouble is, she starts the level surrounded by archers who, in the first turn, will shoot at her. If these archers hit, or if even one of them causes critical damage, it is entirely possible she will die in the first turn thanks to RNG. That's it - she's dead, she's gone utterly from your campaign and erased from the game. After this happened, I was a little gob-smacked and assumed I had done something wrong. After much searching on the internet, the answers were all the same: if you want her to survive (and why wouldn't you?) you must keep restarting until you get an outcome favourable to this. In other words: there is an optimal way for this level to unfold, and you are going to have to keep restarting until you get it.Ultimately, this type of game has its fans - and I cannot fault the quality of the presentation, but it is going right next to Animal Crossing on my shelf of 'I just don't get it'.

11.5.2013

At it's core FE: Awakening is a game of connections and relationships. The soldiers in your company (the Shepherds) form friendships and relationships that give them stat bonuses such as better criticals and the chance of avoiding damage the more you have two units working together. In the case of male and female pairings this can result in marriage and sometimes children which later on join your army with traits inherited from the mother and father. From a purely technical standpoint, this is great, but the game excels in making your experience a personal one catered to what soldiers you use the most, as the characters can interact and talk to one another in the Barracks about their hopes and dreams and what they like to do in their downtime.

5.1.2014

I got this as a gift to myself and I've not been able to put this down since Christmas day! If I had to describe the game in my own opinion, in two words I'd say... Anime chess? And those are two things I love luckily for me! Never really been a fan of games like Final Fantasy I find them uninspiring but maybe I haven't given them enough of a chance because this game... oh wow.I enjoyed the gameplay greatly which is kind of repetitive but the real charm of this game is the large number of memorable characters.There are some forgettable characters (or maybe not if I didn't let them die and read all their dialogue!) but they are the minority.I keep telling myself to man up and stop holding L,R,start,select every time one of my more favourite characters gets killed but I just can't bring myself to do it because I might miss out on some funny/interesting dialogue! I've not long started my second play through and I've only just bothered to read wikis for the game and found out there are many more child characters to unlock besides the more obvious ones... Great stuff! Loads of replay value for sure. Plus some dlc both free and purchasable that I haven't tried yet since I like to play the original games to the fullest extent before going into extra stuff.The visuals? Awesome. I soon looked into previous instalments of this series and I definitely prefer the pixel art style (ingame) over the wii/gamecube ones but ehh each to their own. Not looked much further than that but I will do sooner or later.As for the anime style cut scenes...They were an unexpected treat and I want much much more of that!The only improvement I can think of would be for the dialogue scenes to be fully voiced (I wouldn't even mind if it was in Japanese strangely enough), that would really be the icing on the cake seeing as I'm a big anime fan. If they ramped up the amount of dialogue and awesome cut scenes this would be one of the best games of all time for me never mind best handheld.So overall I say the gameplay could do with more variety like what has been offered in previous instalments (or so what I've read online) but this really is an amazing game. And that's coming from a PC gamer. I only got a 3DS XL to relive the pokemon experience after the last game I played on the DS which was pokemon pearl. I'm very happy that I don't have to leave my 3DSXL collect dust or sell it soon after purchasing it just to play pokemon Y! This is one of the few games these days that's worth the price tag so if you like strategy, chess, anime, manga, rpg's ect. Then get this game! (This is my 1st ever review and amazon are ever so persistent in my emails but I had to give in for this game because it's great!).

19.4.2013

Fire Emblem series is renowned for its good strategic gameplay and notorious for its difficulty. Fire Emblem: Awakening keeps (and enhances) the gameplay, while giving a player options to alleviate the pain of losing a team member forever.For those new to the series: Fire Emblem is a strategic RPG, but it is more similar to Advance Wars than to Final Fantasy Tactics. At the start of the battle your units are placed on the map, and while in there they serve a different purpose depending on their class (e.g. knights are good at melee combat but unable to use ranged attacks, healers help with keeping your units alive but are very weak and thus are an easy target for the enemy).

19.12.2013

I have always fancied the idea of playing RPG games but never really understood them. I usually give up too early and trade the games in. I did finish and love Valkyria Chronicles on ps3 and that is the only other RPG I've taken to completion. This is a fantastic introduction to the Genre, the game holds your hand and walks you through until you have a good understanding on how to continue.The story of the game is good, it manages to be funny and tragic with a few simple twist but overall entertaining.I mainly played with the sound off however the few hours I had sound on (through a small capsule speaker) I did like it. There wasn't really anything annoying, I played the game with Japanese spoken audio.

6.9.2016

I'm not a Fire Emblem fan- this was my first FE game and the one recommended to me to play first as FE: Fates was already out at the time I recieved this. I would definitely recommend it to fans of games like X-COM, Final Fantasy or any other turn based strategy game.There is a little bit of a learning curve and you might want to play the first few chapters, read up on a few mechanics that aren't fully explained (marriage and children mainly) in the tutorials, and then restart on a higher difficulty on the classic setting for a more proper experience of how the game is meant to be played because when the battle scenarios started to feel too easy on my first play through on easy difficulty,

1.7.2013

This game just make me love my 3DS!I have been a huge fan of the fire emblem series, having first played it in on the gamboy advance I was hooked immediately!For a handheld game it is incredibly engrossing. The story, the characters and gameplay are amazing and you will easily fall in love with. For any one who has not played a FE game it is simply a turn based strategy game where you control a team of weapon wielding characters each with their own unique personalities and strengths, and battle them against enemies on a vast map. As the story unfolds you gain new characters to help strengthen your team. This is where Awakening shines. You can now pair up your characters to gain advantages such as increase in strength and defence advantages.

2.5.2013

I bought the 3DS XL Fire Emblem edition because I had heard many good things about this game, and to put it short, its engaging and you can play it for hours and hours.I have never played a game in the series before this one, which since I'm an avid gamer, find highly shameful.There are a number of great things about this game:- It's quite challenging in places, especially with the 'perma-death', where once your characters are dead, that's it! Don't worry, you don't have to play with this mode on!- A pretty fun story line, with lots of side missions and challenges to compliment it!- Dialogue and relationships between characters are great from a story point and also cool since they add in-battle bonuses- Side by side combat is a great touch...i.e.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) - Reviews

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