Fire Emblem: Awakening - Nintendo 3DS

Fire Emblem Awakening is a turn based strategy game with a mideval/fantasy setting. You play a strategist giving orders to the characters in your small band of warrior/magic wielder in order to defeat opposing armies with their own sets of warriors. There are many different classes of characters you can recruit, and each character has a distinct personality that provides gamers with emotional connection to the world events. Dependent on the class, the character has the ability to only use specific subsets of weapons and/or magic, and most weapons/magic can only be used a certain number of times before being used up making the player strategize about resource management as well. In addition, characters can advance in level, usually increasing several of 8 different attributes that affect the characters effectiveness on the battlefield, and support one another to further give small attribute boosts on the battlefield. Of all the turn-based strategy RPGs out there, the Fire Emblem series stands above the rest for hard-core gamers largely due to its inclusion of death (a character in the game is permanently lost if the character dies in battle). This adds meaning to the decisions made in battle since characters you become attached to can easily disappear from the story if you are not careful. With the addition of the satisfyingly complicated support system (opposite sexed characters can even marry, have children, and then their children can join your army), the story and additional support conversation provides insight into and attaches the player to all of the characters providing further emotional impact on the death of a character. While this classic option of character death can be turned off for the casual gamer, I think such plays lose on this fantastically simple device; however, this provides an easier interface to the strategy novice that doesn't want to replay levels --- just to make sure that no-one dies --- or who just wants to play the game for the story alone. With the inclusion of 3D graphic depth, a couple animated sequences, awesome class-based skills, and just the immense amount of customizability of your army, Awakening is among the very best of one of the best series of games.

So far I've enjoyed this game, and will probably play it again after beating it. This is my first 3DS game, so I can't compare to others for this console. It's also my first Fire Emblem game, so I can't compare to the rest of the series. However, I've been playing RPGs since the 90s, including FF Tactics. I've been looking for a game similar to FF Tactics for awhile, and this compares well. You move around a network map, although you aren't charged for days when you move, and there are no random battles; you choose the extra battles you fight. The battles involve strategy on a grid, with each character allowed one movement followed by one action. You start with a nice variation in job classes. Since I haven't played this type of game on newer consoles, it was pleasantly surprising to see the high quality attack animation. I was also impressed with the ability to design your own character at the beginning (within the options they provide, of course). I get tired of playing male characters. The game dynamics are fun, with a quickly moving storyline. How cool is it that some of your characters marry, have kids, and then the kids join your battles?? I also appreciate the many options for difficulty; both general difficulty, and the repercussions of characters dying in battle. I'm playing in "casual" mode, and I think I need to increase the general difficulty because I always win. It's nice having casual mode as an option though (characters revive after battle if they die), as I don't have much time to play games and this allows me to work through the story faster. Later when I'm more familiar with the game mechanics and classes I may replay in Classic mode (where characters disappear permanently if they die in battle) to get a better challenge. It seems like it is a game that is worth a second play through. I wish I had more information on the different classes up front though, and it's a bit disappointing that each base class basically has 2 advanced class options and that's it. It is really missing the class complexity that made FF Tactics so different for many play throughs.

The best part about this game is the amount of content it contains, from the ability to create an avatar, the ability to marry and have a child to even being able to include character from previous games in the franchise to use in your army (through paid DLC). Graphics: standard 3D models. They contain lots of detail which is great when you change classes and you get to see your new and shiny unit all decked out in cool clothing. The backgrounds and environments are stunning as well. Story: Full of twists and shocking moments that will leave a huge impression, especially for characters that you got to know and like. Sound: The sound effects and voice clips are great and well acted but the music is phenomenal! You will definitely find many tracks that you will love. Gameplay: Standard Fire Emblem fare, take a turn for your entire team then the enemy does the same. Leveling up as a class gets you abilities that you can keep even when changing classes. Some might not like the fact that the magic trinity is absent in this installment. Magic tomes still exist of course, they just don't have an advantage of disadvantage over other magic. The grid based maps are easy to navigate anf the over-world map can let you go to easier areas to fight enemy armies for easy experience. Shops are in the world map as well. Streetpasses nets you player created teams to battle or buy from. There's online battling but the only co-op feature is local wireless.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is a turn-based strategy game that takes place in a fantasy world consumed by war. You play as a brilliant tactician with a case of retroactive amnesia, weilding powerful magic against a group of mysterious and dangerous creatures known as the Risen. As you fight to protect your friends and country, your tragic past is slowly brought to the light, the truth a shocking revelation. With high-quality cutscenes and battles viewable from several perspectives, this story, as dramatic and heart-racing as any motion picture, is revealed, its twists and turns ensnaring you in rapt attention. Weapons, characters, and game difficulty are all adjustable, making for the perfect replayable game. You can even choose berween the Japanese and English audio for narration and cutscenes, both of which are amazing. This game also combines mechanics for level, equipment, and stat-based games, allowing for the ultimate fighting experience. Hard-core gamers, casual players, and otaku alike will all find in this game something incredible to enjoy.

This game was my first purchase for the 3dsxl and I must say it does not dissapoint. The story is rich and the graphics are vibrant. The casual mode is a nice fail-safe to keep your army alive. Moreover, you will want all of your party members alive if you're like me because of the way their relationships develop, which makes you genuinely care about the outcome of each battle. The visceral battle system cut scenes are a nice way of letting you see the action up close, but can be skipped if you're short on time or if you've seen them already. Streetpass multiplayer is a fun addition to collect, trade, and battle other peoples squads. Overall, this is a brilliant game and a must play. It is the first game in a while to make me cry, so it is that good.

I started the game and already I got hooked. The intro was intriguing to me, and I really wanted to get through the game as quickly as I could. It was a lot of fun at the first stage, then I got to a point where I could recruit more characters. I spent a lot of time trying to get them, which resulted in my characters getting really strong. Afterwards, the following chapters got really easy, which is nice but I love it when it is challenging. Even with that in consideration, the storyline and gameplay was really fun for me. I really like every character, both initial and recruitable. The thing that I like a lot though is the fact that you not only are the tactician, you can use him/her as well. There is one problem that I found with it. After a certain point, if you level up your characters the way I have, the chapters and random enemies become too easy. To fix this, you'll have to buy the downloadable content (which I had no problem doing by the way, but I can't speak for other people).

I picked this game up on sale and I would say even if you can only find it full price it is still worth getting. The story can be a little bit crazy and for some reason the characters only have feet in the cutscenes. The game play however is solid. It took some time to figure how to best use my units and if you play it in standard mode when a character dies they are dead for good so it makes the battles that much more dangerous. I've put 40 or so hours in to it and I don't feel like I am near the end. My only other gripe with the game is most of the conversations between characters are not fully voice acted. They just go "Oh" or "Huh?" and there is a big block of text to read. I don't mind if they did not want to record all that dialog but I wish there was a way to disable those little sounds. Beyond any of its flaws this game definitely shines as one of the best on the 3DS and anyone who is a fan of tactical RPG games should get this one.

Fire Emblem Awakening is closest to Advance Wars in terms of gameplay - both are SRPGs for Nintendo handhelds. As Advance Wars is currently not on 3DS, I chose to purchase Fire Emblem as a temporary holdover - 60 hours later, I'm still playing it. The game has tons of replay value and is very beginner friendly to those new to SRPGs. The new "casual mode" allows units to be resurrected after they are lost on the field of battle (previous titles made a character's death permanent). Purists can still play Classic difficulty mode. The game has loads of DLC for purchase afterward, though I haven't bought any yet. I will probably pick it up to make an already phenomenal game better. Overall, Fire Emblem is an easy purchase if one is a fan of Advance Wars (both series are developed by the same studio as well). If you are an SRPG veteran, or a newbie looking to find a good starting SRPG, Fire Emblem Awakening is the first place one should look for on the 3DS.