Fire Emblem: Awakening 3DS review

The Fire Emblem series is known for its tactical turned based battles and permanent character deaths. Awakening attempts to keep those elements while also trying to make it more accessible for newcomers. Does it?

I have never enjoined SRPGs or JRPGs [this is a combination of the two] but I heard this was really good [92 on metacritic] and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

The story is OK but a bit cliche. I can't really say much about it without spoiling it as there are some major plot twits early on. The characters are really good and likable. The cutscenes are very well done but there are very few of them. Voice acting is good but most of the dialogue is not voiced. Overall the story is better than most of Nintendo's games but its not that original or memorable. The characters are however.

The gameplay has you moving usually a little over 10 characters across various battlefields in tactical turned based battles. First its your turn and then its the enemy's turn. The game can feel intense as the enemy usually outnumbers you 3 to 1, sometimes more. Your characters get exp when they attack the enemy and eventually level up. When they get to level 10 you can make upgrade them to an advanced class [it's best to wait until 20 so they can be stronger though]. There are tons of different classes and each one has disadvantages and advantages. Characters either use weapons or spells. There is a weapon triangle: swords beat axes, axes beat lances and lances beat swords. The battles are really fun. The AI, classes and everything  is near perfection. In past Fire Emblem games when your characters die they would stay dead permanently. Awakening makes it more accessible to newcomers with the addition of casual mode, which turns off character deaths.

The main story is about 20+ hours long and there are tons of bonus chapters, multiple endings and lots of characters to unlock. 

The support system is one of the best parts of the game. When characters fight beside each other after a while they can have a "support conversation". I wasn't expecting much but the dialogue is really good and usually doesn't get too stupid like some JRPGS. You become attached to the 30+ characters and feel like you really get to know them. After having a support conversation they can deal extra damage, dodge attacks better etc, when they fight alongside each other next time. Pairing up the right characters is key to success. Eventually they can become close friends and some characters can even get married.

For the 3DS the graphics are really good especially the anime scenes. Awakening has 3 distinct art styles. There is the anime. There is the battles with battlefields that have a simple with top down view and the characters are sprites. When they attack the enemy it switches a 3rd person view which is realistic looking [for the 3DS]. 

The soundtrack is also great.

Fire Emblem: Awakening has memorable characters, excellent gameplay, fantastic graphics and a really good soundtrack. Once you play it you won't want to stop and you won't have to as there is tons of content. Its also very accessible for new players.

9.0/10