Review: Fire Emblem Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)

Fire Emblem: Awakening is the 11th game in the series which originated way back in 1990 on Nintendo Entertainment System.

While it wasn’t the first game in the genre, it was by far the best and when it launched it served as a “proof of concept”, a game so perfect in its execution within the genre that the world had no choice by to pay attention.

Of course, it wasn’t until 2003 that gamers outside of Japan could get ahold of the game. Since then, the series has formed an intense following of fans all around the globe.

Which means a lot rides on the latest game in the series, released on Nintendo 3DS which was even more emphasised by the amount of months Australian gamers had to wait following the North American release date.

So, was it worth the wait?

The Review

Fire Emblem: Awakening’s story is set in the Kingdom of Ylisse where a group of security soldiers called Shepherds roam the land to protect the citizens from the threat of war against the Plegia Kingdom, who have an old score to settle with Ylisse. Upon their journey, they find you — a character you have complete freedom in creating — passed out on the side of the road.

Your character (who I will name “You” from now on) remembers certain details, like the name of the Shepherds’ leader, Chrom, but otherwise seems to have no memory of the world he (or she) lives in. You also remembers a lot about fighting which ends up coming in handy as the kingdom is attacked by a sinister looking demon horde called the Risen.

You joins the Shepherds as their tactician and the group sets out to find more allies and ultimately protect the embattled kingdom. The story is told via beautifully animated cut scenes and plenty of character interaction sequences. The game looks gorgeous and while the 3D nature of the Nintendo 3DS screen isn’t used to any gameplay advantage, it does add that extra coat of polish to the title.

Fire Emblem: Awakening focuses on turn-based gameplay. The action takes place on a grid, your character units only have a certain distance they can travel and have special rules that influence how they engage an enemy. On the outside, it appears simple. Move your unit, attack the enemy, and repeat. When you factor in the fact that once your character dies in battle, they’re gone for good, strategy plays a key role.

It’s like chess on steroids.

The strategy elements in Fire Emblem: Awakening are so deep, they’re addictive. Every decision you make in the game has to be carefully calculated thanks to a “paper-scizzors-rock” weapon system which means some weapons types are stronger against others. You will also need to factor in that some enemies can attack from a distance and worst still, some weapons yield instant death to some characters.

If all that wasn’t enough, the game also has you dealing against luck, as some units will never miss, some might miss often.

How you position your units on the map will help sway the course of battle, too. Placing two characters next to each other will grant an attack or defence boost during battles. The effectiveness of this boost relies on how well the two characters get along, so you will need to manage relationships just as closely as you manage fighting abilities.

Relationships play a key role in gaining the advantage in battle. Characters can become great friends and even fall in love which will grant more advantageous outcomes, such as multiple strikes and attack avoidance.

This is why Fire Emblem: Awakening is so addictive, you are micro-managing an army of troops and trying to ensure they win their battles in style without actually getting hurt. Playing the role of tactician is extremely rewarding and you will find many hours melt away after booting up the game.

StreetPass plays a key role in extending the experience as players can exchange army information with each other and commence battle for better items and more in-game money. Winning StreetPass battles will increase your Renown, and the higher that stat gets, the rarer items you will receive.

SpotPass comes into play in two ways. The first is via freebies that are pushed to your game. These are usually items and armies from other worlds. The latter allows you to battle and even recruit new units to your group which usually means you’ll have access to pretty powerful characters, if you have the right amount of in-game dosh.

SpotPass in Fire Emblem: Awakening also allows you to purchase new maps from the eShop. This paid downloadable content adds extra challenges to the game and offers up more items, and there are plenty of maps to download promised for future release.

If there was one element of Fire Emblem: Awakening that wasn’t up to scratch, it’s the local multiplayer mode. In this mode, both players select three units each and join up to defeat a computer controlled army. The experience feels a little let down, especially considering StreetPass allows you to have full matches against each other.

Still, the sheer depth of gameplay in the solo adventure is enough to keep you satisfied for many, many hours.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is also the most accessible title of all previous games in the series. Players are able to customise how challenging their game will be by choosing a mode that suits their play style. The game offers the ability to play through without losing characters after they’re defeated in battle, for example. This aims to make the Fire Emblem experience a better fit for handheld gaming, where short bursts of play during a commute is the norm. Still, most players will likely opt for the classic difficulty settings, since one of the coolest things about the series is how it forces you to stop and think about your decisions before taking action.

To that end, Fire Emblem: Awakening is a masterpiece on Nintendo 3DS. It’s highly addictive and beautifully crafted. It’s infinitely complex, but instantly accessible. Every gamer worth his mettle should add this to his collection.