Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)

[Rev1]

Unlocked all the characters on Mario Kart 7 so I was finally able to put it to the side and start playing this game (the game I bought a 3DS for) and I am not disappointed at all so far. I'm still really early in the campaign since I only have like an hour or so into the game but the graphics are beautiful, especially compared to a lot of the other Fire Emblem games. The 3D effects are pretty nifty and give some really cool depth to the battle field.

As far as the gameplay, the game has some nice deviations from the typical Fire Emblem formula, encouraging players to keep troops that get along together, this time allowing teammates to attack enemies together as well as clearly showing the stat bonuses troops get for being next to each other.

Anyone know how the DLC works on this game? I've never purchased DLC on a game but the idea of getting extra characters and missions is really exciting, although the extra cash is a turn off...

[Blueguy1]

Rev, this game has really intrigued me, especially IGN's review of it, where they gave it a freaking 9.6/10. Would you say it's around that score and that it is the next must have game for my 3DS?

[steephen1]

John, IGN reviews aren't really where you want to check, because IGN has been suspected to being payed off for a high score! Buy Power of Illusion first!

[Rev1]

[QUOTE=Blueguy]Rev, this game has really intrigued me, especially IGN's review of it, where they gave it a freaking 9.6/10. Would you say it's around that score and that it is the next must have game for my 3DS?[/QUOTE]

I really have been impressed with the game, they have taken the Fire Emblem formula and taken it to the next level with the game. There is so many things you can do, so many possible characters to train, so many quests (DLC or Spotpass included) that IMO the game really does deserve the 9.6 from IGN. If you have any interest in the Fire Emblem games this really is one of the best games in the series (at least the ones I have played overseas). The difficultly level is fair and they even have difficult and insane modes if you want something more challenging. I think the thing I like the most about the game is the ease of keeping more then 7-10 units up to par. There are so many extra battles you can join so you can keep the rest of your team up to snuff, and they are optional so if you don't want to do them you can just plow ahead. Also, the relationship system is a lot easier to follow this time around with the bonuses becoming apparent and visible in the game. I have liked all the Fire Emblem games but I think this one is easily my favorite.

[Blueguy1]

[QUOTE=steephen]John, IGN reviews aren't really where you want to check, because IGN has been suspected to being payed off for a high score! Buy Power of Illusion first![/QUOTE]

I'm very well aware of this, but I can't help but resist a handheld game that gets a very high score from them. It's a guilty pleasure.

And yes I'll be sure to buy Power of Illusion sometime this month. Maybe Saturday. How much is the price for it?

[steephen1]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blueguy
And yes I'll be sure to buy Power of Illusion sometime this month. Maybe Saturday. How much is the price for it?[/QUOTE]

I got my copy for $29.99. It is worth every penny as it happens to be the best 2D platformer on the system!

[Rev1]

Finally finished the game after a 60 hour quest (although I spent about 35-40 hours just grinding and getting cool abilities for my characters) and it was overall a very fun game. I might try the harder modes a bit later but I got three other untouched 3DS games to try out now. The story was kind of lacking, with only a few twists throughout the story. I guess people don't really play Fire Emblem games for the AAA storytelling, still it was a lot of fun. The main problem I had with the game was the lack of diversity of unique classes for characters. It just seemed like everyone was one of 12 classes and could only switch between those. It also made a lot of the characters pretty much the same... Oh yeah, and about the children characters... Way better then their parents in just about any way. Almost all of the children characters pretty much outclassed their parents on every possible stat (and I kept them all up to the same level) meaning the parents might have to use a second seal twice to even get close to catching up to their amazingly talented children. If you decide to pick up this game, make sure you wait until your parent characters learn cool abilities because the children inherit the stats and abilities of their parents from the time of recruitment (not when the stages become first available). I think a second play through is almost mandatory if you want to learn the most about the class system of the game and make your characters all have awesome abilities. Certain classes are just plain bad... Like why would I want a Sniper when I can just get an Assassin who learns Lethality, has higher stats, and can also use swords.

Still, it was a very fun game and I had a blast playing it. Highly recommended for the 3DS.

Best classes: (no order)
1. Assassin (great skills, high stats where it counts, awesome abilities)
2. Dark Pegasus (or whatever it is called, you want the dark one) (same)
3. Great Knight  (basically a General on wheels)
4. Great Lord (learns Aether, enough said)
5. Wyvern Lord (great stats, high movement, 2 weapons, ok abilities)
6. Sage (high magic, probably want to promote to a Dark Pegasus if possible after)
7. Grandmaster (amazing all around stats, good abilities, very limited use)
8. Lodestar (only for Marth, but great stats only, no abilities worth mentioning, can level up to 30 vs. 20 though).
9. Hero (great all around stats, 2 solid weapons, great LV5 ability)
10. Paladin (super high movement, decent stats, not a bad unit to end up in once you got everything you need)

Best Classes to have your units temporarily in:
1. Trickster (good to even out Mag/Atk stats, learn 2 solid abilities, especially his LV 15 ability which is great for grounded units)
2. Thief (learn Lockpick and movement +1)
3. Myrmidon (learn Vantage at LV 5 and then get them out of that class)
4.  Dark Knight (sucks except for his LV15 ability which grants you half your life back if he kills someone on your turn).
5. Sniper (useful to have right before Assassin so your bow attacks are really strong (LV15 ability)
6. War Monk (gets 1 good ability, I think it is Renewal which gives you 30% of your life back each turn)
7.
Worst Classes Period:
1. Valkyrie (horrible stats, crappy abilities, your character is pretty much going to become super weak just switching to the class)
2. Manakete and Taguel (just really boring classes, bad abilities, although Manakete can become insanely powerful)
3. Bow Knight (just get an Assassin, it's not worth it, they die in like 2 hits)
4. Berserker (just ugly oafs... in their underwear)
5. Falcon Knight (just hugely outclassed by the Dark Pegasus character, don't use unless you really need a cleric with wings)
6. Villager (you only get one, with horrible stat caps, although thankfully he ends up really good once you switch his class)
7. Swordmaster (severely underpowered, 1 weapon, 2 eh abilities, Assassin is way better)

anyway that's my thoughts on the matter.

[Blueguy1]

I just bought this game yesterday (first purchased game of 2013, along with Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 also on the 3DS), and so far I've gotten to the third chapter (the snowy castle stage).

It's great fun, though I have not gotten used to it yet, probably because Awakening is my first Fire Emblem game. I dig getting hidden items via sparkles on the screen, and the trading option is very cool! I also love the transition between 2D and 3D graphics, and I believe the RPG Wild Arms (PS1, 1997) was the first game to do this! Great use of 3D as well! I do have a few questions though, since I'm still very confused about Fire Emblem Awakening.

How can you buy things in this game? This has been bugging me since the beginning. I'm told merchants appear in levels to give you items, but I haven't seen them yet. Also is the auto battle feature useful at all? I used it once during the second chapter and it instantly got me a game over because my main character died.

I think I would REALLY love this game if I knew that information, so if someone could help me out with that, I would really appreciate it!

[Segatarious1]

I played this game and beat it.

It was fun. I skipped all the story sequences. Great atmosphere, and character models. The 3d is nice, I did not use it all the time. I played casual mode, makes the game less annoying. Best Fire Emblem by a long shot. Bring on Advance Wars!

[Blueguy1]

Nevermind, just figured everything out. NOW I am starting to love this game! One feature I really love is the ability to pair up with other characters to increase your stats temporarily. It seems like the possibilities with this game are endless! You can use different characters to get different abilities, and I really appreciate the trade feature in the game. There's even a few branching story lines!

This may be a little bold, but I'm calling it; this could be the game of the year!