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So I just finished Fire Emblem Awakening (LTTP Thread)

C

Cosmic Dreams

Member
No spoilers here, so no worries.

So I just finished Fire Emblem Awakening, and I must say, this game was such an incredible experience for me.

I was referred by other GAF members to purchase the game back when the Lucina/Robin Smash video came out and I just want to say thanks everyone for recommending this game. It's a bit funny when I think about it, because I was always aware of the franchise having played smash since Melee came out and I was also a fan Intelligent's Advanced Wars series but for some reason, I never gave FE a chance until now...

I spent 3 straight days of playing through it's story mode (It's my first Fire Emblem game) and through each chapter, I laughed, gasped at the sight of possibly losing a unit, and even smiled at the cutscenes and dialogue throughout the game. I haven't felt so connected to a video game's story in a while considering I haven't had the time to play many games these days.
Even some of the dialogue between the characters almost made me have thosefeels.jpg.

Each character really had their own unique personality (Thanks to Treehouse's 8-4 (Thanks for the clarification everyone!) awesome writers) that made you actually CARE if you want them to live or not. It was a lot of fun going through the various side missions as well and the whole parent-child system was an interesting mechanic that gave the game even more value as I tried to put so-and-so with him/her.

I haven't tried the DLC yet, although I did some of the wireless features and without spoiling anything - I really enjoyed the challenges. I'll spend time trying to conquer them all later on.

MU (Robin) was definitely the star of this game, and as I played as the male Robin, I got to see his development as a character and how he contributes to the story in such a grand way. My ONLY gripe is that I wish they added more customizable features when creating the MU. I'm african american, filipino, and hawaiian so i'm a bit on the darker side skin tone wise so I wish I could've made Robin a bit more similar to how I look. Didn't bug me much though.

All in all, this game was an incredible experience for me, and I had A LOT of fun going through the main story mode and getting to know all the wonderful characters. It was a blast and now i'm even more excited for Robin and Lucina's inclusion in the new smash games. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone in real life or on here if you have a 3DS and are a fan of RPGs and strategy games.

Thanks Nintendo/Intelligent Systems! I'll be back for the next FE game.
Anyone got any other suggestions for a FE game to jump into? I'll consider it in the future.

Also -
I wasn't aware of what "shipping" was or what that meant until I read some guides online. So yeah, I guess I "shipped" Lucina x MU. lol

tl;dr - I played FE Awakening as my first FE game and loved it. Thanks GAF!
 
MU (Robin) was definitely the star of this game
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I have to agree with this. I don't get the people who say Chrom was the start/MC of the game. Robin (My Unit) clearly the star in Awakening.

Anyways, you should play Path of Radiance now. It is AMAZING. I also love Sacred Stones, but some people hate it for being "too easy".
 
Great game. I absolutely adored it. Also I hope they retain the same character designer for the next FE. It really gave that game it's own look.

I haven't felt so connected to a video game's story in a while considering I haven't had the time to play many games these days.
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Did you feel connected to the story or the characters? That's a big distinction. IMO the story wasn't very interesting, but the characters themselves were fantastic.

Also I kinda loved some of the pairings in this game. Romantic or not, there were some awesome partnerships. Virion x Sully forever
 
Anything post GBA era would be suitable in my opinion. You coulf try either of these as your starting points:

-FE7 : Fire Emblem (GBA) : One of my favourites, FE6 was a Japanese sequel ( or rather FE7 was the prequel) to this which may be interesting to you as well. There are patches available in English for emulation purposes.
-FE9: Path of Radiance (GC) May be more familiar to you since you've played Awakening due to aesthetic similarities but very expensive. FE10 carries on the story
-FE8: Sacred Stones (GBA): I would leave this until last and would consider I the weakest of what I've played. It's a continuation of FE7 mechanics but with a branching promotion paths, different story and lore as well as free roam world map for easy levelling up.
 
Shaanyboi said:
Great game. I absolutely adored it. Also I hope they retain the same character designer for the next FE. It really gave that game it's own look.


Did you feel connected to the story, or the characters? That's a big distinction.
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Whoops sorry. I felt connected to both, really. I was a bit confused about one thing though (spoilers)

Was Robin 'Grima' itself manifested in a human body? I was a bit confused around the end
 
Excellent. You've been initiated into the club...

BTW, if you're up for DLC, I strongly recommend the Scramble Pack and The Future Past Pack, especially if you liked the story and characters.
 
Just beat it this month. Wasn't until the final battle that I realized those items that increase X by Y actually have to be used to have their effect. I just thought you kept them in that units inventory and they took effect.
 
Volotaire said:
Anything post GBA era would be suitable in my opinion. You coulf try either of these as your starting points:

-FE7 : Fire Emblem (GBA) : One of my favourites, FE6 was a Japanese sequel ( or rather FE7 was the prequel) to this which may be interesting to you as well. There are patches available in English for emulation purposes.
-FE9: Path of Radiance (GC) May be more familiar to you since you've played Awakening due to aesthetic similarities but very expensive. FE10 carries on the story
-FE8: Sacred Stones (GBA): I would leave this until last and would consider I the weakest of what I've played. It's a continuation of FE7 mechanics but with a branching promotion paths, different story and lore as well as free roam world map for easy levelling up.
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Absolutely. Thanks for the heads up! Guess you guys made a me fire emblem fan. lol
 
It was my game of the year last year, I loved it to bits. But they really need to work on the writing, it was the weakest FE in that regard.
 
Cosmic Dreams said:
Absolutely. Thanks for the heads up! Guess you guys made a me fire emblem fan. lol
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Just a heads up, the DS games were remakes that apparently weren't as widely praised since it was simply a remake of the original NES titles, so some of the mechanics of the GBA/GC games aren't as prevalent, from what I've read. The Wii version (FE10) is also increasing in price along with the GC one, so I would look out for it.

Lastly, the FE Community Thread is also a great starting point!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=730327
 
Oh, and having Chrom met his other daughter
Cynthia
in my game was awesome. Loved their interaction with one another.

I actually really liked her as a character too. Very funny. She reminded me a lot of some actual good female friends I used to have in real life. Would love to meet a chick with a bubbly personality like that sometime soon. lol
 
I really recommend looking for FE7 if you can. It's still my favourite FE game ever, with my favourite characters.

Oh, and Cynthia is definitely an awesome character. One of my favourites from Awakening!
 
Skilletor said:
I had no idea there was a console fire emblem. Time to check prices.
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The prices will make you wish you never knew about them.

I think Awakening is the weakest of the three FE games I've played, with the other two being Fire Emblem (7/GBA), Path of Radiance (9/Gamecube). As much as I loved the art and character design, the characters' personalities were all shallow anime stereotypes. Flanderizations, for the TV tropes crowd. The map design wasn't great either - lots of open fields, but what I liked the least was the removal of what I thought were basic FE mechanics, e.g. canto for cavalry (moving again after attack), a magic triangle, and weapon weight.

That said, I still played 80 hours of it, and it was high on my GOTY list last year. I love the series to death, and Awakening is by no means a shoddy entry. I just love it slightly less than the other two games.
 
Every Fire Emblem would be a good point to continue, though Awakening will always feel like the most "advanced" one (since it is). Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn will probably feel closest to Awakening, so they'd be my primary recommendation. But again, every game should suffice, though you might be disappointed in Shadow Dragon as well as the Japanese only games (except New Mystery of the Emblem and probably Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776 and Binding Blade). Not because they are bad, but because they are very basic and bare bones, especially coming off of Awakening. Always keep that in mind.

Also, yeah, all of the games are quite pricey. The cheapest option are actually the Famicom and SFC games, but that would require you to have those consoles and knowledge in Japanese (or a translated script to read along to). Other than that, it is cheaper to get the GBA games than the GC/Wii ones, but I'd highly recommend trying to get them regardless. Imo, they're well worth it.
 
Welcome to the FE:A club! The longtime diehards are probably going to come in and say how shitty FE:A is compared to the rest of the series. I don't agree with them, but I also really enjoyed Path of Radiance on the Gamecube.
 
FE7 is still the definitive FE imo, but Awakening comes in second for sure, but be sure to check out FE7 whenever you get the chance. You won't regret it!
 
Edit: This game will always and forever hold a special place in my heart. You see, I traveled internationally a lot last year. So much, I bought a 3ds so I could play video games at the hotel. I was in Africa, in strange places in winter (So July), playing this game in lonely hotels with a nice big dip of Copenhagen. Then, I went to India, Nepal, and the Middle East....I played this game in the airports at 3am on layovers. Slightly drunk due to all the free booze, feeling like a gawd-damn golden god adventurer.

Every time I hear this song...Conquest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUKr66uRS7M My heart fills with that feeling of adventure...that feeling that I had seen some things that most westerners will never see.

I don't expect you guys to understand, but I tell you. Once you see the edge, you will never quite be the same again.
 
This is one of my favorite games. I'm glad you had the chance to experience it OP. They did so much right. Excellent tactical battles, interesting job promotion system, relationship pairings that actually matter and contribute to the gameplay, and an art style that pulls it all together (yes, even without feet).
 
I think I am gonna try to find a copy of Fire Emblem 7. So many people praise this game, it is gotta be good, right?
 
Giolon said:
Welcome to the FE:A club! The longtime diehards are probably going to come in and say how shitty FE:A is compared to the rest of the series. I don't agree with them, but I also really enjoyed Path of Radiance on the Gamecube.
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Yeah, I've heard that a lot, but I can't really understand it. I mean, I'm probably considered a newbie myself, having been introduced to the series in late 2011, but I own and played (not played through, though) every game and would still say that Awakening is one of the best in the series.

Cosmic Dreams said:
Anyone wanna help me with this one?
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I'd really like to, but it's actually been such a long time that I've played through the story that I can't remember for sure. I've played through the game right after it launched and then proceeded to get every support conversation possible on one file and tried to level up every character until their stats were maxed. Sorry ):

Reila said:
I think I am gonna try to find a copy of Fire Emblem 7. So many people praise this game, it is gotta be good, right?
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It's very good. But then again, I like every Fire Emblem, so don't hate me when you don't like it. :P
 
Cosmic Dreams said:
Oh yeah also, when you beat the game, does it bring anything over on the new save? I started a new game but I haven't noticed anything yet.
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You can import your Avatar from another save file on the cartridge the same way you recruit spotpass characters (afaik). But that's it.
 
Awakening is my first fire emblem game and my favorite game of 2013. I am currently playing it on lunatic and having a blast despite barely being able to progress because I keep dying. It is one of those few games that get better on subsequent playthroughs.
 
Moonlight said:
I really recommend looking for FE7 if you can. It's still my favourite FE game ever, with my favourite characters.

Oh, and Cynthia is definitely an awesome character. One of my favourites from Awakening!
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Seconded. Loved awakening but the first one (for US) is still my favorite. I actually like the simplicity of it, with the no branching class paths and the simplified supports. Plus the characters were badass and the story was actually really good. Plus it had some of my favorite lords
 
It appears what you liked most were the plot and characters? I'd really really recommend Path of Radiance (GC) then, as that game easily has the strongest writing of the series.
You really should try to play a Fire Emblem with limited XP and chapter based progression now, as Awakening and Sacred Stones feel substantially different than most games in the series.

Just keep in mind to stay away from Shadow Dragon (DS). Like seriously.
 
Man, I must be lucky (and in the extreme minority) that I liked Shadow Dragon becuz that was my first Fire Emblem becuz Marth was in it. I actually liked it too and went to play the fan translated New Mystery of the Emblem which was WAAAYY better than Shadow Dragon.
 
Reila said:
I have to agree with this. I don't get the people who say Chrom was the start/MC of the game. Robin (My Unit) clearly the star in Awakening.
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While I agree with you, several of the game's mechanics reinforced the idea from older entires in the series that the blue-haired Lord is the star: Chrom needs to be in your party in every chapter of the campaign (Robin/MU doesn't), Chrom initiates recruitment conversations with new additions to the party, and if Chrom falls in battle it's game over (though this is also true of Robin).

The recommendations in this thread are on the money: either FE9 (Path of Radiance) or FE7 (Fire Emblem GBA) are where to go next for the traditional Fire Emblem format of managing a finite pool of experience points and resources from one chapter to the next. FE9 is the more accessible of the two in terms of difficulty but, last I checked, is the harder one to obtain. The great thing about this series is that while Awakening is by far the most comprehensive entry—a sort of greatest-hits compilation of design elements from earlier games in the series—no game strictly supersedes the others or makes them obsolete; each one has idiosyncrasies in battle mechanics or map design that stand out and make for a unique experience worth playing. There are delights to be found in FE7 through 10 that Awakening doesn't offer.
 
Be aware that you may not like FE7 as much if you've already played an FE game. FE7 was made to be an introduction to the series, since it was the first game released in the west. Also be aware that Intelligent Systems likes to mix and match features from game to game. Unlike other franchises, the features don't necessarily build upon each other in successive games. It keeps things interesting.
 
Reila said:
Anyways, you should play Path of Radiance now. It is AMAZING. I also love Sacred Stones, but some people hate it for being "too easy".
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funny, those are the only 2 others i've really played! Ambassador copy of Sacred Stones (which is great but feels never-ending) and i really liked what i played of Path of Radiance but quickly hit a brick wall a few fights in, meant to get back to that & try harder but i'm on Shining Force CD right now, kinda scratching that itch
 
I love this game. It was my second Fire Emblem game and is one of my favourites. The characters are great as is the gameplay.

But man that one design of the dragon girl is so freaking awful.
 
My biggest problem with the game right now is the story. I find it uninteresting and poorly delivered.

It's definitely a great game, but really just makes me want to play Final Fantasy Tactics again.
 
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