Fire Emblem: Awakening

 3DS
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 1633 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,475 out of 1633
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 1633
  3. Negative: 80 out of 1633
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  1. Vanpire73
    May 9, 2014
    7
    Fun TBS game, but honestly it's pretty overrated. Sacred Stones was the only other one I played in the series. Permadeath seemed to carry much more wight in that one, as you couldn't farm for helpers at your leisure. At the end of the day though, most of the additions were welcome. As far as story goes, who gives a f*ck. It's a lame RPG story I'm guessing. I don't play strategy gamesFun TBS game, but honestly it's pretty overrated. Sacred Stones was the only other one I played in the series. Permadeath seemed to carry much more wight in that one, as you couldn't farm for helpers at your leisure. At the end of the day though, most of the additions were welcome. As far as story goes, who gives a f*ck. It's a lame RPG story I'm guessing. I don't play strategy games for story.… Expand
  2. danech10
    Oct 25, 2014
    7
    Awakening has proven to be a very divisive game amongst the Fire Emblem fanbase. Players new to the series seem to appreciate many of the new features that have been added, while series vets find that their presence has come at the cost of other key components such as mission variety, map design, and balance.

    Ultimately, whether or not you will enjoy this title is dependent very much on    Awakening has proven to be a very divisive game amongst the Fire Emblem fanbase. Players new to the series seem to appreciate many of the new features that have been added, while series vets find that their presence has come at the cost of other key components such as mission variety, map design, and balance.

    Ultimately, whether or not you will enjoy this title is dependent very much on your own expectations. If you're less familiar with SPRGs, or if you prefer a more open-ended take on the genre a la Disgaea or Final Fantasy Tactics, then you'll find plenty to enjoy here. If you are a long time fan of Fire Emblem, however, you will likely be let down by what's on offer in Awakening. Personally, as a new player to the series myself, and with a minimal history in the genre (about 8 hours of Valkyria Chronicles), I found the Pair Up features to be somewhat distracting in a way that seemed to undermine the core of the game.

    It's worth pointing out what this game does well aside from its gameplay. The level of polish and amount of content is terrific, the 3D cutscenes are stunning, and the potential for replay-ability is certainly high. I found the story, and some of the characters, to be pretty bland.

    It's hard to call Fire Emblem: Awakening a bad game, but it may be a disappointment to long-time fans.    … Expand
  3. erhanz
    Jun 30, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Finished this game by the beginning of the week.
    SPOILER ALERT
    Well, it certainly is a good game, but not great. Truth to be said, i think this game is too overrated. I saw many good reviews about the game on the internet, but oh well..when i actually play the game, it's not as good as i thought it would be.

    The Story starts with you, the main character, see a dream where you kill Chrom.
    And then you suddenly wake up to find Chrom standing in front of you. You join his gang, The shepherds, as the Tactician. Seeing that the nation is in a war state, Chrom journey off with the shepherds to save his king. One day he met a girl with a mask who called herself as "Marth", the legendary heroine who put Grimma the dark dragon to sleep several hundred years ago. It turns out that "Marth" is actually Lucina, the daughter of Chrom, who came from an alternate future to save Chrom from being murdered. So, how will the story ends? Can they bend the destiny? Play and find out yourself.

    Plus point:
    - This game has an interesting gameplay & great job system. The battle is fun and have a very good graphics. I mean i enjoy hacking people when they used a weapon that's not good against mine.
    - Marriage system? Well it's one of the interesting point. You can build relationship between male and female in your team, and they'll get married, affecting their offspring who came from the future as well. And you have a lot of choices for that! I mean i considered a lot about who my main character going to marry.

    Minus Point:
    - Story is just too cheesy. I mean, your son/daughter came from alternate future. And you fight together to change the future? Well yes, it seems good at first, but ridiculous at the same time. They went back to the past but couldn't go back to their future, so they have to stay at the present with their parents? Seems kinda weird for me.
    - Too many characters. I mean too many characters, but you can only take some people to the battle. And every character doesn't have any special traits. I mean, they are basically the same. Just different job, but you can change the job.
    -Leveling up could be a pain in the ass. You get a new character, but they start at a pretty low level. You have to fight your way through to make them level up. Which is a total pain in the ass, because the enemy could kill that character in one hit. If you pair him with another character, there are chances that they won't get any experience. It sucks.

    Well in the end, i think this game is just too overrated. I thought it would be super good, but in fact the game is just okay. 7/10 for this game.
    And the last boss is just too easy. I kill him within 2 turns without any damage. Pretty much too easy.    … Expand
  4. iipotato
    Jul 22, 2015
    7
    First FE game I played, and I have mixed feelings over it. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret obtaining this game. But it is quite overrated.

    The characters are interesting (beautiful art btw, may I say), but not so much to the point where you're engrossed over them. The marriage system was one of my favorite aspects of the game; it's a shipper's paradise haha. And the game is really    First FE game I played, and I have mixed feelings over it. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret obtaining this game. But it is quite overrated.

    The characters are interesting (beautiful art btw, may I say), but not so much to the point where you're engrossed over them. The marriage system was one of my favorite aspects of the game; it's a shipper's paradise haha. And the game is really dependent on the battling, so you may want to consider if you fancy a system like this. Overall, FE:A is a fun, refreshing game with a decent amount of things to do in a file, however the storyline is not the greatest you could get from a JRPG.    … Expand
  5. dmzv92
    Jan 10, 2016
    7
    The good:

    - Great presentation - Good OST - Really intuitive and user friendly UI The bad: - The "Waifu Breeding" mechanic is extremely creepy. Seriously who marries a guy after talking with him 3 times? The whole addition of this gimmick feels like pure fanservice. - The maps feel really repetitive in design and in objectives. Seriously, virtually all missions have the same    The good:

    - Great presentation
    - Good OST
    - Really intuitive and user friendly UI

    The bad:

    - The "Waifu Breeding" mechanic is extremely creepy. Seriously who marries a guy after talking with him 3 times? The whole addition of this gimmick feels like pure fanservice.
    - The maps feel really repetitive in design and in objectives. Seriously, virtually all missions have the same objectives: kill everyone or kill the commander. What was IS thinking by making a STRATEGY game with such little variety in the mission objectives?
    - The story is horrible. Probably among the worst storylines I've ever experienced in any JRPG. It just feels really convoluted, like if the guys that wrote it had 3 different ideas for the plot and they just combined them in a really confusing, 3 arc storyline (filled with plot holes and everything). Seriously I still don't understand why the second arc was necessary. It felt like filler.
    - The game is really unbalanced in Lunatic and Lunatic+. The game is not even about strategy anymore, it's an RNG fest in those difficulties. And to even the odds a bit you have to grind (it's not necessary, but to not grind would result in the game being pretty obnoxious) and to do it you NEED the DLC. Which carries us to our next point:
    - There is an absurd amount of DLCfor this game. Seriously, why? At least they could have included the EXPonential Growth and Golden Gaffe maps into the game...

    I think those are my main complaints about this game. If you're planning on buying it please don't do it. Wait for FE: Fates.    … Expand
  6. AVahne
    Feb 17, 2016
    7
    Designed specifically to recapture the Blue Ocean crowd that Nintendo seemingly lost to the mobile mega machine, Awakening is an understandably streamlined and simplified experience compared to past games. Old fans will be happy to find that the basic, core gameplay mechanics are kept intact, while some (myself included) may be saddened by the lack of complexity and robust gameplayDesigned specifically to recapture the Blue Ocean crowd that Nintendo seemingly lost to the mobile mega machine, Awakening is an understandably streamlined and simplified experience compared to past games. Old fans will be happy to find that the basic, core gameplay mechanics are kept intact, while some (myself included) may be saddened by the lack of complexity and robust gameplay mechanics that made the Tellius saga and Shouzo Kaga's SNES and Playstation games so revered within the community. The story is leans much on the weak side, with mediocre story telling and many forgettable characters. Unfortunately many of the characters adhere strictly to overdone anime character archetypes, much more so than any Fire Emblem game before it. The CG cutscenes are top notch and help to alleviate some of the dryness of the story. The graphics are standard 3DS affair, with the notable loss of feet on character models. Unit design is, to be frank, awful compared to previous games and animations can be a bit jerky or simply "boring" looking (as is the case with all the magic spells). Map design and level clear conditions have also taken a hit from the casual hammer, with every map being a straightforward "rout the enemy" types of deal.
    The 'Rescue' command has been replaced by the 'Pair Up' command, its polar opposite. Whereas the Rescue command causes the initiating unit to pull in the target allied unit into its space and trigger a loss in speed and skill, the Pair Up command causes the target to take in the user and will actually boost the stats of the target. This creates the potential to storm a map with an unstoppable juggernaut duo, as the paired up status also allows partner characters to join in the assault and also COMPLETELY nullify an enemy's attack. In practice, the system is rather cool even if it turns the game into a cake walk, and it is only really balanced when playing a harder difficulty where enemies have ridiculously high stats and are armed to the teeth with the best offensive and defensive skills.

    All in all, Fire Emblem Awakening is a very competent game and it fulfilled its mission of bringing into enough new players to make the series profitable again. The game is perfect for newcomers, but may be lacking for old school fans. A challenge can still be had at higher difficulties, but to be honest any game can be made harder by jacking up the numbers. A game that has difficulty but also fairness due to masterful and balanced design is the best type of difficulty, which unfortunately is not something the series may ever see again simply due to the nature of the audience that now makes up the majority of its playerbase.

    Review written after amassing over 300 hours into the game.    … Expand
  7. vgm
    Feb 7, 2017
    7
    Maybe it's because it is the first game of the series I have played, or because I was expecting a lot after reading the reviews, but this game disappointed me a little bit. There are very few charismatic characters and I didn't find the story interesting, which by the way has plenty of unnecessary and confusing turning points and boring dialogues. However, I really liked the gameplay,Maybe it's because it is the first game of the series I have played, or because I was expecting a lot after reading the reviews, but this game disappointed me a little bit. There are very few charismatic characters and I didn't find the story interesting, which by the way has plenty of unnecessary and confusing turning points and boring dialogues. However, I really liked the gameplay, with a combination of tactics and classic RPG elements, and the possibility of evolving / changing characters' class. Overall, a good game but not in my top 3DS games.… Expand
  8. frederik1478
    Sep 16, 2020
    7
    After playing it for a second time on hard classic mode , I've think this is a completely above average Fire Emblem game , This game has made me realise dead skills in fire emblems are intolerable And the level designers just gave up , But it has some brighter spot like you can make any characters into superhuman dat can kill anything, But even this part is kind of underwhelming becauseAfter playing it for a second time on hard classic mode , I've think this is a completely above average Fire Emblem game , This game has made me realise dead skills in fire emblems are intolerable And the level designers just gave up , But it has some brighter spot like you can make any characters into superhuman dat can kill anything, But even this part is kind of underwhelming because the main character U play as can single-handedly complete the game , But I do like this game even it is too easy to bake so you have to make your own rules to make it enjoyable sometimes… Expand
  9. ShyGuy187
    Mar 4, 2017
    7
    Even though this game has a great soundtrack, awesome characters and gorgeous cut-scenes, 90% of the maps are crap. The story is awful (it had a lot of potential) none of your decisions actually have impact in the plot. The game can be really easy or really hard, there is nothing like a medium difficulty.
    The Pair-Up mechanic is broken, because you can just marry + pair-up and then the    Even though this game has a great soundtrack, awesome characters and gorgeous cut-scenes, 90% of the maps are crap. The story is awful (it had a lot of potential) none of your decisions actually have impact in the plot. The game can be really easy or really hard, there is nothing like a medium difficulty.
    The Pair-Up mechanic is broken, because you can just marry + pair-up and then the game is already beaten. This mechanic should be situational, not the first thing you do every chapter.
    As i said, the cast is amazing EXCEPT for Chrom and Lucina (and some other characters) these two are really generic and without a differential compared with the other FE lords. Every antagonist is terrible in this game, and that is bad.
    What almost kills this game fot me is the reinforcements, they come out without any kind of warning and kill you without you having any opportunity to defend yourself.
    This game has a lot of flaws, but i can't simply give a bad score to those visuals, characters and fun it gave me.    … Expand
  10. katieelizabeth
    Jan 9, 2023
    7
    My opinion of Awakening has really changed since launch. I think the game is perfectly fine for the new crop of casual fans. It has more accessibility options than past games, and it features a lot of grinding and over-powered child units that more causal or rpg gamers will enjoy.

    But Awakening is not a very good Fire Emblem game. On Normal difficulty, it is far too easy. Any knowledge    My opinion of Awakening has really changed since launch. I think the game is perfectly fine for the new crop of casual fans. It has more accessibility options than past games, and it features a lot of grinding and over-powered child units that more causal or rpg gamers will enjoy.

    But Awakening is not a very good Fire Emblem game. On Normal difficulty, it is far too easy. Any knowledge of who the best characters are, knowledge of how to use pair-up optimally, how and when to use second seals properly, and what classes are good for units to go into will completely trivialize the game on Normal difficulty. No grinding or marriage is necessary.

    So this leads me into Hard Mode, which takes a very casual, easy game and transforms it into one of the most unfair and inflexible entries in the entire franchise. Instead of just adding more enemies and increasing the stats to stiffen the challenge, the game features same-turn reinforcements - otherwise known as Ambush Spawns - and these can be brutally unfair as you have no idea how many of these reinforcements are coming, how many waves of them will come, and what types of weapons you will be dealing with. Awakening absolutely loves creating 4-8 new enemy units and moving them on the same turn, and many of these units do high damage and have 1-2 range weapons, making it extremely difficult to protect weaker units despite being safe when you ended your turn. Because of this, the game heavily restricts which characters you can use because most of them will die.

    By Chapter 17, the game devolves into using Chrom and Robin the most, where these will probably be the only two units that can survive the random ambushes, turn after turn, because they become so overpowered. Tharja and a few others can also do this, but 90%+ of the characters in the game are basically useless due to poor bases and classes. Even characters like Sumia become liabilities because so many enemies and same-turn reinforcements use Silver Bows and super-effective tomes. To avoid unit losses, you are basically forced not to deploy them at all and solo the game with just a few paired-up characters. It is the least rewarding and least fun way to play the game.

    So basically, Normal difficulty is too easy and Hard is way too frustrating and inflexible - there is no middle ground here. Hard mode devolves into just using S-tier characters with over-powered builds that snowball out of control. Any sense of strategy is completely gone, and that is why Awakening is a bad Fire Emblem game.

    Normal mode I give a 7, and Hard Mode I give a 0. It's not that Hard Mode is hard - it's easy if you just use Chrom and Robin - but it's incredibly boring and unsatisfying and poorly balanced and unfair when playing blind.    … Expand
  11. hazsch
    Jan 6, 2021
    7
    As I get more and more into Fire Emblem I like it even more. Awakening is loads of fun, even seven years later. I'm a really big fan of modern Fire Emblem but I can definitely see a lot of the roots of the classics here. Unfortunately, the map design is extremely uninspired. Loads of empty fields and just generally boring areas. Love the soundtrack, though. Play it if you haven't; it's oneAs I get more and more into Fire Emblem I like it even more. Awakening is loads of fun, even seven years later. I'm a really big fan of modern Fire Emblem but I can definitely see a lot of the roots of the classics here. Unfortunately, the map design is extremely uninspired. Loads of empty fields and just generally boring areas. Love the soundtrack, though. Play it if you haven't; it's one of the best 3DS games out there.… Expand
  12. realkinko
    Nov 16, 2020
    7
    I played through Fire Emblem Awakening after having played through Fire Emblem Three Houses, and if I had played them in the other order I would probably score this game a bit higher. However, after having played Three Houses first I can't help but feel how dated Awakening feels.

    The story is somewhat dull, the music isn't as good and the graphics... Well it's a 3DS, so I guess it's    I played through Fire Emblem Awakening after having played through Fire Emblem Three Houses, and if I had played them in the other order I would probably score this game a bit higher. However, after having played Three Houses first I can't help but feel how dated Awakening feels.

    The story is somewhat dull, the music isn't as good and the graphics... Well it's a 3DS, so I guess it's about what you can expect.

    The fights are generally very good but the game suffers from a dull story and lackluster dialogue. It's still a good game worth playing through if you're a fan of Fire Emblem though.    … Expand
  13. JustAGameGuy
    May 14, 2023
    7
    A great starting point for a new fire emblem fan, but very mediocre overall. Uninteresting characters, boring map design, mediocre story, etc. The music and customization easily propel this game higher than I would have given it otherwise, but its direct successor both has better music and much more in depth customization, along with better maps
  14. RyanA
    May 10, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I don't mind the story mode, the graphics, the music, the cutscenes, and most of the story. What I find stupid is that there seems like a lack of different types of character, then therefore, the weapons usable by each character; I liked Radiant Dawn, they weren't as general as characters in this game, instead of a paladin, there are ax paladin, sword paladin, lance paladin, even bow paladin. This added a layer a strategy, so that you had to have one character attacking a specific other one, making sure that it is a good idea after that. In Awakening, you can beat a large number of enemies with one character because of the number of different weapons this character can use. This isn't a problem for most of the game, until you need to get Priam, which you need 30 characters leveled up. This brings me to my next problem with this game, leveling up, boring and tedious, realizing more effective ways to level up characters all of the time, eventually using one character at a time. This is when I sometimes get annoyed to find the best level for the specific characters, sometimes finding the weakness of your character, forcing to search more. I say that it is tedious and boring because you have to kill every single one of them. I may be the only one that thinks this way, but in call of duty and most other first person shooter games, you learn how to go into the fray of a battle and shoot to kill whatever comes in sight. In this game, for this part of this game at least, you have to kill everyone on screen, so you're trying to find the best way to kill your opponent. A counter argument that may come up may be "there risen, it doesn't matter, it's pretty much zombies, things that should be killed," I'd say "what about when you fight against things that aren't risen?" Well, I can't really think of something to replace it, to get the amount of experience you need without using DLC, which adds more money to that $40 I've already spent on this game. People I noticed mention multiple art styles as a positive thing. I look at the appearances (the 3D characters) and art styles. Do they look similar? NO, THEY LOOK STUPID, the Black Knight for example, he's supposed to a have a helmet to mask his head. Guess what. No helmet, and face is see able, this is similar for most (if not all) of the SpotPass/DLC characters. Overall, 6.3/10, it's pretty pathetic it was beat out by both of the Rabbids Games on the 3DS.… Expand
  15. OwtDaft
    May 10, 2018
    6
    + The game has fantastic graphics.
    + The Battles are really well laid out with great locations.
    + Lots of invividual characters.
    + building up character bonds is fun.
    - Characters go down very easily making the permadeath mode frustrating.
    - The story sucks.
  16. SomeName
    Jan 25, 2017
    6
    The game brings some nice new additions to the series, but in return neglects many of the fundamentals that made it great in the first place. For me personally, they turned the game into too much of a grindfest as it went along.

    +More in-depth character support system with many options and possibilities. +Many more character interactions, of which some are funny. +Good design and    The game brings some nice new additions to the series, but in return neglects many of the fundamentals that made it great in the first place. For me personally, they turned the game into too much of a grindfest as it went along.

    +More in-depth character support system with many options and possibilities.
    +Many more character interactions, of which some are funny.
    +Good design and visuals.
    +More options to configure play.

    -Character interactions rarely tie into the main plot.
    -Weak main plot that is predictable and lacks any significant depth.
    -Lazy map design and little mission variety.    … Expand
  17. Nintendoforlife
    Nov 30, 2020
    6
    story - 1/10. confusing, lots of plot holes, and not creative in any way. kind of ruined the game for me.

    gameplay - 10/10. I LOVE the battle system, and all the mechanics. so why is my rating for the game 6/10? because the gameplay is a great formula, but it is SO repetitive, and that's why I stopped. visuals - 7/10. a game like fire emblem is not visually strong, and does not need    story - 1/10. confusing, lots of plot holes, and not creative in any way. kind of ruined the game for me.

    gameplay - 10/10. I LOVE the battle system, and all the mechanics. so why is my rating for the game 6/10? because the gameplay is a great formula, but it is SO repetitive, and that's why I stopped.

    visuals - 7/10. a game like fire emblem is not visually strong, and does not need to be. my only complaints are when the characters are talking. during that, the graphics look muddy, and kida gross. but the cutscenes are really nice.

    would I recommend this game? to any turn based strategy fan, YES. to a fire emblem fan, HELL YES. to more of a platformer guy like me, it was hard to get into. but still lots of fun. would recommend.    … Expand
  18. Zethor
    Aug 17, 2020
    6
    Fire Emblem: Awakening is one of the weakest entries in the series in terms of story and gameplay alike, but is a great starting point for anyone looking to get into the series who isn't particularly experienced in the tactics RPG genre. It lacks substance and I find it difficult to return to after playing other games in the series, but is incredibly accessible and fun despite its flaws,Fire Emblem: Awakening is one of the weakest entries in the series in terms of story and gameplay alike, but is a great starting point for anyone looking to get into the series who isn't particularly experienced in the tactics RPG genre. It lacks substance and I find it difficult to return to after playing other games in the series, but is incredibly accessible and fun despite its flaws, with strong art and music along with a fairly nice presentation.… Expand
  19. citizenerased
    May 9, 2013
    5
    I've invested 20 hours into this game so far on the Hard setting and here is my take. It is way too easy and repetitive and unfortunately I have little drive to pickup this game to play now, which is a shame because the first few hours contained so much promise. The one negative review that presently exists nailed the issue on its head there's no reason to use 80% of the characters youI've invested 20 hours into this game so far on the Hard setting and here is my take. It is way too easy and repetitive and unfortunately I have little drive to pickup this game to play now, which is a shame because the first few hours contained so much promise. The one negative review that presently exists nailed the issue on its head there's no reason to use 80% of the characters you obtain since the main party levels up so quickly. Due to this you will not experience an enormous amount of text and back story between these characters since you will never use them. The game is repetitive battle after battle with little variation. Yes, the graphics are nice and the story is decent although VERY typical JRPG fare. After you've promoted your main characters to their master ranks and leveled their weapons up to the top rank around the 15th hour there's not much else to experience except for the tepid storyline.

    I need to say I am absolutely shocked at the amount of poorly written positive reviews for this game that do not highlight these critical flaws in the game. I can only hope for the day Metacritic introduces some standard of quality for their user reviews. How can only ONE negative written review exist for this game that is the only review that points out something so glaringly obvious.

    Disclosure: Gamer of 25 years, played hundreds of RPG's on PC, (S)NES, PS, etc.    … Expand
  20. Malprodigy
    Jun 5, 2014
    5
    I'm rather confused as to how this game is receiving such exceptional reviews. It's a mediocre tactics game that suffers from a lack of compelling elements. My biggest complaints are:
    - You have to move THEN attack, no attack then move
    - Maps are bland and lack features present in better tactics games (altitude, etc.) - The "voice acting" mainly consist of simple utterances that are    I'm rather confused as to how this game is receiving such exceptional reviews. It's a mediocre tactics game that suffers from a lack of compelling elements. My biggest complaints are:
    - You have to move THEN attack, no attack then move
    - Maps are bland and lack features present in better tactics games (altitude, etc.)
    - The "voice acting" mainly consist of simple utterances that are repeated far too often
    - Story & Characters are dull and uninteresting
    I could go on but I'll leave it at this. The game isn't horrible and brings back a lot of the classic Fire Emblem nostalgia, but it's very far from great.    … Expand
  21. Englad
    Oct 26, 2014
    5
    This game is graphically superior to anything else on 3DS and the music is superior to previous FE games. But the gameplay is the same as before. I wanted to see a queue system in a Fire Emblem game instead of the player and enemy rotations, but I wasn't given that option. Fire Emblem has always been afraid to innovate itself (not the genre - itself) and as usual I am rewarded for being aThis game is graphically superior to anything else on 3DS and the music is superior to previous FE games. But the gameplay is the same as before. I wanted to see a queue system in a Fire Emblem game instead of the player and enemy rotations, but I wasn't given that option. Fire Emblem has always been afraid to innovate itself (not the genre - itself) and as usual I am rewarded for being a chicken by keeping my lower level units back beyond harm. I was at least given a casual option to play the game which means you can lose units and they won't disappear forever in the casual mode. There is also a male/female option for choice of main character.… Expand
  22. Jacer200
    Aug 14, 2013
    4
    This was my very first time playing Fire Emblem. I have to say that I love all rpg including jrpg. But I just couldn't get into this game at all. I played for about 3 hours and just shut down the game. I know people love this game but I just did not find it fun. The anime cut scenes are fun to watch but the in game interactions between characters where quit dull. The graphics are great forThis was my very first time playing Fire Emblem. I have to say that I love all rpg including jrpg. But I just couldn't get into this game at all. I played for about 3 hours and just shut down the game. I know people love this game but I just did not find it fun. The anime cut scenes are fun to watch but the in game interactions between characters where quit dull. The graphics are great for a 3DS game but I could not get into the micromanaging of all the characters on a hand held device. For this kind of game I would need total immersion with my 60" TV and my Beyerdynamic headphones. But to me it just falls flat on a handheld device. And I do love a good 50+ rpg/jprg.… Expand
  23. RightEOThen
    Mar 19, 2013
    4
    I love Fire Emblem.
    I just want to preface this review by saying that I love the series and that Fire Emblem 7 (just called Fire Emblem here in the States) is my favorite game of all time. The problem with Fire Emblem Awakening lies in the way it drifts so far from what Fire Emblem should be. Fire Emblem is a series of some of the best strategy games of all time. Games with near perfect    I love Fire Emblem.
    I just want to preface this review by saying that I love the series and that Fire Emblem 7 (just called Fire Emblem here in the States) is my favorite game of all time. The problem with Fire Emblem Awakening lies in the way it drifts so far from what Fire Emblem should be. Fire Emblem is a series of some of the best strategy games of all time. Games with near perfect linear game design, compelling (if not a little dry) stories, and a flair for inventing new concepts for other strategy games to follow. And all of it is placed alongside one of the best systems of strategy combat in history, forcing a player to face up to the real possibility of losing their soldiers.
    But Fire Emblem Awakening does not do the series proud.
    Some of the hate I have for Awakening could be grounded in its divergence from all things Fire Emblem, but I dislike it even more because it tricked me into thinking the whole game would be as good as the first couple chapters. Fire Emblem Awakening does away with the linear style of old Fire Emblem games. At first, this was exciting, but later on I found it made the game devoid of challenge as ranking up your team is far too easy when the battles never stop. There is no point in trying to include weaker characters, no point in trying to form a solid team, and no point in playing on permadeath mode anymore, because the game never actually ends. Sure, there is a final level, but it doesn't matter when you consider that there is no end to the fighting. The game is built for casual mode, which might as well put the nail in the coffin of a series that defined itself as a linear series that had games with a set end. You worked to build a team strong enough to win the war, and lost comrades on the way. But now, every comrade lost is just one less character available for the infinite fights after the end credits roll. Losing a character isn't something you can just keep on without, as their is so much more game to play.
    Of course, the combat is still good despite the poor design, leaving the developer to work on a good story. Unfortunately, the story is an overdone JRPG story featuring a cast of about five relevant characters. The danger in the story isn't real because none of the characters take it seriously. They carry on with their laughably unfunny single trait "personalities" and their pointless conversations while the world falls apart around them in a sea of enemy blood. Now, I realize that Fire Emblem games of the past haven't set the world on fire with their stories, but they at least had some serious enough moments in them to make the world threatening danger somewhat believable.
    Now, the counter argument might be that all of this fits the tone and theme of the game, and it does. But the problem with Fire Emblem Awakening is that it just isn't a Fire Emblem game anymore. Its more comparable to Final Fantasy Tactics than Fire Emblem.
    And as such, it shouldn't have spent time trying to be a Fire Emblem game.
    To sum up this admittedly long winded review, Fire Emblem Awakening is not a Fire Emblem game. If you want to see a good Fire Emblem game, their are about 10 other games in the series (excluding the dull Shadow Dragon) that have not only aged well due to their great combat and well done stories, but that also qualify as Fire Emblem games in feeling, design and execution. Its a sad day to see an IP be turned around and made into something completely different, but I hold out hope that the inevitable next Fire Emblem game gets it right.    … Expand
  24. Yackole
    Apr 30, 2017
    4
    Overall, this game is somewhat lacklustre. If it is compared to older Fire Emblem games in the series, this doesn't come anywhere near their level of quality. Most of the appeal of this game is the fanservice, which isn't what should be focused on in STRATEGY a game. The early game map design is pretty spot-on, but as the late game approaches, get ready to say hello to a bunch of bland,Overall, this game is somewhat lacklustre. If it is compared to older Fire Emblem games in the series, this doesn't come anywhere near their level of quality. Most of the appeal of this game is the fanservice, which isn't what should be focused on in STRATEGY a game. The early game map design is pretty spot-on, but as the late game approaches, get ready to say hello to a bunch of bland, empty grids. The gameplay falls short in every aspect, with constant "rout the enemy" or "defeat commander" missions that get old real quick. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance had great variety in map objectives, where sometimes certain squares needed to be defended from the enemy for X amount of turns, or escape all units from the map. They had depth, which I cannot say for any of the Awakening chapters. Let's not forget about Lunatic and Lunatic+, as they create fake difficulty by simply increasing the enemies' stats to a point where success in the early game is up to RNG. All strategy is lost and you have to rely on the aforementioned RNG and grinding all of your units to be gods. This game certainly didn't receive such positive reviews for its gameplay, so I am grading it based on that, and a solid 4/10 seems about right.… Expand
  25. BitterSpud
    May 17, 2017
    4
    Well technically functional and with competent presentation, the elements that go into making fire emblem awakening wind up creating a mediocre game in terms of look, sound, and story content. This could be forgiven if the game wasn't a dull game-play experience as well, providing little in the way of a structured challenge at normal and hard difficulty, and relying on cheap tricks andWell technically functional and with competent presentation, the elements that go into making fire emblem awakening wind up creating a mediocre game in terms of look, sound, and story content. This could be forgiven if the game wasn't a dull game-play experience as well, providing little in the way of a structured challenge at normal and hard difficulty, and relying on cheap tricks and poor design on lunatic and higher. If you want a good story and compelling characters, look elsewhere. If you want challenging game-play, look elsewhere. If you want to munch on a game equivalent of pringles, go nuts. However, pringles are unworthy of critical praise.… Expand
  26. gabriot
    Mar 27, 2016
    3
    This release of call of dut- I mean Fire Emblem brings *shock* nothing new to the table yet again in this tired franchise that everyone somehow loves. This particular installment garners praise from fans and critics alike. Why? I have no idea.

    Where to begin... The difficulty is just a joke. You play on normal mode and it's too easy unless it's your first time ever playing a game    This release of call of dut- I mean Fire Emblem brings *shock* nothing new to the table yet again in this tired franchise that everyone somehow loves. This particular installment garners praise from fans and critics alike. Why? I have no idea.

    Where to begin...

    The difficulty is just a joke. You play on normal mode and it's too easy unless it's your first time ever playing a game like this, you play on hard and it just isn't fun at all. On hard there is pretty much zero strategy, your only option is to just go all in on a few OP characters and literally never have anyone else fight (or else they just get one shotted from ANYWHERE).

    Some of the missions are so horribly designed that there is literally nothing you can do on the harder modes unless you just keep reloading when rng doesn't go your way (looking at you paralogue #2). Oh and they were kind enough not to include a restart mission or restart game option, you know something that games have had since the early nineties - so to add to your frustration you have to hard reset the game each **** time **** strikes during a mission (which is FAR too often).

    Same classes as EVERY other fire emblem game, same exact class progression as EVERY other fire emblem game, same awful dialogue and awful storyline as EVERY other fire emblem game, and same exacty party makeup from start to finish as - you guessed it - EVERY other fire emblem game.

    If you enjoy throwing full priced triple A money at games like Call of Duty and Madden that re-release the same game for a decade, or if having to only really play the game with 3 different character classes since every other single one gets one-shotted no matter how "strategic" you try to be (really the only strategy in this game is praying to the RNG gods you don't get crit'd) then THIS is the game for you! Such a good game, right up there with all the greats, TOTALLY deserving of a 9+ score! Thanks everyone for leading me to believe this was an actual good fire emblem game for once, I'll never trust you again.    … Expand
  27. midipon
    Apr 26, 2014
    3
    I wanted to like this game, I did...but it doesn't hold up. Your grind to survive on the flat, tedious maps, grind to marry your bland team mates off, grind to get skills, etc etc etc! But then it doesn't even pay off. The game is too short for you to fully enjoy what you've done with your team, but its not like it matters much anyway since the characters and story are boring and harp onI wanted to like this game, I did...but it doesn't hold up. Your grind to survive on the flat, tedious maps, grind to marry your bland team mates off, grind to get skills, etc etc etc! But then it doesn't even pay off. The game is too short for you to fully enjoy what you've done with your team, but its not like it matters much anyway since the characters and story are boring and harp on its black and white morality. There are much better games out there.… Expand
  28. shootingstars99
    Jul 10, 2019
    3
    While Fire Emblem has never been the deepest or most fun strategy RPG, it does have it's solid entries, this however is not one of them. Every element of strategy essentially flies out the window after a achieving a certain character level, making the game boil down to something more akin to "Dynasty Warriors: The Board Game" later on in the game, The story itself is sub par, theWhile Fire Emblem has never been the deepest or most fun strategy RPG, it does have it's solid entries, this however is not one of them. Every element of strategy essentially flies out the window after a achieving a certain character level, making the game boil down to something more akin to "Dynasty Warriors: The Board Game" later on in the game, The story itself is sub par, the characters aren't interestingly designed or very likable aside for maybe 2 or 3 out of many, and the game play can be boiled down to grinding up after missions to eliminate all traces of strategy from a game that has marketed itself as a strategy role-playing game. It's a bummer, because I wanted to like this game.… Expand
  29. Raiohs
    Sep 22, 2019
    3
    Worst fire emblem Ive played. Has some good mechanics (some break the dificulty) but terrible writing, I felt like I was playing a fanfic, bad level design, where missions boil down to "kill everyone" and because of broken mechanics you can basically have super warriors who do all the work. No stratagy needed and bad plot makes this game a downer in the series
  30. Klefke
    Jul 28, 2020
    3
    Bad Maps and bad story.
    this game Is a ovverrated Sorry for my grammaticaly im not english
  31. Nightshroud
    Apr 12, 2016
    0
    Thanks to the good reviews I decided to try the game expecting to be a really nice game, but sadly the reality was another, this game is full of grinding, and the worst of all, is just the kind of grinding that doesn't reward you at all, the maps are very awfully designed and it hasn't any replay value, so thanks for making me throw 45€ for this BS.
  32. Hypie
    Oct 6, 2015
    0
    To make it Short the Title Fire Emblem: Grinding would be more matching. Like Midipon already said you grind levels, skills, some boring marriage stuff but it's not rewarding at all...
  33. megabear
    Jan 3, 2018
    0
    I've been playing for about a week and below are my impressions:

    Pros:
    - Solid gameplay
    - Good graphics
    - Good OST

    Cons:
    - Cheesy/weak story
    - Poor English voice acting

    I personally found this game to be a great disappointment after having read so many positive reviews.
  34. KmowXIV
    Jun 19, 2016
    0
    I have been playing Fire Emblem since the second game in the series. Not the second localised one, the actual second game on the Famicom. Seeing this... Destruction of a franchise I hold near and dear to my heart, and then to see people praising it... Well, it was enough to make me give up on this series. So... Where do I begin?
    The plot is garbage. It feels like 3 stories glued together,    I have been playing Fire Emblem since the second game in the series. Not the second localised one, the actual second game on the Famicom. Seeing this... Destruction of a franchise I hold near and dear to my heart, and then to see people praising it... Well, it was enough to make me give up on this series. So... Where do I begin?
    The plot is garbage. It feels like 3 stories glued together, with plot holes ridden throughout, as well as feeling like less of an SRPG and more of a Visual Novel. Characters can barely be called such, all of them have a single personality trait, and that's it. It's sad when Fire Emblem 4, which came out almost 20 years ago, has more developed and 3-dimensional characters.
    The gameplay is departure from even the previous game, and has so little strategy, that the closest you get is a game mode where people write guides on how to do exactly everything. When the beauty of Fire Emblem comes in the customization. Seriously, If you want a good Fire Emblem game with a Mature story (something people who praise this game claim it has), go play Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.    … Expand
  35. thehonestwalrus
    Jan 9, 2018
    0
    Beautiful music, artwork, and story. Only flaw is the small section of filler.
  36. Phuz
    Mar 9, 2022
    0
    So first let's address the elephant in the room. Or should I say horse? Every character has hooves for feet and these huge horse like legs. They're ugly. They look like they have been kicked by a horse.

    Beastiality isn't my thing. My next waifu being a donkey, doesn't really appeal to me. Next the battles are awful and I am getting rid of this game after just a short time playing    So first let's address the elephant in the room. Or should I say horse? Every character has hooves for feet and these huge horse like legs. They're ugly. They look like they have been kicked by a horse.

    Beastiality isn't my thing. My next waifu being a donkey, doesn't really appeal to me.

    Next the battles are awful and I am getting rid of this game after just a short time playing because of it. I played a side quest, made a silly error early doors and started again. My first move was identical on my rerun but the outcome was completely different. I redid this. Started again 4 times. Every time a different outcome from the same move. So I tried a different character. Same thing, random outcome every time. Then I went a step further with this second character and gave them support. They actually did worse with the support than without. Now I am someone who plays Fire Emblem on easy, if the option is available. I am not a major tactical strategist but come on, it is still a strategy game. I still love to plan, even if I'm not very good at it. How can I enjoy a strategy game that is purely down to luck? That is totally game breaking. You can't make a strategy for complete randomness. It just made the game pointless.

    Next, the dialogue. I like text and I don't like stupid OTT Hollywood cr*p voiceovers. Give me text any day but please not with a one, or two word audio byte for every line. I don't want to hear constant nonsense like, hey, you sure, OK, urgh, that's right, let's go, or any other rubbish they spout.

    OST. It's Fire Emblem - It's great.

    Graphics? It's OK. I like the 3D stuff and it looks nice in general but then everything is totally ruined by forementioned horses.

    I'm not some FE purist that only likes old games. Radiant Dawn was my first FE and 3 House's is my favourite game ever, if anything I prefer newer titles much more but this is just rubbish.

    It has just cost me £35, so far it feels more like it's worth about £2, if that. That is just for the OST. I'm not really enjoying the game at all.

    For reference 3 House's is a 10/10 for me and Radiant Dawn an 8.5+/10.

    I feel I would enjoy a 3rd playthrough of 3 House's, or maybe actually playing my 4th house DLC a lot more than I'll ever like this.

    No one, absolutely no one is giving me the magic that psycho Edlegard did. She was an exciting character. These characters in Awakening have left me disinterested in them, I'm really not that bothered to find out what they do next.

    Dull, a polished turd, a gee gee's wet dream. A weird, dull game that sounds beautiful but looks horrific and plays badly.    … Expand
  37. TheGuyWhoHats
    May 8, 2023
    0
    Awakening is a great game but compared to the other games in the franchise it doesn't rank that high. The gameplay is fun but is done better in Engage and Echoes, the story is passable but isn't even able to compare to three houses and sacred stones. The characters are fun but the supports you get with them are mostly mediocore and feels forced in so you can have the children character andAwakening is a great game but compared to the other games in the franchise it doesn't rank that high. The gameplay is fun but is done better in Engage and Echoes, the story is passable but isn't even able to compare to three houses and sacred stones. The characters are fun but the supports you get with them are mostly mediocore and feels forced in so you can have the children character and most characters don't get supports with characters of the same gender. Awakening overall is a good game and I recommend it but more as a first game than as anything else.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best 3DS Game of 2013
1
#1 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2013
2
#2 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 72 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 72
  3. Negative: 0 out of 72
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 13, 2013
    93
    A truly excellent tactical role-playing game. [June 2013]
  2. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 10, 2013
    90
    Ignore Casual mode, set the difficulty to hard, and enjoy what is arguably the best turn-based strategy game released since Final Fantasy Tactics. [July 2013, p.76]
  3. Games.cz
    May 19, 2013
    100
    A great turn-based strategy game surpassing not only its blood-related predecessors but step-brothers and step-sisters of the Advance Wars series as well. Fire Emblem: Awakening is the new benchmark of the genre that is practically uncriticizable. At the moment on Nintendo 3DS there is not a better alternative.
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