I can still remember it, it was early 2015, and I was interested in trying out Fire Emblem for the first time. I knew I’d be getting Fire Emblem Fates as a present at some point, but that would be later in the year. Then one lucky day in March, I was allowed to choose what game my parents would buy for me, and I ended up choosing Fire Emblem Awakening, in turn, that became my first Fire Emblem. Back then I was about 13, and aside from my slowly forming interest in Fire Emblem, I’d basically only ever played Pokemon at that point. Fire Emblem Awakening was my first ever divergence from what I would typically play, and I became obsessed. At the time, Fire Emblem became a big special interest, and it helped me finally get out of my comfort zone, and play games from other franchises. That’s all to say that Fire Emblem, and Awakening especially has had a big impact on my life in a way. So after all this time, and so many years since I’ve last touched it, I finally got around to replaying Fire Emblem Awakening. I truly believe now, after all I’ve experienced since then, I’ve gained a much stronger appreciation for Awakening. Not only for the impact it’s had on my life, but the entire circumstances behind its existence.
There is something relatively interesting I feel. At least back when I was big into the Fire Emblem sphere, it was always somewhat assumed that Awakening was the one to introduce Casual Mode or Avatars. In fact, they had already existed in a prior game, New Mystery of the Emblem. I imagine the general confusion occurs since New Mystery of the Emblem never released outside of Japan, and with how big of a release Awakening was, I imagine it likely overshadowed New Mystery of the Emblem. I really appreciate Casual Mode when it comes to Fire Emblem. Sure, it removes permadeath which is a staple of the franchise, but it’s a really nice option to have. Plus, there’s still an option for Permadeath with Classic Mode, so you’re not forced to use Casual Mode either. And in the vein of Avatars, I do really love Robin especially. Robin is a unique character in and of themselves, so they’re not much of a blank slate. Even then, they’re not the game’s protagonist, so it’s fine too. Playing Awakening again, I really miss being able to customize the design of the Avatar, I get why for certain aspects of Byleth and Alear, but making a character an “avatar” with little customization isn’t that fun for me.
Awakening is also in a way, nonlinear. While it’s main story is in itself linear, just a total of 27 chapters total, there’s also about 20 extra chapters you can play at any time you want. There’s also challenge battles that may appear, or you can force them to appear with certain items. This feels like one of the few Fire Emblems where you can feasibly level-grind in because of this, and I did it a lot. In fact, I grinded so much just for fun, that I had about 20 units with fully maxed out stats and custom skillsets. Units themselves are so fun to customize, you’re able to freely switch them between different classes as long as they’re above a certain level. Combined this all together and you’re able to really able to build units to certain specificities, and at least for me, this is really fun. Definitely though, it is a bit game breaking. With how I did this, I cleared the entire final chapter without taking damage (though if I was on a higher difficulty, I do believe I would’ve taken damage).
I also think how Awakening is structured really allows for you to learn the characters too, in a way. What I mean by that is that you’re able to build supports freely, instead of having a general chapter limit before the game is over. Especially in a game like awakening, where getting certain character to S rank will then unlock new characters and chapters to play with. Im referring to the child units here, and it’s interesting how they work. Their stats, growth, classes, and skills all take in account their parents. A Child Unit’s father gives them new classes, so for example, Frederick may give a child unit the ability to be a cavalier or a knight. It makes these units especially really customizable for those who want to break the game that much, though I didn’t go that far. I paired characters up with who I thought were the most fitting character and story wise. But Awakening allowing you to freely build supports is really nice, and I was able to get myself attached to these characters super easily.
The story of Awakening is interesting. I do think it has a bit of issues, though at the same time I can overlook them. I think it’s primarily a pacing issue, the game has a sort of 3 act structure, but the first act of the game is so much longer than the other two. Act two especially feels really quick, especially with how big of a threat the villain of that act is posed as. I ultimately think Act 3 needed at least another chapter or two. Ultimately though, the game and its story is still really good, with the only issue I have being its pacing.
Awakening though is a powerful story to me. Not only in the general themes and emotions of the game itself, but how it’s all tied to the circumstances of its creation. Awakening is a game about defying an apocalyptic future, a future so desperate to occur. In a way, it’s like how the game itself was made. Originally, it was meant to be the final Fire Emblem game, if this last game didn’t succeed, it would be last. And even if fates opposes us, we can still fight and defy it. In a way, it’s really poetic that a game like this was able to be wildly successful, and really saved Fire Emblem. Not only that, but it also made Fire Emblem wildly popular, for better or for worse. Awakening is also about the bonds we make, and how they connect us all as people. I don’t think I can do that concept justice in words, but I really love it.
Fire Emblem has had a complicated history since this game’s release, and game quality hasn’t always been the best, but I’m glad Awakening was able to save this franchise. Awakening itself is such an amazing game for what it is, and I appreciate it even more now that I’ve finally played it all over again. Whatever next Fire Emblem releases, I’ll be sure to at least give it a shot, no matter what it ends up being.
There is something relatively interesting I feel. At least back when I was big into the Fire Emblem sphere, it was always somewhat assumed that Awakening was the one to introduce Casual Mode or Avatars. In fact, they had already existed in a prior game, New Mystery of the Emblem. I imagine the general confusion occurs since New Mystery of the Emblem never released outside of Japan, and with how big of a release Awakening was, I imagine it likely overshadowed New Mystery of the Emblem. I really appreciate Casual Mode when it comes to Fire Emblem. Sure, it removes permadeath which is a staple of the franchise, but it’s a really nice option to have. Plus, there’s still an option for Permadeath with Classic Mode, so you’re not forced to use Casual Mode either. And in the vein of Avatars, I do really love Robin especially. Robin is a unique character in and of themselves, so they’re not much of a blank slate. Even then, they’re not the game’s protagonist, so it’s fine too. Playing Awakening again, I really miss being able to customize the design of the Avatar, I get why for certain aspects of Byleth and Alear, but making a character an “avatar” with little customization isn’t that fun for me.
Awakening is also in a way, nonlinear. While it’s main story is in itself linear, just a total of 27 chapters total, there’s also about 20 extra chapters you can play at any time you want. There’s also challenge battles that may appear, or you can force them to appear with certain items. This feels like one of the few Fire Emblems where you can feasibly level-grind in because of this, and I did it a lot. In fact, I grinded so much just for fun, that I had about 20 units with fully maxed out stats and custom skillsets. Units themselves are so fun to customize, you’re able to freely switch them between different classes as long as they’re above a certain level. Combined this all together and you’re able to really able to build units to certain specificities, and at least for me, this is really fun. Definitely though, it is a bit game breaking. With how I did this, I cleared the entire final chapter without taking damage (though if I was on a higher difficulty, I do believe I would’ve taken damage).
I also think how Awakening is structured really allows for you to learn the characters too, in a way. What I mean by that is that you’re able to build supports freely, instead of having a general chapter limit before the game is over. Especially in a game like awakening, where getting certain character to S rank will then unlock new characters and chapters to play with. Im referring to the child units here, and it’s interesting how they work. Their stats, growth, classes, and skills all take in account their parents. A Child Unit’s father gives them new classes, so for example, Frederick may give a child unit the ability to be a cavalier or a knight. It makes these units especially really customizable for those who want to break the game that much, though I didn’t go that far. I paired characters up with who I thought were the most fitting character and story wise. But Awakening allowing you to freely build supports is really nice, and I was able to get myself attached to these characters super easily.
The story of Awakening is interesting. I do think it has a bit of issues, though at the same time I can overlook them. I think it’s primarily a pacing issue, the game has a sort of 3 act structure, but the first act of the game is so much longer than the other two. Act two especially feels really quick, especially with how big of a threat the villain of that act is posed as. I ultimately think Act 3 needed at least another chapter or two. Ultimately though, the game and its story is still really good, with the only issue I have being its pacing.
Awakening though is a powerful story to me. Not only in the general themes and emotions of the game itself, but how it’s all tied to the circumstances of its creation. Awakening is a game about defying an apocalyptic future, a future so desperate to occur. In a way, it’s like how the game itself was made. Originally, it was meant to be the final Fire Emblem game, if this last game didn’t succeed, it would be last. And even if fates opposes us, we can still fight and defy it. In a way, it’s really poetic that a game like this was able to be wildly successful, and really saved Fire Emblem. Not only that, but it also made Fire Emblem wildly popular, for better or for worse. Awakening is also about the bonds we make, and how they connect us all as people. I don’t think I can do that concept justice in words, but I really love it.
Fire Emblem has had a complicated history since this game’s release, and game quality hasn’t always been the best, but I’m glad Awakening was able to save this franchise. Awakening itself is such an amazing game for what it is, and I appreciate it even more now that I’ve finally played it all over again. Whatever next Fire Emblem releases, I’ll be sure to at least give it a shot, no matter what it ends up being.