Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: pokepal148 on April 05, 2013, 12:08:10 AM
Title: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 05, 2013, 12:08:10 AM
so... with little over a week to rub it into those euro jerks... lets talk fire emblem
am I the only one put off by the blue glow on the outrealms characters... also I hate that swordmasters got nerfed so badly, and why is it archers/snipers are the only ones that can use longbows,
one of the child characters(not saying who) starts as a knight and has(for me) amazing speed growth, Its awesome...
but I love the class system in general so :/
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Caterkiller on April 06, 2013, 11:43:31 AM
I know nothing about the past games but I love this one to death! It's too bad people at NWR don't discuss the games they currently play much. Everyone is worried about spoilers so unless its a new Mario or Zelda we barely talk about anything but theories, hopes, dreams and the past.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: RABicle on April 08, 2013, 08:23:33 AM
Is it still a case of the good guys being beautiful models and the baddies being deformed and ugly people?
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 08, 2013, 01:53:50 PM
Is it still a case of the good guys being beautiful models and the baddies being deformed and ugly people?
eh... somewhat yeah,
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Dow Jones on April 08, 2013, 02:35:49 PM
I think the game is perfect (apart from being so long). But I love it for what it is. It's the first game I've played after quitting Sacred Stones because I couldn't get into that one too much. I wish more people in my area played it so I could StreetPass with them.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 08, 2013, 10:02:01 PM
I think the game is perfect (apart from being so long). But I love it for what it is. It's the first game I've played after quitting Sacred Stones because I couldn't get into that one too much. I wish more people in my area played it so I could StreetPass with them.
I hear streetpass is somewhat broken anyway, and this is in line with sacred stones so...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Caterkiller on April 09, 2013, 01:36:44 AM
I still don't understand street pass or rather I never bothered to see what it was.
And see? Like I said, NWR doesn't talk about any story driven games until like 4 years later.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 09, 2013, 02:14:21 AM
For the love of dog give me the game already!
SHHHIIIBBBAAATTTAAA!
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: oohhboy on April 09, 2013, 08:56:10 PM
Apparently I am a Euro jerk since I have to wait another week.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: ymeegod on April 10, 2013, 02:48:54 PM
Finally gotten around to starting the game; reached chapter 10 so far and here's a couple of my thoughts:
Not enough random battles :(. You'll have to purchase maps (DLC) just to get everyone up to the same levels. No arena that I come across which sucks because I need the gold as well.
Critical hits are always a pain in the arse. I always seem to get them at the wrong time.
I ended up restarting the game in casual mode, think I'll go back and try hardcore during new game+. ----
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Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 10, 2013, 03:04:06 PM
Finally gotten around to starting the game; reached chapter 10 so far and here's a couple of my thoughts:
Not enough random battles :( . You'll have to purchase maps (DLC) just to get everyone up to the same levels. No arena that I come across which sucks because I need the gold as well.
I'm not really sure why you would need to have all your characters at the same level. Aren't those kinds of difficult decisions an important part of the game? With Fire Emblem you are challenged to find a balance between the sometimes antagonistic goals of having a well rounded squad (i.e. levelling up weaker characters) while also having a force which is capable of surviving and making it to the next chapter. Of the two Fire Emblem games I've played, Sacred Stones and Radiant Dawn, I found that by the end there was a huge chasm between certain characters. It wasn't necessarily a problem, it just meant that on certain maps I had to play defensively.
I guess we all play differently, however.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 10, 2013, 05:59:20 PM
Finally gotten around to starting the game; reached chapter 10 so far and here's a couple of my thoughts:
Not enough random battles. You'll have to purchase maps (DLC) just to get everyone up to the same levels. No arena that I come across which sucks because I need the gold as well.
eh, if you are playing on normal reeking boxes are a cheep way to get these things, otherwise use stuff from the bonus box... you can get the exponential growth set of DLC if you are having trouble
Quote
Critical hits are always a pain in the arse. I always seem to get them at the wrong time.
yeah true, to be honest i have mostly avoided that, i am assuming that you are playing on hard
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I ended up restarting the game in casual mode, think I'll go back and try hardcore during new game+.
there is no new game +, but thank you for reminding me of something
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: ymeegod on April 11, 2013, 10:03:07 PM
Yeah just ran into a store that had Reeking Box so I ended up leveling up most of my characters to at least level 20 just so I can use master seals to get get class upgrades.
Have at least one of every class now minus a few like Bow Knight and those special classes that are locked in story mode. I'm at mission 14 now after spending a few hours grinding.
If I really wanted to I could just have beaten the game with my "dream team" but I like mixing up my playing styles a bit and trying different classes--right now my best fighter is the thief Gaius--had to level him up since he started at an level three thief class. Turned him into an assassin with high luck and speed making him extremely hard to hit. With him and the tricksteer Anna my team is pretty much unstoppable.
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Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 12, 2013, 03:31:15 AM
I'll be getting this game next week, and my natural inclination is not to play on casual mode. Without having played it, it seems to me that playing on casual mode would remove much of the excitement of losing characters. Is there anyone out there who's willing to vouch for the default mode?
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: ymeegod on April 12, 2013, 08:16:14 AM
Depends on if you ever played an FE game before. Some maps are just death traps waiting to happen and you'll have to deal with the whole lucky dice roll.
Think I perfer casual mode myself that way I can try out everyone without having to worry about their lack of experience and skill.
Just ran into my first street pass team fight and got rolled. Most of my party was lvl 22 (20 base class + 2 levels in masterclasses) but theirs was unknown other than the fact he/she didn't have a single masterclass (so I guessing they had reclassed a couple of times on the same characters).
Anyhow their lvl 3 (cough) thief pretty much killed my entire party without me taking 1/2 his HP.
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Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 13, 2013, 09:24:50 PM
I'll be getting this game next week, and my natural inclination is not to play on casual mode. Without having played it, it seems to me that playing on casual mode would remove much of the excitement of losing characters. Is there anyone out there who's willing to vouch for the default mode?
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Sarail on April 13, 2013, 10:38:10 PM
I played Hard/Classic mode, and I loved every minute. Even the four hours worth of time lost in replaying chapters just to get them right. That's part of the charm for me, and I never once felt like I was wasting time. For me, I look at that as part of the strategy - in correcting myself for the redo.
So yes, the notion that I could lose a character stayed exciting from beginning to end.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Chad Sexington on April 13, 2013, 10:50:57 PM
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
Maybe 15 years ago I'd be up for the challenge, but not anymore I suppose.
>_>
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 13, 2013, 10:51:54 PM
I played Hard/Classic mode, and I loved every minute. Even the four hours worth of time lost in replaying chapters just to get them right. That's part of the charm for me, and I never once felt like I was wasting time. For me, I look at that as part of the strategy - in correcting myself for the redo.
So yes, the notion that I could lose a character stayed exciting from beginning to end.
and then you get RNG screwed...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 14, 2013, 05:15:23 AM
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
In both those cases though, did you guys have to restart or did you choose to?
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Chad Sexington on April 14, 2013, 06:12:31 AM
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
In both those cases though, did you guys have to restart or did you choose to?
I had to restart to get the experience I wanted out of the game.
But nice try. ^_^
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 14, 2013, 06:15:26 AM
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
In both those cases though, did you guys have to restart or did you choose to?
I had to restart to get the experience I wanted out of the game.
But nice try. ^_^
The experience you wanted? So it was optional? I'm not trying to catch in some sort of trap, lol. I genuinely want to know.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Chad Sexington on April 14, 2013, 06:18:38 AM
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
In both those cases though, did you guys have to restart or did you choose to?
I had to restart to get the experience I wanted out of the game.
But nice try. ^_^
The experience you wanted? So it was optional? I'm not trying to catch in some sort of trap, lol. I genuinely want to know.
Yes... losing a character does not result in a Game Over unless you lose 1 of the main characters.
This is a defining feature of the Fire Emblem series.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 14, 2013, 06:28:12 AM
I had to restart to get the experience I wanted out of the game.
But nice try. ^_^
Ah, ok. I thought perhaps you were talking about one of those mission style chapters that Fire Emblem games have from time to time. Where the game requires you to do something within a given amount of moves or within a certain amount of time. I can imagine a scenario where a chapter might require you to level up a certain amount before you can proceed. That would be super frustrating.
Good to hear that's not the case though.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Chad Sexington on April 14, 2013, 09:25:14 AM
Has anyone bought any of the maps (in-game)? Are they worth it?
I just unlocked them and quickly browsed through them and I can see it all adding up real quick.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 14, 2013, 03:58:55 PM
the excitement of losing characters only takes you so far... after a while it becomes "oh @#$% i have to start over again and the boss is one hit from death..."
I started the game on Hard Casual mode and 2 hours in, I got the the Paralogue chapter where you have to keep the shepherd alive/level him up for him to join.
I attempted 3 times and then deleted my save and started over in Normal Casual mode.
In both those cases though, did you guys have to restart or did you choose to?
you don't have to restart but if you want to take my save file of having to beat the king in chapter 14 of Sacred Stones with only Ephirim, Duessel, and Seth because I 'didn't have to start over' then be my guest
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 14, 2013, 04:09:52 PM
i made a new save file for hard/casual... it has made me see how my playstyle has changed since sacred stones, it has made the game more like a modified version of chess, you have two kings and some other guys, you need to defend the two kings from death while keeping them leveled up and able to stand their own... on hard failure is a huge risk even on casual...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 14, 2013, 06:45:05 PM
Now I don't know which to choose. I guess I'll give classic a chance, and if it doesn't work out then I can start again in casual mode.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 21, 2013, 04:07:46 PM
anyways, I am now making an all out attempt to break the game on a new file, kjelle on my old file impressed me but i couldn't do much with her, now she has inherited counter, is poised to get galeforce, and is just going to break the game
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Sundoulos on April 23, 2013, 08:39:04 AM
Has anyone bought any of the maps (in-game)? Are they worth it?
I just unlocked them and quickly browsed through them and I can see it all adding up real quick.
I've bought a couple of the packs; in all honesty, I've enjoyed them because I love this game, although they are quite repetitive, since you basically play the same map two or three times. In some cases, bringing specific units to the mission can trigger unique conversations. I guess it depends on how much you care about that kind of thing. I've mostly used them to experience grind the characters that I haven't used as much in the main game.
I did recently play the Smash Brethren pack, and the reward for the second mission in that pack gives you an item that makes the "Bride" class available to you for use, though I haven't used it yet. Apparently the second mission of Lost Bloodlines allows you access to the "Dread Fighter" class, but I haven't gotten around to that one yet.
There are a couple of DLC packs that it would be good to acquire in the future, I think. The "Future of Despair" maps are supposed to be pretty good (from what I've heard), but they haven't been released yet. There's also supposed to be a group of packs coming that are focused on developing conversations between your characters e.g. the first chapter is called "Harvest of Bonds"
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 23, 2013, 08:48:34 AM
I might pick up some of the maps if they have interesting scenarios. I really don't feel like I need more character interaction or dialogue, as for me that's the weakest part of the gamer.
On that note, I've just found out about the 'Barracks' option. What the hell were they thinking? Those scenes are painfully bad. They also serve little purpose beyond grinding out a little XP or uncovering a few weapons. Has anyone actually listen to all of them? lol.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Shaymin on April 23, 2013, 09:33:32 AM
It's also meant to fuel the Awakening Bot (http://www.twitter.com/awakeningbot).
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 24, 2013, 02:23:09 AM
I just lost my first character (Cordelia) only to see them miraculously pop again during a dialogue scene, lol. I'm playing on classic, so I thought I'd lost them for good. I guess she was a character with some amount of story significant, but not enough significance that the game would give me a game over screen for losing her.
It was relieving to see her again, but I can't help but feel robbed of the experience of my first character death.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: jaytalks on April 24, 2013, 08:06:12 PM
I just lost my first character (Cordelia) only to see them miraculously pop again during a dialogue scene, lol. I'm playing on classic, so I thought I'd lost them for good. I guess she was a character with some amount of story significant, but not enough significance that the game would give me a game over screen for losing her.
It was relieving to see her again, but I can't help but feel robbed of the experience of my first character death.
The only characters whose death result in a game over are lords like Chrom and your avatar. I think everyone else dies they technically stay alive but never reenter the battlefield. Although someone like Donnel probably could die and never get another line of dialogue.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 24, 2013, 09:21:20 PM
I think everyone else dies they technically stay alive but never reenter the battlefield.
Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. When my characters go out in a blaze of glory I want them to actually die, not stick around spouting terrible lines of dialogue. How can I properly mourn them if they won't STFU? lol
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: oohhboy on April 26, 2013, 12:08:16 AM
This Dialogue.
"He gives the orders. I stab people. It is clear".
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Sundoulos on April 26, 2013, 07:56:11 AM
I think everyone else dies they technically stay alive but never reenter the battlefield. Although someone like Donnel probably could die and never get another line of dialogue.
So does that mean that if you happen to get that character married before they die that the associated child paralogue will still appear? I played my game on casual just to make sure that I could experience all of the missions in one go.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 27, 2013, 02:55:15 PM
I seem to have a problem keeping newbies in my squad.
I lost Cordelia the Pegasus Knight in the same chapter in which she showed up; and I've now just lost Tharja one turn after recruiting her. It was really funny, because I literally just spoke with her once on the battlefield, she agreed to join my cause, and on the next turn an archer (who she had been fighting alongside up until I recruited her) hit her with a critical and she died. The funniest part was that when she died she said 'I'm sorry Emmeryn'. SHE NEVER EVEN GOT THE CHANCE TO BLOODY MEET EMMERYN!
lol.
This game is awesome!
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on April 28, 2013, 04:59:35 PM
I seem to have a problem keeping newbies to my squad.
I lost Cordelia the Pegasus Knight in the same chapter in which she showed up; and I've now just lost Tharja one turn after recruiting her. It was really funny, because I literally just spoke with her once on the battlefield, she agreed to join my cause, and on the next turn an archer (who she had been fighting alongside up until I recruited her) hit her with a critical and she died. The funniest part was that when she died she said 'I'm sorry Emmeryn'. SHE NEVER EVEN GOT THE CHANCE TO BLOODY MEET EMMERYN!
lol.
This game is awesome!
technically you lost four units... think of the children...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Shaymin on April 28, 2013, 05:03:15 PM
Congratulations, Fire Emblem. You have so much reach in my area that I've had to declare bankruptcy and delete the Streetpasses I've picked up.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on April 28, 2013, 05:48:37 PM
but you have lost two of the children units here, neither of them are spectacular or anything but in classic mode, that is a big thing...
Well, for my first play through I'm playing Classic Normal. I think I might do Classic Hard after that. I'm also only allowing myself to L/R/Start when I lose a character within the first 3 moves. On Normal so far I'm really not feeling the pressure. We'll see if that's the case towards the end.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on May 02, 2013, 07:08:22 PM
but you have lost two of the children units here, neither of them are spectacular or anything but in classic mode, that is a big thing...
Well, for my first play through I'm playing Classic Normal. I think I might do Classic Hard after that. I'm also only allowing myself to L/R/Start when I lose a character within the first 3 moves. On Normal so far I'm really not feeling the pressure. We'll see if that's the case towards the end.
normal is pretty easy in general... hard well... i have gotten game overs on casual mode, the AI seems to have gotten brutal and i think playing on classic would make me want to kill a puppy...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: pokepal148 on May 06, 2013, 02:08:21 PM
so how is the DLC... i want to know which ones are worth getting I think the golden pack, smash brethren, and bloodlines pack sound good...
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: TJ Spyke on May 06, 2013, 02:12:05 PM
Just for giggles, sometimes I check the boards at GameFAQs and it's funny seeing some people there flip out over over Nintendo covering up Tharja's butt in the Summer Scramble DLC (she is wearing a bikini bottom in the Japanese version with a TINY amount of butt cleavage, but in the English versions they put up a curtain over her butt) and doing stuff like say they refuse to buy any more Nintendo games and it's "outrageous" they are censoring the game.
Meh, eventually I will get the game when I have the money. There are too many other 3DS games I want first though.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on May 12, 2013, 05:52:35 AM
Yesterday I had to use tonics for the first time to overcome a chapter. The level itself was actually kind of awesome. It was a battle set on the side of a Volcano, in which the ground slowly breaks up beneath you. I think I made it more difficult for myself, however, because I was determined to get Say'ri close enough to speak with her brother (who was the opposing commander) as I thought I might be able to convince him to join the Shepherds. That wasn't the case, so I had her strike down her own brother, which was really messed up. I felt so guilty afterwards, lol.
I'm loving this game so far, but I do wish there were more chapters like that one. Chapters in which the environment changed or in which you have goals other than killing all opposing forces. I remember being really excited to play the chapter that was set on a series of boats, because in the cutscene before that the characters were talking about how they were going to tactically burn their ships and ram them into the enemies'. I thought that meant I was going to have to bring my best Fire Mages and use them to burn the masts of ships that my remaining Shepherds were clear of. As it turns out, my only goal was to kill everyone and the strategy of burning the ships was simply shown in a post-chapter cutscene. It was a little underwhelming.
Title: Re: Fire Emblem Awakening
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on May 29, 2013, 10:34:57 AM
So, yesterday I finally beat Fire Emblem: Awakening (for those that are interested, I played it on Classic/Normal and according to the activity log it took me 70 hours and 23 mins) . While on the whole Awakening was very enjoyable, I walk away from the game with some mixed feelings.
First, the good.
Visually this is by far the best looking Fire Emblem that Intelligent Systems has ever made (you know, besides the whole lack of feet thing). When playing Sacred Stones and Radiant Dawn, the only Emblem games I had played before this one, I got bored of watching the animations after a few hours and turned them off. In Awakening, however, I always got a kick out of watching the battle animations (albiet with the fast forward button firmly held down) and therefore never felt the need to switch them off. Watching Gaius do his stylised 'lethality' attacks, or seeing Virion jump in to the air and let fly an arrow, the animations were just so cool that I didn't mind watching them play out, epecially when characters were paired up appropriately, leading to long strings of attacks.
On the gameplay front, Awakening is just as good as the previous entries that I have played. It's supremely satisfying to level up your characters, equip them with increasingly powerful equipment, and nuture them towards a specific class. This has always been the primary draw for me as far as Fire Emblem is concerned, but the addition of a more complex 'partner' system is where the game really stands out for me. Putting the aggresive tomboy Sully together with the effeminately posh Virion, or making a relationship blossom between farmhand Donnel and exotic dancer Olivia can be a bunch of fun, but it also adds another layer of strategy. Sure, it might be funny to throw two characters together, but will it work on the battlefield?
Also, I might be crazy, but I didn't think the story was altogether terrible. I mean, sure, the whole end of the world story is pretty rote at this point, but I do think that Awakening had some genuinely interesting twists. I enjoyed the Terminator inspired time travel twist, and I was always jazzed whenever another pairing I had forced together resulted in another maladjusted offspring being catapulted back in time. I also thought the Walhart storyline was interesting as it showed another leader and another army also trying to prevent the resurrection of Grima and the destruction of the world, but their methods are diametrically opposed to those of the player. As far as Fire Emblem storylines go, it wasn't half bad.
Now, however, we do move on to the bad. Well, not necessarilly the bad, but rather the dissappointing.
For as much improvement as Awakening brought to certain areas of the series, I feel it fell short in others. My biggest dissappointment is that every chapter amounted to essentially the same thing. Kill everyone. Even when the game explicitly raises the possibility of alternative options or hints at strategies that might be employed on the battlefield, the game fails to offer any options. There is only one option or strategy in Fire Emblem. Kill everyone.
As I mentioned in my previous post, there are specific chapters which seem to be setting up something interesting but then refuse to actually break from the mould. If you read my above post you'll get a better idea of what I mean, but utlimately it comes down to this; After a couple of hours of playing Awakening I had seen pretty much everything that it had to offer in terms of strategy. It certainly got more difficult as the compaign progressed, but I was never really tasked with coming up with a unique strategy or a cunning plan to take the advantage. It was always the same thing; use lances on swords, swords on axes, axes on lances, and keep Sumia the f*** away from archers. It never really felt...well, very strategic.
As I say, overall though I think Awakening is a really good game and it is probably the best Fire Emblem that I have played. I just wish Intelligent System had been more adventurous with the maps, the missions and strategies.
