Gaming Backlog: Fire Emblem Awakening

I'm not really a game reviewer, so have patience with me on this one. What I do have is a love for games, and a love for this one particularly.

Funnily enough, I'd always disliked Fire Emblem. I never quite liked the idea of directing my troops and not having any control over the actual moment of action; though not all that different from a traditional RPG, I could never get into Fire Emblem the same way. Then there was the permanent death issue. If you read LoQ, you know I get highly attached to my characters. I always hated losing my soldiers in this series, especially when I was still messing around and trying to learn the game. All this being the case, I didn't really notice, or care too much, when Fire Emblem Awakening was announced and released for the 3DS. It was a passing bit of news that I filed away with disinterest, and I'm now very very sad that I did. Because when pushed to buy the game by a friend, I was reluctant. And when I bought it, I was very skeptical that it was worth the amount I'd paid; just how fun could a series I'd tried and disliked before really be now?

Oh Sweet Hylia, it is worth every penny.

I don't understand if my change in heart comes from the fact that I'm older or less impulsive, or if it comes from a general change in my psychology. Whatever it is, I could not put down this game. Hell, if it weren't for finals, I wouldn't even have tried. There was something hypnotic about the whole thing, from the gorgeous cutscenes (no, I mean, they're seriously some of the most beautifully animated game cutscenes I have EVER seen. And I play a fair amount of JRPGs) to the utterly engrossing gameplay and plot, there was never a dull moment. I got so invested in all the little details; my characters were so lovingly characterized, so interesting and fun to watch interact, and I could change the gameplay to casual and avoid deaths (though given the choice, I decided to play the hard way and have my heart broken). The fight scenes could be sped up a bit or skipped if I got bored of watching the animation (though I never did), the strategy actually difficult (There was at least one time where I had to use a pegasus knight to ferry my entire army across a river to avoid deaths and beat the enemy more efficiently), and the plot was like watching a drama or anime. A pretty damn good one too.

And then, there was the shipping. To be honest, I don't count myself a shipper. Especially not a hardcore one. Sure, I have my favorite guys and girls in series, but I normally don't split hairs if they're not chosen. But when it comes to games, I get a little nuts. This is one of the reasons I love Harvest Moon and Rune Factory as much as I do. I mean, everyone knows the real objective in those games is to marry EVERYONE, right? So imagine how stoked I was to see the marriage/children system in Fire Emblem; not only could my avatar marry anyone of my choice, but I could push other relationships to go the way I wanted them to, and in doing so I gained more members for my army... who I could ALSO ship! Needless to say, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I spent multiple days just marrying off all the survivors of my army, but it did serve to level them all up and strengthen bonds (and therefore stats) for when the nasty battles came around.

As much as I dislike dubs, I actually really liked the English voiceover in Awakening. I didn't discover the Japanese voices until after I beat the game, but I was never bothered by the dub in the least. On top of that, the music was excellent and more than a little addicting. The soundtrack always fit the situation (and was damn epic to boot), so much so that I'm hoping to get my hands on it sooner than later. But I could say the same about nearly every aspect of the game and not really hit at the core of what makes it great. In the most basic of terms, it simply has a way of wriggling into your heart and making you fall in love with it. It's immersive and enjoyable, and so endearingly familiar that it hurts to end. I don't know how to express how much I love Awakening, or how it opened the doors to the rest of the series for me, but I can say that I'm definitely going back soon. I just need some time to heal my broken heart after finishing it all once.