Is this game really that good?

[Quick]

I have to admit, reading that kind of hurt me, too. I know it's far from perfect, and maybe it's just my nostalgia glasses, but this was one of my favorite Fire Emblem games. I had a lot of fun with it, and I'd like to go back to it again. Hell, I kind of wish they would remake it(not that it really NEEDS it) with some of the better features from later games(like Pair Up). It might be a stupid and terrible desire, but hey! I just really love this game, for a lot of reasons.

I honestly doubt and hope that they won't. The doubling system and how this game is designed should only stay here. The system is hardly balanced from my experience and I hope it doesn't become a standard to the FE games to come. Besides, the way this game was designed wasn't Fire Emblem-ish at all. Granted that's mainly due to the artwork and some character personalities but I digress.

[PuffPuff]

character personalities.

Upon which Archanea's tale of the first three games in the series officially lacked at.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Katarina

[Quick]

Upon which Archanea's tale of the first three games in the series officially lacked at.

These simply felt more like they were taken off of an anime, and Severa is the red flag for my case but perhaps it has been blatant before and I have ignored it.

Anyways, while I will admit I don't like many things about this game, it's still great. I don't think it's worth the extremely high scores but rather an 8/10, since it's still really fun and Postgame is an absolute blast. The game tests your creativity and your strategy skills and that's what I like, especially in Lunatic, even if I don't like the imbalance in between, it's safe to say this is a great buy for RPG fans. Besides I'm the most pessimistic person alive when it comes to certain games.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Quick

[Fateborn]

The game is perfect. There are cracks in the story, but that's for a reason of the community to discuss and fill in plot until IS decide to create another sequel or prequel if they wants to give out more story.

It has its moment in game where you'll be screaming "NO!" whether it be the story... or that stupid lucky critical kill by a weak enemy unit.

Or Lunatic in general :P

[Dai]

If this game were perfect, it wouldn't HAVE any cracks in anything, now would it? =P Be it factual or perceived.

[Fateborn]

If this game were perfect, it wouldn't HAVE any cracks in anything, now would it? =P Be it factual or perceived.

...Did you get the meaning?

I'm saying the game is perfect. It pulls you in, but it doesn't tell you everything.

What kind of a plot would it be if you knew everything and can't decide what actually happened or some shit like that?

It's like that poem about the egg guy sitting on the fence and fell, only it never said he was an egg, or a man.

So basically, you decide for yourself with the story.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Ubel Engel

[Lord Raven]

As for Nosferatu...I can't remember a single FE game in which is appeared as a usable tome in which is wasn't pretty broken. Guaranteed healing for half the damage you deal is kind of powerful always, although I suppose vengeance makes it even "worse".

It's not *that* broken. It's more of a failsafe if you suck at the game, and it's definitely not the fastest way to beat every map nor is it the most efficient. The last point is that the two primary Nosferatu units have a lot of faults (Tharja has accuracy problems and Henry has speed problems), which gets fixed with the right pair ups and supports though. But even then, their starts are relatively rocky, and it's where their flaws are most apparent and remain apparent for enough time for it to be irritating.

Avatar w/ Nosferatu is broken but Avatar w/ Veteran doing anything is fairly broken as is. That's just about it. Nosferatu is just your failsafe in case you can't get things to go right.

[Dai]

...Did you get the meaning?

I'm saying the game is perfect. It pulls you in, but it doesn't tell you everything.

What kind of a plot would it be if you knew everything and can't decide what actually happened or some shit like that?

It's like that poem about the egg guy sitting on the fence and fell, only it never said he was an egg, or a man.

So basically, you decide for yourself with the story.

I enjoyed it, and it was indeed hard to put down. It's just not really perfect if it has a few issues. It's close, though. One of the closest that, I feel, I have ever played.

[Constable Reggie]

I'm saying the game is perfect. It pulls you in, but it doesn't tell you everything.

What kind of a plot would it be if you knew everything and can't decide what actually happened or some shit like that?

I disagree. The three arcs felt too disjointed. Valm's arc was entirely predictable and uninteresting, and the antagonists, which Fe is known for, are too one-dimensional and never really expanded on. The plot, as a result, really suffers because of this.

Gameplay wise, the game's near perfect, but it's story and lackluster characters really brings it down.

[Crystal Shards]

I've been browsing the internet and I've found quite a few people who dislike Awakening due to the generic maps, poor story and brokenness of Nosteratu, and I have to say I'm getting somewhat discouraged here. =/

I'll put it this way: I bought it Friday. I've put in 20 hours since.

I don't even really like Fire Emblem all that much.

The game isn't perfect by any means and I have my own issues with the trope-i-ness of it, but damn if it isn't fun.

[Loki Laufeyson]

lackluster characters

I actually found the characterization to be one of the game's strengths. Im much more attached to this cast (bar maybe one member of it) than any of the other FE games. And im a huge Blazing Sword fangirl. The first arc of the game is also solidly written. Its after that point, things go downhill storywise. But the characters remain endearing.

[Constable Reggie]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel that Awakening's characters are just way too cartoonish. The other Fe (at least 7-10) games' characters felt like they could be real people with the ways they were portrayed and felt, while Awakening just focuses on one trait per character and crazily emphasizes it (Gaius' candy, Tharja's MU obsession, Sully's blatant feminism). It makes for fun dialogue (Awakening also has an absolutely amazing translation) no doubt, but it feels like a cartoon or anime, imo. That, and Awakening greatly skimps on memorable antagonists.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Constable Reggie

[Phoenix_Kensai]

It's not just you. While I'm with Virion in that I love the cast of Awakening (most of them, anyway), I also felt like they feel less like real people than the characters of earlier Fire Emblems, and it does irk me a bit.

But, as you said, the translation is great. I think that's why it doesn't bother me so much that it stops me from liking the cast, cartoonish or not.

[Knife]

It's a Nintendo game with decent voice acting. Go buy it.

[IkeandMia]

Honestly I think the most forgettable character (despite the game trying to insist Kellam is forgettable) is Stahl. Since he seems to probably be the most "normal" character in an army full of schtick slinging nut jobs. I honestly forget Stahl exists half the time.

[Georg]

Ricken's a bit of a ghost too, probably because his character is more typical FE fare (immature teen wanting to be treated like an adult).

Edited February 25, 2013 by Georg

[FrostyFireMage]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel that Awakening's characters are just way too cartoonish. The other Fe (at least 7-10) games' characters felt like they could be real people with the ways they were portrayed and felt, while Awakening just focuses on one trait per character and crazily emphasizes it (Gaius' candy, Tharja's MU obsession, Sully's blatant feminism). It makes for fun dialogue (Awakening also has an absolutely amazing translation) no doubt, but it feels like a cartoon or anime, imo. That, and Awakening greatly skimps on memorable antagonists.

It's not like Sain, L'Arachel or Marcia were very realistic...

[monkymeet]

I'm just happy supports are back and rather entertaining after about... 3 games of non-existence? And the marriage system is fun, since that was also one of my favorite parts of FE4 (and the broken kids)

Owain4lyfe

[Agro]

Retcon>Unaware.

They both mean the same thing.

In doubt, a metaphor.

Um... no. They are completely different.

Honestly I think the most forgettable character (despite the game trying to insist Kellam is forgettable) is Stahl. Since he seems to probably be the most "normal" character in an army full of schtick slinging nut jobs. I honestly forget Stahl exists half the time.

This is pretty true, although I find Stahl so sickeningly nice I had to marry feMU to him to get that damned CG and hear him tell me he loves me ahhhhh Stahlly-kun :awesome:

To answer OP's question and basically reiterate what everyone else has said: yes, this game is awesome. The main story feels like it's not really... the main story. Actually, the real story lies in each of our own individual experiences, and the decisions we made. Who we paired people with. Who we hated, and who we liked. It's less like "oh that was a really cool story with lots of plot twists" and more like "when I played this game, I found myself being paired with Miriel a lot, and soon enough we had shacked up" or "I never imagined that Frederick and Sumia could be so adorable together, but looks like I was proved wrong!" You can play the game exactly how you like to and it will shape itself around that. In that sense it's a lot like Skyrim--the main story is lacking, but everything else is kind of great and you can take the game as fast or slow as you like, and it accommodates how you like to play.

[Pervio]

It's not like Sain, L'Arachel or Marcia were very realistic...

Personally, I have no problems with the previous games. I mean, yeah, the previous games did have characters that were unrealistic so to speak, but Awakening is filled with tropes that base that character entirely to extreme amounts. It's hard to name any character in the entire game that isn't based on a common stereotype/archetype and even worse when it becomes their entire character. It was a problem in previous games, but has become over the top to cater for a certain audience, which I'm not going to name as it's becoming a growing majority. Out of the entire cast, there's not really any memorable definitive or unique characters. I often hear people say "Oh, but everything has stereotypes/archtypes" or "it's impossible to be unique", but honestly, I can name only a few series I've seen in my entire life where the entire cast is a stereotype. If you want to learn stereotypes used in Japanese stories, you could get a great gist of them from Awakening or well... a variety of Japanese eroge visual novel.

I'm glad they're giving characters personality when in previous games, though they were there, they were more or less boring, but I find it silly how they're making this one attribute their entire character. Yes, I know Guire likes sweets, but to the point he even confesses attributing to them seems poor and pretty bad. It doesn't help when I find the character designs either mediocre or just simply bad which I find funny considering Kozaki basically attributes the designs of previous Fire Emblem being difficult for new people to come into the series and him being unable to complete a single Fire Emblem game in the past being due to this, which is complete and utter bullocks. The art styles from most previous Fire Emblem (FE6+) were more appealing and the designs were better, those being 7, 9, 10 and 12. I put it above 6 easily, but equal to 8 as 8 at least had proportions.

This is cooped by the fact that my standards are actually pretty low and as long as they're not a stereotypical archetype I've seen hundreds of times before, I'd probably have no problems with them as a character, which unfortunately isn't the case. Awakening takes basically all of the archetypes I know and places them into one game... Doubled with the stereotypical spa and beach scenes in harem anime or visual novels.

Of course, this is just me rambling about what I find to be the worst aspect of the game, as it makes up for it in all kinds of ways pretty easily improving almost other every aspect. Just get riled up easily. ;) Feel free to disagree anyone, I won't debate or anything, as I do think the game is really "that good" that people hype it up to be, as the appeal in Fire Emblem hasn't really been the characters all that much.

Edit: Should I add that Tear Ring Saga has proved you can have a large range of characters without sticking many to archetypes, lack of development/personality or place a single trait on them and base them on that entire trait.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Pervio

[Agro]

I often hear people say "Oh, but everything has stereotypes/archtypes" or "it's impossible to be unique", but honestly, I can name only a few series I've seen in my entire life where the entire cast is a stereotype.

have you ever watched anything that isn't in a language you don't understand

[FrostyFireMage]

Most archetypes are overused for a reason - they appeal to a larger group of people. A cast where the female love interest is the musclebound heavy and the main male character is the feminine and fragile looking mage would be far less popular than a cast where the traits are swapped around.

[Pervio]

have you ever watched anything that isn't in a language you don't understand

Yes? Doesn't seem relevant as the stereotypes though not strictly, are generally referring to Japanese stories appealing to the Japanese audience, which unfortunately has become a big section of the online forum community. Feel free to mention any Japanese comics, animations, novels or other forms of media that have a cast of almost all stereotypes like Awakening. As I said, I can think of some, as well as think of some that have a majority of the cast like such but still offer new, fresh characters, which I don't feel with Awakening at all. The Awakening characters give the impression that the characters are based off the stereotype rather than the stereotype applied to them after creation.

Edit: Might as well explain here as well. My problem is not that the entire cast is a stereotype (and people god forbid liking that...) but it's added on top that the character development is so irrelevant or just downright bad that they offer nothing new. Sure, Misaka Mikoto from Toaru is a tsundere, just like Severa, but because of the in depth explanation on her character, history, development and simply evolving as a character, Misaka can be seen as a great character, not stuck as an archetype to explain her entire personality. Severa on the other hand is just downright tsundere. That's it, not further explanation on her character needed.

Most archetypes are overused for a reason - they appeal to a larger group of people. A cast where the female love interest is the musclebound heavy and the main male character is the feminine and fragile looking mage would be far less popular than a cast where the traits are swapped around.

I laughed, but yeah. I did say it appeals to a certain group (I think most know what I'm referring to), which as you said, seems to conform the majority. I agree with you in other words.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Pervio

[Constable Reggie]

It's not like Sain, L'Arachel or Marcia were very realistic...

I'm not sure what you find so bad about L'Arachel or Marcia. They felt realistic as people with (not only one defined) traits and flaws to me, a catered princess with a sheltered life who has the desire to actually accomplish something significant in her lifetime, and a sister who cares about her brother so much that she leaves her occupation, even though said brother is a complete idiot and screws himself at every turn. There's obviously been some exceptions in Fe games in order to garner some humour (Sain, Ilyana, Makalov), but generally the Fe cast has been great imo. Again, the characters in Awakening make for some really fun dialogue, but I still find them lackluster compared to previous casts (see Pervio's excellent post for why).

Edited February 25, 2013 by Constable Reggie

[Loki Laufeyson]

Honestly I think the most forgettable character (despite the game trying to insist Kellam is forgettable) is Stahl. Since he seems to probably be the most "normal" character in an army full of schtick slinging nut jobs. I honestly forget Stahl exists half the time.

lol. Yeah Stahl seems like the Only Sane Man but in reality, hes very forgettable.

Ricken's a bit of a ghost too, probably because his character is more typical FE fare (immature teen wanting to be treated like an adult).

But he does keep that bodacious hat no matter what he promotes into.

Characters like Owain or Gaius seem pretty one-note until you see some of their supports. Same with Henry. For Owain, ive seen his supports where he actually doesnt get all hammy and seems pretty normal. Gaius has a few supports with different characters that have nothing to do with candy. Henry's supports with other characters (like Cherche and Sumia) reveal he really loves animals. Quite a contrast to his whole "yeah blood!" attitude we see.

I'm not sure what you find so bad about L'Arachel or Marcia.

L'Arachel is super hammy. Granted, she has a moment where shes not all up in your face and acts like a good friend to Eirika/Ephraim. (after the Stone of Renais is taken and destroyed.) But thats just one moment. Shes just as much of a caricature as say, most of the cast of Awakening. Marcia is hardly realistic. Do you know anyone who would shout "OH CRACKERS" in the middle of war?

I dont understand why so many people think that Awakening has more anime style tropes with its characters than any other FE game. Truth is, all the games seem to have large doses of anime tropes with its characters. Maybe this game is more noticeable due to the abundance of supports and its art style?