Nice things to say about Awakening

[Jotari]

So I feel as if this game is getting a lot of hate at the moment. Many arguments are popping up about what's good and bad in it. Well here's a thread were haters and lovers alike can just say some positive things about Awakening that you're glad they did...and hopefully there'll be no fighting about it...

[BrightBow]

The item charging mechanic was pretty sweat. Nothing more annoying that having to waste a valuable inventory slow to bring a weapon into battle that breaks after two swings because it would be too much of a waste not to use it at all.

All those configuration options for battle animations are just great.

They finally thought about raising the stats of latejoiners on the higher difficulty levels.

It's great that every character now has several portraits for entirely different facial expressions. This was technically already done but not to a significant extend.

Having an option for the Japanese voices. They are already paid for, so I don't get why companies are often so hesitant to let their customers use them.

The way the map track switches between map versions and battle versions of the same track is pretty interesting.

The way the game utilises the dual screens has been largely improved over the DS games.

And of course: Effectively infinite item storage space!

Edited June 5, 2014 by BrightBow

[Soledai]

"At the moment?"

Speeding up battle anims is good(cause playing SRW makes you want that a lil bit).

Japanese voices.

Apotheosis and Infinite Regalia

And Spotpass characters.

IR and Spotpass let me have my favorite 3 pairs of fathers/sons: (Sigurd/Celice, Cuan/Leif, Eltshan/Aless) and I'm pretty happy with that.

Even though there were some redundant and useless classes and skills, the pool otherwise was acceptable.

[Anacybele]

I like the pair-up mechanic and a lot of the characters. Heck, this game gave me one of my favorite knights in the series. ^^

I also like the addition of Paralogue chapters. It's like the GBA side-chapters, just a bigger number of them.

Reclassing is nice too, as are unlimited reeking boxes and grinding, so you can max out everyone and you don't have to worry about needing to start over because you have a stat-screwed main character or something.

And I like that Old Hubba says a certain blue-haired mercenary is his is favorite Einherjar card and that he was the greatest hero known to man. :3

Edited June 5, 2014 by Anacybele

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

I love the gameplay and the inheritance system. It's nowhere near as good as Genealogy of the Holy War's, but I still have a lot of fun with it. It's got really good, colorful graphics, and one of the best video game soundtracks I've heard. It has tons of replayability, and lots of levels to keep us occupied.

[ZemZem]

I thought some characters were particularly well-written, such as Brady and Maribelle.

Oh, and Future Past was very good.

Edited June 5, 2014 by ZM©

[Baldrick]

The DLC has some good character development and lots of nostalgia.

The enemy placement and behaviour seem to make up for the bland map design.

The amount of customisation is incredible.

The pair-up mechanic is interesting, and might help some units find a niche.

The interface is very user-friendly.

[Cowboy Karimov]

It got people(including myself) into the series. Even people who wouldn't otherwise get into it, like professional shippers.

The villains were actually kinda cool(lookin' straight at you, Cervantes).

Extremely easy to pick up and play.

[PKL]

The interface is godlike.

Love that I can see a highlighted enemy's range in purple while still being able to view the rest of the enemies range at the same time in red.

Battle animations are fun to see and fast enough that i would never consider turning them off when playing for turns or subsequent playthroughs.

Buyable Rescue, while mad broken is sooo fun.

Rallies are cool.

[Elieson]

They tried something new (Pair Up and Dual system), and risk taking is always cool.

The entire Skill mechanic, to allow for unit customization, builds a whole new world for people who want to play with a new feature, or work with self-imposed challenges.

Built in Casual Mode, for those new to the series.

A really neat looking interface, and the new HP meter that default displays under enemies.

Being able to have Analog control set to Digital, so I can use my Joystick and move at angles easier.

Full CGI Sequences are pretty nice to look at

A Huge support increase (You're no longer limited to just with 1 person, or 5 support ranks to divy up among the team)

[Duke of Dozel]

Spotpass was an interesting take. All it really needs is unique models for certain characters.

Pair-up and supports help new comers rush through the game.

Several skills and abilities were great, and balanced mostly.

Infinite cargo, but it's been used before so...

Art style is great, although I wish we had lip syncing.

Graphics are nice enough.

Voice work (for when it's used) is top-notch.

And of course, the avatar.

[Jotari]

When has storage space ever been a problem in Fire Emblem games? I can't recall any occasion where I was told my convoy is full.

[Anacybele]

I don't recall such a situation either. o.O

[PKL]

When has storage space ever been a problem in Fire Emblem games? I can't recall any occasion where I was told my convoy is full.

The only time it can happen is in FE10 after everyone joins together. But even then...

[Dijon Mustard]

When has storage space ever been a problem in Fire Emblem games? I can't recall any occasion where I was told my convoy is full.

Maybe I'm on an island here, but the 100-item limit has been a problem for me pretty much every time I've played a game in the series. I'm a massive hoarder.(who isn't above buying 30 javelins plus other stuff all at once).

Love that I can see a highlighted enemy's range in purple while still being able to view the rest of the enemies range at the same time in red.

Huge, huge deal for me.

They replaced the walls of pure exposition between chapters with 100% dialogue. I hope they do this in all future games.

My favorite art style in the series

No bad voice acting (English. I don't speak Japanese, but kudos for the option)

A lot of characters I happen to like, and an increase in the length and number of support conversations

Planning out marriages is a lot of fun

You don't build support points by standing next to each other. Plus, dual strike and dual guard are the most intuitive battle uses of the support system I can remember besides plus-Luck because you're getting lucky

Edited June 5, 2014 by BuddyBoy

[shadowofchaos]

People already mentioned them, but I'd probably highlight some of them:

English voice acting was quite on par with the Japanese voice acting.

INFINITE FREAKING STORAGE SPACE.

Casual Mode for screwing around like savestates, especially for messing around with things like this:

Support system allowing you to view as many as you want, barring one marriage, really made the characters more meaningful for me.[/opinion]

The option to grind is there for people like me when not doing a challenge run. It makes it really fun!

The music. The freaking music. Chapter 10's was beautifully sad.

Customization in regards to skills, etc... but no seriously, it even appealed to the people like me who really have fun having setups just to get one random 0.203714676% occurrence.

DLC that fleshed out the characters even more with their conversations, even if they were meant for fanservice.

Those Japanese Yukatas. This is totally not a game from Japan... totally not.

[RJWalker]

Pretty much every RPG tends to have unlimited storage space since the last few gaming generations. Pokemon had it since Diamond and Pearl. Why did FE take so long, I wonder?

[MRDRHAWK]

It's actually quite visually stunning for a handheld game. Lack of actual feet on the 3D models aside, I felt like they did a great job with the visuals as a whole in the game, so if nothing else it looked good.

The fact that there was voice acting - especially with a quality dub (biased because I'd go gay for Inigo's English VA just saying) - was very welcome IMHO. Most of the voices that they got for the dub really fit the character well (highlights imo included Tara Platt as Miriel, Patrick Seitz as Basilio and especially Travis Willingham as Lon'qu), and the ones that maybe didn't work quite as well proved a moot point because they did the voice well enough (like Jessica Gee as Panne, despite the fact that she's actually my biggest problem with a certain other spectacular handheld game's dub).

The gameplay, while easy to break, was quite well done. Infinite supports is a spectacular thing for an FE game, especially since every FE game since Path of Radiance either had a very spartan support system or none at all. The reclass system was also a very interesting addition despite the fact that Shadow Dragon did it first (though Shadow Dragon kinda blew otherwise so whatever). Pair-up's also great if a little bit broken, and adds an extra layer to the strategy aspect of the game. Unlimited storage space is amazing, since I tend to hoard shit a lot in FE games.

I'm also a massive sucker for world maps allowing for grinding at your leisure, since that's pretty much the only way I play this game (failed attempts at VA-themed runs notwithstanding).

Aside from the story being piss and the fanbase getting a bit out of control, Awakening's actually a really good game.

[PKL]

Oh yeah thats something else I really enjoy. The music is pretty good. Conquest, Conquest ablaze, Destiny and Destiny ablaze, Divine Decree and its ablaze form, and even the enemy phase themes are good.

I also forgot to mention that this game's maps have tons of visual appeal. Especially, like Chapter 16. That tree is beautiful. Maps also have a few cool details like cats and animals roaming around.

Edited June 5, 2014 by PKL

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

uhhhh....it sold well enough for us to get more fire emblems?

[Thor Odinson]

Music is pretty good

Item management and "restock"

DLC writing is actually pretty solid for the writing-centric ones

But most importantly

Perfected skip enemy phase mechanics I can skip everything without even holding start it's awesome

It's like having turbo without an emulator

This 50000% needs to stay forever

Edited June 5, 2014 by Thor Odinson

[The Geek]

Good characters. Excellent voice acting. Nice art style. Good interface. Much faster gameplay than previous titles. Pretty good music even if most of it is just remixes of two songs. Excellent DLC. And nigh infinite pairing options to give countless replays to those who care to do so.

[Papero]

I got into FE through Awakening, and even after going backwards through the series, Awakening still has its charm to me.

The amount of freedom and customization is astronomical, with pair up, supports, class, skills, kids, forges, overworld events, and wireless features letting anyone play by their own rules. It definitely isn't lacking in content to explore, with so many maps and then some with DLC and Wireless teams. Battle speed customization is pretty great, as I can only appreciate the fast forward function even more after playing the older games, and things like first-person view and model viewer are nice touches. There's a million tools to experiment with and tear the game a new one, yet Awakening still that uncertain probability aspect the series has always had. Always looking for those 1% and +1s, I still enjoy Awakening as a great FE experience that puts a different, yet flexible spin to the series.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

turbo fast gameplay

love it to death <3

[Knight]

Apart from what's been said, I really liked the visuals, they seemed like a compromise between the GBA and the console FE's. This game has fun moments, even if there isn't much challenge outside of Lunatic.