Nice things to say about Awakening

[Jotari]

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).

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

Hmm I guess I just hoard money more so than weapons. A lot of the time I keep all my money planning to make super forged weapons at the end of the game but usually don't because I get handed legendary weapons that are better anyway.

I actually really liked the pre chapter narrator exposition. I feel the highlighting of the areas really helps to get a sense of the presence of each nation and while a lot of it is reiterating things dialogue makes clear, some stuff is best said by a narrator.

[Czar_Yoshi]

I'll try for some that haven't been said before, though I do agree that unlimited convoy and some of the songs are a thing of beauty.

-This game is very quotable, I've already done so in this very post. So many great one-liners, especially from Virion, Gangrel, and Cervantes.

-Speaking of which, Virion himself.

-Grinding and level resetting removes the RNG factor in how high a unit's stats can go, allowing for more concrete postgame plans and better staged close shaves (just look at the videos SoC posted).

-Along the same lines, there's a postgame that consists of more than two maps.

-That also makes units more unique. No longer are two units set apart only by class, growths, bases and join time.

-The difficulty is completely customizable with the biggest range I've ever seen, from press a button to win (using Lunatic strats on Normal/Cas) to... Well, I haven't found the upper roof yet, and I doubt there is one, but notable challenges include Lunatic Risen with no DLC/Logbook, no Limit/Agg/Rally Apo and no Promoted Classes Apo.

-It's not Sticker Star. Before I got Awakening I was extremely mad at IS for that travesty and Awakening had everything SS lacked, including skills (similar to Badges), character interaction, and a story.

-So yes, I'll list the story as something I like about Awakening. It exists, and that's better than the alternative.

-The game has a ton of merchandise, including a really cool special edition 3ds (alongside OoT it may be the only special normal 3ds with artwork on that Nintendo released in the US, and being compared to OoT is also a pretty big point in Awakening's favor).

-Trying to rebalance the game on paper is incredibly fun and has given me many hours of entertainment.

-Speaking of which, so is just playing the game on paper. I've probably spent more time planning teams than I have playing the game, and that's a good thing.

Narrator exposition was something I missed, though. It could have replaced a couple of the more awkward transitions in the game that are probably only awkward because they're intended to replace the narrator. Sad. Maybe we could have gotten more information about Valm and the like, too.

[RJWalker]

Virion is a great character.

[The Geek]

Virion is a magnificent character.

Fixed

[RJWalker]

Can't argue with that.

[Dijon Mustard]

I actually really liked the pre chapter narrator exposition. I feel the highlighting of the areas really helps to get a sense of the presence of each nation and while a lot of it is reiterating things dialogue makes clear, some stuff is best said by a narrator.

Dialogue is better for me because reading how characters talk through story stuff (and seeing how they make generic gestures with their hands) can add both plot and characterization pretty well. It's efficient. In theory, anyway. IS could always spice things up by cutting to more scenes from more countries and from the past, but I think ditching the narrator "safety net" is a good way to challenge themselves to write better. FE10's narrator had a goofy voice.

I also forgot to mention the humor in Awakening. And, little things like naming forged weapons (or sticks) help the player add their own humor pretty seamlessly.

Edited June 5, 2014 by BuddyBoy

[Elieson]

Virion is Legend.

Fix'd again

[BrightBow]

Hmm I guess I just hoard money more so than weapons. A lot of the time I keep all my money planning to make super forged weapons at the end of the game but usually don't because I get handed legendary weapons that are better anyway.

I actually really liked the pre chapter narrator exposition. I feel the highlighting of the areas really helps to get a sense of the presence of each nation and while a lot of it is reiterating things dialogue makes clear, some stuff is best said by a narrator.

Well, forging hadn't been around before FE9, and that game already increased the count to an 200 items limit. And the shops were always accessible and able to supply you with just about everything, further reducing the need to keep items in stock. But in the pre-FE8 GBA games, you never know if and when there is a new opportunity to buy a certain type of item from the local shops. Or when there even is going to be a shop in the first place. Personally I dealt with that by stocking stuff up when it is available. So I always reached that 100 item limit very quickly.

Looking back, it's funny how by the time the item limit was increased in PoR, it was no longer necessary to keep such big reserves anyway because most stuff was always available to be bought. Not that you can ever have enough inventory space.

Edited June 5, 2014 by BrightBow

[PKL]

I'll try for some that haven't been said before, though I do agree that unlimited convoy and some of the songs are a thing of beauty.

-This game is very quotable, I've already done so in this very post. So many great one-liners, especially from Virion, Gangrel, and Cervantes.

-Speaking of which, Virion himself.

-Grinding and level resetting removes the RNG factor in how high a unit's stats can go, allowing for more concrete postgame plans and better staged close shaves (just look at the videos SoC posted).

-Along the same lines, there's a postgame that consists of more than two maps.

-That also makes units more unique. No longer are two units set apart only by class, growths, bases and join time.

-The difficulty is completely customizable with the biggest range I've ever seen, from press a button to win (using Lunatic strats on Normal/Cas) to... Well, I haven't found the upper roof yet, and I doubt there is one, but notable challenges include Lunatic Risen with no DLC/Logbook, no Limit/Agg/Rally Apo and no Promoted Classes Apo.

-It's not Sticker Star. Before I got Awakening I was extremely mad at IS for that travesty and Awakening had everything SS lacked, including skills (similar to Badges), character interaction, and a story.

-So yes, I'll list the story as something I like about Awakening. It exists, and that's better than the alternative.

-The game has a ton of merchandise, including a really cool special edition 3ds (alongside OoT it may be the only special normal 3ds with artwork on that Nintendo released in the US, and being compared to OoT is also a pretty big point in Awakening's favor).

-Trying to rebalance the game on paper is incredibly fun and has given me many hours of entertainment.

-Speaking of which, so is just playing the game on paper. I've probably spent more time planning teams than I have playing the game, and that's a good thing.

Narrator exposition was something I missed, though. It could have replaced a couple of the more awkward transitions in the game that are probably only awkward because they're intended to replace the narrator. Sad. Maybe we could have gotten more information about Valm and the like, too.

@Bolded- I always read SS as sacred stones and was like..."what? But SS is one of the better FE stories o_o". Then i remembered sticker star is also SS.

[Anacybele]

SS can also be SoulSilver (Pokemon) and Skyward Sword (Zelda). lol

Anyway, I forgot to mention, I also like Awakening's music. ^^

Virion is a cool character, I agree. :)

[Phoenix Wright]

there's only two/three major things this game got wrong, in my opinion. everything else about it is extremely enjoyable or at the very least ignorable.

plot -- enough has been said

characters -- " "

stat inflation -- what was the point of this? stats don't need to be this high...

--three tiered classes? i love these, they make the game so much more fun for me to play. mechanically, they aren't important, but in rd they were so cool i wanted to see them again.

[Duke of Dozel]

-Along the same lines, there's a postgame that consists of more than two maps.

Oh, I totally forgot. I'm glad there is a ton of postgame activity (as far as Fire Emblem gets) and it really adds to the replay value. I hope they perfect this in future titles.

[Hunyaks]

the best thing i can say about awakening is that it finally convinced me i should try a fire emblem games and boy

was i missing out on some games i mean. wow

other than that, i think the environments and music had to be my favorite parts of the game. i liked the small things happening in the backround of the battles (ie: seeing dogs/cats laying around maps, birds flying around, waTER,,) and while a lot of the music served its purpose as background noise, a lot of the tracks stuck with me even after i finished the game - from chapter 10, don't speak her name immediately comes to mind.

and while i agree that after trying some other fire emblem games that this one's plot was lacking, the DLCs had surprisingly good writing and the personalized father-child dialogue in the future past was a pleasant surprise

[Czar_Yoshi]

Fix'd again

Virion is fabulous, ultimate, supreme, unrivaled, legendary, magnificent, uber, unstoppable, glorious, suave, mighty, flashy, epic, and really cool.

Oh, I totally forgot. I'm glad there is a ton of postgame activity (as far as Fire Emblem gets) and it really adds to the replay value. I hope they perfect this in future titles.

Out of curiosity, what would you say it would take to prefect it?

Edit: Another like: There's a boss called Nombry. I don't care if he's brilliantly written or mute, that's a cool name.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[Duke of Dozel]

Out of curiosity, what would you say it would take to prefect it?

Well, for one, we shouldn't have to rely on skirmishes for post game action. I think side quests are needed, and perhaps hidden activities at the main lord's domain. DLC would also work, but we shouldn't have to buy it for post game enjoyment.

I'm sure I have other ideas but those are the ones at the top of my head.

[Chiki]

It's better than Shadow Dragon.

[BANRYU]

The music was quite good, and the character design (if a bit hit-and-miss) was nice.

[RJWalker]

It's better than Shadow Dragon.

It's not though.

[PKL]

It is ;/

[RJWalker]

It is ;/

:<

No.

[Siuloir]

It's not though.

Awakening is mechanically superior by leaps and bounds. (The map design is arguably worse, though SD's is not that great). There's depth and complexity to it, even if it isn't strategically demanding.

Also it doesn't have Perfect Prince Marth, who never suffers any consequences nor faces hardships for his decisions, so that's a plus.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Siuloir

[RJWalker]

Also it doesn't have Perfect Prince Marth, who never suffers any consequences nor faces hardships for his decisions, so that's a plus.

Good thing we're not talking about FE1/3 then right?

[PKL]

Awakening is mechanically superior by leaps and bounds. (The map design is arguably worse, though SD's is not that great). There's depth and complexity to it, even if it isn't strategically demanding.

Also it doesn't have Perfect Prince Marth, who never suffers any consequences nor faces hardships for his decisions, so that's a plus.

Yet it has the Avatar...

[Chiki]

Good thing we're not talking about FE1/3 then right?

Wtf? The main problem with FE11 was that it barely added anything to the original, lol.

[Siuloir]

It's better than Shadow Dragon.

Good thing we're not talking about FE1/3 then right?

Pretty sure we are. Excuse me, he does suffer once, I suppose. He makes enemies out of Gra by running rampant over their nation. Otherwise Marth is a flat character.