Fire Emblem: Awakening

[Nayr]

So, is anybody else here going to buy this game?

For those who don't know, FE Awakening takes place in the same world as the first Fire Emblem game, which was remade as Shadow Dragon. It's roughly 2000 years later and Marth's distant descendant, Prince Chrom, forms a group of fighters to protect the region during a dangerous time, and meets an amnesiac tactician(the player character) who joins him on his adventure. 

Through DLC, the game also crosses over with the worlds of other FE games. One that's particularly interesting is the DLC that features Lyn from the 2003 Fire Emblem, and I've heard that she recognizes the player character as her tactician from the game. And the player can confirm or deny it.

[Rendakor]

This will be the first one I'm buying in a while, largely due to the addition of a Casual mode that removes the permadeath. I played the demo and loved it.

[Kitsune]

I'll probably get it, though my nerd boner is lying in wait for a 3DS Advance Wars.  And not that Days of Ruin dark post-apocalyptic shit, the original brightly-colored cheerful warfare ones.

[Outlawedprod]

Shin-Megami Tensei - Fire Emblem - new title (Wii U)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRGNwMMFro

[Margalis]

Pre-ordered it a while ago, I've loved FE since I first saw it for my friend's Super Famicom way back in 1994 or so.

The character models look pretty good but I do miss the ye ole sprite work. IMO good sprite work is timeless and I appreciate it on a purely artistic level much more than 3D stuff.

That said I will play this shit out of this.

Also SMT x FE, give it to me!

[Nayr]

Pre-ordered it a while ago, I've loved FE since I first saw it for my friend's Super Famicom way back in 1994 or so.

The character models look pretty good but I do miss the ye ole sprite work. IMO good sprite work is timeless and I appreciate it on a purely artistic level much more than 3D stuff.

That said I will play this shit out of this.

Also SMT x FE, give it to me!

I agree on the spriting work. Might just be the spriter in me(notice my avatar,) but the GBA FE games had the best look.

[Rendakor]

The 3DS seems to require changing to polygonal models from sprites, presumably because of the 3d effect. Etrian Odyssey is another game that's changing from pretty sprites to polygons this iteration and while I'll still buy it it's not a change I'm looking forward to.

[Yegolev]

Shin-Megami Tensei - Fire Emblem - new title (Wii U)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRGNwMMFro

I want to believe that this isn't a vs fighter.

[Rendakor]

Probably a safe bet since it's being made by both of the series respective dev teams, unlike P4A for example which was made by Arc System Works.

[Margalis]

The 3DS seems to require changing to polygonal models from sprites, presumably because of the 3d effect. Etrian Odyssey is another game that's changing from pretty sprites to polygons this iteration and while I'll still buy it it's not a change I'm looking forward to.

You can still do sprites and get a 3D effect by pasting them on top of camera-facing clear polygons. That's how the map screen works in Fire Emblem for example IIRC.

Unfortunately sprite art is becoming a bit of a lost art and as resolutions increases it becomes more expensive unless you are using techniques that are Flash-like or more digital painting than careful sprite authoring. I could watch the animation of the Generals (?) in Fire Emblem (the upgraded huge knight dudes) forever. I think there's a lot to be said for being able to identify and appreciate each discrete movement and pixel placement. I don't have the same love for games like Rayman, to me that's no longer really sprite art.

[Nayr]

http://serenesforest.net/smt_fe/news.html#2401


Confirmed to be an RPG.

So it's not a VS Fighter.

[Nayr]

Okay, Awakening is out now.

Anybody here have it - can give a review?

[Kitsune]

I got it, haven't played enough to form a very concrete opinion.  Thus far it's playing exactly like every other Fire Emblem; I haven't had the opportunity to get into the guts of the new advancement system stuff.

[Nayr]

I got it, haven't played enough to form a very concrete opinion.  Thus far it's playing exactly like every other Fire Emblem; I haven't had the opportunity to get into the guts of the new advancement system stuff.

Well when you get to the point where the characters' children start coming from the future, let us know how they spin that. If it's cheesy or believable or what.

[Margalis]

My order is still sitting at Amazon unshipped. Urgh.

[Nayr]

My order is still sitting at Amazon unshipped. Urgh.

Yeah, mine is too. Apparently they're out of stock. Sold out before the release date, not to mention some kind of manufacturer shipping delay.

[Rendakor]

Got mine and liking it so far. I tried it on Hard/Classic but couldn't get past the third battle (where you first get the archer) without losing a character so I restarted on Normal/Classic. Japanese audio is available which is a big plus (you can change the language from the main menu, but have to use the in-game options to turn on the subtitles ); the story isn't anything special yet but I'm only on Chapter 5. My only complaint so far is that money seems really hard to come by; you don't get any for killing mobs or completing missions, only vendoring items.

[Kitsune]

I've played further, though not up to the point where time-traveling babies start falling from the sky, and thus far it's all pretty golden.  The characters are generally interesting and witty and watching them interact is fun, the graphics are great for a handheld game, and the strategy is pretty much on par with what one would expect from a Fire Emblem game.  The story is the only question mark thus far; so far it looks fairly generic JRPGish, but I could see it getting good or bad with equal likelihood.

[Nayr]

I've played further, though not up to the point where time-traveling babies start falling from the sky, and thus far it's all pretty golden.  The characters are generally interesting and witty and watching them interact is fun, the graphics are great for a handheld game, and the strategy is pretty much on par with what one would expect from a Fire Emblem game.  The story is the only question mark thus far; so far it looks fairly generic JRPGish, but I could see it getting good or bad with equal likelihood.

Well  is the first one. And others don't happen unless you get compatible characters up to an S level support IIRC by the time Lucina is born.

[Margalis]

In previous Fire Emblem games the writing and dialog were good but the overarching story was pretty disposable. I imagine this is much the same.

I could have just cancelled my Amazon order and gotten it someplace else, there were rumors about Amazon delays for a while, but I have a decent backlog and some work to do so I don't mind waiting. Over Christmas I played through Dawn of Sorrow for DS...I'm patient I guess.

[Nayr]

In previous Fire Emblem games the writing and dialog were good but the overarching story was pretty disposable. I imagine this is much the same.

I could have just cancelled my Amazon order and gotten it someplace else, there were rumors about Amazon delays for a while, but I have a decent backlog and some work to do so I don't mind waiting. Over Christmas I played through Dawn of Sorrow for DS...I'm patient I guess.

They should remake the 4th FE game. Genealogy of the Holy War. It was pretty unique compared to the other games. It had a marriage system like Awakening does, but instead of time travel, the second half of the game was like 20 years later.

It's story was also surprisingly very dark compared to the other FE games. Incest, rape, child hunting/sacrifices, worship of the game's big bad villain. Especially surprising considering this is a Nintendo game.

Also according to Nintendo, it was the most popular title of the series.