Date played: February 4th
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 9/10
One of the reasons I got a 3DS XL when I did is because Fire Emblem released this week. I absolutely love tactical games. Last year, XCOM Enemy Unknown was my favorite game of the year and in 2011, I spent a lot of time with Ghost Recon Shadow Wars. It only took a couple of Youtube videos to convince me to play Fire Emblem: Awakening. Amazingly, I have never played the series!
I was surprised to start the game with a character creation screen, but I made a relatively buff guy with flowing grey hair and a big scar in his face. I selected to play on Hard mode Classic, which means my characters die permanently. The first level was set in a sort of dream and acted as a simple tutorial. This isn't my first strategy game so I just went with it and won easily. I have to say, the visuals are very impressive. There are amazing CG cut scenes, cinematic battles and great 3D-enhanced tactical views.
After the dream sequence, my character woke up in little town being attacked by bandits. He was welcomed by two guys and a lady who needed an extra hand in fighting off the bandits. The game plays like most other games of it's type, placing an emphasis on unit range, position and type of weapon. My guy has magic that can hit at range and a sword. Frederick is a very powerful knight-type. Chrom seems to be the main character and uses swords. Lissa is a cute little lady who heals with a staff. I won the battle but I quickly realized that it's very easy to get overwhelmed.
Apparently, I didn't learn my lesson properly as I got my ass kicked in the next mission. It all starts when the group is ambushed by demons while resting at camp. Lissa was rescued by a mysterious masked dude who later reveals himself as Marth of Smash Bros fame. Either way, when the battle started, we were joined by Sully, a cavalier, and Virion, an archer. One of the cooler features of combat is that units can be assisted by units in an adjacent tile, it makes the attacking unit stronger and the assisting unit has a chance of dealing damage as well. There are also forts on the map that provide defense, avoidance and health.
Basically, I had to play this map three times in a row before winning it without losing my archer. He's weak and has to be protected by other units so the third time I played, I was a lot more defensive. After the battle, I found out that Chrom and Lissa are prince and princess of the kingdom! I can't wait to play more of this game.
Platform: 3DS
Session fun rating: 9/10
One of the reasons I got a 3DS XL when I did is because Fire Emblem released this week. I absolutely love tactical games. Last year, XCOM Enemy Unknown was my favorite game of the year and in 2011, I spent a lot of time with Ghost Recon Shadow Wars. It only took a couple of Youtube videos to convince me to play Fire Emblem: Awakening. Amazingly, I have never played the series!
I was surprised to start the game with a character creation screen, but I made a relatively buff guy with flowing grey hair and a big scar in his face. I selected to play on Hard mode Classic, which means my characters die permanently. The first level was set in a sort of dream and acted as a simple tutorial. This isn't my first strategy game so I just went with it and won easily. I have to say, the visuals are very impressive. There are amazing CG cut scenes, cinematic battles and great 3D-enhanced tactical views.
After the dream sequence, my character woke up in little town being attacked by bandits. He was welcomed by two guys and a lady who needed an extra hand in fighting off the bandits. The game plays like most other games of it's type, placing an emphasis on unit range, position and type of weapon. My guy has magic that can hit at range and a sword. Frederick is a very powerful knight-type. Chrom seems to be the main character and uses swords. Lissa is a cute little lady who heals with a staff. I won the battle but I quickly realized that it's very easy to get overwhelmed.
Apparently, I didn't learn my lesson properly as I got my ass kicked in the next mission. It all starts when the group is ambushed by demons while resting at camp. Lissa was rescued by a mysterious masked dude who later reveals himself as Marth of Smash Bros fame. Either way, when the battle started, we were joined by Sully, a cavalier, and Virion, an archer. One of the cooler features of combat is that units can be assisted by units in an adjacent tile, it makes the attacking unit stronger and the assisting unit has a chance of dealing damage as well. There are also forts on the map that provide defense, avoidance and health.
Basically, I had to play this map three times in a row before winning it without losing my archer. He's weak and has to be protected by other units so the third time I played, I was a lot more defensive. After the battle, I found out that Chrom and Lissa are prince and princess of the kingdom! I can't wait to play more of this game.
