[Nintendo 3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening ROM Download

Fire Emblem: Awakening ROM Description

Story

Awakening tells the story of a young hero named Chrom and his companions as they try to maintain peace in their kingdom—a series of attacks from nearby land trigger events leading to the collapse of Chrom’s nation. But the appearance of a mysterious character named Marth turns the tide in the hero’s favor.

Together, they work to avert the crisis threatening the world. The overall story will not surprise those familiar with the series. The writing is solid, and there are a few dramatic twists. The narrative is always front and center, even when you’re carrying outside objectives.

But where the game really shines is in the character development, and the more effort you put into the mechanics supporting this element, the better the payoff.

Game Structure

Fire Emblem rarely deviates from its rigid structure. Awakening is divided into story-heavy chapters interspersed with combat scenarios. But it deviates from convention in its emphasis on ancillary systems.

Right from the start, you have deep character customization. The amount of control you have over details is impressive. Character appearance can vary widely, giving the sense that you’ve created a unique persona you’ll invest in throughout the game.

Previous games didn’t allow you to develop relationships between team members, but Awakening takes it to new heights. Marriage is possible, and therefore units can pass on their traits to children. This leaves you with a welcome dilemma over whether to pair up based on personal preference or intentionally breed a child with certain abilities.

If customizable characters and breeding weren’t enough, Awakening also leverages the 3DS’s StreetPass and SpotPass functionality. It supports everything from sending custom teams to appear in other players’ games to receiving periodic bonus items. However, the online multiplayer is also solid. You’re limited to local WiFi, where you team up with friends to fight a gauntlet of consecutive AI-controlled enemies without a map to navigate.

Improved Battles

Awakening introduces some refinements and new wrinkles to keep the series’ signature battlefield combat feeling fresh. When you initiate combat on the field, a dual battle ensues. However, if you’ve positioned your units next to allies beforehand, you’ll initiate a dual attack. Planning for these powerful blows adds a new layer of strategy to battles.

Pairing units on the battlefield also ties into the relationship mechanic, with major implications for the marriage and child elements. The direct effect is temporary stat boosts and other bonuses, but again, you have to balance the best route for immediate victory versus what’s optimal to nurture personal relationships between your units.

New Approach

Awakening excelled at simplifying core details with interface menu streamlining and countless options that lower barriers for newcomers without alienating the fanbase.

The threat of permanently losing units can also be averted thanks to the new casual mode option, which can be applied to any difficulty level. More than ever, you can tailor the Fire Emblem experience to your level and still feel satisfied, making it the most accessible game in the series.

Graphics and sound

Awakening makes good use of the 3DS’s visual capabilities. Battle scenes play out with fully rendered 3D environments and models that look far better than anything previously seen in the series. However, the 2D character sprites look a little out of place on the 3D battlefields.

Excellent CG scenes are complemented by sweeping orchestral themes, mellow tunes that accentuate the world map and various shops, and upbeat tempos that create atmosphere for dramatic battle scenes. Voice acting is a valiant effort, although you always have the option to mute the cast.

Nintendo succeeded in lowering the barrier to entry in Awakening while still preserving the core Fire Emblem experience. It takes positive strides with new additions like upgraded social systems and battle mechanics, and the series’ fixed formula is better for it. If you’re looking for a solid RPG on the 3DS, Awakening is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

Overall, this is an excellent RPG on the 3DS platform that both longtime fans and newcomers can enjoy.