Fire Emblem: Awakening is a tactical turn-based strategy JRPG (note the intensity of that "J") developed by Intelligent Systems, a subsidiary of Nintendo. In it, you lead a squad of however many they let you have around a square-grid-based map to fight hordes of enemies using various medieval/fantasy weapons including swords, axes, lances, magic, bows, and the almighty power of love *guitar riff as Hughey Lewis and The News starts playing*. I'll come back to that last one, but for now, I should mention that while on the battlefield, you can have two characters "pair up" basically making them act as one unit, allowing one to support the other in combat. This usually gives the character in the lead of the pair extra hit and dodge chance as well as the occasional increase to damage and critical hit chance. The unit in the support role even has a slight chance to get in a hit of their own. Also, after surviving an attack (both while on the offensive and the defensive) units that supported one another gain a stronger "relationship." If their relationship gets to a certain point, they can have a "support conversation" which shows a specific milestone in the development of their relationship. After a support conversation, the two will fight together better, and characters of the opposite sex can reach a point in their relationship where they can get married, achieving the highest possible point in their relationship. And now that I've thoroughly regurgitated every feature of the game I could think of, let's talk about them.
The game can genuinely require deep thought at times just to get through without anyone dying as the game does indeed include permadeath as a feature if you so choose which is another way of saying "if you don't lack all confidence in yourself". I didn't even turn off permadeath in my first play through because doing so would take away that sense of urgency you have to keep your squad alive and would just make for a different experience altogether. Back onto the point, once after a particularly unsatisfactory mission(I know they're not called missions but I call them that, so bare with me) I spent weeks thinking about what I could've done for it to have gone better. And this urgency is amplified by how attached you can easily get to the characters. You could spend hours getting two characters to reach S-rank support so they can get married fulfilling your most adorable ship just to have one of them die in the next mission and cry for days, not because you wasted time, but because you feel like you've let them and their family down. Their spouse is probably grieving in your camp; everything they've told to their comrades in support conversations, all their hopes and dreams, vanished in an instant all because you fucked up. And that's what I truly value in this game. You can get way too invested in this game all because of how easy it is to fall in love with the characters. You'll start losing sleep over their final words. You'll scribble their name in your diary next to the words "never forget". Even before they die, you'll roll on the floor laughing at how cute and awkward their conversations are. You will truly never forget these characters.
On top of the stellar gameplay and amazing characters, the game looks beautiful. Whilst some of the 3D models used in combat scenes can look a bit muddy, the over world sprites are very detailed and have well-done animations. On top of that, the anime-ish cutscenes are some of the best on the 3DS. The voice acting also manages to be a highlight where others have failed. All the sounds are authentic, and the music is always setting the tone perfectly.
I misjudged Fire Emblem when I first tried out the series. In fact, I may have misjudged the whole genre. I don't know. What I do know is that I am completely in love with Fire Emblem now, and love is what makes life just a bit more worth living. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm fairly certain my parents are holding an intervention. They found my diary and think I might have a problem.
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