Why Fire Emblem is So Good

As with most games, I am late to the party. Fire Emblem was first introduced to a worldwide audience in 2003 on the GBA. Previously, games in this series had appeared on the Famicom, Super Famicom, and GBA in Japan. These were later ported to the virtual console. I first discovered Fire Emblem in 2013, as a large advertising blitz helped promote interest and awareness of Fire Emblem’s introduction on the 3DS. Upon the game’s release, Fire Emblem received critical success, achieving strong sales worldwide. The game received praise for it’s accessibility to newcomers (myself included) and it was regularly cited as one of the best games on the 3DS platform.

So what type of game is Fire Emblem Awakening? Part turn-based strategy, JRPG, and one part story game. But genuinely I also consider it a puzzle game. Like chess, you have your pieces, or characters if you will. They each can move certain distance, some attack adjacent to enemy units, other characters need to be removed by 1-2 spaces for maximum effect. Like other puzzle games, you have obstacles to conquer, time limits, and unique challenges to overcome in each level. During battles, characters earn experience with successful actions during battle. After a certain amount of gained experience, the characters will level up. A character class system exists, with almost 40 different classes available. However this is only a small part of what makes Fire Emblem special.

Permadeath and the unique character arcs help make this game special. You can’t help but grow found of the diverse cast of characters as they interact with one another between chapters. Some characters will fall in love, have children, and develop new traits and abilities. Soon you will find yourself in battle with this crew, and eventually your own character’s offspring can join in and help your cause. Assuming you haven’t permanently lost characters during the early chapters, your party will grow too large to include everyone in each match. This is where things get interesting. Experience is at a premium in Fire Emblem, and characters don’t auto-level on the sidelines. Who you include in each battle makes a significant difference not just in whether you will survive the battle, but it also influences which characters you will use in subsequent chapters. Who do you trust on your team to survive from one level to the next? The characters who do survive naturally become the key foundation of your team. Add in permadeath, and suddenly the survival of your core team is essential to helping you finish the game. So it’s no surprise you will eventually grow attached to these characters.

The gameplay is not revolutionary, in fact Fire Emblem and similar gameplay clones have been around for years. You have anywhere between 2-20 characters per level to control. Battles can unfold in an almost unlimited number of ways. You will learn enemy tendencies and attack patterns. You will have to avoid obstacles on the map, and you learn how to judge risks while at the same time protecting your weaker characters. The endeavor is complicated by having likeable characters who matter to you. These aren’t throwaway NPCs who can be sacrificed during each battle. Rather, the relationships and well being of your squad is at the core of what makes Fire Emblem a great game. Enjoy.