An Impressive 1.79 Million Players Have Crossed Swords With Fire Emblem: Awakening

The idea that Fire Emblem could have been finished for good if Awakening didn't perform well makes me shudder a bit, but glad we averted that in the end.

Very happy to hear this. The casual mode was handled perfectly, allowing newcomers to get into the game, but allowing longtime players to play it the same way they always have.

Must be the reason they think they can get away with splitting the next game into 2 games. Not buying it. If that happens here ill wait for a good sale on both to be regular price.

it only but recently have these games started to take my eye.

I wonder why other games like Monster Hunter or Bloodborne don't implement this as well. An extra mode won't hurt veterans but will certainly help newcomers.

And of course, the NA $30 credit as a little help too.

I just finished this game last week. Great game.

I need to play through this one again. I finished it just to finish it but just couldn't get into it. I need to try again I guess. It is my least favorite of the 5 I've played. Maybe FE IF will pull me into the story & characters more.

Awakening is the first FE game to break 1 million sales... and it will also be the first to break 2 million.

I hope they look at doing a handheld compilation at some point.

FEA was the first the game in the series for me. I had heard about it but hadn't tried it. I picked it up cheap during an amazon Black Friday sale and i'm glad I did. It was a challenging game but I enjoyed it and it made me think many moves in advance. In some ways, it reminded me of Shining Force where i'd have to move characters carefully. I'm disappointed in the two game approach and will wait for the game to go on sale like I did with FEA. It wont be a day 1 purchase for me. Those sales figures end in 2014 so in theory, it could be close to 2 million now. That's impressive!

FEA was my first, too, and it convinced me to try the GBA ones (which I gave up on because I was busy with other games or something like that).

I'm glad it didn't turn out to be the last one, Awakening was amazing and I'm looking forward to more.

@Spoony_Tech I replied to you in the Don't Starve article...in case you didn't see it.

@MERG I see everything lol. You can give it to me now or next week. Either way you want to.

@Spoony_Tech Big Brother is watching!

[email protected]

AWAKENING ISN'T NICHE! ITS AWESOME! SHEESH! XD

But seriously though, its my all time favorites!

It's totally deserved. Awakening is a masterpiece. They found the perfect alchemy between the artstyle, soundrack and the dark tone of the story. Can't wait Fire Emblem if

I'm glad it saved the franchise... but I feel the game is lacking in every department compared to the others (forgettable story, lame music and the characters are especially annoying and stereotypically boring). Hopefully If will be better.

It's too bad that the lack of purchased Code Name STEAM games will make those profits bleed.

@TheNumberHunter
I thought the story was no lesser than that of previous games. And I actually really liked the characters- Vaike, Sumia, Basilio and Cynthia being among my favorites. And I thought the music was legendary. Seriously some tracks brought chills up my spine it they were so good.

The only thing I thought it fell short in was map elevation diversity and too few inner buildings with stairs and the like. But the game excelled in so many other areas I easily forgot about those small shortcomings

Hey, I'm one of those many many people !

If Monster Hunter had a dual release They could do it. I envision an underwater DLC campaign. I would buy it. Also, I shouldn't have played the EXP and money DLC chapters in Awakening so much... That, among other concepts, ruined the experience for me.

It was a game built specifically for casuals and curious anime buffs, and not the fans, so it's no wonder it sold so well. Great for them; they get to continue using the Fire Emblem IP. Oh well, the series will continue to devolve in order to "evolve" so it can survive until nothing of Fire Emblem formula that made it unique will be left. I wholly expect the next main game or the one after it to be a smartphone title. Gameplay is ultra simple now with minimal brainpower involved and the series is built primarily for casuals now, so a smartphone title would pull in even more money-payers.
But again, good for them. I'm not liking what the series has become, but it's healthy and alive. With identity loss. And amnesia.

@JaxonH
To each their own. I'm agreement with TheNumberHunter. Awakening just felt WEAK when compared to the majesty of previous titles and my other FE fanatic friends agree. Of course, all those elements allowed the game to be better enjoyed by casuals and curious anime buffs, and allowed the game to break 1 million sales, so eh.

@sinalefa
Because the developers still have pride in their games and game development skills. Plus they're not in the red sales-wise, so they don't need to do anything drastic.
Intelligent Systems had to give up everything in order to save the series.
Anyway, Monster Hunter already did enough to make the series more accessible. Portable 3rd and 3 Ultimate can be considered the easiest games in the series and I believed they pulled in the most new fans. With 4 Ultimate, the western release gave players the choice of playing an easier mode which basically mirrors P3rd and 3U or play in the original, slightly harder difficulty that the game was built for.

@AVahne

Wait what is this choice you are referring to in MH4U? I thought there was no difficulty selection 0.0

Awakening is probably the best 3DS game.

@AVahne Apparently, giving an actual reason to use an iron sword over a Brave or Silver Sword means more "casual". Don't you realize that the changes to weapon durability is to promote horizontal weapon progression which is less grindy than what the rest of the series except Gaiden does? Not coincidentally, Gaiden also did not have durability. I wouldn't be so quick to label mechanic changes as over-simplified.

ok, I just bought this game at EB games.

Just finished this on Monday night. Definitely one of my favorite gaming experiences on the 3ds!

@Spoony_Tech

I'm with you there. The Trailer said nothing about splitting the paths into two games and DLC, so if they pull that stunt here in the US, I won't be buying it. Being greedy for the sake of being greedy is an EA tactic. This on top of removing weapon durability makes me not want to touch the game with a ten foot pole.

However, given what @IceAnt573 said, It iS also true that the removal of weapon durability could benefit the game if it's done right. I personally don't like it though because it's one thing to remove weight (which became largely pointless anyway), but removing durability also means any sort of micromanagement goes out the window and there will be no need to think too much about what weapon to use. On the other hand, if done properly, it would mean we'd have to think MORE about what weapon we'd use. Honestly, if they're going to mess with weapons like this, I'd like weight brought back. It was useless before, but now if there will be an incentive to use things other than brave, silver, or killer weapons late-game, weight should be brought back since those with less STR or CON can't wield heavier junk anyway.

As far as Awakening goes, I'm about as hardcore fanatic of FE as you can get without buying drama cd's and the like, and I enjoyed Awakening quite a bit. The complaints of it being easier are a bit unfounded since you can crank up the difficulty, or simply avoid level grinding. I think people have lost the ability to exercise creativity in their games, and instead are more comfortable with simply saying "Yeah this game is easy therefore sucks.". Think the game is easy? Play on Lunatic and don't level grind. Have fun with that.

The idea that the game was "not built for fans" as @AVahne stated is a bit silly given the fact the game is basically a giant love letter to SRPG and FE fans. It has references to virtually every FE game ever made. It even has DLC (spotpass which is free) that allows the player to use characters from past FE's. To then go and say it's "not for the fans" is so laughable that if I were drinking something, I'd have surely spit it out. Sure, it's not for the fans. It just happens to be loaded to gills with references and fan service specifically for hardcore FE fans that no "casual" would ever get. Right.

FE:A might just be my favorite 3DS game, bar none. Definitely my favorite strategy RPG I've ever played - and I played the Final Fantasy Tactics series.

Hopefully we'll hear more about If's localization soon.

Very fantastic sales the for series and even more impressive considering Intelligent Systems were able to reach the kind of appeal Awakening has on the lowest selling Nintendo handheld.

While the bar wasn't set that high what's especially impressive is that it's one of the few Nintendo series that has actually reached the highest sales in series history on the 3DS.

What I liked most is that they introduced most of these changes optionally(grinding, casual mode, reclass) while also providing Lunatic for players who are good at the series. With Lunatic on Classic mode being one of the outright hardest in the series. Even attempting to cheese it(providing you're not just copying other player's strategies) without using casual features requires you to have a really good knowledge of how the gameplay works and the first 4 chapters are harder than the final chapters of previous entries in the series.

@AVahne I still hold out hope for English translations (direct ports) of the Japan exclusives to make it onto the eshop, especially Binding Blade as it would also give Sakurai an excuse to put Roy in Smash.

Impressive numbers. I hate these games so hard. ...Guess I'm not doing a good enough job

Well my favorite is Fire Emblem 4 because the story is more complex, and its a fun challenge. There is a near complete english translation that does not translate the opening.

Holy Moly !! so happy

To put in in perspective, this has sold more than EVERY F-Zero game and better than every Metroid game bar Metroid 1 and Prime

So, next time, buy their game instead of calling them names for not making more F-Zero or Metroid

This is a fantastic game...I currently have a file that I've suspended for a while, but I plan to pick it back up while I'm on summer break.

That said, I can safely say some of the GBA games are better. Blazing Sword and Sacred Stones are just TOO good.

Edit: This is a big reason why... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh_mUVcZzWc

@VanillaLake Mmm, I'd agree, but I'm afraid Kid Icarus Uprising gives it some pretty tough competition. I was playing some of the later chapters last night and it just kept blowing my mind right and left.

I actually plan on getting that game in a couple days! Lol I played the demo and loved it, glad to hear the game is doing so well.

Over 1million?

@Grumblevolcano I don't think Sakurai needs an excuse to put Roy in Smash

Incredible game. It deserved every sale.

I think myself and one of the programmers at work were planning on just taking off a week when this comes out.

Maaaaaaaaaaybe 10 days......hmm

I don't like great games, I like games that I like. Fire Emblem Awakening is both! It's so playable on the go! Although I perhaps like classic FE a little bit better (4-8 and New Mystery of the Emblem are brilliant 2D Strategy), only a little bit! I always come back to this game... Yes, it does have flaws, in that strategy is not always, ahem, needed. But it's simply fun! I know they are going to iron out at least some of the less polished aspects of Awakening in FE 'If', so here's to a bright future for Fire Emblem! Although the one thing that they have not fixed which I am not happy about is the fact there are 2D sprites on 3D environments! I would really like to see high quality 3D representations of the characters! They could be opulent and lavish so we can identify who they are meant to be! Anyway...

@Grumblevolcano
This talk about Smash Bros. and how it justifies remaking or translating the games... I think they should just do it so people who cannot read Japanese can play the original games. Release the lot in one go. I don't think Smash Bros. justifies it really, or at least not alone. Instead, the new-found popularity of FE does.

@Nintendofan83. Fire Emblem is a good game but it will never be as good as the original Shining Force Games Dude

While my favourite FE is FE7, I don't think Awakening was aimed for casual nor too easy. As @Onion said, we still have classic mode, with Lunatic and Lunatic+. The idea is that new games can keep longtime fans, but at the same time bring newcomers. That said, if the new Fire Emblem comes in two versions, I'll just get the Nohr version.

Awakening is great and I'm hype for the next installment. Two versions will only mean twice the fun, thrice with that DLC. Don't let me down, NoA. Bring it over as it's made to be.

Great to hear. The game is fantastic.

@ZenTurtle I was saying that the translations justify Roy being in Smash rather than the other way around. Think about it, how many playable Smash characters are from Japan exclusive games? In 64 there were 0, in Melee there were 2 (Marth and Roy), in Brawl there were 2 (Marth and Lucas) and in 3DS/Wii U there was 1 (Shadow Dragon remake was released a few months after Brawl so Marth doesn't count anymore hence Lucas as DLC is the only one). This leaves Roy and Lucas as the only Smash characters that are only in Japan exclusives.

Now Nintendo of course teased Mother 3 in the digital event intro "Come on Reggie, give us Mother 3!" and while whether that tease means it's going to be revealed this E3 can be continuously argued over, Lucas is confirmed as DLC. If the rumours are true and we do get Roy and Ryu then you could argue backwards that Binding Blade is coming.

I don't get why casual mode was controversial. It's not like they took away permadeath. They just made it easier for new players to jump in, which clearly worked based on those sales numbers. Now there will be more games in the series and they'll have more resources to make them. All of those things should make fans happy.

Have kept meaning to get this game but never got around to it. But now I've picked up a New 3DS XL, I think I may finally get it. Have enjoyed the previous versions.