The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (HD)

Original Release: December 13, 2002 (JP), March 24, 2003 (USA)

HD Release: September 20, 2013

Platform: Nintendo GameCube (original), Wii U (HD)

Introduction

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was originally released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, but the version I have played is the HD remaster, released for the Wii U in 2013. I'll talk about the differences at certain points, but there aren't any major changes other than the graphical overhaul and a few gameplay changes that make the game more enjoyable.

Gameplay

Wind Waker was the third 3D Zelda game ever made, and the 2nd if you don't count Majora's Mask because that game was weird (and amazing), and used the same engine as Ocarina of Time. But this was Nintendo's first real attempt at a 3D Zelda after the universally acclaimed Ocarina of Time, so they wanted to do something different. And they did.

Sailing from island to island

Sailing

While most Zelda games, especially the 3D ones, take place in the sprawling kingdom of Hyrule and its varied terrain, this game takes place on an ocean, the Great Sea. Instead of using a horse to ride from place to place across Hyrule Field, Link uses a sailboat and manipulates the winds to sail from island to island. This was a common complaint of the original Wind Waker, because whenever the player wanted to change the direction they were sailing they had to play a song. They fixed this in the HD version by adding the Swift Sail, an item that lets you sail twice as fast and changes the wind direction automatically.

Battle

I love the battling in this game. It's probably my favorite battling mechanics in any Zelda game (except Breath of the Wild, which I hope to cover soon, see the bottom notes). In Ocarina of Time, this game's direct predecessor, battling was usually just two identical sword swipes and then a swipe in the opposite direction. I'm simplifying it a bit, but that's pretty much how Link attacked. In Wind Waker, it's much more lively, with Link doing spins, jumps and dances between his sword thrusts, and with orchestra hits whenever he landed a hit on an enemy.

Gripes

The Triforce Quest, the part of the game where you must gather the 8 pieces of the Triforce of Courage scattered all over the Great Sea, is known to be an annoying part of the game. I agree with the popular opinion that this quest is drawn-out, unnecessary, and stops the flow of the game. They made it significantly easier in the HD version, but it's still an unwelcome quest.

Music

Here are a few music pieces that I feel encompass the Wind Waker. I'm using the soundtrack of the HD version because the audio is better quality, but the songs are almost identical.

The Great Sea

This song plays whenever Link travels on the ocean, which is a large part of the game. Because of this, this song is very iconic. It gives the feeling of setting off to sea on a grand adventure. It starts out with a hint of the famous Zelda theme, but quickly develops into its own melody. There's also a wonderful remix in Super Smash Bros.

This song also changes with gameplay, which Nintendo seems to like to do. When it's stormy out, it transitioned into an ominous rendition of the song, and during sunrise and sunset, it's a laidback, peaceful version.

Molgera

*chikka-chikka-chikka-chikka*

^Original version^

^Version in Wind Waker HD^

"Molgera" is a song that plays when fighting the Molgera, a giant sand worm. Wind Waker was different from past Zelda games because each boss has its own battle theme. In past games, all the bosses shared one or two music themes. When bosses like Molgera have their own themes, it really makes the battle more unique and memorable.

Selfie with the Molgera

This song uses a lot of percussion, which really helps give it a 'desert' feel. The melody, on a flute/tin
whistle-like instrument, cuts through the background percussion for a really cool sound. As you may have noticed, I put both the original version and the HD version up there. This is because they changed some things in the HD version that sort of change how the song feels. I really can't decide which one I like more, but they definitely have a slightly different feel.

Also, check out this rock version from Hyrule Warriors Legends if you want something spicy.

Artstyle

When Wind Waker was released, it got a lot of crap for its "cartoony" artstyle. Fans were expecting a more realistic Zelda game, in line with Ocarina of Time. Over time, however, Wind Waker's timeless style is almost universally acclaimed.

While Ocarina of Time (and Majora's Mask) have aged pretty badly over the years, the original version of Wind Waker still looks stunning because of its cel-shaded artstyle. When The Wind Waker HD was announced, many fans said that there was no reason for an HD rerelease because the original still looked so good. I agree, and I think this is the best Zelda artstyle (besides possible Breath of the Wild).

Story/Characters

Premise

This game takes place hundreds of years after Ocarina of Time. When Link went back in time to his own time at the end of OoT, he left Hyrule without a hero. Because of this, Ganondorf returned, and the three goddesses flooded the kingdom of Hyrule after telling the citizens to go to the mountaintops.

The Great Sea, in Wind Waker, is the ocean that covers the old kingdom of Hyrule. The islands are the mountaintops, and the people are descendants of  the old citizens. At one point in the game, you actually go beneath the sea to the old Hyrule Castle, where there's a statue of Link from Ocarina of Time, and stained glass windows depicting each of the Six Sages of the same game. The castle has been preserved in a bubble of air, and the King of Hyrule has been waiting there since the flood.

Link's goal is to defeat Ganondorf, who resides in his tower under the ocean, and flood the rest of the kingdom so Ganondorf is sealed under the ocean forever.

Characters

Link, you monster!

Wind Waker is one of the few Zelda games were Link has a family. He lives with his grandmother and sister on Outset Island. When his sister is taken away, he has to leave the island to rescue her, leaving his grandmother all alone. As he's setting sail with Tetra and her pirate crew, the player sees the grandmother sadly waving from her house as the ship leaves, which really tugged on the ol' heartstrings.

**Well known spoiler, but just to be safe**

Right after the ship leaves, Link keeps waving goodbye to his grandmother from the bow of the ship. Tetra, the leader of the pirates, makes fun of him for being homesick already, and says he won't last long on the ship.

Tetra is one of the more interesting versions of Princess Zelda, and definitely more interesting than all of the Zeldas before Wind Waker came out. She's the leader of a pirate crew, and sails the Great Sea, pillaging the islands. The only reason she let Link come on their ship was because she was guilt-tripped about his sister. Once it is revealed to Tetra that she's Zelda, she unfortunately takes a much smaller role in the story.

She does join in on the final battle with Ganondorf, however. She and Link fight Ganondorf on the top of his tower as the rest of Hyrule is being flooded. Zelda uses her bow to shoot Ganondorf with light arrows, at which point Link must strike him with his sword. It was an amazing final boss, standing out in a series that usually has great final bosses.

Notes/BREATH OF THE WILD!

You may have noticed (probably not) that I added The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to my "posts sometime in the future" section. This is kind of different from the other posts in that section, because a) I have not finished the game yet, and b) it is a VERY recent game (March 3, 2017). Because of the general hype and praise around BOTW, I'm going to do a post about it right when I finish it. I'm going to have to bump down the posts in the Upcoming Posts list, but alas, I don't care.

MOTHER 3

Released: April 20, 2006 (JP)

Platform: Game Boy Advance

Introduction

Hello! Today I'm going to look at MOTHER 3 (or to use a less aggressive spelling, Mother 3). Mother 3 is the sequel to EarthBound, which I covered in my first post. I recommend you read it, because there are some continuities between the two games that are vital to understanding Mother 3. If you don't want to, you can still read the art, gameplay, and music sections; you might just be confused about the story/characters section in this post.

Mother 3 is unique in that it has not been released internationally. It released in 2006 exclusively in Japan, but has no official English translation. A group of dedicated fans, most prominently the professional translator Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, worked hard for two years until they made a fan translation available. And it's an amazing fan translation that feels just like the English version of EarthBound. If you'll recall, EarthBound was known as Mother 2 in Japan, which is why Mother 3 is named the way it is.

Gameplay

Unlike EarthBound, I really love the gameplay of Mother 3. It feels like a modern game, the overworld movement is smooth, and the battles are very strategic and fun.

Battle

Mother 3 uses a very similar battle system to EarthBound, with the rolling health meter and the psychic attack system. But by timing button presses to the beat of the battle music, the player can get up to 16 hits in at once. This kind of turn-based battling is more involved than simply selecting an attack, and it reminded me of action commands from Paper Mario.

Overworld

I mentioned in EarthBound that it was easy to get characters caught on the edges of objects and buildings. In Mother 3, this was fixed, as there are no crevices for the characters to get caught on, and there's even a little satisfying 'bump' noise when you run into a wall or an object.

Speaking of running, that's another gameplay aspect that VASTLY improves this game. As much as I love EarthBound, it took SO LONG to get places. So this is a much welcomed improvement, especially because there was running in Mother, just not Mother 2/EarthBound.

Music

Mother 3's soundtrack reuses a lot of themes for different songs. This is true for the two main themes of the game, but also for a bunch of minor themes as well. When I played the game, there were times when I thought, "haven't I heard this before?", and I had. I feel like it really ties the soundtrack together, and establishes a clear 'style' that's different from EarthBound's. This may also be because Mother 3 has a different composer than the first two games.

Porky's Theme/His Highness' Theme

This theme is the theme of the antagonists of the game, Porky (Pokey) Minch and the Pigmask Army. I'll talk about Porky later, but yes, it is the same Pokey that was Ness's neighbor in EarthBound.

This theme is a march, and really gives the image of an army marching into battle. It can be heard usually when pigmasks (the soldiers in the Pigmask Army) are present. But later in the game, when the characters travel to the army-controlled New Pork City, there are a bunch of variations of the song in different styles, such as "Life's an Inner Circle Gap":

MOTHER 3 Theme of Love

This is the game's most well-known theme. It is comparable to the "Eight Melodies"/"Smiles and Tears" of EarthBound. Hinawa, the main character's mother, plays a very important role in the story, and this theme (and variations of it) often plays when there are moments with her or the rest of the family:

The love theme

Reprise of the theme

Like the Pigmask Army theme, it has been adapted to use in different situations in the game. Take this theme from the ending, which is supposed to have a creepy-yet-sad feel:

Another adaptation I really like is the version in the fighting game Super Smash Bros:

16 Melodies

I really love this song because it's a medley of the Eight Melodies from Mother 1, Smiles and Tears/Eight Melodies from EarthBound, and the Mother 3 Love Theme. It takes place at the end, and it really wraps up the whole series (the feels!):

Story/Characters

Much of the storytelling in EarthBound was done subtly, through dialogue and character interaction. Mother 3, however, has a very deliberate, dramatic, and emotional story.

**SPOILERS FOR MOTHER 3**

Overall Plot

Mother 3 takes place over a thousand years after EarthBound, as you find out in the game. The world has ended because humans have destroyed it, and the only place on the planet left is the Nowhere Islands, where this game takes place. The main character, Lucas, his twin brother Claus, his father Flint,  his mother Hinawa, and his dog Boney live in a small town known as Tazmily Village. The game kicks off with Hinawa and the kids at Hinawa's father's house, getting ready to head back home. But as they begin their trip back through the forest, a mysterious army starts burning down the forest. The Drago (friendly dinosaur creatures) start acting violent, and Hinawa sends Lucas and Claus down the river.

Flint, fearing for his family's safety, organizes a search party. His kids wash up in the river, and the searchers make a fire for them. Finally, in a beautifully created scene, Flint is informed that Hinawa has been killed by a Drago. Flint breaks down, lashing out at everyone, and is thrown in jail after assaulting a few members of the search party.

The real story begins 5 years later, following Lucas. Claus has disappeared to avenge his mother's death, and is assumed to be dead. It becomes apparent that the Pigmask Army is creating combinations of animals known as chimaeras, and their leader is Porky Minch.

When the main characters finally confront Porky, he seals himself in a capsule that he can never escape, so they reach a stalemate. But Porky's minion, the Masked Man, is still trying to perform a final task to destroy the world.

The Masked Man turns out to be a cyborg the Porky made out of Claus. Upon realizing this, Flint is devastated. But through the final fight between Lucas and Claus, Lucas, unable to attack his brother, calls on his mother's spirit to convince what was left of Claus to stop trying to kill his brother. Claus realizes what he has done, and commits suicide.

It's a very emotional ending, and I teared up when I saw it the first time. As I said, this story is a lot more direct than the subtle themes of EarthBound.

Porky (Pokey) Minch

The story of Porky Minch is the main continuity between EarthBound and Mother 3. If you'll recall, Pokey Minch (known as Porky in Japan) was the kid that lived next door to Ness in EarthBound. He started out as just a mean kid who was abused at home. He wanted to be friends with Ness but didn't know how to show it. Throughout the game he became power hungry and corrupted under the evil influence of Giygas, and disappeared at the end.

New Pork City theater with a scene from EarthBound

In Mother 3, it is revealed that Porky is the leader of the pigmask army. He used his time machine to travel across eras and recruit for his army, his body aging thousands of years in the process. He still had the mind of a child though, and wanted to use the Nowhere Islands as his personal playplace by taking over with his army and making the animal chimaeras. In his personal city, New Pork City, there are grotesque monuments to Ness, and robotic replicas of Porky's family members.

Looking back on how Porky started out as Ness's neighbor really shows how the abuse and power affected him. The game does a good job of frustrating you, because Porky is about to end the lives of Lucas, his family, and everyone else on the Nowhere Islands for his own amusement. When Porky is finally beaten near the end of the game, he seals himself in a capsule that no one will ever be able to get into and he will never be able too escape. I thought this was a perfect end to the awful story of his life, and shows how twisted he had become.

Background/Context

As I said in the beginning, this game has not been brought out of Japan as of now. There are rumors that it will happen soon, in the form of a digital version on the Nintendo Switch, but nothing has been confirmed. The president of Nintendo of America has given a strong hint, though.

Mother 3 is currently the only Mother game that has not been released worldwide. EarthBound, or Mother 2, was released in the U.S. in 1995, and later released on the Wii U in 2013 where the whole world had access to it. In 2015, Nintendo released EarthBound Beginnings on the Wii U, which was a translated version of the first Mother game that had never been released outside of Japan. Mother 3 was released on the Japanese Wii U shop, but not anywhere else.

The Mother 3 fan translation is a professional-grade translation, as I mentioned. It came out in 2008, two years after the game's Japanese launch. I played the translation, and it's really amazing. If you feel intimidated by figuring out how to use the fan translation, you can always watch someone play the game on YouTube, or watch someone stream it. I recommend Lauren the Flute's playthrough, as it was her first time playing the game and I like how she breaks the game down as she plays it.

Notes

Next is Wind Waker! I extended the Up Next list to 10 games, and I added a Sometime In The Future list for games that I plan to do sometime but not in order.

Dissent

A Different Kind of Post- Nintendo Games vs "Other Games"

If you've read my other blog posts, you can tell I mostly play Nintendo games. All of the games I've discussed so far, barring Bayonetta 2, were developed by Nintendo, and even Bayonetta 2 was published by them. You might accuse me of being a fanboy, whether you're someone who isn't too familiar with games or if you spend most of your gaming time on PlayStation or Xbox. But the fact of the matter is that like most gamers, I only have a game console from one company, and I chose Nintendo.

In the gaming community, it is normal to prefer a PlayStation or an Xbox. The difference between those consoles and Nintendo consoles is that they tend to get more 3rd party games, while Nintendo consoles are primarily for Nintendo games. This is commonly cited as a problem with Nintendo platforms, but to be honest, 1st party Nintendo games cover such a wide variety of genres that 3rd party games aren't always necessary. I think the reason I and so many other people enjoy Nintendo games is that even there's wide variety of games that they make, but they all share a similar standard of quality, attention to detail, and legacy.

In that regard, you might say I'm a fanboy. The vast majority of games that I play are Nintendo games. But 'fanboy' has a few negative connotations to it, which I don't think I share:

• A fanboy is typically seen as blind to flaws

It may not seem like it when you look at the games I've discussed, but I am very aware of Nintendo games that have flaws. The games I have looked at thus far are sort of "the cream of the crop", games that I consider classics. Even so, I have tried to acknowledge the flaws of the game's I've looked at. I think I'll look at some average games in the future, because that could be interesting.

• A fanboy attacks those who don't share the same opinion

While I don't really play other consoles, I don't think they, or their games, are inferior. It's all about your preference. I happened to grow up playing Nintendo games and still enjoy them, while some people grow up playing other games. Good for them. No problem here!

For those unfamiliar, I would also like to address the difference between a fanboy and a fangirl. Fangirl is rarely used as an insult, instead as a quirky quality used to define oneself (similar to calling yourself a nerd).

All in all, to those who might say I'm blind to some games by focusing on Nintendo, know that this is just my niche, I'm not trying to imply these games are better than all other games.

Paper Mario

Released: August 11, 2000 (JP), February 5, 2001 (USA)

Platform: Nintendo 64

Introduction

Paper Mario is one of Nintendo's first takes on the JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) genre. It is considered to be the spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG, which was Nintendo's first JRPG, and includes many twists on the JRPG formula. Like RPGs, there are turn-based battles (Mario attacks, the enemy attacks, Mario attacks, etc...). But button presses can be times to increase the damage Mario deals and reduce the damage he receives, which was one of the many Nintendo-style twists to the genre's formula.

Unlike main series Mario games, Paper Mario has a greater focus on story and characters. The game also has a cartoonish, and sometimes dry, sense of humor. Paper Mario series fans consider this game and the second one to be the best in the series, so this game is usually remembered fondly. And though it was on the 90's-era Nintendo 64, the game has aged well because of its paper artstyle.

CHARM

Impressions

When I first played Paper Mario in 7th grade, I was immediately in love with the charm of the game. Everything, from the art style, to the battles, resonates such a pure Nintendo charm that few other games can rival. The cast of characters, specifically Mario's battle partners, also stick out to me, as they all have unique designs and often a witty sense of humor.

Gameplay

Overworld

In Paper Mario, the player controls Mario in his adventure through the Mushroom Kingdom. In addition to moving around the 3D areas, Mario can use a hammer and jump a short difference. Along the way, Mario meets 8 characters who act as "partners". One partner follows Mario at a time, and partners can be switched at will. In the world, each partner has an ability that can help Mario, like lighting up a dark area, carrying him over small gaps (picture above), or letting him swim through water. 

Mario uses his partner Sushie to swim

Battles

In battle, Mario similarly has the option to attack with either with his hammer or by jumping on the enemy. There's a strategy here, because Mario will get hurt if he tries to jump on some enemies (often wearing spikes), and his hammer can't reach flying enemies. In battle, both Mario and his current partner can attack once each turn, and the partners have unique attacks that often are similar to their abilities in the overworld. If there's a flying enemy that is wearing spikes, one of the partners' moves is probably necessary.

Battling with a partner

Artstyle

A pretty big part of Paper Mario, and the game's namesake, is its paper artstyle. All of the characters and items in this game are 2D, in a "paper" style, even though the environments and worlds are 3D. When Intelligent Systems made this game they weren't very familiar with making a 3D game, so thats why they went with this style. There are little winks and nods to the paper theme throughout the game, like how when a bridge is built, the screen turns like a page to reveal a bridge behind it. In fact, the game is organized into 'chapters', like a book.

Aside from that, there's really not a lot of gameplay that centers on the idea of paper. It's more of a unique artstyle than anything else.

Characters

While the characters I talked about in Bayonetta 2 and Fire Emblem are like characters from a novel, Paper Mario's characters are more like characters from a storybook, or a fairy tale: they lack much depth, but they seem real. Paper Mario uses these characters to weave a vivid world. I haven't played this game in a few years, but I can remember even the most minor characters because of how unique they are.

The partner characters, as I mentioned before, follow Mario throughout the game once they join his party. Each one is visually distinct and has a different personality. It's hard to explain, but having 8 characters with personalities follow me in game makes it seem like an adventure with friends.

Notes

You may have noticed that I included fewer categories in this post, which is partly because this game isn't noteworthy in all of its aspects, and partly because I'm trying to cut down on the post lengths. Hopefully it will be more readable if its shorter. 

Fire Emblem Awakening

Released: April 19, 2012 (JP), February 4, 2013 (USA)

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Introduction

Fire Emblem Awakening is a strategy game released for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the 13th game in the Fire Emblem series, a series that made its debut in 1990, but didn't have any worldwide releases until the 7th game in the series.

The Fire Emblem games are strategy games, and the player must move characters around a battlefield, and the must take turns with the enemy team. Think of it like chess, if you were able to move all of your pieces each turn and if the chess board was much bigger.

Fire Emblem Awakening also has a big focus on characters and story. Each unit has their own personality and backstory. If a character dies in a level, they are dead for the rest of the game, which makes it pretty sad. Units can also build relationships through battle and have children, who can join your army.

Impressions

I got this game for my 15th birthday from a friend who had sung its praises, so I was really excited to play it. I had never played a game like it before, and at first I thought the gameplay was odd. As time went on, I quickly grew to love the gameplay however, and the game seemed very natural. I recently introduced the game to my friend (who is subscribed to this blog and I would recommend she skip the story section of this post). She also was thrown off by the gameplay at first, but she grew used to it more quickly than I did.

The game's characters and story really resonated with me. The game does a great job of intertwining the story and the gameplay, which is probably why. Overall, the game definitely has a "feel", and I enjoyed it so much that I am now on my 3rd playthrough.

Gameplay

The mechanics of Fire Emblem are simple on the surface, but there are a lot of details that should be learned in order to completely master the strategy. Thankfully, Awakening is a game that was made to introduce people to the series and its gameplay. I started out the game with a basic idea of the gameplay: on my turn I move my units, and if I move next to an enemy I battle it, lowering both of the units' health and hopefully killing the opposing one. But I began to see that there was a "rock paper scissors" mechanic with weapons, and I learned other things that made battling easier.

I also figured out the relationship system, which I think is an amazing way to tie the characters into the gameplay and build their personalities. When two units fight together on the battlefield, they raise their affinity, which will eventually raise their friendship level and let the player witness a conversation between them. These conversations, called "support conversations", are often funny and develop the characters' personalities.

Conversation between Maribelle and her son

Certain characters can also get married once they reach a high enough friendship level, and even have children. The children are all pre-defined characters, and they are always born to the same mother. Their hair color is the same as their father's, which depends on whom their mother marries. Through time-traveling shenanigans, the grown-up children can join your army and establish their own relationships with other characters.

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this part of the game, and I thought it was a great way to tie together the battles and the characters.

Music

Even though this game is on the 3DS, the music is pretty great in my opinion. Like I mentioned in the Majora's Mask and Super Mario Galaxy posts, Nintendo likes to do cool things with the music so it ties into the gameplay. In Fire Emblem Awakening, Each piece of battle music has two variants- the calmer, normal version and the more exciting "Ablaze" version. The calm version plays when the player is moving units around the battlefield, and it smoothly transitions into the Ablaze versions during battle animations.

Every standard piece of battle music has two versions, which really adds tension when the music grows more exciting during battles.

In general, the music has an orchestral style, with impressive quality for the 3DS. You can tell they're digital instruments, but not because they sound fake. One of my personal favorites is "Don't Speak Her Name", a sweeping song with story significance (it occurs after a tragedy).

Art

Fire Emblem Awakening has a few artstyles. The first, the style of the battle map, is sort of painting-styled. The units on the field have retro-styled sprites, which really pop against the muted colors of the background, especially when 3D is turned on:

Battle map

The most beautiful artsyle in the game is the style of the pre-rendered cutscenes. It's in an anime style, but it has a lot more depth and shading than most anime. I don't watch anime, but from what I've seen it seems to be a combination of anime and western 3D animation styles.

The effects are beautifully animated

There are around 10 cutscenes pre-rendered, but there are a whole bunch of other cutscenes in the game that use the characters' 3D models, in the same style as the battle animations. It doesn't look the nicest, but I like the character artwork and the hazy background. The characters can't convey as much emotion, but they can get the message across through the text and their body language.

Character art and the models in the background

Story/Characters (SPOILERS)

Fire Emblem Awakening has a story broken into two parts, with an overarching story as well.

Part 1: Plegia

The first half of the game is about the war between the kingdoms of Ylisse and Plegia. Gangrel, the king of Plegia, wants the war to happen, and tries to instigate one. Emmeryn, the exalt of Ylisse, however, doesn't want the war to happen. Emmeryn's father, the previous exalt, was very warlike and committed atrocities against Plegia, which is why Gangrel wants war and Emmeryn desperately wants to prevent it. Things escalate until Gangrel kidnaps Emmeryn, who tries to convince the Plegians that war is unnecessary. She proves to them that she isn't just saying this to save herself by jumping off a cliff after giving her anti-war speech.

I thought this was a pretty interesting first half of the game, and while it was a pretty weak start, the Emmeryn's sacrifice was a really great end to the first storyline.

Part 2: Valm

The second half of the game featured the story of Walhart the Conqueror's conquest, and his attack on Ylisse. The gang has to travel to the continent of Valm to defeat him. I felt like this story was sort of unnecessary, and I don't remember too much about it because the main story was more important.

Main Story

The main story follows Chrom, Emmeryn's brother, and Robin, the player's avator, as they try to gather the pieces of the Fire Emblem and prevent the rise of Grima, the Fell Dragon. This story kicks off as Lucina, Chrom's daughter, arrives from the future to prevent the Dragon's resurrection, as both her parents were killed in the battle with the dragon. At first taking the guise of a man named Marth, Lucina protects her father until ultimately revealing her identity.

Robin (the player's avatar) has no memory of his/her past. He/she follows Chrom as his tactician, until later in the game when Robin realized that the main antagonist is his/her father, and that he/she was bred to become the vessel for Grima.

I thought this was a pretty interesting story, but to me the journey of Lucina to assist and protect her father was more interesting than Robin's story.

*END SPOILERS*

Characters

A huge part of Fire Emblem is the characters. Each unit in Chrom's army has their own personality and relationships with the other characters, and those relationships can be strengthened through battle. The characters can have children, as I mentioned before, and I love the chemistry the characters have with their children.

One of my favorites is the relationship between the dark mage Tharja and her daughter Noire. Tharja has a very sinister, sadistic, stalker-like personality (comparable to April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation). Her daughter Noire is cripplingly shy, and is easily intimidated by her mother, who practices spells on her. Noire has kept her mother's wedding ring as a talisman, and taps into a confident, raging personality when she wears it.

Tharja doesn't want her daughter to rely on a talisman for confidence, so she finds ways to help Noire tap into that part of herself without the ring, which shows a subtle mothering side of Tharja that usually isn't seen. Lots of character interactions are like this, and it gives the game more depth.

Context

Fire Emblem Awakening was an unexpected success. It was also a much needed success. With the exception of one or two games that sold respectably, the Fire Emblem series had never sold very well, especially outside of Japan. Awakening was Intelligent Systems' (a subsidiary of Nintendo that makes Fire Emblem) last chance to justify new games in the series. When it was released, Awakening sold gangbusters, and introduced many new fans to the series. Since then, another entry in the series (Fire Emblem Fates) has been released, and another is slated to release this April and yet another in 2018. This game singlehandedly revitalized the series, and introduced many fans, including me, to it.