The Nintendo 3DS had a strong library of games, coming from just about all the company’s biggest franchises.Super Mario 3D Landset the stage for3D World; HD remakes ofOcarina of TimeandMajora’s Maskreleased;Kirby: Triple DeluxeandPlanet Robobotfollowed up the winning formula ofReturn to Dream Landon Wii; MercurySteam’sMetroid: Samus ReturnsandMasahiro Sakurai’sKid Icarus: Uprisingrevived older names; and a host ofPokemongames filled Generation 6 and 7. However, few titles boast as meaningful a story as Intelligent Systems’Fire Emblem Awakening.
Unfortunately, these experiences and more are at risk of disappearing — or at least becoming more expensive at second-hand retailers.Nintendo announced it will shut down the Wii U and 3DS eShopsin March 2023, and people have not been shy about criticizing the company’s lack of preservation efforts. Without a more robust system to play classic titles, the most fans can hope for is a forthcoming 3DS library in Nintendo Switch Online, or full-priced re-releases. That makes now a perfect time to go back and playFire Emblem Awakening, as its 10th anniversary highlights what made the experience special.
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How Fire Emblem Awakening Brought the Franchise Back From the Brink
Fans ofFire Emblemor Nintendo trivia likely don’t need the explainer, but newcomers should know thatFire Emblem Awakeninghelped save its struggling tactical RPG franchise.Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Lightfirst released in 1990, though anofficial English port of the originalFire Emblemdidn’t release until 2020 on Switch. The series was popular but remained a Japanese-exclusive property until its seventh mainline entry,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, released for Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2003 (just called “Fire Emblem” abroad).
The inclusion ofMarth and Roy inSuper Smash Bros. Meleehelped spur interest forFire Emblemwith Western audiences, though Roy’s game,The Binding Blade, did not receive a western release. Rather,The Blazing Bladeis a prequel starring the parents of Roy and his crew, including lead protagonists Eliwood, Lyndis, and Hector. This proved successful enough that everyFire Emblemgame after (except 2010’sNew Mystery of the Emblem) would follow suit.
However, the Tellius duology on GameCube and Wii —Path of RadianceandRadiant Dawn— were not sales juggernauts. Neither was the remakeFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, which is why its sequelNew Mystery of the Emblemremained a Japan-exclusive. As the story goes, Intelligent Systems discussedFire Emblem Awakeningbeing its last-ditch effort, the swan song for the franchise if it didn’t sell at least 250,000 copies. The development team went all-out and packedAwakeningwith revamped ideas from all its predecessors, leading to a blockbuster success which has fueled numerous games to follow — including 2019’sThree Houses, the best-sellingFire Emblemto-date.
Fire Emblem Awakening Reinvented Features like Supports
Among the features packed intoAwakeningwere more verbose difficulty options; including “Casual” and “Classic” modes fromNew Mystery of the Emblemthat letplayers turn off permadeath, and experience grinding by returning to older areas akin toFire Emblem GaidenandSacred Stones. However, perhaps the most well-known addition to the 3DS blockbuster was an overhauled Support and marriage system. Versions of this appeared in the GBA and Tellius games, with other forms of bonding dating back to 1996’sGenealogy of the Holy Waron SNES, butAwakeningmade the idea far more ingrained.
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Whereas classicFire Emblemgames with Support systems had units build a rapport by fighting alongside one another on the tiled battlefield,Awakeningadded a Pair Up system in which the paired unit offers stat buffs and the possibility to negate an attack. This became iconic, andRobin’s Final Smash in theSuper Smash Bros.seriesreferences this with Chrom coming to their aid — even before he became a playable fighter inSmash Ultimate. When characters spent enough time alongside certain allies they could unlock Support Conversations with unique flavor text, and a number of them include S-Rank “marriage” Supports.
The stroke of genius inAwakening’s marriage system is that, unlikeSacred Stones, characters coming together had a tangible effect on the world. A major plot beat established early on involves the Shepherd army’s children coming back-in-time to stop a calamity, and these second-generation units had varying appearances, stat distributions, and skills depending on the player’s marriage choices — something not really seen inGenealogy of the Holy War.Fire Emblem Fates’follow-up execution was awkward, involving time-distorting pocket dimensions, butAwakeningstruck a great balance with its time-travel conceit that led to iconic characters such as Lucina.
The Legacy of Fire Emblem Awakening Should Last Beyond a Decade
Fire Emblem Awakeningleft a lot to be desired with its Support system, including representation of LGBTQ+ relationships that have only grown slightly withFatesandThree Houses(and these have their own issues with portraying gay characters). Yet, it’s just one element in the smorgasbord of features on offer, with everything from weapon and skill variety, toAwakening’s three-arc story campaign leading to a memorable — and successful — experience.
This madeFire Emblem Awakeningcharacters an overbearing quantity in future Intelligent Systems projects, even as successors came about. For example,Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FEis aShin Megami Tenseispin-off by Atlus that has its characters team up with Mirages based on Chrom, Virion, and Tharja, among others. Three units fromAwakeningare part ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s roster, and the Shepherds play a substantive role in Koei Tecmo’sFire Emblem Warriors. Lucina was also one of the key units in the first wave of support forFire Emblem Heroes, a gacha mobile game. She placed second out of every female character inHeroes' first “Choose Your Legends” community event.
Taking this into account alongside non-Nintendo crossovers, like Lucina appearing as an armor set inMonster Hunter Frontier G, shows just how much Intelligent Systems appreciates the financial viability of its series-saving release. There have been long-standing rumors about aFire Emblemremake coming to Switch, but it would behoove the developer to also ensure Awakening is available beyond its 10th anniversary, even as the 3DS eShop shuts down.
