Here comes the profession of love: This is the Bastion of the 3DS. They share near-enough no similarities, but it is truly the only way to describe the painstaking detail that has been put into this game. Since that pivotal PC beast, I have not encountered a game that has just dug so damn deep. On every level. Art, music, story, character development....The whole lot and more. It doesn't have to urge you to play on, it weaves its magic on you and, before you know it, a week has gone past. It will eat up your social life, and you will cherish every second.
The tactical style of this game slowly grew on me. I must admit that, after completing the main story, it is still not my favourite style of play. However, Fire Emblem: Awakening executes this format so flawlessly that I feel that no other form of play would have fit. The game presents you with three different difficulty setting, as well as two modes of play: Newcomer and Classic. The former allows allies who fall on the battlefield to return after a fight is over, whereas in the latter they stay dead. While Newcomer would have made for an easier experience, I chose Normal on Classic. Good Lord, I should have gone on Newcomer.
Every character comes with their own distinct personality, as well as fighting style and back story. At the risk of sounding flowery, they were each as unique as the next. You start off with your basic crew who then leveled up and later branched out into new classes. Through progression of the story and various side missions, you have the ability to gain new allies. But it can come at a price: All but two of your characters can die. Permanently. I lost my wife and child by the time the game was over, amongst several others. And I felt genuine sadness at each loss. The immersion simply cannot by beaten by any other game of the 3DS.
It was my heart that hurt. Honest.
The story, in my opinion the meat of any true RPG, was a near-perfect masterpiece. Although slightly cliche, it was not enough to dampen the emotional impact of the plot. Without giving out spoilers, the appearance of a certain character and their consequent character development was rather obvious but necessary. However, it was only one clear cut in a swathe of subtle flourishes. I could not predict many parts, and even those that I did were shots in the dark that just so happened to hit. You will find yourself deeply involved in this world, and fighting to protect it with all of your battery life.
The cutscenes were, to be blunt, divine. The art style knocked the breath out of my lungs, and the return to a classical tactical formal felt fitting. The addition of a 'buddy' system also helped add an element of strategy. Essentially, you created bonds with people during battle that increased your chances of extra damage, dodging etc. I gave far too much time to this segment of the game, determined for my ragtag adventurers to be as tough as they could be. That didn't stop me losing some of them....Sorry, the pain is still fresh.
Finally, the musical score blends seamlessly into the story and the ongoing battles. The composers perfectly capture urgency, fear, love, pain and a casket of other emotions with practiced ease. It smoothed the transition from my world to theirs, so much so that I fear it spoiled me. I found myself playing other games since and thinking 'well, this score just doesn't go'. But that is a price I gladly paid for this experience. Do not miss, like I nearly did. You will regret it.
No comments:
Post a Comment