Now that I’ve written about Fire Emblem as a whole, I would like to take a closer look at what exactly Fire Emblem does right from a game design standpoint.
Fire Emblem is a fairly complex game. With dozens of classes, numerous weapons each with strengths and weaknesses, and unique battlefields with different terrain types, the player is left with a lot to think about.
Part of what makes Fire Emblem great is its ability to convey all this information in such an effective manner making a potentially incredibly complex game simple and fun to play. A lot of effort was put into making this possible, so let’s take a look at what Fire Emblem’s interface.
First of all, Fire Emblem: Awakening takes total advantage of the two screens on the 3DS. For example, in a typical battle you will see something like this:
This is great because the player can always see the battlefield even when looking at the details of a particular unit. Having two screens significantly streamlines the process of looking at units as before it was necessary to cover up the battlefield to show a unit’s complete stats and inventory. The bottom screen can also be switched over to a mini-map to let the player have a bird’s eye view of the entire map at all times. All of this makes sense as the player is supposed to be a master tactician, and so it is only appropriate to be able to “see” everything that’s going on at all times.
Look down, look back up, now look down again! The bottom screen is now a minimap!
Each class has a clear and unique sprite.
One of my favorite aspects of Fire Emblem is how unique each character’s sprite is, making it obvious where everyone is and what class they are. With just a quick glance at the battlefield you will recognize each of the characters you’ve recruited over the course of the game. It’s easy to notice any new units that are on the field, as they will stick out like a sore thumb.
Awakening also makes it crystal clear how far units can move and what spaces they can potentially attack. This is critical for knowing which squares are actually safe to leave your more fragile units. Pressing the ‘X’ button at any time highlights all squares that are in danger of being attacked. This is great, as the alternative would be having to move the cursor over each enemy checking their ranges over and over again.
Threatened squares are highlighted in red. Be careful!
Finally, Fire Emblem: Awakening makes combat a breeze by giving you a preview of how each fight will end before it even starts. A picture is worth a thousand words here:
A preview of combat. Odds are looking good for Sumia!
Before you send the final order for an attack, you are given this preview of how each fight will play out. You can see here that Sumia has a 100% chance of hitting this assuredly evil Plegian. She is using her Iron Lance, and the Plegian will be nearly dead because of it. We can also see that Stahl will be helping her out, and that she will be attacking two times (presumably each attack is doing 8 damage, for a total of 16) and it’s likely that the Plegian scum will not even touch Sumia!
This feature is great because it will (hopefully!) stop you from ever sending a unit to their immediate demise. Believe it or not, this combat preview does not actually make the game easy. The enemy has a nasty habit of doing exactly what you don’t expect them to on their own turn, and so even if you play your turn perfectly, all too often a weak point will be exposed as the enemy sends all their units after your precious healer. Those dastards!
As you can now see, Fire Emblem: Awakening does a lot to distill complex combat into something that anybody can pick up and play. Succeeding still takes plenty of thought, especially on the harder difficulties, but did you really expect anything less from a game that advertises permanent character death? Of course you didn’t, we both know you’re better than that.
Images from:
- http://stevivor.com/2013/04/fire-emblem-awakening/
- http://guardianlv.com/2013/12/top-20-video-games-of-2013-part-four-gold-tier-video/
- http://tumblr.nettosgameroom.com/post/48693691999/nettos-game-room-fire-emblem-awakening-review
- http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2013/02/04/fire-emblem-awakening-review/
Discovering Game Design 