Though its time in t??he spotlight has long since passed, the 3DS is still a great place to play some incredible games. It was a particularly strong console if you loved RPGs and puzzle games. But the 3DS did a great job of bringing 3D action games into the portable realm. Overall, it's an incredible little system with a killer librar??y to enjoy.

Some of the games will be harder to get your hands on, especially those only purchasable from the now defunct eShop. But if you can get some time with these games, it'll be absolute??ly worth the hassle. To avoid any ranking issues, these games are in alphabetical order. We've also included some honorable mentions at the end for remakes and ports.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Not only is it one of the best 3DS games, Animal Crossing: New Leaf easily has the most hours spent on a 3DS game for a lot of people. It was a tremendous showing for the series when it launched in 2012. Becoming the mayor of your town and having a lot more control over how it looked really resonated with players. While nobody was really backing the amiibo part of the Welcome Amiibo! update, the massive boost in content helped cement this game as a must-have for all 3DS owners. Many people consider this the definitive Animal Crossing to this day.

Attack of the Friday Monsters!

One of the 3DS's strengths was being home for a lot of great, smaller games. The eShop allowed for digital distribution and cheaper price points, which attracted a lot of more niche projects. One such game was the Level 5 published Attack of the Friday Monsters! It's a very cutesy tale of kaiju attacking a small Japanese town. Its very Ghibli-esque in the presentation of this fantastic journey. The charming presentation p?rov??es that quality and scale are matters of perspective.

Azure Striker Gunvolt

One of the biggest breakout stars of the 3DS was the studio Inti Creates Co. They managed to bring a lot of unique twists to retro ideas for truly engaging games. One of their best was the Azure Striker Gunvolt series. The name is a bit of a mouthful, but the gameplay is as smooth as it gets. It's like a juiced up Mega Man X style platformer wi??th some unique mecha?nics. Fortunately, the series isn't bound to the 3DS anymore, so you can enjoy these games on other places like Steam.

Bravely Second

Sometimes, it's easy to go with the flow. You don't always have to reinvent the wheel when making a game, especially RPGs. Bravely Default, and it's sequel, established that there's still plenty of room to explore the JRPG genre. Turn based combat has rarely felt this fun and engaging. The Job System allows characters to switch classes with a snap. It lets you build the party how you want. If you've ever enjoyed a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, you owe it to yourse??lf to check this series out.

Etrian Odyssey Nexus

We picked Etrian Odyssey Nexus because it's sort of a 'best of' for the series. It's the most recent, and probably one of the most feature complete. If you've only got time for one of these massive dungeon-crawling RPGs, this is probably your best bet. However, the general series lacks a lot of typical storytelling. There's more of a focus on the party customization and mapping features. If you're into games with a more direct story, we would recommend one of the Etrian Odyssey Untold games. These are remakes of the first two titles, originally on DS, that add more of a through-line narrative. These games can be as tough as JRPGs get, though later entr??ies allow for plenty of difficulty customization. Frankly, there's not a bad game in the series. The original 3 DS games were remade for Switch and Steam recently if you want another avenue to check these games out. But top notch visuals and fully orchestrated music on 3DS are hard to beat. Plus, making your own maps on the 3DS screen is just fun!

Fire Emblem Awakening

The Fire Emblem series always felt like a fairly niche one, not even making it stateside until the Game Boy Advance. Even then, it wasn't terribly common to find people who knew about them. That all changed with Fire Emblem Awakening. The game found a hell of a stride with its gameplay, storytelling, presentation, and mechanics. The amount of customization over your roster and the interactions with party members gave players something more to invest in. The newly added difficulty settings probably also helped the game find a broader audience. Several other Fire Emblem games came out for 3DS, and while they're good, none of them are quite as great as Awakening. That said, check out Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Velentia for a cool, different take on the series.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

Kirby started on handheld and always felt a bit more at home there than on consoles. But, the pink puff put in the work on 3DS. Kirby: Triple Deluxe was great, and there are a ton of fun spin-off games. However, nothing compares to the platforming perfection of Planet Robobot. Even now, this might be Kirby's best 2D platforming game. It's almost upsetting that they decided to remake Return to Dreamland for Switch before this. But, in any ?case, it's a delightful game with one of the bes?t soundtracks.

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

When Nintendo stated they were toying around with remaking A Link to the Past in 3D, it was exciting. That's one of the best video games ever, at least to a lot of people. Then, they suddenly announced that it had grown into a new game. It was hard to tell just how effective the new wall-merging mechanic would be at first. Once you got your hands on the game, however, it all became clear. This wasn't just a silly, slapped-on gimmick. The wall-merging was a truly awesome ability that played with the perspective of the traditionally 2D game in fun, new ways. On top of that, A Link Between Worlds was a solid Zelda adventure. It featured a more open-ended approac??h to world design that let players pick and choose their destinations, which would become a series staple for th?e next decade.

Mario Kart 7

It didn't feel quite as exciting as when Mario Kart DS came out, but the 3DS title proved to be a new standard for the series. It introduced the concept of customizable karts to the series, allowing players to fine-tune their playstyle. It looked great, played better, and would only by surpassed by the unbelievably awesome Mario Kart 8.

Metroid: Samus Returns

Yes, Metroid: Samus Returns is technically a remake of the original Metroid 2 GameBoy Game. But it's such a vast reimagining, and such an incredible game, that it deserves to be on the main list anyway. It was an incredible return to a long dormant franchise. The innovations to combat featuring a more melee-focused counter system helped to create engaging new layers for the standard Metroid combat. If not for Samus Returns, we wouldn't have seen the eventual realization of Metroid Dread.

Persona Q 2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Nintendo fans may not have been used to Persona games, so bringing spin-offs to 3DS seemed weird. But any Persona fan can tell you that the Q games are fantastic. They're similar in structure to the Etrian Odyssey games, featuring a focus on dungeon crawling. However, they have all the customizable combat and killer music you'd expect from the Persona franchise. The Persona Q2 specifically has the rosters of Persona 3, 4, and 5 mixed together. These games are simpl??y too good to pass by.

Picross 3D Round Two

Puzzle fans may have fallen in love with the Picross series at some point, but the Picross 3D games on DS and 3DS are incredible. If you're into any kind of number puzzle games like Sudoku, we highly recommend checking this one out. You use numbers and logic to break away at a large block until you form a 3D object. It's fun, immensely satisfying, and a great game for the pick up/put down nature of the 3DS. If you're into more 2D Picross games, check out the Picross e series by Jup?iter, they're all great. There's a ?ton of them on Switch, too.

Pocket Card Jockey

Horse racing has never been so engaging! Who knew that all it was missing was some solitaire! It may sound ridiculous, but it's immensely engaging. Not until Balatro would there be a card game that steals so much of our ??sleep away fr?om us.

Project X Zone 2

Namco, Sega, Capcom, and Nintendo characters all mashed into one tactics game. What more could anybody possibly want? These two great games, developed by Monolith Soft, feature a massive collection of characters from all sorts of your favorite franchises dueling together on a grid. Project X Zone's tile-based combat is engaging, even if the story is a little... nonsensical. Still, it's another great strategy game with a fun cast to work with. We never knew how badly we wanted to see KOS-MOS, Jill Valentine, and Tron Bonne team up before these games. And, in Project X Zone 2, Fire Emblem characters join in for an even crazier mash-up.

Pushmo

Sure, this game isn't going to revolutionize the way you think about video games as an artform. But sometimes, all you need is a great puzzle game. Pushmo is all about moving around blocks to create platforms to climb to the top of the structure you're on. It sounds sim??ple, but it can be a real head scratcher at times. The charming presentation makes this a wonderful little package overall.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Shin Megami Tensei IV is a standalone game, you don't need to have played the previous games to understand it. It's basically a perfect game RPG. It might not be reinventing the genre like Bravely Default, but it proves that you can still make a hell of a great game with a "standard" formula. The atmosphere, story, and gameplay are some of the all-time best of any Japanese RPGs. The sequel, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, might be off-putting for som??e due to its much stranger story and more punishing mechanics. But if that doesn't sound bad to you, then we? whole-heartedly recommend that as well.

Shovel Knight

While this has certainly appeared on every platform under the sun, it's original release on 3DS was a monumental success. In some ways, that's still the best version of the game. It made a strong case for the 3D slider with it's strong presentation. Shovel Knight is a pixel perfect platfo??rmer that combines the best ideas of the NES generation into a solid, modern game. ?There has since been a ton of new campaigns and content added to it, as well as a few spinoffs, but it's hard to beat that original game.

Super Mario 3D Land

We're still amazed how easy it is to go back and pick this game up and have fun. It never fails. There's a ton of brilliant levels that seem to combine design elements of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Galaxy into one of the best 3D platformers out there. It was eventually followed up by Super Mario 3D World on Wii U and ?Switch, but there's still something charming about the scope of the 3DS title. It's easily one of Mario's best 3D games.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

This game kind of came out of nowhere. It feels like a Tom Clancy game in name only. It's actually a tactical RPG like Advance Wars. In fact, since Advance Wars never touched the 3DS, this is the best way for you to scratch that itch. It's an incredibly well designed tactics game, even if you're not normally someone who's very into the "Clancy-verse." The story leans very hard into more science-fiction territory, imagining future tools of war like ca??mouflage cloaks and crazy weapons.

VVVVVV

This oddly-named indie title is a tough-as-spikes platformer that will? have you screaming "I've got this!" over and over until you're pulling your hair out. Then you'll actually make the impossible series of jumps, and find something even more insane on the next screen. It's tough, but satisfying gameplay w??ill be off-putting for some, but we think a lot of people will find this game an absolute blast. Fortunately, it's not just locked to the 3DS these days.

Honorable Mentions for Remakes and Ports

• Digital Devil Survivor 1 and 2: Originally, these were both DS games. Atlus gave them a fresh update for the 3DS, adding new content and improved mechanics. They're a unique mixture of the Shin Megami Tensei formula with grid-based tactics gameplay. The results are highly enjoyable, replayable RPGs about the surviving the end of the world.
• Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn: A port of the Wii game, this is an excellent platformer with a deceptively cute exterior. While it's a game where you can't die, the real trick is finding all the secrets and making it to the end of the level with all your collected gems. This approach of easy-to-play, difficult-to-master design makes for a game that is as engaging as it is ruthlessly adorable.

• Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D: It's Majora's Mask with improved features and graphics. Of course we also recommend Ocarina of Time 3D as well. Some of us have a stronger fondness for the weirder, offbeat tones of the sequel, though.
• Poochy &Yoshi's Wooly World: While it lost some of the charm of Wooly World's visuals on Wii U, the gameplay is still top notch. If you're a fan of Yoshi's Island, this is easily the best anyone has come to replicating that, and maybe even improving it.
• Rhythm Heaven Megamix: It's a crime we haven't had a new Rhythm Heaven in so long, because it's a great series. Even this was more of a "Best of" compilation of re-made songs and games. If you've never played one of these whacky rhythm games, you should absolutely seek this out.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux: Another DS game that Atlus gave a huge update for the 3DS. It's another dungeon crawler, like Etrian Odyssey, but focuses more on puzzle solving than mapping. The sci-fi trappings are also a unique touch for the standard demon-hunting series. The combat can be punishing, so this is not a game for the feint of heart.
• WarioWare Gold: Similar to Rhythm Heaven Megamix, this was a best-of collection of the micro-game series. And just like Rhythem Heaven Megamix, you absolutely should have this game in your collection.

The post The 20 Best Nintendo 3DS Games appeared first on Destructoid.

Fire (emblem) sale

One of the best games of this year, Fire Emblem: Awakening, is currently $15 at Best Buy. For comparison, Amazon, Gamestop, and WalMart are al??l selling it for $40 still.

The catch is that, while you can order it online, you will have to do in-store pick up. It's not available anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, but, fortunately, I already own it. For those of you that don't, hopefully you c??an get lucky.

It's delightful, gorgeous, and ball busting on higher difficulties. I just had Maribelle accidentally killed off. Now she'll ne??ver bang Lissa. Very sad.

The post PSA: Fire Emblem: Awakening is $15 at Best Buy appeared first on Destructoid.

Sorry America, no butt for you

Nintendo has done a fantastic job supporting Fire Emblem: Awakening so far, with new DLC dropping so frequently it's hard to make time for it all. However it was yesterday's map release that caught the eye of NeoGAF board member YoshiRider123, who note?d that a particular scene had been censored as compa??red to the original Japanese release.

In the original scene, the character Tharja is seen as she adjusts her swimsuit bottom. Though for the North American and European releases, the offending posterior has been covered up by a blue curtain. It seems as though the scene was a bit too racy for Nintendo's liking, though as many have pointed out, the poor positioning of the curtain almost makes the scene more suggestive.

What do you think? Did Nintendo botch this cover-up??? Are they bein??g a bit overprotective?

Fire Emblem Awakening |OT2| PAL reinforcements [NeoGAF via IGN]

The post This Fire E??mblem sce?ne was too hot for North America appeared first on Destructoid.

Not everyone was on board with casual mode

How did you play the fantastic 3DS tactical RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening? Did you leave permadeath on, playing the game's classic mode? Or were you more than happy to switch on the game's casual mode, which has your dead characters coming back to life each battle? If you are a CHEATER (kidding -- you just suck) you can thank the members of the development team at Intelligent Systems that were for the addition of ??a casual mode, as not all were on board.

A ?Nintendo interview with the&nb?sp;development team revealed that some members were divided on letting up on permadeath for Awakening. Game director Genki Yokota said "no way" at first, even after his boss suggested includin?g the mode.

He continued, "Me and Higuchi-san had been making a big stink about it, like, 'No, ??no -- don't do it!'" 

Project Manager Masahiro Higuchi also said that he was on the side that was against adding a casual mode, but now admits that he's glad it?'s in place. Acco??rding to fan feedback, its inclusion was appreciated, and it opened up the series to new players.

In fact, Yokota admits to playing in casual mode now: "Believe it or not, now I play exclusively in Casua??l mode. But like Higuchi-san said, some of the fun of Fire Emblem does lie in the possibility that you can lose a me?mber permanently at any time."

Yokota goes on to say that they'll likely in??clude a casual mode in future games. 

The post ‘No way’: Fire Emblem: Awakening director on casual mode appeared first on Destructoid.

Yep, that'll do

Fire Emblem: Awakening didn't crack February's monthly NPD chart, but that doesn't mean the 3DS title hasn't been a roaring success. In fact, Nin??tendo has revealed the strate??gy role-paying game put up "the best first month sales in franchise history" following its release on February 4.

Speaking to VentureBeat, Nintendo boasted that Fire Emblem: Awakening has sold more than 180,000 units to date, including 63,000 digital sales. To put that number into context, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, the previous entry in the series, has sold around 250,000 copies over the past five years. Yeah, I'd say Awakening is doing just fine.

One of the finest titles to grace the 3DS library thus far, it's nice to know that Fire Emblem: Awakening is doing well for Nintendo. In a day and age where JRPGs are generally believed to be an obsolete, niche, or dying genre, seeing games like this and The Last Story exceed expectations is quite heartwarming for those?? of us that enjoy them.

3DS’s Fire Emblem: Awakening sells 180K in February - more than a th?ird of ??that through eShop [VentureBeat]

The post Fire Emblem: Awakening exceeds 180,00?0 sales in Febru?ary appeared first on Destructoid.

New content through spring

Be sure the SpotPass feature is enabled for Fire Emblem: Awakening, as the game will be getting new (free!) content all throughout spring. Up first is "A Hard Miracle," a map available now that has a mysterious woman and some obligatory kidnapped villagers. That certainly sounds like Fire Emblem, anyway.

The downloadable maps pick back up on March 28 with "Ghost of Blade," followed by "The Wellspring of Trust" on April 11, and finally, "The Radiant Hero" on April 25. Nintendo says that more special weapons, characters, and bonus challenges for Awakening's Double Duel multiplayer are als??o in the pipeline as freebies via SpotPass.

Thanks for the reminder that I really,?? really need to pick this game up. I've been slacking.

The post Fire Emblem: Awakening rolling out SpotPass f?reebies appeared first on Destructoid.

'round back

Remember that naughty Tharja figure scuplt from Wonder Festival 2013 from a few weeks back? You all had a lot to say about it, and I'm not surprised about that. But what is surprisi?ng is that people are still talking about it.

Tiny Cartridge found some 'shops of the figure that explore what she might look like in color. There's also another nice piece of artwork inspired by the fig by Pixiv artist Yasabata. And this led me to a NSFW Tharja pic dive that ate up some of my work morning.

But, in getting to the real butt of the matter, Tiny Cartridge also fo??und a clear shot of this figure's rear angle. You can get a better look at that NSFW back after the jump.

Nintendo is cool with this?

The post More ??views of naughty Fire Emblem: Awakening Thar?ja fig appeared first on Destructoid.

Beat Chapter 4 first

The first wave of downloadable content (DLC) has hit Fire Emblem: Awakening, and to buy it, you need to do a little bit more than just? load up the eShop.

As previously mentioned in my tips guide for the game, you need to progress past Chapter 4 to un??lock the Outrealm Gate towards the southern end of the map (pictured). Once you're there, just enter it, and select the purchase maps option.

Right now, there's three DLC options avai?lable: Champions of Yore 1 ($2.50), Champions of Yore 2 ($2.50), and the Champions Pack ($4.00). The Champions Pack is a bundle, and will also include Champions of Yore 3 when it comes out. Champions of Yore 1 is free until March 6th.

Each DLC is around 30 blocks each, so space wise it isn't going to get crazy. As is the case with Japan's Fire Emblem DLC, the packs ??will feature their own story, their own battle map, and a recruitable character (Marth and Roy for Yore 1 and 2 respectively).

One major perk the add-ons have is that every one of them is repeatable -- so essentially, it's an easy, c?ontrolled, guaranteed way to grind should you need it.

The post This is how you download DLC in Fire Emblem: Awake??ning appeared first on Destructoid.

Take a look at the franchise's history

Fire Emblem is a pretty mysterious series to many gamers out there. Firstly, it's a strategy RPG (SRPG), which already places it in an established niche. Then you have to consider the fact that Nintendo didn't release the series in American until the seventh game, Fire Emblem: The Sword of Flame, simply titled Fire Emblem in the US.

But with the release of the newest game in the series, Awakening, Fire Emblem has succeeded in captivating many new fans with the addition of a less intense optional mode of play, and thus, people are going to be lo??oking for more games to satiate this newfound love.

Feel free to join me on a journey through the history of Fire Emblem.

Th?e core pillars of the medieval flavored series are pretty simple to explain. Like many SRPGs, action takes p??lace on a grid in a turn-based manner. If a unit dies, he is gone forever (otherwise known as permadeath).

Units can interface with each other in a number of ways, most not??ably with a relationship system that improves statistics of characters who fight together.

It's not hard on paper right? Well, actually playing it out is m??uch more difficult than it sounds, as this serie??s can prove to be insanely challenging for people who aren't acclimated to the genre. As a side note, the following list is in no particular order.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem  (Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo - Super Nintendo - 1994)

Provided you're already acclimated to the genre, a fan translation of Mystery of the Emblem is a perfect starting point from a lore perspective, as half of the game is a remake of the first Fire Emblem (that was remade again on DS internationally, as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon in 2008).

Although it may feel antiquated by today's standards, from a pure gameplay standpoint it's still sound and offers the classic tactical action the series is known for, with a ton of content to boot. Unlike the first game, which had a fairly humble release, Mystery of the Emblem really helped put the franchise on the map.

Like the first two games before it, legendary Nintendo producer Gunpei Yokoi had a hand in creating Mystery of the Emblem.

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of Holy-War (Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu - Super Nintendo - 1996)

The fourth game in the series, Genealogy of Holy-War, is significant for being the first title to implement the "holy trinity" of weapon countering. Often referred to as the "rock-paper scissors" system, Genealogy features a system where lances beat swords, swords beat a??xes, and ?axes beat lances.

This would become a staple that would carry all the way into the 3DS game, 16 years later. It also introduced individual skills for units through the class/job system, which was pretty revolutionary for the time. In fact, Genealogy's success would influence the rest of the ser?ies in many other ways, and it's often?? regarded as one of the best SRPGs of all time by fans.

Sadly, this is the last game in the series pro??duced by Gunpei Yokoi, as he passed away in a tragic auto accident in 1997.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (Game Boy Advance - 2004)

As the second game released outside of Japan, Sacred Stones improved upon the release of the first international Fire Emblem (2003) in nearly every way. It features beautifu??l sprite work, it brings back the? ability to wander a world map, and allows more general freedom in terms of how you choose to play the game.

Speaking of freedom, the class-change system was the crux of why Sacred Stones is so significant. For the first time, classes have branching paths that you can choose to follow, rather than pigeonholing units into certain jobs. It also featured the aforementioned skill customization of Genealogy of Holy-War, which was taken out of a few games preceding Sacred Stones. All in all,? it's one of the deepest SRPGs to? date.

If you were a part of the 3DS Ambassador program, you have this game sit?ting on yo??ur 3DS. Go check it out!

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GameCube - 2005)

After the success of Sacred Stones, Nintendo decided that it was time to move the series back to consoles for the first time in six years. As the ninth game in the series, Path of Radiance offers a few concessions for the fir??st time?? to more casual fans, including an "Easy Mode."

In terms of a pure aesthetic perspective, many people were angry that the series started to move ??into a polygon??al direction in terms of the character models. A stark departure from the sprites of the previous games before it, the graphics style was polarizing to many.

This tradeoff came with a number of other bonuses however. For instance, Path of Radiance was the first game in the series to feature voice acting, which he?lped breath new life into the game's world.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS - 2012)

Yes, we've come full circle -- from consoles, to portables, to consoles, to a portable again. The newest Fire Emblem game, released on the 3DS, is possibly my favorite in the franchise, mostly because it opens up its former hardcore-only borders, and as a result, garners even more fans and gameplay options. Hardcore p??layers can still opt to enjoy the "Classic" experience for more of a challenge too, which is part of the ga??me's brilliance from a design perspective.

The visuals are also a treat, offering a perfect mixture? of polygonal models and incredible artwork. And that's not even bringing the 3D effects into the mix, which I mistook for real life insects flying near my screen on more than one occasion.

Simply put, Fire Emblem: Awakening is one of the best? SRPGs of this generation, and proves the genre is still alive and well. I can only hope the next game in the franchise keeps the spirit of the series intact, while creating even more fans in the process.

The post Ranked: The five best Fire Emblem games appeared first on Destructoid.

A Fire Emblem mini-guide

So you've gotten your grubby mitts on Fire Emblem: Awakening, and now you're itching to take down some baddies as soon as possible on the glorious field of battle. But given the nature of the strategy RPG genre, things ca??n get a little dicey, and occasionally, confusing.

That's why I've prepared some helpful quick tips for you based on my three playthroughs ?of the game. Read up on what you need to know to avoid any slowdowns before you begin your heroic ?quest. 

Tame non-story spoilers incoming. I’d recommend saving this article if you get stuck, and need a quick reference:

General:

• Story wise, the game takes place thousands of years after most of the core series, just in case you need some perspective from a timeline standpoint. It does have a few very minor references to characters from past games, but the narrative is a completely standalone adventure.

• There's no shame in choosing the Awakening's Casual Mode option, which eliminates permadeath from the game. The reason being is that the Lunatic difficulty level is extremely challenging in its own right, and may prove to be too hard even with the Casual setting turned on.

  If you find yourself constantly pressed for time, choose Casual -- you can always replay the game again on the Classic [permadeath enabled] Mode.

• Awakening has three save slots, and two in-combat save slots. You can only save in-combat in Classic Mode.

• There's a dual audio option for spoken dialogue -- just go to the options portion of the main menu and change it to Japanese.

• There is no New Game+ option in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Once you beat the game, you have the option to save your progress, which allows you to return to the point right before the final boss fight.

  When the DLC hits, this save file will come in handy, as some of it needs to be tackled by a swarthy crew. After beating the game, your Renown rating and all of your ancillary info (avatars, character information) will save to the core save file until you erase it.

• The game supports paid DLC and free DLC via Spotpass, so keep your Spotpass function on. You will need to progress past Chapter 4 to open up the DLC shrine, and clear Chapter 25 to unlock the ability to play Spotpass side-chapters.

  Paid DLC can be repeated on the same save file (which is useful for grinding) -- Spotpass quests cannot. Keep in mind that there's a 20 character limit for "extra" units from Spotpass, DLC, and Streetpass interactions.

• Streetpass utilizes another function entirely. If you "talk" with a friend's 3DS locally, you can pass your party over to your friend's game, and even gain their avatar as a unit.

Out of combat tactics:

• Make sure you stay on top of your item durability constantly. Always check every world map hub for deals on the bottom of your screen, so that you can keep backups of your weapons.

  Keep in mind that weapons break when their value gets to zero -- which would be a horrible setback if you forgot to stay on top of it, and one of your party members couldn't attack in the middle of a battle.

• If you're having issues, use a Master Seal when your character turns 10 and turn them into their master class job. If you want your character to have a different job, use the Change Seal. You can do this an unlimited amount of times. Your stats may decrease, but the game will remember your maximum stats for each job, and all of your skills.

  In order to get the best stats, you should always wait until level 20 to use your Master Seal, so you can maximize the most out of your character.

• Donnel, one of the first side-characters you meet in the first sidequest, should get the Change Seal treatment at level 15, so he can learn his best skill as a Villager first. Then you can change his job and retain the skill.

• This is how the support system works: as you use the Pair Up and Dual Support mechanics in-combat, you foster relationships between characters that interact with each other. These relationships unlock support conversations from the world map. Always check for them and always initiate the conversations when they appear.

• Speaking of the support system, marriage is possible, and children born out of said marriage can actually fight in battle. If you have two characters of different genders that obtain an S level support rank, they marry automatically.

  Children will join the party as the game progresses and inherit the parent's stats and one skill. There are no "second generation" children, but the children can marry each other, so long as they're not siblings.

Combat tactics:

• The main character can utilize the "Convoy" function in combat, which means that they can draw from the "infinite storage chest" that the game gives you. Use this to your advantage if you have a party member with a broken weapon.

• Going along with the convoy tip, store lots of recovery items, just in case. In typical SRPG fashion, enemies might turtle up in a corner, leaving you with plenty of time to heal your characters to full health, unprovoked. If your healer is dead, you may need to do this the old fashioned way.

• Use your healers a lot. You start the game with one, you pick up a few along the way, and if you choose, you can change certain characters into a healing job. The best part about healers is that they can grind XP even outside of combat by constantly restoring your unit's health, even if they're sitting in a corner while the enemy waits for you to reach them.

• Using the Pair Up mechanic can turn the tide of battle in an instant. Use this early on with Frederick to turn him into an unstoppable killing machine. Keep in mind that the secondary support part of the Pair Up will donate their stats -- so it's more useful to pair melee with melee, and so on. Only raw unmodified stats count -- no boosters.

• The Pair Up option can be extremely useful, but it can also cripple your squad as a whole. When you choose to pair up, the core unit will get the XP during combat. Keep in mind that the support unit may end up becoming too weak to fight enemies as the game progresses. This is especially true for Frederick early on (you'll see) -- you don't want to power him up severely beyond the rest of your party even though he's a beast.

• Speaking of Frederick, I think it's worth stressing this as its own tip: make sure you don't use him too much early on. In fact, try and use him as a last resort, or as a defensive blocking unit for your more fragile troops. He's very, very strong initially, but the rest of your squad needs to level up too.

• With that in mind, the Dual support option may be ideal in certain situations, especially when leveling a balanced party. Rather than combine units into one character (Pair Up), the Dual mechanic allows units to take advantage of standing next to other characters, and perform a support boost, support attack, or a support block.

• Those sparkling squares are event tiles that can grant you items or XP -- always grab them if it doesn't put you at a tactical disadvantage.

• Always have the option to see where the enemy's movement range is turned on. That way, you can go right outside of their grasp, have some room to breath, and launch a surprise attack on the next turn. Enemies will also target your weakest unit first (healers and casters), so keep them out of range at all times.

The post Essential tips before you st??art Fire Emblem: Aw??akening appeared first on Destructoid.

A modern classic

Nintendo could have never predicted the glowing reception of Fire Emblem in the US. After Super Smash Bros. Melee??????????????????????????, fans worldwide were clamoring for more of the mysterious Roy and Marth. Unbeknownst to many fans however, they already had an incredibly successful ??franchise for many, many years.

Japan got their first Fire Emblem game in 1990 -- it took us 13 years to get one (14 for you Europeans). Now, we're all the way in 2013, and we're about ready to receive the latest game in the series, the 11th original Fire Emblem title -- Awakening.

Let's see how it fares.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS)
Developer: Intelligent Systems, Red Entertainment
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: February 4th, 2013 
MSRP: $39.99

Unlike most of the other games in the ser??ies, you're put in the shoe?s of a customizable (non-silent) protagonist. There's only a few options for customization (gender, build, face, hair) but since your character also gets an illustrated anime rendition in addition to an in-game model, I was more than ok with the small amount of options.

Part of the reason for said concession is because, simply put, the art of Awakening is beautiful. During most of the game's story sequences, art will be shown in the form of still drawings with text to move the narrative forward. Almost every character in the game manages to feel unique, and has a specia??l personality to go along with it. In??telligent Systems did a great job with this one, character wise.

While the hand-drawn visuals are most prominent, Emblem frequently switches between three? different artistic flavors, and not all of them are created equal. As well as the 2D stills, Intelligent Systems also utilizes 2D overworld graphics as well as 3D character models. 

The minimalist style on the world map and in combat involves a pretty plain view with v??ery little detail. It isn't a big deal to me personally as a giant SRPG fan, but I can see a lot of people being turned off by the notably archaic combat view. It's just something to be aware of.

The 3D models are a bit hit or miss. When the game opts to use in-game models, either during skirmishes or menial cutscenes, they don't look like they're using the full capabilities of the 3DS, and some of the models seem to be afflicted with the tiniest feet ever. Nevertheless, they remain markedly better than previous 3D Fire Emblem rel??eases, and they don't necessarily detract from the ex??perience.

When it comes time to actually start the game up, you'll have the option to choose between Normal, Hard, and Lunatic difficulty levels, as well as the Casual or Classic (perma-death) mode. People who are acclimated to SRPGs should immediately start on Hard, as Normal is a tad on the easy side (at least until halfway into the game, when the difficulty basically doubles)??.

On a combination of Casual and Normal, you won't really need to grind at all using the game's optional world map encounters. When ?I say "optional," I really mean it, as you don't spark frustrating random map encounters while trying to get places.

Of course, Classic is the way to go if you want the game to have more of an emotional impact when it comes to losing your favorite troop??s forever, and you can still choose from the Normal, Hard, and Lunatic settings if you're particularly brave. Starting your first game on Casual will be difficult enough if you opt for anything above Normal.

I don't want to spoil the finer points of the game's story, but the overall narrative involves yourself, a noble Prince named Chrom, and his rag??-tag band of "Shepherds," who seek justice for the land. Chrom slowly becomes your best friend and confidant, as you work your way towards the position of?? a Commander-In-Chief of sorts, working for Chrom's just and noble kingdom.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Fire Emblem game without multiple antagonists and warring kingdoms, so you'll have to deal with constant curve-balls, twists, and the occasional betrayal from time to time as you work towards your goal. If you've never played a Fire Emblem game before, think of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire -- with all of the wa??rring powers with diff?erent goals -- and you'll have an idea.

Overall, the story works pretty well. It isn't grou??ndbreaking, but the dialogue is written well enough that it should keep you going, and the twists and intrigue involved in the narrative keeps you enthralled throughout the experience. The intricacies in the story are very much a product of your choices in combat and in conversations off the battlefield, so playing on Classic will enhance the experience tenfold, as you find out what happens w?hen key characters are no longer there to help you complete your quest.

There's no need to fret over the prospect of losing party members: there are a lot of concessions in Awakening that make it extremely accessible ??????????????????????????beyond the game's Casual mode. For instance, you have the ability to see the story so far at nearly any time, and view all of the dialo?gue in a particular scene by pressing the R button to bring up a transcript.

In a brilliant design move, Awakening gradually teaches you how to interact with its world with the use of in and out of combat tutorials.The tutorials themsel?ves are extremely unobtrusive (and can be skipped or ignored entirely on the bottom screen), yet extremely helpful.

Speaking of unobtrusive, there are no forced touch or gyro implementations afoot here -- just classic controller based gameplay. Combat is pretty deep, as the classic "swords beat axes, axes beat lances, and lances beat swords" rock, paper, scissors gameplay returns. Of course, there are bows and magic as well, and?? every single weapon type has a large number of options at your disposal.

When you're in combat, Awakening gives you a number of tools to customize the game experience to your lik??ing, whether it's massive changes to the battle overlays, battle s??peed, or interface customization.

Each skirmish in combat can be either speed up by holding the "A" button, or skipped entirely by pressing "Start" -- so you don't have to watch every single fight painstakingly play out. While most SRPGs tend to have these options, Awakening offers more than mos??t??, and it's extremely welcome.

When you're waiting for your next mission and exploring the world map, you can access a host of options, like party conversations (think Dragon Age), party management and the like. The support conversations won't blow you away or anything, but it's a nice option to learn more about the party members you care about, and they're almost always charming. Some of the dialogue, while I wouldn't consider it quite "scandalous" is pretty suggestive, and often, hilarious. Eavesdropping in the barracks will net you extra XP and bonuses, which is a nice touch to entice people to get more out of the game's cast. You can also view back-stories in the Barracks, and the amazing thing is every character (??there's a lot) has some sort of small introduction.

At the end of the game, you'll also get an epilogue section for every character, which is a series staple, but much appreciated nonetheless. Oh, and it totally has full Japanese and English dialogue tracks ???available -- both of which are stellar.

The story is around 20-40 hours long (it took me about 25), but there's so much to do that you most likely can't experience everything in one playthrough. In fact, right after I beat the game the first time on Normal, I started another o?ne on Hard with another avatar to see how different it could be. There's no New Game+ option, but some stats do carry over into subsequent games.

After completing the massive campaign, you can go back through on a different difficulty, wander around the world and attempt to complete all the game's sid?equests, play around with the game's attraction ranker, mess with the spotpass functionality, or tackle future DLC maps. There's just so much content packed into this tiny cart it's crazy, so don't be turned off by the prospect of DLC.

Speaking of DLC however, although there isn't a hard release schedule for it, DLC in some form is confirmed for release outside of Japan, so expect some coverage from us when the tim?e comes. In fact, it stands to reason that all of the near-17 downloadable characters (including Roy and Marth) and the roughly 25 DLC chapters will be released outside of Japan, which should keep you busy for weeks.

While Fire Emblem: Awakening may not turn the notch up to 11, it??'s everything that's right about strategy RPGs. Whatever options you choose to go with at the beginning of the game, it's either one of the most accessible strategy games to date, or one of the most difficult.

It's a brilliant design that will pay dividends for Nintendo in the long run, as it will convert plenty of new fans. If you've been itching to get into a Fire Emblem game, this is a great place to start. If you've been pla??ying them all along, you'll feel right at home??.

The post Review: Fire Emblem: Awakening appeared first on Destructoid.

Everything you need to know, and more

Fire Emblem: Awakening is almost here, guy??s. Just one more week; you can make it. To get you ready and up to speed, Nintendo has produced a new video that completely explains the charac??ter progression system in the latest installment of the strategy RPG franchise.

I have ?never played too much of the series, so from what I can tell everything here is pretty standard fare: get into battles, win, and everyone will level up accordingly. There's also the class? change system, but that's the gist of it.

I've never been quite into Fire Emblem (or anything strategy focused, for that matter), but I think I ought to give Awakening a shot. This, along with the recent combat tutorial video, did a fantastic job of explaining things so I could? finally feel like jumping into the series wouldn't require a ginormous learning curve.

The post Character progression in Fire Emblem: A??wakening explained appeared first on Destructoid.

Bumpin' up production value, keepin' strategy goodness, makin' babies

As venerable as the Fire Emblem series is, I've only played bits and pieces over the years, partially because of how few entries in the series have been brought stateside. When, ten years ago now, a buddy showed me this Game Boy Advance title pithily named Fire Emblem, the novelty of seeing the series localized didn’t get me invested enough to switch from getting my handheld strategy fix from another Intelligent Systems title, Advance Wars.

Strategy fans who know little outside of Super Smash Bros.’ Marth and Roy -- or Marth and Ike, I guess -- have a treat coming up in Fire Emblem: Awakening, however, as the 3DS is getting a new Fire Emblem that features plenty?? of nods to ??the long-running franchise’s history, but has its own, contained story.

It’s a perfect point of entry for newbies and will likely sate and delight existing fans just the same. From what I played, it’s going to be a pretty awe?some point to jump in at, regardless of your experience with the series, and it marks another great release for the 3DS, which is looking like it’ll be on fire this year with cool things to play.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Release: February 4, 2013

For the uninitiated, Fire Emblem: Awakening is a fairly straightforward turn-based strategy RPG, but with some of the strongest visual flair I've seen in a sprite-based game. It’s not uncommon for these games to feature dazzling cutscenes, and Awakening ticks that box with its drop-dead gorgeous cinematics that feature the best use of 3D I’ve seen on the system. But the game doesn&rsquo?;t stop there.

Sprites are still gallivanting around maps, for example, but they're not haphazardly slashing a sword up and down and making numbers fall off opponents. After an attack is initiated, fully ani??mated 3D models do battle in glorious fashion. During the text-heavy conversations, uniquely detailed 2D models and text boxes sit in the foreground while 3D character models will ??generally be emoting and the like in the background.

Where I was most impressed, however, was on the traditionally simple battlefield, which featured some particularly crisp sprite work. During one particularly climactic battle in a forest engulfed in flame, I actually had charred ash floating over the scene in the foreground, both an interesting use of 3D and an otherwise unexpected visual note to what could’ve been a more boring-looking strategy battle. It's nice to see such a leap in the tried-and-true genre which typically gets away with being aesthetically simple, especially on handhelds. It feels like Nintendo realizes this is a chance to foster a new wave of Fire Emblem fans and has told Intelli?gent Systems to go all out.

Present from the beginning are Normal, Hard, and Insane difficul?ty levels. After that choice, you can choose between Classic and Casual mode. The latter allows you to save anywhere and units lost in battle won't be permanently lost -- typically a series staple, but casual mode is assumedly meant to accommodate new players.

Next is the newly introduced character creation screen which lets you choose your character's gender and other defining features, which is sort of especially neat given that this 3D model translates into a 2D? model as well. You can even change the voice. Cutscenes are fully voiced, while text sections and battles have bits of spoken dialogue. The Japanese voice track is available in addition to English.

To accommodate the character creator, cutscenes featuring your character are in first-person, which actually prove??d an interesting choice that makes good use of the 3D. The game starts with you and your brother (or you and your sister, if you choose the male) fighting a decadently evil-looking dude in a brief tutorial section, after which your character revives in a wooded area with genre-staple amnesia. This is the basis for hooking up with Chrom, prince of Ylisse, and his gang of shepherds, along with some more tutorials.

One important wrinkle to Awakening's battle mechanics is ??the support system, in which allies positioned next to each other offer various stats boosts (attack if attacking, defense if being attacked). A character on standby can even block a blow for their compatriot or team up in attack. On top of this, positioning characters next to each other helps their relationship grow and, for male and female characters, can lead to marriage, hot s??ex, and even children.

Outsi?de of battle, there is a traversable overworld where you can jet between story missions. Additionally, the map is dotted with paralogues -- sidequests -- which can yield interesting story bits or new characters, like Donnel, a simple farm hand with the potential of being one of the stronger characters in the game. There are also random battles, meant to give you some breathing room in training up characters outside of your mainstays, while other players’ characters can show up via Street Pass. You can recruit these characters for money (scaled depending on their level), fight them for a chance to win them over, or just buy (possible rare) items from them.

Though Awakening is going to be a typically content-heavy game, Nintendo is also planning to roll out paid DLC likely to abet players seeking some ?variety after playing for dozens if not hundreds of hours. A new map will be offered each week, price to be announced, for a number of?? months; the first will be free for the first week of release.

These new maps will offer various perks -- some might have extra gold or yield more experience points -- but most enticing is the ability to recruit characters from Fire Emblem's past. Free content via Spot Pass is also planned and there will be local multiplayer. Sticking with advancements on the digital front, the game will be downloadable from the eShop in addition to retail a?vailability and a demo will be hitting the eShop on January 17, ?2013.

I’m stoked for Fire Emblem: Awakening. It’s looking to be a solid handheld strategy fix, but the little touches, unique art direction, and detailed, lively presentation put it over the top. The cutscenes were far beyond anything I expected and I love all the 2D character artwork I’ve seen thus far. I’m ready to sink some serious time into Awakening next month.

The post Preview: Fire Emblem: Awakening looks banging appeared first on Destructoid.

Although a PAL release was pretty much immediately procured, us American folk have been waiting, salivating, and begging for a State-side release of Fire Emblem Awakening. FE:A is the newest 3DS iteration of the Fire Emblem series, and the first ever Nintendo game that will be supporting paid DLC. Today, we yanks can sweat a little less, as Fireemblemawakening.com has evidently been registered by Nintendo of America.

When you think about it, it's entirely possible that they're saving the fanfare for E3 -- Fire Emblem has always had a large fanbase in America, so there's easily a market for it. The 3DS is making awesome strides in 2012, and I hope the Wii-U can follow suit. As for Fire Emblem, I bet you all can't wait to have a crack at the loli marriage simulator (spoiler alert in the link).

Fire Emblem: Awakening Domain Name Heats Hopes Up [Siliconera]

The post Hope still burns for a Fire Emblem: A??wakening US release appeared first on Destructoid.