The REAL Reason Awakening Saved Fire Emblem

READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT PLEASE
- The title and thumbnail of this video are clickbait and nothing else. awakening Did save Fire Emblem, but not for the reasons you would expect.
and so nobody asks, here's the cruel angel's thesis remix. • Cruel Angel's Thesis (... the man who made it is a genius and should be recognized as such.
All copyright belongs to their respected owners and the content in question is regarded as fair use for critique and commentary under the copyright law of 1976, no copyright infringement is intended.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

*UPDATE IMPORTANT* Thumbnail has been changed, Card at 1:50 apparently one disclaimer is not enough, look please, don't just dislike the video because of the thumbnail, considering I acknowledge it in the video, and because KZbin removed the use of textbox annotations I’m kinda stuck in a rut. Hate the thumbnail all you want, I’ll be the first to admit it’s obnoxious. But please, and @ItsMaxHP can attest to this (as I tweeted him the thumbnail LONG before I had finished the recording) don’t judge the video or my points, on the thumbnail. I goofed, now please give it a rest. The saddest part is if you’re all complaining about it this much, My clickbait worked as intended. READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT PLEASE - The title and thumbnail of this video are clickbait and nothing else. awakening Did save Fire Emblem, but not for the reasons you would expect. and so nobody asks, here's the cruel angel's thesis remix. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItOYy... the man who made it is a genius and should be recognized as such. ASLO. if you're confused about the SAO argument i'm not saying Awakening = SAO, i'm saying it likely had an effect on awakening's sales due to timing. also keep in mind that its affect on Awakening's sales was likely only at launch, and had less of an effect than the other 3 factors. for the sake of example, one could break the sales (at launch) down like this: Marketing: 30% Timing: 20% Casual Mode: 20% Veteran fans: 20% SAO cross-promotion: 5% Impulse buys: 5% (this breakdown IS NOT FACT, but merely an example to demonstrate the importance of each factor)

[@BlueWolfAlex]

Why would use clickbait man? I find it unprofessional

[@swordofstrife1174]

CloudofFate Yes, because you AND only you find it unprofessional, it's automatically wrong for him to use it? How about instead of just saying "But in muh onion I find it unprofessional", you go over the reasons why his clickbait thumbnail and title actually hurt the video. The onus is on you to explain your reasoning for your complaints, and if you don't, it makes you look stupid.

[@postapocalypse0763]

Video doesn't exist?

[@AgentKyo]

Your SOA argument is far too much of stretch & the argument about Awakening's reception is too subjective. Despite your video being well done, I'm going to stop watching your videos from now on because you have resorted to click baiting measurements. I do understand that it really is hard to views in general. Your past videos are too subjective for me liking & most of them talk about how divided the fanbase. At 1st I thought you were of the few people who could give the 3DS era where credits are due & for the most part you did that, but it's clear to me you think there is a quality difference between GBA era & 3DS era. I still think Fates' story is God awful & I do agree that Awakening's shortcoming shouldn't exempt it from criticism but I'm tired of being told how much GBA & SNES era are supposed to be the REAL GOLDEN AGE of Fire Emblem. If that was the case I should have believed both Echoes & Blazing Sword are massively superior to Awakening but it wasn't. It never manage to replicate that feeling I have with Awakening & I'm not talking about the fucking waifu's, I'm talking about the cast in general. Sure that's subjective in it's own right but I' never felt overwhelm by the cast until paralogue's characters & even then I didn't mind which I can sure as hell tell this was EXACTLY the case with Echoe's & Blazing Sword. I'm tired of being told on how over rated Awakening & how much I should be ashamed of this. So many time I've supported the idea of Jugdral saga should be next game to have a remake despite the Elibe series being the one with the most impact outside of Awakening as I believe Awakening fans should know where the concept of supports came from, but half of the time I don't believe the fans really do deserve since like Echoes/Gaiden fanbase rubs it in how superior their game is to the modern fanbase. I really do hope you get more viewers in the future since I still your content is still well done. Even though I won't watch your videos anymore & it shouldn't matter since this is a guy who regrets joining Fire Emblem community just like the Zelda community. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice shame on me. P.S You spelled premise wrong, then again it's not like not I have good grammar myself.

[@AgentKyo]

Young Deku & this the toxic BS that makes me regret joining the community. Enjoy your high horse you elitist douche bag. Hope the 3DS era ruins your franchise.

[@terraearthera7848]

Reason 5: Matthew Mercer voiced Chrom. The man's voice is a gift from (the) God(s).

[@sqeelord]

It cool to see that fire emblem gets marketed better now I mean when echoes was released I would get adds on all the time on the game.

[@penderrin1637]

Sqeelord well I mean what's wrong with the older advertising? Btw have you seen Dorcas?

[@sqeelord]

Bailey Thomas they put poison in his mutton

[@penderrin1637]

Sqeelord ahhh thanks

[@tokkyu6497]

Sqeelord ikr

[@darthr0xas363]

Sqeelord Aww darn it, he's gonna use up all the antitixons on people poisoning his mutton

[@demonicgamerazazel9866]

Fam, Robin might've been an OP self-insert, but he had more personality than Kirito ever did.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

tru.

[@RWBn00b]

Also more personality than Lyn from FE7.

[@TheDiscoGenre]

I WANNA VIOLENT DISMEMBER AND STAB THE SAO LOVING 12 YEAR OLDS TO DEATH! THEY ALL DESERVE DEATH FOR ALLOWING ESCAPIST FILTH TO PROSPER! True heroism can only be achieved by slicing open the necks of the worthless children who like SAO and Reki Kawahara for his evil. Evil must be exterminated.

[@demonicgamerazazel9866]

TheDiscoGenre can I have what you are smoking fam

[@TheDiscoGenre]

Demonic Gamer Azazel Everyone with good taste hates SAO. What's wrong with disemboweling people who choose to enjoy garbage? If you hate garbage and the people who like it its acceptable to want to murder them and their entire families.

[@gaiuswoltislovewoltislife6661]

Awakening is basically like every single other game in the series. There are people who love it and people who hate it. No game in the franchise is absolutely flawless

[@darthr0xas363]

Gaius, Thiefking of Ylisse Except for Genealogy, because as we all know, GENEALOGY IS PERFECT

[@gaiuswoltislovewoltislife6661]

Darth R0xas Of course Genealogy is flawless. A better game was never created and everything that came afterwards sucked

[@larsanka2.094]

Darth R0xas No, Thracia 776 is true perfection.

[@lukestarford7608]

Gaius, Thiefking of Ylisse agreed every game has It faults but probably is that people are too blindside by they love for game or by the period of game franchise to admit or to realise there are mistake.To some echoes is best out of the new FE and has no faults but to it a average game a 7/10 because of it basic story wasn't interesting uptill late game but even then it went full on cliche with celcia death and what ever the villain was because he was so shit.As well the story format looks like a theatre play because of it act and it not a good one.Gameplay was meh until there was proper battle or dungeon but even then it got repetitive.Most Character would have been shit if weren't for voice act some add to the character.Some characters was saved by it more then other and some did nothing to character and those characters remand bland and boring.Yet because Echoes is overrated by the community especially by the older fans and FE Ytubers these problem that game have will never be realise and echoes will go down according to minority's of fans who are also the majority of vocals fans in the community as one greats of Fire emblems just like the games before awakening.These games will games will be call the best Of FE while and forever be ignoring the issues they have.

[@larsanka2.094]

Lukestar Ford No game has objective flaws, only subjective ones.

[@Chconroy]

Well spoken on the subject. Awakening was my first Fire Emblem game and I thought it was a masterpiece when I first played it. Now, with more experience with the series and a greater eye for flaws, I can see it isn't perfect. I think the people who praise Awakening as perfect or lament it as the loss of "pure FE" are both overreacting. As a Fire Emblem game, it's a good game, but I think there are quite a few games that are better designed in terms of gameplay and story. It did save the the franchise, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't criticize it.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

well said as well man. i completely agree.

[@cynicismIncarnate]

Chconroy 13 is very much a good game but the more you play, the flaws will legit just say "Oh Hi Mark" and make you want to die.

[@glaba24]

Chconroy I agree. I hate when people hate on Awakening and say it has nothing good about it. I don't care what the elitists say, I love the shepherds. It's not perfect, but there are good things about it

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Ike there are plenty of things to like about Awakening. The music, the visuals, a lot of the supports. And despite not being very deep, the Characters are all fun and memorable. The game has a great sense of humor and is super fun to break wide open with skills.

[@cuacles2328]

Took the words right out of my mouth, Thb I think FE has some of the biggest mouth-breathing circlejerks ever. I don't know about you, but I'm not really into FE's story all that much however if characters are just a marry bunch of comrades fighting together, I happy with it.

[@NycroLP]

When the 3ds came out it didn't have many games. Awakening came in the perfect time and is extremely friendly for beginners. The negative parts of the game aren't even noticable for them.

[@lukestarford7608]

You sure because it had alot of games since you could pay both new DS and new 3ds game as well.

[@NycroLP]

Who buys a 3ds just to play ds games? come on

[@elzogalleta3121]

i think hes referring to backward compatibility.

[@manuelcamara6400]

"The flaws in Awakening don't start to up until the second or third playtrough". Wow Zerk you hit the nail in the coffin just right. I agree. I had so much fun playing the game the first time, but as I kept replaying the game I realized all of this basicly.

[@n.l.g.6401]

I've been playing FE since 2003, and lemme tell ya, casual mode was a blessing for me. I was too obsessed with not losing a single unit to really enjoy the gameplay, and would often stress myself out so much that I wouldn't even finish the game. With casual mode, I can relax and play through chapters that I'd normally just give up on. I still reset if I lose somebody out of habit, but having the stress of permadeath gone has made me a better player. I'm actually going back and replaying all the old titles now! They're much more fun now that I know what I'm doing and not having a panic attack every time I botch my turn. Awakening has tons of issues, but it gave me a second chance with a franchise that I've loved since childhood. Honestly, I think it'd be regarded much more favorably by my fellow old-schoolers if Fates hadn't tripped over itself trying to recapture its success. Thankfully, I feel like IntSys is getting their shit back together, considering how well Echoes addresses some of those criticisms. Good vid!

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

glad you enjoyed!

[@TheSbugZone]

I think my biggest pet peeve is biased, negative fans of something who always have to criticize everything whenever someone says they liked a newer game. And that isn't limited only to Fire Emblem, I've seen it in other series such as Ace Attorney but for simplicities sake lets stick with fire emblem here. I understand that the new games have a lot of flaws, but everyone just overlooks the good things in search of something to complain about. Is it so hard for someone to say "I liked awakening and Fates" without getting told they shouldn't? I liked awakening because it had good characters, good music, a decent enough story, and fun gameplay. I liked Fates because it had really fun gameplay, even better music, impressive art direction, an engaging story, and once again good characters. Just because I say I like a game or a character doesn't mean I think it's perfect. I like a lot of things, I'm just easy going and tend to look on the positive side of things. Eh, I'm kind of rambling and this is slightly unrelated to the video, but oh well

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

no i get the idea. this video was more a means to point out the misuse of the phrase "but awakening saved the series!"

[@TheSbugZone]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 oh yeah, i completely agree that it doesn't excuse awakening's flaws. I liked awakening, not as much as echoes, but it definately had flaws

[@snivy400]

Gregory Bagel I totally agree with you man

[@xPrecisionx]

+Gregory Bagel It seems like from reading your long-winded comments that I can tell you appear highly defensive over Awakening. You're not in the right by dismissing all other opinions as "elitist hate" and that we're morally in the wrong.

[@micahltaylor739]

Precision but your not in the right of always bashing a game that is already 5 years old get over it.

[@snivy400]

Don't you dare compare the character designs of awakening to that of Sao's. Cause at least the characters in awakening don't all have the same face. This is because unlike A1 pictures, Yusuke kozaki knows what the hell he's doing. Other than that great video and I agree with your sentiments

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

for the sake of making a point i had to. it's not like you had to pour through SAO b-roll footage to get background fgottage and PNGs for this. my youtube recommended is a mess RN.

[@snivy400]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 Yeah I'm sorry for getting a little heated. I've just been reading a lot of stuff(particularly with xenoblade) about how people don't like an artstyle for being "too anime" and as a fan of more stylized visuals myself I can't helped but feel irked when you said that. still man great video and I agree with most everything you said.

[@NatePhan]

+otts486 I think the first Xenoblade was just the right amount of anime and real, and then Xenoblade 2 trailer rolled around. It was just *too* anime. Like it's trying to appeal to *that* fanbase.

[@TheDiscoGenre]

This is why violent genocide of the 12 year olds who like SAO is justice. There's nothing wrong with killing filth who like garbage. They only mutate into losers with pseudo taste who hype Mayoiga/Re: Creators. Seriously SAO's hate (regardless of how "justified" it is) only develops morons with fake taste who hype garbage like Re: Creators. No one has learned anything from overhyping trash; SAO is just a scapegoat people use to pretend they have taste.

[@IcyWiddow]

Yeah, Awakening saved the franchise, and it's fun and enjoyable, but it's not the holy grail. After all, financial success does not equal actual quality. The story, the villains, and the simplistic gameplay don't compare to other entries (and if you bring up Lunatic and Lunatic+ and their artificial difficulty, I'll smack you). Really, Awakening was released at a good time. I honestly agree with a lot if your points, Zerk. I hate overhyped and overexposed stuff (let ME decide if something is worth it), and it's soured a game I loved at the beginning. Now I groan whenever it's milked to death. There's such a thing as too much of a good thing. Let something pass and focus on the next.

[@Underworlder5]

i just hate how lucina is shoved everywhere. to me, her personality seems to shift between "save the future" and "FATHER" and little else, yet somehow that makes her immensely popular. also IS seems to be milking her dry with every post-awakening game minus echoes

[@IcyWiddow]

very mad guy I mean, I can see where Lucina gets her popularity. She's admittedly, has a tragic story, is a good unit, dorky, and a quasi-protagonist with no fanservice attached. But, like I said, too much of a good thing, and there are characters I like more than her. Besides, her role sort of falls off after the future reveal.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Lucina is just trunks from DBZ tho.

[@MsDarkz123]

+ZerkMonsterHunter 4 Or Silver the Hedgehog or Grovyle from Mistery Dungeon 2 or whatever other characters revolving time travel shenanigans that exists.

[@Underworlder5]

well, i also have some personal reasons for having a problem with lucina. sometimes i would play smash alone, with a FE only match (roy, ike, marth and lucina) with everyone at highest difficulty. somehow lucina ended up as the victor around 70-80% of the time and i eventually got salty

[@TheSbugZone]

These elitists are the reason i hate the fire emblem fanbase, you can't say you like a game without "I HATE WAIFU EMBLEM" I really just love fire emblem in general (minus the SNES games, ive only played GBA and 3DS ones) is having different opinions that difficult for people to grasp

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

god they're so bad. preach man, preach.

[@theguardian6195]

Gregory Bagel I don't think the elitist would be as bad if people didn't praise Awakening so much. I mean how would you feel to be the person that was a fan of the franchise since it first came to the west only to get every single older character you loved shafted for Awakening and Fates characters and then every time you bring up the older games someone tells you "Awakening Saved the Series". Some people are trolls but some are just pissed that they aren't being rewarded in anyway despite being fans of the franchise since the beginning.

[@TheSbugZone]

The Guardian oh i get that, i love the gba games and i feel like older characters definitely don't get enough attention. But that's probably because they ARE old, and minus heroes, they really dont have as much of a reason to come back

[@-Masterklutz-]

Gregory Bagel minor complaint here. while I understand that the newer characters will generate more money. People complain about older fans not liking warriors because there is no equal representation. This isn't fair at all, however new fans still feel like it's okay because "They MIGHT become dlc!!! stop whining and wait!!" This isn't okay simply because DLC is not a way to fix your game. Also, IS has clearly stated the game focus on 3 games. isn't very relevant but just one of the things that really pisses me off when I just wanna watch Hector kick ass.

[@TheSbugZone]

-Masterklutz - oh i didnt know you were referring to warriors, honestly i don't like warriors that much to begin with. I totally agree with you in that aspect

[@Deathgaze1]

I've been playing FE since the first one in the west was released and I think Awakening is great. Really don't get the argument veterans like to make against Casual mode, just don't play with it on. Can't complain about more options.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

yeah i don't get the hate for it, it's optional, i say it should become standard. even if I personally haven't used it in a long time.

[@Dharengo]

People like to gatekeep. People say they're not gatekeeping. But they're literally saying that casual mode allows bad people to play the game and never improve their skill.

[@Manueh205]

I always play casual because I can't stand when my units die :(

[@wohdasunleashed]

still gotta thank Awakening for making me like the franchise. I can't hate it myself. wish people wouldn't get into a hissy fit about playing a "real Fe game" and vice versa.

[@JR384]

It got me into the franchise as well, but it has it's flaws, all of which I majorly dislike - all of which, I would love to fix.

[@saltyluigi4011]

Waifus ? Fanservice ? Easy levels ? M e m e s ?

[@kamechan8917]

I think that when people say "But Awakening saved the franchise," they're not necessarily defending the game so much as defending the people who enjoy it. I mainly see that argument thrown in when certain veterans complain about and insult the newer players. The newbies are saying "our investments in Awakening helped to save the franchise, therefore you shouldn't be treating us like crap. If vets alone were enough to keep the series afloat, FE wouldn't have been on its last legs." I was introduced to the series through Awakening, but now that I've started playing the GBA games I'm starting to see why Awakening's kinda stale compared to the older ones. Still, it has a special place in my heart for being my FE gateway.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

that's basically what wakening is, the FE gateway drug, i just wish more fans had the courage to try out the older games.

[@8elementallords]

+ZerkMonsterHunter 4 A large part of why people don't out to play the older games in the series is availability, given how old they are at this point, a lot of them hard to find, not to *mention* being able to find them at a decent or reasonable price, I mean Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn alone are still being sold for the price of a brand spanking new game that came out yesterday, and that's if you're *lucky* like I was, most of the time they go for closer to upwards of at least a 150 dollars. I don't think it's a lack of desire to play the older games with a lot of people so much as is how easy they are to come by.

[@JS-ne2sd]

Awakening is definitely not stale compared to the older titles

[@OnyxKingYT]

Fire Emblem Awakening open the door for me to try out the franchise. However I understand that there are flaws in story and gameplay. And I'm sure there are better FIre Emblem games that I haven't tried out yet. However it's still a good game to play and I do have desire to play the older franchises as well.

[@pb4705]

Man, I loved Awakening. It was my first FE game and I always find myself coming back to it. I must agree on that casual mode thing though. I'm scared to play older titles now because I don't want my favorite characters to die.

[@SharlaBlades]

After watching I finally understand why older fans don't like awakening. Granted this comparison is kinda unfair because the games are very different in terms of quality. But the way old FE fans feel about awakening is the same way old fallout fans feel.about fallout 4. The games were made much more accessible and had a massive art style change, tried and failed at new things, it not hard to see why people feel so divided. I got onto FE with awakening so I don't feel the same connection to the older games. But I do feel it with fallout. Now like I said this isn't the fairest comparison considering the difference in quality. But Its the best comparison I could thinl of.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

no i get what you're saying. once you make a game more accessible you lose a lot of the charm and Niche appeal it had prior.

[@Danitron904]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4, just like when dark souls director had interests in implementing an (keyword here) OPTIONAL easy difficty... The amount of back lash was huge, personally, so long as you make an easier mode or tutorial up to the player to decide, I don't get the what's the huge deal, for more details, I recommend looking at Jim Sterling's "gaming difficulty" video, and the Mario kart 8 deluxe one, he makes excellent points.

[@mccarney4207]

Daniel pintado I think it's ok to implement an easier mode, but I totally understand why veterans of franchises find it hard to swallow. I think it's a matter of new players just playing it straight through and then just not play it after that, while Veterans feel that these new players aren't getting the full great experience because they picked Casual mode (Using FE as example). I could be wrong but that could be it.

[@mccarney4207]

Daniel pintado And with the Fallout Example, Elder Scrolls Fans mostly feel the same way (What's with Bethesda with messing up old Franchises) about overly simplifying the system. Actions in Skyrim have no consequences. The biggest example is being able to complete all the faction quest lines in the game in a single play through when in reality the Companions (a group of honorable Warriors) would hate you for joining a group of Assassins.

[@tokkyu6497]

I bet the comments section is gonna be a shit show

[@darthr0xas363]

animefan 64 How much?

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

enough tgo buy -the characters people actually wanted- All the DLC for FE warriors.

[@andrewallred6954]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 someone sounds salty

[@micahltaylor739]

Andrew Allred he always salty and a fe old game purist

[@andrewallred6954]

Micahl Taylor Yeah it's just best not to mind those kind of people.

[@Virdelet]

Honestly I feel like the strongest thing is the pairing system. Because this is the biggest reason why I talked to or why people talked to me about the game. I like your video but I feel that the SAO is far stretched. You say that SAO just finished airing and it helped converting people, but when was the dub really? Because this is what non anime watchers choose to watch when they get into anime. But overall yeah, "Awakening saved the series" is a bad argument imo because shitty things sell well sometimes. Not saying awakening is shitty btw.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

the last (big) spike was december 29th 2011, that was when the last episode of the Funimation simuldub was aired.

[@sakutaro3musik486]

I also bought awakening for the pairing system XD For the future I want the Charakters to be like in Echos, but the parinng system back, just without kids, they fuck up the story for real and then gay marriage isn´t bad for your units anymore

[@gt3racer2187]

Awakening was the first FE game I played. I got into it after playing FEH and years of Smash Bros. As someone who has always been more into Final Fantasy, I can say that Casual mode and the nice anime cut scenes was definitely something that made Awakening a more approachable game as an entry point into tactical RPGs. Don't know how Awakening compares to the others, but I'd imagine it probably is akin to FF7 (or to a lesser extent FFX). FF7 is a good game on a new console, but doesn't compare to the IV-VI (or IX and XII), it just really put the series on the map and as a result gets the most praise.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

gt3racer2187 that's a pretty fair comparison.

[@SSBBFalco]

Tl;dw: marketing saved the franchise. I disagree when you said that its success had almost nothing to do with it. I mean, literally almost everything you said had to do with its gameplay. Did it come out at a perfect time? Yes, though to be fair this isn't new in any kind of media. But no other FE game before Awakening could've saved the franchise. The game before it, FE12, had many things in common with Awakening like the self-insert protagonist (which is WAY worse than Robin in that sense since pretty much everyone tells you how awesome you are) and casual mode. But the presentation of it is ugly, the characters are cool, interesting and fun but they just don't have the charm Awakening characters have. So, yeah, Awakening had the perfect gameplay (for casuals), the "perfect" cast, and had a perfect release timing. Just like you I really hate that when someone says "Awakening saved the franchise" as if that automatically means its gameplay is perfect and that no one can't hate it...

[@SSBBFalco]

I do think, however, that, whether you despise or love this game, we should all be grateful for what it did. FE is not only alive because of it, but it's more popular than ever. We got Fates which despite its flawed story, is a great game, and if you didn't like it, we got a remake of Gaiden which automatically opened the gates for your favourite FE game to possibly get its own remake; we got a mobile game, we will get FE Warriors, AND a new game for the new console. As an FE fan, I couldn't be happier!

[@darthr0xas363]

SSBBFalco The funny thing is, is that if the stars aligned, and Intelligent Systems released FE12 in the West, and it was super successful, then we would still probably have the same split in the community today. It would be a bit smaller, perhaps, but it would still probably be there.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

agring with roxas here, Art style has nothing to do with gameplay, and even then i bring up art stlye in the video during the SAO segment and how the similar character aesthetic was marketable. timing marketing and casual mode and anime appeal, this is what sold awakening, NOT its gameplay or story.

[@SSBBFalco]

FE has ALWAYS had an anime look though. You even said it in your FE4 video. Yes, one of the reasons why Awakening sold is because of its presentation, but guess what, the presentation IS part of the game as a whole and possibly the biggest marketing tool since it's literally the first thing people see when a new game is coming out. Lots of games sell well just because the game looks pretty. Watch Dogs is a perfect example. When marketing that game, they actually buffed how the game looked for that one trailer and when the game came out it look much more worse... Anyway, that's why I mentioned FE12. Even though that game has an anime style, casual mode, the avatarest of avatars, the game is ugly by comparison and that hurt it a lot. "timing marketing and casual mode and anime appeal, this is what sold awakening, !NOT its gameplay or story!" The last part of that sentence is speculation though. Neither you nor I have stats to prove something that specific. I think all those things and more combined lead to Awakening's success. I bought it because of Smash Bros., by the way.

[@Longshot226]

Gaiden saved fire emblem :)

[@Danb-fk5iw]

#Gaidendiditfirst

[@Darkrep98]

#JustPlayGaiden

[@MicksUp]

Darkrep98 #VoteForSeliph wait...

[@Doralga]

Logan West and then warriors splits the fanbase once again

[@justsomeguywithlasereyes9920]

#HectorFerPresident

[@RyanVonAegir]

I mean, Awakening is certainly a flawed game, but it did allow the franchise to find solid ground to recover from its losses. My first game was Radiant Dawn and yet I like awakening a lot cause it appealed to me. I feel like the issues with the series are problems that get over played as a way to discredit the new games, the older games weren't as perfect as people think they are. Not saying you're wrong or something, just an observation.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

did you watch the video? because i spent 12 minutes or so explaining why saving the franchise had nothing to do with awakening's quality as a game, without even mentioning the older titles ONCE.

[@RyanVonAegir]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 I did, I just was sharing my thoughts. They weren't directed at you in a "how dare you" way, just a thought. Should of articulated that better, my apologies.

[@ProfessionalNamielleLewder69]

Personally I love Awakening. Sure, it's not my favorite in the series (That would be the Tellius games), but it's not a BAD game. I call it a great game with flaws. First of all, why do the villains suck? Grima had wasted potential, Gangrel was just a troll, I forgot all about Aversa and the only reason I liked Walmart was because he reminded me of past villains... and his hamminess too. (When he finds an item, my sides explode from laughter) Second, the story isn't very remarkable. Sure, the stories most of the time aren't that spectacular but still. Unlike Fates' story which was a trainwreck, Awakening's story has potential, though. And look no better than Shadows of Valentia's origin story of Grima. Still prefer Genealogy and Thracia 776 though. Lastly, the Avatar... save for that awful final arc, I like the Avatar. A fine-balance between a blank slate and a genuinely interesting character. Again, better than Fates' Avatar which contributes LARGELY to its abysmal story.

[@MicksUp]

Avalos Altair Miraos not enough people love the tellius saga Tellius Emblem = Best Emblem

[@thebigx68]

Mick's Up Damn..... I just love the world of tellius!!! And Ike is probably the most developed lord in the series!

[@Foxovan]

This video was fine untill you brought in the sao part.....

[@aggressivebuttonmasher5486]

Sao fucking ruins everything

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

technically it "ruined" FE too.

[@lordtullus9942]

It also ruined the number 20 spot of best anime of all time according to Japan

[@NatePhan]

+Billy the bum シ Your friend is dead, he's been consumed by the weeb... May he rest in peace.

[@anikii5814]

Sao ruined it's potential

[@TheDiscoGenre]

So how come no one has gone to Japan and murder the shit out of Reki Kawahara and A-1 Pictures? People who prosper off this garbage should know death! Every single SAO tard left should be turn into ketchup smoothies for their incorrect tastes. I still wish someone came to Stephanie Meyer and the author of Eragon's homes and shot them full of led.

[@22yhjjjj]

*Commenting at **2:50* Personally got into the series when I got Awakening. I played Smash Brawl and always wondered what Marth and Ike were doing there, and I read their trophies. Cool neat! Fantasy game. (Left that in storage for a few years). Fast forward, I had the money and I ran out of games, and TF2 wasnt providing the fantasy I needed and a 20th playthrough of Final Fantasy X wouldnt cut it, so I found Awakening existed. Hey wait a minute, its the same game Marth came from right? Instantly I loved it. I've never played Strategy games like it. If anything the only game that got close was Pokemon, but we all know how much effort that game takes. (Hint, almost none) When I started playing, it was about the time I discovered the world of Chinese cartoons- I mean Anime. The concept of Waifus quickly settled into my head, and OH MY GOD I CAN MARRY THE WOMEN IN THIS GAME!!! CORDELIA QUICK!!! FORGET CHROM EXISTED!!! I had a blast with the Romances, the support conversations, the actual gameplay, and the limited item usage. Hell, Awakening was the first game I've ever completed in the hardest difficulty. (Holy fuck Lunatic Classic killed my poor heart when I eventually lost Cordelia to a stupid move. No I didnt save scum you cheats) I fucking loved it all and I'm still able to go back to it without a problem. Awakening was my gateway into Fire Emblem. I learned about the previous games, and I emulated them (because lets be honest, who owns a Gamecube anymore). I mostly enjoyed them all, but Awakening would still be my favorite. When I heard NEW GAMES WERE COMING I was happy. Wait, this one has 3 Story lines? TIME TO PULL OUT MY SMT4 MEMORIES!!! IMA PLAY THEM ALL!!! Oh wait, another one is out again? I only played all 3 Fates like 6 times though. OH COOL I CAN HAVE TWO ARMIES AT THE SAME TIME??? And that brings me here, to this video. Echoes is now #3 of my most favorite games ever. #1 is Awakening, #2 is Overwatch. Heheheheh I dont really care what people think about Awakening. It holds a place in my heart that I cant forget, and I'd be fine with the criticisms you give it, because no matter what people say, the pure joy and mind melting I went through will always stay with me.

[@22yhjjjj]

Holy damn its like this Video knew what I was thinking when I started Awakening. Holy fuck thats scary and perceptive. Good on you content creator. Good on you. I randomly found this video while searching for Grima stuff.

[@windydelta7105]

This was wonderful to listen to. I really appreciate the hard work you put into this. Thank-you!

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Windy Delta no problem, glad you enjoyed!

[@unstablepc5913]

Fire Emblem 13 saved the franchise, but did fire emblem awakening save the franchise? From your arguments, the answer would be "no" Besides, the sale numbers they needed to reach were incredibly low, and would've been entirely reachable through a more classic Fire Emblem game.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

true

[@Xuejinyuan]

While all the things covered may be true, I also think this video massively undermines how good awakening was at connecting people to its characters. I still tear up every time Lucina reveals herself and Chrom says “You deserved better than a sword and a world of troubles” before they hug. Just knowing the struggle that Lucina had to go through, how she was devoid of her father since Grima killed him in her timeline, and the burden she had to bear.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

I think there's a more articulate version of this video that exists in the years since I made it. As I've grown as a critic and a creator I think there's a way to do this better.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@ZerkMonsterHunter I think a big reason why Fates was so flawed is be is because Intelligent Systems felt like why were obligated to make a game like Awakening, but was too stressed out to do it in a meaningful way, due to Awakening was suppose to be the last in the series. Going slightly off topic for a moment, it will make sense. When Squaresoft was making Final Fantasy 1, they were about to go bankrupt so they thought this was the end. Thankfully the game sold well, which meant that they continue the series. Then they made FF 2 which was heavily disliked by fans. Final Fantasy 6 and 7 are great because Square no longer had doubt. Sadly the same thing can not be said for Fates, and it wouldn't be until the making of FE Hero's that Intelligent Systems would get rid of their doubt.

[@saifors]

Well... I gotta say... You nailed it. Every single argument I've used against the notion of "it save the franchise" and more and explained in a much more coherent way than I have. The only counteragument I tend to use you didn't state is that it wasn't hard to save the series because the standards were pretty much at rock bottom. In an interview they've stated clearly that to save the series from getting the boot Awakening had to sell 250k, a number that according to sales data is less than the sales of New Mystery of the Emblem, which had about everything going against it, being a remake coming off the heels of Shadow Dragon which had been pretty poorly received remake in itself, not only that, it remade only the second book of the original Mystery of the Emblem, to add even more problems was that Mystery of the Emblem despite it's Japan-only status was the best selling game in the franchise, and if you only count japanese sales it still is. In other words It was a remake of half of the best selling game in the series, right after a poorly received remake of the other half. Then comes, as you say in the video, the timing. It once again came in under a year of the next console, it released on the Nintendo DS which was already 6 years old. I can't really say much for marketing because I don't live in Japan. But with just those first 2 points, FE12 had a ton going against it, yet it still managed to reach that 250k according to Famitsu. The chances of Awakening not reaching those sales numbers were basically null, it had the odds in its favour whether the game ended up being the way it did or different and more appealing to veteran fans, saying that Awakening would end up saving the series from that point is like saying that grass is green, of course, that's obvious, it's natural, it wasn't some miracle. And just because of that it shouldn't be exempt from criticism, I really don't get the "but awakening saved the series" argument because of this, like, so what? It was going to do that anyway. Is it that bad that people criticize it? It's not like criticism now will undo all of its success, I'd get it if it had just released and struggling because then negativity could hinder the series succes, but it's been 4 years, myself or anyone else pointing out the games flaws will not undo the series being saved. Also back to you points in the video: I honestly hadn't thought about the SAO phase thing, now that I think about it that makes a lot of sense and explains those attempts at making ROM Hacks based on SAO that appeared in the Concepts subcategory of the Fan Projects category on serenes. The part about the games flaws being more obvious on a second playthrough is also true. I actually do remember enjoying my first playthrough of Awakening and when I beat it I wasted barely any time to play a second time on Hard Mode and quickly started to like it much less from the very beginning when I had to redo the prologue because Chrom died to a cirt and then again because Robin died to a crit, making my view already much more negative to the balance of the game (even on Hard Mode the shouldn't be enemy crit chances in the prologue, that's bad design) and it escalated to the point where a few chapters into this second playthrough I started to really dislike the game. I started to see issues in plot, characters and map design which I consider the most important parts of Fire Emblem. Personally I thought that maybe I had been blinded during my first playthrough to the novelty of getting to play a modern Fire Emblem game with 3D graphics as I hadn't played any of the entries after Sacred Stones. There was also me not noticing the lack of depth in the characters probably because the voice clips that made me like them initially, like Vaike who reminded me of Reyn from Xenoblade Chronicles and I was watching Chuggaaconroy's Let's Play of it at the time, also I was like 15-16 and thought "lol memes".

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

well said man.

[@Danitron904]

saifors, for me, in your last parts, I don't mind if a character is one dimensional, so long as said one dimension is likeable/loveable, example; owain and setuna are fan favorites not because they are deep and complex, but because they are just so damn loveable, setuna in particular being my favorite character in birthright.

[@piedadburgos4596]

Daniel pintado setsuna is a fan favorite?

[@Danitron904]

David Amano, well... yes! She is so funny. But i am not insinuating EVERYBODY should like her, i was just pointing out how you can get away with one-dimensional characters if they are funny and lovable, same goes for henry and vaike, they arent the most interesting of fellows, but they are one of the most likeable. Or most of echoes cast, they are not the most interesting, due to the supports being piss poor, are still very loveable(looking at you Mar) That is my viewpoint though.

[@piedadburgos4596]

Daniel pintado yeah, I understand. I just didn't know she was one of the more popular charactera

[@welon17]

I played FE from FE7... and I welcomed casual mode. I didn't play it, but I thought it was a great way to welcome new players! Cute anime babes in Fire Emblem has ALWAYS been a thing since I joined the FE community... and shipping too, what are these so called "veteran fans" ranting about? But yeah, marketting played an important role in this game's success, and his competition Bravely Default got zero marketting since I remember, I got that game because I got an email spam announcing it, and I'm a sucker for Final Fantasy. And honestly... it's a good game, it's not the best, but it's good. Fates is also good! The story sucks but the game is fun!

[@Blitz_Spencer]

Let's be real...both sides of the argument (except legit criticism), are complete cancer.

[@Nami]

You're right about how marketing saved the series. You're wrong that Awakening's changes didn't contribute to that. Like, painfully wrong. I've owned every Fire Emblem that has made its way out west now, from Rekka no Ken on, and it'd been kind of twisting in the wind ever between Scared Stones and Awakening. Difficulty fluctuated from game to game. Support conversations were either severely lacking, copied and pasted, or just flat out nonexistent depending on the entry. None of them had the combination of options Awakening ended up having in how to play the game (difficulty setting plus permadeath on or off). A lot of the reason many would say they didn't like playing Fire Emblem before was either difficulty or permanently losing units when they die. And, while I prefer leaving permadeath on because it makes for a more true Fire Emblem experience and forces me to think twice about my moves, many people do not. I guarantee you, it was probably the single biggest gameplay change that finally got people onboard with the series. The presentation for Awakening was also beyond anything the series had seen before then (even Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn) and made it considerably easier to care about a lot of its characters and plot. So, while the marketing was a major factor in saving the series (perhaps the largest), it didn't do all the heavy lifting on its own. You're wrong if you suggest otherwise. It's not a, "It was this, or it was that," scenario. It can both and it was both.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

i acknowledged casual mode as part of the mainstream appeal as well. and considering most people who entered into awakening had no idea what to expect from the story, i think saying "the changes made to the story' helped it is likely false. i spend a good chunk of the video talking about casual mode, did you miss it? or just ignore it?

[@Kooltrex]

I never even thought of that point about Sword Art Online. I know somebody who loved SAO and then bought and loved Awakening. It makes a lot of sense. Great video

[@ASwallie65]

But, Awakening saved the franchise!

[@fyrflyr2378]

HaunterXD O "And it also stoped world hunger"

[@slavicsandvich5967]

I got the game in the 2nd year of highschool and bought it on a whim. I don't regret it and now seek to play out the old games, while still finding Awakening as my favorite

[@amirgarcia547]

Awakening will (at the moment) always be my favorite Fire Emblem game, and without it I wouldn't have even been introduced to the series or still be playing it to this day. For some that may be a bad thing, but...no matter what FE game you like, you're still an FE fan. So whether you like Blazing Sword, Path of Radiance, Awakening, or heck even Fates...beneath Naga, you will still be seen as equals. Despite its flaws, there’ll never really be anything to detract me from considering Awakening a near-perfect game, and I've already beaten it, well...four times. Will that change as I play more of the older games? Only time will tell. But even if they are better, I've always felt it was more fair to judge a game on its own merits rather than compare it to its predecessors. Unless the game is a direct sequel (Path of Radiance to Radiant Dawn) or changes the series from its established formula to the point where its barely even recognizable (Metroid Other M to any previous Metroid game. That was my first Metroid game though, but after playing the others, well...you should already know what happened.) I feel like Awakening's success was also due to IS basically pouring everything that they could into it by thinking it would be the last game in the series (support conversations, Casual mode, a customizable avatar)...but it'd be both this and a mixture of what you already said. And also the fact that it's the most accessible game in the series. A lot of people praise Radiant Dawn and Tharja or whatever you call it 776, but since those are some of the hardest games in the series, they would not be accessible to newcomers AT ALL. Your comment about critics is entirely right, however. They'd praise games like Awakening and Fates to near perfection, but then give Echoes lower scores due to it not playing like the previous two. It's much more slow paced, both in terms of story and gameplay, has entirely different mechanics, and only a very small support system. Granted I like all three of them, but that is still very interesting nonetheless.

[@lillrice27]

Crono Sapien “near-perfect” is the definition of almost all fe games

[@dgrios0234]

why would you put Sao my eyes

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Dgrios 02 to prove a point. (trust me it was worse having to edit the damn thimg)

[@brennenyu2523]

It saved the series by bringing new players into the fire emblem player base insuring more players would play (if there were) later fire emblem games. "fire emblem awakening saved the series" is actually correct because if it did not do well fire emblem would have ended. saving the series doesnt mean its the best fire emblem game, but it brought new players into the playerbase.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

I never siad the argument was incorrect, only that "awakening saved the series" IS USED as a means to negate criticism directed towards awakening, because how dare the game that saved the series be fairly judged.

[@RWBn00b]

"because how dare the game that saved the series be fairly judged." The thing is, it wasn't fairly judged most of the times, it was nigh always torn to shreds with no solid argument behind it(or at least, no argument that can't be applied to more than half the series or even more). "Awakening saved the series" evolved as a response to bullshit like that. A bad and thought-terminating answer, but that's what the situation was.

[@brennenyu2523]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 Agreeable

[@NycroLP]

Wow, that's probably the best video you created. Everything you said was on point and no whish wash talk.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

this is what happens when i actually write a script lol. i thought the grima video was pretty good too.

[@NycroLP]

Wouldn't mind if you continue like this if you dont mind.

[@hewhosays7979]

I can't believe SAO saved Fire emblem

[@aedanroberts6822]

Old fan here- played the game since the Game Boy Advance titles. Loved them all. Also LOVED Awakening.

[@555redkid]

This may be irrelevant, but wasn't Fates a February release date too..? Granted not February 4th, but I thought that was a weird coincidence...

[@Alex1jag]

I would like to argue your points if you let me: 1.) Release date: There is actually no evidence that the release date of a the game garantees success, while it is tru that no major 3DS releases happend at around the same time, being the only game avaliable does not mean that people will buy it just to have something. 2.) True, good marketing makes more people know about your games, which in turns means more copies could be sold. Having more visivilty also means that more people will be paying attention to news about the game, this can both help and hurt sales of a game. The more marketing the more people look to see if bad news, such as bugs, performance, and quality of the game meets the hype that the publisher is trying to create. 　 3.)Casual mode was not introduced in Awakening, the mode first appeared in New Mystery of the Emblem. Casual mode may have made the game more friendly to new comers, however if this was a selling point it would have also made New Mystery of the Emblem a huge success. 　 4.) S.A.O did not premire in the U.S. until July of 2013, to say that it had an impact on Awakening in the U.S. it would have had to be on television before the game came out. Likewise the game also came out in Japan before the anime premiered there, so it most definetly would have had no impact on Japanese sales. 5.) Reviwer friendly. Saying that the game only got a good score because of is short campaing, would be dissmisive of games with long campaigns. This year alone we had have 3 games who have had amazing reception, even though they are games that take over a hundred hours to complete (Zelda: BotW, Horizon, Persona 5), and this is not taking into account that those games came out with in the time spawn of a month. 　 While being critical of the game and stating personal feelings of like or dislike toward the game are valid, saying that the game only became popular due to shear coincidences is a very poor arguement to make.

[@cleangamereviews5563]

Then why did Echoes flop in comparison to not just Awakening but also Fate when it also had many of the four factors that you say helped Awakening? Love the videos and perspectives you have. It was just something I wanted your take on, unless I missed it in the video.

[@Neolabfg]

CleanGameReviews For a couple reasons 1. Echoes came out after not only other big RPGs, but also a new Nintendo console, making it's appeal lesser than Awakening. 2. It only got about 4 months of hype, which is pretty low compared to the other two 3DS games 3. As history has proven, FE games have a habit of being released on dead or dying consoles, and getting low sales as a result Finally, remakes almost never sell as well as new entries since people tend to know what to expect, Echoes has still done rather well though being a remake.

[@nachohangover5104]

Neolab It also got worse reviews, with critics taking off points for not having all of the same features as Awakening and Fates.

[@Neolabfg]

Nacho Hangover many people don't listen to journalists especially IGN, but it's bullshit all the same

[@MogofWar]

Echoes outsold its own projections.

[@MrSentinel07]

One of the bigger factors was what Echoes was a remake of Gaiden, which is regarded as the black sheep of the franchise for its drastically different style of gameplay. Yet in spite of all that, and the fact that it was on the declining 3DS, it still sold to Nintendo's expectations and higher.

[@twintailsgaming8039]

i just picked up Awakening when i saw it at gamestop one day. after that i've been playing games both new and old.

[@rexming7234]

Awakening helped keep the franchise going while putting us down the wrong road ,aka fates but echoes is helping put us back on the right track. Now we just have to hope they take more of the old stuff into fe switch and not make another fates.

[@arikaaa69]

other than "dem waifus" and mediocre story, what was really wrong with Fates? To me, Birthright was like a much better version of Awakening

[@rexming7234]

Erl X the battler yeah i liked birthright because they were in the right but conquest is just bad its not gray like its supposed to be. Birthright is good because they got attacked so much there making sure the war ends and in conquest your stopping the war by follow the main bad guys orders without fighting back or saving anyone. The cheve scene made me hate conquest and corrin ,a real lord would have fought back no matter what to save them but corrin just went emo and said im so cold. Yeah worst lord in the series.

[@arikaaa69]

I guess that to you, the story is more important than the gameplay, as you have only talked about some story bits and how Corrin was a huge pussy in Conquest (which is totally true)

[@ravensburgerburger3989]

Erl X the battler the gameplay isnt flawless either, good but not flawless, mainly inconsistent

[@arikaaa69]

nothing is perfect, but what do you mean by inconsistent? Do you mean like Br to Cq, or something else?

[@dracoblackstone5492]

I agree with all of your points (though the SOA one seems a little overly specific, even if I agree that around that time anime was becoming more mainstream), but I do also feel that the gameplay and writing did have a large effect on people's enjoyment of it. The story is relatively straight forward and easy to understand while seeming deeper due to the inclusion of time travel. Because of this they were able to make some very emotional moments without having to spend a huge amount of time setting everything up. The characters were also simpler then in previous installments, focusing on a gimmick which makes them more recognizable and easier to project onto. Additionally, on easier difficulties Awakening seems much easier to pick up and play than older titles in the series. Being on the 3DS really helped make use of this, even if it was at the cost of gameplay complexity. The way supports were achieved was also made much clearer than in previous titles, which meant that now almost all players are guaranteed to see at least some of them. Overall, the gameplay was more accessible to those who are not fans of the genre, which is what brought Fire Emblem into the flagship game status. I've been around for a while, and I just want to say that the content has really become a lot more polished since the start. Keep up the good work!

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

thanks man glad you enjoyed and I certainly agree. As for the SAO bit, while a stretch, i think it did have an influence, even if that influence was 30,000 copies.

[@cynicismIncarnate]

hahahahaha people enjoying SAO..that is literal garbage

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

IKR

[@Blitz_Spencer]

Prince Kazuya *ahem*

[@Bullwine]

I might give it a watch just to see how bad it really is. Alcohol will be at the ready.

[@samkim12345]

Prince Kazuya it was just mediocre for like, the first few episodes. It went downhill so hard, but I honestly expected it what with the obvious tropes being prevalent and Jesus-Kun protagonist being shoved down our throats.

[@WolfieXp]

Typical Otakus hating every single anime that the mainstream/normal people enjoy. I bet you think Death Note, One Piece and Naruto is literal garbage too.

[@WHYvernmaster]

I think you about hit the nail on the head there. Then you went and hit one more on the head, and then one more that's... kinda harder to tell? Still, with the marketing and timing, you were certainly right on the mark.But of course, the best part of this video is the reveal of the Drift Emblem sequel, I've been waiting 84 years for that XD

[@purplechip8020]

it's a good game....just not a good Fire Emblem game (omg all these likes and comments on a generic "it was good not just a good *insert game here* game")

[@somedudeonearth4978]

Robin The Paladin - I don't get that statement. If it's a good game, why isn't it a good Fire Emblem game? If it's not a good Fire Emblem game, why is it a good game? What makes a good Fire Emblem game in your opinion?

[@ItssTyler]

Some dude on earth It's because awakening lacks any deep strategy, which differentiates itself from the older games

[@DotDotDott]

Robin The Paladin ok then what is a fire emblem game and what makes this one not a fire emblem game?

[@somedudeonearth4978]

Itss Tyler - So because of that, Awakening isn't a good Fire Emblem game. But then, why is it a good game?

[@ando3087]

Some dude on earth it's still a fire emblem game but not a "good" one If a series has something really outstanding, strategy for example, and the new game has absolutly nothing to do with strategy, but has a lot of other good sides, it's definitly a good game, but not a good *insert series name here* game

[@four-en-tee]

I never thought I'd say this, but "thank you SAO for saving one of my favorite series."

[@bladehero8490]

thank god finally someone who points out how retarded the "but awakening saved the franchise" argument is. Maybe people will stop using it from now on........... (lets be honest they wont)

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

yeah no, unless this video somehow gets 100k views....

[@luiz123henrique456]

nope,because as long older fans stop getting salt,and then shit on awakening because their are in rage mode,a newer fan will always try to counter this,and the discussion will happen It's not fault of one individual,the problem are both older and newer fans

[@bladehero8490]

but its still a shit argument though

[@colmecolwag]

There is the idea of "it only got this much marketing because they realized that the changes would appeal to more people." Like they saw they had a particularly special thing, and pushed it. You can sorta see that with how Sega's super pushing and advertising Sonic Mania right now despite it being a more minor release. But that doesn't satisfy the hypothetical "but if they marketed the old games that hard they'd be just as successful!" Eh, could be worse. You could be Advance Wars right now.

[@MemesToa]

Now here's something that I feel like not many people know: Casual Mode wasn't introduced in Awakening. It, as well as a playable avatar, were introduced with the previous game titled(get ready), "New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow." The reason Casual Mode and the avatar mechanic blew up was b/c the game that introduced them was, and still is, Japan-exclusive. Meanwhile, Awakening was marketed for an international audience, which mainly consisted of people who'd only heard of Fire Emblem via Super Smash Bros, which allowed these been-there-done-that mechanics to an audience who simply couldn't deal with the inherent difficulty of FE's permadeath mechanic.

[@lukekinder4959]

I have played fire emblem since I was about 10 years old with the GameCube release of fire emblem path of radiance. Not a series veteran per se, but I thought that permadeath was part of what made the game so compelling. However; I do not mind the option for casual play

[@justplayfly]

This is now one of my favorite videos from you. The SOA bit had me on the floor and not because you're so wrong that it's funny but because the fact that an argument this ridiculous actually makes sense is just plain hilarious.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

yeah i know, when i first thought about it i was like "hell naw" and then i did the research and suddenly i became the ancient aliens guy.

[@PlasmaWisp100]

Wow... yeah I finished SAO then happened to go to my friend's house and find him playing Awakening. Ironically, I remember asking if you could "dual wield" in this game 😅 But now, I've played Fates and Echoes along with Heroes and, most importantly, developed a better taste in show choice. 😆 I was 12 at the time, so yeah, my friends and I were pretty easily influenced at this point.

[@Royboy140]

Fantastic video! I've always said these things as a retort to the "Awakening saved the franchise" argument but now I got to see all my uncollected thoughts along with some new ones in a concise and well done video. You are right especially with casual mode, it was a great addition but the side effect really shafted elder fans with trying to mesh with new fans. Anyways great video and Good job!

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

thanks man!

[@Royboy140]

Yeah you deserve it! Keep up the great content!

[@james8981]

Hey you know what, at the end of the day I say this "at least the series ain't dead" right.

[@boidoh]

What is the name of the song that plays for most of the video? It sounds so familiar.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

in order of appearance the songs are Champion - FE awakening OST Chaos - FE awakening OST Ryoshima Coast - Okami OST With Mila's Divine protection (Smash 4 mix) Acculuma town - Pokemon Black/white OST Glavenus Theme - Monster Hunter Generations Cruel Angel's Thesis (Odessy EUROBEAT mix)

[@haarharhar]

Completely off topic, but I am so glad to be hearing that Okami background music... Please return to us Amaterasu Okami, your games are heavily underrated

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

haarharhar I looooooove the Okami OST. I use it whenever I get the chance.

[@Ingeniousleo85]

Awakening was my first Firem Emblem ever, and first JRPG as well. Since then Ive played dozens of other rpgs, and a few other Fire Emblem games. All thanks to Awakening. Call it whatever but each player's experience is unique to that particular player. Loved the game, didn't marry "ship" anyone, or even had children (aside the story ones). I'm a Fire Emblem fan for life now, and JRPG fan as well. This game was successful because it was a good game, that's the most basic conclusion anyone should take from it.

[@nova338]

This was interesting! It also seemed pretty well researched.

[@jhart6764]

6:06 I played shadow dragon with that being my intro to the series. I got a decent way through till I kept getting team wiped in one chapter. After that I put the game down. Reseting every battle after a massive loss broke me. When I heard awakening had casual mode I thought, "I'm definitely no master planner, but I don't mind the opportunity to enjoy the gameplay and characters." So yeah, I see that as a good way to introduce scrubs like myself.

[@hozus.7330]

There are a couple of other points you missed. Radiant Dawn came out on the same weekend of Super Mario Galaxy. On a console that was notoriously difficult to obtain at the time. As a sequel to a game that came out on the previous Nintendo console. Talk about bad timing, eh? The series was said to end if Awakening didn't reach 250k sales. Only one game fell short of that - Thracia 776. The SNES game that was released in 1999. Big surprise, right? Awakening has a free demo that can be downloaded from the e-shop. This allows players to get a taste of the game with no financial risk if they already have a 3DS. There was also a promotion where you would get $40 e-shop credit if you bought Awakening and um... some SMT game that I don't know of.

[@lulipop_arts]

As soon as I heard him say, Bravely Default had been out for four months prior to Awakening I wanted to cry. Awakening released stateside before both Zelda ALBW and Bravely Default had even come out. Awakening was there first, the game had literally no competition, and the Japanese release dates are as follows if you want proof. Awakening: April 19, 2012 Bravely Default: Oct 11, 2012 (There was also and expanded edition released Dec 5, 2013) Zelda ALBW: Dec 26, 2013(this game was released later in Japan for some reason) North America Releases: Awakening: Feb 4, 2013 Bravely Default: Feb 7, 2014 Zelda ALBW: Nov 22, 2013 My only assumption here is that he mixed up the dates. The Japanese release of Bravely Default is 4 months before the American release of Awakening. However, Awakening had been out in Japan for 5 months before Bravely Default's initial release. The only game that I can think of that even came close to Awakening's release is Rune Factory 4 which had an initial Japanese release date of July 19, 2012 and a North American release of Oct 1, 2013. It's initial release was only two months after Awakening's. These four games are very important to me. So, I felt like I needed to correct that much.

[@dogewow9964]

My first two FE games were Fates and Awakening, but even I hated people using "But it saved the franchise!" to ignore valid criticism on it. I do a TON of drawing, and am very active in the art community. It's similar in the way that if you point out flaws in a popular artist's work, it will be completely ignored and sometimes even bashed for unintelligent reasons such as "They put time in it!" or "You're just jealous. "It saved the franchise" isn't exactly the reasoning as used in the art community, but is very similar in form. I'm glad to see someone point out that just because it does something good doesn't mean it's immune to negativity or criticism. Plus, I have no idea why; but I love the paper background.

[@beagleboy4ever]

Awakening wasn't my first Fire Emblem game (that being the Sacred Stones), but it is my favorite. Bite me.

[@garchompdude]

It also helped Awakening's sales in the U.S. that Bravely Default didn't come out until 2014

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

garchompdude exactly.

[@ninonerd3392]

I like the direction of the series personally. And yes ive played other fire emblem games. Unlike most of the fire emblem fans, I enjoy the games anyway. Even if they are flawed. They fail to grasp that their precious sacred stones or shadow dragon have massive flaws

[@H2O_Chi]

Awakening wasn't my first Fire Emblem game by far but I liked it. I got to make my own character and as a Druid I destroyed everything, it was beautiful.

[@ungulatemanalpha]

lmao at 'awakening did a complete 180 from the rest of the series' it's literally a giant love letter to a franchise that they were reasonably sure was about to die, it is exactly the same as every other game in the series in every way that matters

[@romelidamateo3933]

Actually for me, what drew me to put down money for Awakening (my first game) was the waifu/support factor and the fact that I enjoyed playing Roy/Marth/Ike in smash bros. Didn't really see commercials cuz I don't watch tv, until I heard about it from a friend and began looking it up online for it's release date.

[@thetruestarking20000]

I hope we will one day get a remake of awakening that will address a lot of the flaws it had and make it a true masterpiece. I adore the Awakening cast, but i wish the actual story was more engaging and consistent (also cut out the Valm arc in favor of something actually related to the Grima plot).

[@dwighttheislander7369]

Well it makes sense that it was given nore marketing and stuff from nintendo, it was suppose to he the last afterall so they gave it a chance to redeem itself

[@jermjerm610]

I do not believe that SAO was a factor in why the game sold well, maybe to some people who bought the game, but not enough to justify it as a factor of why the game did so good. I think awakening would have done just as well if SAO didnt exist or come out around the time that it did.

[@MrSentinel07]

I think your 4th point is kind of a stretch (though not completely unreasonable) but I absolutely agree with the first 3 points. I can only imagine how Sacred Stones and Path of Radiance might have done if they had better timing, marketing, and Casual mode on their side.

[@ShadowVincent3]

As a big fan of both Ocarina of Time and Awakening, I concur that financial success does not exempt them from criticism. I love Awakening and all, but I don't think I could use the phrase "Saved the franchise" legitimately. I still feel if Fates had of been different, Awakening would have been viewed as an interesting little oddity, a sorta black sheep if you will, rather than a catalyst for the split. And while coincidence can be summed up as just that, it's still an indirect contributes, so you have a point there.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

yeah i don't think, given my conclusion, you could ever find a way to use "saved the franchise' as a point in a discussion. and even if SAO only sold 30,000 copies of awakening, that's still 30,000 copies...

[@ShadowVincent3]

It's just not a strong point. It's like saying that because Golden Eye brought FPS to consoles that it's the best formula. I'll defend any point of Awakening I feel is positive, agree with the flaws, but I cannot bring myself to use that as an argument.

[@PerfectBurn101]

I don't know about you, but thanks to Awakening, Fates and Heroes made me play the older installments from previous consoles. I'm almost finishing Shadow dragon then head to Blazing Sword and sacred stones.

[@Clefspeare97]

I'm just glad to be getting tons of new Fire Emblem games.

[@mht0027]

You make a lot of interesting points. I don't know about that last one about SAO, but the timing of its release facing no competition from any other first-party games, as well as the marketing were likely huge factors to the game selling well. I am extremely grateful for Awakening saving the franchise, but it doesn't mean the game is exempt from criticism.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

mht002 well said.

[@commonhurricanebeast]

The relationship between SOA and Fire Emblem seems more like correlation than causation. There is no concrete way to determine overlap in the fan base. I really appreciate what the video tried to do though. Also, the critical and veteran player reaction was generally similar at the time of release. While I recognize the game has flaws, the rise of elitist outlook occurred months after the game's release. This may have been more in response to the fanbase changes with new players and increased fanservice.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Maddy if I could go back and change one thing about the video it'd be shifting the focus from SAO to fantasy anime in general and it's rise in popularity

[@commonhurricanebeast]

That's a good point, I can agree with that. Thanks for the response and keep up the great work!

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

Maddy no problem, will do!

[@aareese1234]

Very intresting video regarding Awakening's success. Specially the SAO theory, which I've never heard of SAO being a reason Awakening did well before. I don't know whether or not to believe that's just a strong correlation or an actual point to for the game doing well, but it was an intresting theory none the less. However, these are all reasons Awakening did well at launch and in the short-term. While launch is certainly the most import time for games to make their money, games can also have a long tail and still generate stead revenue long even after a title had been released and the hype died down significantly. So my question to Zerk is this, what do you think Awakening's long tail was? Because even after the hype eventually went away, the title's flaws became more apparent, and more competition on the 3DS later that year, Awakening still managed to sell hundreds and thousands of copies in later 2013 and 2014. The main reason I wanted to post this was because Zerk said his four points were the reason Awakening was guaranteed to succeed and some of that success was due timing, but he didn't mention the game's success long after the initial launch. There are games like No Man's Sky and For Honor that do really well at release but a few month's later have dead player bases and stop selling copies for one reason or another. If Zerk responds to this comment, I'm curious to see what he thinks Awakening did right to do well in the long run as well as the short term.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

aareese1234 a lot of it had to do with KZbin and the games critical reception. Online guides for Awakening (especially let's plays) increased the games longevity. It also helps that big KZbinrs known for RPGs (Such as Jwittz and Projared) listed Awakening among their top Games of the year. Now when you consider Jwittz and Projared's lists for that year have about 3 million combined total views, even if only 5% of the viewer base bought the game, that's approximately 150k in sales.

[@aareese1234]

ZerkMonsterHunter 4 Agreed, that's exactly how I got into Fire Emblem. The first time I heard of FE: A's existance was in a top 10 best games of 2013 list by Totalbiscuit, followed by few other KZbinr I followed at the time. Thanks for the the reply!

[@sharkjumpingwalrus6744]

To be honest, Prior to awakening I had only played two other fire emblem games. Those being Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. I enjoyed both games, albeit for different reasons. However, it was my enjoyment of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a large part what helped me enjoy this game. I was able to connect much of the game's lore back to my first fire emblem game. I even made the mistake of thinking that Grima and Medeas were the same characters and came up with a Head cannon to justify the idea. I was quite embarrassed when I found out they were different characters, but it hasn't really changed my love for the game.

[@benweas9802]

I agree with pretty much everything you said in the video. I wonder if it would have done as well if it had released around a holiday season.

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

not likely. it would have had Bravely Default to compete with. as well as Nintendo plugging their other holiday releases.

[@CatManThree]

Dear lord finally someone talks about this. People need to understand why this game really did well. Seriously.

[@AnTran147]

THANK YOU! Timing and actually advertising "saved" this series (from likely just being shelved temporarily, even Nintendo isn't dumb enough to destroy the series forever), not a single game's existence being "good".

[@hanafuda]

6:38 I thought you were talking about Casual Mode the first time I heard you but then I listened again a few times and realized you were talking about permadeath. I'm dumb. Also, we need more Dancing in the Starlight, Zerk.

[@Suntro]

Your points were highlighted eloquently, appealing to newcomers is the way forward for most game companies. Intelligent Systems is..welll, intelligent for seeing this. Fire Emblem had a long history of appealing to a target audience who enjoy a challenging game where mistakes can cost you your units, this is something we don't really see at all in games, especially since [good] Fire emblem games make you grow attached to individual units so you have to think before finalizing your moves or risk soft resets. I really don'[t think there are any 'game reviewers' out there that have played every fire emblem (roms for older versions) they're literally just going through the motions when they reviewed Path of Radiance through Fates. IGN is notorious for not finishing their games too. That being said Awakening was a good game since it provided Nintendo with the incentive to continue the series which gave us the masterpiece remake of Gaiden in Echoes. Hopefully we will see Mystery of the Emblem, 776, Geneology, 6-8 remakes someday.

[@carstan62]

Absolutely! One point I think you should have addressed though were the specific games in the series that came before it. The last 2 games in the series were both remakes. Radiant Dawn, the last "new" game to come out in the franchise was released in 2007. That means there were 6 friggin years since the last "new" release. While their status as remakes had less effect in the west than it did in Japan, the most recent of which never got localized at all. At this point in time, Fire Emblem fans were starved for a new game regardless of your region.

[@true_deity]

If I did not hear about Fire Emblem Awakening, I would have never picked up the games afterwards. Having remakes like Shadows of Valentia will gradually include the older games to familiarize the new fanbase of the old games. But in the end, I would have never really noticed the franchise if it were not for this game. So in my case, Awakening was able to get my interest, and I invest my time to learn more about this franchise. (So obviously from my perspective) Awakening indeed did save the franchise, but I am willing to try out the old games if they were more available. Echoes was a great example of this while adding new elements to keep it fresh for the old fanbase.

[@filibertogonzalez8761]

shinobi360 Same here, but I've played Sacred Stones first. However, it was a demo and I didn't really played it again until I borrowed my friend's Awakening and reintroduced Fire Emblem back to my family. And, to this day, I still prefer Sacred Stones, despite it being too easy.

[@microslavery]

I'd tried Fire Emblem before Awakenings, but was never grabbed by it despite really enjoying games like Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea. Things that won me over in Awakening were the polish, character creation, a casual mode that takes the stress out of choices, and ability to grind to prepare for upcoming battles and bring your favourites and new units up to speed. I also thought the support and seeing the result of pairings was interesting, and helped get me more invested in characters I might not of. Appearances in Smash Bros also helped rekindle my potential interest in the characters and series itself having bounced off it before. As a fan of some niche games in the past, I can understand the dislike for the changes brought in by Awakening, but it still stands as one of my favourite games on the handheld.

[@TheDudemanfu]

Star Wars Battlefront 2 had a huge marketing campaign, so did Duke Nukem Forever, Fallout 76, Mass Effect Andromeda. Thanks to the marketing those games saved their series too.

[@zeadly7991]

Interesting video, definitely was shocked to hear about the sword art online part. While I had fire emblem awakening before I watched SAO I can entirely understand this point. Back when I was in high school and people were getting into anime getting people getting my friends to play fire emblem awakening compared to other games was much easier due to having similar archetypes a anime would have. This wasn't a bad thing as they enjoyed awakening a ton and if it wasn't for the anime-esque attraction I would not have been able to get them to play one of my favorite games as well as enter one of my favorite series.

[@quwe8807]

I like Awakening a lot, but I hate when my friends who haven't played many FE games ignore Awakening's flaws and say it's good because it saved the franchise

[@ZerkMonsterHunter]

don't let it get to you.

[@link11fly]

I played Awaking 3 times and I didn't notice anything wrong with it. Then again I like most of my games I buy.