Fire Emblem: Awakening is a blazing return to form for the strategy RPG genre, and well worth adding to your 3DS library.
Where you'll want to focus most of your time and energy lies in the game's rich relationship system. You'll quickly fall in love with these characters, and through each battle develop deeper connections. After being in the heat of battle you can interact with your allies for some one-on-one time. Pairing together characters for support conversations ends up being a boon to your allies' perks and stats.
You'll also unlock more information about the characters you choose, making it all the more painful if one of your favorites does happen to fall in battle, since the traditional Fire Emblem way is permadeath -- though you can choose to play without this option. It's a neat addition for newbies, but somewhat neuters the experience as that sense of overwhelming sadness that can very well engulf you should a beloved member of your party fall is just no longer there.
Relationships are an integral part of Awakening, so much so in fact that it enhances the game overall. Fall in love, get married, and eventually see your child rise to aid you in battle. It's an endearing chain of events and an enriching narrative that actually depends on your input to shape the game world and characters. With this level of involvement it's easy to lose yourself in the world of Awakening, and it's refreshing to see how much work was put into creating a game world where this is possible.
