The Game That Saved One of Nintendo's Biggest Franchises Is 14 Years Old

Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo's biggest franchises in 2026. Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave is set to come out as one of the premiere games on the Switch 2 later this year. Fire Emblem Three Houses was a mega-hit on the Switch, released in 2019.

None of these games would exist if it weren't for one mighty Nintendo 3DS game released on this day in Japan in 2012. Fire Emblem Awakening was aptly named because it literally awakened the eyes and the attention of gamers all over the world 14 years ago.

This strategy series, which is now beloved for its combination of characterization, storytelling, and puzzling battles, was a niche series overseas before this 3DS spectacle that brought everything together and saved the franchise.

These games were hard for casual gamers to get into because of the extreme difficulty of the strategy gameplay. Gamers had to really love tinkering and retrying grid-based battles over and over again to love Fire Emblem. It was truly a cult classic and not a widespread series.

Fire Emblem Awakening still maintained the same gritty gameplay that hardcore fans loved, but it opened up the series to newcomers with sophisticated and in-depth romantic relationships that players could shape between the different characters. It made each playthrough feel personalized, and the deaths of the characters on the battlefield hit harder because people were more connected to the story than ever before.

The developers, Intelligent Systems, also added the option to turn off the permadeath feature that had frustrated less-skilled gamers for years. This meant that characters would come back after dying in battle, rather than staying six feet under. The decision belonged to each player.

Fire Emblem Awakening has been the measuring stick by which all future games in the series must measure up to. The game was a rare experience that mastered calm moments and tense strategy simultaneously. The handheld hardware was also the perfect conduit for new gamers since the 3DS was bought by a lot of casual gamers in the 2010s.

Fire Emblem Awakening sold 1.9 million copies worldwide, far surpassing the 250,000 sales figure that Nintendo had threatened needed to be reached for the franchise not to get cancelled after years of disappointment. Now, instead of trying to decide whether to make more games, Nintendo eagerly announces a new title in the series every few years!