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Basic information Title: Fire Emblem: Kakusei (lit. Awakening) Platform: Nintendo 3DS No. of players: 1~2 Communications: Local Play, Internet, StreetPass, SpotPass Release dates: 19th April 2012 (Japan), 2012 (Europe) Official sites: Japanese

Features Brand new game, not a remake! My Unit--create your own customisable main character. Changing classes--choose from two upgraded classes when promoting units or switch to a completely different class. "Dual" system--a new feature where a support character has a chance of performing a team-up attack or defensive manoeuvre. World map--enter battles and stock up inventories at your leisure. Special Skills--fine-tune your characters and turn the tide of battle with various character Skills. A setting for everyone--Lunatic difficulty for loonies and Casual mode for light users. Marriage--Make playable characters get married and have children. First Fire Emblem title to offer paid downloadable content, in the form of new maps and episodes and characters from previous titles.

• The Iwata Asks interview already hinted at this, but there is a difficulty level above Lunatic.
• As well as stocking rare items, travelling merchants will also sell regular ware at a discounted price.
  
• Characters who can marry can obtain an "S" level support, which is the highest level of support.
• The confession scenes only occur for My Unit and his/her partner and, in true monogamous fashion, you can only view one of these scenes per playthrough.
  
• The first paid DLC map is modelled after Chapter 1 of Shadow Dragon.
• Various illustrators will be providing artwork for future sets of paid DLC.
  

Today's focus is on unit classes. Further details can be found in the Classes page.

• Villagers count as a special class, like the Manakete, Taguel and Dancer, and are neither non-promoted or promoted.
  
• Sorcerers can only wield Tomes (including Dark magic).
• Great Lord, Krom's promoted class, is a foot-based class that can wield Swords and Lances.
• Assassins can wield both Swords and Bows.
• Griffon Knights wield Axes only.
• My Unit's promoted class (shown above) is officially known as the Grandmaster.
• Valkyries can wield both Tomes and Staves.
  

Another Story: Spirit Talisman 1 Krom finds himself lost in another world, where he meets an ageing fortune teller who can use talismans to summon lost spirits. When a battle breaks out, the fortune teller aids Krom by summoning...? Reward: Hero King Marth's Talisman Difficulty: 1 star

Fauder A warlock who wields dark magic. He is the leader of the Evil Dragon-worshipping Gimle Cult.

	Valhart A conqueror who dominated the Continent of Varm by force. He hates losing and turning his back to an enemy over all things. Although he oppresses all who oppose him, he possesses the charisma required to rule a nation.
	Tiki A divine dragon who has existed since the era of legends. The divine dragon-worshipping nation of Varm revere her as the "Divine Dragon Priestess". Although usually calm, she shows signs of being a little girl on rare occasions.

• Character profiles for Valhart, Tiki, Sairi, Gaia and Sariya (see the Characters page for further details).
• Only opposite-gender characters can get married. It seems Nintendo's wording of "My Unit can marry any character" had some people wonder about this.
• Married couples can have children and these children can fight alongside them in battle.
  

(Credits to TheEnd for the profile translations)

• There are two continents in Awakening--the Continent of Iris where Krom lives and the Continent of Varm, to the far west.
• Valhart is the emperor of the Varm Empire.
• Tiki, the divine dragon princess from Shadow Dragon and Mystery of the Emblem, returns all grown up.
• My Unit's promoted class is "Master Tactician". He/she can also use the Change Seal to change to almost every class, excluding special classes like the Taguel.
• The Everyone's Room feature functions similarly to the Everyone's Conditions feature in New Mystery of the Emblem. From the battle preparations screen, players can visit their allies outside of the battlefield and see how they're faring. Rewards include experience points, items (such as Eirika's Swift-sword) and improved relationships.
• Dark Magic exists as subcategory of Tomes. Dark Mages can wield Dark Magic, but Dark Knights cannot.
  

Nintendo Channel & official site (4th April)

From Nintendo Channel:

• Sariya can be seen wielding a Flux tome. So despite all magic tomes being classified under a single Tome category, it looks like there will still be dark magic tomes.
• Dancers, like Olivia, can wield swords.
• It is possible to make playable characters get married, such as My Unit and Sumia.
  
• Sumia can have a daughter named Cynthia.

Finally, as promised, the second part of the Iwata Asks interview was added to the official site.

• Marriage makes a valiant return from Genealogy of the Holy War.
• It seems certain pairs of characters can get married and My Unit is fortunate enough to be able to marry any playable character.
• Every character has their own "confession" scene, with a special illustration (like Liz in the above image) and voiced dialogue.
• Somebody wanted to add kiss scenes for every character, but the idea didn't make it through. However there is something very close to this idea that did (making babies?).
• The idea of adding downloadable content was put forward towards the very end of the game's production. At the time of the interview, the developers have just started work on the DLC.
• SpotPass teams, which contain returning characters, will be sent almost daily and there will be 120 teams in total (so 120 returning characters!).
• During battles, as well as the Normal Camera and Fixed Camera, there is a 1st Person Perspective Camera, which was added to take advantage of the 3D effect.
  

	Tiamo A member of Iris's Pegasus Knight squad. A close friend of Sumia since their childhood, she's a genius who carries out most tasks flawlessly. She hides forbidden feelings towards a certain person. Her class is Pegasus Knight.
	Anna The mysterious travelling merchant. As one would expect from a merchant, she's friendly and polite. She loves gold and rich customers. Her class is Trickster.

• Character profiles for Gangrel, Inverse, Tiamo, Donny and Anna (see the Characters page for further details).
• Detailed information on 12 special Skills (see the Skills list when it's updated).
• In StreetPass mode you can create a team of 10 characters, including My Unit, dubbed "My Team". After passing another Awakening player, their My Team may appear on your world map as a green unit. After battling this team or purchasing items from them, the team will disappear from the map, but may reappear again later.
• After receiving SpotPass data for Awakening, a Download Box will appear within the game, which contains options to download teams, items, maps and enemy teams for the Dual Tag mode. The downloaded teams will appear on the world map like other players' StreetPass teams and you can obtain returning characters, such as Ira, by defeating these teams.

(Credits to TheEnd for the profile translations)

• Anna, the series mascot, can be recruited. Her starting class is Trickster.
• Normally, enemies will appear randomly on the world map, but there is a special item called a Scented Box that can summon enemies to a specific location chosen by you.
• When forging weapons, it seems each stat can be increased a maximum of five intervals (for Might, one interval raises the stat by 1) and there is a maximum of eight intervals overall (so you can increase Might by 3 intervals and Critical by 5 intervals, but no more than that).
• Falcon Knights can wield staves as well as lances. Villagers have pitiful stats, but may have potential... Tricksters gain staves in addition to swords.
• When certain conditions have been fulfilled, green spots will appear on the map, where you can enter sidequest chapters. Donny is recruited in Sidequest 1. Anna also seems to be a sidequest character.
  

• Returning characters can be recruited via SpotPass. Ira, a popular character from Genealogy of the Holy War, returns as a Swordmaster with great stats (see above image).
• The returning characters' squads include themselves and several Other-Worlders, who you must defeat before you can recruit them to your team.
  
• Rare items that can be purchased from SpotPass squads include Beast Killer and Rexcalibur.

• Callum, a Knight, can use a Master Seal to promote to a General or Great Knight. He can also use a Change Seal to switch to a Thief or a Priest. If he uses a Master Seal as a Thief, he can promote to an Assassin or Trickster, and if he's a Priest, he can promote to a Battle Monk or Sage. Additionally, when he's at a high enough Level in a promoted class, he can use the Change Seal to switch to all of the non-promoted and promoted classes available to him (except his current class).
  
• Soiree's class options are: [Cavalier -> Paladin or Great Knight (initial branch)] or [Myrmidon -> Assassin or Swordmaster] or [Dracoknight -> Dragonmaster or Gryphon Knight]
• Nono's class options are: [Manakete (initial branch)] or [Mage -> Sage or Dark Knight] or [Dracoknight -> Dragonmaster or Gryphon Knight]
• Serge can learn the Hot Start and Sword Slayer Skills as a Dragonmaster, the Miracle and Healing Heart Skills as a Cleric and the Magic Cry and Magic Expert Skills as a Sage.
  

	Basilio The Western King of the militant nation of Feria, he respects those with valour. He often acts and speaks in a silly way, but possesses the strength befitting of his position.
	Flavia Basilio's counterpart, the Eastern Queen of Feria. A brave, heroic and strong-minded woman. She and Basilio are rivals.
	Velvet A beast warrior not tied to any kingdom. The last surviving member of the Taguels, a race able to shape-shift into rabbits. A cool woman with a strong sense of duty. Her class is Taguel.
	Viole A noble from some country. While he acts friendly, his words and actions make his grace and refinement somewhat clear. His class is Archer.

• The classes a character can change to, via the Change Seal, are restricted by the character's personality and upbringing.
• Ronku, a Myrmidon, can use the Change Seal to become a Thief.
• Vake, who starts off as a Fighter, can use the Change Seal to change to a Thief or a Barbarian.
• After changing classes, special Skills are not lost, and characters can learn different Skills when they're in a different class.
• By changing class multiple times, characters can gain higher stats and have more Skills at their disposal.
  

(Credits to TheEnd for the translations)

• The Taguel shift into animal form by using a "Beast Stone".
• When Krom's homeland of Iris becomes under threat from Perezia, as well as the invading corpse soldiers, Krom decides to seek Feria's assistance. Unlike the peace-loving Iris, Feria is a militant nation that values strength over all things. Feria has two rulers--Flavia of the East and Basilio of the West--and their rulers are decided by their prowess in the grand fighting tournament.
  
• Pegasus Knights can promote to the Dark Pegasus, which gains the ability to wield offensive magic.
• Besides promoting to an upgraded class using a Master Seal, there is a second method of changing classes. When a character is Level 10 or higher in their non-promoted class or Level 1-9 in their promoted class, they may use a Change Seal item to switch to a different non-promoted class (eg. Knight). If the character is Level 10 or higher in their promoted class, the corresponding promoted classes (eg. Great Knight and General) will be added to the selection. Just like promoting, the classes you can switch to appear to be restricted.

• In the above image, Sumia, currently a Dark Pegasus, can use the Change Seal to switch to Great Knight, General, Falcon Knight, Battle Cleric, Sage, Knight and presumably Pegasus Knight and Cleric.
• Vake can learn the Mug Skill by changing to the Barbarian class.
• From one of the screenshots, it can be deduced that stats can exceed the norm of 30. Additionally, upon switching classes, the character's Level is reset to 1. So Change Seals may be a viable way of endlessly levelling up characters...
• Vake's available Skills include: HP +5, Movement +1, Gamble, Strength Cry, Mug, Picklock, Lucky 7, Fiery Heart and Sol.
  
• Swordmasters can acquire the Astra skill, which deals 5 consecutive strikes with half damage
• Assassins can obtain the Lethality skill, which instantly knocks out the enemy.
• Generals can learn the Defence Cry skill, which the player can trigger on the map and raises the Defence of all nearby allies.
• Weapons do not have a Weight stat, like in New Mystery of the Emblem.
  
• Further details on the "Passing My Unit" feature (see the Communications page).
  

Meanwhile, the official site has updated with a video showcasing the game's story and animation, the first part of an "Iwata Asks" interview and two new Nintendo points card designs (technically only one of them is new, since the other was already revealed during Nintendo Direct).

The interview is light on concrete details about the game, but includes plenty of interesting tidbits about the game's development.

• Yusuke Kozaki was originally sent an e-mail requesting him to draw 60 characters, from which he guessed the title was likely Fire Emblem, but Nintendo wouldn't confirm his suspicions.
• There were plans to stage the game in a completely new setting, such as a modern era "Fire Emblem 2011" or on the planet Mars.
• Towards the end of New Mystery of the Emblem's production, it was decided that the next game would be a "greatest hits" title, compiling the the best parts of previous titles.
  
• Characters can be trained endlessly, likely alluding to the Change Seal item mentioned in the latest issue of Famitsu.
• The term "Awakening" illustrates the developers' desire of creating a "greatest hits" game.

The next part of the interview is scheduled to be added during the first week of April.

On the official site side of things:

	Vake A Fighter who serves the vigilante force. He is Krom's childhood friend and the two sort of have a bond between them.
	Mariabel A member of the vigilante force and Liz's best friend. She is the daughter of an influential noble family within the Holy Kingdom of Iris. She has a proud and domineering personality, but is sweet to her friends. Her class is Troubadour.

• Character profiles for Marth, Sol, Soiree, Vake, Miriel, Richt and Mariabel (see the Characters page for further details).
• Krom is able to wield a Rapier and his Binding Blade Falchion is strong against dragon-type enemies.
• Magic (at least Elemental Magic) is still combined into a single Tomes category (seen in My Unit's status screen).
• Skills can be learned by levelling up.

Via Famitsu:

• Certain pairs of characters (such as Liz and Ronku) can develop "bonds" by fighting together. Once a bond has reached a suitable strength, a support conversation can be viewed before battle, further strengthening the characters' bond. The strength of the bond determines the level of support bonus for the Dual and Double systems and the stronger the bond, the higher the chance of performing a Dual Attack or Dual Guard.
  
• The new "Double" system allows two units to combine together on the map. It works in a similar manner to the Rescue feature in previous games, so you can use it to transport low movement units across the map or pull out characters from dangerous situations. Characters gain stat bonuses when carrying another unit, the bonuses increasing the stronger the bonds between the two characters, and the unit being carried will act as a support character, possibly allowing them to dish out Dual Attacks/Guards. Unlike the traditional Rescue command, the Double command is triggered by the unit to be carried and not the carrier. The carrier and carried can also switch roles on command.
  
• In Dual Tag mode, players take turns to act as the active character and support character. As a support character, they may perform Dual Attacks or Dual Guards. Winning Dual Tag battles nets you weapons, such as the Hammer, as rewards. I should also note that one of the weapons being used is Fin's Guard-lance.
  

(Credits to TheEnd for the translations)

• New classes include Battle Monk, Trickster and the shape-shifting Taguel.
• The Local Play "Dual Tag" mode seems to feature 2 players taking turns to pit one of their units against an enemy.
  
• StreetPass lets you fight against or play co-operatively with another player's team. According to the game, the enemy's team is stronger on higher difficulty levels, which implies you're dealing with  computer-controlled teams and not a human player. Additionally, if you win, you can recruit the enemy's leader to your team.
  
• Characters from previous Fire Emblem games (including Ira from Genealogy of the Holy War, Innes from The Sacred Stones and Clea from Gaiden) and rare items will be distributed via SpotPass. There are plans for additional content to be distributed this way as well.
• Paid downloadable content can be purchased from the Other-world Gate on the world map.
  

See also: previous section on Communication details.

(Credits to TheEnd for the translations)

Marth A swordsman who claims to be Marth, the Hero King of legends. He wields a sword that's similar to Krom's treasured sword, Falchion.

	Emelina Krom and Liz's elder sister, the current ruler and "Holy King" of the Holy Kingdom of Iris. She is said to be a peace-loving and kind-hearted queen.
	Frederick A knight serving the Holy Kingdom of Iris. He supports Krom as his deputy in the vigilante force. His class is Great Knight, a promoted unit who fights on a horse. Calm and collected, Frederick is a veteran who prefers guiding others and a great asset against powerful foes.
	Sumia A member of the vigilante force. She is a klutz and feels that she isn't up to the job because of it. Possesses the mysterious ability to understand the feelings of animals. Her class is Pegasus Knight; her mobility on a pegasus is her selling point.
	Callum An armoured Knight who serves the vigilante force. He is a front-line fighter, due to his great defence. However, he's sorely lacking in presence and isn't noticed even among his fighting peers. Will he ever make it into the spotlight...?
	Ronku A Myrmidon from the Kingdom of Feria, located to the north of Iris. He is a man with a cool personality, and keeps his feelings to himself. His skill with the sword is undeniable, but for some reason, the same can't be said about his interactions with women. How he joins Krom's group is still unknown.

Communication tidbits? (2nd March)

Nintendo hasn't officially mentioned any details about the game's Communication functions, but it seems Game Star, a Japanese retailer, knows a few things that we don't.

I probably wouldn't put down this info as 100% confirmed just yet and it's all extremely vague anyway, but here you go:

• "Dual Tag", fight together with another player through a wireless (local) connection.
• "Passing My Units", when another player's army pops up.
• Gaiden (sidequest) maps distributed via SpotPass.

(Credits to TheEnd for the translations)

Special Pack (1st March)

A limited edition Fire Emblem: Awakening Nintendo 3DS bundle, containing a copy of the game, a Fire Emblem: Awakening-themed Nintendo 3DS console and pre-paid points card, will be available exclusively through Nintendo of Japan's online store. See here for images.

Nintendo Direct information (22nd March)

• European release confirmed.
  
• Character illustrator is Yusuke Kozaki, of No More Heroes fame. I believe some Japanese fans and Marthur guessed this beforehand.
• The paid downloadable content includes new maps and new episodes. The first batch will be available free to download for a limited time, between 19th April to 31st May.
• Characters from previous Fire Emblem games will appear in the DLC scenarios.
  
• A original Nintendo pre-paid card will be sold, featuring Krom and a character who looks suspiciously like Marth.

	Krom The descendant of the Holy King who saved the world from the Evil Dragon. When the neighbouring nation of Perezia begins acting suspiciously, Krom commands the vigilante force to keep his country at peace. Krom is skilled with swords and wields his nation's treasured sword "Falchion" in battle. He is a man with a strong sense of justice and a crucial member of his squad.
	My Unit At the beginning of the story, Krom and Liz discover My Unit unconscious on the ground. It appears My Unit has lost their memory, but, to Krom's surprise, he/she know his name for some reason. Krom and Liz welcome My Unit into their vigilante force and he/she serves as their tactician. Their class is "Strategist", a unit well versed with swords and magic tomes.
	Liz Krom's sister and the princess of the Holy Kingdom of Iris. She is a member of Krom's vigilante force and a staff-wielding Cleric. She aids Krom in battle and has an important presence on the field. Although she appears to be naive of worldly goings-ons and sometimes acts like a spoilt princess, she is kind at heart. In the dialogue scenes, she exhibits a bright personality and, like Krom, a strong sense of justice.

• According to the game info box, the game will be single-player only (Note: this info is outdated).
• Weapon forging returns.
• Units: Over 40 classes feature in total, including Cavalier, Mage, Cleric and Strategist.
• Growth: Character stats are exactly the same as in recent games; characters have both Strength and Magic stats.
  
• Difficulty: Difficulty levels include Normal (for beginners), Hard and Lunatic (for super-experts).
• Classic and Casual: Casual (units return when they reach 0 HP and you can save your game at any time) and Classic mode (units remain dead) return.
• Merchants: These occasionally pop up on the world map and seem to sell a random assortment of items, including rare items such as the Rescue staff.
• World Map: Like merchants, enemies will appear randomly on the world map and you can choose to fight them or not.
• Dual System: When entering battle with a friendly unit positioned adjacent, the character being controlled will receive a support bonus, boosting their combat stats. Additionally, the other character will participate in battle as a "support character". "Dual Attack" lets the support character perform a follow-up attack, while "Dual Guard" offers defence against enemy attacks.
• Battles: In battle, the bottom screen displays a series of mysterious button options, which may be related to switching the camera and perspectives, as well as slowing down, pausing and fast-forwarding animations.
  

Looking closely at the game's logo, a piece of English text can be seen:

"Two sleeping dragons--one a sacred ally of mankind, the other its sworn destroyer. Two heroes marked with the symbols of the dragons. Their meeting heralds the dragons' awakening--and the world's ending."

This text seems to hint at the importance of the "Awakening" phrase in the game's title, as well as the mysterious mark on Krom's arm. Additionally, the story about the two dragons sounds suspiciously similar to something from Archanean lore, although Intelligent Systems does have a history of reusing ideas from previous FE stories.