Trying to raise a full army like in any other FE just doesn't work, you pretty much have to lowman the game with Robin and maybe 1 or 2 other units, but I didn't realize how bad it was until I was like halfway through the game and it made the experience a massive slog. The game's difficulty comes mostly from ridiculous stat inflation on the enemies combined with massive enemy spam and dumb same turn reinforcements. The random risen battles are no joke but necessary (much like Rescue training) when re-classing 10+ units 2-3 times for skills, and while not a cakewalk like “Hard” it’s also not so ridiculous as Lunatic+ where most maps I tried had me resetting for favorable enemy skillsets before starting. The caveat to all of this is that I only consider Awakening worth playing on Lunatic while either skipping or saving all DLC maps for the post-game.

It respects your time throughout, has a respectable suite of options, and while neither the story nor characters are anything to write home about both kept me motivated to see the journey through to the end.

Thanks to pair-up, I could invest in 10 characters while only having to move 5 each turn, halving the amount of time I spend moving units without limiting roster access.Īwakening is also pretty snappy all-around getting you right to battles from the world map and skippable cutscenes, animations, and even enemy movement. Mapping out class paths for specific skill builds had me frequently considering which unit to focus exp on and resulted in challenges like getting all of Galeforce on Sumia, Renewal on Lissa, and Ignis on Robin by chapter 13. I know they’re generally regarded as a misstep or game-breaking, but I find pair-up and infinite re-classing incredibly rewarding mechanics on Lunatic for progression and quick battles.

Dark and darker lunatic fire emblem