>>20094519I just don't feel like having improved chatter between units makes up for a lack of a compelling story, and the few minor improvements in the gameplay don't make up for the many mechanics that were inferior. Reclassing was great for artificially lengthening the experience to keep people playing long enough to shove DLC down their throats, but overall the chapters and what you did during them felt less meaningful than the other games. I play the other FE games like a long Roguelike session, where every factor such as experience, gold, weapons, and supports are spent to make the best playthrough possible. The replayablility in older games was high because there were so many varied ways to spend these resources to get a new experience every time you play. In Awakening, the dominant strategies were so dominant that anything else feels pointless. In Lunatic, you can't get past the first few chapters without playing Frederick Emblem, and after that you can't even progress unless you grind or get extremely lucky with Frederick's level ups. The fact that you can jump out and grind, and the fact that it's encouraged and IS makes money off of it makes it feel like the experience is compromised somehow.
It comes down to personal preference, however. I've played every game in the series, and Awakening represents a shift that puts more emphasis on things I don't like instead of what I do. I would only recommend it to people who have played at least a few FEs before it, since Awakening has very little in common with the rest of the series.
