Fire Emblem: Awakening

[Maelstrom]

Is that an in-game mode? Or are we talking about playing it casually?

The mode that turns off permadeath. It's not really Fire Emblem without permadeath

And I completely hear you on Monster Hunter. Personally, I love it, but I can completely understand someone being intimidated by the sheer amount of things to learn. If you thought that was hard, never play Dwarf Fortress. (Google it. We don't need to derail yet another topic)

[SlowPokemon]

Is that an in-game mode? Or are we talking about playing it casually?

Either way, it takes me a while to warm up to anything not Mario or Pokemon, so I'll play it for a bit and then come back to it. Plus, it's gotta be easy for me at the start, otherwise I'll get frustrated and not pick up again. Which reminds me, Monster Hunter... *shudder*

Casual Mode is a choice you're given at the beginning, recommended for people who have never played Fire Emblem, that makes it so that when characters die, they don't die permanently (unlike all other Fire Emblem games, which kill off characters permanently when they die in battle).

Ninja'd, but I'll keep it in case he didn't know what "permadeath" meant.

[Nebbles]

Casual is great for beginners, it's what I did my first run so I could learn how the game works. Now it's classic mode, of course, since I know what to do. But I will gladly answer any questions you have! I love rambling about Fire Emblem.

[fingerz]

...Hahaha! About that... 

I'm sure after I've played the game once, I'll have a go on it with permadeath. I'd have no one left if I had that mode on at the moment... XD

[Maelstrom]

Imo, casual mode should not be recommended to new players. It really takes away the constant threat of losing a unit; a feeling that makes the series so great. A new player can't get the full Fire Emblem experience if they refuse to step outside their comfort zone.

[SlowPokemon]

I have two friends that are obsessed with Fire Emblem and have never played a game besides Awakening, and they both tell me to do Classic Mode or I'm not "really" playing Fire Emblem. I'll probably end up resetting the battle whenever a character dies but that's still a lot of pressure to get it right the first time.

[Yugi]

Oh, you guys reset your games when a unit died?

You can do that?

[Nebbles]

Yup. I reset the maps if a unit dies. I mean, you can get REALLY unlucky with the RNG sometimes and losing a unit is awful. Why would you let anyone die?

[Maelstrom]

I have two friends that are obsessed with Fire Emblem and have never played a game besides Awakening, and they both tell me to do Classic Mode or I'm not "really" playing Fire Emblem. I'll probably end up resetting the battle whenever a character dies but that's still a lot of pressure to get it right the first time.

That's what I do. L+R+Start+Select gives a soft reset, btw. And it really is a lot of pressure. It makes you think things through twice, calculate your risks, and form complex strategies. That's what I love about Fire Emblem. Granted, I did not start with Awakening and have really only beaten Sacred Stones (+60% of 7 and 40% of Shadow Dragon (uggggggghhhh)), but I still consider it part of the core experience. You should hear the really hardcore FE fans and how they rant about how Awakening is a disgrace to the franchise by introducing Casual mode. It's really quite a sight to see. They fail to see just how good the presentation is.
 But I still want weapon weight and the magic triangle back

[Nebbles]

I want the magic triangle back, too. :c

[mikey]

so characters that are part of the story die and don't come back to life after a battle?

[Maelstrom]

so characters that are part of the story die and don't come back to life after a battle?

Well, in every FE game, it's an automatic game over if a lord falls in battle. That extends to Robin for Awakening. As for other characters, this is skirted by not having the characters die. They are simply wounded and can not fight for you again. But they may provide necessary dialogue if needed in places. It's kind of necessary so the child units don't wink out of existence or anything.

[fingerz]

Imo, casual mode should not be recommended to new players. It really takes away the constant threat of losing a unit; a feeling that makes the series so great. A new player can't get the full Fire Emblem experience if they refuse to step outside their comfort zone.

I dunno. If I played it that way first up, I'd put it down very quickly and never pick it up again. Too much stuff to take in... XD

[Nebbles]

New players still need to get used to the gameplay, though, so I don't think there's anything wrong with letting them play on casual until they really know what they're doing.

[Maelstrom]

New players still need to get used to the gameplay, though, so I don't think there's anything wrong with letting them play on casual until they really know what they're doing.

You have a point. But did you or I have any trouble when we first started? You are underestimating new players, imo.
And there's no way to switch halfway through and few people, especially casual players, are going to replay it on classic.