Fire Emblem: Awakening

Though not recommended, fighting while sliding downhill is the preferred method by Irizians.

The latest installation of military strategist fantasy series "Fire Emblem" made it's debut on the 3DS in Japan last month.  It was an instant hit with the action/RPG crowd as interest in Monster Hunter Tri(3G) began to dwindle - it sold a quarter million in it's first week.(Vgchartz)  U.S. fans of the series emitted simultaneous squeals of joy and moans of death as Dear Leader Reggie Fils-Aime, at last month's E3, gingerly announced it would be released stateside in 2013 but failed to give a specific date.

While not the first jaunt into 3D (Gamecube's Path of Radiance takes that honor), it does herald the beginning of a myriad of new features to the franchise.

• The new Dual System allows a chance for units to attack together given a certain amount of affection has been reached between them.  In addition, they will be given stat boosts that stack as more allied units surround them.  
• A landmark to the series is the addition of a commandable personal unit.  In the past, the "player" has assumed the role of a speechless tactician who, through interacting with the main lord, plays their own part in the story.  Imagine if every main character was Timmy's father and you played as Lassie "What's that?  Timmy fell down the well?  And he's surrounded by dragon-riders?"  The new customizable unit actually has scripts and interacts with almost every character in a way dependent on how you created them (a tough guy, a young girl, etc.)
• CHANGE CLASS ORBS!  I can't stress how awesome these are.  In the past you only had one track that your character could be on.  Advancing to the master class would require a master orb.  Now you can change any character to (almost) any class using the change class orbs.  After certain requirements are met, you can purchase an indefinite amount from the shops.

At Game Bunka, we'll keep you updated on the status of the release date.  Until then, you can check out my other blog as I slowly translate pieces from the game.