10 Greatest JRPGs Of All Time
8. Fire Emblem: Awakening
The entry that saved the franchise, Awakening is the personal favorite of so many Fire Emblem fans for good reason.
Fire Emblem Awakening is the tale of Robin, a tactician who wakes up in a field with her soon-to-be best friend/potential love interest, Prince Chrom. Member of the Kingdom of Ylisse - and there are alternate gender options if you prefer - he's there to welcome her to the world.
Robin decides to join his ragtag team of soldiers, scholars and mercenaries known as the Shepards, at first due to not having anything better to do with her time, but soon out of genuine camaraderie.
Turns out, this couldn't have come at a better time, as the political tension between Ylisse and her neighbors begins boiling over. Legions of undead magic zombies known as the Risen emerge, and a mysterious stranger named Marth appears who seems to know far more than they're letting on.
The story of Awakening is one of the best in the entire franchise, but gameplay also saw massive improvement. The pairing system revolutionized the way the player interacts with - and prioritizes - their units, turning off permadeath opened the doors for mainstream acceptance, and the ability to sire children with boosted stats added a whole new dimension to the latter half of the game.