During this morning’s Nintendo Direct, strategy-RPG fans got their first look at the English version of Fire Emblem: Awakening.

The trailer shows some of the game’s cel-shaded CG cutscenes, along with a lot of gameplay. If you listen carefully, you can also hear a bit of the English version’s dubbing.

Fire Emblem: Awakening follows the story of Chrom as he battles his nation’s enemies. For the first time, the game also allows players to create and customize their own personal character. In addition, the game expands upon the “Support” system of previous games. By building relationships between the characters in Fire Emblem: Awakening, players can increase their combat potential, and allow multiple units to gang up on an enemy. For the romantically inclined, the characters can also get married.

The visual design is also quite striking, combining sprite-based maps with detailed, 3D battle scenes. This is supplemented by the previously mentioned cel-shaded CG cutscenes interspersed throughout the game.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is set to release in North America in early 2013.

Make sure you check out our full Nintendo Direct recap here. You can also watch the whole thing here.

What about Fire Emblem: Awakening gets you the most excited? Sound off in the comments.

Devin Kotani
Devin is a Canadian, and as such, plays hockey (no he doesn’t) and drinks maple syrup (not really) while riding a wild moose (he’s never seen a moose). When he’s not perpetuating cultural stereotypes, he’s playing videogames, which has been, on occasion, very bad for his mental health, problems with which have plagued him for years. Now, at 20, he’s getting his mental health issues under control, and he’s trying to decide what to do with his life. He’s currently debating between journalism and trying his hand at the dramatic arts.