I’ll admit, when I first started this bracket, I saw match-ups on it that I was pretty sure about before I did any analysis. In my mind, Rock Band 2 was never going to beat Kingdom Hearts 2, as good of a game as it is. Still, that was among the first round.
Now we have a match-up that I have no idea how it’s going to turn out. Both are fantastic games that are similar enough to compare relatively well, but different enough that no clear victor comes to mind easily. Suffice it to say, this will be a close one.
VS
Single-Player Gameplay
Fire Emblem is so much fun. There’s so much strategy involved. It’s amazing to watch your character get saved at the last minute by an ally or to tank an entire group of enemies using nothing but Donnel with Sol. There really isn’t much left to say that hasn’t already been said. It’s just great.
Breath of the Wild, departing from many of the traditional Zelda staples, is also a blast to play. It’s not just the combat (which is great) or the puzzles (which are great). I even have fun simply climbing mountains (assuming there’s no rain!!!). Building up a collection of weapons or shield surfing are just a few of the ways that this game goes above and beyond.
What ultimately puts Breath of the Wild over Awakening is the variety that Breath of the Wild has to offer. Awakening may do it’s one thing better than anything that Breath of the Wild does, but all of Breath of the Wild’s elements are right behind Awakening.
Point: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Multiplayer Gameplay
Like I mentioned before, the question for this is “which game is more entertaining to watch?”. I say that because, while Awakening may technically have a multiplayer mode, it’s not really anything noteworthy.
Awakening is pretty fun to watch, especially if you understand the game. Rooting for someone to not die is pretty nice. Breath of the Wild, on the other hand, has the element of beauty that, alongside the genuine fun of the game, adds to the enjoyment of watching someone play.
Awakening can easily get stale to watch if the game is too difficult or too easy for whoever is playing. Breath of the Wild can be slow if whoever is playing doesn’t have an idea of what they want to do. All in all, I think that I’d honestly enjoy watching Breath of the Wild more, just because Awakening ends in resets a lot.
Point: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Atmosphere
Hyrule is just so beautiful in Breath of the Wild. There’s a world full of characters that I really love. While my wife thought Revali was just an annoying twerp, I actually really enjoyed him and all the Champions. Zelda’s voice actress was on point. But what really stands Breath of the Wild out is the world that it creates. You explore (and even help create) towns. You climb mountains and save villages.
Awakening just doesn’t have the ability to create a world like Breath of the Wild does. What it does have, however, is many more characters that are arguable better. Chrom’s sense of trust and duty are well written. Robin seems every bit as smart as the game portrays him. Tharja is creepy, Lissa is adorable, so on and so forth. And in the end, that’s what makes the game have a better atmosphere. The story is more engaging and the characters are more lovable. Don’t get me wrong, this was really close (as are all of these categories), but Awakening takes the cake.
Point: Fire Emblem Awakening
Replay Value
Replay value for single-player games often comes down to variety. And at face value, Breath of the Wild has this in the bag, since there are so many more things to do and an added difficulty mode to throw plenty into the mix. The game also isn’t linear, so there are many different ways to play the game over.
There are several reasons, however, why Awakening takes the cake on this one. First of all, there are also several different difficulties to try on Awakening. More importantly, the huge cast and children mechanics highly incentivize giving the game another playthrough or two. Third, the huge expanse of Breath of the Wild can seem very daunting for another playthrough unless there is much time between playthroughs. That’s not to say that Breath of the Wild doesn’t put up a great fight. Awakening just puts up a better one.
Point: Fire Emblem Awakening
Miscellaneous
I really wished that this contest would have a clear victor before the miscellaneous category so that I didn’t have to come up with some unique way to decide the victor. Both games are near perfection. Which deserves to go on to the finals?
To give some insight into the process of writing these blogs, I want you to know that I just stared at my screen for awhile looking at that question. I thought of arguments one way or another. Going back and forth over and over again… Well, it’s time to make a decision.
I think the question that I have to come back to is “which game would I recommend first?”. Awakening is far more of niche market, far more specialized of gameplay than Breath of the Wild. Breath of the Wild, on the other hand, can easily be more overwhelming. As much as I want to give this to both games, I’d have to give it to Breath of the Wild. I’d likely recommend it first because it’s far less specialized in its gameplay. Plus, it’s just a giant of a game for arguably my favorite franchise of all time.
Point: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Conclusion
Man, that was hard. I felt like I was choosing a favorite child or something. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Breath of the Wild handles the finals. I’m going to go apologize to my Fire Emblem children now.
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