I remember that Fire Emblem release well too. Most major retailers had huge shipment delays. I was a college freshman & working at a mall Hot Topic when it came out. Unsurprisingly, Hot Topic employees and GameStop employees got along real well. Every day, before my shift, I would go into the smaller GameStop (this mall had two for some reason) and ask if they had my pre-order yet.
This nice guy behind the counter always said, “sorry man, hopefully soon.” That same guy came into Hot Topic during my shift one day & I helped him find a My Chemical Romance 7″ single he had been looking for all month, but no other sales associate had any info. He was like “thanks so much, I really hope we get those Fire Emblem games in soon for ya.”
The next day I came in & that same guy was behind the counter. He practically screamed across the store when I waked through the entrance “DUDE WE FINALLY GOT IT, COME HERE LET ME RING YOU UP!!!!” & he gave me multiple high fives while I was making my purchase.
I also have story as to why I always went to that GameStop instead of the bigger one at the mall. A year prior, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning had just come out. I had pre-ordered it at the bigger GameStop just because it was closer to my store. When I went to pick it up, the guy at the register was like “don’t you play games for adults?” & I just shrugged and got real sad. Somehow I worked the nerve to ask if they had the pre-order stuffed animal that comes with the game, and the guy had no idea what I was talking about.
So I ran over to the smaller GameStop where I knew most of their staff because they shopped at my store a lot. I asked them if they had the pre-order stuffed animal because they other GameStop didn’t know about it and he pulls out the most adorable stuffed Yak I’ve ever seen & throws it at me. Then he’s like, “we only have Yaks but you can have another one if you want because you’re the only other person besides our entire staff who pre-ordered this game.” Everyone who worked at that small store was a truly cool & kind human so I hope they’re doing well wherever they are.