"awake" is the main theme of Shining Force CROSS ELYSION, a Japan-exclusive arcade RPG developed by SEGA and released in 2012 as the third entry in the Shining Force CROSS series. The song was composed by SEGA AM2 SOUND, arranged by Daniel OK, with lyrics by Mayumi Ōnishi and vocals by Asami Shimoda (下田麻美), a voice actress and singer known for roles such as Kagami Hiiragi in Lucky Star and Akiyama Mio in The iDOLM@STER. "awake" was added to the maimai arcade rhythm game as a launch title for maimai GreeN on July 11, 2013, under the GAME & VARIETY (ゲーム＆バラエティ) category. In-game, the track uses the game's opening cinematic as its video backdrop, immersing players in the fantasy world of the Shining Force series. Over the life of the platform, the song's in-game genre classification shifted multiple times, from GAME to SEGA and ORIGINAL during the pre-DX era, before settling back to GAME & VARIETY in the DX era, reflecting its status as a SEGA arcade crossover property. The MASTER chart, designed by はっぴー (Happy) at level 13.2, stands as the most demanding of the four available difficulties, while the EXPERT chart was designed by mai-Star.