The Fire Emblem series has had years of ups and downs, culminating with 2014’s Awakening literally saving the franchise. Awakening brought the battle-strategy game into the next generation with updated mechanics, stunning visuals and a compelling story.
So how can Nintendo and the Fire Emblem team top one of the best 3DS games in recent memory? Simple. Keep everything that made Awakening so great and add an epic narrative with stunning visuals packed into two separate stories.
STORY
Minor localization controversies aside, the story of Fire Emblem Fates is not complicated but makes for an enjoyable experience.
Your character is in the midst of war between two kingdoms but as fate would have it, the family/kingdom you know is not all that it seems. This is the hook of Fire Emblem Fates and what separates the Conquest and Birthright storylines.
Without giving too much away, the choice you must make is the classic nature vs nurture argument and Fates makes either side desirable to play. During your first playthrough it may seem like a no-brainer to choose Birthright, the story and characters of Conquest are so likeable the choice is a really difficult one to make.
Ultimately you’ll want to play both versions to get the entire picture and to challenge yourself in different ways.
Conquest is the harder moral choice and the battles are actually more difficult than in Birthright. There are less opportunities to level up and strengthen your team and you’ll be hard-pressed to keep everyone who joins your team alive -- if you decide to play in Classic Mode. While your choice to stay with the family that raised you seems like a stretch, I couldn’t help but feel at peace with my choice as I grew closer to my adoptive siblings and to the people I met along the way.
While players will be able to see the villain and ultimate conclusion coming, there are enough clever twists and turns to the story that you’ll have an amusing experience. The visuals in the cut scenes and the battle animations make the story even more enjoyable and pleasing to the eyes. Fates shows that a handheld game can be visually beautiful without sacrificing gameplay or story.
It’s the journey not the destination that makes Fates so fun, although the destination is very satisfying.
GAMEPLAY
Fire Emblem Fates’ gameplay is exactly the same as Awakening. That’s not a bad thing. You maneuver your troops like chess pieces across different maps and try to complete different mission tasks. While you’ll be tasked with defeating a boss and their army along the way, Fates differentiates each chapter’s objectives enough to keep you on your toes.
The layout of the maps differs in every chapter and as you progress through the story, you will have to change up your tactics to make the most of every stage. You’ll be met with poisonous traps, mountains and frozen lakes that you and your crew will have to traverse to meet your objectives.
Fates adds a new wrinkle to the gameplay with the introduction of Dragonsvein that only your character and the royal family have access. This ability allows for you to change the landscape of the map, opening possibilities of how to complete each chapter.
What’s enjoyable about Fates is there is no one way to go about each chapter. There are little mini objectives in each map that, if you choose, you can complete. You’ll normally be rewarded with more gold, adding a new ally to your team or receiving rare items/weapons.
Battling in Fates is the same like in past Fire Emblem games so if you’re an experienced player you’ll be able to jump right in and play. If this is your first Fire Emblem game, you’ll definitely need to pick up on how to fight quick or you’ll see a lot of game overs. Fates does not do a very good job of explaining what a Fire Emblem game is, or how it works, to those who are new to the franchise.
For those who are new or are returning to the franchise after a long time, they won’t learn about the different intricacies of the battle system. How terrain and weapon types affect battle and what stats like SKILL, SPEED and MIGHT actually do.
But keeping the simplicity of the red, blue and green cycle of Awakening instead of the sword, ax, staff mechanic helps anyone trying to fight in Fates.
There’s a lot to process and you’ll learn as you go along, but Fates could definitely have made it easier to understand.
VERDICT
Fire Emblem Fates is the best Nintendo 3DS game of 2016, so far, and it’ll be hard for anything releasing this year to beat it. The story alone makes this a must-own game that can rival any console game and the visuals are stunning for a handheld system.
While new players to the Fire Emblem franchise may find it daunting to battle, it’s a rewarding experience once you get the hang of it and is a great test of strategy.
And there’s more to Fates than the story and battling, you’ll be putting hours into romancing your ideal companion and building up your personal castle to invade your friends’ strongholds that this game is a must-buy for owners of the 3DS.
I also highly recommend purchasing the special edition that comes with both games and the Revelations DLC that will be released in March.
