[3DS] Fire Emblem Fates (Fire Emblem If) review

[MrKirov]

I love a bit of Fire Emblem. I find stuff like Disgaea too complex, with too many systems. Fire Emblem and Vandal Hearts suit me perfectly!

[briareos_kerensky]

Spent some time on the other side of the fence, engaging in the first missions of Hoshido (Birthright in the west).
The difference is almost staggering: in Nohr/Conquest you get an handful of units, each of its own class; in Hoshido you get a lot of units, including two pegasus riders, two healers, and several ranged characters (including some from completely new classes); even if you couple everyone together, you end up with more combat than with Nohr. Not only that, you have almost invariably the same unit count as the opponents and right now those have been humans, rather than the monsters in Nohr.
With Hoshido you get immediately side-missions, so you can level up as you see fit, and the base has more options from the start. Judging from these differencies, I'll enjoy Nohr more. I'm not saying that Hoshido is bad, but with so many units it takes ages to move everyone and you can't really get which unit is good or not, as many new units joined my army at level 3 when everyone was around level 8...it's the kind of problems that many late game units suffered in Awakening, only that here it happens within the first two hours of the game.

And finally, some footage from both sides.

[briareos_kerensky]

Japan got a third scenario for Fire Emblem Fates, called Invisible Kingdom.
This path is taken as a third choice at mission 6, and your avatar follows Aqua (Azure in the west) in a mysterious place, chosing not to ally with Nohr or Hoshido.
This path is much harder than the other two, you start off with three units (you, Aqua, the usual maid) and the enemies you face are plentiful and strong, plus maps are more elaborate with a lot of of choke points and nasty enemy placement.

[briareos_kerensky]

Time to update with impressions of the US release, mostly based on the Nohr campaign...or the "Onii-chan side", as it should be called.
The Nohr campaign is much closer to FEs of yore, with very little chance of grinding levels: there are 28 story missions and about half the Paralogues. Paralogues are unlocked if a specified character reaches S Support with someone; in other words, if he or she has kids. Kids return in Fates through a plot point that seems kinda forced and it's not as central as it was in Awakening, but shipping characters is still a prominent part of the game.

As a faction Nohr uses classes seen in previous FE games, like knights, wyvern rides, Mercenaries, and Archers; weapons are the standard lances, swords, axes, fire and thunder tomes; Hoshido gets fancy classes named after Japanese culture (Onmiouji, Shrine Maidens, Kishi Riders, etc.) and matching weapons (katanas, naginatas, different magics), though they still work as usual FE weapons; each faction has a general leaning, with Nohr focused more on brute, close range force while Hoshido is nimbler and with more ranged attackers.

Missions with Nohr are more complex, often with a larger number of enemies and lower deployment number; maps tend to favour enemies as well, and compared to previous FEs they are much more complex. Not only royal characters can use Dragon Veins to change maps (draining channels, flattening hills, opening/closing passageways), but there are more map hazards as well, like wind currents that move characters around or caltrops that can only be cleared by characters with the Locktouch ability. This little touch is one of the many to revamp classes and give them a broader usefulness, as before thieves were just there to open chests and doors.
Rebalancing also hit the coupling mechanic, now incredibly toned down compared to Awakening. In Awakening you would couple units and the couple will double attack and block incoming damage, effectively removing some weaknesses inherent to certain classes. In FE Fates single unit in adjacent tiles will only attack, while paired units won't get an attack from the secondary unit but that unit might shield the primary from attacks; both formations will still get bonuses based on relationship level and special skills.

The biggest change overall is that all weapons, with the exception of staves (Heal, Mend, Rescue, etc) and healing items (Vulneraries, Concoctions, Elixirs, etc), are no longer destructible. Rather than just being more powerful, each weapon class (Bronze, Iron, Steel, Silver) has different capabilities: bronze weapons aren't particularly strong but give the best to-hit percentage while reducing the opponent's chance to hit with a counter, silver weapons hit hard but decrease the user's speed and are harder to aim. Due to this change weapons are more expensive and gold is not as bountyful as before, and actually gives reasons to use low-level weapons throughout the game because they limit an opponent's abilities.

Certain classes, mostly healers and Dancers, are still a pain to bring up to level 20, and Nohr also lacks decent mages. You get two characters that start out as one and neither of them is that great; in fact, magic in general has been toned down more than a notch (especially from Awakening), with more importance given to Archers. There aren't many playable characters that start out as fliers (either Pegasus or Wyvern Riders), but the overabundance of quality archers in the game really limits the appeal of these classes; on a side note, males can now become Pegasus Riders as well.

For a FE game productions values are through the roof, further improving on Awakening. There are more battle animations, with a wider variety of attacks for weapon types, backdrops now take into account the sorrounding elements (rather than showing generic land/mountain/city/fortress backdrops), there are four point of views, and...you can strip clothes. Certain weapons can destroy someone's armour: this doesn't diminish the affected unit's stats, but it works in conjunction with certain units' special skills. Characters can also equip up to four accessories to give them extra damage and defence in castle battles. Complete armour destruction is rare (mostly because people die before), though there are "joke" weapons like the Disrobing Gale magical tome.

Players can create their avatars as well as their castles. Castles work as a central hub where to buy weapons and engage in different activities, provided you built the correct building. By clearing missions players get Dragon Points that can be used to either build new structures or upgrade existing ones. Shops aside, there's a Mess Hall (cook to get your army bonuses), an Arena (bet resources on fights), various spots to mine gems and collect vegetables, and more. A castle can only produce one kind of gem and vegetable, others must be collected by visiting other castles; while there you can also shop in different stores, leave feedback on your host's castle, or battle them. Battles are still against an AI and don't give experience (they do build up relationship levels), where the attacking player must either seize the defender's throne or route his/her army. Nohr and Hoshido get different buildings and resources.

Each side is shorter and with a smaller scope than Awakening, but combined (and not counting Revelation) they are much, much bigger. The various map and unit twists make Fates more enjoyable than Awakening as well, though story and characters are a bit less engaging: I've found my character to be a bit too good for its own good, giving orders not to kill enemy soldiers, and too much the center of attention of the whole main cast. I get the story is written to be that way, but it's a bit too anime-ish...or recent-anime-ish...for my liking. Still a great game though.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Today is the last day to purchase this on 3DS eShop if you haven't already.

Conquest, Birthright and Revelation DLC will remain on eShop until its closure at end of March.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/02/reminder-today-is-your-last-chance-to-get-fire-emblem-fates-on-3ds-eshop