Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright

A great game that ultimately becomes less than what it could have been due to external circumstances is a damned tragedy. While the core gameplay of Fire Emblem: Fates remains intact and enjoyable, the poorly conceived release model, along with a predictable story that feels incomplete holds it back from true greatness.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is a sensible evolution of the series and a definite must-play for fans of the long-running franchise, especially those who enjoyed Awakening.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is an absolute delight to play, from the battlefield to the bedroom. If you loved its predecessor Awakening, you'll enjoy the heightened tension and intimacy imbued in every moment of Birthright. Between the strategy, the dating sim elements, the can't-help-but-swoon-over-it melodrama and some truly gorgeous visuals and music, you can overlook things like repetitive maps and cringeworthy-dumb parts of the writing.

In that sense, as a stand-alone title Fire Emblem: Fates: Birthright is not a particularly good game, though it's not a bad one either. It's an above-average tactical RPG with excellent production value and moderately good gameplay scenarios, but it feels surprisingly one-note and dissatisfying if taken on its own merits as a self-contained game.

It tricked me into falling in love with its cast of characters and then made me weigh their lives against the fate of the world over and over again. Birthright is a grueling, fantastic experience that not only matches the quality of its predecessor but possibly outshines it as well, more than earning its place at the table of must-play strategy/RPGs.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is a fantastic balance of tactical challenge and accessibility. Even after I finished the story, I found myself returning to the battlefield again and again to unlock more conversations between friends and test my army’s might against Nohr’s finest. I’m addicted to Fire Emblem Fates, and that’s fine by me.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is a great followup to the amazing Fire Emblem: Awakening. The story is solid, the tactical combat is great, if simplistic in this version, and the characters are wonderfully endearing. The game excels in providing options, letting players tailor how they want to experience this world. If you care more or equally about the romance and social aspects of Fire Emblem, this is the version you should be playing.

We could probably have spent even more words telling you about what's on offer in Fire Emblem Fates, and we'll no doubt spend countless hours more in the game as we still have some missions left in Conquest and then need to take on what promises to be an interesting DLC campaign in Revelations. This is another great outing for the series.

While not a bad game, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is one of the biggest disappointments in the series in years. It manages to have more map variety than the previous instalment, but it's pitifully lacking in every other regard. Even with better map design, it's so poorly balanced that the hardest difficulty feels less like a challenge of skill and more like an endurance match of how long certain units can go without being used before frustration kicks in.

As a result, Birthright is there specifically to fill that role. The fact remains, however, that hardcore fans willing to experience all of Fire Emblem Fates will have to suffer this particular version being perhaps too easy in their eyes, although they are free to ignore the little bits of help and force themselves into not abusing the system to make it extra challenging.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is amongst the best tactical videogames of all time. While it’s not the wholesale reinvigoration that Awakening was, it is the refinement of three decades worth of game development, from a team who have fundamentally defined the handheld tactical genre.

The game also impresses in terms of presentation, and although there’s only so much you can do with a grid-based map at the 3DS’s screen resolution the battle animations look great, with an excellent use of 3D. The cut scenes are impressive too, as is the soundtrack, lending the whole experience an epic air that is pleasingly different to anything else Nintendo is doing at the moment.

The gameplay, presentation and soundtrack are excellent for the 3DS. While I wish the story had more twists and that the main character had more depth, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright is fantastic package with a lot to offer.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright no solo es un festejo de esta saga que tantas alegrías nos ha regalado, creo que es un recordatorio de que los juegos de nicho pueden seguir existiendo dentro de un violento mercado cada vez más efímero. Profundas y muy complejas mecánicas de juego, sublime diseño de niveles, una emotiva historia llena de giros inesperados y una suculenta atmósfera delicadamente integrada por su dirección de arte y banda sonora, hacen a este juego una de las mejores experiencias que me haya tocado disfrutar en los últimos años. Nos queda claro que Intelligent Systems está a un paso de perfeccionar por completo el género.

Sus misiones resultan menos interesantes que en Conquista, no están tan elaboradas y el enfoque es más para los usuarios que quieran entrar en la licencia Fire Emblem. Sin embargo, Fire Emblem Fates: Estirpe tiene muchas cosas buenas. Su temática, más colorida y con más brillo: tiene un aura especial. Sus atributos jugables, herederos de Awakening, con un punto de innovación para ajustar mecánicas y mejorar el equilibrio.

Son entre 35 y 40 horas por campaña del mejor rol táctico que encontraréis (y eso sin contar desvíos y desafíos opcionales), así que tenéis para rato. Pero ya sabéis: si aun así os decantáis por probar sólo una versión, os recomendamos Estirpe si buscáis algo más accesible y relativamente ligero, y Conquista si preferís un desafío mayor y más complejo.

Entrando ya en materia jugable, Estirpe es una edición pensada para ser disfrutada por los jugadores más novatos en la saga. Es decir, si nunca habéis jugado a Fire Emblem o vuestra única experiencia con la serie ha sido con Fire Emblem: Awakening, os recomendamos encarecidamente que empecéis por aquí.

Cierto es que cuesta determinar si nos encontramos ante tres juegos o uno en tres porciones. Cada entrega tiene sus diferencias en el diseño de batallas, distintos personajes, unidades, armas y un orden distinto de los escenarios, además de algunos exclusivos de cada uno, pero comparten música, historia (con un orden y eventos distintos pero equivalentes), conversaciones de apoyo...

Fire Emblem Fates est bien la perle que l'on attendait. Non seulement il reprend toutes les qualités d'Awakening, mais il arrive à améliorer le gameplay grâce à quelques changements bien sentis comme les aspects défensifs et offensifs des systèmes de duo/soutien. La gestion du château, si elle reste perfectible, permet quelques combats en ligne intéressants.

Birthright não é necessariamente um jogo fraco mas é uma desilusão comparativamente ao nível com que a série por norma se apresenta. Os excelentes valores de produção reflectem-se nos gráficos de qualidade, animações detalhadas e banda sonora de excelência, mas isso simplesmente não chega.

Nonostante la trama più debole dei tre episodi e qualche personaggio troppo stereotipato, quindi, Retaggio rappresenta il punto di ingresso ideale (tanto nella saga, quanto nel genere videoludico di riferimento) per qualsiasi videogiocatore. Se non avete mai giocato un Fire Emblem prima d'ora, adesso non avete davvero più scuse.