Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright edition review.
I've wanted to do a video game review for a while. Problem is, I tend to only buy or play older games, and especially since my new years resolution was not to buy any games until at least 6 months after release, because of issues I've addressed before, it didnt look like something I'd get to do. That said my resolution DID come with one exception, Nintendo games, because Nintendo as a company tends to avoid my biggest issue with new games (being unfinished and full of glitches). However even with that exception, Nintendo only had 2 games coming out this year I wanted for a system I have (3DS), and as I just bought the second of those games, this is my one and only shot to do this.
Now for the most part this review will be spoiler free. There will be a single exception however, as their is one event in the game, that occurs in chapter 4 that has a large impact on my view of the game. Now because some people wont want to know it will be blacked out like this and should only be readable by highlighting with your cursor.
One other disclaimer, any events in the game that were factored into nintendo's marketing for the game will not be considered spoilers, and will be mentioned freely.
Ok so where to begin?
How about why the birthright version, and what does it matter?
So I assume if your reading this you know their are actually 2 (soon to be 3) different versions of Fire Emblem Fates, Birthright and Conquest (and soon Revelation).
Now at first people thought this would be like Pokemon Red and Blue....the same game with minor tweeks, but in this case, thats not the case, these are very close to being totally different games.
For starters most of the characters are unique to their side.....if you dont pick that game, you wont get to play with that character (you will however likely find yourself fighting them instead)
Also in Fates depending on the version you pick, you side with either the Nohr or the Hoshido. The Nohr (Conquest) are based on medieval Europe, and the Hoshido (Birthright) medieval Asia, and their units follow suit.
Meaning that, depending on what game you pick, you will have entirely different classes to pick from. The Nohr for example would be home to your Knights, Paladins, Heroes and Mages. Hoshido on the other hand would be home to your Samurai, Ninja, Swordmasters and Diviners.
Even the fantasy based Fire Emblem classes are divided, with the Wyvern Rider classes belonging to the Nohr and the Pegasus Riders (Renamed Sky Knights) being Hoshido.
What this means if you want a Wyvern Rider or a Kight and you picked Birthright (Hoshido)....yea not really going to work out.
Now to be fair, there are some characters who side with you in both games, and therefore bring their respective classes. So even a Birthright Player will get a single knight character (as examples)....but thats going to be your only one, where as a Conquest player might have access to 3 or 4. Reverse that if your playing Norh and want a Ninja. And some classes happen to not be accessible by the shared characters....which means their is almost no way to get them.
I say almost no way, as your avatar will get to pick a "secondary" class at character creation...this is a class they can change into later, and could be a class you have no other way to get in your game.
But far more important than any of that when choosing which version to buy is the fact that Conquest was intentionally created to be significantly harder than Birthright. Not only does it have a couple less characters (meaning smaller army) the maps are designed to put you in harder to defend spots. Also, and this was the deciding factor for me, they removed ANY chance to grind your characters up in Conquest, you get to play each battle once and thats it. No replay, no random encounters. Which means if you try to use every character, or use a character for a while then realize you have a better choice, you are likely at a major disadvantage for the rest of the game. For me that was too much of a challenge, so I went with Birthright.
Now, finally the story line is also split after you pick your side in chapter 6 (up until that point the games are identical), with each game taking place in the region you side with (Nohr in Conquest or Hoshido in Birthright), so I cant really comment on the story or writing aspects of Conquest past chapter 6.
Now the game splits (and this was in all the marketing so its not a spoiler) when you are forced to choose to side with either the family you grew up with, the Nohrian Royal Family or their enemies, who you have just discovered are in fact the family you were born into (but kidnapped away from as a baby) the Hoshido.
Except of course, you dont really get a choice, the decision was made for you when you purchased a specific version of the game (Birthright you choose your birth family, Conquest your adopted one).
Now I'll be honest, this almost caused me not to buy the game at all, as having heard about that choice from the marketing (and having already decided I didnt want a game as challenging as conquest) I couldnt come up with any plausible scenario in which I would actually walk away from the family that raised me cause a group of strangers claimed I was actually related to them, so I figured the story telling here was going to be barely logical and kinda suck
Well I was wrong. Following the cutscene in which my character explains WHY he made the choice he did, I can no longer see why any one WOULDNT make that same decision when confronted with that situation.
So major hat tip there to the writing and story telling, I was probably the most skeptical about this part of the game, and they won me over.
That said, and somewhat paradoxically, there are a couple of parts where the story telling falls flat on its face. Without giving any details, something MAJOR will happen to you in chapter 5, and its the kind of thing that would at first appear to be the underlying story of the game. In fact it even results in a special ability you can use thought out the game. Despite that its NEVER mentioned again (at least as far as Ive played) by anyone, including the player character.
Also your character appears to suffer from random retrograde amnesia. For example at one point in the game you encounter someone who claims to be a childhood friend from your days growing up in Nohr....and your character says that he doesnt remember this person because at somepoint you lost your memories.
Yet a couple of minutes later, your character is reminiscing with a different character about how vastly different their childhoods were.
And this is not the only example of your character claiming and then forgetting they are supposed to have amnesia. And the amnesia (when it exists) seems to serve no purpose. its implied to be the reason you dont realize you were "adopted" (kidnapped), but at the same time its also established youd have been about a year or two old.....you dont need amnesia to forget something that young, nor does it explain why the amnesia seems to have happened much later (given that you cant remember an alleged childhood friend)
To be honest, as near as I can tell, the only reason your character [might be] amnesiac is because the avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening was, and that game sold well so anything it did gets replicated here....even when it serves no purpose or even detracts from the narrative.
Another great example of this is that Child Units are back. Except this time, there is no real explanation for WHY. Like the parents get married and then BOOM a Paralogue appears and their adult child is there. How is the kid an adult?....because reasons.
Reasons mostly meaning "it was in Awakening and everyone liked it". Sure awakening was ALL about time travel, and that was the concept of the game and this game is supposed to be all about family and has no time travel elements...but fuck logic.
The other thing that honestly hurts the game a bit is the simple fact its was broken up into 2 (or 3) games. On its own, Birthright has a decent story....and from what Ive read in reviews, so does Conquest.
The problem comes from the fact these stories need have the same introduction and therefore an rather odd and weird balance to them.
For example, in all 3 games you are growing up believing you are the 3 of 5 royal children of the Kingdom of Nohr. You have, an older brother, who is heir to the throne, an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister (in that order).
Except it turns out not so much. Youre actually the the 3 of 5 royal children of the Kingdom of Hoshido. You have, an older brother, who is heir to the throne, an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister (in that order).
By the way, your older brother (both real and adopted) is a strong leader and wants to try to make you like him and tries to be a role model for you. Your older sister (both real and adpoted) is a protective figure (although more pronounced on the Nohr side to be fair) and both are beast riders (Wyvern in Nohr, Pegasus is Hoshido) . Your younger brothers are both ranged combat specialists and have an inferiority complex. Your little sisters seems to hero worship you and have a cheerful and innocent personality...and both are healers (and going back to the fire emblem awakening rip off point, are both basically Lissa, the youngest royal in that game). (Lissa is also not the only Awakening Character who has an analogue in this game, even just part way through one version of this game, Im pretty sure ive met at least a half a dozen "reskinned" awakening characters)
Oh and did we mention both sets of kids only appear to have one surviving parent?
And then of course, we reach the spoiler: Upon reaching Hoshido in chapter 4, you will meet a character who will introduce themselves as the ACTUAL 3rd born of the Nohr Royal Family, who was kidnapped in revenge for your kidnapping and grew up as a member of the Hoshido royal family.
Weirdly though, even once your adopted siblings encounter this person, they show no interest, memory or recognition of this person.....they want YOU back in their family, but have no interest in their actual flesh and blood. Now given that this character will also join you if do side with your adopted family in Conquest, maybe they address it then, but as it stands its a very weird an unexplained issue in Birthright.
Point is, at the end of the day, the two families are a little too perfectly identical to be believable, and as you both encounter them though-out the game (as allies and enemies) it is a reoccurring reminder of this problem and does hurt my enjoyment a bit.
Now we reach the non storyline part of the game....and here to me is where it really shines.
For starters, this game has FEET!
Jokes aside the gameplay here does feel well above Awakening. For starters starting combat now has a "pop up" looking effect, where the camera zooms in from the overhead view to the combat itself....and the scenery goes with it to make the battlefield
What I mean by this is, in awakening every map has a single combat background all the combat would use no matter where you were on the map. In fates, lets say your standing at the bottom of a hill and your opponent is at the top....when you go to the combat screen you will be standing at the bottom of a slope and your enemy is going to be at the top. But when your next character attacks...say in front of a building, his background will show that same building. Its a really cool feature that really helps with immersion.
They've also changed the weapons triangle. Instead of just being "swords/spears/axes" they have added ALL weapons to the triangle, like bows and magic. But have also managed to keep things simple by color coding. Heres a screen shot cause its easier to explain that way
Also in other game play mechanics they added more types of seals. Master and Second Seals return, but are joined by Friendship, Partner and Heart seals. Basically Partner Seals allow any married unit to class into their spouses class, Friendship seals are the same thing for non married units who have achieved an A+ support (a new asymmetrical support level), Heart seals meanwhile allow a unit to convert from one masterclass to another and still pick up the base class skills.
All in all these help improve the versatility and uses of all units, so thats a huge plus (even if it makes planing things out in advance take FOREVER cause of all the options)
Also they changed the way weapons work....except for healing rods, they dont break anymore. So no more replacing weapons every other map. Flip side is the higher level weapons now seem to come with minor penalties attached (less chance of double attack, -5 avoidance ect), which is actually kinda cool, there is now a reason you might want to carry around an iron weapon even if your character could use steel (or as is the case for much of my army, different levels of a weapon to use depending on how hard I need to hit, compared to how accurate I need to be, do I need to withstand a counter attack ect).....so again this kinda adds a lot more variables, which is pretty fun (at least on first impression....we'll see if it evenually gets annoying)
They also added a new over-world hub....a castle you can customize how you see fit. The building in the castle can also provide you bonuses and items to use in the game in a number of cool minigames, and is also the centeralized shopping hub. Also all the fuctions carried out by the barracks in awakening return here, as well as other ways to interact with your army. Lastly it also functions as the battleground of the multiplayer....which functions over spotpass, but is basically a generic barbarian fight, but still kinda cool.
The only odd new mechanic was the addition of Phoenix mode to the already existing Classic and Casual. Phoenix mode is basically Casual on steroids...your characters respawn in battle the turn after they are beaten...so its basically God Mode unless your avatar dies, so I dont think any adults are really going to enjoy it (that said, if I do ever buy conquest I likely will play it on this mode just cause of how much harder that game is, and Id mostly be playing for the story)
So yea to sum up. If you like Fire Emblem games, you'll probably like this one. If you havnt played Awakening you will probibly like the story more than those who have.
If you have played awakening, you will still enjoy this one...but you'll also be fighting the feeling this is awakening with a new coat of paint and an inferior story as you play
And lastly if you dont really care that much about the inconstancy and other oddities in the story (which in theory are all supposed to be addressed in the 3rd version...although thats no excuse for some of the issues I listed, like the kids or the thing I mentioned that happens to you) and only play for the combat.....well honestly youd like this, but maybe you should look into Conquest
However in all cases, I do recommend it if strategy RPGS are your thing and you got 40 bucks to spend (or 80 if you plan on buying all 3 versions)
Now for the most part this review will be spoiler free. There will be a single exception however, as their is one event in the game, that occurs in chapter 4 that has a large impact on my view of the game. Now because some people wont want to know it will be blacked out like this and should only be readable by highlighting with your cursor.
One other disclaimer, any events in the game that were factored into nintendo's marketing for the game will not be considered spoilers, and will be mentioned freely.
Ok so where to begin?
How about why the birthright version, and what does it matter?
So I assume if your reading this you know their are actually 2 (soon to be 3) different versions of Fire Emblem Fates, Birthright and Conquest (and soon Revelation).
Now at first people thought this would be like Pokemon Red and Blue....the same game with minor tweeks, but in this case, thats not the case, these are very close to being totally different games.
For starters most of the characters are unique to their side.....if you dont pick that game, you wont get to play with that character (you will however likely find yourself fighting them instead)
Also in Fates depending on the version you pick, you side with either the Nohr or the Hoshido. The Nohr (Conquest) are based on medieval Europe, and the Hoshido (Birthright) medieval Asia, and their units follow suit.
Meaning that, depending on what game you pick, you will have entirely different classes to pick from. The Nohr for example would be home to your Knights, Paladins, Heroes and Mages. Hoshido on the other hand would be home to your Samurai, Ninja, Swordmasters and Diviners.
Even the fantasy based Fire Emblem classes are divided, with the Wyvern Rider classes belonging to the Nohr and the Pegasus Riders (Renamed Sky Knights) being Hoshido.
What this means if you want a Wyvern Rider or a Kight and you picked Birthright (Hoshido)....yea not really going to work out.
Now to be fair, there are some characters who side with you in both games, and therefore bring their respective classes. So even a Birthright Player will get a single knight character (as examples)....but thats going to be your only one, where as a Conquest player might have access to 3 or 4. Reverse that if your playing Norh and want a Ninja. And some classes happen to not be accessible by the shared characters....which means their is almost no way to get them.
I say almost no way, as your avatar will get to pick a "secondary" class at character creation...this is a class they can change into later, and could be a class you have no other way to get in your game.
But far more important than any of that when choosing which version to buy is the fact that Conquest was intentionally created to be significantly harder than Birthright. Not only does it have a couple less characters (meaning smaller army) the maps are designed to put you in harder to defend spots. Also, and this was the deciding factor for me, they removed ANY chance to grind your characters up in Conquest, you get to play each battle once and thats it. No replay, no random encounters. Which means if you try to use every character, or use a character for a while then realize you have a better choice, you are likely at a major disadvantage for the rest of the game. For me that was too much of a challenge, so I went with Birthright.
Now, finally the story line is also split after you pick your side in chapter 6 (up until that point the games are identical), with each game taking place in the region you side with (Nohr in Conquest or Hoshido in Birthright), so I cant really comment on the story or writing aspects of Conquest past chapter 6.
Now the game splits (and this was in all the marketing so its not a spoiler) when you are forced to choose to side with either the family you grew up with, the Nohrian Royal Family or their enemies, who you have just discovered are in fact the family you were born into (but kidnapped away from as a baby) the Hoshido.
Except of course, you dont really get a choice, the decision was made for you when you purchased a specific version of the game (Birthright you choose your birth family, Conquest your adopted one).
Now I'll be honest, this almost caused me not to buy the game at all, as having heard about that choice from the marketing (and having already decided I didnt want a game as challenging as conquest) I couldnt come up with any plausible scenario in which I would actually walk away from the family that raised me cause a group of strangers claimed I was actually related to them, so I figured the story telling here was going to be barely logical and kinda suck
Well I was wrong. Following the cutscene in which my character explains WHY he made the choice he did, I can no longer see why any one WOULDNT make that same decision when confronted with that situation.
So major hat tip there to the writing and story telling, I was probably the most skeptical about this part of the game, and they won me over.
That said, and somewhat paradoxically, there are a couple of parts where the story telling falls flat on its face. Without giving any details, something MAJOR will happen to you in chapter 5, and its the kind of thing that would at first appear to be the underlying story of the game. In fact it even results in a special ability you can use thought out the game. Despite that its NEVER mentioned again (at least as far as Ive played) by anyone, including the player character.
Also your character appears to suffer from random retrograde amnesia. For example at one point in the game you encounter someone who claims to be a childhood friend from your days growing up in Nohr....and your character says that he doesnt remember this person because at somepoint you lost your memories.
Yet a couple of minutes later, your character is reminiscing with a different character about how vastly different their childhoods were.
And this is not the only example of your character claiming and then forgetting they are supposed to have amnesia. And the amnesia (when it exists) seems to serve no purpose. its implied to be the reason you dont realize you were "adopted" (kidnapped), but at the same time its also established youd have been about a year or two old.....you dont need amnesia to forget something that young, nor does it explain why the amnesia seems to have happened much later (given that you cant remember an alleged childhood friend)
To be honest, as near as I can tell, the only reason your character [might be] amnesiac is because the avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening was, and that game sold well so anything it did gets replicated here....even when it serves no purpose or even detracts from the narrative.
Another great example of this is that Child Units are back. Except this time, there is no real explanation for WHY. Like the parents get married and then BOOM a Paralogue appears and their adult child is there. How is the kid an adult?....because reasons.
Reasons mostly meaning "it was in Awakening and everyone liked it". Sure awakening was ALL about time travel, and that was the concept of the game and this game is supposed to be all about family and has no time travel elements...but fuck logic.
The other thing that honestly hurts the game a bit is the simple fact its was broken up into 2 (or 3) games. On its own, Birthright has a decent story....and from what Ive read in reviews, so does Conquest.
The problem comes from the fact these stories need have the same introduction and therefore an rather odd and weird balance to them.
For example, in all 3 games you are growing up believing you are the 3 of 5 royal children of the Kingdom of Nohr. You have, an older brother, who is heir to the throne, an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister (in that order).
Except it turns out not so much. Youre actually the the 3 of 5 royal children of the Kingdom of Hoshido. You have, an older brother, who is heir to the throne, an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister (in that order).
By the way, your older brother (both real and adopted) is a strong leader and wants to try to make you like him and tries to be a role model for you. Your older sister (both real and adpoted) is a protective figure (although more pronounced on the Nohr side to be fair) and both are beast riders (Wyvern in Nohr, Pegasus is Hoshido) . Your younger brothers are both ranged combat specialists and have an inferiority complex. Your little sisters seems to hero worship you and have a cheerful and innocent personality...and both are healers (and going back to the fire emblem awakening rip off point, are both basically Lissa, the youngest royal in that game). (Lissa is also not the only Awakening Character who has an analogue in this game, even just part way through one version of this game, Im pretty sure ive met at least a half a dozen "reskinned" awakening characters)
Oh and did we mention both sets of kids only appear to have one surviving parent?
And then of course, we reach the spoiler: Upon reaching Hoshido in chapter 4, you will meet a character who will introduce themselves as the ACTUAL 3rd born of the Nohr Royal Family, who was kidnapped in revenge for your kidnapping and grew up as a member of the Hoshido royal family.
Weirdly though, even once your adopted siblings encounter this person, they show no interest, memory or recognition of this person.....they want YOU back in their family, but have no interest in their actual flesh and blood. Now given that this character will also join you if do side with your adopted family in Conquest, maybe they address it then, but as it stands its a very weird an unexplained issue in Birthright.
Point is, at the end of the day, the two families are a little too perfectly identical to be believable, and as you both encounter them though-out the game (as allies and enemies) it is a reoccurring reminder of this problem and does hurt my enjoyment a bit.
Now we reach the non storyline part of the game....and here to me is where it really shines.
For starters, this game has FEET!
Jokes aside the gameplay here does feel well above Awakening. For starters starting combat now has a "pop up" looking effect, where the camera zooms in from the overhead view to the combat itself....and the scenery goes with it to make the battlefield
What I mean by this is, in awakening every map has a single combat background all the combat would use no matter where you were on the map. In fates, lets say your standing at the bottom of a hill and your opponent is at the top....when you go to the combat screen you will be standing at the bottom of a slope and your enemy is going to be at the top. But when your next character attacks...say in front of a building, his background will show that same building. Its a really cool feature that really helps with immersion.
They've also changed the weapons triangle. Instead of just being "swords/spears/axes" they have added ALL weapons to the triangle, like bows and magic. But have also managed to keep things simple by color coding. Heres a screen shot cause its easier to explain that way
Basically all weapons with a red background (swords and spell books) beat all weapons with a green background (axes and bows) but lose to weapons with a blue background (spears and throwables). I honestly dont know if this makes combat easier or harder....but I do know it helps with strategy and what units to attack with so I like it.
In the same vein, if you select a unit and an enemy has an "instakill" weapon for that unit (think Pegasus and bows) the unit displays an exclamation point to let you know. Given that Fates also adds weapons that have special properties like "instakill against swords" this again doesnt make combat easier as much as it adds a new level of tactics.
Finally they also added something called "Dragon Veins", these are spots on the map that can be manipulated by any member of either royal family, and that manipulation can cause all kinds of effects (and it will tell you before using what the effect is, in case you dont want it), from creating pathways, to moving earth around, to healing ALL allied units....or to damaging ALL units in a specific area ect. And in most cases messing with them is totally optional, so again they mostly serve as a way to add some more tactical depth to the game (or if your not careful...making a given map more challenging)
Finally they also added something called "Dragon Veins", these are spots on the map that can be manipulated by any member of either royal family, and that manipulation can cause all kinds of effects (and it will tell you before using what the effect is, in case you dont want it), from creating pathways, to moving earth around, to healing ALL allied units....or to damaging ALL units in a specific area ect. And in most cases messing with them is totally optional, so again they mostly serve as a way to add some more tactical depth to the game (or if your not careful...making a given map more challenging)
Also in other game play mechanics they added more types of seals. Master and Second Seals return, but are joined by Friendship, Partner and Heart seals. Basically Partner Seals allow any married unit to class into their spouses class, Friendship seals are the same thing for non married units who have achieved an A+ support (a new asymmetrical support level), Heart seals meanwhile allow a unit to convert from one masterclass to another and still pick up the base class skills.
All in all these help improve the versatility and uses of all units, so thats a huge plus (even if it makes planing things out in advance take FOREVER cause of all the options)
Also they changed the way weapons work....except for healing rods, they dont break anymore. So no more replacing weapons every other map. Flip side is the higher level weapons now seem to come with minor penalties attached (less chance of double attack, -5 avoidance ect), which is actually kinda cool, there is now a reason you might want to carry around an iron weapon even if your character could use steel (or as is the case for much of my army, different levels of a weapon to use depending on how hard I need to hit, compared to how accurate I need to be, do I need to withstand a counter attack ect).....so again this kinda adds a lot more variables, which is pretty fun (at least on first impression....we'll see if it evenually gets annoying)
They also added a new over-world hub....a castle you can customize how you see fit. The building in the castle can also provide you bonuses and items to use in the game in a number of cool minigames, and is also the centeralized shopping hub. Also all the fuctions carried out by the barracks in awakening return here, as well as other ways to interact with your army. Lastly it also functions as the battleground of the multiplayer....which functions over spotpass, but is basically a generic barbarian fight, but still kinda cool.
The only odd new mechanic was the addition of Phoenix mode to the already existing Classic and Casual. Phoenix mode is basically Casual on steroids...your characters respawn in battle the turn after they are beaten...so its basically God Mode unless your avatar dies, so I dont think any adults are really going to enjoy it (that said, if I do ever buy conquest I likely will play it on this mode just cause of how much harder that game is, and Id mostly be playing for the story)
So yea to sum up. If you like Fire Emblem games, you'll probably like this one. If you havnt played Awakening you will probibly like the story more than those who have.
If you have played awakening, you will still enjoy this one...but you'll also be fighting the feeling this is awakening with a new coat of paint and an inferior story as you play
And lastly if you dont really care that much about the inconstancy and other oddities in the story (which in theory are all supposed to be addressed in the 3rd version...although thats no excuse for some of the issues I listed, like the kids or the thing I mentioned that happens to you) and only play for the combat.....well honestly youd like this, but maybe you should look into Conquest
However in all cases, I do recommend it if strategy RPGS are your thing and you got 40 bucks to spend (or 80 if you plan on buying all 3 versions)
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