Shut Up and Take My Money: Fire Emblem Fates

It’s been years since Smash Bros.‘s Marth and Roy first drew attention to the Fire Emblem franchise, which until then had been predominantly supported by its Japanese audience.

But now that the tactical RPG series has exploded in the U.S., it can’t be un-exploded, and to get the next installment Fire Emblem Fates we’ll happily jump through whatever meticulous, calculated hoops Nintendo tells us to.

But now, the company known for its gimmicky games surprises us with a new gimmick! Three versions of the same game! (Maybe not a “new” gimmick to Pokemon fans, but done in a new way.)

Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation all involve the same characters and world, and both start the same. However, the three different games all diverge around an early and significant decision of the main character. And each of the three options unfolds three entirely different games, each showing a unique perspective of the same story.

You are a young warrior in the Nohr kingdom. While on your first mission, you are captured by the opposing Hoshido family, who drop this bombshell on you: you were born a Hoshido, but kidnapped and raised by the Nohr.

So here’s your decision: fight for your blood relatives (Birthright), fight for your adopted family (Conquest), or fight for neither (Revelation). Birthright is geared for new players, Conquest for experts, and Revelation as a nice middle-ground.

Which one will you choose?

Ha! Trick question! Choosing only one is for noobs and people who only have a few months to live. True gamers — the ones with the patience to play Fire Emblem in the first place — won’t be satisfied until they’ve played all three. That’s where the Special Edition comes in: all three games come in one cartridge, with special achievements for playing all three.

And the true Fire Emblem fans won’t be disappointed, as the latest installment continues the franchise’s legacy of moving forward and never back. Better features, better graphics, better story.

Fates introduces a lot of new features. First, there’s the new concealed weapon, which can debuff enemy stats. Next is a town-building side-game, not uncommon to RPG games. There’s also a “Dragon’s Vein” features, which provides new options to altering battles, and the “Phoenix Mode” where dead players are resurrected the following turn (only available in Normal Mode). Plus, as expected, a few new classes, weapons, and skills.

Coming from the highly successful Awakening installment, the game keeps the children feature, where you can creates new, playable characters depending on whom you hook up with whom in your team.

The game also enlisted the help of Shin Kibayashi, an award-winning manga and film writer, to spruce up the game’s story and plot in response to criticism about the previous games’ writing. It’s an effective solution, and this game’s dialogue really stands out.

So, will you like the newest Fire Emblem game? If you liked the previous games, you’ll probably like these one… but there are only three ways to find out for sure.

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