Nintendo's relationship with mobile games and apps has been slightly awkward to date, as a prolonged period of resistance to the sector eventually turned into a necessary embrace. In its previous efforts on mobile - Miitomo and Super Mario Run - Nintendo has either retained noble intentions (as per the former) or tried to stick to the old model of "here's a good game, pay for it up front". Fire Emblem Heroes, ultimately, represents a tipping point where Nintendo has embraced the good, bad and - almost - the money-grubbing of mobile games. It's not gone entirely off the cliff into the worst practices of smart device games, but any pretence that Nintendo is 'above' those tendencies has whittled away.
Of all of the announced projects to date, Fire Emblem Heroes always had the most potential to be a typical free-to-start mobile game - strategy and battle-centric games are among the most popular to be found on iOS and Android, after all. The bonus, of course, is that the series - particularly with its successful 3DS releases - has earned a lot of goodwill, with Intelligent Systems producing smart, compulsive games. In that respect, adapting the formula for mobile has been relatively straightforward.
What we have here is the essence of Fire Emblem distilled aggressively down to its core parts. The more complex aspects of the main series games such as inventory management, relationship building, unit team-ups and more, are missing. What we have is the familiar Weapon Triangle and self-contained battles on smaller maps, with characters also being limited in how far they can move. Some of the battlefields still have nice twists, such as destructible walls and mountains that force each side into intense head-to-head confrontations, but it's more a battle of power than intelligence. It's fun and quite compulsive, ideal for short play sessions in particular, but any that play for longer periods may desire more complexity and tactical challenge. You could never get far in the 3DS games without levelling up your units, of course, but here the brute force of your fighters is more important than ever.
The app starts off rather generously, to the point that early on you get a lot of bang for no bucks. You get starter characters in each core category (one for each colour element in the Weapon Triangle and a ranged attacker) and it throws bonuses at you with merry abandon. Multi-coloured shards and crystals enable you to fast-track level-ups, and through the app and My Nintendo you can also rack up quite a lot of orbs - the key in-game currency. Indeed, spending a fair chunk of these orbs on ranking up your castle is vital, as that enables units to earn more experience points for their actions.
The story is the first port of call, with the early parts serving as a tutorial and means of unlocking new content. Perhaps to be expected considering the extraordinary and distracting 'main series' workload for Intelligent Systems and the fact this is a free mobile game, the plot's rather thin. The idea is that different 'worlds' - representing Fire Emblem games from across its series history - are being invaded, and Heroes are being contracted to defend their lands from your band of noble liberators. It's a tad messy, and it's all rather throwaway and unimportant, with brief text-based cutscenes playing out at the start and end of each chapter - these chapters have five levels each. It falls a long way short of the storytelling in the main games, but even disregarding that legacy it's fluff by any standards, just there to fill a little space as you rattle through battles.
That's not necessarily a major problem, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. For example, each chapter may be based on a world and set of characters from the IP's history, but there's little context given through the storytelling. Anyone that's not studied Wikis on the series will likely have little idea who these characters are or what worlds they represent. It doesn't harm Fire Emblem Heroes a great deal, but considering the effort undertaken to add so many characters and give them all short profiles - which enthusiasts can seek out - it seems odd that the storytelling doesn't do more to pass that rich history on to the player. The information is there for fans to find, but will inevitably pass by a lot of more casual players.
Other modes are also available with progress, and these are key for grinding (along with 'hard' and 'lunatic' versions of Story missions). Special Maps change frequently and enable you to pick up new characters and useful items, 'Arena Duels' puts you up against the uploaded teams of other players (with AI controlling them), and the Training Tower puts you to the test in exchange for useful items such as those shards and crystals. Working through these regularly is important - the basic gameplay is the same across all modes, but their rewards and experience points become vital.
Driving all of this is a substantial in-game economy and inventory setup, which keeps you well stocked early on. Items for accelerated levelling up, topping up Stamina - which is needed to play - and even reviving your team after failure are plentiful initially. Promotional messages give you little top-ups, and there's solid momentum in the first 2-3 hours; you can spend nothing and, in that time, get quite a bit of enjoyable gameplay. As mentioned above, it's simplistic tactical combat, but it's well-suited to idly passing a little time - it helps that on our device (a Sony Experia Z5 Compact) the app loads quickly and battles can be rattled through in a few minutes.
After that honeymoon, though, the grinding begins, and the game starts to aggressively seek your money in exchange for orbs. The final third of the story demands more powerful units, and the requirements for taking them beyond level 20 are borderline ludicrous at this stage. It's here you realise that your starter units - which are low in rarity 'star' ratings - may not quite cut it, and you're tempted to 'Summon'. It's here where most orbs are spent in a 'Gacha' game of chance, as you sink currency into betting for better characters. This is a luck-based revenue model that's hugely successful in Japan, but understandably has its share of critics.
It does feel like a true game of chance, too. It's five orbs for an initial bet, and the more summons you try in a row the cheaper it gets, to the point you can bet up to five times in one go for 20 orbs. In one two-bet try we got a four-star Marth, but in a separate attempt where we bet the full number of orbs on five characters we had disappointing results. The desire for a five-star hero could drive some, undoubtedly, to gamble - then, beyond that, you'll have to grind up their levels as they start at level 1. Grinding battles uses stamina, and when that's empty you need to refill it with, yep, an orb. The game has given early-adopters a lot of 'stamina potions' to help with this, so that's a problem for quite a bit further down the road.
Ultimately, this Gacha element is entirely optional; after all, it's only necessary if you want to create amazing and varied teams and beat all-comers (and the later parts of the Story). What you get for free, should you ignore all this, is pretty darn good, as it's slick and enjoyable mobile gaming that, for a few hours, keeps you interested without asking for more. For those seeking a free bit of entertainment, it's an excellent offering.
It could have been better, though, and there's scope for Heroes to improve in the future. It lacks some of the hooks that suit other mobile titles in this genre, such as real-time online battles or clans. A surprising missed opportunity is the Castle, which is really a fancy hub for accessing rewards, messages or adding friends with codes (those confounded things, again); it can only be tweaked with a handful of basic aesthetic choices. The 'My Castle' element seen in Fire Emblem Fates would have actually suited mobile down to the ground, and added a bit of extra variety beyond team building and quickfire battles. That Fates-style home base mechanic would also work well for online invasions and defences, rather than the random battle maps we get at present.
The lingering feeling of missed chances, however, doesn't extend to the presentation, which deserves praise. Graphically it's an attractive game, opting for slightly cleaner and more modern character designs (in battles) than the 3DS titles, with some fun animation flourishes for special moves. It's all rather slick, and little touches like a decent range of voiced lines and some high quality music give this game a premium sheen. Nintendo, undoubtedly, is finding its feet in terms of delivering attractive mobile games.
Beyond that, some will wonder about battery and data usage. This game is a bit of a battery hog, which can only be minimised to a minor degree by turning off sound and limiting the length of battles by taking out some animations. It's not as bad as launch period Miitomo was in its full graphics setting, but short and snappy sessions are advisable on the go. Like many mobile games, meanwhile, the game wants a connection to play. A positive is that it seems happy with a typical 3G connection, and when we unhooked from Wi-Fi to test it a 20 minute play session only used a small amount of data. It seems well optimised assuming, once again, players don't settle in and play for an extended period without Wi-Fi and a power point nearby.
Conclusion
All told, Fire Emblem Heroes is a slick, well-presented and fun 'lite' take on the series. It's heavily stripped down from the core games, and is best enjoyed in short bursts, but serves that purpose well while wrapping the experience in a stylish UI with handsome graphics and a typically lustrous soundtrack. Nevertheless it's a limited game, and after a generous opening of playing for free the 'pay-to-win' element starts to take over. It's here that many will likely shrug and move on, having had a decent fill for no investment - for completionists, however, there's plenty of grinding (and likely some expenditure) awaiting them on the journey.
Comments 108
I guess my main complain is the map size. Could had been a scroll view with a more play area grid, but maybe that would have been too complicated/resourceful.
It's just that I feel I can't usually play my game on the small grid size, but that might just be me.
I just don't see any need to spend any money here. Stamina replenishes fast enough and unless you have to have them all I just don't see many spending money.
I like it for what it is I agree with the score given here, I prefer the 3DS titles over this by far.
@Spoony_Tech Also I think you can get enough bonus stuff with your My Nintendo points. We have a reason to spend our Platinum points now. The exchange rate seems good.
It has been a lot of fun, but as someone who is currently struggling financially, it kind of sucks to realize you'll probably never be able to beat the expert level peoplenin the Arena, not because of skill but because I'm far from rich
I thought it would score higher. It's better than Super Mario Run and that was given 8/10.
Didn't Nintendo at one point say they would never go free to play?
Played a decent amount of this already but don't see any sign of any pay-to-win element setting in yet... if anything it will be the orbs that are the issue, but I've already got two 5-star heroes and around half a dozen 4-star ones just from using the orbs you get for free, and I'm almost ready to start raising the rank of some of my heroes as well... it will be slower than paying for orbs to get higher rank heroes, but I don't mind that.
It's a fun game for when you are away from your 3DS or Wii U but I wouldn't drop a cent on this. I will play only the first three chapter and then rinse and repeat those same three chapter again until I get to my 3DS.
I'm only part way through (I think I'm on chapter 5 or 6?) but I'm absolutely loving it so far. I understand the concerns about the free-to-play aspect, but I think that's entirely fair; it is a free game after all. I've certainly found that you can get a decent number of orbs by just playing daily, and there are many more to be gotten through My Nintendo. I dislike the fact it has to be constantly connected, but that's really been my only gripe with it so far.
I love the game. Of course it's not as good as the main series, but it's very enjoyable and you can get plenty of orb without paying a dime. I summoned all the characters from one summoning circle 3 times and still have over 50 orbs right now.
Also it seems the content will be added in the nearby future as the story line is not finished.
I mean, I can't judge as I've never played any other mobile phone game so I can't compare Fire Emblem to other ones, but I find Fire Emblem being a lot of fun
@LeRaposa Yeah but they also say they never go mobile either. Free to play only applies to mobile only. I don't think that practice would work with their handhelds and consoles.
@Spoony_Tech Sounds like you're playing it - I still need to free up 10MB - is the money necessary to finish the story? The review says money is optional, and then in the next sentence it says unless you want to finish the story.
"acha element is entirely optional; after all, it's only necessary if you want to create amazing and varied teams and beat all-comers (and the later parts of the Story)"
I'm not a collector or an online guy but if there is a story, no matter how lame, I'd like to see the end of it. I noticed in Pokémon Rumble World I could literally play for hours every day no problem, but I was never ever going to earn enough diamonds for those high priced balloons. It didn't really matter in that game I couldn't go any futher,I just stopped, but I won't start this if I have to pay to get to the end.
@LeRaposa I'm pretty sure they've said they will never go pay-to-win, but I think they've always maintained a desire to remain free-to-play for apps like this.
@retro_player_22 I think you're getting confused with Mario Run, but there's no limit on the number of chapters you can play.
You can get orbs by replaying all the levels on Hard.
Also, has anyone else noticed the character models in the battle animations look like Scribblenauts???
Almost finished chapter 9 using starting four characters. Don't have any five star yet and only a couple of four stars which I use on arena, special maps and training maps. But from my experience it looks entirely possible to finish the main storyline without spending a penny and using anything other than the original four.
I actually love how the artwork for the characters is so inconsistent, it adds personality to the units I think.
I think this game is partly intended to make money on its own (especially in Japan) and partly intended to introduce new players to the series. SRPGs can be intimidating to people that have never played them before. My son has watched me play Fire Emblem and declared that it was too complicated for him. However, if people try Heroes and decide it is actually not so hard, then perhaps they will be willing to try one of the other FE games.
Completed Chapter 9 yesterday and I'm onto Hard now. I got 5 star Tiki on my second hero pulled so that helped lol
@rjejr I've finished the whole story without spending a dime and now playing it again on hard mode. It's totally doable, so don't worry if you just want to play around
Although the story is rather lame....
@Firelork That's one of my favorite things too. Reminds me of Fire Emblem Cipher. I heard some of the card illustrators have done artwork for FE Heroes as well. I love Arthur's card. His art in Heroes is similar but they didn't take it quite as far.
Question: Is starter 2 star Alfonse better than a 3 star Chere?
not sure if im wasting my time training the starters instead of summoned ones
The investors and hardcore smartphone gamers got their wish... I wish they put more into it and just charged a one time fee like super Mario run but as long as they only make it like this for side money and focus on the 3ds versions then I'm fine with it I probably won't be buying orbs
the 'pay-to-win' element starts to take over
1/10
I'm enjoying the game so far, even if I don't have any luck with the summoning. I got a lot of 4stars but the only 5star is a healer, so pretty useless.
Maybe it helps that I'm not a fan of the series so I don't have the main games to compare. I enjoy the quick battles and small maps and I'm considering getting some of the 3DS titles now. So I guess Nintendo's plan is working. Remember this mobiles game doesn't suppose to be full title, they are just promotion for the main entries. So if you judge it like that, you'll find it pretty good.
@Locke159 You can upgrade the 2 stars characters later on. In theory you can make them 5 stars, but it won't be cheap.
@Locke159 All of the characters are different, so it largely comes down to personal preference.
You can raise the star rank of heroes once they reach level 20... it does reset them to level 1, but boosts their base stats at the same time.
@mateq Thanks. I doubt I'll play on hard mode, but I didn't want to get to the last chapter and have the game tell me 250 orbs please, when the game gives you 1 a day. If you already finished it w/o spending any money that's good enough for me, thanks. Guess it's time to go make room.
I really liked this game because of the "lite" aspect. I never managed to grow attached to any other FE title though, simply because it came to the west way too late, when Final Fantasy Tactics was already a thing - and did every single thing much better than FE. To be honest, even the recent FE titles can't match the level of quality and engaging gameplay that the very first FF Tactics on PSOne built. It remains too simplistic, some mechanics too annoying (like durability, inventory management and training) for a modern game. By removing most of the needlessly convoluted aspects, this lite version of FE hits the right spots to become a very addictive stratey RPG. I'd give a solid 8.5/10.
Actually its quite good IMHO FOR WHAT IT IS! While I was playing a lot in the beginning I am taking it lightly now. What I can get out of the game for free I might get out and if not its not a big problem. What I have realized is that its perfect while away. I never carry my 3ds around, so its a perfect game for little bursts now and then, while having a break at work or waiting in line at a shop or something.
Fire Emblem Lite that must always be connected to Wi-Fi...It's a reach b/c I only have the resources to play one Wi-Fi-only game which I already do. The beauty is that these games can be updated eternally and eventually can become a better, deeper experience. But with two of my Fates in my backlog and Fire Emblem Echoes on the way, I won't be lacking in deep FE experiences for a long time and I'd rather use my free time to play those. I felt like Awakening was sterilized FE but apparently you can sterilize the franchise even further...
@rushiosan
"To be honest, even the recent FE titles can't match the level of quality and engaging gameplay that the very first FF Tactics on PSOne built."
Oh man. Now, I loved FF Tactics for the POne when it came out. It's very addicting and awesome but I'll take an FE over a FF tactics any day of the week.
Battles move at a much slower pace in FF Tactics, you control a smaller army and the battle animations are much simpler. And that map floating in space... not a fan.
Spending absolutely no money is a bit cheeky for the obvious time put in to make it. I'll happily pay what I think the game is with in IAP.
That said I tend to sink £5-8pm on Pokémon Go. Those eggs won't hatch themselves.
ITs a fun bite size game that happens to use characters we know and love. Game would still be fun without FE at all. I hate freemium but they have given out lots of orbs and stamina potions. Also I have only spent 20 orbs on characters and I have 2 5 star and 2 4 star. The gacha element actually gives you decent characters.
The game is a bit more simplistic battle wise, I would love to have 5-6 character battles, but oh well. I think the pvp will soon have people that are uber op, but really unless you stare trying to get an alll 5 star team or just want a team made of certain characters, you don't have to pay a cent.
I finished it over the weekend. It was way too short, but it is meant more for bringing new people in that appeasing long time fans.
I give it a 👎.
There are better games to get into the series with, but for true newbies hopefully it entices them enough to drop cash on a full game. (Or you know... places online to sample older titles...)
I was skeptical but I'm actually having a blast with this. I actually like a lot of the steps they've taken to streamline the game, like having one offense stat instead of separate stats for magic and attack.
Haven't spent a dime so far, but I feel like I should 'cause I've gotten a lot out of the game so far. Yay, reciprocity.
One minor annoyance: I was lucky enough to pull Raven, a character I really like, but he has a different art style than everyone else, and it really bugs me.
We deserve an apology for that main title theme.
@SJND That song is actually making me second guess introducing this game to my friend.
Well got it downloaded and installed - that guy who sounds like George Takai singing a Godzilla victory March is hilarious - and I don't see any room for complaint. It's got more voice acting than almost any Nintendo game to date - there's your price of admission right there - and some semblance of a story. And it all looks pretty good too.
Not saying it would be worth $40 but for a simple free to start touchscreen game they seem to have put a lot of work into it including several modes and monthly challenges. Not sure what there could could possibly be to complain about for what it is.
I really enjoy this game alot. They did a good job with this.
I think it serves its purpose as FE "lite for mobile" and I only play it in short bursts here and there. I didn't expect this game to usurp the main line games in any kind of way anyway.
@RadioHedgeFund
When you think about it, its actually not worth its money. You could easily spend a hundred dollars and get too much out of it. THink about how many summoning batches you can get for 100 dollars? lets say its 10, that means 50 warriors! Out of 6 batches I got three 3 star heroes, eight 4 star heroes, the rest was naturally 3 star. its a gamble. I got FE Fates special edition for less than that.
So how can this game be worth any money?
Summoning batches should come with a guarantee, 50% chance to get a 5 star hero, 100% to get at least one 4 star hero, and no multiples of the same hero.
Of course, it depends on how you look at it, some people like to gamble and its probably not about what they have won or lost but the thrill of gambling. I was never into gambling.
Sorry, but this game is just a nice little game which you can pay for free and be lucky with what you get for free.
I totally agree its good in short spurts. Lots of grinding. I'd say the 7 so far after 3 days of playing is pretty accurate. Good, not great, but better than average.
Better than Mario Run at 100% And really free to play
Really enjoying the game so far, it's not the typical Fire Emblem, but as a sort of lite spin-off for quick plays is pretty much perfect.
I just find some choices with the number of items required odd for say the least, but considering how worse most mobile games do I don't think I should complain too much XD
I'm enjoying it way more than I expected. I actually like the small maps. For mobile, they're about as big as I'd want them for limited sessions and they scratch that itch when I don't have time to dig into a proper FE map. You definitely don't have to spend money to enjoy this game, or even progress through it, and for that reason I will probably spend a little just to support this approach. Given that mobile gaming will be a necessary revenue stream for Nintendo going forward, I want to vote with my money for how I want to see it executed. They could've made this an awful cash grab just to appease investors, but I think what they've done here is a nice balance, and I'll give them $10 (as I did with Mario) for the experience.
I thought it was too easy and boring. Overpriced too.
I'll wait for Echoes.
Everything about this game is impressive and engaging. The no-miss attacks makes this game completely based in skill, rather than the element of luck present in the main games. The stamina gauge is kind of annoying, though, but it's nothing to complain about considering the surprising breadth of the rest of the (free) experience. Solid 8/10.
Good review, except..."stylish UI?"
Glad it plays well after the intro, but after seeing it in action for myself I still can't get past how terrible and non-Nintendo this looks (worse than Fire Emblem's regular no-frills look). Not bland yet distinctive like NSMB, but layerless and lifeless like your average FtP MMO.
One thing not mentioned in the review is there is no progress other than grinding. No gear to find, no anything. The entire game is just go fight people, be it in story, fake pvp, or xp tower. There is nothing special, no catch, to keep you going once you have done your 40th fight and would like to do something else. This game is basically all graphics and very little substance, so unless they upgrade it fast, people will start deleting sooner rather than later.
@PotatoTheG You are joking right? Overpriced?? It's a free game...
And if you think it's boring, you can try Advanced Arena Duels and all chapters on Hard/Lunatic. My team are now mostly above lv.30 (5 star Takumi(31), Camilla(31), Robin(30) and 4 star Lissa(27)) and I still find it very exciting/challenging in Arena Duels.
@Tiredman They are updating it. They just added celebration maps to the app today.
I'm enjoying this fun little game. The story is nonexistent, and it's pay-to-win; however, the gameplay is simple yet engaging, the story levels in later chapters are pretty challenging, and the attention paid to the characters (artwork and voicework) is great. If you put in the time and grind a little, there's no need to pay anything to play. After playing it for a few hours or so this weekend I'd put it around an 8/10, but I understand the reasoning behind the score in this review. It's hard to beat a Nintendo game you can download and play that costs you nothing and scores a 7.
This game heavily preys on Fire Emblem veterans who are very familiar with these characters and love them to death. That causes them to want to spend money to get these characters. That's why I quit.
...I still don't get it when people say this game is pay-to-win. The only thing you can spend money on atm is purchasing orbs, which can be earned by beating story mode/giving you for free on a daily basis in game/redeeming for free on My Nintendo website. And orbs only summon heroes, it does not give them skills/level them up.
If you use Training tower regularly you can beat this game.
One certainly can beat this title not spending a cent. Maxed my castle and got 3 full sets before beating the game. Its going to get grindy or pay to win if luck is against you I'm sure based on 9-5 Normal.
@RGnsd The micro-transactions are overpriced... It's still cool seeing FE on a mobile device, it's just not the type of game for me.
"The final third of the story demands more powerful units, and the requirements for taking them beyond level 20 are borderline ludicrous at this stage. It's here you realise that your starter units - which are low in rarity 'star' ratings - may not quite cut it, and you're tempted to 'Summon'."
And herein lies your problem. Why did you not already have some powerful summoned characters prior to the final third? I have been trying to use the story characters a lot for the challenge, but I had a crew of powerful 4 star characters long before the final third. I spent no money to do this, and I was never even lucky enough to get a 5 star.
@PotatoTheG but...you really don't have to pay for that... It's not necessary at all. Right now they are giving free orbs to people everyday. I just got 10 free orbs today...
@Dissident I'll share some of my luck of getting 5-star units with you!
Pretty decent for a mobile game, but I'd recommend just waiting for Fire Emblem Echoes.
I've been having a lot of fun with this game and even got a few lucky pulls. Looking forward to how future events and updates will turn out.
@TreasureFan Why wait when this is free?
I love fire emblem but this suffers like all mobile games. I think 7 is far too good a score. I would have gone 4. The game is a blatant cash grab that gives absolutely nothing back. Such are all mobile games. Its like diet x 2 fire emblem. Because diet x1 wouldnt express enough alone.
@bolt05 I don't understand this at all. I haven't paid and I'm far in the game. How is that a cash grab? If you want to be a completionist, it is expensive, but otherwise it is free.
Eh, this is better than a seven, even with the f2p aspects of it. I haven't spent a dime and yet I'm still enjoying my time with it after who knows how many hours.
@Late
I love Arthur's appearance in the game as well. Almost has that Code Name: Steam look.
I'll likely try the free elements of this when I get a phone that actually has access to the game.
@rjejr you get orbs while playing, a common practice is to reroll at the beginning (finish tutorial for 15 orbs, get 2 login bonus orbs, finish 3 chapters for 3 more orbs and try to get 5 people who are good)
Seeing how the game is an evolving one, is this review going to evolve. Reviewing it off 1.1 of whatever it's at is only good until they add more things.
@uhhhhhhhh I didn't notice that but now I can't un-notice it.
The game is fun to play in short bursts, it obviously tries to get the player to spend on micro transactions like any mobile game. Getting Orbs for the most part isn't too difficult now but it certainly is a pain to get 20 to summon 5 characters.
It was only a matter of time that Nintendo made a phone game that utilizes some money grabbing mechanics, heck this is what investors have been wanting from Super Mario Run. Nintendo will still make the traditional games fans know and love and if this game can make Fire Emblem more popular to the masses I don't see how that is a bad thing. More money for Nintendo is more money to make us games for their dedicated systems!
@Tiredman You have just described every gacha game in existence, and they are all doing fabulously so I think you are mistaken.
@Tyranexx just download the apk file for the game. That's what I did.
It's one of the best F2P games out there...
Not like that's a huge bar or anything.
I think this game is brilliant. I've been playing almost nonstop since I got it on the 2nd. I haven't spent any money yet though, which may be bad for Nintendo. I just haven't seen a need to. But the game itself is loads of fun. I'd say a 9/10.
@Dissident bad game is bad. Its a hollow shadow of a fire emblem game. The entire game is a cash grab from fans. My opinion can be different to yours.
This game has grabbed me in a big way. I can't stop playing it and enjoy collecting and levelling the characters. I am even enjoying the grind not seeing any of the pay to win aspect yet, think the review might just be a bit bias against mobile games. but it does make me really want fire emblem on the switch!!!!
@BensonUii Yeah, I think this is a tough game to 'review' in some ways, because moreso than a typical console game it really hits it off with some gaming sensibilities more than others. I've struggled to really love it and find it difficult to enjoy, and I'm someone that's spent more hours than I'd care to count on Awakening and Fates. I tried to be fair to it though (and I do think there are a few issues) and, after all, review are opinions
I'm really glad that so many are digging it though, as it is nice (now that the era is well and truly here) that some Nintendo experiences can be dipped into on a phone like this.
It's a decent game, though I'm not going to spend any money since the orbs seem expensive, and I hate spending money without a guarantee of what I'm going to get in return. I'll probably just play through the main story, then move on to a different game.
App store says it has "infrequent sexuality and nudity"
Anybody know why it says that? infrequent or not, especially the latter of those would seem to be a pretty big turn off for family friendly nintendo games on mobile. maybe it's just a weird phrasing in the app store rating system?
@speedracer216 Some of the character art is a bit skimpy, Ã la Senran Kangura Burst. I also have one character whose language is a bit... violent - "Killing is now". It's likely not an issue for the majority, but I did notice it and thought to myself that I'm not sure I really like that. It's not something that will make me stop playing it - the cost of orbs and relentless grind will likely do that - but for younger or impressionable kids, I'm not sure. That's an issue for individual parents. Could also be me being too used to Nintendo's santitisation process. I do prefer to use gaming to escape somewhere that lets me forget some of the horrific stuff going on in the world out there, but I have lived in a war zone so I probably am oversensitive to that kind of thing. Anyway, this is obviously just an opinion. I have no probelm with everybody enjoying their games how they want to.
@rjejr "Godzilla victory march" I shall never be able to get that image out of my head. The title song is so cheesy that it's brilliant.
I've been playing it, casually (only at the end of chapter 2) but really enjoying this game so far. I happened to get a 5star character and a bunch of 4 star characters. I grind a lot with the characters, going back to old chapters with my low lvl characters, so I don't find it to be a money grab yet.
I think the lack of an in-depth story allows casual gamers to jump in and not be intimated. I'm not an expert on FE, so this made it really easy for me to get right to it.
Been inspired to get playing more Fire Emblem because of this game. Downloaded The Blazing Blade this morning.
@Dissident I know it's free, but it's really nothing to sneeze at, it's just decent. But if someone has a smart phone and nothing else to do, then get it if you want.
@Sakura Now I just want to hang out with Takai, drink a few beers and watch Godzilla vs Megalon. But that's pretty much all I ever want to do anyway.
Sounds like the same kind if F2P bullcrap that Ninty's released before. So, eff the shiz, I'm out...
Surprised by how solid the gameplay is, a lot of clever abilities have been added on the characters, and the artwork is fantastic.
I don't mind the smaller map sizes (I thought I would), but they're larger than I expected and large enough, and works best for keeping the action on hand on one screen.
The transition of Fire Emblem to mobile is much more solid than I anticipated per gameplay, things are streamlined, it maintains the feel of fire emblem while simplifying things, yet also maintaining a lot of unique character/weapon combinations. Some of the abilities here are very interesting, and I feel like the strategy here surpasses that of the mainstream games.
Not sure if there's official, real-time PVP (player vs player), but if not that really needs to happen, cause it'd be a fantastic addition especially with the shorter battles and ability / character combos that can be pulled off.
Unfortunately, while I feel it has a ton of potential, the biggest gripes come back to the mobile free-to-play elements. There is a fair amount of generous items given for free, to start, but I can see trying to create the best or even a few five star heroes being a very tedious/grindy effort. An example is trying to get a good assortment of characters, the orbs you accrue you accrue very slowly, and while they have hundreds of characters, you'll probably only summon 2-3 dozen of them before running dry. When you do summon for a hero, the random nature of it makes it all that much harder to get any specific hero you want (and even if you do get one you like, it most likely will not be five star so it will involve grinding in some fashion to make them great).
The rate to upgrade a 3 star hero to a 4 star is decent, 2000 hero feathers (very do-able if you do battle arena well, can get 6-8k for 5-6 low level wins).
The rate to upgrade a 4 star hero to 5 is...20,000 hero feathers?! Unless the battle arena starts kicking it up a couple of gears I anticipate giving up on the game before getting to upgrade many heroes this way.
I see a lot of potential with the game, but it's ruined and makes me despise all the more the standard mobile free to play paywalls. I'd much rather have paid a flat rate for the game, once ($10-20), with a steady daily influx of orbs and materials for use of leveling a character up daily. That'd be fair imo and then I'd get to experience / enjoy the game more fully. As is, I'd probably get to experience about 10-20% of the characters as a free user, and any serious investment or attempt to collect a good % beyond that or max a team or two would either take a drastic level of effort or money, as in several hundreds of dollars, which just isn't reasonable or feasible to the average gamer, and makes the company look greedy. It's a shame that they finally make a good game on mobile, but the majority will be locked out of it.
If the game is good, I wouldn't mind paying a bit to support, but when the prices are this high, I tend to avoid paying to discourage such pricing schemes.
Ah well. Console gaming takes the cake, forever, I suppose.
@Kalmaro Not really. Go play Final Fantasy Brave Exvius or another fun little game called Crusaders Quest. Both have a gacha system, but both feature a ton of extras to keep you busy, especially Crusaders Quest. Tons of examples of much better games out there nintendo could of checked, but doubt they did relying on DENA, was it, can't remember exactly. FE is not a good example of Nintendo's usually quality releases.
Lame review. Comparing them to other games in the series is pointless, especially with a new "core" FE game coming in a few months.
It's a mobile game. You don't play mobile games when you the time or capability to play a console or handhelds - not if you read this blogsite. It's a time-kiiler.
Reviewed on those merits, 8-4 Play put it best: it's Monster Strike, but instead of dumb pinball it's Fire Emblem tactics in 30 second bursts, and you might actually care about the characters you get.
10/10 cuz what did you really expect. It's fine, and kinda perfect for what it's meant to be.
@DeltaPeng Great summation, but I don't really mind the money aspect. I haven't seen the wall yet where you'd NEED to spend any extra money as you get plenty of orbs from the main story. But I'm only at chapter 8 so maybe I'm wrong.
@Tiredman Extavis doesn't give you the freedom to make basically any unit the same as one of the max rarity units. It does have way more story but it wasn't all that entertaining to me since the combat was just... Not as engaging. Though the game looked fantastic and the music was great.
This game I have higher hopes for since the style of combat appeals more to me and I don't have to stress over getting units who are super high rarity. I can just play and rank them up over time as I do other stuff.
That said, all comes down to opinion, hard to say one game is better than another without a standard to go by.
I have enjoyed it, but it feels too shallow and lite to me even compared to other mobile games (still playing Pokemon Shuffle & a similiar FF game).
The small maps and limit of 4on4 just makes it too simple. If there was no leveling, and it was more about pure strategy (i.e. Advance Wars) it would have been much better.
Will play occasionally, but I can't see myself getting into this.
It does look quite nice though (esp. on a S7 Edge!).
It's alright - so far, I got more playtime out of this than from all the other free-to-play Nintendo games combined on 3DS, WiiU and mobile. I'm not a Fire Embelm fan and I find absurd that something so dull as this has replaced Advance Wars as their main strategy series, but nontheless I'm playing the game and I'm enjoying it.
How this gets a 7/10 and Pokémon gets a 8/10 is beyond me. This game has actual battles that representa at least 70℅ of what a true Fire Emblem is, the good part is that RNG won't screw you over a battle. Pokémon has a crap casual battle system that doesn't even represent the true games, and a pure gimmick catch system and is praised.
@Locke159 I got a 3 star Anna already and She can use a Silver Axe. Big upgrade If you ask me. All of the starters has their own "legendary" weapon at 5 star, so I guess It is worth It.
I'm currently addicted to this game! They've done a great job, my only issue is the ludicious cost of DLC, they'd make more money if they reduced the cost. Hope they add a proper pvp battle mode in the future.
Great introduction into the world of Fire Emblem easy enough for newbie and enough fan service to please the fans.
@rjejr I remember watching Godzilla and Godzuki on a Saturday morning when I was very young. Back then when there were no dedicated children's channels, 3 or 4 channels in total and Saturday morning was it. Good times.
@Sakura
Up from the depths
30 stories high
breathing fire
he stands in the sky
Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla
and Godzuki
That's all I can do off the top of my head. I actually walk around the house singing that occasionally, much to the amusement of my wife and kids.
I've got a strategy question maybe someone can help with. I have 3 Lissa's. A 1☆, 2☆, and 3☆. Obviously the 3☆ is the best current option, but what would the most effective method of combining them be? I have enough feathers to upgrade the weaker ones if it would make a significant difference.
Thoughts?
I really wish I could play this, but aparently, my tablet is too old to run the game. I just keep crashing all the time.
Funny, it doesn't look like the kind of game that would require THAT much from a mobile.
@rjejr I can occassionally be heard singing Defenders of the Earth.
@Sakura I like my robots heavy metal.
@rjejr That's pretty heavy
The game itself doesn't look that bad, but I of course hate the microtransactions and the constant need of a internet-connection.
I don't have a suitable smartphone, so I won't be playing it anyway.
@bolt05
It's a mobile game. The quality of mobile game can't be compared to the console games, since they are designed with touch screen controls and faster gameplay in mind. If this game is bad, then I have bad news: most other mobile games are even worse, so maybe you should stick to higher quality console games. They cost money unlike this, but at least you get higher quality.
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