When two characters achieve S rank support, they can also get married and (by some strange act of time-bending magic) produce children that will eventually fight alongside you later on. By pairing them up or having them stand next to each other in battle, certain characters can give each other stat boosts once they reach a certain support rank. Improving character relationships is particularly important in Fates, as Fire Emblem's intricate support systems play an even greater role here than they did in Awakening. You can send out these scouts after each big chapter encounter, and emerging victorious from these small skirmishes will earn you more items and experience points, and hasten the bonds between your warriors. As with the excellent Fire Emblem Awakening (also on 3DS), the basic setup boils down to moving your warriors round a board of tiled squares, bringing them in range of your enemies and letting their attacks fly in dramatic, 3D battle sequences.īirthright is probably the best place to start for Fire Emblem newcomers, as this version bears the greatest resemblance to Awakening and has simpler objectives and an easier, more relaxed levelling system. This is thanks to Birthright's Scout feature, which lets you seek out endless extra battles at the expense of some gold. Yet, judging Fire Emblem Fates solely on the strength of that one moment would be incredibly short-sighted, as Intelligent Systems has once again delivered a first-in-class strategy game that's more ruthless and more ambitious than any other game in the series. As it stands, the whole scenario feels terribly under-cooked and it's so lacking in moral complexity that it almost feels rather arbitrary, as if you're simply making a decision about whether you like the idea of riding around a Pegasus and firing shurikens for the rest of the game, or fancy mastering the art of wyvern riding and magic spells. Those who buy the game digitally through the Nintendo eShop will, in fact, be able to choose one way or the other, but either way, I can't help but feel like Intelligent Systems could have made more of this big, fate-altering moment. It's a similar idea to the Pokemon series, but unlike Pokemon X or Y, or Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Fire Emblem Fates isn't simply the same game with a handful of different characters, as both instalments are drastically different in tone and overall difficulty. In the former, you'll automatically side with the Hoshido family, while Conquest sees you making the positively backward decision of sticking with your Nohrian relatives. For this year, Fire Emblem Fates is split into two distinct titles – Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. The Western-rooted Nohr might have raised you as one of their own for most of your life, but in the space of two hours you quickly find out that they also kidnapped you as a child, tried to have you murdered and that they clearly have a deluded and bloodthirsty dictator sitting on the throne. It's a situation that's about as black and white as they come, and your Nohr siblings don't exactly bring much nuance to the situation, either, as the limited amount of screen time you spend with them before that aforementioned 'big decision' doesn't exactly make it easy to form a lasting attachment to their way of life.Īnd yet, you don't really get to make a choice at all, as most people will already have bought into one family or the other before they even turn on the game. In a way, the answer is simple, as the game does its absolute best to present the Japanese-inspired Hoshido family as the only right and honourable choice. They're the lifeblood of all good strategy games, but there's one particular choice in Fire Emblem Fates that's arguably more important than any other decision you'll make in the entire game.ĭo you side with the good, noble Hoshido clan – your blood family by birth – or do you reject your familial bonds to stay with your adopted brethren in the kingdom of Nohr, a sworn enemy of Hoshido and the seat of a mad, evil king?
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