Unlike many other Fire Emblem games, the Weapon Triangle (a rock–paper–scissors system where certain weapons have advantages over others) and limited weapon durability are removed. During an attack, the view transitions from a top-down perspective to a third-person view. Battles take place on a grid-based battlefield, with turns being given for players and enemies. Īs with other Fire Emblem games, Fire Emblem Echoes uses a turn-based system where each unit on both sides is given their chance to move and act. Encountering enemies on the world map or in dungeons will trigger a battle. Environments are split between battle maps similar to earlier Fire Emblem games, towns which can be explored to find friendly non-playable characters (NPCs) which run shops, and dungeons the player can explore. The player navigates Valentia using a world map, going to different story-based and optional locations. Casual Mode enables units to be revived at the end of a battle.
In Classic Mode, a fallen unit is subject to permanent death, a recurring mode in the Fire Emblem series that removes fallen characters from the rest of the game (though it is possible in Echoes to revive fallen units a limited number of times). There are two difficulty settings (Normal and Hard) and two modes that dictate the fate of characters that fall in battle. The basic mechanics of the battle system are all displayed.įire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a tactical role-playing game in which players command two armies on opposite sides of a war on the continent of Valentia. Screenshot of a battle in Fire Emblem Echoes, showing a player unit attacking an enemy unit. The game released to strong sales worldwide, receiving positive reviews from critics. While Gaiden remains exclusive to Japan, Fire Emblem Echoes was localized by 8-4. The game carried over the unconventional mechanics of Gaiden while expanding and rebuilding the story and gameplay based on recent Fire Emblem games and the team's wishes for added role-playing elements. Intended as the culmination of the Fire Emblem series on the 3DS platform, several staff members from both Fates and Fire Emblem Awakening were involved. Fire Emblem Echoes carries over the core gameplay mechanics of the Fire Emblem series while incorporating mechanics from Gaiden like dungeon crawling.ĭevelopment of Fire Emblem Echoes began in 2015 following the completion of Fire Emblem Fates. It follows dual protagonists Alm and Celica as they aim to bring an end to the war through opposite methods, with Alm fighting to resolve the war through battle, while Celica attempts to find a peaceful end through guidance from the Goddess Mila.
It is the fifteenth installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the 1992 Famicom game Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second entry in the series. Faye, for example, has a pretty shitty ending no matter what you do, and that bugs me.Īgain, it's not a dealbreaker or anything, but I find it pretty boring.Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld video game console in 2017. Now I'm not saying I want everyone to be able to hook up with everyone as if we were playing Mass Effect here, and I've got nothing against canon pairings, but the fact that I can't alter the destiny of a character, as dramatic as that sounds, has me slightly miffed. These endings also don't change depending on the supports gained throughout the game, though a few change depending on which characters survive the main story. A lot of them are very similar with a few of them being literally word for word to what they were in Gaiden. So I've got to be honest, while Shadows of Valentia looks like it's going to deliver on most levels, I'm disappointed in the character endings. Unmarked spoilers ahead! We'll be discussing the character endings here, so please turn back now if you don't want to know anything about them.