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momobage · 7 years

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Fire Emblem Heroes Review: Did you ever know that you’re my hero?

Fire Emblem Heroes (ファイアーエムブレムヒーローズ) is a Japanese tactical role-playing game (RPG) developed by Nintendo. The goal of the game is to gather heroes through summons (gachas) and strategically battle against computerized opponents and players from around the world. With a four-person team, the player makes decisions based on characters’ skill level, weapon type, and positioning. As you defeat opponents, you gain items, unlock story chapters and event paralogues, and uncover the reason for the war between the Kingdom of Askr and the Emblian Empire.

I absolutely love the Fire Emblem Series. I use to watch my older siblings and cousins use Roy and Marth when playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on GameCube. I had also already played Fire Emblem: Awakening, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, and Fire Emblem: Conquest. So, unlike other mobile games, I was excitingly anticipating the release.

P.S. My Brother just bought me the Official Artbook for Fire Emblem: Awakening! It’s so pretty and the process work is amazing!

Main gameplay: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥♡

The main gameplay for Fire Emblem Heroes is easy and addictive. You form teams from characters won from the summons and battle against computerized opponents or other players in the “Arena.” If you win, you can receive items that help increase skills and maximize a character’s potential power. Since this was one of Nintendo’s first mobile games, there was a large amount of hype from fans and other gamers. I was one of them! Unlike most mobile games, it is available in a wide range of languages such as English, French, and Spanish; however, the language voicing for characters is only in English or Japanese. This makes it very easy for players from around the world to play without struggling against language barriers or trying to find tutorials. At first, I played in Japanese because some of my favourite voice actors were in the game, like Miyano Mamoru, Kaji Yuki, and Junichi Suwabe. However, I started struggling trying to read the missions and stories, so I switched to English. The English voice dubbing isn’t my preference but it could be a lot worse; at least the dubbed voices suit the characters.

The game is very straightforward and well-developed. Although it incorporates many heroes from various Fire Emblem games, it isn’t necessary to play any of the previous games to understand the stories or the characters. It does help having experience playing the other games, since the system is similar. But even for beginners, navigating through is a piece of cake! However, if you want to know basic info, need help, or want to chat with other players, I would recommend looking through the Fire Emblem Heroes Wiki and the Fire Emblem Heroes Reddit. Or you can watch Pheonixmaster1 on YouTube who does Arena duels, tries new summons, and reviews new characters.

This game is free to play, but uses an in-game currency called Orbs. During the first few months after the initial release, Nintendo gave out many free daily orbs as a celebration gift. You can easily obtain orbs by completing stories, paralogues, and missions. Obtaining free orbs can be a bit difficult once you’ve finished everything though, but new chapters, special maps, and missions release every month or so. However, a common annoyance in mobile games are gachas and having no luck. Although the percentage rates for a five-star character are higher than other games, the chances of winning one are quite slim. Especially since you only get a maximum of five characters, when other games have a maximum of ten. Thus, some hardcore players buy hundreds of orbs trying to summon their favourite characters, but either end up with none or only one copy. Surprisingly, I have only spent a total of $35, a new low record! I’m honestly not sure why I’ve spent so little, even though I have no self-control for other mobile games. But I guess this means I’m getting better with spending! … Just kidding, I think I’m getting worse due to another game I play, but more information on that next time.

Overall, the gameplay is fun and simple for anyone to enjoy. It isn’t necessary to play the previous games or to spend money if you use your orbs wisely. I recommend checking the summon rates daily if you really want a new or a favourite character because the rates can increase a little bit before the summon ends. I think there will always be frustrating times, like losing a battle or not getting a five-star character, but I really enjoy playing

Fire Emblem Heroes

for its easy gameplay, beautiful character art, and nostalgic feeling.

Characters: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥♡

There are a variety of characters from different series within Fire Emblem Heroes. The entire concept of the game is to be able to summon heroes of different worlds to fight against the Emblian Empire. The game will feature more characters later, but, for now, characters including Olivia, Ike, and Lukas (above photos) are popular fan-favourites. Many other popular characters are from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, and Fire Emblem: Archanea Series.

A unique feature about Fire Emblem Heroes is that a different artist draws each character. This doesn’t happen often in games since they usually want the characters to look consistent and harmonious. But to emphasize the collecting of multiple heroes across multiple games, they show it through the variety of art styles: from painted styles to watercolour and cel-shading to comic book. However, a part of me wishes the drawing style was more uniform. I understand that a cute anime style wouldn’t work aesthetically for every character, but if the style were more consistent, I feel like it would help me get to know all the characters equally, rather than just liking the ones drawn in a cuter or prettier style. Still, perhaps it’s better the way it is. Plus, if there is an artist I end up liking a lot, I can find their name and become a fan.

Compared to other mobile games, it is difficult to like every character, since many of them are from different series. Although it is nice to include old heroes, especially to appeal to the younger generations, I usually do not know enough about the characters to decide if I like them or not. Until I play the other games, I can only judge based on their appearance, voice and statistics, which feels a bit shallow. But, within the Fire Emblem games I have played, I will always have a special place in my heart for Stahl and Takumi.

(Left: Official Stahl Artwork, Right: FE: Awakening in-game sprite)

Stahl is a kind and gentle cavalier with a big heart. He is scatterbrained and forever hungry, but he will always support his friends, even to the point of sacrificing himself. When I first saw Stahl in Fire Emblem: Awakening, I immediately thought, “I’m going to marry him.” which is possible. Nintendo introduced a support feature which allows players to marry a character (of the opposite gender) to form a better relationship. After any of the female characters marry, a new prologue appears where you can recruit the character’s child. Regardless of the player’s gender, after marriage, there will be a prologue to recruit your child, Morgan. This support feature can also be used to bond with other members in your team and boost your skills during battles. Sadly, I wasn’t aware that you could automatically marry Chrom if you had a good relationship by a certain chapter. So, I had to play the game through again before I could marry Stahl. In Fire Emblem Heroes, he has that same calm and attentive personality that I love so much. I do have him as a four-star character, but I don’t use him that much. I think training a character here is quite different compared to the other Fire Emblem games so I get lazy and lose interest.

(Left: Official Takumi Artwork, Right: FEF: Birthright in-game sprite)

Takumi is the third sibling of the Hoshido family from Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright. He feels constantly overshadowed by his talented older siblings and always trains himself to become stronger and useful. His personality is quite different from Stahl’s, as he is more cautious, serious and a bit arrogant. But he loves and respects his family, friends, and other fellow allies. The first time I saw Takumi I loved his serious and stubborn personality. I think the difference between Stahl and Takumi is that Takumi is the type of character you don’t start loving until you get to know him. When I heard his story about how he wants to improve himself, to get stronger to protect his family and not feel useless and depressed, it really made me feel connected to him. I could relate because of my own troubles and worries. In Fire Emblem Heroes, Takumi is one of the strongest and rarest character available. He still has the same personality, but since the game is meant to be a short glimpse at the characters, I don’t feel that emotionally connected with him here. I think this lost deep connection makes you only see what characters look like and what they can do.

Story: 2/5 ♥♥♡♡♡

The overall story for Fire Emblem Heroes is interesting but not good as their previous games. Since this is the first mobile game for the Fire Emblem series, how they set up the game makes the story quite short. Each chapter only has a brief visual element and then goes into the gameplay. Compared to the previous games which had about twenty-five story chapters that helped build the plot and drama, this one seems kind of boring and simple. I wish they could implement the support function they used in Awakening and Fates because it would help players build relationships with characters they are unfamiliar with. However, I understand that since the characters are from a variety of games, they could never properly or realistically interact. The lack of story doesn’t discourage me from playing the game, but it makes me feel like there should be a better plot keep it exciting.

Overall: 3.33/5 ♥♥♥♡♡

Fire Emblem Heroes is a fun and straightforward game that anyone can play. The graphics and illustrations are wonderful. I really respect all the artists and developers who worked on this project. Although the story is not as interesting as it could be, I think there is still potential to continue developing it into something more complex and praise-worthy. However, for any beginner who wants to play a simple RPG, I’d recommend this game as a good introduction. If you end up loving it, you can start playing the other Fire Emblem games. Since I’m invested in the series, I do also feel a bit more hypercritical of this game compared to others. But regardless, I can’t wait to see which character Nintendo will introduce in the future.

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