Fire Emblem: Awakening was a title that helped to ‘save’ its franchise, and Fire Emblem Fates took those foundations and built upon them in a big way. With the FE series now well and truly alive and key to Nintendo’s plans, as shown with the mobile release of Fire Emblem Heroes – there’s now a welcome chance to offer different approaches to the IP. Fire Emblem Warriors will do that with its action-based approach later in the year, but series veterans or budding strategists should certainly be keeping an eye on Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
As a remaster / reimagining of the Famicom title Fire Emblem Gaiden it has a more ‘old-school’ approach, albeit presented through the updated graphics engine. As a result those that have only become familiar with the series in this current generation will have what feels like a new experience, while importers and veterans can see how well the source material has been treated.
The overview video from Nintendo, below, gives a nice idea of how this entry’s gameplay and mechanics differ from Awakening and Fates.
With some tasty limited edition bundles on the way, this could be a big release for the 3DS in May – are you planning to pick it up?