Set some time aside, and enjoy the ride.
When reviewing games, I often gravitate towards titles I’m comfortable with and genres I’m versed in. In several ways, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is a first for me.
It’s the first game I’ve played in the franchise, and the first of its kind when it comes to a tactical, grid-based RPG. And while my opinion may differ from series vets (it may not be enough Fire Emblem for some, or too different for others), I’m confident in saying that it’s a very well-made, deep, customizable, and lengthy journey that should keep players busy for a while.
The biggest drawback to Fire Emblem for me was how much there is to learn and keep track of. As a bit of a noob to the tactical RPG genre, the main reason I steered clear was the battlefield full of tiles and its turn-based, strategy combat style. I always felt it would be boring, but I was clearly wrong. The learning curve is steep at first, but it’s very fun when you get the hang of it.
Taking the reins of five playable heroes across their own individual campaigns, you must level up, unlock new abilities, and recruit soldiers to join you in battle. I found out that latter part the hard way, as I was trucking along through one story and quickly found myself overwhelmed with numbers. Welcome to Fire Emblem, I guess.
Your main characters all have ancillary companions who join them in battle and throughout the story, but the recruitment of soldiers in the main city of Dagsion is one of the main draws of the franchise. And it’s quite delightful. After leveling up your Renown level and then interacting with sellswords and mercenaries around the city, you can give them gifts to try and recruit them to your cause, and filling out your roster with them is a blast. From there, they can also be leveled up, have their class gear and expertise tweaked, and further fleshed out as a battle buddy.
Fortune’s Weave shakes the battlefield up with a new feature called Blaze Arts, each main hero’s special ability that each has a drawback. The heroes are all dealing with some sort of curse, and that curse gifts them with powerful attacks that also draw from their HP. You lose the battle if your main hero dies at any time, so it’s a give-and-take that you must master along with the basic strategy combat of positioning your team to survive enemy turns. It’s a lot to keep track of, but when paced properly and I learned to take my time with decision-making, it became extremely satisfying to conquer foes. It’s an interesting wrinkle to what’s otherwise straightforward menu navigation through just about every facet.
If you mess up (and I did that a lot), the goddess Fortuna gifts you the ability to roll back time and replay any turn, and this is massive for an inexperienced player like myself. Purists may feel like it’s “cheating” as it lessens the impact of consequences, but I felt ever-grateful for it after getting stuck on certain large-scale battles throughout each campaign. Several other gods offer various blessings to choose from as well, helping customize your battle style further.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/fire-emblem-fortunes-weave-review/
