Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Reviews
Fire Emblem Echoes could have been held back by its need to usher the second iteration back into the fold, but it still feels like a fresh new entry. It is weaker than the last few games, but those bars were set so high that I won't hold that against it.
Far from the quick-and-dirty update it might have been, Shadows of Valentia is no Awakening, but an enlightening and worthwhile history lesson.
This might be the most well-rounded and best Fire Emblem game on 3DS. It's a good enough reason to put the Switch down and dust off Nintendo's dual screen wonder.
On the battlefield, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shades of Valentia is a delightful look into the simpler combat of Fire Emblem's past. Elsewhere, it carefully guides the series forward into new territory. There's not as much depth as I expect from this series, but whether I was exploring 3D forests, shrines, and caves in a series first, or learning first hand why Fire Emblem's early entries are considered a formidable challenge, it was usually good old-fashioned fun.
Fire Emblem Echoes' combat and exploration work so well that you won't lament the absence of the series' recent dating-sim whims.
'Fire Emblem Echoes' combines a wonderful blend of modern and legacy gameplay in a package that successfully introduces the world to a title that never made its way to the West. With a well-written plot and brilliant characterization, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a remake of the highest caliber, with welcome additions that still manage to stay in tune with the original.
As the last Fire Emblem chapter on Nintendo's heroic handheld, Echoes delivers a perfect swan song for the series' 3DS days. This is a satisfying, deeply strategic adventure with an engaging, personal story and beautiful presentation, full of appealing art and lovely details that come alive as you play. But more than that, it's also just delightfully different from its predecessors, in ways that only broaden its appeal.
The game felt somewhat on the easier side and the dungeons could've had a little more to do. Those are minor things in a journey that doesn't slow down from start to finish. If you're here to be enchanted, Fire Emblem Echoes delivers in spades.
Fire Emblem Gaiden was the most atypical chapter in the series, containing elements which were later abandoned in the future iterations of the franchise. Thanks to its renewed graphics and some features that make its gameplay less cumbersome and inflexible, Shadows of Valentia could be considered the sum of what Fire Emblem saga has proposed so far.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a quality Fire Emblem game, no doubt about it. It'll feel strange at first for those who started with Blazing Blade or a later title, but not in a bad way. Once you get used to its little quirks, any Fire Emblem fan will love this game. It's got an engaging story, likable characters, and multifaceted gameplay that stands together with the rest of the series in some ways and sets itself apart in other aspects. Whether you were looking for a change of pace or just more Fire Emblem, this game is sure to satisfy.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia isn't just an old game with a new coat of paint that brings everything from cinematics through to voice acting into a more modern age of gaming. It's also a prime example of how the fundamentals of a classic game can still resonate today with newer audiences. Good game design stands the test of time, something that Shadows of Valentia has plenty of.
It's funny how a remake of a game that never originally hit the West can feel like such a step forward. There are a couple questionable choices, like the removal of the weapons triangle, and series purists might grumble over some other changes like dungeon exploration, but overall Shadows of Valentia feels like the next great step in Fire Emblem.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a nice way of playing Fire Emblem Gaiden but it fails to achieve the quality of the latest games of the franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I'm already looking forward to replaying the scores of missions I'd already completed, this time with an aim to doing things a little differently and maybe saving some lives. And if my eager anticipation to replay a big chunk of a game I just played isn't a recommendation, I'm not sure what is.
Put aside any misconceptions you have about strategy RPGs, Shadows of Valentia demands your time and will make you feel good for it.
Despite being a remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is one of the most outstanding games to come to Nintendo 3DS this year. Also it's one of the best deliveries of Fire Emblem thanks to inclusion of novelties as exploration in 3D and classic elements of the saga.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While the Nintendo Switch is getting a lot of attention, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a great reminder that the 3DS can still deliver great games. This is the first must-own 3DS title of 2017.
It took me a little under 30 hours to complete the main game. The game was a complete saga. I bring this up because Nintendo has an aggressive DLC schedule planned for this latest Fire Emblem edition that may push the boundaries of decency. A season pass costs $5 more than the actual game. There are even two dungeons that are tied to the Alm and Celica Amiibos. This is another $25 if you want all the content for Echoes. All said that’s $110. But rest assured that when you spend your $40 you are buying a complete experience. Not a skeleton that will be fleshed out by nickel and diming you.
The combat, although robust, tends to frustrate and the story, although impeccable in presentation, doesn't quite feel as sweeping and romantic as previous titles on the 3DS.
I both love and hate this game. The bulk of the package is so good that it's tempting to forgive its unbalanced difficulty. But alas, the combat comprises the majority of the game, putting Shadows of Valentia's more obnoxious qualities front and center. It's worth checking out, but be ready to be immensely frustrated.