Board 8 > It's been a few years. Is Fire Emblem Fates worth it?

(+) Yeah! (+)

This is the only place I visit that I feel could give an informed opinion of this, so I felt I'd ask. I was reminded yesterday that this remains the only US-release Fire Emblem that I do not have barring Three Houses (Unless you count Warriors, which can apparently be bought in droves on Ebay for $10, and I don't have a Switch yet).

Most of what I remember hearing about this game is mixed, such as Birthright being too easy or Conquest's story being too lax, but I haven't heard much of it in the past couple of years. Buying one physical + revelations appears to be about $50 right now.


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Just play Conquest and forget the rest. It's not worth playing all of them, especially not Revelations
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Just play Conquest and forget the rest. It's not worth playing all of them, especially not Revelations

Revelations is that bad?

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For my casual scrub money, it's close enough to Awakening that I have a lot of trouble keeping them straight. I figure whatever your opinion of Awakening is would be a good starting point.

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They're all really really bad, Conquest included.

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Still mixed it looks like~

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Conquest has good map design, but the story is pure nonsense.

Birthright has a merely bad story, but braindead map design.

Revelations is meh in both regards, and you have to play the others first for it to make sense.

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Tom Bombadil posted...

For my casual scrub money, it's close enough to Awakening that I have a lot of trouble keeping them straight. I figure whatever your opinion of Awakening is would be a good starting point.

I agree with using Awakening as a starting point, because they are fairly similar, but I would specifically set that starting point to whatever your score for Awakening would be and then knock two or three points off of it. That should give you a pretty close estimate of what you'll score Conquest after playing it. The other two aren't worth it at all.

My recommendation if you've got the FE itch and don't have access to 3H is to save your money and just grab a couple emulators. Play the translation patches of the Japan-only games. If you've already done that too, find a hack/fangame or two - I can tell you from personal experience that there are multiple out there better than Fates.

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Fire Emblem has never been a series that's had very strong stories (though I quite like most of then anyway) but Fates story is worthless. And when half your cast is copy and pasted from Awakening it's just awful. Had more fun with unit customization in Awakening too. Might be one of the worst games I've played. Only glad I didn't buy Conquest/Revelations right away as I'd have been even more disappointed.

So that's a huge noooooope from me.

Kenri posted...

They're all really really bad, Conquest included.

Yeah, this. I don't know how Conquest gets people to say it has good map design when it shares a bunch of gimmicky maps people hate with the other two games.

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Ryoma doesn't even come close to the level of broken that Sigurd and Robin hit.

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fates and awakening were both excellent games to play on the toilet

i don't think they're necessarily good fire emblem games but i had fun mindlessly grinding max stats in the endgame for twenty minutes a day over a few years

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If you want to say you've played them all go for it, but honestly you're probably just better off saving your money and replaying Awakening

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If you do play Fates, just go with Conquest. Though I would caution some of the harder difficulties because the last few stages do not mess around.

Story is really bad and Corrin is an awful protagonist. Conquest cast is pretty OK though, but that might because of the Awakening characters. And Elise. Shes good too.

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It's a Fire Emblem game, arguably more than one of them. If you enjoy Fire Emblem in general, you should enjoy Fates.

Birthright has simple map design and simple story and doesn't take many risks or make too many mistakes with them. Conquest has commendable map design and a story that has a few things to like and a lot of things to hate. Revelations is what you play if you want to have (almost) all the characters from Birthright and Conquest in the same party for maximum support conversations and pairing options. I would generally recommend Conquest, but I don't know where your personal tastes lean.
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I like Conquest's story a lot, but that might be because I enjoy stories where the protagonist makes real bad decisions. I dunno. I'd definitely say it has the best story of the three.

And I like it as a Fire Emblem game, too. It's not my favorite, but there are several I'd rank behind it.
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Conquest has some of the best map design and general gameplay of the entire series. The story is absolutely garbage, however.
Birthright is fine. It's fairly average overall on all counts.
Revelation is pretty bad, though. Almost entirely recycled maps from the other games with worse balance than Birthright, and the story is just as bad as Conquest's.

I will say I generally enjoy most of the characters, though most aren't really top tier either, and it suffers from the same problem Awakening had with its characters (only to a greater degree) where there are just far too many who support too many other people so a lot of the supports are just lame. Three Houses did a hugely better job on this, thankfully.

Overall I'd say its just a painfully average FE game series, with the exception of Conquest's gameplay.

So in summary:

Birthright is easy and generic
Conquest is tough and "why"
Revelations is fanservicey cashgrab

If I had to choose from those descriptions, I guess I'd choose #2? Birthright kind of sounds like FE7, which on a replay a decade later I found so easy I didn't actually finish.

I will say I wasn't exactly impressed by Awakening though.

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People are definitely too hard on these. They are mediocre Fire Emblem games, sure, but that still means they are better than most games. What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise? Fucking Project Steam?

However, if there's even a remotely possibility that you my get a Switch, they aren't even in the same ballpark as Three Houses.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

People are definitely too hard on these. They are mediocre Fire Emblem games, sure, but that still means they are better than most games. What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise? Fucking Project Steam?

However, if there's even a remotely possibility that you my get a Switch, they aren't even in the same ballpark as Three Houses.

Oh I will get a Switch eventually. I didn't have a 3ds until... 2-3 years ago. I bought up a bunch of games at a low-point in price, but much like Awakening, Fates never actually had a low point in price.

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Story-wise, they're not worth it. However, I'd definitely say Conquest is worth it as a game. You sometimes have to solve tricky puzzles to solve the maps. Really fun gameplay and lots of different map objectives. A lot of its maps are definitely more creative and experimental than what Awakening, Birthright, SoV (that one is forgiven I suppose) and Three Houses offer.

Birthright is really boring however (its story is really vanilla and so are most of the maps) and Revelation is mostly tedious by taking Conquest's map gimmicks and then just overdoing it.

So I'd say; go for Conquest expecting a pretty tough but satisfying game with a nonsensical story (but more engaging than BR's because it's so stupid it becomes funny), and if you must, see how things are supposed to wrap up in Revelation.

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Oh re: comparing to Awakening, I do in general actually like Fates better than Awakening. I don't think Awakening was very good at all, honestly.

But the best 3DS FE game is Echoes, even if it does play quite differently than regular FE games. That one is how you do a remake.

Awakening was my first FE, and after enjoying it a lot I was pretty hyped for Fates. I chose Conquest for the difficulty and liking the idea of a darker story, and at first I liked it quite a bit, the gameplay was neat and I figured the plot would kick into gear at some point. But the writing just kept getting more and more stupid and I eventually tuned out. It doesn't commit to its darker premise at all.

Character-wise there's just so many of them that most are left pretty shallow, you'd think the plot-related characters would have it best but in Conquest at least they just oscillate between being complete morons and merciless psychopaths. Combine that with everyone being obsessed with your bland empty avatar and it really is a massive disappointment. They throw in the relationships+kids stuff that Awakening had too but it's significantly worse and more nonsensical this time round. But the gameplay is fun, if a bit frustrating at some points.

Echoes > Awakening > Conquest as far as I'm concerned.

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andylt posted...

It doesn't commit to its darker premise at all.

I mean I guess but Scarlet would like to know your location

Also it doesn't sound like you were going to, but I would not recommend starting with Revelations. It's like the "true route" for after you've already done the others. Then again story is not a huge strong point so eh.

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For some reason I suspect I will be in the minority who likes Conquest more than Awakening. I get the vibe that it's being overhated a little and I've always felt Awakening is overpraised.

Convinced enough not to touch the other two Fates though. I'll just play Conquest like a standalone game.

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I've always thought Awakening is overrated by quite a bit, though a large part of that is my distaste for pokemon breeding in general.

Fates is, indeed, trash. I'm usually not someone who cares about story too much in TRPGs, but Fates is just a train wreck with so many unlikable characters, and it's overloaded with paper-thin waifu bait. At least the Conquest maps are cool. Only pick up Conquest if you do Fates at all. It has the worst plot of any FE I've ever known, but just skip every single dialogue and focus on the scenarios.

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I finished Birthright and like half of Conquest before I started playing something else. Conquest maps were mostly gimmicky junk that werent hard, but I didnt care for them. Overall I definitely liked Awakening a lot more

UshiromiyaEva posted...

People are definitely too hard on these. They are mediocre Fire Emblem games, sure, but that still means they are better than most games. What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise? Fucking Project Steam?

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, the only good 3DS launch game that wasnt a port. It was the return of XCOM before XCOM actually returned. Its still a launch game, but the best turn based strategy youll get from that (pre-XCOM Enemy Unknown, pre-Fire Emblem Awakening) era.

Anyway, Fates is fine. Definitely learned the wrong lessons from Awakening, though the howling outrage it got from the most dedicated fans was entirely unearned.

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

People are definitely too hard on these. They are mediocre Fire Emblem games, sure, but that still means they are better than most games. What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise? Fucking Project Steam?

SMT: Devil Survivor?

Will add to the "Fates is bad Fire Emblem. Would not advise if you have any other FE choice."

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

People are definitely too hard on these. They are mediocre Fire Emblem games, sure, but that still means they are better than most games. What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise? Fucking Project Steam?

Both SMT Devil Survivor games are easily better than Fates.

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I've already played through both Devil Survivors.

Would put them above Awakening.

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Conquest is great gameplay wise, though it's not for you if you want a basic Fire Emblem experience - it's full of skills and stat modifiers and shit that you need to keep in mind to varying extents (unless you play on Normal, then it's pretty much just "use your cool stuff to murder hapless chumps for free"). It's a ton of fun but not for everyone and a bit different than your typical Fire Emblem. Story is dreck.

Birthright's gameplay is bad generic Fire Emblem essentially, you mostly just run headfirst at unimpressive enemies who are rarely aggressive enough or placed well enough to make you think much outside of late game Lunatic. It's a basic FE in a way due to the enemies being mostly generic, but your side has all kinds of toys. Story is inoffensive but bland as hell and utterly devoid of anything worth giving a shit about.

Revelation is terrible in almost every way. If it weren't for Fates having fun mechanics in general and playing super fast and smooth thanks to the good interface and ability to skip nearly everything you don't want to watch it would be the worst in the series, as is it's merely a very close second that kind of hangs out just above the bottom hoping I won't notice it, pay closer attention and perhaps change my mind about exactly how bad it is.

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Fates is a bad game.

If youre jonesing for a fire emblem youve never played check out Vestaria Saga on steam

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UshiromiyaEva posted...

What's their competition on the 3DS for a tactics RPG outside the franchise?

Stella Glow
Devil Survivor
Devil Survivor 2

249USDollars posted...

Stella Glow

Good game with fairly uneventful combat and very uneventful shop system (you can clear the game without ever visiting a shop) furthered by a weak AI that makes it even easier than it should be. especially when it comes to enemy units that don't move. If you come prepared, you can take out one of the nastier boss fights of the game without him even moving off his starting square. Popo can long-shot him from a rooftop, and if you bring enough MP restoring items, she can easily kill or at least severely cripple him by herself with minimal additional investment. It also drags a bit at the end, which is around the same time you get a seriously overpowered character.

... But it's carried by it's story, among other elements. Also, that unlike FE, 90% of your characters don't immediately fade into the background the moment you get them. I definitely don't regret the purchase.

It's a game where if you're looking for a challenge you won't get it. If you're looking for a game that actually tries and more or less successfully paints a narrative while not pulling most of it's punches, it's a good buy.

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Eddv posted...

Fates is a bad game.

If youre jonesing for a fire emblem youve never played check out Vestaria Saga on steam

I wanted to like Vestaria Saga but holy hell that game is hot trash.

Production values of a RPG maker game (it was made in a SRPG maker afterall) but has a bunch of "GOT CHA!" moments that force you to reset the stage and start over. You like same turn reinforement garbage? That game is full of bullshit like that. The game was suppose to be free but instead charge $19.99 for the translation. That's too much for what is basically one of those cheap RPG Maker games that is flooded all over Steam.

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I liked all paths.

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Crescent-Moon posted...

For some reason I suspect I will be in the minority who likes Conquest more than Awakening. I get the vibe that it's being overhated a little and I've always felt Awakening is overpraised.

Convinced enough not to touch the other two Fates though. I'll just play Conquest like a standalone game.

I agree with you. Conquest is actually in my top 3 Fire Emblem games and I basically played all but the Japanese ones.

I will say that, gameplay-wise, Conquest is a straight upgrade from Awakening. All those random +5 to Hit or +10 to Avoid skills are just replaced with more simple +1 damage done or -1 damage received. Reclassing is much more streamlined. Everyone gets a personal skill and 2 other classes that they can reclass to. Pair Up is nerfed, because Fates does "Attack Stance" and "Guard Stance," which I think is much better. The UI looks much nicer. And, of course, the map design is significantly better. Awakening has some of the worst maps in the series and Conquest, while it has its fair share of bad maps, has a lot of stand-out designs. The only thing that I think Awakening does better than Conquest are how they handle the kids.

It's just kinda hard to tell if I want Fates-style gameplay going forward. The next two games are Echoes and Three Houses, which both have radically different styles. I'm not sure if I want Fire Emblem 16 to be refined Three Houses, refined Fates, or something new altogether.

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I need a new FE to be announced. Making me want to play 3H again right now even though I have over 300 hours in that thing.

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SSBM_Guy posted...

I agree with you. Conquest is actually in my top 3 Fire Emblem games and I basically played all but the Japanese ones.

I will say that, gameplay-wise, Conquest is a straight upgrade from Awakening. All those random +5 to Hit or +10 to Avoid skills are just replaced with more simple +1 damage done or -1 damage received. Reclassing is much more streamlined. Everyone gets a personal skill and 2 other classes that they can reclass to. Pair Up is nerfed, because Fates does "Attack Stance" and "Guard Stance," which I think is much better. The UI looks much nicer. And, of course, the map design is significantly better. Awakening has some of the worst maps in the series and Conquest, while it has its fair share of bad maps, has a lot of stand-out designs. The only thing that I think Awakening does better than Conquest are how they handle the kids.

It's just kinda hard to tell if I want Fates-style gameplay going forward. The next two games are Echoes and Three Houses, which both have radically different styles. I'm not sure if I want Fire Emblem 16 to be refined Three Houses, refined Fates, or something new altogether.

I haven't played a second of it yet, it's just a gut feeling I'm going to be in that camp.

Pair up was absurdly broken in Awakening. Actually glad to see it nerfed.

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Lord Ephraim posted...

I wanted to like Vestaria Saga but holy hell that game is hot trash.

Production values of a RPG maker game (it was made in a SRPG maker afterall) but has a bunch of "GOT CHA!" moments that force you to reset the stage and start over. You like same turn reinforement garbage? That game is full of bullshit like that. The game was suppose to be free but instead charge $19.99 for the translation. That's too much for what is basically one of those cheap RPG Maker games that is flooded all over Steam.

who needs vestaria saga when one can instead play high quality SRPGs like
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1053940/Countermark_Saga_Frozen_sword/

there's always super robot wars games if yall want srpgs

not for everyone and the formula is kinda different (there's more aiming for special conditions to activate certain attacks), but it does feel similar in a lot of aspects

moon dwellers has a SEA english release on PS3/PS4, and X and V (two pretty recent ones) are on steam in english but region locked

plus there's like ten fan translated ones

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Hold up, there's an SRPG Maker?

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Birthright and Conquest are both okay for the gameplay if you really like Fire Emblem. The story in all three Fates games is horrible and Revelation probably has the worst map design in the series. I wouldn't recommend playing Conquest on Lunatic because it makes certain maps really obnoxious.

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Tom Bombadil posted...

Hold up, there's an SRPG Maker?

Yup. Kind of a garbage program compared to RPGMaker tho.
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Fates is a terrible story, with some of the worst characters in fiction. There's a lot of ideas that get crashed into the walls, and there's a lot of problematic elements scattered through the game that make it downright embarrassing to play (like when you child bride asks you to blow her dry when she gets out of the bath using the DS microphone)

It is also my favorite video game ever made. To the point where I can play the game exclusively for two years straight and not get bored of it. When the game is difficult, it's GOOD, and the game throws you so many bones to help deal with the difficulty that every playthrough feels unique and interesting.

Also Zola is the best fire emblem character.

I recommend them, but with a stern warning that if you aren't willing to go all in you probably will hate it.

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SantaRPidgey posted...

Fates is a terrible story, with some of the worst characters in fiction. There's a lot of ideas that get crashed into the walls, and there's a lot of problematic elements scattered through the game that make it downright embarrassing to play (like when you child bride asks you to blow her dry when she gets out of the bath using the DS microphone)

It is also my favorite video game ever made. To the point where I can play the game exclusively for two years straight and not get bored of it. When the game is difficult, it's GOOD, and the game throws you so many bones to help deal with the difficulty that every playthrough feels unique and interesting.

Also Zola is the best fire emblem character.

I recommend them, but with a stern warning that if you aren't willing to go all in you probably will hate it.

This is legit the best recommendation of a video game I've ever read. I'm not being sarcastic - this is gold.

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