Fire Emblem Fates

[Kong Wen]

Oh, I meant to get back to you more legitimately about this. Is this common in Canada? Nintendo isn't exactly lights out in the States in terms of stock and availability, so I was wondering how things were up there. Sorry you weren't able to secure a copy. :\

Nope, it's not common at all. I believe Nintendo ran afoul of the old "we didn't have as many CEs as we thought we did" so some pre-orders even got cancelled, both in Canada and the US. CEs are usually pretty available, but I didn't even see this one up on any Canadian sites until after I heard it was sold out, so I think it's more an issue of this game than in general.

[The Shoemaker]

I'm at Chapter 21 of Conquest right now. I've been progressing at a glacial pace but it seems like the game's plot is starting to get closer to the climax. One thing which I'm not real thrilled about in Conquest is that much of the plot seems to be disconnected filler. Some of the chapters even seem like they're totally unnecessary. All of this is easily forgiven by me, though, because the gameplay is the best that Fire Emblem has ever had to offer.

Yeah there are definitely some filler chapters, but like you said, it's all good considering each map is a lot of fun.

This game just hits all the right notes for me. I love the characters, the gameplay and even the music. In my opinion, this is one of the better map themes in a series well known for amazing music already:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIMFDUhQzzI

I think I'm going to be picking up Birthright or Revelations as well, maybe even both. This is far and away the best Fire Emblem game. I've been playing them since FE7 but this one handles difficulty, balance and gameplay mechanics perfectly while also having arguably the best support system in the series. I thought the console Fire Emblems were the pinnacle in terms of gameplay, but Fates innovates FE perfectly with the improved pair up system. The maps are also greatly varied and interesting, at least in Conquest. Some of them have puzzle-like gimmicks such as wind which really force you to think hard about how to progress forward. My favorites before now were FE7 and 9. This game is much better than both of those and I can list several specific reasons why.

I really like the music in this game. I was not a huge fan of Awakening's themes, but this game does a really good job.

I totally agree with you, gameplay is as great as ever, only thing I would have liked to see is height advantage from Radiant Dawn. Always loved that mechanic, made for great defending/rushing chapters.

[SkyPikachu]

How's it compare to awakening? I want to get a Fire Emblem on 3DS so was curious to which was better. (Price wise they're about the same)

[The Shoemaker]

How's it compare to awakening? I want to get a Fire Emblem on 3DS so was curious to which was better. (Price wise they're about the same)

I think gameplay wise Fates is better than Awakening. I haven't finished Birthright yet, but I do think Awakening had a bit of a better story, and maybe characters.

I think both are great games, I would lean towards Fates because of the better gameplay, but if you haven't played Awakening (or any of the previous games) I'm not sure if you'd really notice the difference.

Birthright plays more like Awakening in that you can grind for experience in-between battles, while Conquest is more traditional and you cannot grind between battles. So take that into consideration as well. I haven't played Conquest yet though so I can't really add my voice to that.

[Jordan]

This game poops on Awakening in terms of gameplay. Awakening had a pair up system which was very dumb and took little thought. It was also patently imbalanced since sorcerers were overwhelmingly overpowered. By contrast, Fates is brutally challenging and requires a lot of thought to progress through the stages. However, Awakening did have good characters and maybe a better story.

[squishy]

Anyone heard how Fates is selling. I'm hoping that it does well. Awakening sold really well for an FE title and maybe if Fates does the same we'll see a console version again

[Kong Wen]

Anyone heard how Fates is selling. I'm hoping that it does well. Awakening sold really well for an FE title and maybe if Fates does the same we'll see a console version again

It's currently the best-selling Fire Emblem of all time in the West.

[squishy]

Anyone heard how Fates is selling. I'm hoping that it does well. Awakening sold really well for an FE title and maybe if Fates does the same we'll see a console version again

It's currently the best-selling Fire Emblem of all time in the West.

Awesome. Fingers crossed

[Jordan]

I don't really understand your logic there, unfortunately. I liked the console Fire Emblems myself, but why would Nintendo decide to start putting them on consoles again if the portable ones sell well? The console Fire Emblems, particularly Radiant Dawn, had abysmal sales. Given how successful Fates has been, if anything I think it's more likely we'd see more portable Fire Emblems in the distant future.

[The Shoemaker]

I don't really understand your logic there, unfortunately. I liked the console Fire Emblems myself, but why would Nintendo decide to start putting them on consoles again if the portable ones sell well? The console Fire Emblems, particularly Radiant Dawn, had abysmal sales. Given how successful Fates has been, if anything I think it's more likely we'd see more portable Fire Emblems in the distant future.

I think the idea is just it would be nice to see a Fire Emblem with nice visuals in HD. Not that the console Fire Emblem games ever put a lot of effort into its visuals.