Fire Emblem Warriors [Game Review]
TL;DR
This game is a spin-off of Fire Emblem with Dynasty Warriors mechanics, a collaboration of Int. Systems and Omega force / Koei.. so be warned! No Tactical RPG found here.
This game includes characters from Fire Emblem 1 (shadow dragon), Awakening, and Fates as well as some new characters, in the new setting of Aytolis.
[Played on a Nintendo Switch Lite]
Among all the early Dynasty Warriors as well as early spin-offs (such as Dynasty Warriors Gundam), I found it really interesting to see a traditionally turn-based tactical RPG series, for this instance Fire Emblem, made into an action RPG / hack & slash Musou title. I think with all the awesome weapons, stylish characters, as well as the beautiful, war-driven, tactics-centric world of Fire Emblem is a perfect place to do such a thing! With Dynasty Warriors, there is a sense of historical fiction, and they've even dived in Western cultures in newer titles. However, when I play games, I love to also go to fantasy worlds or just other worlds in general. So, the Dynasty Warriors style with a world like Fire Emblem seems very compatible for a spin-off.
Not sure why this title just misses the mark in some ways. I do enjoy being able to have a variety of characters to play from, as well as a story mode and historical mode (where you can get a bit of retro in as you delve into older games of Fire Emblem and have historic battles from those games)... however, Fire Emblem Warriors seems to be very limited in terms of action. It might be because this game was also released for 3DS, but there are certainly a lot of limitations with this title as well as a lacking camera control in the right-stick.
In the new era of Tactics RPGs, there is an added bonus of building support levels or relationships with other characters as well as characters building support levels between each other. This game does have that, however it is very limited and only gives you a support level conversation once the support level is maxed out. Even the dialogue in the historic mode is very limited, making the grind to the end not really worth it. Fire Emblem Warriors lacks great rewards for tremendous amount of grinding. If you like to complete games 100% for the sake of completion, then you might not have trouble with this title.
The characters' mechanics control in this game is fun and exciting for the most part, and mechanics aren't too bad, but there really is just pressing combos of X and Y. This game doesn't truly utilize the potential of a modern control layout. You don't need to unlock all the combos for a character on the hardest settings, and spamming might even be the safe way to go anyways in Lunatic mode. There is a lack of added difficulty, even with Classic mode (characters really will die, just like in traditional Fire Emblem)... The playthrough of the story mode in this title was around 20 hours. It is a very short story, but this title can keep you busy for maybe 90-100 hours if you decide to do everything.
The story and world of Aytolis are more of just an excuse to allow for a mashup of Fire Emblem characters joining up in one world, but I can't exactly dislike this because it is really cool to have Marth, Khrom, and female Corrin all on one team. There certainly are OP characters and classes, such as any of the bow-using characters. Spam and more spam, is a sure win with a bow-user. Sure, you can change it up or keep yourself from stacking up the OP characters, but even then there is a sure path to victory as long as you keep hacking and slashing. True: this is the dilemma that Musou titles might have, however there are other Musou titles that DO have challenges and are not spam-to-win (including some of the newer clone titles such as Persona 5 Royal or FE Warriors: Three Hopes)... From all the new Musou clones/spin-offs that I've played, it is safe for me to say that Fire Emblem Warriors is limited by the hardware it was intended for.