As I’ve mentioned in my mailing list and elsewhere, I’ve gotten into the latest Fire Emblem game on the Nintendo Switch 2. It came out September 17th, and I just finished the third path of Part 1. If the phrase “third path of Part 1” makes it sound like this game has a large, complex story structure, that’s because it does. I’m pretty sure Part 1 is the bulk of the content, going through the stories of the four main characters. I’ll post a real review of it once I’m done, but here are some screenshots of the ride so far. Mild spoilers follow, if you care about that.
I started with Leda, whose dark quest for revenge sounded like just my kind of thing. Sure enough, this fantasy-tinged take on Kill Bill hits all the right beats.
While this game is set in the same story world as the immensely popular 2019 game “Fire Emblem: Three Houses,” you don’t have to play them in order. If you did, though, there are some cute references to the previous game (even though it occurs centuries later in the timeline).
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Fire Emblem game without some bizarre incest. It didn’t show up until the end of Part 2, but when it did, wow.
Maybe that’s why so many characters have mommy issues.
After taking Leda and her team all the way through Part 2, which is a major slog, I went back to Part 1 to guide little Cai and his friends on their way. Because child soldiers are another series mainstay.
The four main teams also interact with each other, which is fun to see from their distinct perspectives.
I was pleased to see that the developers spent some time creating interesting characters and conflicts, unlike the cardboard cutouts they pasted into a certain infuriatingly shallow 2023 game.
Some villains, however, are easy to identify.
Next up: Theodora’s path, which looks like it will be a lot of fun. Then it’ll be on to Part 3 with the whole team.
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