Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

 3DS
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 76 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 76
  3. Negative: 0 out of 76
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  1. CD-Action
    Jun 30, 2017
    70
    Shadows of Valentia is a mediocre tactical game, but a relaxing RPG. Whereas the best Fire Emblem games are like a steak you need to sink your teeth deep in to really appreciate it, Echoes is a popcorn that’s fun from the start but will not sate your hunger. [07/2017, p.66]
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  2. RPGamer
    Jun 8, 2017
    70
    Fire Emblem Echoes provoked a multitude of emotions from me, not all of them positive. It's different than anything else in the series, and shows what happens when a developer feels like veering away from the established path. It's to the game's credit that I found it quite addictive and sank a lot of hours into it, plus much of what takes place is genuinely interesting. Yet some of the nasty tricks it pulls in the last battles were just infuriating. A somewhat mixed bag, but absolutely worth investigating by series stalwarts.
  3. Metro GameCentral
    May 17, 2017
    70
    The perfect jumping on point for both new players and those wanting to fill in the gaps in Fire Emblem lore, although the game lacks the depth of more modern entries.
  5. USgamer
    May 16, 2017
    70
    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.
  6. Game Informer
    May 16, 2017
    70
    To call Fire Emblem Echoes a step back for the series would probably be unfair. As a remake it works on a number of levels, showing off the series’ strange roots while also serving up an entertaining 30-hour epic fantasy. However, the brutal and dull difficulty and large amounts of necessary grinding left me feeling as frustrated as I was invested in Echoes’ offerings.
  7. Polygon
    May 18, 2017
    65
    This is a game about sitting through cutscenes and playing battles. That gets tiring more quickly than a better-balanced game would — especially because Shadows of Valentia is committed to preserving those same dated systems. Its story was gripping enough to pull me through, but mustering the energy to sit through obtuse battles was Shadows of Valentia’s biggest challenge.
  8. Gamer.no
    Jun 2, 2017
    60
    Tight and challenging combat aside, this remake feels like a step back for a series that with its previous few installments had begun moving beyond the clichéd storylines found here.
  9. M3
    May 24, 2017
    60
    Fire Emblem has become one of the best RPG series in modern times, sadly Fire Emblem Echoes is the weakest installment so far. It lacks the depth from Fire Emblem Fates, and the combat system isn't nearly as fun.
  10. 4P.de
    May 19, 2017
    60
    With its visuals Echoes might lure you into believing that it is as captivating as Fire Emblem Fates. But in the end this is the weakest and most unnecessary entry of a franchise I played and loved dearly since its humble origins.
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  1. Ars Technica
    May 31, 2017
    Fire Emblem Echoes is a sparkling remake without much variety or strategy to scratch beneath the surface. Try it.
  2. Eurogamer
    May 18, 2017
    This isn't even the 3DS' best Fire Emblem, ultimately, but it's certainly one of the most interesting entries in the series' long history, an eccentric offshoot with an identity all of its own. It forgoes the soap opera of recent games and delivers a different brand of strategy that's remarkably refreshing - and it's a chance to spin back the turnwheel and see what might have been. [Recommended]
  3. Kotaku
    May 16, 2017
    From start to finish, Echoes presents a grueling experience. Its war is a brutal grind of bodies and mud. If you can endure the challenge, you’ll find a satisfying mixture of tactics and story. Just don’t be surprised if you’re left with a few nasty scars in the process.

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best 3DS Game of 2017
4
#4 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2017
2
#2 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 419 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 356 out of 419
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 419
  3. Negative: 26 out of 419
  1. BillyBillyBoBil
    May 20, 2017
    9
    10. I played Gaiden on an emulator and I have to say that this is amazing. I'm confused as to why the DLC is 40 dollars but the DLC is10. I played Gaiden on an emulator and I have to say that this is amazing. I'm confused as to why the DLC is 40 dollars but the DLC is optional. The style is fantastic, the music is amazing, and character development is spot on. The cutscenes also look very nice.… Full Review »
  2. andarial6670
    May 22, 2017
    2
    There are so many differences between what Echoes provides and what other Fire Emblem games have had for the past decade. These are theThere are so many differences between what Echoes provides and what other Fire Emblem games have had for the past decade. These are the differences I am displeased with:

    This game feels extremely oversimplified, compared to even Fire Emblem Heroes, which is free on mobile. There is no weapon triangle, in fact you won't get any playable axe units at all. Axe users are exclusively enemy only, and they are all 'the same', because of the lack of class diversity.

    More on that: Class diversity is horrible. Here your lance users: Cavaliers, Knights, Falcon knights. All of these characters will use lances and only lances, and they will, like all the other classes, promote in a straight line, instead of having any choices. You have one bow class line that gets to ride a pony in his final form. You get one sword class line that for some reason can promote backwards into a villager and then respec into any of the other classes. The mages are a little better; they all heal, move the same, and attack the same, but some can do one thing differently, like warp instead of rescue.

    You can't buy anything. You can only upgrade what few items that are in the game. But that's 'okay', because all units can only carry one item anyway. So in past Fire Emblem games, you could have something like a Great Knight (on horse) who was a heavy armored calvary unit that could use axes, swords, and lances, as well as several variations such as the 'creaver' type(opposite weapon triangle effect), critical hit type, ranged type, armor slaying type, dragon slaying type, horse slaying type, double hit type, etc. Now, units can only use one type of weapon, any non-default weapon would also occupy the item slot, and most of the weapon diversity itself is also gone. There's actually a lot of item diversity in the food consumables. Like, we got oranges, water, soup, bread, flour, carrot, holey cheese, blue cheese, meat, herring, fishes, ham, honey, cookies, yogurt butter, and MANA herbs, and all of them do the exact same thing: they restore some HP, and literally nothing else. The game developers actually foresaw this, as I can rename my forged items to Dick, Bigger Dick, Long Dick, and tinypenis to artificially improve weapon diversity.

    Instead of being able to learn a variety of skills like in Fates/Awakening, you can only get skills from your base class, or from the one item you're holding. You can 'learn' skills from these items--- but can only use those skills when you have that one item equipped. Skills that could buffchange stats passively/actively/for another unit is basically a mechanic that has been preserved by this new downgraded item system. Marriage/avatar is also gone.

    The maps are so so bad. These are carbon copies of the maps used in Gaiden, which had so much useless open space that just threw any positioning strategy out the window. You also get to use all of your units, dumbing the game down even further. They seriously could have at least made some improvements in this area, as it certainly wasn't one of Gaiden's strengths. Am I imagining things or did Fire Emblem games used to have fog, darkness, destructible environment, intelligent design?The most interactive and interesting map element in Echoes has been the occasional bridge.

    As a strategy game, this feels really weak. Many strategic elements of past fire emblem games are downgraded or removed completely, and everything, the units, the maps, the items, feels homogenized. Most of the new features also seem unimpressive or completely inconsequential (fatigue being such a trivial element it might as well not be included at all). The 'explorable' villages and dungeons are just linear, forgettable time sinks. The unit sprites also look incredibly ugly. But the story is still better than Fates, sooo...2/10? I'll just roll the dice on the rating like nintendo did with this game    … Full Review »
  3. whyamihere44
    May 19, 2017
    9
    While I do think this would have been great on the switch the game is a very good game on 3ds. This has things missing from fates andWhile I do think this would have been great on the switch the game is a very good game on 3ds. This has things missing from fates and awakening that got more people playing the series and that might seem like a bad thing but to me this is Nintendo reaching out to fire emblem veterans and giving them the game they wanted. A fire emblem veterans, fire emblem is one way to describe this game. Dungeon crawling is fun, dialogue is much better compared to fates, localization is much better compared to fates, having two army's to control is great, the different gameplay elements are awesome, and music is great. The only draw back is you got to do some grinding but overall the game is still a very good game.… Full Review »
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