Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright

 3DS
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 528 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 376 out of 528
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 528
  3. Negative: 74 out of 528
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  1. EpicLadySponge
    Feb 29, 2016
    8
    And again even in Conquest, there's still more negative ratings than mixed ratings on Birthright. Something's definitely wrong with these users nowadays.
  2. Se7en717
    Feb 23, 2016
    10
    ***TLDR: Don't Listen To People Bashing The Game Because Of Cut Content. It Is An AMAZING GAME***

    I haven't completed the game yet (Chapter 20 so far), but this is by far more than what I could wish for. Yes, some stuff was cut/censored for localization but NoA will learn from that mistake. Dual Audio couldn't be brought to western countries because a different recording studio was used    ***TLDR: Don't Listen To People Bashing The Game Because Of Cut Content. It Is An AMAZING GAME***

    I haven't completed the game yet (Chapter 20 so far), but this is by far more than what I could wish for. Yes, some stuff was cut/censored for localization but NoA will learn from that mistake. Dual Audio couldn't be brought to western countries because a different recording studio was used this time around for the japanese voice actors and one of the voice actors has a union contract which cannot be breached. Some of the stuff was over the top with the censorship (like some names being changed by 1 letter), but it's nothing I can't live with. The petting mini-game was (mostly) cut. When I say mostly, you can still pet your waifu to wake them up and blow into the mic to blow steam after they had a bath in the hot springs. By the time you get to end game, you get tired of playing those mini-games anyway so doing it with everyone would have been an optional hassle (I have OCD). Audio was also cut but it still has a massive 1500 lines of dialog (if not more). The people complaining just can't cope with change. There is a massive difference between Western Culture and Japanese, so some of it made sense some of it didn't but in the end it didn't take away from the experience for me. The combat is amazing as usual. They improved on many things that needed improvement from awakening. Conquest has more classical/western types of weapons and Birthright has more asian themed weapons. The online features are great. Being able to travel to different peoples castle and buy their weapons/accessories/resources/etc feels like I am not alone in this fight. Speaking of which, Accessories!!! These make your units feel more unique as you can add features to your characters (like hair ribbons/glasses/shields/etc). It is a small feature but makes you feel as if each character is unique to you, the player. They have improved on the way your units pair up and fight with your other units. Now, if you just want stat gains/protection/build your support, you need to pair them up. Otherwise, it is more viable to fight side-by-side/behind/etc for 2 units to attack a target as that is the only way to do it now which brings out more strategy to the game. The story has massively improved from awakening. IMHO, Awakening had a "bland" storyline and was predictable in many areas whereas this game's storyline had me in "AWE" in every chapter. In Awakening, I only had a specific amount of people I had any interest in but whereas this game, every time I got a new character/read a new support/etc, I kept posting new screenshots on Miiverse updating who my favorite character was (so far I have over 20 favorite characters). I also bought conquest, and have revelations pre-ordered (gamestop), so I will be busy for quite a while. For being the weakest story in this 3 game release, it is still quite the amazing story and feel for my unit throughout his travels. The people who are giving this game a 0 or low score due to cut content, are just mad and I do understand their frustrations as I wish they could have been in this game to make it even more epic but even with the cut content, it is still a massive, entertaining, memorable, and fantastic game that will be going down in my all time favorites. Fire Emblem was endangered when Awakening came out but because of the sales of Awakening, they were able to create this for us which I truly thank the devs for doing so. Please, buy the game and help keep the franchise alive. I am sure NoA has learned their lesson from the public outcry from the fans and will do even better in their next game (hopefully on the nintendo nx) :D    … Expand
  3. VonSeux
    Feb 19, 2016
    9
    Fates is the New Fire Emblem game that come to us as the accomplishment of everything this franchise fought to be; a big, epic game, on the path of Shinning Force III it also offers 3 full-blow scenarios, that might seem like milking too much, but's actually a game with so much beef that can last you a whole year. On Birthright you play as the "goodies" on an traditional japaneseFates is the New Fire Emblem game that come to us as the accomplishment of everything this franchise fought to be; a big, epic game, on the path of Shinning Force III it also offers 3 full-blow scenarios, that might seem like milking too much, but's actually a game with so much beef that can last you a whole year. On Birthright you play as the "goodies" on an traditional japanese landscape. The new classes, maps and gimmicks will keep your FE heart beating fast.… Expand
  4. awakeningfe
    Feb 21, 2016
    10
    Most of the low reviews on this game make no sense. People who liked Fire Emblem Awakening will love this game. The main complaints are about censorship and it seems to be trendy to jump on that bandwagon, but if you actually look up what was changed for the localized version, it's hard to be disappointed. Supposedly you could rub people's faces in My Castle. That seemed weird to me, andMost of the low reviews on this game make no sense. People who liked Fire Emblem Awakening will love this game. The main complaints are about censorship and it seems to be trendy to jump on that bandwagon, but if you actually look up what was changed for the localized version, it's hard to be disappointed. Supposedly you could rub people's faces in My Castle. That seemed weird to me, and after playing the game for almost 10 hours I can tell you, it is definitely not something to "miss."

    The game, so far in my opinion, has improved upon the game mechanics from Awakening. When you pair up with a partner in game there is now offense and defense separately. Standing by your partner is offensive (they will join in on the attack) and having them combined for "pair up" on the same square is defensive where the backup supports your stats but can't be hurt and doesn't fight. Also when you get attacked your shield builds up and you can now see when your support will block an attack for you. You can plan better this way. Small nuances were also added such as the weapons and tomes triangles show the color that you are better than in the bottom of the weapon square. For example sword is red and beats axe which is green so if you have a sword the icon will be mostly red with green on the bottom. Useful and thoughtful. Also when you select a flying unit there will be an exclamation point if someone has a weapon that is strong against Pegasus. These touches are very useful and make the game more seamless. You want to be implementing your strategy and not accidentally doing the wrong thing because you forgot to check a menu detail.

    If you liked Awakening, you'll like this game. Birthright is the easier one. Don't hate on the games being separated or localization that doesn't take away from the game at all. Great game so far 10 hours in.    … Expand
  5. workingforfee
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    I Have been playing this series for many years. While this one is not my favorite it is definitely good. The art style is as cool as ever and the soundtrack is the best. Wish it wasnt seperated into different versions but they are good in their own rite. Check this out if you are a fan of this world or if you are looking to jump into it for the first time.
  6. CDogg83
    Feb 21, 2016
    9
    People complaining about the price of this need to get a life. Someone said it's $80 with only $50 worth of content, and that is pbjectively false. Considering that each path is a full story, it ends up being $80 for $120 worth of content. I don't see how it's that hard to understand, but to each his own...
  7. lostinthefacts
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    This is my favorite version. Easier for newer players. Has the best character development. Good gameplay mechanics and awesome soundtrack.Always like games that let me create my own character.
  8. Based_Michalis
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    Best Story out of all three routes. Gives great character depth to most characters that needed it. It is truly the best out of all three paths and is one of my favorite FE games.
  9. Rtheom
    Feb 21, 2016
    8
    If you liked Awakening, you'll want to play Birthright. It's pretty close to the same, with a few extra bits that aren't necessary but just kinda fun. The story isn't as good as Awakening, and overall I'd say Awakening was better, but its still enjoyable.

    If you've played Awakening, get this. If you haven't, go buy a used copy of that.
  10. lexgamer
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    I see some people are confused by the version model. These are very different stand alone experiences. Yes, if you reeeally want to choose the other option and didn't know before hand, you have to shell out another $20, but that's still only half the price of another full fire emblem title, which is sweet.
    Oh, and it's really fun :)
  11. vitalemrecords
    Feb 23, 2016
    10
    We can all agree that any negative reviews under 5 are BS, right? This game is near perfect. About as perfect as a game can be. People complaining about the price? You get 3 full games for 80 dollars.
    And the third game is HUGE.
    And in this day and age, get over it. Good things cost money. And the "mini-games are missing" complaint is BS - so you can't stroke your characters - big    We can all agree that any negative reviews under 5 are BS, right? This game is near perfect. About as perfect as a game can be. People complaining about the price? You get 3 full games for 80 dollars.
    And the third game is HUGE.
    And in this day and age, get over it.
    Good things cost money.
    And the "mini-games are missing" complaint is BS - so you can't stroke your characters - big deal - I'm glad it is removed. Seems like meaningless tedium to me.
    So the West got the best version of this game if you ask me.
    And people complaining about the "easy" version - dude you clearly haven't played it. You posted your negative review on the day the game was released.
    Really when you get a negative review on the day of the release you can just assume that person doesn't know what they are talking about - aside from glitches and gamebreaking moments.    … Expand
  12. saltyponiesgo
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    This games is the best game of the year on the 3ds thus far. The characters are fun and cool and the general design is amazing. Pick up both versions if you can. Special edition is 80 bucks but well worth it if you are a fan of the series.
  13. tobnottb
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    Good game. Better character development than conquest. If you are into story more than mechanics get this version. Also soundtrack is really awesome. Best part for me is creating your own character.
  14. Eiennai
    Feb 22, 2016
    0
    While the gameplay is really great, the removal of mini games, the awful voice acting and the cut dialog makes Fire Emblem Fates story an unenjoyable mess that is not worth your time.
  15. TheOrange91
    Feb 19, 2016
    0
    I picked up Birthright because I heard it plays more like Awakening, which is what I want since I don't like the formula of the older Fire Emblem games. The problem started the instant I got to Chapter 6, the chapter where you have to choose between siding with Nohr, or siding with Hoshido. What I wasn't aware of going in was that, if I wanted to play as Nohr in Birthright, I would have toI picked up Birthright because I heard it plays more like Awakening, which is what I want since I don't like the formula of the older Fire Emblem games. The problem started the instant I got to Chapter 6, the chapter where you have to choose between siding with Nohr, or siding with Hoshido. What I wasn't aware of going in was that, if I wanted to play as Nohr in Birthright, I would have to pay an ADDITIONAL $20 on top of the $40 for the game (and YET ANOTHER $20 if I want to play the "hidden" third route, Revelations). Not only that, but if I want to play as Nohr, I have to play the game using the formula of the older Fire Emblem games, meaning no "grinding" between missions, which is what I bought Birthright to avoid in the first place. I refuse to pay that, and I'm strongly considering returning the game in the morning. This blatant money-grubbing is completely unacceptable, and I really expected better of Nintendo, It's just... all so disappointing. I'm rating this one 0/10 on principal. If you really love Fire Emblem, you'll find the money to burn on this. Everyone else should stay away; this game is corporate greed at its finest.… Expand
  16. Leo13
    Sep 3, 2019
    6
    This version gets boring fast and is too easy. Get Fire Emblem Awakening or Three Houses instead
  17. frederik1478
    Feb 13, 2020
    5
    Is the weakest game in the fate Trinity Plus it
    has a insane difficulty spike in the end of the game
  18. ShyGuy187
    Mar 4, 2017
    6
    This game has the best class system in the franchise, good mechanics and a huge weapon variety, but as you can see by the score i gave this game is not flawless.
    The protagonist is annoying and bad, they tried to make your avatar a super good person, meaning that he doesn't kill anybody... in a clash of two kingdoms. The narrative and the story are terrible and deserve the protagonist    This game has the best class system in the franchise, good mechanics and a huge weapon variety, but as you can see by the score i gave this game is not flawless.
    The protagonist is annoying and bad, they tried to make your avatar a super good person, meaning that he doesn't kill anybody... in a clash of two kingdoms. The narrative and the story are terrible and deserve the protagonist they have.
    There are very few good maps, mainly because they tried to make the game difficult adding a **** ton of reinforcements, the game is still pretty easy and with always the same objectives.
    That game makes marriage weirder than in real life, you can watch your 2D avatar kiss, wake up and blow the hair of your 2D wife/husband. You can have a baby with another kid, and that kid is introduced in the game by a very poor explanation. JUST BUY CONQUEST.    … Expand
  19. JCgamer18
    Jul 25, 2019
    6
    This game is way more balanced that conquest but its way too easy with only every map doing a single objective and that is kill all enemies. The story is not as good as conquest but that is not saying much since its more basic there is less plot holes but still does not fix the inherent issues. This game does not overstay its welcome but its pretty bland and disappointing for a Fe titleThis game is way more balanced that conquest but its way too easy with only every map doing a single objective and that is kill all enemies. The story is not as good as conquest but that is not saying much since its more basic there is less plot holes but still does not fix the inherent issues. This game does not overstay its welcome but its pretty bland and disappointing for a Fe title after awakening or even its predecessors.… Expand
  20. GoldenJeans37
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Oh dear god this game was stupidly easy, even in the hardest difficulty. Everyone is OP, You can solo the game with Setsuna on lunatic (I did). If you're new to Fire Emblem I'd highly suggest going Echoes or Three Houses.
  21. tukumalu
    Nov 14, 2020
    5
    Predictable plot elements, bland characters and underwhelming maps. Such great potential wasted
  22. Kitsune12354
    Aug 29, 2020
    6
    the gameplay is pretty good, the maps are meh but everything else is great. the story is a 5/10 its the best story of the 3 games
  23. piff2000
    Dec 29, 2020
    7
    The story is weaker than Awakening, but the updates to the mechanics are really cool. I still really like this game!
  24. Plumbo2000
    Jan 29, 2023
    6
    It's slightly below average. That's all you can really say about it. If you want gameplay, play Conquest instead. If you want a good Fire Emblem game, play almost anything else.
  25. BasilZero
    Mar 29, 2021
    9
    Game: Fire Emblem Fates Birthright
    Genre: Strategy RPG
    Developer: Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo System: Nintendo 3DS (3DS) Year of Release: 2016 Length of Playthrough: 54 Hours Total Score: 93/100 Value Score: 9.3/10 • Story: 10/10 • Characters: 10/10 • GamePlay: 10/10 • Graphics: 9/10 • Sound: 7/10 • Music: 8/10 • Length: 10/10 • Replay Value: 9/10 •    Game: Fire Emblem Fates Birthright
    Genre: Strategy RPG
    Developer: Intelligent Systems
    Publisher: Nintendo
    System: Nintendo 3DS (3DS)
    Year of Release: 2016
    Length of Playthrough: 54 Hours

    Total Score: 93/100
    Value Score: 9.3/10

    • Story: 10/10
    • Characters: 10/10
    • GamePlay: 10/10
    • Graphics: 9/10
    • Sound: 7/10
    • Music: 8/10
    • Length: 10/10
    • Replay Value: 9/10
    • Player Value: 10/10

    Pros
    +Great story and character interactions
    +Self contained story with a choice that affects characters being available or not
    +Marriage system in tact from Awakening
    +Art and character design as great as Awakening
    +Customizable town system
    +Sidequests available that are free and also from marriages
    +Plenty of opportunities to grind for exp and money outside of main story battles

    Cons
    -Voice acting limited compared to Awakening
    -Full story divided into two other games and as separate DLC
    -Though not needed in this game , there are DLC maps for grinding exp and money

    ---

    Series Scorewise comparison sake

    Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS): 94
    Fire Emblem Fates Birthright (3DS): 93
    Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia (3DS): 90    … Expand
  26. Twin2712
    Jul 1, 2016
    9
    + Great difficulty level, its always fair and rewards tactical thinking, and turning off perma death is great for new players
    + watching your units relationships with eachother develop is rewarding and fun
    + Replay value, you can play through any of the campaigns again and have a new experience by favouring different units, trying out different romance paths or upgrading units to    + Great difficulty level, its always fair and rewards tactical thinking, and turning off perma death is great for new players
    + watching your units relationships with eachother develop is rewarding and fun
    + Replay value, you can play through any of the campaigns again and have a new experience by favouring different units, trying out different romance paths or upgrading units to different classes
    + Emotional story with believable characters...

    - ...Even if the dialogue is stilted at times
    - Repetitive level design compared to Conquest/Revelation    … Expand
  27. Xtord
    Jun 13, 2016
    9
    Were to start..before I start. I played trough fire emblem 6,7,8,9,10,11 before this and on the last chapter on awakening doing optimization when it comes to s support , stats and characters/children.

    So what is there to say about fates: Birthright? First lets talk about the difficulty Well firstly i played it on hard ,did two paralogues and barely any grinding. And the game is fairly    Were to start..before I start. I played trough fire emblem 6,7,8,9,10,11 before this and on the last chapter on awakening doing optimization when it comes to s support , stats and characters/children.

    So what is there to say about fates: Birthright?
    First lets talk about the difficulty
    Well firstly i played it on hard ,did two paralogues and barely any grinding. And the game is fairly hard , when people say it is similar to awakening , i can because you have more option to grind , how ever i still found awakening harder. But with that said dont let it surprise you if you end up with some chapters that is really hard. The majority of the chapters i had to use multiple tries to get trough.

    Story- Well it has a better story then in awakening. The story feels more unique and has soem sad moments too. And the villains is mostly good too, with that said i liked some of the villains from the previous entries Aversa from fe 13 etc, Nergal, Limistella, Sonia , Lyon , The black knight etc. But mostly the villains feels a little better.

    Characters- If we count both games i would choose fates, if we count birthright simple vs awakening i prefer awakening cast. But never the less you find a lot of good characters, interesting once and it feels bad when you have to fight your " siblings" no matter what route you choose i guess ( just started conquest)

    Gameplay- Well if you played a fire emblem game you know how this is. The gameplay is similar to awakening with some tweeks like enemy pair up etc. Support is again unlimited. Weapons doesnt have durability, but staffs does. And you have some more options when you customize you characters. And there are some other surprises here.

    The only major con is that i wish there was more then one objective type. But again dont bother me to much, but if conquest has more variety as they say , then i will look forward to conquest and be happy ( started it yesterday on chapter 8).

    All in all a very good game 9.5/10
    With that said i have played this for around 73 hrs and 30 min. My favourite is stilI fe 7 and 13. Fe 7 isnt because it was my first fe game , cuz that was fe 8. Now i am on to play conquest then revolution and also have to figure when to finish awakening.

    NB: Probably one of my favourite game series , and the only turn based strategy games that comes close is civ 5, and tw: Rome+ medieval 2.    … Expand
  28. Zalty
    Mar 30, 2016
    8
    Overall, the story I enjoyed the most of the three. This path honestly makes the most logical sense, and has the least forced moments in it. I felt it was the most emotionally impacting, with the most out-of-combat character deaths, both preventable and not. Combat and the story were pretty much straightforward for a Fire Emblem game, though I absolutely loved the changes made to theOverall, the story I enjoyed the most of the three. This path honestly makes the most logical sense, and has the least forced moments in it. I felt it was the most emotionally impacting, with the most out-of-combat character deaths, both preventable and not. Combat and the story were pretty much straightforward for a Fire Emblem game, though I absolutely loved the changes made to the pairing-up system. A vast improvement from Awakening overall.… Expand
  29. iMustang
    Mar 26, 2019
    8
    I was worried if I would like this franchise due to not caring much for Final Fantasy Tactics, but my fears were quickly dismissed as the simplified strategy elements of this game, while still maintaining decent complexity, were perfect for me to enjoy. I really enjoyed the characters I met (so many of them!) and going on this grand journey with them, and of course pairing them all off andI was worried if I would like this franchise due to not caring much for Final Fantasy Tactics, but my fears were quickly dismissed as the simplified strategy elements of this game, while still maintaining decent complexity, were perfect for me to enjoy. I really enjoyed the characters I met (so many of them!) and going on this grand journey with them, and of course pairing them all off and doing shipping was addicting, especially when you got to meet their kids! This game broke my heart several times with it's tragic story, but it was still very well written. I do feel like I had a lot of questions that weren't answered, which I feel is why they want me to play Revelations to get those answers. If I were more cynical I may have made a comment here about having to pay more money to get the true ending, but that's definitely not the case! This was definitely a complete game from beginning to end, and Revelations is also it's own full game, so I don't mind buying it at all.… Expand
  30. albertc
    Feb 26, 2016
    9
    Fire Emblem has always been a series that has confused me beyond belief. I never really liked strategy games. (Well I love The Civilization games but they don't have a heavy combat focus.) I happen to be on one of those people that heard of fire emblem when super smash brothers brawl came out and contained Marth and Ike. I knew the games existed but never gave them much thought because IFire Emblem has always been a series that has confused me beyond belief. I never really liked strategy games. (Well I love The Civilization games but they don't have a heavy combat focus.) I happen to be on one of those people that heard of fire emblem when super smash brothers brawl came out and contained Marth and Ike. I knew the games existed but never gave them much thought because I never liked strategy games. Then when the Fire Emblem new 3DS XL came out. I needed a new 3DS as my launch day system was starting to fail. So I purchased the new 3DS XL Fire Emblem edition and bought Birthright with the branching conquest DLC added to it. After finishing both the Birthright and Conquest story lines I can say that I now have a love for strategy games (Or at the very least Fire Emblem.) The story is of two kingdoms (The Hoshidans and the Nohrs) that are in the middle of a war with each other. In the middle of this whole conflict is a kid by the name of Corrin who was raised by the Nohr's. As The story Progresses we learn more and more about this kid and it turns out that (WARNING: small spoiler alert ahead.) he was born as a Hoshidan but was taken away from his family at a very young age. He then has to face a choice. If you bought Birthright with the Conquest DLC then you can make the choice of going back to the family that raised you and Conquering the world with the Nohr's, or you can stay with your biological family. This is actually a very important part of the game as it changes which characters will fight with you, as well as the story. The Gameplay is that of a strategy game. You have units and so does your enemy. Your job is to kill all the enemies units. There are certain classes that your units can fall into. There are plenty of them so I suggest that you look them up. The soundtrack is probably the weakest part of this game. There is a song sang throughout the game multiple times which I am almost sure was originally in Japanese because the lyrics never sound quite right in English. There is also quite a bit of Character development. This game is easily my second favorite 3DS game and I feel like I could keep playing it over and over again. It also was a great intro to the series for me as I am now half way through Fire Emblem Awakening.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best 3DS Game of 2016
4
#4 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2016
14
#14 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. games(TM)
    Jun 26, 2016
    80
    A tough tactical adventure. [Issue#175, p.78]
    Read full review
  2. NZGamer
    Jun 9, 2016
    90
    If you have a 3DS, Fire Emblem Fates is a must-buy; if you don’t, it’s yet another reason, on top of so many others, to get one. Just be sure you do your research, and stick to Birthright unless you’re absolutely ready for the challenge Conquest has to offer.
    Read full review
  3. GameOver.gr
    Jun 8, 2016
    95
    Another great addition to the Fire Emblem series, the newest chapter offers amazing visuals, an entirely captivating story and engrossing gameplay. Neither veterans nor newcomers should miss a change for one of the best offerings for the 3DS.
    Read full review
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