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. rodericrinehart
    Jul 10, 2016
    10
    Fire Emblem is definitely one of my top 5 franchises ever, and I think superior to XCOM as the best turn-based tactical strategy game, and with far better story and character development on top of better tactics. Birthright is the easier of the 3 Fire Emblem Fates, but it is still definitely worthy of your purchase and time. It expands and improves on everything in Awakening and keeps allFire Emblem is definitely one of my top 5 franchises ever, and I think superior to XCOM as the best turn-based tactical strategy game, and with far better story and character development on top of better tactics. Birthright is the easier of the 3 Fire Emblem Fates, but it is still definitely worthy of your purchase and time. It expands and improves on everything in Awakening and keeps all the good stuff, exactly what a sequel in a long-running game series should do. I really hope they make amiibo for the top 5-6 characters from the trilogy. I would buy them all!… Expand
  2. 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 :)
  3. jholden3249
    Feb 19, 2016
    10
    This is quite possibly the best video game I have ever played. I love all the games in the Fire Emblem series, but Fates is superior in nearly every aspect. Engaging, emotional story, gamely tuned to perfection, diverse maps, lovable and relatable characters, interesting new mechanics like Dragons's Vein and the new weapon triangle... And some of THE best art and music your senses haveThis is quite possibly the best video game I have ever played. I love all the games in the Fire Emblem series, but Fates is superior in nearly every aspect. Engaging, emotional story, gamely tuned to perfection, diverse maps, lovable and relatable characters, interesting new mechanics like Dragons's Vein and the new weapon triangle... And some of THE best art and music your senses have experienced to date.

    It's also an incredible value- all 3 paths are quite literally a full game- in fact, each path has more content than many $60 console games. All 3 paths are varied and unique with different characters, different story, different map objectives, the works. And what's more, the second and third game come at half price!

    Fire Emblem Fates nails it. It just nails it. Don't listen to any of the sourpuss reviews spouting a bunch of biased garbage- this is truly one of the greatest video games ever crafted.    … Expand
  4. TheDavyStar
    May 27, 2016
    10
    Once upon a time, there was this game for 3DS called Fire Emblem Fates, which had a rough time getting dragged through the mud due to unnecessary and inconsistent censorship. The result is the above user score, which, frankly, is a damn insult to the fine craft of Intelligent systems that has once again struck gold and strengthenes its position as king of strategy RPGs.

    In Birthright,    Once upon a time, there was this game for 3DS called Fire Emblem Fates, which had a rough time getting dragged through the mud due to unnecessary and inconsistent censorship. The result is the above user score, which, frankly, is a damn insult to the fine craft of Intelligent systems that has once again struck gold and strengthenes its position as king of strategy RPGs.

    In Birthright, as you may know, you get to experience an easier game (that can still be hard should you choose the appropriate settings before beginning your campaign). As is custom in Fire Emblem, when your characters die, they are gone for good - unless you rage quit, of course. You can also spend time shipping the hell out of every single character in Fates, which is fun given the broadly drawn personalities in the game.

    The story centers around a person born into a peaceful kingdom, but abducted and raised in a kingdom of cruelty. It's more decent than properly great, but the characters are a real treat.

    As for the gameplay itself, it's some of the tightest in the entire genre of strategy games. It's not different from any other Fire Emblem game, but its credentials are unquestionable. You can choose to watch the game play out with pizazz and pyrotechnics, or just skip past the fluff and make the game play out as quickly as possible. Regardless of whether you believe the dual-screen setup of the 3DS is worth anything, it's use in Fates cannot be ignored. Character names, stats and properties are shown here, and tapping on any of the statistics or names shown down below gives a clear explanation of what they mean, meaning it's super easy to learn as you go along. PRO TIP: enable permadeath.

    The angry haters who bemoan the censorship of the game aren't wrong, but they decry NoA's work so much that they forget the fact that, even with the censorship, the finished package of Fates is amazing. The game has a beautiful mix of art styles, the CG/anime cutscenes are among the most gorgeous in gaming, the characters are lovable, and - most importantly - it's still the Fire Emblem we all know and love, only with refined gameplay and sidegame mechanics to appeal to both the newbie and the pro.    … Expand
  5. 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
  6. r_lobo
    Feb 26, 2016
    10
    Just amazing. So emotional, and well done that I had a really hard time choosing sides....
    This game, and Awakenings, stand at the top with the very best, in any console in any generation.
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Fobmcrafi6
    Mar 7, 2018
    10
    While the story might be a little less intense than that of Conquest. It still seems like a perfect game that has the enticing elements of turn-based RPG. With the hint relationship simulation that feels like Awakening, it still feels like its own with My Castle feature and unique story-telling.
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. ixalfleet
    Feb 19, 2017
    10
    And again even in Conquest, there's still more negative ratings than mixed ratings on Birthright. Something's definitely wrong with these users nowadays.
  16. cloudskynine
    Apr 19, 2016
    10
    Ignore the bad reviews and hate for the censorship . I played and finished conquest,birthright and revelation. These games are awesome without the sexual pandering.
  17. VBTruthSeeker
    Apr 23, 2016
    10
    This is a fantastic game. The story was a beautiful tale of family, betrayal, tragedy, and death. While it wasn't perfect, it had powerful themes and many touching moments. You can relate with Corrin's struggle, making for a great story. At the same time, the gameplay allowed for intense decision making. Many moments had me at the edge of my seat. Whenever I played badly, it was my faultThis is a fantastic game. The story was a beautiful tale of family, betrayal, tragedy, and death. While it wasn't perfect, it had powerful themes and many touching moments. You can relate with Corrin's struggle, making for a great story. At the same time, the gameplay allowed for intense decision making. Many moments had me at the edge of my seat. Whenever I played badly, it was my fault alone. Also, the my castle features and the romance aspects allowed for added replayabliliy. Also, the localization allowed for added realism. Instead of petting your wife or husband, which no couple would do, you rub them gently to wake them up, or blow the steam off him or her after they take a shower. It feels more realistic. Finally, the anime art style works very well, and the voice acting, for the most part, works really well. You should play this game. I give it a 10/10!… Expand
  18. Jonastheweavile
    May 26, 2016
    10
    This is a great game I had a lot of fun playing this game and it is one of the best games of 2016 so far in my opinion. The combat is great the characters are great the story is great this game is perfect.
  19. yomymy123
    Jan 4, 2019
    10
    It's very good but I think graphics could be a tiny bit better I like the characters too
  20. Thamygamer17
    Nov 5, 2019
    10
    Aqui estamos ante mi juego favorito de toda la saga y al primero que jugue! una autentica pasada de juego, combates epicos, una historia cruda pero a la vez bella, unos giros de trama inesperados y un final apoteosico.

    Este Fire Emblem junto con Awakening son sin duda de los mejores de la saga
  21. LeCha0sCst
    Jun 24, 2020
    10
    This was my second Fire Emblem game and I love it.
    The music is really good and gameplay is also good.
  22. ssjkale1987
    Apr 21, 2022
    10
    I did birthright after Conquest since i wanted to play the more challenging version first. Birthright was too easy in comparizon with Conquest, died only twice and was surprised with the story being less interesting than Conquest. Still enjoyable but not as dark as Conquest's story. What i loved the most in the version are characters that follow your avatar in this story. They areI did birthright after Conquest since i wanted to play the more challenging version first. Birthright was too easy in comparizon with Conquest, died only twice and was surprised with the story being less interesting than Conquest. Still enjoyable but not as dark as Conquest's story. What i loved the most in the version are characters that follow your avatar in this story. They are interesting and have good chemistry with the avatar. I'm just surprised and a bit saddened by how some viewers hate the game just because of the story and it's even worse for Birthright. The story isn't the greatest of all fire emblem games but it's decent and some reviews go a little too far

    In the end Birthright was inferior to Conquest because ot its story but still very good to play thanks the nice characters.    … Expand
  23. Ninjazk
    Jul 13, 2022
    10
    I love this game ! The gameplay is cool, and the characters are so incredible.
  24. currer_bell
    Sep 15, 2016
    9
    Fantastic game. I choose to buy Birthright because the characters seemed more appealing - and they are. Graphics and style are awesome, you can't get any better than this on any console. But what's really great about this game is the new Castle mode, which I enjoyed more than anything else in the game. I hope they keep this idea in future FE games.

    It's not quite as perfect as Path of    Fantastic game. I choose to buy Birthright because the characters seemed more appealing - and they are. Graphics and style are awesome, you can't get any better than this on any console. But what's really great about this game is the new Castle mode, which I enjoyed more than anything else in the game. I hope they keep this idea in future FE games.

    It's not quite as perfect as Path of Radiance on GameCube so I'm giving a final score of 9 instead of 10, but really this is a monolith of a game, even slightly better than Awakening in my opinion.    … Expand
  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. 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
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. destroyer3242
    Mar 16, 2016
    9
    (Note, this review is currently ONLY for Birthright, the other paths have not been finished yet)

    Ah, Fire Emblem. This series as a whole has been something I've been playing since the games first started coming out in America. As a whole, the series has continued to evolve over the years, changing its mechanics, stories, etc. However, despite these changes, however drastic they may    (Note, this review is currently ONLY for Birthright, the other paths have not been finished yet)

    Ah, Fire Emblem.

    This series as a whole has been something I've been playing since the games first started coming out in America. As a whole, the series has continued to evolve over the years, changing its mechanics, stories, etc. However, despite these changes, however drastic they may be, there's always been a style of Fire Emblem, with its textures, characters' quirks, and combat system that is undeniably recognizable as part of a Fire Emblem game.

    So, now we enter into the Fates trilogy, given to us after the universally acclaimed entry, Awakening. It keeps a familiar feel to the game, while changing certain aspects of the game. The main change that you will notice right away is that weapons no longer break (other than healing spells). You might think this is odd at first, given how it is a staple of the series, but you'll later realize that it is necessary that they did it this way, and you'll probably appreciate it that Nintendo decided to do it.

    I can't get away with a review without touching on the censorship issues. Yes, they did censor parts of the game. Do I care? Honestly, not really. One of the issues people need to realize about localizing a game is that some teams believe that they need to make it culturally acceptable, so it's not immediately obvious to those who don't pry into the field that it is an international game. Is this a bad thing? Well, it depends on what is getting censored. A lot of people won't really care about them removing a 'minigame' about... petting... but the 'bond' feature is still present. My simple stance on it is that it is not negatively impacting the game, so I don't really mind it being changed. At least it's not Bravely Second getting bad endings censored. That's just ridiculous.

    So, as for the actual characters in the game, as you might expect after Awakening, each of them has their own little quirk about them. However, the series still suffers from my main complaint, which is where this 9/10 comes into play.

    The thing is with Fire Emblem games, is that each of the playable characters are all unique individuals, instead of being a unit with a generic model, image, and equipment set. This is what distinguishes Fire Emblem games from most other tactical games. However, the way it is implemented has always been a personal issue for me. This is because of the simple fact that characters that emerge into your story, their relevance to the story is as follows:

    1.) You enter a battle.

    2.) You begin to have some trouble.

    3.) New character swoops in to save the day, and gets the spotlight for the rest of the battle

    4.) Battle finishes.

    5.) For the rest of the game, they're (mostly) irrelevant, save for a couple lines of dialogue here and there.

    6.) Their legacy is carried on via any support conversations that they may have.

    What I always wished this series would accomplish as it evolved was the small hope that they would have characters that were NOT the main characters, have a true impact on the story. I mean this is the context of, for instance, you were originally going to take a path that you would have been able to get through originally, with person 'X's help, but because they died in a previous battle, you are no longer able to take the "easy way", and instead, have to do something else. Or, perhaps another ally refuses to join you because you let their friend die, and they can't trust you as a leader.

    While this is not really a major complaint per say, it's something that prevents the game from going above and beyond into something truly special, and incredibly complex.

    As for Birthright specifically, I like that they made the game slightly easier than other routes in order to ease people that are not that good at FE games (including myself, sadly) into the world without high punishment, while leaving room for wanting to play the other routes. The characters in Birthright's route are of personal opinion, but I found myself coming to really like a majority of the characters, for how much development some of them get, be it through support conversations for side characters, or the actual story for main characters.

    However, this being said, the game still has a large amount of content to offer their players, and if you like any good tactical RPG, you will most certainly appreciate Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright. Despite the game being easier than other routes, it still has the signature difficulty of the series, and will definitely challenge your mind. To give an estimate, my save file says I've played for about 30 hours, whereas my actual game time is about 50, played on hard mode, classic (which turns on perma-death), so, if you're like me, you'll be doing a lot of soft resets. This game will not hold your hand for more than a couple chapters, so, if you plan on playing, good luck, and plan carefully.    … Expand
  30. JJTX
    Mar 24, 2019
    9
    While it never quite reaches the excellence of its predecessor, Fire Emblem Fates is still one of the best RPGs on the Nintendo 3DS. If you're new to the series, it retains the same accessibility options as FE: Awakening, such as turning off permadeath and reducing the overall difficulty. While the Birthright edition won't give you access to the game's hardest campaign and true ending, itWhile it never quite reaches the excellence of its predecessor, Fire Emblem Fates is still one of the best RPGs on the Nintendo 3DS. If you're new to the series, it retains the same accessibility options as FE: Awakening, such as turning off permadeath and reducing the overall difficulty. While the Birthright edition won't give you access to the game's hardest campaign and true ending, it is still a solid tactical RPG with an addictive gameplay loop and a story that is just engaging enough to keep players coming back for more.… 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

All reviews »
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]
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  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.
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  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.
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