Fire Emblem Heroes (iOS) Review

Ten years ago, it would have been difficult to predict how close to the mainstream Fire Emblem as a franchise would get. Equally, if not even more, unlikely would it seem that Nintendo would release a Fire Emblem title for smartphones. That time has come, though. Fire Emblem has become one of Nintendo's core franchises and is no longer considered as niche as it once was. All of this is thanks to Fire Emblem: Awakening, which truly managed to appeal to the masses in the West.

This has created a fissure in the fan base, though, between those who enjoyed the older titles and those who prefer the new ones. Both sides have one thing in common, however: they have their eyes focused on Fire Emblem Heroes.

In Fire Emblem Heroes, heroes from both older and newer Fire Emblem titles are collected to duke it out against each other in short strategic battles of (mostly) four on four. The story is extremely generic for a title such as this. Some evil empire is using portals to other worlds to pull out heroes to use to storm the kingdom of goodness. The latter must collect their own heroes with the help of a legendary summoner (also known as the player) to fight back. In other words, an obvious excuse plot to justify that all Fire emblem characters can meet up in the same game.

A good plot is - as proven again and again in the gacha genre - not needed to create a great gacha game if the gameplay does enough to keep players hooked. It is easy as a Fire Emblem veteran to feel worried that the meat of the combat would be removed in such small-sized battles. Thankfully, Intelligent Systems has done a wonderful job of translating the familiar combat system into a small and quick system in which each battle rarely takes more than five minutes to fight, but is still more than capable of delivering the quality of gameplay long-time fans of the franchise have come to expect, where each decision matters… Well, not as much as in the older Fire Emblem games, as the permanent deaths - thankfully, for a gacha F2P title - are not here. Instead, the penalty is given in the form of losing the EXP gained by that character.

Speaking of the F2P elements, Fire Emblem Heroes is extremely soft on the player, almost to a fault. It is possible to play through the entire main story in one massive sitting without having to fork out a single penny for it, thanks to the Nintendo Points earned throughout the quest, which can be used to buy energy that is cheap in itself (one orb for full refill, and one orb is given after each level).

To add to the fact that no cash is ever really going to be needed, Nintendo seems to be releasing a daily event with a low rank hero/heroine (which can be promoted to high rank, of course) for free in case the player beats a fairly simple stage, which means that, inevitably, long-term players will have access to play with all of their favourites. How much money and waiting will be spent on this title is entirely up to how much the player wants their favourite characters maxed out in their roster as soon as possible, which is a very nice approach towards the genre, as the choice to spend money will always be on the user.

This, mixed with the wonderful gameplay and huge gallery of characters available at launch, makes Fire Emblem Heroes a great hook in for new players of the franchise, and is equally a game where older fans will feel right at home. It is rare to see such generosity when it comes to freemium games, but Nintendo seems to have really found a beautiful balance between honey and vinegar in the gacha genre. The fact that the publisher gives out Nintendo Points to use for energy at the end of each chapter means players never have to choose to pull from the gacha or progress with the game. It is indeed a beautiful way to get people hooked, and form a long-term relationship towards the game and the franchise for newcomers.

At this point, Fire Emblem Heroes feels like the gacha genre, and mobile gaming in general, done right in every possible way. The only thing that can go wrong here is if future updates are terrible or non-existent - something that, with Nintendo's previous track record, seems extremely unlikely. For now, fans and newcomers alike just have to enjoy what might very well be one of the strongest gacha titles ever released.