I've been a Switch owner for over a year, but I feel I've barely touched the console or played any games in it. I saw some sale going on and I thought it was a nice chance to get this, as I was craving for something with a cool story that I could play in the bed relaxingly. And seems like I made the right choice, as I'm about 5 hours in it, and I'm loving it so far.
I haven't actually played a Fire Emblem game since Awakening, I mostly skipped Fates, and it feels like the series has gotten some major changes since then. The monastery and the mechanics around the bonds between the characters feel like a big improvement to what I remember, and while the setting really gives me some Trails of Cold Steel III vibes, I think it's executed quite uniquely. The game seems to have a lot of cool world building going on in general, and while I find a lot of the designs to be really bland, the personalities of the students and the other characters are quite nice. Also, one of my fears since the initial reveal of the game was that it looked kind of bad in general, but even while I'm playing it 100% undocked, I feel it looks okay after all. Honestly, the first few hours, even if they're understandably full of tutorials, were a joy to go through, as I've been absent from this genre for years and the game has a lot of neat mechanics to play around with.
On another note, I'm just super glad that for once Nintendo wasn't greedy and we don't have three separate versions to enjoy the full extend of the game. I picked Edelgard's house because I loved her design and personality, not sure if I'll even play the other routes any time soon considering how long of a game this is, but in any case, I'm just glad that I have the option for something like that without having to buy three different games. Also, I skipped the Season Pass, not sure if it offers something really worthwhile.
Anyway, just wanted to share some of my initial thoughts on this, as I've been pretty uninterested or disappointed with Switch, and this really surprised me in a very positive way. I'm sure not everyone, especially the veterans of the series, like the direction of the series, but I'm really loving the focus on the interactions and such that has been a prevalent part of FE since Awakening. And while I've not played much yet, I hope the game will only get better from now on.
I haven't actually played a Fire Emblem game since Awakening, I mostly skipped Fates, and it feels like the series has gotten some major changes since then. The monastery and the mechanics around the bonds between the characters feel like a big improvement to what I remember, and while the setting really gives me some Trails of Cold Steel III vibes, I think it's executed quite uniquely. The game seems to have a lot of cool world building going on in general, and while I find a lot of the designs to be really bland, the personalities of the students and the other characters are quite nice. Also, one of my fears since the initial reveal of the game was that it looked kind of bad in general, but even while I'm playing it 100% undocked, I feel it looks okay after all. Honestly, the first few hours, even if they're understandably full of tutorials, were a joy to go through, as I've been absent from this genre for years and the game has a lot of neat mechanics to play around with.
On another note, I'm just super glad that for once Nintendo wasn't greedy and we don't have three separate versions to enjoy the full extend of the game. I picked Edelgard's house because I loved her design and personality, not sure if I'll even play the other routes any time soon considering how long of a game this is, but in any case, I'm just glad that I have the option for something like that without having to buy three different games. Also, I skipped the Season Pass, not sure if it offers something really worthwhile.
Anyway, just wanted to share some of my initial thoughts on this, as I've been pretty uninterested or disappointed with Switch, and this really surprised me in a very positive way. I'm sure not everyone, especially the veterans of the series, like the direction of the series, but I'm really loving the focus on the interactions and such that has been a prevalent part of FE since Awakening. And while I've not played much yet, I hope the game will only get better from now on.
