#Fire emblem echoes classes series

However, at six hours in, I have not had the option to have any of my units romance each other. Neither Nintendo or Intelligent Systems has confirmed if that function is in the game. One of the key aspects of Fates and Awakening has been pairing off couples together, marrying them, and then having their children fight in battle. The jury is still out on romantic relationships You just look around the environment and click on the object to put it in your inventory. However, these structures also have useful items (like a lightning sword!) and food that can restore your health during battle. You can also talk to people for background on the continent of Valentia, where Echoes takes place. Some things you can just examine and Alm/Celica will give their two cents about whatever the object is. Usually when you take a keep or dungeon in Echoes, you get the ability to look around it in first-person, exploring with a cursor. Still, you're going to be thumbing your way through slideshows quite a bit.įirst-person exploration sequences let you grab useful items The scenes are voice-acted too, if you just want to listen and not read. Echoes mimics this but it's on the text-heavy side, with a lot of visual-novel storytelling. The previous two Fire Emblem games have combined visual novel-esque storytelling with animated cutscenes.

Instead of having a mana bar, spellcasters use their own HP to cast spells, so keep your restorative items stocked for those units. These shrines allow you to change classes for characters who have leveled up enough. You often find a shrine at the end of various dungeons that belongs to Mila, a goddess. This allowed you to be flexible in battle prep, transforming knights into archers or spearmen depending on what you needed in your army. In Fates and Awakening, you would use an item called a Second Seal to change a character's class. However, after you've used up the device's power, it won't recharge until after your battle is over. However, there is a device in your inventory you can use to move back a certain amount of turns. During these segments you can also explore for useful items hidden in smashable crates and pots.Ī time-turning mechanic makes battles easierĪs is expected with Fire Emblem games, Echoes is challenging, especially if you have permadeath turned on. However, the battle system remains the same: Whenever you run into an enemy, the game shifts back into an overhead tactical battle view. The world shifts from an overhead map view to one of Alm or Ceclia in third-person as you navigate the dungeon in a view that's similar to Persona 4 and 5's dungeon-crawling perspective.

There are dungeon-crawling segments (kind of)Īt specific points in Echoes, you and your party enter caves, castles, and various other structures. The two characters are friends in the prologue who become separated by an event that happens early on in the game. Fire Emblem Echoes, instead, has two protagonists that you jump between: warrior Alm and priestess Celica. I'm going to keep it light on spoilers as much as possible, but if you want to go in blind you probably should just wait to play the game yourself.īoth Awakening and Fates gave players a blank slate character whose gender they can select.

#Fire emblem echoes classes series

However, I've been playing through the game for the past day or so and thought, given how tight-lipped Nintendo and Intelligent Systems have been about what's actually in the game, it might be worth listing my big takeaways so far as a series fan. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, arrives next week, so you'll have to wait until then to read our review.