Fire Emblem Heroes first impressions/review

[Harvey]

Ok so I played this game in about a day or so and here's what I think

Story: 1/5(for now)

Ok, the story isn't very deep nor is it anything special. You're a summoner, you summon heroes inorder to stop the Emblian Empire and stop Veronica. That doesn't sound deep like a traditional Fire Emblem game(then again, FE hasn't had solid stories most of the times...) nor does it sound anything interesting. The characters are flat out boring and just feel soulless(like how I predicted it would end up being.) The main villain is just there just for the sake of being there...she as of now, has no personality, no deep emotions etc. It makes Garon the better villain here honestly.

Now this could change and be made better since its on mobile where things are constantly updated which is why I said for now in the score. For now, it just seems forgettable and follows a typical mobile game story rather than a console game story.

Visuals: 4/5

This is probably the game's best part. The game is in HD graphics, the map design while a bit stale looks impressive for something to fit on a mobile screen. But what is the real thing here is the character artwork that the game has which looks fantastic/odd depending on one's preference. In this case personally, most of it is really good. 

Now I'll admit, at first when I looked at a lot of the artwork before release, many of them were terrible, but then I looked hard enough and sure enough, there's a lot of character artwork that does stand out really well.

Now why does character artwork mean so much here? Because the characters instead of being redrawn by the same artists(for the most part), they are redrawn by different artists which help make the characters feel new again regardless of which games their original appearance started appearing on. So what stops it from being perfect? The characters are drawn in chibi form during gameplay which breaks that visual depth of the characters main artwork and some essence of realism as well.

So in the end, the game gets a 4/5 even if more updates are made.

Music: 4/5

Another best thing about the game is the music. You get both new songs and old songs that have been remixed as well and they sound great. Nothing much to say here.

Gameplay: 3/5(for now)

And now here we are at the main part of the game..the gameplay. So it follows the traditional Fire emblem formula with slight changes. Maps are now ridiculously small and this feels mixed. One one hand, this is good because being on mobile, a map can be finished in less than 15 minutes so short times means that it can be played on the quick. On the flipside, there's very little room for strategy being played here since as of now, maps don't seem to offer any variety that adds to the game's challenge. For example, usually when playing the main FE games, the units movement depends on the tiles that the unit walks at so if a unit were to move in a sandy desert, the unit's movement will be slower than that of a grassy/other tiles. In this game however, none of that applies.

Infact, there's very little strategy offered in this game. Many tactical elements that are normally mandatory in the main games are skipped in this game and are changed  into those that suit for general mobile gaming. 

So what major changes this game does? For starters, instead of getting more units as the game progresses or instead of recruiting units in some fashion, units can only be received by using orbs and this appears to be the game's only main in-app item although you can get orbs through other means as well but it is more of a slow process rather than buying them.

The second thing that has changed is that the game has SP stat which is used to get skills for a specific unit. These can be earned by leveling up a unit. 

The third thing is that instead of buying weapons or having specific classes, all units are locked in not only in one class but one weapon as well. This means that you will have to force yourself to get specific units that hold specific weapons inorder to have advantage of the weapon triangle which also returns in this game. 

Units instead of promoting are now in form of star ranks which helps in making them stronger. The problem with this is that it takes a long process into getting them to high ranks. Although it is possible to get the same unit with different ranks.

So what stops it from being great? As said, orbs are the only way to get more units. Not only that, but summoning units is random instead of being fixed. There is a somewhat fix to this that if you summon five units at once, the cost to summon units will reduce and the chance of getting the desirable ones will get higher though it is still random regardless.

The other problem is the lack of strategy that the game has as its simply face the opponent one on one easily without any thought or any obstacle in the way. The only objective that this game offers is rout the enemy objective.

Again as stated, these can be changed in due time since the game is on mobile and mobile games tend to keep being updated. But as of now, the score remains 3/5.

 

So these are my thoughts on the game so far...

 

 

[Thany]

im not sure its possible to get a proper fire emblem console story on a mobile game like this, since you can replay chapters and whatnot. not to mention its never set in stone what characters you bring with you to every map. having one small scene on every level you go to would probably help raise it a bit (probably to a 2/5) but i dont think you should expect its story to become and better then what is being presented here. untill we at least get to the final final battle. where we may fight a dragon.

[eclipse]

. . .lack of strategy?  I disagree.  Bringing the right people for the job is paramount.  Arthur's great, as long as he's not up against a red unit.  Both Gordin and VIrion are physically bulky archers, but Gordin's niche is a Brave Bow (player-phase oriented), while Virion gets Seal Speed (can go either way) - each of these which are valuable in its own right.  Perhaps it's not apparent on the early maps, where any pulled units can steamroll the enemy.  However, the story has Normal, Hard, and Lunatic, and that's where strategy shines, especially once the enemies start getting notable skills of their own.

[Elieson]

43 minutes ago, Harvey said:

Infact, there's very little strategy offered in this game. Many tactical elements that are normally mandatory in the main games are skipped in this game and are changed  into those that suit for general mobile gaming. 

 

 

Let's see you say how easy chapters 7-onward are without grinding for a while. This game isn't like barebones basic. 

[Sentinel07]

While I doubt the story will be anything mind blowing, I think you're being too harsh on it. There's not really a lot of room for a complex story in a game like this, so they at least settled for the typical Fire Emblem framework of two kingdoms in conflict.

And while I doubt it'll be too deep, I'm pretty sure there will be some twist of Veronica being controlled or something to that effect. It's hard to believe that that little girl is being evil for the heck of it.

[Vaximillian]

1 hour ago, Sentinel07 said:

And while I doubt it'll be too deep, I'm pretty sure there will be some twist of Veronica being controlled or something to that effect. It's hard to believe that that little girl is being evil for the heck of it.

Pretty much. She sounds damn too emotionless for an evil overlord of evil. I'd predict both kingdoms unite against some bigger threat by later chapters.
We also aren't explained

whether Zach and Masked Macho Man are one and the same where the hell Zach is and what's the Masked Macho Man's deal.

Edited February 4, 2017 by Vaximillian

[Zapp Branniglenn]

On the subject of story, there's a scene early where miss Big Bad threatens she'll summon new heroes shortly, implying that she is defenseless at that moment. Capture her. Fire emblem lords know nothing of capturing enemy leaders after defeating them and such a trope persists here. Another thing that irks me is Alfonse repeatedly talking about fighting for his "people". What people? There's a vague mention of an attack early on, yet no sight or sign of npcs. Once you're ready to forget the name of this "kingdom" you're on an adventure with a new world every chapter. So I agree with the 1 rating. Though I'd preface that with the opinion that I don't think a single fire emblem story could reach a 4/5 without intense debate and scrutiny.

[eclipse]

Why are you people spoiling the story?

[Leif]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

. . .lack of strategy?  I disagree.  Bringing the right people for the job is paramount.  Arthur's great, as long as he's not up against a red unit.  Both Gordin and VIrion are physically bulky archers, but Gordin's niche is a Brave Bow (player-phase oriented), while Virion gets Seal Speed (can go either way) - each of these which are valuable in its own right.  Perhaps it's not apparent on the early maps, where any pulled units can steamroll the enemy.  However, the story has Normal, Hard, and Lunatic, and that's where strategy shines, especially once the enemies start getting notable skills of their own.

I completely agree. I was skeptical at first, but there is a bit of strategic depth that surprised me. Unit placement is incredibly important as well as the kinds of skills units can offer to turn the tide of battle. 

The first part of the game is easy if you are lucky enough to pull a 5 star, A ranked unit, like I did, but you cannot rely on them forever. You need to build a strong team to take on harder difficulties. You have to be extremely careful with your party setup because the weapon triangle is super important. 

Edited February 4, 2017 by Leif

[Harvey]

2 hours ago, eclipse said:

. . .lack of strategy?  I disagree.  Bringing the right people for the job is paramount.  Arthur's great, as long as he's not up against a red unit.  Both Gordin and VIrion are physically bulky archers, but Gordin's niche is a Brave Bow (player-phase oriented), while Virion gets Seal Speed (can go either way) - each of these which are valuable in its own right.  Perhaps it's not apparent on the early maps, where any pulled units can steamroll the enemy.  However, the story has Normal, Hard, and Lunatic, and that's where strategy shines, especially once the enemies start getting notable skills of their own.

Case in point. So you're saying that to get more strategy in the game, I have to choose a harder difficulty? That doesn't seem like a good way to defend the lack of strategy here. In all the FE games that I have played, no matter what difficulty you choose, there is strategy even on normal mode and I can't think of an FE game besides maybe Birthright that the player is encouraged to play the game blindly which in this game, the player is encouraged to do so and the punishment the player gets isn't really that severe. 

Now taking your point that you do need a harder difficulty to have some depth of strategy, so the ones who play on normal mode should be forced to play harder modes if they want some challenge when the normal mode itself should have some challenge? Ok, considering the game is free, why not? But that still doesn't defend the strategy depth thing that you're trying to defend here because I am assuming that you are encouraged to use whichever units you want as long as you make sure that you get the right ones and seeing as how many of the units are powerful unlike in their original appearance, I don't see how unit stats matter since you can just grind them if all else fails.

Also, choosing characters for the strategy isn't helping either since unlike the main games, you can't see what type of enemies are approaching and you can't choose characters at that point of time so that just means that the enemies are random, correct?

And the lack of variety that the map designs have that is usually one of the main tactics in FE is absent here. No traps, no doors or chests, switches...anything that helps to make the game tactical isn't here.

I do agree that I've only played a bit of it so far which is why I mentioned it so far as it might change for better or for worse.

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by Harvey

[Vaximillian]

You can are the enemy types and quantity though. Later chapters also can be pretty brutal if you're unlucky with your pulls and/or growths.

[Harvey]

55 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Why are you people spoiling the story?

Why not? Its a mobile game and you usually don't see deep stories in mobile so what's the point of not spoiling it?

 

[eclipse]

34 minutes ago, Harvey said:

Case in point. So you're saying that to get more strategy in the game, I have to choose a harder difficulty? That doesn't seem like a good way to defend the lack of strategy here. In all the FE games that I have played, no matter what difficulty you choose, there is strategy even on normal mode and I can't think of an FE game besides maybe Birthright that the player is encouraged to play the game blindly which in this game, the player is encouraged to do so and the punishment the player gets isn't really that severe. 

Now taking your point that you do need a harder difficulty to have some depth of strategy, so the ones who play on normal mode should be forced to play harder modes if they want some challenge when the normal mode itself should have some challenge? Ok, considering the game is free, why not? But that still doesn't defend the strategy depth thing that you're trying to defend here because I am assuming that you are encouraged to use whichever units you want as long as you make sure that you get the right ones and seeing as how many of the units are powerful unlike in their original appearance, I don't see how unit stats matter since you can just grind them if all else fails.

Also, choosing characters for the strategy isn't helping either since unlike the main games, you can't see what type of enemies are approaching and you can't choose characters at that point of time so that just means that the enemies are random, correct?

And the lack of variety that the map designs have that is usually one of the main tactics in FE is absent here. No traps, no doors or chests, switches...anything that helps to make the game tactical isn't here.

I do agree that I've only played a bit of it so far which is why I mentioned it so far as it might change for better or for worse.

 

By this logic, Fates is stupidly easy thanks to Phoenix mode.  Except no one judges things on their easiest modes.

You can see whether or not the enemy is physical or magical, by the type of weapon they wield.  For example, I don't bring Arthur to maps that are full of red units, or full of magical ones - that's just asking for trouble.

And the rest isn't even worth my time to respond to, since it's clear that you haven't hit that point yet.  My words won't reach you, but the game's difficulty spike will.

23 minutes ago, Harvey said:

Why not? Its a mobile game and you usually don't see deep stories in mobile so what's the point of not spoiling it?

 

Because you don't speak for every single visitor on SF.

[Harvey]

5 minutes ago, eclipse said:

By this logic, Fates is stupidly easy thanks to Phoenix mode. 

Why are you trying to put handholding options and add that to the difficulty options? Those options exists for convenience and does nothing to make the whole map easier.

But what ever I digress, I guess I have to play the game more to see your point. Still I doubt if it will change anything.

tbh, I don't even know why Nintendo wanted to do this one on mobile since Pokemon Go and SMR are already doing them wonders...

 

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, Harvey said:

Why are you trying to put handholding options and add that to the difficulty options? Those options exists for convenience and does nothing to make the whole map easier.

But what ever I digress, I guess I have to play the game more to see your point. Still I doubt if it will change anything.

tbh, I don't even know why Nintendo wanted to do this one on mobile since Pokemon Go and SMR are already doing them wonders...

 

Phoenix mode is a valid difficulty option.

Clear Chapter 7, then tell me how easy the game is.  I'm currently doing the tower, and the upper levels get nasty.  However, they need to be unlocked by doing the story.

[Harvey]

14 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Phoenix mode is a valid difficulty option.

Clear Chapter 7, then tell me how easy the game is.  I'm currently doing the tower, and the upper levels get nasty.  However, they need to be unlocked by doing the story.

No its not, its a handholding option. If it is a valid one, then why is it locked on normal mode only? There's a reason why those handholding modes are there in the first place. But whether you use them or not, it doesn't make the game any easier at all since you have to choose the overall difficulty of the main game.

Ok I'm just gonna play the game more and just see about it. Because I've like what already beaten chapter 4 I think and I breezed through it so far.

EDIT: Btw, why on earth are you guys heated on this here? The topic says first impressions/review and I already mentioned for now on gameplay score so that might change. Ok I get that many of you all love FE6 for what it is but Heroes? Seriously? 

And also the fact that you need internet to play this....its not REALLY that portable now is it? I mean I could play it now but my office internet is kinda screwed up at the moment so I gotta go home and play it but sheesh...you're trying to bash off every criticism that this game has at the moment.

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by Harvey

[eclipse]

I like honest, well-informed opinions.  From what you've written, it sounds like you've basically made up your mind before truly exploring what the game has to offer.  Hence why I'm responding as often as I am.

If you want just a small taste of how nasty the game can get, plop together four level 1 units, and take on the fourth stratum of the tower.  You'll die, but it's to prove a point.

[Harvey]

19 hours ago, eclipse said:

I like honest, well-informed opinions.  From what you've written, it sounds like you've basically made up your mind before truly exploring what the game has to offer.  Hence why I'm responding as often as I am.

If you want just a small taste of how nasty the game can get, plop together four level 1 units, and take on the fourth stratum of the tower.  You'll die, but it's to prove a point.

How did I made up my mind when I said as of now, the game is within this score and what not since mobile games often keep changing?

As for the last statement...what does that have anything to do with your lack of strategy argument? Obviously, you need to grind your units to make them beat certain maps, but that's not strategy, that's RPG and that's what most RPG's tend to do.

Also, where oh where did I ever said in my impressions that it was very easy to win chapters or that the difficulty is too damn easy? 

Whatever I'm not gonna argue anymore.

EDIT: Ok so I beated chapter 6 and now the game gets a bit tough. But that still doesn't change the fact that there is very little strategy. Infact it makes it a bit worse because you need to make your units stronger without using handholding options being there. So if you are stuck with weak units, you have to grind them until you are maxed out. 

But hey, if that is what appeared in games like FE8, FE13 and Gaiden, then why complain about it? Because this game has stamina that you need to use inorder to play most of the modes which will fill in the same manner as how many mobile games do so you are restricted to play to your heart's content because of this.

On the plus side, there's no need for much of the microtransactions since unlike many mobile games that force you to buy stuff, this game doesn't do that..so you're pretty much getting a decent mobile game.

But that's just it, there's no slow movement based on terrain, there's no weapon durability and there's no other form of strategies that the main games have. 

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Harvey