This review contains spoilers
the common criticisms of this game's story are really weird. a lot of people talk about celica's act 4 being the weakest part of the story because her actions make no sense but i think the issue there (and in the plot overall) is much less celica, who i would say is still acting consistently to her character, than it is the way rigel and the duma faithful are portrayed. though by the end the goal of the story is uniting the two countries, you're largely limited to the perspective of zofia with rigel as a constant antagonistic force, and its not until late act 4 they start to be put in a sympathetic light at all. even by the end of the game when man vs god becomes the primary conflict, its only really duma who is seen as an obstacle to overcome. throughout the story mila is just painted as a force of good, especially due to your characters' voice lines constantly mentioning and thanking her. the duma faithful are especially an issue since they're just shown as this overtly evil group with their motivation being an extreme devotion to their god, which is also... one of celica's main motivations, but this is never really pointed out as a negative thing. celica sacrificing herself kinda does this but not well enough. so i wish there had been an actual attempt to make characters like jedah actual characters with understandable motivations and the duma faithful as a religion instead of this weird cult, because it would have been a really easy and effective parallel with the player characters and their worship of mila. its like its half there but they couldn't depart from gaiden enough to not have this crazy evil gharnef guy. (also making the duma faithful less evil would make ruldolf's plan make a bit more sense). but uh whatever i'm complaining about all this but actually i don't care this is one of my favourite games it can do no wrong for me etc etc.
Shadows of Valentia represents the pinnacle of the 3DS era of Fire Emblem, with strong visuals, sound, writing, and presentation. The gameplay is both challenging yet accessible through smart inclusions of features both old and new. It truly represents the best of Fire Emblem
Gameplay is some of the worst I played but everything else is crafted with such care that it's my second favorite fe game. Would not recommend as a gateway into the series but if you played a fe or two before and are patient, give it a shot.
Objectively it's not 4.5 stars but it's 4.5 stars in my heart so who care.
Objectively it's not 4.5 stars but it's 4.5 stars in my heart so who care.
WTF they actually made Gaiden playable
the best 3ds fire emblem by a landslide; while the map design is truthfully ass at times, the presentation and story is more than enough to make up for it. it's so close to being the perfect remake
celica is a dumb bitch
Good story and characters.
Lovely art style.
But goddamn it had some really bad maps.
Lovely art style.
But goddamn it had some really bad maps.
Amazing game, it's a remake so faithful, it keeps the god awful map design from Gaiden.
Because seriously, it's the only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars, the UI is pretty, the artstyle is godly, story is simple yet good, the voice acting (english, at least) is also very good, God I love Alm's voice, one of my favourite FE main characters.
Because seriously, it's the only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars, the UI is pretty, the artstyle is godly, story is simple yet good, the voice acting (english, at least) is also very good, God I love Alm's voice, one of my favourite FE main characters.
The best fire emblem game on the 3ds. EASILY
The best art and music and some of the worst post-NES gameplay in the series. Bonus points for the classism angle that shoots itself in the foot by being tacked onto a plot from 1992
I think that this is genuinely one of the best games in the entire FE series. It easily has the most unique feeling compared to every entry before and it keeps me coming back time and time again. I have played this game over and over for years now and took the time and effort to grind a ludicrous amount to have a maxed-out save file with all characters having capped stats and equipment (thank you DLC). I love this game and its characters and story so much that any game looking to take its place as my favourite FE will have to do some serious work. While I have the same gripes as most regarding the maps and writing at certain times, I truly feel like the game's pros more than outweigh its cons. This game is gorgeous from beginning to end and I cannot sing its praises any more than I already have.
The art mwah beautifull The music made my ears cum the story was insanely good the map design? ye we don't like to talk about that around here
I MUST absolutely return to this game holy shit, I love the idea of dungeon crawling and the transition into strategic battles. Definitely the 3DS one that inspires me for its structure instead of Awakening/Fates with their "social links".
One of my top 5 favorite games. It's a real shame this game's mechanics are exclusive to this entry because it feels so much more fun. You don't worry over weapon breaking, the maps feel like actual battlefields, the magic system makes you weight risk versus rewards... The story focus is your typical yet really well executed RPG tale, the characters feel lovely and you will always want to see more. The music is phenomenal and the gameplay mixes blend really well together.
this game is awful
gave me hell and i still loved every second of it
One of the best titles on the 3DS. Intelligent Systems managed to adapt Fire Emblem Gaiden with both respect and mastery. Every aspect that could be improved has been improved. Fun gameplay, exciting voice acting, impeccable soundtrack.
This is a title that needs to be recommended. It is sad dlc is now locked indefinitely. However, base game is already a complete experience.
This is a title that needs to be recommended. It is sad dlc is now locked indefinitely. However, base game is already a complete experience.
to me, this one is straight up less interesting than 6. the characters are about as one-note as the awakening ones and alm is maybe the most boring fe long lost rightful king boy. maybe one day i'll go back to it and see how wrong i was? don't count on it though
Tl;dr play this dark sheep in the series, I recommend this game to be your first fe or just to one off.
After some replaying since the release, it’s definitely the best fe game for me.
Given 5 characters from the get go to customize to your choice and what Job they’ll go gives it so much more replay ability. Forging mechanic is so much useful and better in this game too. The gameplay is a good balance of difficulty and addiction to the Turnwheel mechanic is greatly welcomed for me to not restart my game over and over when someone from my group dies like in the previous titles.
It has one of the better stories in fire emblem, it’s the master of the basics to storytelling, the opposing army actually feel like a threat and change of enemy types makes the game feel fresh throughout.
The music is god tier, it has the best ost in the series for me.
The legendary map design why it isn’t perfect, just has terrible growing pains but the new content maps are fine. Fuck the swamp
After some replaying since the release, it’s definitely the best fe game for me.
Given 5 characters from the get go to customize to your choice and what Job they’ll go gives it so much more replay ability. Forging mechanic is so much useful and better in this game too. The gameplay is a good balance of difficulty and addiction to the Turnwheel mechanic is greatly welcomed for me to not restart my game over and over when someone from my group dies like in the previous titles.
It has one of the better stories in fire emblem, it’s the master of the basics to storytelling, the opposing army actually feel like a threat and change of enemy types makes the game feel fresh throughout.
The music is god tier, it has the best ost in the series for me.
The legendary map design why it isn’t perfect, just has terrible growing pains but the new content maps are fine. Fuck the swamp
i believe in leon supremacy
The dungeon crawling and mila's turnwheel were really cool new mechanics that made me hopeful that the series was evolving in a positive direction 💔 I'm still trying to beat the post-endgame dungeon
I get why they kept the shitty map designs but I really wish they didn't keep the shitty map designs
God himself possessed whoever composed the 3ds fe soundtracks
game should have less alm, and focus on celica army. maybe I would have completed this game a long time ago
justice for Faye
i am announcing that i like SOV on the internet
BEST FIRE EMBLEM ON THE DS
how the fuck do you remake gaiden and somehow make it worse.
I beat this game out of spite
I beat this game out of spite
love the story, characters, and art, and even though the maps are fucking garbage i still like it a lot.
very fun if you like turn based strategies. though i fucked up and didnt get some Good characters, making the last battles super stressful. as usual, the convos between units are more interesting than the main story.