Prefaced with I did play this back before Fates released. This playthrough used "Fire Emblem Awakening Same-Sex Marriage: E X P A N D E D" (which means I had installed "Fire Emblem Awakening Same-Sex Marriage" and then some), and a plugin to have children have their "official" hair color and be registered as siblings. There was also one use of a save editor to change my name.
I know this game has slight infamy for where it took the series, vague complaints about being "too anime." I have no experience with the series before this point, but I'm not too fond of tropes and cliches myself. But here me out...
The game... Is fun. Not perfect, but fun.
It is inherintly straight forward. People can call it bland or cookie-cutter but that's not really something against it. It's not trying to be something ground breaking. It's another story of bonds, destniny, and fantasy and I'm kind of glad it doesn't try to be something more. This does make it incredibly easy to pick up and play, which is where I think it shines.
I think the characters get the most flack, having one note gimmicks or traits. Which I think is pretty fair to be bothered by, but I think ignores that these traits are meant to be put together with the support system. The gloomy Dark Mage has to deal with the absurdly strong Great Knight. The barely noticed Sentinel scares every one in the army like a ghost. The Voice of a Divine Dragon has to remind one of her devotees to see her as equals. Nothing is stellar or phenominal, but I've had to experience some funny and sweet conversations between characters. It's just neat.
On the topic of character, your Avatar is basically treated as a proper character. While it was introduced in New Mystery of the Emblem, that isn't something I played or know much of to compare with its execution. It's not much of a self insert with how they're written, and you can't influence them beyond gameplay or choices that appear at the game's endgame. It leads to a very weird disconnect if you gave them YOUR name but can't particularly connect with what's coming from their mouth. I changed my name to Robin for this very reason, and it became a lot more fun to separate myself from the game. Weird, since games are a lot about immersion but I'm not all into self-inserts. It became "who do I think Robin is best with" rather than "who do I think I would be best with."
The main plot is nothing to write home about. Nothing profound, nor does it really try to be. You just go through the motions while antagonists only sort of exist just before you massacre them. Often a weird twist of fate but only just weird choices by the end.
Gameplay-wise it's not very hard. Made worse if you have DLC and get your mind into how to make the most of EXP grinding. But again, this makes it very easy to pick up and play. I had no challenges, sure (I find resetting in FE very annoying anyways), but I did have fun in focusing on how I wanted to make my units. This class learns this later, this character has a better Magic stat than Strength, Galeforce, Galeforce, Galeforce. This extends to children, who I think are funky little guys. I don't like completely understand inheritence but I handled it, making Severa/Lucina a devistating pair-up. I felt a sort of appeal in how most fans think about super cool builds, but in baby-game because I hate not having the opportunity cost just be how much time I can invest into grinding.
The soundtrack isn't a lot but there are plenty of stellar tracks that ramp up the endgame. I do wish maps had more variety in bgm but oh well.
I know many people can just scoff at this game for its fans or how it's very clearly where the series shifted. But I don't see why that should make this game any worse for things out of its control. It's fine to not personally like this game's changes to a series you like, but keep yourself in check to only that. It's weird to extend it beyond that.
This isn't a perfect game, it has many flaws in regards to its gameplay, maps, and overarching story, and can't be what everyone wants. But it's a fun and comfy game that I enjoyed and can see myself coming back to.
I know this game has slight infamy for where it took the series, vague complaints about being "too anime." I have no experience with the series before this point, but I'm not too fond of tropes and cliches myself. But here me out...
The game... Is fun. Not perfect, but fun.
It is inherintly straight forward. People can call it bland or cookie-cutter but that's not really something against it. It's not trying to be something ground breaking. It's another story of bonds, destniny, and fantasy and I'm kind of glad it doesn't try to be something more. This does make it incredibly easy to pick up and play, which is where I think it shines.
I think the characters get the most flack, having one note gimmicks or traits. Which I think is pretty fair to be bothered by, but I think ignores that these traits are meant to be put together with the support system. The gloomy Dark Mage has to deal with the absurdly strong Great Knight. The barely noticed Sentinel scares every one in the army like a ghost. The Voice of a Divine Dragon has to remind one of her devotees to see her as equals. Nothing is stellar or phenominal, but I've had to experience some funny and sweet conversations between characters. It's just neat.
On the topic of character, your Avatar is basically treated as a proper character. While it was introduced in New Mystery of the Emblem, that isn't something I played or know much of to compare with its execution. It's not much of a self insert with how they're written, and you can't influence them beyond gameplay or choices that appear at the game's endgame. It leads to a very weird disconnect if you gave them YOUR name but can't particularly connect with what's coming from their mouth. I changed my name to Robin for this very reason, and it became a lot more fun to separate myself from the game. Weird, since games are a lot about immersion but I'm not all into self-inserts. It became "who do I think Robin is best with" rather than "who do I think I would be best with."
The main plot is nothing to write home about. Nothing profound, nor does it really try to be. You just go through the motions while antagonists only sort of exist just before you massacre them. Often a weird twist of fate but only just weird choices by the end.
Gameplay-wise it's not very hard. Made worse if you have DLC and get your mind into how to make the most of EXP grinding. But again, this makes it very easy to pick up and play. I had no challenges, sure (I find resetting in FE very annoying anyways), but I did have fun in focusing on how I wanted to make my units. This class learns this later, this character has a better Magic stat than Strength, Galeforce, Galeforce, Galeforce. This extends to children, who I think are funky little guys. I don't like completely understand inheritence but I handled it, making Severa/Lucina a devistating pair-up. I felt a sort of appeal in how most fans think about super cool builds, but in baby-game because I hate not having the opportunity cost just be how much time I can invest into grinding.
The soundtrack isn't a lot but there are plenty of stellar tracks that ramp up the endgame. I do wish maps had more variety in bgm but oh well.
I know many people can just scoff at this game for its fans or how it's very clearly where the series shifted. But I don't see why that should make this game any worse for things out of its control. It's fine to not personally like this game's changes to a series you like, but keep yourself in check to only that. It's weird to extend it beyond that.
This isn't a perfect game, it has many flaws in regards to its gameplay, maps, and overarching story, and can't be what everyone wants. But it's a fun and comfy game that I enjoyed and can see myself coming back to.