I never really was super interested in Fire Emblem growing up, so I never got the chance to play any of the games. Its something I’ve always heard mixed opinions on in circles, from people who absolutely love it to people who absolutely despise it. Recently, I got interested in maybe giving it a chance and decided to start with this game to see how I felt about it.

This was a mistake. The problem with this game isn’t really the gameplay, I am not familiar with the intricacies of Fire Emblem’s gameplay, but I personally found the gameplay fine and sometimes pretty fun once you get used to. The problem is the fucking writing. It feels like every low brow, obnoxious anime trope has been dialed up to their most annoying extremes in this game and it just pisses me off. I know people harp on the prepubescent dragon girl who's ACTUALLY 1000 years old and you can have sex with, but every character is a tropey and obnoxious mess that actively prevents me from caring about them. The plot isn’t really that remarkable either, so I was hoping the characters would be able to carry my interest. They did not, clearly.

I will admit I have not finished the game. I got over half way into it before I gave up on it. Maybe it gets better, but I don’t really have any intention of seeing it through to the end at this moment. Sorry Fire Emblem fans, I don’t get it for now.

If I’m being completely honest with myself, I think this game would be ranked lower if not for my weird attachment to this game. Similarly to Fallout 3, it served as a creative muse for me for years and I do appreciate it for that at least.

One of the most egregious problems with this game is the dialogue wheel. The dumbing down of the dialogue options really hurt this game, the roleplaying aspects of these games are often what make these games memorable. Not that Bethesda is really good at writing , they are most definitely not and it is noticeable in the writing of this game. I know the Sole Survivor is kind of meant to be more of a character than a blank slate, why else give us a wife and child to care for, but why bother making them customizable at all at this point. Also, would like to let the record know that Nick Valentine is the best written character in this game and traveling with him is a blast. Makes me wish he was in a better game.

The gameplay is fine. Its got classic Bethesda jank, but it definitely is less annoying than how Fallout 3 is. I like some of the environments and locations in the game. The dlcs are of mixed quality, but the Far Harbor dlc was easily the best in terms of environment and just writing in general. It is better written than the main plot of this stupid game is, I’ll say.

Also has nobody ever noticed how the plot of this game is basically just Detroit: Become Human regarding the synths. The Detroit robot racism metaphor is more annoying, but Fallout 4 is not free of sin either because it’s also really stupid here.

This may sound a bit sacrilegious, but I do think Trials and Tribulations has its fair share of problems that hold this game back from being a perfect finale for the trilogy.

The third case of this one is also pretty bad. At times, I even thought its characters were more annoying than the circus guys, who could at least sometimes get a laugh out of me. It was introduced in Justice For All at first, but this game is arguably more annoying about it, which is the amount of unfunny pervert characters. They kind of ruined Larry for me in this game because of this. Dahlia Hawthorne is a really great villain except for the that very weird writing decision they make in regard to Terry Fawles and her that I’m sure you can get at what I’m saying. Its just a bunch of small elements that don’t sit right with me.

However, the final case of this game is an amazing way to tie all the characters together and conclude all the remaining threads the trilogy has. The way it even ties back to DL-6 was incredible and satisfying and elevates the trilogy as a fantastic set of games, even with their flaws.