not the BEST visual novel i've played over the years, but there are a lot of elements that are genuinely enjoyable! the first route is the most basic but also the best, at least imo. benefits from completing all routes as there's a True Route after everything else. worth noting that each route Completely changes the characters' relationships and the story itself, it isn't just "pick a boy and see the story through the lense of romancing him and being close to him". each route's story is tailor specifically to the boy you choose.

it also is surprisingly unsettling, especially the further into the routes you go as things get less grounded. PLAY THE YELLOW DIAMOND ROUTE LAST. there's triggering content in that route as well, so if thats something that worries you i suggest spoiling yourself a little bit.

absolutely it has its flaws but as a longtime fan of the series i think it did a good job breathing life into the series after fates, which was generally acknowledged to be a bit of a disaster. i like the vast majority of the cast and really like the supports! the class system is also interesting this time, especially with them adding in the dlc classes.

part of me wishes there was another actual route where you can unite the lords, but given how fates did that... um. maybe it's for the best. in any case, it keeps the emotional aspect knowing you're going to end up killing some of your former friends. i also have a major gripe with how edelgard's route was pushed HEAVILY in promotional material but they completely messed up her route and the emotional weight of it by making it WAY shorter than the others. it makes the black eagles story ring very hallow and feel incredibly unsatisfying, which sucks because i do like the characters and how heavily gray the morality of the route + edelgard is (and i wish there were more characters being conflicted over what was happening).

i do like all of the routes, however, despite my major gripes with BE! dimitri's berserk scene at the reveal in his route literally gave me chills, which a fire emblem game hasnt managed to do before.

all together very good and fun! might not be for everyone but it definitely was for me!

i hate the way the routes are split up into different games lmao so im just copy pasting my review with minor changes. fates is the weakest of the recent games and its good for mindless fun if you ignore the main story which... sucks. both in terms of it being bad AND it being a shame that it's bad and you're better off ignoring it. i like reading supports and some of these are good and better than the main story LMAO. others feel INCREDIBLY flat and like a waste of space, especially when you find out the localization team DESTROYED many of the supports and changed them entirely, sometimes making characters completely unlikable. this is particularly sad in that they did this to the only gay option for women; her jpn supports were actually rather sweet if a bit basic, unlike in the english where they... changed it entirely and made her very unsettling? i know she's a tharja clone, but come on. the original jp version at least tried to make the relationship actually likable?

this is the "true" happy ending but it's pretty universally acknowledged that short of everyone living, this story just sucks big time. it makes no sense. that's such a shame. as someone who loves collecting supports, i will say the one highlight is being able to mix and match way more units in this route. that's really the only redeeming factor for me and it's the reason i play it by default despite it being the worst route.

i hate the way the routes are split up into different games lmao so im just copy pasting my review with minor changes. fates is the weakest of the recent games and its good for mindless fun if you ignore the main story which... sucks. both in terms of it being bad AND it being a shame that it's bad and you're better off ignoring it. i like reading supports and some of these are good and better than the main story LMAO. others feel INCREDIBLY flat and like a waste of space, especially when you find out the localization team DESTROYED many of the supports and changed them entirely, sometimes making characters completely unlikable. this is particularly sad in that they did this to the only gay option for women; her jpn supports were actually rather sweet if a bit basic, unlike in the english where they... changed it entirely and made her very unsettling? i know she's a tharja clone, but come on. the original jp version at least tried to make the relationship actually likable?

this is the route i enjoyed the most! i liked the gameplay here a lot actually even if it didnt really bring anything new thats very interesting, but the builds you can make are really good! story is frustrating and bland but like... whatever LOL i also did enjoy many of the supports for this set of the cast!

i hate the way the routes are split up into different games lmao so im just copy pasting my review with minor changes. fates is the weakest of the recent games and its good for mindless fun if you ignore the main story which... sucks. both in terms of it being bad AND it being a shame that it's bad and you're better off ignoring it. i like reading supports and some of these are good and better than the main story LMAO. others feel INCREDIBLY flat and like a waste of space, especially when you find out the localization team DESTROYED many of the supports and changed them entirely, sometimes making characters completely unlikable. this is particularly sad in that they did this to the only gay option for women; her jpn supports were actually rather sweet if a bit basic, unlike in the english where they... changed it entirely and made her very unsettling? i know she's a tharja clone, but come on. the original jp version at least tried to make the relationship actually likable?

i think birthright has the best story of the three routes but unfortunately that isn't saying much LOL

i know this game has a reputation in the fire emblem community as a game that set back the series and turned it into a dating sim with a rancid community but hear me out: i like dating sims and play on casual and you can't stop me. the story can be weak at times but there's something so relaxing about grinding and leveling and building supports, i don't even want to guess how many hours i've logged into it over the years.

mastered in my case meaning i unlocked every support that isnt just a copy-paste depending on the parents because... well, i'm a little gamer girl who loves reading supports lol