Fire Emblem Heroes review: A ridiculously good mobile game

Although there are some slight flaws in Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Heroes, the overall experience is suited for both series experts and newcomers.

There’s a long tale to be told about Fire Emblem as a franchise, especially in the West, where it didn’t even receive a translation until the seventh (!) game in the series. (That’s the one we know as Fire Emblem over here. For the sake of clarity, we’ll refer to it as The Blazing Blade here.) But Fire Emblem has always enjoyed a hybrid life both on handhelds and consoles. Coming at it from that perspective, it makes perfect sense that it would then expand to mobile gaming with none other than Fire Emblem Heroes.

The mobile game shrinks down the often massive maps of its home series, simplifies the sheer amount of stats for each character, and has something actually resembling a plot. Your Avatar (this time kept faceless in what actually may be a nod to The Blazing Blade) has the special ability to summon Heroes from other worlds. You use this to help Alfonse and Sharena, prince and princess of Askr, in their battle against the Emblian Empire.

But, let’s face it: you’re probably not here for the plot. (I’m certainly not, especially after the absolute ridiculousness that is Fire Emblem Fates‘ plot.) You’re here for the strategic gameplay. Let’s start there.

Gameplay

In the series’ Nintendo Direct last month, the section for Heroes pointedly said that the series had been shrunk down entirely to portrait mode on a phone. That’s true — but it still manages to work on this smaller scale. In fact, the bite-sized maps actually end up being just as fun to play as their larger counterparts. However, everything else has been toned down. For a newcomer to the series, this actually may be better. For someone who’s played a significant portion of the games, it may actually be frustrating.

The infamous weapon triangle here also has a color code. Red (swords) beats green (axes) beats blue (lances), with mages wielding one of the three types. Additionally, bows and throwing weapons are outside the triangle. In terms of combat, double-attacking remains, but mages have had their standard 1-2 range reduced to attacking from range only.

Balanced for Beginners and Experts Alike

The game is both simple and ridiculously complex — easy to pick up, but not necessarily easy to master. Once you make it through the tutorial and open up things like the Training Tower, you’re basically free to do as you please, provided you have enough Stamina to do so. Although the mechanic is common to mobile games, that doesn’t make it any less annoying, though it does extend the play time. (Yours truly just wants to continue crushing her foes beneath her feet.) You can easily go through the game without ever learning about SP, leveling your characters up with crystals or even hitting the Training Tower if you really want to. We don’t advise avoiding these things, but you can and still keep going.

Also, the replay factor is strong. Heroes barely scratches the surface of the characters it has available from the franchise, but you can already change up your team at will depending on the number of heroes you have and your willingness to train them. You can also unlock Hard and Lunatic modes of each chapter once you complete them on Normal mode first. The game already has a Paralogue option available, which we suspect will let you play to win new Heroes.

As for the maps and the foes on them, the level of detail shows. Music changes depending on which game world you’re playing in, and I definitely recognized the maps as smaller versions of ones appearing in their original games. Foes, even ones currently left faceless, also resemble characters you may start with in the games. (For example, in Chapter 3-1, “Binding Trial,” you’ll face off against Roy and versions of Alen, Lance and Wolt, better known as some of the starting cast in The Binding Blade. This is not the first or only time the game does this.) These things may go unnoticed by those unfamiliar with the series, but to an expert, they’re pleasant surprises.

Characters

Since you’ll always have Alfonse, Sharena and Anna (another nod to fans of the series, since she’s been around since the beginning in one capacity or another), they’re the characters who do all of the talking. Fortunately, they each manage to have their own personalities. Also, even though they may be the main characters, you can leave them off your team by good use of the summoning of new heroes.

The summoning mechanic itself actually seems relatively fair. Although the summoning mechanic may seem like it’s pay-to-win, you can also earn Orbs by completing new chapters and via giveaways. (Orbs aren’t cheap, though: you’ll only receive three for $1.99 right now.) Additionally, the game will make you more likely to obtain five-star heroes if you go too long without getting one. Each character has some voice clips and new art, though the art styles can wildly differ. For example, here’s Lon’qu:

And here’s Linde:

Right now, players have plenty of characters to collect. However, one suspects a large update will come around sooner rather than later, in the form of new characters and Paralogues at the very least. With a game like this, fresh content seems absolutely essential to keep interest and to keep the money flowing. We’d rather not see another Pokémon GO situation here.

The Verdict

Even if you don’t know much about the series, Fire Emblem Heroes makes for a fun game to play on your phone. Although it requires an Internet connection and could probably do with some more tutorials, there’s a lot to love here. And, for a series enthusiast … well, you’ve probably picked up the game already anyway.

Score: 8.5/10. Lots of detail, good miniaturization, but hampered slightly by lack of tutorials.

Next: Fire Emblem Heroes: Where to find the characters' original games

Fire Emblem Heroes can be found on both the App Store and the Google Play Store.