My relationship with Nintendo is strange. I was an absolute fan during the NES era but shortly thereafter, I was a Sega kid followed by being a Sony player. I did own a DS lite and the original Wii, and I really want one of those NES Classics (but have yet to find one), but it just seems that outside of a few titles Nintendo’s systems have failed to impress. Even the new Switch console that is coming out soon doesn’t really do it for me, but it does have the added bonus of being portable and a console. Still, I probably won’t purchase one of them.

A while back, Nintendo announced that they would be entering the mobile market and though that sounded cool, the original announcement was a couple of titles that would come out on iOS, which didn’t do me any good. For years I have been saying that I would play the shit out of some Nintendo games, were they on Steam or another device I already own. I really don’t want to have to own each and every console, though I do see the point in having both one console and a gaming PC. It appears that this has been rectified now though, as a couple of weeks ago there were options on the Google Play Store to “pre-register” for the new Nintendo games coming out soon. The first to release is you guessed it, Fire Emblem Heroes. Super Mario Run is to follow next month I believe.

Just a couple of days ago, there was a small bit of conversation about how some people couldn’t find a mobile game that stuck for them. They had downloaded many and though some seemed interesting enough, after a few hours to a few days they were tired of the game and uninstalled it. I can’t say that doesn’t sound like me, as for years I was never finding anything to play on my phone that was really worth my time. Up until a few months back when I started playing Clash Royale did I really find a mobile game somewhat addictive. Though some of the timed mechanics are still annoying, it tends to work because you only play the game for a few minutes here and a few minutes there.

This game is now the second game that I would say is really playable and really fun. Where Clash Royale succeeds at providing a solid PvP dueling experience, Fire Emblem Heroes provides a solid RPG formula that I find very appealing. At first glance, I didn’t really know what to expect. I haven’t ever played a Fire Emblem game, but I have heard very good things about them. I’ve always been a fan of grid-based, turn-based strategy games, and this one is right up my alley. If you’ve ever played games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Shining Force, or even games like X-Com you’ll enjoy the combat system. It reminds me most of Shining Force as it’s 2-D and there aren’t advantages to having the high ground, etc. It also has animated cut scenes for the actual swings you and your enemies take on each other, which is a direct influence for sure.

When you aren’t battling through the story missions (which start with a prequel that will teach you some of the game’s nuances), there are some other screens you will stare at in an attempt to improve your party in various ways. Loosely stated, the story centers around you, a “legendary hero” who comes to this particular land and is able to use this special artifact that allows you to summon heroes from other realms to do your bidding. Though the main characters have their motivations and the story chugs along, it’s really not all that important in the grand scheme of things. Summoning is as easy as spending orbs that you’ll earn from completing quests and doing various activities.

Heroes that you summon will have starred ratings, with 3 stars being a bronze hero, 4 being silver and 5 stars being gold. Obviously the better the hero’s rating, the better they will perform in combat and the more abilities they will start out with. Most abilities trigger automatically or add passive traits, but they are definitely useful in combat. Eventually as you move through the missions you’ll open up other “maps” that essentially functions as different game modes. Special maps are special events where you can do one time battles on different difficulty settings and provide extra rewards. Arena Duels are PvP matches which was a good call on the developer’s part, as you’ll be able to lengthen the replay value of the game. I have opened the other maps just yet, but I’m guessing the training tower is to hone skills, and the ??? map with probably end up being some sort of end-game activity. Soon enough though, you’ll have a lot of heroes and plenty to do.

 

There is a cash shop as well, as each map takes stamina to fight on. You have a limited amount of stamina, and it though it recharges fairly quickly I’m sure some people wouldn’t want to wait. Arena Duels also take a different time-limited currency, but I have found items you can use to restore it. It’s also true that Orbs don’t drop very fast, so I’m sure paying some money for those wouldn’t be too bad of a deal if you’re really investing in the game. I know I’ve spent a little bit of money on Clash Royale so it’s safe to say I might spend a little on this title too. Overall I think it’s a great first entry into what I hope is a nice catalog of mobile Nintendo games. Give me a proper Mario, Zelda, Metroid or Smash Bros port and I’ll be happy.