Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia — A Faithful, but Beautiful Remake
Fire Emblem Echoes is the 15th entry in the Fire Emblem series, a remake of the Japan-only entry, Fire Emblem Gaiden, released on April 20th, 2017, the 27th anniversary of the series. Does it do its job as a remake? Does it fix up issues that the original had, or does it stay true to the original game? Surprisingly, it can do both.
You follow the journeys of our two main protagonists, Alm and Celica, who were separated at a young age and both begin their quests to reunite and restore peace to Zofia, and later all of Valentia. I don’t want to pry into details very much, but the story and characters are all very engaging regardless of the size of their role.
Following the duo’s separate journeys is more than just a story element, you get the ability to control two separate armies at once, and the player can choose how they go about playing through the game. While there are a few occasions where one side could no longer make progress, that usually just means the player needed to take charge of the opposite army to advance. I found this very interesting when compared to other Fire Emblem games, with the split army and one of the smallest playable casts in the series, I got the chance to use everyone at some point during the game. It really added value to the characters you had, instead of benching half of the team you’re given.
Unfortunately, one weak spot of Echoes is the fact that the map design would occasionally be very lacking, with unfair enemy placement and a lot of empty space that doesn’t really get used… at all. This was also a problem in the original Gaiden, and while Echoes gives you a lot more tools to work with, maps can occasionally be very frustrating.
The biggest thing that Echoes has going for it though, is the presentation. The UI and artwork for the game are both god damn beautiful. This was the first game in the series to have extensive voice acting, which helped increase the likability of many of the characters, and it really helped me get attached to the cast more than many of the other titles. The music was another huge upgrade, they turned 50 second NES loops into full orchestral (sometimes opera) pieces.
Overall, Echoes was a huge step up from its original version, and while it keeps a few of its issues, it’s able to present a fresh experience to old and new Fire Emblem players alike. A fresh, fully voice-acted story, unique art, and character redesigns, and very simple combat compared to other FE games all make echoes a breath of fresh air when playing through multiple games in the series. Definitely one of my favorite Fire Emblem games despite the glaring issues, I recommend it for those who are interested in the series but don’t want to start with Awakening or Three Houses (for some reason).
