Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is the spiritual successor to the massively successful Fire Emblem: Three Houses. A game that stands as my favorite game of all time. Set in the same continuity, with some carried-over story elements and characters, it has a lot riding on it after the previous, underwhelming experience that was Fire Emblem: Engage. The game retains the core elements of the series while also adding in new ideas and mechanics. So was this adventure worthy of standing alongside its legendary predecessor, or is it just a disappointment that didn’t live up to the hype? Read on and find out.

Story:

You play the role of an initially disembodied spirit summoned forth by the goddess Sothis to help save the land of Dagda, which has currently been laid to ruin by Balor, the god of the underworld. To accomplish this task, you are sent to meet the goddess of fate Fortuna, and utilize her powers over time and causality to venture into the past and prevent the disappearances of several mighty heroes that took part in the tournament known as the Heroic Games. Unlike in Three Houses, you are not locked into a given route by which hero you initially choose. You’re even able to leapfrog from one route to the other at any time if you so wish. Because though these heroes will inevitably cross blades at some point in the Heroic Games to win the ultimate prize of getting a wish of theirs granted, you can simply help whoever you didn’t pick win in their respective route. The game’s story is set in 3 parts: the Heroic Games, a war breaking out after that led to current events, and present day after you’ve saved whoever you deem to be worth saving and gotten down to the meat of your mission from Sothis. Each main hero is vastly different in personality and motivation, and have their own unique quirks in how to optimally achieve certain perks. Their paths shining light on different mysteries and fragments of the game’s lore. However, I should note that if you’re expecting your choice to have some big ramifications on the story, you’ll likely be disappointed. Who you save or don’t save doesn’t necessarily affect the ending. It just determines who’s alive to aid your cause, and who is not. What’s more, part 2 of the game focuses mostly on the stakes and character journey of only one of the four heroes. The others just happen to tag along tangentially if you choose them. And that can be deflating to players who preferred more of a spotlight on one of the other contenders. I should also emphasize that the base game by itself does leave some mysteries hanging in the air without the DLC campaigns to fill in the blanks. Nothing too important, but if you’re someone who wants to walk out of this with a complete understanding of the story, you’ll inevitably need to seek out that extra content. However, despite this being a game heavily linked to Fire Emblem: Three Houses, prior experience or knowledge from that game is not necessarily. Having played one simply enriches your understanding of the other and vice versa. And that’s a pleasant balance to strike. 

Gameplay:

Just like any other Fire Emblem game, this is a grid-based RPG similar to chess, but less luck based. You have various units with their own classes, growth potential, personalities, etc. This game also utilizes a calendar system similar to the Persona series, where you’re given a certain amount of time between story missions to prioritize how you’ll improve your army or pursue side acquisitions. And as you progress, you will be able to recruit units from all across the main hub of Dagsion to your cause provided you meet their requirements first. A good way to acquire characters you particularly like, or to balance out your existing forces with someone possessing talents they don’t yet cover. I found the time I was given between missions to be fairly reasonable. I was never particularly scrambling to get certain things done as long as I played my cards right. There are minor story beats or paralogues that are possible to miss if you’re not attentive enough, but usually it’s nothing of major concern in that the various routes tend to overlap in several places. So if you miss your chance to get something done in one route, you can simply make a point to try to accomplish it with the next hero you pick. As long as something gets done in at least one route, it’s counted as complete for all of them when the time comes to start part 3. It’s even possible to simply skip to part 3 straightaway without saving any of the four heroes, but I would NOT recommend it because this game’s difficulty can get pretty crazy at times. Especially in parts 2 or 3. Lots of enemy reinforcements and map hazards to navigate. Thankfully I was playing on casual mode, which means units don’t die permanently if they fall in battle. Instead simply retreating, and returning when the fight is over. The game also allows you the option to retain any EXP you received from a battle you lost in restarting it, effectively giving you an emergency switch to ensure you’ll eventually win after enough tries. That was greatly appreciated, but I feel it’s also somewhat used as a crutch to justify making the levels in the late game especially punishing if you don’t walk a razor’s edge in managing your time. In order to acquire the units you recruited and trained in a given route for a particular hero, you must complete part 2 with that hero. However, the option to skip part 2 and have any units in that party leveled up accordingly does exist if you’d rather not replay part 2 four times with different heroes tagging along for the same events. Again, a useful mechanic, but it seems made to address a problem I feel shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Thankfully weapon durability only depletes when you use weapon arts. Meaning weapons will not break simply from ordinary use. But I cannot stress enough the difficulty here is higher than what players might be used to from Three Houses. It starts off fairly simple, and gradually cranks things up as it goes. Minor spikes in difficulty happening at the start of part 2 and part 3. 

Conclusion:

I will confess that Fire Emblem: Three Houses still outshines this game to me personally, and that’s through no fault of the game itself. Stories like that of Rhea and Dimitri simply struck me on such a deep core level, and the game is so sentimentally important to me that it’s really not easy to imagine anything topping that. Especially because this game has only one ending. But despite that, this was leagues better than Fire Emblem: Engage. And I wholeheartedly say it is indeed on equal footing with its predecessor. It’s an enthralling experience with many great characters, and with enough content to really keep any gamer busy and content for a good long while. I did not regret my time with this game, and it makes me pleased to consider what the next potential entry in this remarkable series may have in store. As such, I give this game a solid 8.5/10.