Don’t let the title fool you, this game does not take place on Valentia Island in Ireland.
“Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia” was released in May 2017 on the Nintendo 3DS. "Echoes" is a remake of “Fire Emblem Gaiden,” the second ever “Fire Emblem” game, which was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992 in Japan.
"Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia" and the "Fire Emblem" Series overall was developed by Intelligent Systems. They've developed multiple titles such as "WarioWare" and "Paper Mario."
My only experience with the “Fire Emblem” series is with “Fire Emblem Awakening,” which I really loved back in the day. I plan to do a retrospective review on it one day.
Note: I’m not well-experienced with turn-based Strategy Role-Playing Games (SRPG). While I can be critical of the story and presentation, most of the gameplay won’t be under the same critical lens.
It wouldn’t be fair to the game to be critical of the gameplay when it’s possible some flaws could be my own.
Synopsis
"Shadows of Valentia" takes place in... Well, Valentia, made up of Zofia and Rigel. The story follows Alm and Celica, two children that live together in Ram Village in Zofia that share a deep bond that the prologue shows amazingly.
I mean, they’re in a flower field for goodness's sake, those places are made for people with deep bonds.
After an unexpected attack, Celica leaves Ram Village, with Alm and Celica promising to meet each other again. Years later, Alm joins the resistance group, the Deliverance, to save Zofia from its corrupt leader and fight back Rigel's invaders. Celica on the other hand goes to Zofia to talk to Mila, Zofia's God, to resolve Zofia's problems.
Both Alm and Celica will do what they can to save Zofia, even if it means death, sacrifices, hardships, and eating raw flour.
While "Shadows of Valentia" has a slow start, when it gets going, it's amazing. The main conflict is interesting, the themes are well-executed, the characters are wonderful, the world of Valentia is compelling, the lore is intriguing, and more.
Celica & Alm also work beautifully as protagonists. They both have their own ideals when it comes to resolving the problems of Zofia, while having flaws that make them feel human. Celica is easily one of my new favourite characters of all time, let alone my favourite Nintendo character now. That says a lot given my favourite before was Kirby.
I have betrayed God, a.k.a. Kirby. I'll go into hiding after this review to save myself from his wraith.
I'll touch on the story more in my spoiler review. I'd prefer to not spoiler anything, but I do explain why Celica is my favourite there.
War, War Never Changes
The "Fire Emblem" series is about fighting on maps by moving in a tile system to complete the goal. In "Shadows of Valentia," the goal is almost always defeating every enemy.
Think of it like every unit as the Queen piece in chess, but with more limited movement. However, unlike in chess, if your unit attacks an enemy's unit and vice versa, the attacked can counterattack.
All units have stats that decide if they'll hit their opponent or not. Units can also do critical hits that deal triple damage, which is always satisfying to see. Although, not so satisfying when enemies get a critical.
A new feature in "Shadows of Valentia" is Mila's Turnwheel, which allows the player to rewind to before an action is made. If a unit dies, they can undie using the Turnwheel.
While a unit's death isn't a big deal in Casual Mode as they come back the next fight, in Classic Mode, units stay dead for good. Only extremely rare resurrection water can revive units in Classic Mode. The only exception is Alm and Celica regardless of if you're playing Classic or Casual, if they die, it's game over.
I'm not too experienced with SRPGs, so I played Casual Mode. So... So many dead units...
However, units can easily die when the odds are stacked against you. Both Alm and Celica's armies will deal with multiple maps like this, and it's tremendously satisfying when you win.
Although, to make the game possible, your units increase their level by attacking/healing units, increasing their stats each level up. The game also gives great class variety in your armies: Archers, Mages, Knights, etc..
Each class has upsides and downsides. For example, Mages and Clerics can use powerful magic, but to use magic, they must sacrifice health for most spells. This means you must account for the damage you take and the enemy's potential damage too. I adore the addition as it makes me careful with how I use spells.
Downsides and upsides also involve who they're strong or weak against. For example, Mages can defeat Knights and Barons easily, but other classes struggle to kill Knights and Barons because of their high defence.
Each unit can promote their class to become more powerful, such as how being a level ten Myrmidon unlocks the choice to promote to the Dread Fighter class.
And who doesn’t want super speed?
Units can also decrease an enemy's movement range by blocking their path. If four units surround a unit from all four sides, the enemy can't move at all. It’s the equivalent to T-Posing.
Maps themselves should also be considered, as their terrain can lower the chances of a unit being hit if they are on said terrain, like trees. Some terrain can heal units too, unfortunately, enemies can use these too.
While I can't objectively criticize of "Shadows of Valentia," I can safely say the mechanics are engaging and so much fun. Levels always have me invested; I love creating strategies to defeat the odds. With the level up and class system, progress is beyond satisfying.
It also makes me feel like a proud parent when weaker units like Kliff and Faye become so strong that they become my most reliable units in the game. Faye especially, Faye has most likely committed the most war crimes out of everyone in my army.
Although not all weak units should have time invested into them. Units like Nomad can be helpful, but are unlocked so late into the game, you're better off continuing to level up other units that are simply better versions of the same class.
Units can carry one item at a time to increase stats, heal, embarrass bosses by defeating them with a rusted weapon, etc.. It's quite open with what you can do, as with the right equipment, you can make a Mercenary a tank or even highly resistant to magic. It's a pleasant freedom that supplies fantastic versatility.
Weapons can be upgraded using silver and gold coins, the game's currency. One massive praise I must give is that you never run out of ways to use money, which is a nitpick I have with most games with money. Most of the time I just end up having nothing to do with my money, but thankfully, "Shadows of Valentia" is an exception.
Weapons/items also have an experience bar that goes up when the unit uses them to unlock Arts. Arts are special abilities units learn to do powerful attacks, such as dealing high damage to armoured units. While they cost HP, they can be worth the HP sacrifice.
The one slot inventory system overall is amazing. It makes me more careful with what equipment my units bring into combat and to consider which equipment is more important to upgrade. The lack of durability like in other "Fire Emblem" games is nice and makes the rare items even more rewarding now that they have no limit.
One odd thing though is the Convoy, where all items are stored. It's fine, but there's a limit to how much you can carry, which is... Odd given by the time you find out, it'll likely be late in the game. It's nothing bad, simply weird.
Outdated or Indated?
The Missing Weapon Triangle
The Weapon Triangle is a stable in most "Fire Emblem" games where swords > axes > lances > and repeat. However, "Shadows of Valentia," despite having lances and swords, also bows, does not have the Weapon Triangle nor lets you equip axes despite enemies having them.
However, this isn't an oversight. "Fire emblem Gaiden" came out before “Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War," the first game to have the Weapon Triangle. Since "Shadows of Valentia" is a remake of "Gaiden" with the same units and map design, it makes sense to not include it.
I don't mind the absence of the Weapon Triangle; I think it's for the best to keep "Shadows of Valentia" faithful to the original "Gaiden" gameplay-wise
Dungeons
Hey, something I can be objective about. "Gaiden" had dungeons and "Shadows of Valentia" modernizes them in 3D and with a few changes.
Ten party members enter a dungeon each time to explore them. There's a fatigue system where the more damage a party member takes, the hungrier they become. If they're too hungry, their health is cut in half until they're fed or healed at a Mila Shrine by offering the Mila Shrine one food item. She’ll take anything, even a bread crumb.
Dungeons have enemies to fight that chase you when they see you, treasures, fountains that increase stats/give EXP, and lots of containers/urns to break. The dungeons are not only modernized well but are well-designed. They're rewarding to explore, look great, and offer an effective way to grind if needed.
Mila's Turnwheel also doesn't replenish unless you leave the dungeon, which you can do with the evacuate choice. While it's not particularly tricky to manage in most dungeons, the later dungeons will test your usage of it hard.
Unfortunately, dungeons are the only places to access Mila Shrines, some of which have enemies on the path to the shrine. They're the only way to promote units. While you can run away from enemies with your nifty dash, they can still be tough to avoid.
Neighbouring enemy groups can also join into fights, making for longer fights with no warning (since these groups aren't always visible).
Thankfully, the Tactic mechanic, that lets you give four commands that units use automatically, can remedy the problem with dungeon problems. With Charge, your units will charge at enemies, pressing start will skip all the animations of your units.
While this works, a menu to promote classes on the world map would've been a better solution. Regardless, the dungeons are amazing overall.
World Map Enemies
"Shadows of Valentia" includes a world map to traverse Valentia and get to levels. While a bit jarring at first, as you must select Alm or Celica with the cursor then you can move as them, it works well.
I do dislike the enemies spawning on the world map often though. Enemies spawn from the fortresses of bosses and head towards Alm and Celica. They function identically to dungeon enemies, even down to the same problems.
Due to the bigger maps, battles on the overworld are worse because these fights can take even longer. The maps are good on their own, but the enemies aren't positioned well. With overworld encounters, enemies are far away and annoying to get to. You sometimes fight two groups at once, which is fuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn...
When doing side quests, these overworld encounters are a massive pain, as the more you do side quests, the more overworld enemies that spawn. It's better to tackle Alm's or Celica's parts separately as opposed to simultaneously like I did. Regardless of who moves, an enemy will spawn on the overworld on either side.
Cantors
Cantors is an enemy-exclusive class that conjure enemies, all conjured enemies die when the Cantor is killed. They don't attack units directly unless they're counterattacking.
While they're fine in theory, with strong beard game might I add, they're aggravating in execution.
The Cantors glue themselves to where they are and never move. This wouldn't be too bad if they weren't in spots that heal them or make them harder to hit. While magic ignores terrain effects, Cantors hit hard with their magic.
You’re already on a boat and, I’m assuming based on your idle animations, on drugs too. How many things do you need to be on?
A better look at his idle animation in the video below because I'm salty.
The enemies Cantor spawn also waste time and turns as you must kill them. While most conjured enemies are easy, they still get in the way.
The game also has the audacity to make one boss, who is a Cantor, nullify attacks from party members. There's a way to attack them, but I couldn't figure it out until I look up a walkthrough after I beat the game (surprisingly, they're optional to kill). The method to deal damage to them is contrary to what the game makes you prioritize, it's unfair.
Maybe I just didn't handle Cantors well because of my playstyle, or if they truly are bad. All I know for sure is that I hate Cantors.
Modernized for the Better
"Shadows of Valentia" is undeniably amazing with the upgrade to its presentation with the sprites, portraits, visuals, and so on. Comparing it to "Gaiden" is like night and day.
Battle animations are in 3D, which while nothing new for the series, still look amazing.
The music is also godly, both remaking tracks from "Gaiden" and expanding on them, but also adding many new tracks. A few of my favourites are Praise This Despair!, The Slumbering Labyrinth, and A Distant Promise. The last one genuinely made me cry.
A huge special mention to my favourite track in the game, The Sacrifice and the Saint. It perfectly captures Celica's internal conflict and is so grand and catchy to boot.
Although not every track is perfect. For example, the battle songs like Fearless White Blade are too short and repetitive.
Also sound-related is the English voice-acting, and there's a lot of it. Every ally unit, nearly every NPC have voice-acting and it's all fantastic. The voice-acting really sells the characters, Berkut, Rinea, and Mae are only a few examples.
The modernization doesn't stop at sounds and visuals, "Shadows of Valentia" also adds Support Conversations. When two characters with Support potential attack close to each other, they bond.
Nothing brings people closer together than killing people.
With enough bonding, they can strike conversation during battle, with three Support Conversations per pair. Support conversations delve deeper into characters, and they do a fantastic job of doing so, such as exploring Faye's feelings on Alm while supplying implications there're more behind them.
By doing Support Conversations, Support pairs when next to each other, have stat increases. Their Support rank, from C to A, decides how big the stat increases are.
Support stat buffs did exist in "Gaiden," but only applied to Alm and Celica. In the remake, everyone has at least one Support pairing to give stat boosts. I'm happy about this as they not only supply a terrific way of getting to know the cast, but also give noticeable benefits in combat.
I do wish there were more Support Conversations though. For example, characters like Silque only have one Support Conversation pairing. Silque has little time to show how awesome she truly is. Silque could've gotten along with Tatiana, Zeke, Mathilda, etc..
Another example is Genny, who only has one Support Conversation, but isn't with any of her friends (Celica, Mae, Boey). While her Supports with Sonya are amazing, not recruiting Sonya means you miss Genny's only Support.
My saltiness with Supports aside, exploration has been modernized to be like a point-and-click visual novel. You move a cursor to examine and find items, such as cogs that increase the amount of uses for Mila's Turnwheel.
It's a fantastic addition that makes villages more engaging and rewarding to explore for the player by stealing everything they see. The best thing to find are Memory Prisms that explain past events the main story can't flashback to. These add a lot to the story and have some of my favourite moments in the game.
Side Quests
But what if you don’t want to save the world at once? I mean, it’s not like you live there.
"Shadows of Valentia" has a plethora of side quests to tackle. Finding items for a NPC, slaying a specific amount of an enemy type, etc..
Each side quest offers rewards and increase your renown, which while only for medals to show off on my Streetpass/Spotpass account in "Shadows of Valentia," is still neat regardless.
Replayability and Post-Game
"Shadows of Valentia" isn't all that replayable. While there are a few things here and there, like recruiting Deen or Sonya, there isn't much.
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Although, there ARE different things like alternate scenarios depending on if you succeed or not. For example, if Mathilda dies when you must save her, it leads to Clive's best scene.
Thankfully, the game does seem aware of this and offers a post-game with a few more levels and a post-game dungeon. While short, these are amazing additions.
There's also DLC to buy, although I didn't buy any. To me, $5.69CDN for one level and a few extras is too pricey. I also wait for milk to go on sale before I buy it, so maybe it's a me problem.
Miscellaneous
"Shadows of Valentia" includes 3D animated cutscenes, with a bit of 2D animation, and they all look amazing visually.
I do feel the opening drags on though. It's still amazing visually, but I rarely rewatched it. The game also performs beautifully, the only one or two glitches I ran into were very slight.
Overall (S)
I found myself falling in love with “Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia” a lot and each day my love for it grows stronger. I adore the characters, story, world, lore, art, graphics, voice acting, music, gameplay, mechanics, and challenge. It’s an extremely fun time that’s 30+ hours.
It’s a near masterpiece for me. It just suffers from a few flaws and lack of replayability, however I can look pass most of these. I can see myself playing this game again in the fu-
OH GOD, GOD!1KWOP03-2D-PDVGKHJHLS8LFKGKH30-09I2IPIKF0I-F1...
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