Tag: fire emblem heroes

First Impressions: Fire Emblem Shadows

If you guys follow my blogs, you’ll know that Fire Emblem is one franchise I’m absolutely crazy about. And today, out of nowhere, Nintendo just dropped another entry on mobile called Fire Emblem Shadows.

I’ve got to be honest—when I first saw the news, I was surprised there wasn’t any build-up or hype leading to this release, nothing like the huge campaign that came with Fire Emblem Heroes a few years back. But now that I’ve actually played it, I get it. This wasn’t just a launch—it was a shadow drop in every sense of the word.

Nintendo unveiled Fire Emblem Shadows with a short trailer that went live right alongside the game’s release. The presentation leaned heavily into the idea of secrecy and betrayal, teasing its unique hook: real-time tactical battles where one of your supposed allies might secretly be working against you. The press release itself echoed the same theme—“real-time tactics and treachery”—and it fits the vibe perfectly.

Idle Gameplay Meets Social Deduction

So essentially, at least from my first few hours, Shadows plays out more like an idle game than a traditional strategy RPG. The combat mostly runs on autopilot, with the only real interaction being when you tap to trigger skills as their cooldowns reset. Then, starting from the second battle, the game flips into an Among Us-style twist—you and your group actually get to vote on who the disciple of shadow is. That vote affects how the next battle unfolds, which is a pretty wild departure from the Fire Emblem formula we’re used to.

My Honest Take

And like I said, I’ve got to be honest here—I’m not loving this game, although I’m trying hard to give it a chance. It honestly feels like the devs suddenly got someone on the creative team who said:

“Hey, you know what would make Fire Emblem on mobile more epic? Take all the things that make a mobile game work—idle gameplay, cutesy characters, microtransactions for gacha pulls on skins, costumes, and playable units—then mash it together with Among Us mechanics so we can justify it being multiplayer.”

And boom—Fire Emblem Shadows happened.

Multiplayer Fun… But a Bit Shallow

It is fun in a way, because now Fire Emblem is a multiplayer game. Although, to be honest, I actually enjoyed Fire Emblem Heroes more because it was a single-player experience where I could play at my own pace. With Shadows, everything seems to revolve around the online battles. You and two other players team up to fight monsters—but here’s the twist: one of you is secretly trying to be sneaky and backstab the rest without being too obvious.

Then comes the second battle phase, where you and your team vote on who you think the disciple of shadow is. If your guess is right, your team gets a big advantage, like being able to revive twice instead of just once.

Now, I’ve only been playing for about an hour to get a feel for it, but for some reason I keep getting accused of being the disciple—even when I’m not! Maybe it’s my handle, or maybe it’s because I’m always using the main protagonist in battle? Either way, it’s a weirdly frustrating but kind of funny part of the experience.

Game Mechanics & Depth

As far as game mechanics go, I don’t see a ton of depth here. Each game only has three players, so there’s a 50% chance you’ll guess the disciple correctly. That makes the social-deduction element pretty shallow right now, but this is just the early stage, so maybe the devs will refine it over time.

And that, my friends, is why mobile games become hits—through beta testing and tweaking before going live. Honestly, I don’t know who beta-tested this game or why they thought it was a great launch, but the game is out now and you can try it for yourself on the Play Store and App Store.

For me, though? I’m putting this one down for now. I’ll wait a few months until the game figures out what it wants to become. Playing it now and griping over it could probably sour my mood for the Fire Emblem franchise on mobile, and I don’t want that.

Good thing Fire Emblem Heroes is still there to pick up the ball—it’s honestly the best mobile game Nintendo has made so far, and that includes Mario Kart Mobile as well.

25th Sep 2025
Why I Keep Coming Back to Fire Emblem Heroes

There are games you play once and move on from, and then there are games you always find yourself coming back to, no matter how casually. For me, Fire Emblem Heroes falls in that second category. I don’t grind every event or chase every new unit, but even after all these years,

I still return to it every now and then. To explain why, I need to go back a bit—back to where my connection with Fire Emblem really started.

The spark that got me hooked

Fire emblem 4 Genealogy of the holy war Snes box Art

When Fire Emblem Heroes first came out back in 2017, it immediately caught my attention. I went out of my way just to find a way to download it.

Seliph, one of the main characters in fire emblem 4 (image from fire emblem heroes)

Being a longtime fan of the series, it felt like something I couldn’t miss out on. My history with Fire Emblem goes way back to childhood with Fire Emblem 4, which many still call one of the greatest entries in terms of story. But for me, the moment I really got invested in the franchise was during my college years.

My college fire emblem grind

Fire emblem the blazing blade Hector gameplay (GBA)

I still remember sitting in my dorm room, skipping out on social gatherings, and just spending hours on my laptop running GBA Fire Emblem games through an emulator. Weekends would vanish as I replayed campaigns, mixed and matched different character supports, and dove into their backstories. That was my comfort zone—me, my desk, and the world of Fire Emblem.

The one that almost ended it all

Robin, female version of protagonist in fire emblem awakening (fire emblem heroes)

Of course, I missed a few entries along the way, like Path of Radiance on the GameCube, since I never owned one. But I was always reading up on the series, watching how things were unfolding. When news spread online that Fire Emblem Awakening was in development, I followed it closely.

What stood out to me was that this game was being built as a “make or break” moment for the franchise. The team basically poured everything into it, and in my opinion, the game is both approachable for newcomers and and exceeded expectations for old fans like myself.

Fire emblem awakening 3ds box art

When Awakening finally dropped on the 3DS, the reviews were incredible. Never in my life had I wanted a 3DS so badly—but being a fresh young adult, money was tight.

Handhelds were expensive, I was just starting to work, and whatever spare cash I had usually went into my side hobby of collecting PSPs. (For the record, I had the fat PSP, the 2000, and my most painful purchase ever—the PSP 3000 that I bricked within a day trying to install custom firmware. If you know, you know.)

Finally getting to play awakening

Fire emblem awakening gameplay (citra emulator)

It wasn’t until years later, when the Citra emulator became stable enough, that I finally got to play Awakening on mobile. Sure, it was laggy, it crashed a lot, and cutscenes were a gamble—but I pushed through and loved every second of it. That led me down the line to Fire Emblem Fates and Echoes, and by then, my love for the series had reignited in full.

Enter Fire Emblem Heroes

Fire emblem Heroes home screen

So when Fire Emblem Heroes launched, I had to try it. The timing wasn’t great for me—I had spotty internet, and the game requires a stable connection—but even then, I was hooked. The story chapters pulled me in, and the gacha system felt surprisingly fair.

Fire emblem heroes summon screen

Summoning only costs 5 orbs, and if you go for a full five-pull on a banner, the cost per pull actually drops. On top of that, the game gives out free summon tickets and even first-pull freebies on banners. It never felt like it was pushing me to spend, which is rare for a mobile game (and believe me, I’ve played a lot of mobile gacha games).

Why I’m still here after 8 years

Fire emblem heroes map battle screen

Now, don’t get me wrong—Heroes still has its challenges. Some maps definitely require you to know your tactics, and yes, there’s always the option to whale and max out top-tier characters. But I’ve been playing casually for over eight years now—since February 2017, without spending a single cent—and I’m still enjoying it.
Sure, I don’t get to pick the heroes I want to have (I’m looking at you Hector) but it really doesn’t matter since I love the franchise and getting low tier side characters from the fire emblem universe is like seeing a long lost friend after he’s been gone for a long time.

A Love letter to Fire Emblem fans

Seliph and Marissa battle screen (Fire Emblem Heroes)

For me, Fire Emblem Heroes feels like a love letter to fans. It celebrates the series’ history, keeps things fresh with constant updates, and yet never punishes you for just playing at your own pace.

I don’t grind every event, I don’t chase every new banner, but I keep coming back. And honestly, I see myself playing casually until the servers shut down—or until the day I can’t pick up my phone anymore, whichever comes first.

3rd Sep 2025

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