Review: Fire Emblem Shadows (Mobile)

I’m always wary, at least a tiny bit, of titles that I engage with on my mobile device. Not because I possess some insight about the platform that others do not, but more due to my age and memories of the long and strenuous ‘Trash Years’ (as I prefer to term them) filled with dreadful, dreadful games for your phone. You know the type. Games you’d attempt to play at work in the restroom, only to quickly realize that doing your actual job was far more entertaining than your legs going numb on the toilet. Ah, the good old days.

Indeed, advancements have been made since those times (I can linger on the toilet for hours now without my legs suffering, for instance), and Nintendo has already launched some decent mobile titles, such as Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes. I recognize deep down that I am entirely mistaken to harbor any concerns about contemporary mobile gaming quality. I acknowledge it. So it’s amusing in a way (though it isn’t), that Fire Emblem Shadows, the first mobile title I’ve experienced in ages, is so exceedingly, exceedingly poor that it evokes an immediate nostalgia for the Trash Years. Put me back on that toilet.

Yep. Regrettably, and all jest aside, what we have with Fire Emblem Shadows is a dreadful squander of an incredible license, and something that I am not astonished they ultimately pushed out the door. Unless you enjoy exceptionally simplistic, poorly thought-out, and ineptly delivered “tactical” turn-based combat with an atrocious artistic style and pay-to-win mechanics, I’d advise steering clear of this one.

Instead of adhering to any well-established genre, or working within the perfectly reasonable limits of the tactical turn-based RPG, the developers have gone all out on a blend of turn-based FE elements and Among Us. Can I understand what they were attempting to achieve? Yes. Does it function as an engaging pastime? No. Is it trying to extort money from me? I would say yes. Are my legs numb? It’s hard to ascertain.

In Fire Emblem Shadows, you dive into the franchise’s signature grid-based confrontations as part of a rather stereotypical genre narrative that chronicles the journey of Kurt, a prince and heir to the throne of Ast, who flees amidst an onslaught by the nefarious empire. Tempted by the dark side as he proceeds, Kurt has two paths available in the game: dark and light. Opting for the light path presents the main storyline, while the dark route delivers additional perspectives on the unfolding events.

The battles themselves, which utilize a simplified, color-coded variant of the series’ characteristic triangle battle system (green beats blue, red beats green, blue beats red), place you and two other online players — this is solely an online endeavor, remember — on a confined grid-based battlefield where you will face drab CPU adversaries in auto-battler skirmishes.

Your units perform attacks and other engaging actions independently, whilst you — nincompoop — drag and drop a selection of surprisingly unexciting attacks and items (heal, fireball, shove, etc.) onto areas and units as they cool down and become available. Straightforward. Except they’ve included a poorly conceived social experiment aspect that’s been lifted from Among Us with no justification other than ‘people seemed to appreciate that element in another game.’

You see, one member of your squad is covertly appointed as a saboteur, working against the other two players with special shadow magic abilities, the power to inflict harm on themselves, and friendly fire, creating opportunities for them to conceal their identity or implicate someone else.

The initial round of the game, where everyone fights and subsequently guesses the traitor’s identity, while acceptable on paper, is already a complete waste of time due to the severely restricted nature of the battles and the current online ‘meta.’ You can, should you choose, actually do nothing in this round, or perhaps simply stab yourself repeatedly as the saboteur to throw others off your trail. By reviewing social media and forums, and enduring numerous matches, it seems players are already tackling this part of the game by failing to engage properly. It stinks, and I suspect Shadows is structured to allow for it because the ultimate goal here is to persuade you to spend your money on a battle pass.

As there are exclusively three players, you are continually faced with a choice between two suspects, and the rounds are excessively brief to genuinely study any behavioral patterns. You only gain a single additional HP for correctly identifying the saboteur, too. It’s not particularly motivating, folks.

Once the first round concludes and the saboteur is revealed (you even receive hints regarding their possible identity, if it wasn’t dull or tedious enough already), you then confront them in a second battle where they can summon numerous bothersome small enemies, resulting in you and your online partner repeatedly spamming ‘heal’ ad nauseam on a timer while launching some underwhelming attacks that provide little to no visual response. This is far from enjoyable.

Everything disintegrates so rapidly, it truly does. There’s no method to actually communicate with fellow players, so the social facet, beyond being unremarkable and excessively dull in its simplicity, is a low-effort, low-energy affair.

Also! Everything visible on the screen (you can only engage in landscape mode, keep that in mind) — and perhaps this is just a personal issue — but on my phone display, it’s not particularly easy to notice the minute details, so how much time are you realistically going to spend observing the actions of another player? Not much before you become disinterested, I’d wager.

You have a premium battle pass, because naturally you do (this is a free title after all), and it boasts superior characters, attacks, an exclusive combatant in Lyn, who’ll only be available through paid access until the conclusion of Season 1: Wind of the Plains (which lasts until the 28th of October), level skips, and all that jazz — making pay-to-win a reality, darling — along with the anticipated wide assortment of cosmetic items and outfits that you can then flaunt in battle on a cast of characters that features several franchise returnees. Additionally, there are coins and gems that unlock new moves and similar items, but the premium offerings are barricaded behind gems that require real-world currency.

Pursuing the free battle pass, well, you do secure some rewards, and you can earn a majority of the items through engagement and gameplay, yet pay-to-win remains a concern, as Lyn introduces powerful moves that can turn the tide of encounters. Now, considering this, the game employs a “Souls” system that permits you to technically acquire Lyn at a later stage by collecting 12 subs from post-game chests, after Season 1 exclusivity for paying players concludes. However, even then, you face challenges with drop rates. How long will this take?

They’ve

ensured the outfit viewer within the store manages to appear substantially superior, more intricately detailed visually, than the combat or anything else, as well. Which I suppose is beneficial, considering the outfits, even on special promotion, are costing you a few quid. The battle pass, as circumstances currently lie, amounts to about six or seven British pounds, and frankly, I fail to see how anyone would be enticed into this, as the game itself offers minimal to no motivation to continue.

In truth, the sole rationale I can devise, unless you possess a fondness for this type of content, is that some ardent Fire Emblem enthusiasts might wish to view the cutscenes and engage with the narrative, which isn’t worth it either. It’s all rather inflexible and fundamental, there’s nothing to astonish narratively here, not even close. Don’t be misled by the opportunity to experience the dark and light sides of the story; it all feels monotonous, regardless of the path you choose. More of the same not-so-great experience.

In attempting to adopt a slightly more positive outlook to conclude, I will allocate it some credit for presenting a few visually appealing cutscenes that reveal glimpses of the typical Fire Emblem aesthetic. It’s undeniable that it appears refined in certain sections, and it boasts a commendable soundtrack along with character voices as you engage in combat. It also features weekly content updates and challenges, fresh dungeon maps to compete on, and heightened soul-drop rates for designated intervals. So there are objectives to strive toward for the interested parties.

Nonetheless, the majority of the enjoyable components here are locked behind the completion of the game’s central, tedious battles, and this isn’t something that’s going to alter with new content or a few attractive outfits. Overall, I must express — and even with the chance that it could enhance in the future — this feels like a singular failed endeavor that no one will recall in a week or two.

Conclusion

Fire Emblem Shadows is a tedious mobile title that offers uninspired automated battles featuring pay-to-win elements, timers, and cooldowns. The primary selling aspect of a distinctive social experiment/turn-based combat amalgamation is notably frail in its arrangement, with insufficient players nor time spent in battle to foster any sense of actual strategy, and the game itself appears and performs poorly on the battlefield.

There are a few appealing cutscenes for those who persist, and outfits for the fashion enthusiasts. But beyond this, it’s a thumbs down as far as the eye can see for this flawed endeavor.