Unless you were fortunate enough to be one of the lucky few who pre-ordered the special edition of "Fire Emblem Fates," you were always faced with a difficult choice: do you defend Hoshido or fight with Nohr? Now you no longer have to with today's release of "Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation."
You can purchase Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation now at the Dragon's Gate in #FireEmblemFates Birthright and Conquest!https://t.co/OsVXyI3O5x
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 10, 2016
Beforehand, the choice of whether to support Hoshido in "Birthright" or Nohr in "Conquest" always came with a variety of consequences. Everything from allies, enemies and weapons differed greatly from that single decision. Even the gameplay itself changed vastly depending on who you chose to side with: Hoshido had easier missions and allowed players to grind for experience and gold in between them, while Nohr had harder missions and the only way to grind for experience or money was to use DLC.
Those difficult choices are thrown out the window with "Revelation," which provides the third and "true" route that provides answers that were previously left unanswered despite experiencing hours upon hours of the story from two different perspectives. These questions include: Where did the shadow enemies come from? Who is Azura? Where is the titular Fire Emblem?
Such answers don't come cheap however, and you'll have to go through a bit of difficulty to find them. Unlike "Birthright" or "Conquest" where your choice resulted in marking one kingdom as your enemy but gaining the total support of another instantly, Revelation doesn't afford you that luxury from the start. Instead of having the player-character Corrin pick one side over the other, he strives for peace between them by refusing to side with either.
His plan fails in spectacular fashion, with both Hoshido and Nohr branding him as a traitor, forcing Corrin to go on the lam to survive. The beginning portions of "Revelation" immediately reflect this choice, with Corrin having very few allies. This is felt in the early missions where despite having relatively simple objectives, the player will still need to be cautious when engaging enemies due to the lack of units you have at your disposal.
This doesn't last for long however, and players will soon find themselves with more allies they can count as characters from both kingdoms join your ranks. This ends up manifesting itself in My Castle where you have both Hoshidan and Nohrian gear at your disposal, as well as supports where you can see two characters who would once be at each others' throats try to have a normal conversation.
Of course, with the ability to have the full cast at your disposal comes a difficulty increase to ensure players are utilizing them well. Some map designs differ greatly from those seen in both Birthright and Fates, that can test both the player's ability to execute a thought-out strategy, as well as the raw strength of his/her units. However, with the ability to grind in between missions (like "Birthright"), some of that difficulty can be overcome with brute force tactics.
"Revelation" serves as a great continuation to what players will experience in "Birthright" and "Conquest," as well as provides a satisfying conclusion. The only question that remains is whether you should experience the first two routes first, or skip straight to "Revelation" since it will likely provide the best post-game experience.
You can purchase "Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation" from the eShop today.
