This review contains spoilers
Is this the meanest Fire Emblem?? I've played 4 others, and this one seems a bit more aggressive in its dialogue. Children get called worthless offal and have parents straight up tell them they don't love them and want them dead, love interests are held dead in characters' arms, and the general prejudice and racism found in other FE games seems even more egregious here.
But! It's entirely likely that this is due to bad localization. This was the first time NOA translated a Fire Emblem title, and it is roouuuugh. It had been a while since I played through a game that felt like a fan translation. It's kind of charming though! Similar to the wonky dialogue you'd find in western releases of Japanese arcade games in the 80s, there were multiple times when I laughed out loud at the goofy text. The story itself is fine, it's just put into words poorly. So who knows, maybe the original Japanese isn't quite this barbaric!
Mechanics-wise, it's a standard Fire Emblem. Nothing really stands out here. I liked it enough to finish it, but likely won't come back for a second go round.
But! It's entirely likely that this is due to bad localization. This was the first time NOA translated a Fire Emblem title, and it is roouuuugh. It had been a while since I played through a game that felt like a fan translation. It's kind of charming though! Similar to the wonky dialogue you'd find in western releases of Japanese arcade games in the 80s, there were multiple times when I laughed out loud at the goofy text. The story itself is fine, it's just put into words poorly. So who knows, maybe the original Japanese isn't quite this barbaric!
Mechanics-wise, it's a standard Fire Emblem. Nothing really stands out here. I liked it enough to finish it, but likely won't come back for a second go round.