So Fire Emblem Echoes is an expanded reimagining of Fire Emblem Gaiden, which originally released in Japan. So forget about the weapon advantage system and marriage mechanics and promotions you might expect as things are different here. First off though, the presentation is fantastic with full voice acting, rousing soundtrack and battle animations that draw you into the action. The gameplay has its strengths and downsides. Ultimately, you control Alm and Celica in two separate campaigns around the map for the main story. With Alm, one gets a party heavy on physical units and light on magic units though class promotion flexibility for your initial villager units can make up for this. His story is ultimately more relatable as the hero's journey of wanting to prove himself, his uncle and finding Celica along the way. Celica's campaign has more magic units if that is your style but with mobility options bogged down by swamp and desert maps later in her campaign, which can lead to a tedious experience. In addition, her journey is less about herself than seeking out the Goddess Mila as very nearly an impersonal matter. She is an earnest young lady as presented so one roots for her but she makes mistakes that could present as poor writing. Gone are class abilities except for passive class-bound ones and customization more comes from unique spell lists (for mages) and weapon arts which are special attacks bound to an equipped weapon unlocked over time using the weapon. This was an interesting change but can be unbalanced given the need to fight for weapon experience to unlock new abilities as you find or make new weapons. So, the story is great and the localization really highlight the loving effort put into selling it. However, there is no multiplayer, no endgame difficulty optional content as dlc like Awakening had while the final dungeon that exists is high enough that it might make one want to resort to the DLC paid classes to beat it for bragging rights. To make a long story short, though there are things to enjoy about the gameplay (5-range archers), the story is the highlight while replayability is low and the DLC practice is abominable and costs more than the base game. So, savor this tale like a fine wine and hopefully Three Houses can combine this level of presentation with gameplay.

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