So I've done a bit more than five hours of Birthright so far, so i thought I might try and give a review of my experience with the game so far. Now, I have not played Conquest, and now only parts of what it involves, but I will still likely compare Birthright with Conquest based on what I DO know.
Essentially, Fire Emblem Fates is the latest addition to the Fire Emblem series, following Awakening's commercial success and intense popularity world-wide, most especially America. This time, however, Fates is split up into two games: Birthright and Conquest.
The story behind each is that you are a Hosidan noble (think Japanese royalty) that was taken in by the Nohr royalty (think British feudal lords) at a young age. Each game serves as a "fate" for you; do you go with your blood family, your birthright, or do you go with your adopted family, the one on the conquest?
The choice you make defines the game you play, so if you buy Conquest, you'll need to buy Birthright (as half-off DLC) if you wish to play the other storyline.
Birthright is designed to be the easier of the two games, which is something much needed for a gal like me, who absolutely sucks at tactical RPGs. Hence why I chose it, and not Conquest, which is designed for the veterans amongst veterans.
Graphics and combat are similar to Awakening, though I feel that in Fates, going from your overhead view to combat is a bit quicker, and creates a fluid motion of zooming in and out. I wish the maps were a bit more variable though, as generally they're flat, with the general objective being "rout the enemy".
Still, Fates looks amazing, with the combat animations still looking as stellar as ever, and those gorgeous 3D-rendered cutscenes coming back in all their beauty.
The sound design, in particular, is pretty fantastic. Birthright features a ton of Japanese-inspired tunes, all of which I find to be quite stellar in their own right. It's so great to hear a soft theme as you guide your units along in battle, only for it to kick up into a proper battle theme once you attack an enemy.
I won't go too much into the story, but so far I've found it to be fairly decent, with the dialogue as fantastic as ever. There might not be a Frederick to serve at Chrom's every whim, but there's definitely some good replacements in this game.
Naturally, and speaking of some characters, Supports come back even stronger this time, with new ways for units to support one another, and of course, the children units have been added. The implementation is fairly poor story-wise, but I'm still happy to have a Kistune daughter along with a Kitsune husband.
The greatest addition, likely, has to be the "My Castle" feature; the general world hub that you can upgrade as you go about your battles, which serves as your place to purchase new items, chat with your allies, and interact with other players via Streetpass and Spotpass. I've enjoyed it, as it's the center for more dialogue and condenses all the shops into one place.
As someone whose never been a huge fan of tactical-RPGs, I've had a blast with Birthright. I'm enjoying it a bit more than Awakening, partly due to lesser difficulty, but moreso due to how much more involved I feel with the world. There feels like there's so much more to do, especially as DLC comes out and the final path, Revelations, comes out next months.
If you're not exactly a great tactician, or just want to romance your waifus and experience the story, Birthright is best for you. Otherwise, if you want more difficulty, map variety, and a greater challenge, go with Conquest.