20:03
The world is a complicated thing, but regardless of political views, I think we can all agree that in 2016 I was significantly younger than I am in 2026. The younger me was a much more patient person, especially when it came to games. I enjoyed the opportunity to embark on whatever adventure the designers and developers had been working on for years. Today, however, I am frantically searching for the shortest and quickest path to pleasure. Time is a resource, and I don't have enough of it. Maybe my patience is running out, or maybe it's the kids who are wrong. No, it's the children who are wrong. But I notice that modern games do everything they can to distance the player as much as possible from what makes the game enjoyable and worthwhile
. Fire Emblem Fates Weave is definitely the best recent example of this happening. I love tactical games. I'm not very good at them, but I still enjoy the opportunity to slowly move my units around the cells, compare stats, and then watch them thrash each other. For me, it's the video game equivalent of waking up on a Saturday morning and sitting down to solve Sudoku or complete a crossword puzzle. As I said, I'm old. Fire Emblem Fates Weave, however, has become the equivalent of being old, waking up on a Saturday morning, and finding yourself with a ton of bills to pay, relatives to call, meals to cook, mandatory workouts, six different gods to appease, and a neighbor who constantly sticks up in the hallway to tell you about their week.
Every time I turn on Fates Weave, I find the things I want to do the most buried under a pile of things that, while useful to my existence, are incredibly boring, to the point that when I finally get to the point where I can get my little men to bash each other with varying damage ratings, I don't have the mental energy left to enjoy it. Fates Weave has great tactical gameplay. It's more exciting and challenging than any other installment in the series, but the mountain I have to climb between these moments of tactical joy is so steep that I recently decided to take a different path and fired up Fire Emblem Awakening for Nintendo 3DS, and remembered how good this game is. Not only because the tactical gameplay is incredibly
accessible, but also because it's right in front of you. Awakening, along with Fire Emblem Fates and Echoes-the other two games in the series for 3DS-were made before the series evolved into something like Persona, hiding the core tactical gameplay behind a layer of role-playing mechanics focused on completing errands and side quests. So, in my opinion, as someone who appreciates the series primarily for its tactical gameplay, modern Fire Emblem is at its best in these games. And they still look great. Everything in Awakening is geared towards the numerous tactical skirmishes that make up the bulk of the gaming experience. There are conversations and plot moments that advance the story, but they only complement the gameplay, helping you better
understand what's happening. The lack of mandatory social activities with all members of the squad, in my opinion, does not diminish my affection for each of them, because it is mostly fueled by how they attract me with their design and the few valuable lines they have. And, of course, their successes in battle also contribute. Take Donnell, for example. This is a naive boy who clearly has no place on the battlefield, an ordinary village boy with no ambitions to become a hero or save the world. He simply found himself in a situation where he was forced to fight for his village, doing everything he could to preserve his little life and family. And here he is, a little boy with a spear and a pot on his head, standing shoulder to
shoulder against the cavalry. It only took me a few minutes to make Donnel the center of my Fire Emblem universe. I would do anything to keep this guy alive and keep getting stronger. I didn't have to spend a ton of time completing quests for him, feeding him, or showering him with gifts like I have to do in Fortune's Weal. It was enough for me to see that pot on his head and feel his sincere simplicity. I think Fire Emblem Fates is a great game, but like I said, I'm getting older and the world around me is overwhelming with endless horrors, so sometimes I just need to get my endorphins from video games as quickly as possible. I need immediate escapism, and Fates just can't give me that
. Maybe you feel the same way, and if so, I highly recommend going back and trying out Fire Emblem Awakening, especially if you're a relatively new player to the series who was introduced to it through parts like Persona 5. Definitely give it a try.
