Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS, released in 2017. It was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. As a remake of the 1992 Famicom title Fire Emblem Gaiden—which was the second game in the franchise—it is not the fifteenth main entry in the Fire Emblem series. The story centers on two protagonists, Alm and Celica, who seek to end a war through contrasting approaches: Alm pursues a military resolution, while Celica looks to the guidance of the goddess Mila for a peaceful outcome.

The game retains core Fire Emblem tactical role-playing mechanics but also brings back features from Gaiden, such as dungeon crawling. Development started in 2015, after Fire Emblem Fates was finished. It was designed as a capstone for the Fire Emblem series on the 3DS, with staff from both Fates and Fire Emblem Awakening contributing. The team kept Gaiden's unconventional mechanics while expanding and rebuilding the story and gameplay to align with recent Fire Emblem titles and their desire for stronger role-playing elements. Although Gaiden was never released outside Japan, Fire Emblem Echoes was localized by 8-4. The game sold over one million copies and earned generally positive reviews. Critics praised its story, unique gameplay additions, and full voice acting, but pointed out archaic elements like map design and the absence of some features from Awakening and Fates.

In terms of gameplay, players command two armies on opposite sides of a conflict across the continent of Valentia. There are two difficulty settings—Normal and Hard—and two modes affecting character death. Classic Mode means permanent death for fallen units, though they can be revived a limited number of times; Casual Mode allows revival after battle. Players navigate a world map to reach story and optional locations. Environments include battle maps similar to earlier Fire Emblem games, explorable towns with shops and friendly non-player characters, and dungeons. Encounters on the world map or in dungeons trigger turn-based battles on a grid. During attacks, the view shifts from top-down to third-person. Unlike many Fire Emblem games, the Weapon Triangle and limited weapon durability are absent. Units have standard weapons that last the entire campaign and can equip special weapons that grant passive bonuses. Each unit carries o