Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

On the battlefield, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shades of Valentia is a delightful look into the simpler combat of Fire Emblem's past. Elsewhere, it carefully guides the series forward into new territory. There's not as much depth as I expect from this series, but whether I was exploring 3D forests, shrines, and caves in a series first, or learning first hand why Fire Emblem's early entries are considered a formidable challenge, it was usually good old-fashioned fun.

Fire Emblem Echoes' combat and exploration work so well that you won't lament the absence of the series' recent dating-sim whims.

A revival of a 1992 Famicom game that never made it out of Japan, there's more to Echoes than a mere history lesson.

Shadows of Valentia commits to its dated systems, for better and worse

Far from the quick-and-dirty update it might have been, Shadows of Valentia is no Awakening, but an enlightening and worthwhile history lesson.

Provides the challenge hardcore players seek, but the experience comes with its fair share of frustrations

More Fire Emblem you say? I won't argue.

Fire Emblem Echoes could have been held back by its need to usher the second iteration back into the fold, but it still feels like a fresh new entry. It is weaker than the last few games, but those bars were set so high that I won't hold that against it.

The combat, although robust, tends to frustrate and the story, although impeccable in presentation, doesn't quite feel as sweeping and romantic as previous titles on the 3DS.

As the last Fire Emblem chapter on Nintendo's heroic handheld, Echoes delivers a perfect swan song for the series' 3DS days. This is a satisfying, deeply strategic adventure with an engaging, personal story and beautiful presentation, full of appealing art and lovely details that come alive as you play. But more than that, it's also just delightfully different from its predecessors, in ways that only broaden its appeal.