Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Is Equal Parts Vast and Complex, But Remains Approachable for Newcomers (Review)

I have never played a Fire Emblem game. As a longtime Nintendo fan, it’s the one major series from the publisher that has eluded me over the years, despite being one that I’ve always wanted to get into. Like millions of others in the West, my primary exposure to Fire Emblem has come from its characters, music, and locations being featured throughout Super Smash Bros., which has left me quite unfamiliar with the general nature and structure of these games and what they actually entail.

I say all of this up front to make it clear that Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is my first true experience with the franchise. Although I can’t speak to how Fortune’s Weave stacks up against past installments or expands upon its world and lore, I can say that Nintendo’s latest entry has absolutely won me over and has made me a true Fire Emblem fan. With a robust combat system, sprawling narrative, and dozens of hours of content, Fortune’s Weave is one of the best exclusives Nintendo has released so far on Switch 2.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Interconnected storyline is incredibly unique, with each individual character path being equally enjoyable	Steep learning curve, with in-game tutorials not always teaching you the full ins and outs of each system/mechanic
Deep strategy gameplay constantly has you thinking about your next move and how to best prepare for battle	Voice acting is very hit-and-miss depending on the character
Absurd amount of content that will keep you busy for a LONG time

Fortune’s Weave Tells One of the Best Stories Yet on Switch 2

Arguably my favorite element of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave ended up being its story. The game’s narrative is spread across a variety of different characters, all of whom end up having their own individual arcs occasionally cross over with one another. What’s unique about this, though, is that the main protagonist of Fortune’s Weave comes from the future, where an apocalyptic force is looking to take over. To save the land, the protagonist dives back into the past to assemble a crew of heroes and change their untimely fates.

Although this sounds a bit complex, once you get a few hours into Fortune’s Weave, you start to really see how the game is structured and it becomes quite engaging. What really benefits this format is that Fortune’s Weave allows you to freely switch between the stories of all of its different characters when you wish. So if you find yourself growing bored of where Dietrich is at in his own tale, you can swap over to Cai, Theodora, or Leda to spend time with them instead.

Fortune’s Weave also doesn’t demand that you see all four of the main heroes’ arcs through to their completion in order to take on the game’s final battle in its last chapter. Doing so will make this last clash more difficult, but the fact that this is even an option to begin with is incredibly uncommon and gives you greater control over how Fortune’s Weave unfolds. While I would undoubtedly recommend trying to complete each character arc in the game, as they’re all wonderful, Nintendo makes Fortune’s Weave somewhat open-ended in a way that’s greatly refreshing.

Outside of the main group of heroes, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave also excels with a vast and colorful array of side characters. As you continue your journey, you’ll be able to recruit a number of different warriors to your team from differing backgrounds. Some of these characters ended up being my own favorites within Fortune’s Weave and became fixtures within my party. While it’s rare to ever see some of these lesser characters outshine those in the main cast, Fortune’s Weave is commendable in the way that it makes each character feel fleshed out in ways that other games rarely do.

Gameplay in Fortune’s Weave Will Get Your Gears Spinning

While its overarching narrative is great, the tactical strategy gameplay at the center of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is just as enthralling. Battles in Fortune’s Weave start off relatively simple in the game’s first chapters, but as you progress, they start to become much more complex. This slow ramping of difficulty and introducing new ideas during combat is expertly tuned, and allowed me to never feel burdened by the gameplay as someone who is more of a novice when it comes to strategy titles.

Outside of simply trying to know when and where to place your units in combat, Fortune’s Weave also gives you a number of different abilities that only select characters can use. Figuring out how and when to best use these more powerful strikes, such as the Blaze Arts that the main heroes wield, becomes pivotal to encounters in the later stages of the game. Conversely, enemies will continue to pull out unique moves of their own, which means you often have to be prepped for the unknown.

What makes the gameplay of Fortune’s Weave all the more satisfying, though, is the amount of work that you put in before even appearing on the battlefield. Outside of merely leveling up your characters and their overall stats, you can gain proficiency with different weapons and spend time training up other support abilities. Fine-tuning your party to ensure that it’s well-balanced for all circumstances while creating a deep enough group of warriors to swap in for specific bouts makes the combat in Fortune’s Weave a moving target, which kept me continually recruiting and training up a diverse array of characters.

There Is an Absurd Amount to Do in Fortune’s Weave

The thing I still cannot get over when it comes to Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is just how much there is to do in the game. Whenever you’re not locked into specific story beats, Fortune’s Weave lets you run wild around the expansive city of Dagsion and its surrounding areas within Dagda to pick up quests, take on smaller battles, or explore dungeons. Going off the beaten path allows you to continue increasing the levels of your party members while also unlocking new gear that they can take advantage of.

As you complete more quests, you’ll continue to unlock more parts of the world by upgrading your Renown level. In turn, this will further allow you to spend time exploring Dagda, finding new dungeons to sleuth through, and so on. To fully explore everything that Fortune’s Weave has to offer would be an absurd undertaking, and it’s something that the game never really pushes you to attempt to do. For those who are looking to get truly in the weeds, though, Fortune’s Weave can easily begin to consume your life as you look to further build out your team and take on all challenges.

Between this sheer amount of content to dig into, the memorable characters, and the captivating content, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is the full package. Not only is it one of the best Switch 2 games so far, but it has turned me into a Fire Emblem believer. Whether you’re in the same boat as myself or you’re a returning veteran of the series, I have a hard time seeing anyone be disappointed by Fortune’s Weave.

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Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is slated to launch later this week on September 17th for Nintendo Switch 2. An advance copy of the game was provided for the purpose of this review.