Why You Should Play Fire Emblem Echoes Shadows of Valentia 

This is the video I’ve been working on for the past week. Let me just get one thing straight, I am by NO means saying that Echoes is a perfect game, or that it is without any faults. In this video, I just highlight the positive experiences I’ve had with the game, in an attempt to dispel some of the negativity I’ve heard from some reluctant members of the community. I know that Echoes is generally well received at this point, but I still felt like making this video to really express my gratitude over how much of an amazing experience this game has given me. That being said, I have considered doing a “Why You Should Play” series for some of the other games in the series as well. What games would you be interested in seeing me apply this format to?

Damn, shots fired at IGN, I love it

Why you should play it? Because you can help me fight bullies!

I think ign lost all its credibility when they complained about to much water being in Pokémon alpha sapphire

Amazing video bro, the story telling and voice acting are so good that it almost makes up for the bad map designs and it saddens me that this game got hit with poor sales as it might let Nintendo & IS to have second thoughts about remaking Genealogy of the Holy War or Binding Blade. I wish some people gave it a chance instead of dismissing it just based on the new mechanics it lacks. I hope this video convinces them also at the end you should have included that classic clip from IGN where she says "Just move in Frederick to kill weakened units" LOL

This Video gets a 7.8/10 too many boats on water No shipping or avatar No Pair up wasn't a thrilling masterpiece in writing like Fates

Moral of the story: IGN know shit all about the Fire Emblem series.

I can honestly say after playing 11+ games in the series, this one has the least amount of flaws and hiccups compared to the rest.

#JustPlayEchoesBro

PSA: NEVER listen to ign. They hardly ever know what theyre talking about nd most of the time, the reviewers absolutely suck at playing the games theyre reviewing. If anything, IGN should inspire you to ether try the gane anyways or look for better review sources.

Why you should play Echoes? Clair, Clair and Clair

The writing in this game is phenomenal. Also, I can vouch​ for being able to beat the game on hard classic without excessive grinding. The post game dungeon however, might be a different story lol.

A well structured video that cuts the bullshit and gives us the truth, I agree on all fronts that Mangs talked about; Echoes is by far one of the best FE games in a long time, and is trying to compete with my personal top 3 games in the series. But uh... Don't buy the DLCs. They cost more than the game itself for less than 50% of the content.

buy the game for camus or zeke same people

this game is worth playing if only because the story is one of the best directions to take FE Stories from here on out, and the characters are such an improvement over fates and awakening, being almost fully 2 dimensional. if the next game has marriage, fine. if it has a 3 way story, fine. But please, IS, use THIS as the inspiration for the writing and not the last 2. while the last 2 games arent really bad in some aspects, this level of effort deserves to be given to the writing from here on out, and there is almost no excuse not to do it properly now. dunno bout everyone elses opinions. but for what its worth, I refuse to believe that there cant be an FE game with good gameplay and a good story. this may not be it, but it is a MUCH better direction than before.

And yes, Mila's turnwheel is great thing, cause for those who want to play on Classic but dont have time or want to worry about restarting everytime cause of single bad RNG roll now CAN DO THAT... Right, Ghast?

maaan this game is by far the best fire emblem game Ive players so far (Ive played only fates and awakening so please dont kill) , seariously the story, the presentation, the MUSIC (im by chapter 4 right now, my god i love the overworld theme), im a big RPG fan so random battles dont really bother me (except for the ambush things in the overworld thats bad, can get some of your characters killed with no way to fix it unless you restart and maybe you where doing something and you didnt save) but still this game is awesome, i would definitely buy it if they bring things like this in the future. i can see why ghast was saying justplaygaidenbro.

I'm already sold on the game. I just need money to actually get it.

Because if you don't, you're going to make a Norwegian man cry

Somehow the absence of Weapon Triangle makes this game more interesting.

What do you mean Hans was evil? Hans was the true hero of Fates

I recently started playing Echoes and I'm nearing the end of the game. So far, it's has been an amazing game and experience. I'm relatively new to the franchise as my first game was Awakening and Fates was my second. But playing through this game has given me a new look to Fire Emblem in general and I'm curious about playing the older games. Also, amazing video Mangs!

revelations getting a better score than dark souls 3 pfft

its one of my favorite FE games that's for sure with 2 of my favorite Lords of FE in it so I agree with it be a great game and I know FE16 Switch is gonna be amazing much more unique FE game as stated from recents interviews especially when the Echoes director is doing the game it restore my hope for the series!

Game sure has its bad sides... But the possitives VASTLY outnumber those, I did enjoy old GBA games, I really liked Awakening and Fates cause it was what got me into series more or less, but Echoes is by far my fav game of the series, its just really good, only thing i worry about a bit is that people say its rather short, so I wonder how short exactly does that mean Also, TL;DR version of this review - Fuck IGN, they know nothing

Does mangs need to put clair in every video

I agree with every single thing you said in regards to the game. However, the one thing I loved about this game the most, was the fact that it didn't hold my hand through basic things. I feel like the game took a risk in assuming the player will explore the caves, side maps, etc to understand the full context of the story. For example, *Minor spoilers ahead* the game didn't stop in me in my tracks and told me why Fernand was so hell-bent against commoners, I had to find that for myself by talking to people and help myself understand the full story. Another example was fighting Nuibaba and recruiting Tatiana. I had half a mind to skip Nuibaba because I hated her chapter, but had I done that, I would've missed Tatiana, and therefore would've killed Zeke (Camus). The game didn't have to tell me that, and I'm glad it didn't, It let me explore those things for myself, and I felt proud getting all the characters in my first run. Same goes if you skip Grieth's Citadel. Palla, Catria, and Atlas will leave your army back to their respective villages if you don't keep going. I love the risk/reward aspect of it. I didn't NEED to go to the Citadel. It allowed me to make that choice, and the rewards are so worth it when you do. There's a million examples I could go on and on about, but that would cover too much. Your opponents never feel too weak after a while, nor do you feel strong. You really have to figure out how to rely on EVERYONE properly (Although some grinding MAY be in order for SOME characters depending how confident you are in them) The only thing I hated about this game was the quantity of supports. I was fine with how short they seemed, because not everything has to be grand adventure in a support, but I would've liked to see Est talk to Genny or Lukas talk to Alm. It just seemed like a waste for Alm to talk to the two women who are fixated on his attention. But all in all, pick up this game everyone. I'm one of the noobies who started with Awakening, and even I love this game to bits.

Its been three years since this game came out. My first Fire Emblem. Dear God what a fantastic game for me to start with. This one journey, solidified my love for this franchise.

Fire Emblem Echoes: An emotional and engaging journey

Bless you, Mangs. I'm sending this to all my friends that are skeptical of SoV

Delthea is my favourite character in Echoes so far ^^ #sorrynotsorry

mangs... I was a day one buyer AND IM STILL FARTHER THAN YOU NENENENENENNENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENENEEE

I swear the voice acting is so good it made the mourning quotes from characters feel so much sadder, ESPECIALLY EST.

7.8/10 my ass. "Fates had an emotional and engaging story" "I can't play matchmaker anymore" Someone needs to start hiring people at IGN with an IQ over 6.

You and Luckycrit convinced me to get this game and Fates after I thought I was done with the series when I got Awakening. I actually think this will be my favorite Fire Emblem game with the free roaming elements and dungeon exploring.

You get a like man. I havent played any other FE titles, so as a fresh player into the series, I think it's awesome and the problems dont make the game boring

Even as an 'Awakening Baby', this game is absolutely amazing, and probably goes up as one of my favourite RPGs of all time. Coming from a background of western RPGs, this game still absolutely flourishes with its gripping narrative, tense, addictive, and strategic combat, not to mention it has some of the most gorgeous portrait art I've seen in a video game to date. xD

Am I the only one that absolutely ADORES the fact that the anime style they used for the cutscenes just feels so... classic. Like, something from the mid 2000's, and it suits the game's general aesthetics SO WELL.

i like the examine and talk feature when you reach villages or other places, really adds to the world building previous fe's had not done before

Coming from someone who started off with Awakening: Echoes is AMAZING! This is the best FE title on the 3DS. Though I have yet to beat the game at the time of this comment, I love what I've experienced: the story, the characters, the world. All of it feels so alive to me and that's something that neither Awakening nor Fates (or any of their DLC) could pull off. My only complaint is with the aggressive stance enemy units take. I'm fine with it later when units are more defined, but early on, it can be a problem trying to raise up weaker units. Anyways, great vid and I agree completely; if you love older FE titles, but want an update (graphically, character-wise, etc.), get this game.

going to share this with a friend of mine who is still on the fence about SoV. Great video Mangs!

I've been waiting to share this. Well done Mangs!

best tip: never trust ign good day friends

You did a great job in this video, Gotta say, now I REALLY want to play this game. Mangs, now with Echoes release, how would you rank your top 5 favourite games in the Fe series? :D

I would give my left kidney for another fire emblem game with the same art style and mechanics

I needed this, I've been on the fence for a while, thanks Mangs

8:38 aww you didnt mention the Physic animation. the range visuals on that thing is amazing!

Great video man! You just convinced me thanks.

Just picked up the game today! So far I’m loving it!

Excellent video! Thank you for the hard work you have put into it!

Also, no comments on the soundtrack? Sure, it suffers from Radiant Dawn OST syndrome, but for me, it was pure bliss just how well it meshed with what was happening in the game at the time. AND THAT MAP THEME IN ACT 4 GAWD DAMN.

I've been on the fence for so long but this video convinced me to go for it. Thanks, you've got a new sub. XD

Last time I checked Ign is a source I will never use or believe in. Thanks for the helpful video and I want to try a fire emblem game sometime and this helped my choices.

1:15 agree with your point except for that the fact that only the side cast who are automatic recruits regularly appear like that that's why you never see kliff or Faye speak in story dialogue but gray and Tobin speak consistently. (Not complaining though those two have some of my favourite dialogue in the game)

Only the required characters play a role. The optional ones only get mila/town conversations and a few supports. They really don't matter beyond their recruitment sadly enough. The only issues I had with the central story was how stupidly naïve celica is and I was a bit annoyed with Mathilda's prison scene with her weak depiction. The middle single tile river was stupid. The rest of the terrain looked fine. I agree with the rest though. This game is awesome, even if a bit short.

This video is still doing good work, ever since I finished playing through the routes of the 3 Lords in Three Houses I was considering getting Echoes, and this ended up tipping me over the edge due to how it addressed the gameplay concerns that had me a bit wary. I'm 10 hours into the game now and really liking it!

From what I heard the director for this game is working on the next major fore emblem title (I hope to god this rumor is true) also I believe they should take some of the mechanics in echoes and implement them for the new FE (weapon arts, three promotions, shields, and honestly milas turnwheel as addresses that many FE players tend to restart a level if one character dies)

There should be a compilation of the number of times Mangs says "at the end of the day". Also, this was a pretty good video. I didn't know some of things that were featured in the positives. I want Echoes so bad but at the moment I gotta wait a bit to get the game.

Well, you’ve convinced me several years later- downloading rn!

Bought It Yesterday and I am already on Chapter 3, I am loving this Game so much. I Hope It sells well, because if they can do this to old boring Gaiden, Imagine what they could do to Geneology or even Binding Blade. Good video Mangs, Let's show everyone the King of all 3ds Games.

I cried from this game. And I don't often do to sad stories. The voice acting was what really got me in a pretty late game moment that just got to me.

Just tried it... love it! It's true, the maps are not very creative, especially after I just played Conquest. But it doesn't matter, those big plains with a few enemies actually give you some time to plan a counter and lure the more far enemies into a high defense unit that will distract them, leaving the enemy main force without their much-needed reinforcements.

Well said Mangs. I really hope this game does well. I'd like to see other Echoes games in the form of other remakes. Awakenings is my first Fire Emblem game and I'd like to play older games with the Echoes treatment.

Solid video that has made me more likely to get the game. I still feel like I'll feel a void where the flexibility of units classes was, but it may be partially filled by the third tier classes being pretty cool and the arts.

I mean, I wouldn't say it's perfect by any means, but the devs did a good job playing the hand they were dealt. They managed to create an extremely polished game that's accessible/appealing to modern fans without just telling Gaiden's story with Awakening/Fates gameplay. While there are certain mechanics that I think show their age I at least respect that the developers aimed to create an updated version of Gaiden from the ground up rather than making a totally different game that tells the same story.

Its 2019. I Just got a 3ds xl though there are few now at gamestop. Typed up the Fire emblem games and narrowed it to this game aside from awakening. I wanna try echoes. Saw many reviews but this video finally made the decision. I'm gonna get this game

Thank you for making this. I'm going to go get Echoes in about 20 minutes and I was watching a lot of this kinds of videos to see if I was making a mistake or not.

really love this video, definitely dispels things ign said were bad about echoes and brings to light some niche things i may have brushed over while playing it, such as the fluently done animations overall i think echoes is a solid entry into the franchise and really brings to light how far fire emblem has came and how it understands its roots

One of my favorite aspects of the combat animations is when archers draw their bows, you can see their hand shaking as they pull the arrow as far back as it goes. This is particularly notable on a kill shot.

Excellent video, Mangs. I love how eloquent you have been over the years in expressing your viewpoints on games. Keep up the good work, sexy.

This Video is Spectacular!

Dude you make me much more hyper for when i can play this game myself :D . Btw. You should do more videos like this.

wow Mangs, this was the best video I have seen from you in a while, if I hadn't gotten the game already I would definitely be running out to Walmart after watching this video. I'm really impressed by this video.

I've watched many reviews of FE Ecohes, I think your video is the best among them. You described everything I wanted to say to this game😁 I wish I could describe this game in my video as brilliant as yours😂. I do and will love your videos and your sharp and humorous views on this game series. Thank you😎

I'm loving Echoes so far, and it's threatening to dethrone Blazing Sword as my favorite Fire Emblem game, something which I never thought would happen. It's just...it's just plain fun. I've probably grinded a bit more than my fair share, but about half of it is unintentional, and I just try to get new units up to speed with the rest of the party. But I can't help it if enemies keep running into my party when I'm moving my other army

I personally started the game on hard mode, beat it once, and have nearly completed a second playthrough. Furthermore, I have still had a lot of fun on the second playthrough. It's hard, but it's not quite Conquest levels of pure insanity (most of the time). The replayability is very real, which is a balance for a hard game I have rarely seen since Radiant Dawn normal mode. Furthermore, the Turnwheel is implemented wonderfully, with upgrades being natural and well-paced. This is an absolutely phenomenal game, up there with the Bravely Default series and other cult classics as a 3DS buy. Actually, scratch that, this is one of about 10 games I think is actually worth buying the 3ds to play if you can only get one game.

I just beat this game yesterday as of the time I am posting this, and as a relatively new Fire Emblem fan, (Only really played the 3DS Games) Echoes has become my favorite Fire Emblem so far. Mostly because it was the first Fire Emblem game I've played that didn't leave me fatigued about 3/4ths through the game. I had to force myself to finish Fates, (and Awakening to a lesser extent) but Echoes simply never let me put it down! I played on Classic Normal mode and managed to beat the game with little-to-no grinding, just strategy, and without losing a single unit. Mila's turnwheel is awesome as a counter against the sometimes bullshit RNG, although I had a one time case where I used it and it caused the game to actually crash... Regardless, nothing like that ever happened again.

"creative battle maps" oh yeah like the snow level, love that one

Trust me I REALLY want to.

I've already done multiple playthroughs of Echoes and I love it. I just wanted to hear your thoughts. Great video!

Just picked this up at a retro game store. Didn't have a 3DS till last year and just saw this game for the first time so I had to get it.

Seriously though berkut is up there with Alvis, Ishtar, Lyon and Japanease nergal

I have to agree, Echoes is a brilliant game. It's fun, the combat is engaging, and the dungeon crawling elements made it much more interesting as a whole. One of the details I noticed would be that you can cut grass, and while that may not seem at all interesting, this also occurs on the battlefield with the standard animations. It makes the world seem more real, because that means they're not just in it, but are a part of it. My biggest complaint isn't really all that big, as it's about the lighting in dungeons, which can be a little much in the brighter rooms. So yeah, I really like this game, if the 15 hours I had clocked on just two days of having it are anything to say.

amazing review i think that you found your calling

I love this game so much. By far my favorit Fire Emblem. I wish the whole modern series would be more like this than awakening. I hate this dating bullshit and three houses is simply tedious with all that micromanagment. Oh and by the way, is a game fun and engaging then there is no grind. Grind is more a mindset than a propertie. In all my hours of Echoes there was zero grind for me. How could a game so beautiful and good sounding grindy anyway? By the way; I LOVE the art style, I wish every FE would look like this.

Great exposition to why you should buy the game. You highlight the strenghts of the game very well and the video was very well constructed. I have some critisism I would offer though First, only the characters you are forced to recruit have additional dialogue outside of supports or the dialogues you get when you meet them at villages. Admittedly, those talks are way better than the barracks conversations in the previous games, but they are in no way relevant to the story. That is not a bad thing, I just think you overstated how involved the supporting cast really is. I would say Clive, Conrad and maybe Saber are the only characters other than Alm and Celica that are really important to the story. Secondly, there is a difference between a map being fun to play and a map being good. Most maps in Echoes are very bad from an objective point of view. However, due to the reasons mentioned in this video, they are not that frustrating to play. But bad maps are bad maps, regardless if the animations are cool and the ability to skip actions.

Awesome vid, will be showing it to any friends who aren't already about to kill me for how much I've been gushing over this game. My brother too should be playing it (he's started with Awakening and Fates despite me hounding him over the years to play the older games when they were current) but its not the absence of avatars or waifus that's turning him off, but the magic system. I don't think you touched upon it too much in your vid, so is there anything you can say to assuage him about the hp draining mechanics he abhors? I've told him over and over that its hardly noticeable and easily managed, but he's not convinced....

Agree with everything you say, mate. Nicely done. It's also funny that you too made Gray an archer, too XD

At the very end of the game there is some grinding required for the post game content. Besides that I only needed to do a little bit of grinding on alms route at chapter 4. I did the whole thing on classic/hard and to be honest the grinding wasn't necessarily unfun.

One of the lines Genny says was making me think they might be doing a sequel of this. She talks about writing a book based on the adventure they are on, then mentions doing a sequel. It's probably nothing, but you never know.

Thank you for making this video. I absolutely loved Fire Emblem Echoes from start to finish, it's easily the best story of the three Fire Emblem Games on 3DS. And I'm not a veteran Fire Emblem player at all, I'm one of those fans that Fire Emblem Awakening dragged into the franchise and this is my first real taste of what a classic Fire Emblem feels like. And yeah, I want more of that. I just hope it does well enough over time, so that Intelligent System remakes more of the classic games for us, I would just love to get to know more of those oldschool characters. Celica is quickly becoming my favourite main character of the franchise by the way, love her new design. The character design is some of the best I have seen in any game too, just this great mix of simple design ideas, mixed with the right amount of believable detail and personality.

Just finished this game, loved it the whole way :D

This video made me want to play SoV so much I was genuinely giddy whilst the game was downloading

Do the maps get any better? Only in Act 3 right now. But it seems like it's the same 5 map types. 1. Big ass empty field 2. Big ass empty field + Castle 3. Big ass empty field now in dessert. 4. Big ass empty field now in dessert + Fort 5. P I R A T E B O A T S I mean at least we aren't snow shoveling anymore am I right?

've been playing it and it's amazing than i thought. 👀💙💪

You convinced me, thanks Mangs. I hope I can still found it around.

Heck yes! The story and the character development, fleshing things out, it's all so good, a lot of unique things in SoV, it's definitely worth playing, it's one hell of a Fire Emblem. I do personally feel like I have to grind though, and it gets tedious and boring, but that's minor, and being more simple makes this game compliments the other, more complex 3DS Fire Emblem. Then there's a post game I haven't even touched yet, and that requires preparation.

THIS VIDEO RIGHT HERE PEOPLE!! This publicity right here is what Fire Emblem needs more of! Doing IGNs job far better than they do themselves. THIS is quality content Mangs. Most excellent.

hey Mangs. great video. echoes quickly took the top spot for me as my favorite fire emblem game. IMO it's as about as perfect as we can get.

Thanks I am planning to play this game