So, I finally finished Birthright and, um, let me just say I am *never* playing another Fire Emblem game again. It's not that they're not good. I really liked Birthright. It's not that I can't beat them. (Well, maybe the older ones, but the newer ones have *very* nice difficulty settings for those of us who suck at strategy games.) But, like, that was a *lot* of mental and emotional effort. I'm honestly kinda exhausted from playing it. I can't do another. Not yet, anyways.
Some Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright spoilers
But, yeah, Birthright was good. I really enjoyed it. It had a good story, etc., etc. The ending kept making me cry. First, when Lilith died. Not immediately, but when I went back to give an offering, that's when it hit me, even as I tried to joke through it. Then, with Elise's death. Then, when Corrin kinda but not quite dies and people show up to help you not die, when Kana showed up, I nearly lost it. And then again when Azura died. Those all hurt.
I really do appreciate the game's difficulty options. I could not have beaten it if it weren't for phoenix mode, where your units revive on your next turn when killed. I know some people will bitch at me about playing with that on, but fuck 'em. I'm not good enough at turn-based strategy games to even play on casual mode, much less classic. (Though, I probably was more reckless than I might have otherwise been in other modes, so, you know...)
Honestly, I like difficulty settings like that game has. Like, definitely have the hard modes for people who like those, but also have easier modes for folx like me who suck at video games. I always appreciate it when a game does that, even if it's hard to figure out how to do it (like with VVVVVV and its invincibility mode and slowdown settings; how do you do difficulty settings for that game otherwise?).
Fire Emblem Fates spoilers
Also, I looked up Conquest's plot. Apparently in Conquest, it's actually a fake King Garon, and that's how that stuff works, I guess? I dunno. I'd play Conquest, but I'm still exhausted from Birthright. And then, like, Revelation, it turns out that a dragon wants to kill humanity and is using a fake King Garon to do that. 's weird. Probably interesting, but still, weird.
Oh, and I noticed something else about Camilla's armor that completely threw me: I don't think she actually has a chestplate. Like, I think that bit holding her breasts in is literally just cloth. I could be wrong. But that's how it looks to me.
Yeah, looking at her it's hard to tell. *Maybe* it's actual armor, but it looks too much like it's just cloth.
Anyways, enough about the big titty dragon lady. In conclusion, the game was good. I liked it. If you've never played a Fire Emblem game before, it's not a bad one to pick up, at least in my opinion (the opinion of someone who's first Fire Emblem game was Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright).
Finally, I guess in recommending it, know that it's not a short game. It took me about 25 hours to complete. 25 hours that I played through over 4 days. I guess for comparison, my recent Pokémon Y playthrough (re-playthough?) was 18 hours, and that was constantly stopping to try to find everything I could. When I played Sonic Forces? 6 hours. There are certainly longer games than Birthright, but still. It's quite a bit of a time investment. Know that in advance.
Actually, one final note that amused me and one more after that. I kinda worried before the Xander fight. Like, I'm all "Aaaah...how am I going to do this. This seems kinda bad." You know, the usual. Literally got a crit on my first attack. Killed him in one shot. It was honestly kinda funny how I was so worried about it just to end it almost immediately.