Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun yet flawed action role-playing vs. thousands of foes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Fire Emblem Warriors
What's It About?
FIRE EMBLEM WARRIORS is an action-heavy role-playing game for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS. It's a cross between the Fire Emblem and Dynasty Warriors game franchises, with players assuming the role of twin siblings Lianna and Rowan, who are out to reclaim their stolen land, Aytolis Kingdom, from an evil presence. The duo meet up with other main characters from the Fire Emblem series -- including the likes of Chrom, Marth, Xander, Ryoma, Corrin, Lucina, and others -- as they venture out across huge battlefields to slice and dice against thousands of enemies over each mission. Much of the skill lies in executing chained combo attacks and special moves at the right time. As with the Fire Emblem series, the weapon triangle system determines how effective one character's abilities are against others, such as one mastering sword skills or ax wielding. You can also pair up two hero characters as a single unit to maximize their abilities.
Is It Any Good?
Only hardcore fans of this game's core franchises may get something out of this title, because they'd be willing to overlook some of its issues. It's not bad -- laying waste to thousands of soldiers with well-timed chained attacks is gratifyingly fun -- but repetition, technical glitches, and questionable AI take away from the overall experience. Indeed, it's the epic battlefield combat sequences that will keep you glued to your Switch or 3DS, especially as you experiment with different heroes, paired fighters, and special abilities. Familiar Fire Emblem characters look more mature in this Dynasty Warriors-influenced battle game, and will be exciting to use in these kinds of large-scale battles. The game looks great, with so many soldiers or creatures all tossed in the air simultaneously, but you can expect the frame rate to slow down considerably to process all of this action. Oddly, some cut-scenes cause the game to slow down, too.
Another issue is that after you complete a few missions, you'll likely get a sense of déjà vu. That, along with some awkward camera angles and less-than-intelligent artificial intelligence (AI), makes the game feel less polished. What's particularly frustrating about the dumb AI -- with your allies who don't do what they're instructed to do -- is the fact that there's no multiplayer option in this game. Fire Emblem Warriors isn't horrible. It's genuinely fun at times. But overall, it's a slightly above-average brawler that attempts to borrow the best from Fire Emblem and Dynasty Warriors. But it could've been a much better experience, perhaps with more time to polish it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in games. Are you concerned that you're constantly fighting hundreds of enemies, as well as monsters, or is it OK because there's no blood or gore shown?
Talk about extra content for games. Do you need to buy extra figurines or downloadable content to fully get a game experience? Is it worth it because of what the extras bring to the game?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo 3DS , Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Nintendo
- Release date : October 29, 2017
- Genre : Role-Playing
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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