Out of the Shadows

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia has been out for a few weeks and it's been quite the departure from traditional Fire Emblem games. It's still the same concept: fight armies on a grid in turn-based battles, but without some of the stuff from the  most recent entries. You can't pair up your troops and make super-powered babies this time or partner up on the battlefield and wreak havoc.

Those features weren't in the original version of this game, so it makes sense they are absent in Echoes, because it is a nicer looking copy of that game, basically. The dungeons are unique to the game and I hope they return in newer Fire Emblem games.

However, keeping this game so true to the original has some setbacks.  The lack of enemy and class variety is a little disappointing, and because the map is more open, you-ll play in the same exact environments over and over again.

Overall, the game is really fun, but I have not seen such false hit chances since XCOM.

I can't tell you how many 80% chances I've missed. One level in particular saw me miss more than half of my attacks, despite having a 78% chance to land them. You don't need to be a math pro to realize that 78% does not equal 50%. An enemy archer also landed five of his six attacks despite having a 32% chance to hit on each one.

Frustrating, but fun. A sentence that can describe every Fire Emblem game at some point.