The Fire Emblem warriors were actually brilliant: Defense of Musou

Every time Nintendo publishes news about it Fire Emblem Warriors: Three HopesI’m bracing myself for a wave of anti-Muso sentiment on Twitter. Just search for “Fire Emblem” and “musou”, and you’ll see Twitter grumbling about how three housesThe sequel would be much better if you weren’t Musso. As someone I love Fire Emblem Warriorsthe franchise’s previous foray into a musou-style movement, I’m here to tell you that three hopes It can be as deep and tactically engaging as any role-playing game.

When I say “musou”, I’m referring to a string like Warrior Dynasty And samurai warriors. Koei created the music genre in one form or another in the year 2000 with Dynasty Warriors 2, which used the new PlayStation 2’s horsepower to pit your hero and allies against hundreds, sometimes thousands of swarming enemies as you struggle to capture bases across massive battlefields. This one-versus-thousand dynamic is crafted for a whole new style of game.

“the WarriorsGames often get a bad reputation in the West for being unambitious IP adaptations of popular anime merchandise. The relatively newer ones include Hyrule Warriors: Age of DisasterAnd Attack on Titan: Wings of FreedomAnd And Persona 5 Strikers. What I’ve noticed is that reviews tend to compare these games to the typical gameplay of their franchise sources, rather than those of the music genre itself. Hyrule Warriors at the level of expectations Breath of the wild. Persona 5 Strikers Expected to be more Persona 5. It’s a shame, because each of these games would benefit more from analyzing it as “the WarriorsGames first, franchise spin-offs second.

Musou games are among the most tactically engaging games I’ve ever played. Where critics of the genre see hack-and-slash, I see real-time strategy game. Musou games are not power fantasies: they are lessons in losing the battle in order to win the war. There is no wilder game of hounds than a well-balanced Musou game. In the end, defeating a strong opponent does not matter. To be able to fulfill your current mission Main objectives It is the actual end game.

Take, for example, one of the mid-game classes in Fire Emblem Warriors. My characters were strong, and we would have gained a huge tactical advantage from capturing the forts in the lower right quadrant of the battlefield. But suddenly, the map showed that we were being invaded from two directions at once. The red arrows thrust out mindlessly forcefully; Just a few seconds of underestimating the officer’s health, and I’ll be able to conquer this coveted stronghold.

You made a huge mistake. Insist on ending basic capture Let the new double-pronged invasion take root. By the time I ran to deal with them, half of my map was the enemy’s red shadow. Soon I got confused, and was forced to resume the whole task. This time, when enemy reinforcements appeared, I gave up my duel with the enemy general to immediately take care of the invaders. improvise. adapts. Overcoming.

Note, however, that I was not even rewarded for doing so. I survived the invasion, yes, but the game didn’t give me positive reinforcement to make the right decision. The fortresses I gave up when captured ended up being better fortified by the enemy, and it would take several more minutes before I could try to capture them again. However, I did not regret my withdrawal. After all, I had the experience to know that I would have been confused if I had not proactively rushed to deal with the invaders.

Despite the appearance of reckless and thorough work, the Warriors The games encourage a very conservative style of play. During that battle, even after the immediate danger was over, I continually chose to protect my land rather than expand it at every opportunity. It takes maturity to know when something that seems tempting actually doesn’t have an opportunity. When I did not choose to be the thoughtful strategic commander my army needed, Fire Emblem Warriors Punish me for that.

And that’s the pattern in every good Moso game I’ve ever played, like Fate / Extella games. I don’t spend most of my time bashing hundreds of generic NPCs like you see in flashy trailers – instead, I’m traversing them to neutralize key defenders and open portals. I pay more attention to my map than to the skirmishes I’m passing through. Winning requires me to give up personal glory in favor of undermining the other army in a battle of attrition.

All this in mind, Fire Emblem Warriors It felt like a better war simulator than a role-playing simulator fire emblem The games you generated. The soldiers did not take turns politely: they held the forts left and right, with every man and woman to themselves. I would stop frequently to check the map and read the general “flow” of the battle. Who had the upper hand? Can I reverse the dynamic anywhere? What tactical advantages would I forfeit by continuing or succumbing to my current endeavors? If you don’t ask these questions, then Fire Emblem Warriors“The hardest levels will judge you.

In this sense, Persona 5 attackers It never felt like a traditional musou game to me. The rooms were puzzles to be solved, not dynamic bastions to be preserved. Defeating non-public enemies felt more mandatory. I gave it up after three seasons of unfulfilled play. Although it has excellent yield values, attackers It didn’t provide me with the same excitement in micromanaging an ever-changing battlefield.

Musou is a humble genre where your hero’s superpowers, while they may be great, can’t make up for poor tactics. In this sense, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes It is a game in the best format for three houses sequel. Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude may be the bearers of the traces of heroes, but this is a war, in which not a single person can make his way to victory.