For those who were lucky enough to find a way to play Fire Emblem Gaiden, it soon became apparent what set it apart as the black sheep of the Fire Emblem family. Many new and odd mechanics were added to Gaiden that would either never be seen again, or slowly return as the series finally expanded for release overseas. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

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Check out our pictures of the new Alm and Celica amiibo:

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia amiibo 9 IMAGES

In the short demo I experienced, we were able to try out one regular battle map and part of a dungeon. While the battles and maps didn’t offer much variety in terms of topography or objectives, both experiences highlighted some of the more interesting tactical choices Shadows of Valentia has to offer compared to other titles on the 3DS. Like Fire Emblem Awakening, you’re able to traverse a world map between points of interest - enemies on the map will launch you into battles, while certain towns and other places will let you freely explore them from a different perspective.

Battles may look familiar enough at first glance, but there’s a lot to take in quickly if you want all your units to survive. For starters, the familiar weapon triangle is gone. No more swords beating axes, or spears beating swords - nor is there a hierarchy for magic. And speaking of magic, your casters are even more like glass cannons this time around. Spellcasting, while powerful, drains various amounts of health per cast, forcing you to guard them closely or rely on lifestealing magic like Nosferatu to gain back lost health.

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Those familiar with recent Fire Emblem titles like Awakening and Fates may be disappointed to learn that pairing up units for dual strikes or guard stance won’t be a part of this remake. But on the bright side, new, fully voiced supports between units who fight close together can be viewed on the battlefield, so expect your units to be a LOT more vocal in Shadows of Valentia with tons of voice acting.

The absence of strategic elements like the weapon triangle, fielding multiple weapons, and class or character skills seems like a step backward and I’m worried that going back to basics may oversimplify the calculating strategy that has evolved with the Fire Emblem Series. Thankfully, some new features not present in Gaiden have been added to spice things up.

“ Expect your units to be a LOT more vocal in Shadows of Valentia with tons of voice acting.

One of these is the addition of special weapons. By default, all units carry a standard weapon with no durability (much like the recent Fire Emblem Fates), with room for one inventory slot. Equipping a special weapon will replace your unit’s default weapon, and it will level up alongside that character and unlock new moves. For example, Alm’s Lightning Sword had the ability to deal magic damage instead of physical, and two more skills were locked in my demo.

On other hand, I had a Leather Shield in my inventory that would not only increase the defense of unit, but also came with another unique skill I would have to unlock by using it in combat. Weapons only unlock abilities for the person who uses them, so figuring out who deserved which item - or sacrificing that inventory slot for something else like food - felt like a welcome reprieve from simply swapping class skills around.

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Another interesting addition is fatigue management. As your heroes battle they’ll start to fatigue, takes a toll on their maximum health. This becomes an even bigger problem when delving into the dungeons of Valentia, which turn the game’s style into that of a classic JRPG reminiscent of Dragon Quest or Persona, with monsters lurking in the catacombs on screen that you’ll either engage or avoid.

You can explore the dungeons while controlling either Alm or Celica, and while encountering monsters turns the game back into its standard turn based map, ambushing the enemies while exploring will damage their entire party and give you the first turn. However getting ambushed will damage your party and give your opponent's first strike instead. Multiple groups can even ambush you at the same time, which is why fatigue becomes important, as you won’t be able to rely on using your top units over and over again for too long without plenty of food to replenish fatigue.

“ Even for a Fire Emblem veteran like myself, the option to undo a small lapse in judgement is a nice feature.

If this all sounds a bit too daunting you’ll be happy to know there’s a way to put the odds back in your favor through the addition of a new feature called Mila’s Turnwheel. With it, you can roll back the clock to erase a costly mistake, and potentially undo the permadeath of a character if you act fast enough. This is a completely optional feature, and you won’t be able to use it after every mistake. Even for a Fire Emblem veteran like myself, the option to undo a small lapse in judgement is a nice feature, especially for the moments when you’re so close to beating a map when an inopportune rogue critical attack kills your favorite unit in one shot.

We also briefly dabbled in Shadows of Valentia’s amiibo functions. Using the new Alm and Celica amiibo, we were given the option of either trying out a special dungeon, or being able to summon the amiibo in the battle map. In battle, the amiibo serve as phantom allies of other protagonists for a single turn. We were also told that all Fire Emblem amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series could also be used to summon phantoms of their counterparts, complete with new art. You’re even able to use non-Fire Emblem amiibo to summon run-of-the-mill monsters to help you out for a single turn. But don’t think you’ll be able to summon a phantom army without consequence, as doing so will cost some of your unit’s health.

As someone who was never able to play the early Fire Emblem games, Shadows of Valentia seems more than just a retread of familiar ground, and with fun little changes to the formula to challenge the tactician in me.

Brendan Graeber is an Editor for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @Ragga_Fragga