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If you’re a Fire Emblem fan who’s starting to think all this real-time tumult might not be your cup of tea, that’s fair. The folks who’ll enjoy Fire Emblem Warriors the most are those who sit in the intersecting area in the venn diagram that depicts the audiences of Fire Emblem and Warriors-style games, and I suspect that the majority of those two circles don’t overlap. But there is a chance that it could draw in a more few players from the Fire Emblem camp. Here’s why.

Omega Force and Team Ninja have done a surprisingly good job of translating some of Fire Emblem’s compelling character growth and management features into the Warriors universe. Our heroes level up a set of familiar attributes as they gain experience, they can eventually – and quite gratifyingly – change classes with the help of a rare Master Seal for a huge jump in power, and pairs of heroes can team up to support and grow their bond with each other on the battlefield. What’s more, if you choose to play in “classic” mode then fallen heroes won’t automatically be deployable in future battles – a slightly softer version of the franchise’s long cherished permadeath feature.

In other words, Fire Emblem Warriors is more than just a Warriors game with Fire Emblem personalities in place of classic Chinese historical figures. It manages to retain a distinct Fire Emblem flavour despite dishing out a style of action that is arguably the polar opposite of what Fire Emblem fans expect.

That might not be enough to convince fans of either series that this crossover experiment is worth $80, but speaking as a guy who has played and enjoyed Fire Emblem games for decades I can say I had a bit more fun with it than I’d expected. Battles aren’t as cerebrally satisfying as those in a traditional Fire Emblem game, but Fire Emblem Warriors does demand a bit of battlefield strategy. Plus, I’ll take any opportunity to reunite with and fret over the safety of some of my favourite Fire Emblem heroes. And I doubt I’m alone.