200 hours in, Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is my favorite Nintendo Switch 2 game ever heres why

Date:
Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Description:
Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is an exceptional tactical RPG that masterfully blends tremendous turn-based combat, enjoyable exploration, and stellar storytelling.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Every now and then, a game comes along that doesnt just entertain and engage me it totally enraptures me. It stands as a pure work of art that reminds me of exactly why I love this medium and captures the essence of a book you just cant put down. For me, thats exactly what Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is an engrossing experience that I simply cant get enough of. Review info Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: Nintendo Switch 2 Release date: September 17, 2026 This Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive tactical JRPG offers a combination of excellent turn-based combat and rewarding exploration, alongside captivating storytelling and a great cast of characters. And its sheer scale cannot be understated Ive spent north of 200 hours in Fortunes Weave , and theres still so much more I have to see. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave at Amazon for 59.99 Ive played through each of the four Flame Lords paths and taken the battle to the demonic god Balor, and Ive got a number of thoughts about gameplay, visuals, and narrative to share. So, without further ado, lets take a look at why Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games you can play right now. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Four paths converge (Image credit: Nintendo) I wont
get into the weeds of the premise in Fortunes Weave , but to sum up, youre able to play as four heroes, known as the Flame Lords, as they compete in a grand arena event known as the Heroic Games. The champion of the Games will
be granted a wish of their choosing by Divine Sovereign, Solel, who rules
over the land of Dagda and its capital, Dagsion.

After completing the brief prologue which acts as a solid tutorial for newcomers you can select any of the Flame Lords paths and play through them in any order you like from a central hub area. This approach works nicely, as you dont have to replay the prologue each time you start a new journey, and youre able to dip in and out of each story as you please.

This makes up Part I of the game, which was probably my favorite overall. Although some cutscenes and quests are the same across the four stories, they still feel distinct and gripping in their own right. Each pathway has a distinct tone and feeling to it, with each Flame Lord having a deeply
personal ambition and a unique set of close allies. For instance, the
vengeful and skilful Leda is joined by the womanizing bard Sirocco and protective warrior Buccar, whereas Dietrich is partnered with the excitable Esmeralda and bizarre and eccentric missionary, Fabio.

The core cast of characters is truly excellent, but youll also be able to recruit more allies as you progress the story, including foes you face in the Heroic Games and parties of interest across Dagsion. Many of these units can be recruited across all four stories, though their recruitment requirements often vary, which encouraged me to experiment with different characters
across different stories. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Best bit (Image credit: Nintendo) Anything with Dietrich and Fabio. They're an unlikely yet incredible duo, with Dietrich's bloodlust and Fabio's eccentricity somehow combining to create some of the most hilarious and sometimes emotive dialogue in the series. What makes the multi-path system click is that youll uncover revelations in one story that answer questions or even pose new ones about events in one of the other paths. There are plenty of twists and turns some perhaps more obvious than others which change the way you perceive certain characters and add substantial
depth to units that may seem less significant on some paths than others.

This cross-path storytelling is done really well, and the narrative is
strong, more generally. I wont spoil anything, but its got its fair share of shock instances, touching moments, and character development that help it to hit and if not, exceed the standards that the series has set thus far.

Gameplay-wise, things are kept pretty fresh too. Each Flame Lord has specific abilities that they can make use of on the world map and beyond, with
Deitrich able to battle warriors and learn their combat arts, Leda capable of holding performances to unlock unique materials, Theodora able to recruit warriors to assign battalions, and Cai skilled enough to wrangle mounts for himself and his allies.

And luckily, all of this comes together nicely in the latter parts of the game. While Part I is more individually tailored to each Flame Lord and their journey through the Heroic Games, paths begin to converge in Part II, known
as the War Arc. Again, I wont spoil anything here, but Part II offers far
less variation across each pathway, but there are still some interesting differences in dialogue, and the way you approach battles will likely change considerably.

I loved how the enormity of Fortunes Weave came together in Part III, though. Here, youll be able to unite all of the Flame Lords beside the games true protagonist, you. Its awesome that youre able to make use of all of the
heroes unique abilities and even re-recruit old units for the final battle against the demonic lord, Balor.

Being able to bring all of your units, inventory, and abilities into a singular, epic finale is incredibly rewarding and makes building the ultimate army even more enjoyable. I see grids in my sleep (Image credit: Nintendo) Lets delve a bit more deeply into gameplay, which, as youd expect, is outstanding in Fortunes Weave .

For the most part, youll be battling on classic grid-based battlefields. Honestly, Ive fought on these so many times Im starting to see them in my dreams. It's that classic turn-based Fire Emblem that you know and love, with some returning features, like Combat Arts (which provide benefits in exchange for weapon durability) and gambits (in Theodoras path), for instance.

But there are new mechanics too, like Blaze Arts, which are unique to
specific units. By sacrificing HP , Blaze Arts enable you to deal more
damage, move further, buff allies, and more. The health trade-off means they dont feel like a cheat code, and they also fill a blaze gauge, which will burst at a certain point, forcing you to work with reduced HP for the rest of the map. (Image credit: Nintendo) Standard battles feel brilliantly balanced, and I never felt that difficulty spikes were too severe or that I had to
grind much to push past my opponent. When you do want to grind, though, you can enter into a skirmish against foes on the world map, or try your luck in
a dungeon.

Dungeons work a bit differently, and youll move around a 3D area to face foes in Clash Battles. These are a bit different and combine light action segments with more traditional turn-based JRPG combat rather than tactical grid-based battles. I think that theyre a great option if you want a break from the
usual maps and want a faster-paced method for gaining experience or class proficiency for your units.

Thats not to say that the standard maps arent engaging though; quite the opposite. Theres some excellent map variety, and some battles will ask more
of you than just routing the enemy. In some cases, I had to defeat more
giants than my opponents, rescue defenseless citizens from a huge serpent, or even collect missing cargo before thieves made off with it. Battlefields are also delightfully diverse throughout the heroic games, and become even
grander as the stakes rise towards the back end of the game.

If at any point youre struggling, you can make use of Blessings, enabling you to rewind to a previous turn, increase your strength, or reduce the cost of Combat Arts, for example. I kept usage of these to a minimum, as I was
playing on the slightly more gracious Normal/Casual difficulty. But theres also a Hard mode, and you can play Classic (where units are permanently lost when they fall in battle), where Blessings will likely feel a bit more necessary.

All in all, combat is incredibly addictive, varied, and offers impressive depth. Building a squad with the right balance in terms of classes and
weapons is massively satisfying, and breaking things up with a bit of dungeon crawling keeps the experience feeling fluid and fun for the games full runtime. And given that were talking about a title that will take you well over 100, if not 200, hours to finish, thats an impressive feat in itself. Beyond the battlefield (Image credit: Nintendo) Before I wrap up, I want to touch on my experience with Fortunes Weave outside of battle. Theres quite a bit to do, both within the capital, Dagsion, and in the land of Dagda more broadly.

Dagsion has all of the stuff youd expect. A training ground to boost your aptitude with specific weapons, a shopping district, an inn for viewing support conversations and restoring motivation (which is used for training
and increasing your Blessings level), and an area where you can take an exam for whatever class you want to be.

A lot of your time in Fortunes Weave will be spent using these facilities to increase your weapon levels, boost support with your allies, and acquire better equipment.

If I were to nitpick, Id argue that the support grind can become a little tiresome for some units. If you want to recruit a new ally who requires a
high support level, it can take quite some time to fill the gauge and add
them to your team, though some are easier to add to your roster than others.

There are more things to do, though, like going to the Theater, taking a bath at the Thermae spa, and accepting subquests from distressed townsfolk.
Perhaps the most unusual option, however, is Bird Time.

Here, you can feed the Pale Raven (the main protagonist in bird form) to increase your support level for later in the game. Is it a bit goofy? Yeah. Does it get a bit repetitive? Sure. But I kinda love the feeling of getting that sweet perfect bird time message when you have a successful interaction with your ally.

Outside of Dagsion, you can enter the aforementioned dungeons, search for materials, enter into some smaller hub areas, and speak with wandering merchants. The world map is easy to navigate, but youll only have a set
amount of time to explore before the day of the Main Quest arrives. This
helps the game to maintain good pacing throughout, and while theres a ton to explore, its broken up with main story goodness in healthy intervals, in my view. (Image credit: Nintendo) On a technical level, Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is pretty solid too. It keeps a lot of the enticing visual style seen
in Fire Emblem: Three Houses , but being a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive,
theres a clear step-up in terms of resolution, and character models look excellent too. Be it Fortuna, whose vibrant hair pops with eye-catching yellow, or the striking, rich reds of Bertrand, the White-Maned Demons clothing, I found myself impressed by the visuals pretty consistently.

Some background textures do look a bit basic, however, and while the game
runs smoothly, its not targeting a silky 60fps (but this never bothered me, personally).

I also want to shout out the games excellent soundtrack, which is more eclectic than you may think. Theres the classic orchestral-style stuff, which creates a real sense of grandeur and high stakes, but there are also spacey, synth-led tunes in the temples, which create ambience and intrigue, as well
as electronic music with pumping bass in some mysterious hidden areas.

On the topic of sound, the voice acting is exceptional in Fortunes Weave .
You feel each characters unmistakable personality through just about every performance, and this only makes you feel more attached to your units. The perfect example is Fabio, whose voice acting is just as outlandish and
unusual as youd hope for the character, though he also has some authentic, impassioned emotional scenes that stole the show. Great stuff all round.

To conclude, then, Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is a masterful tactical JRPG that has it all. Addictive, depth-filled combat, fresh mechanics, a well-paced, multi-layered story, and a likeable cast of characters. It hypnotized me from minute one, all the way to the end, and its careful
balance of tight turn-based gameplay and exploration really worked for me. As things stand, I consider Fortunes Weave to not only be among the best Fire Emblem games in recent memory, but also the best game on the Nintendo Switch
2 thus far.

Whatever you do, dont skip this one. Should you play Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave? (Image credit: Nintendo) Play it if

You want to sink your teeth into an epic RPG Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave is
a huge game that will easily take you north of 100 hours to finish if you
want to complete each Flame Lords path and clear every subquest. If youre looking for a true epic to get your moneys worth out of, this is the game for you.

Youre a fan of character-driven narratives Yes, Fortunes Weave features a very high-stakes story, but the narrative is largely centered around the four Flame Lords, and their personal ambitions in the Heroic Games. Watching each story unfurl, and seeing how each hero develops is a joy, so if youre into more character-driven stories, then youll likely enjoy this. Dont play it if

Youre not a big fan of tactical combat There are some light action segments and swifter turn-based dungeon battles in Fortunes Weave , but a lot of the time will be spent commanding your units on a grid. If youre not into the
more strategic style of other Fire Emblem games, then you may not have the best time with this one either.

You need top-tier performance from your games While Fortunes Weave looks pretty solid, its by no means pushing boundaries as far as visuals go. Its very stable, in terms of performance, but its also not going to give you the buttery smoothness of other Switch 2 games, like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond , say, which can even run at 120fps in handheld mode. Accessibility features There are a handful of ways to customize your experience in Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave . You can make UI adjustments, like altering the size of the battle minimap, toggling the grid display on and off, you can personalize camera controls and sensitivity, and choose from a number of different subtitle languages.

Theres even an Enemy Masking mode that changes the appearances of insectile enemies if you have arachnophobia or entomophobia. There is no colorblind mode, or similar. (Image credit: Nintendo) How I reviewed Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave I spent just over 200 hours with Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave
, during which time I played through the main story (including each of the Flame Lords individual paths), completed just about every subquest, and recruited countless allies.

For the most part, I played in docked mode, with my Nintendo Switch 2 connected to my Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. However, I did dip into handheld mode now and then, and usually had my Sennheiser CX 80U wired earbuds connected when playing on the go.

More generally, Ive spent years reviewing gaming software, hardware, and accessories here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. Ive covered all sorts of titles, from Switch 2 exclusives like Kirby Air Riders and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book to RPGs such as Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles .

I've also played a number of Fire Emblem titles, including Awakening , The Blazing Blade , and Three Houses . Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave: Price Comparison voucher gift 59.99 View 59.99 View voucher gift 59.99 View We
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