Free-to-start
The previous smartphone game released by the Kyoto home, Super Mario Run , has made the company less profitable than expected; a $ 10 buy-in to buy the full version and despite the huge amount of title downloads, only 5% of players decided to reward developers’ efforts and make a cash outlay. The mobile market, however, is very peculiar: users often prefer to have a free game r
ight away, and eventually make money through the microtransfers present, in order to be able to play for longer or to gain further benefits. It is following the latter philosophy that Heroes is born , a title that sees the company joining other major producers likeBandai Namco and Square Enix , focusing on recognizing their brand to attract old players and potential new fans, while at t
he same time gaining a profit through the microtransfers present. Being a free-to-play (or, like, calling them Nintendo , free-to-start) is very similar in structure to many other games on the market; this must not necessarily be a bad thin
g if it can build its own identity. And in fact the title seems to be right from now on a good simplified version of the series we know.
Heroes at the rescue
The battles will take place in maps composed of a 8×6 chessboard and we will be able to control a team consisting of up to four characters, each with
its own special features and abilities; the maps may have some obstacles, such as destructive walls or inexcellent rivers, that will force you to thoroughly analyze the clash of the clash and decide on the best position of our allies in order to avoid being overwhelme
d by the surprise attacks of our enemies.The weapon triangle, a standard of the series, is also back in this title with a further simplification: even spells or transformations are included in the same balance, according to a scheme referring to the classic “stone scissor paper”; the re
d-colored units beat the green ones, which in turn beat the blue ones and, consequently, defeat the red ones.In addition to these three colors there is also gray, which indicates neutral units: these are all units that have no special advantages or disadvantages against other characters, representing the role of strategic units (archers, useful against flying units;
thieves, which increase and decrease the characteristics of allies and opponents, priests, to heal wounds). Our heroes will also be able to earn PA (spendable to gain new skills and enhance them) and experience points, to level up and enhance their characteristics.
Evocation, what a passion
It is therefore important to build the perfect team, with units that can cover each other’s shoulders and exploit useful skills for every occasion. The first method for getting new heroes is to overcome special missions: each day is made available to the unique challen
ges to overcome, related to the character. If we could overcome them, we would get that hero in the 1 star or 2 stars version depending on the difficulty level we chose. If, however, we want to get the strongest units in the game, rangi
ng from 3 stars to the rarest and most powerful 5-star variants, we should spend spheres, buyable through microtransfers or obtainable within the game itself by overcoming some missions and completing the levels of history. To be able to get a ‘ units wi
ll have to spend at least 5 spheres, but deciding to make 5 summaries in the same session we could spend 20 instead of the canons 25. After the first evocation the second, third and fourth will cost 4 spheres, while the last one will cost only 3; choosing to interrupt the series of summons the cost would return to 5.
Spheres can also be used to buy game enhancements, such as a new base that gives you greater experience during battles or tools to keep a game just lost, as well as the ability to recharge the available power. Fire Emblem Heroes uses, like many other apps, a
system that limits the number of games that can be made during a session, because it is necessary to spend a certain amount of energy to gain access to the various game levels. There are a maximum of 50 points, rechargeable entirely in jus
t over 4 hours: abundant in the early stages, a little less forward play . This dynamic makes the title, perfect for short matches, but unsuitable for long playing sessions.
The strategy is free
At present there are 4 game modes: the story, of which you can also unlock the difficult and crazy variants after finishing for the first time a chapter; the special missions we have already talked about for recruiting new characters defeating them in battle; the training mode, ideal for gaining more experience points and that will allow us only once a day to get expens
ive crystals to easily raise one of our heroes and finally the arena mode where we can challenge the teams of others players, trying to get as many points as possible during each season.Unfortunately, the arena mode is the only way to challenge
other teams but controlled by the AI of the game, which does not always match expectations: there is no actual competing multiplayer at this time and we hopefully be added with future updates.
We also note that there are some problems with balancing the characters, with some heroes stronger than others; a common problem in this kind of games that are based on the fortune of being able to recover certain units rather than others. T
he game also offers the ability to increase the stars of a hero that has reached at least the highest level as long as we have enough material and are willing to make it back to the base level, but since the amount of objects to get the Stronger heroes is re
ally demanding, it is clear how the game addresses the user to first try the evocation route, perhaps by paying some money. We also emphasize the incredible soundness of the soundtrack, with new composite pieces for the occasion and the reintroduction of old map themes that fans will recognize; this is surely one of the best soundtracks in a free-to-play title.
We also invite old fans to pay particular attention to the levels of play: they may recognize, though in a very simplified version, some maps of games that have been dealt with in the past.
