After two weeks of play, the early hours of Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave have proven to be a test of patience, largely due to a repetitive character progression system and an overly cumbersome map traversal mechanic. While the game's world-building and colorful cast of characters are compelling enough to maintain interest, the core gameplay loop of its first part is described as a slog. The experience is carried almost entirely by its narrative and character interactions, which mask a grind that threatens to wear down even dedicated players.
The game's structure follows previous entries, with stories divided into parts. The player character, Queen Theodora, is navigating the aftermath of a conflict that cost her an arm, now seeking to reclaim lost ancestral lands through a tournament. Complicating matters is a growing corruption emanating from a new magical prosthetic, which is beginning to affect her mind. Theodora's portrayal as a capable, authoritative figure is highlighted as a unique and welcome aspect, particularly when contrasted with typical depictions of royalty in games. The support conversations she shares with her gradually assembled crew are frequently cited as a major positive.
A Tedious Time Management System
Fortune's Weave introduces a time management system where days are broken into smaller segments, acting as a currency for actions. While this offers more granular control, the implementation is criticized for forcing players to spend excessive time segments simply moving across the map. Unlike past titles where activities like training or cooking consumed time and advanced the day, these actions are free in Fortune's Weave, provided players manage a stamina meter and daily/weekly limits. The primary time cost is incurred through map exploration.
The map's design exacerbates this issue. Players must select routes in increments of single time segments rather than setting a destination and having the game calculate travel time. This is likely due to the numerous intersecting paths. The map is also filled with nodes for gathering materials, dungeons, and towns. The sheer size of the map means that reaching new areas, unlocking their resources, and returning can consume a significant portion of the allotted time for a given chapter, which can exceed 100 segments.
Further frustrating this loop is the gating of character progression. Skill training is limited to once a week and confined to the main city. If players are deep in exploration, they must travel back to the main city to train, consuming valuable time, and then travel back to their previous location. While carriages offer some fast travel within areas, they do not bridge the gap between regions. The prospect of unlocking actual fast travel in later stages of the game is a distant hope.
Progression Hurdles and Repetitive Quests
Progression is also gated by renown levels, required to pass certain checkpoints on the map and to recruit new allies. Renown is primarily earned through main story quests, general side quests, and character-specific side quests. Gathering supplies for citizens is presented as a key method for increasing renown, but this involves repetitive tasks of collecting specific materials from particular regions, with success depending on random chance. This boils down to a cycle of traversing the map for low-reward gathering activities, which is seen as antithetical to the player's role as a leader.
Combat encounters, whether in dungeons or on the strategic map, are described as infrequent and lacking impact, despite being the primary source of experience points. The alternative method of character growth is through "auto activities," where characters can train, gather, or fight independently. This reliance on automated actions, combined with the constant cycle of exploration and training, contributes to a feeling of the game playing itself. With the narrative split across four distinct characters, experiencing each storyline feels like an insurmountable task, especially when the first playthrough is perceived as the most challenging and least rewarding.