From the beautiful and Japanese-esque land of Hoshido to the more European-styled kingdom of Nohr, “Fire Emblem: Fates” stays true to its predecessors, promoting tactical skill, careful and precise unit placement, addictive maps and most important of all, marriage.

“Fire Emblem” is a tactical role-playing RPG, popularized after the inclusion of characters Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, North America has seen a great deal of “FE” titles becoming localized left and right.

“Fates” is the newest iteration of the series, boasting many changes sure to cater to newcomers, but retaining core aspects to keep appeal high among veterans. “Fates” is also the first title in the series to have two versions: “Birthright and Conquest” respectively. It’s similar to the Pokemon series in that regard, but the differences between both versions are much more pronounced.

As the player, the protagonist is thrown into a skirmish between two nations: Hoshido and Nohr. The player’s fate in the context of the story is determined by which route he or she picks. In “Revelations,” the third route, the protagonist chooses either side and rebels against both kingdoms. “Fire Emblem: Revelations” will be released on March 10.

“Birthright” promotes an easier campaign with limitless opportunities to level up one’s party and keep the units sharp – the heroes of “Birthright” side with the land of Hoshido. However, “Conquest” takes pride in being the harder of the two; harboring difficult maps with limited exp and gold to go around. The heroes of this campaign side with Nohr.

“Fire Emblem”’s gameplay rewards those who think before they act; any small mishaps could result in failure. It’s this pressure that “Fates” exerts on the player that makes winning feel so rewarding.

The factors and tactics involved are similar to chess, except instead of chess pieces, you move about members of your party in a strategic manner in order to complete the objective. Most chapters in “Birthright” involve moving units towards the boss. “Conquest” offers more variety, demanding for certain missions to be completed in a specific way or under a strict amount of time.

“Fire Emblem” isn’t an easy journey to traverse through in either version. Units can die and will die, a lot. Players have to remain optimistic, as with previous “Fire Emblem” titles, the “permanent death” feature has returned in all of its glory to trump any hopes of having an easy experience.

For newcomers, there exists the “casual” setting, which offers “Pheonix mode,” reviving fallen comrades that die in battle at the end of the level. It makes it easier to play through the campaign, but definitely diminishes the depth of the gameplay.

When players aren’t completing chapter missions, they can sit back, relax and enjoy the “My Castle” function, which offers base-building and maintaining a humble abode among other social features that increase compatibility with fellow units. But beware, the castle is subject to invasion, which, if successfully prevented, could yield huge benefits for the player’s party.

In addition to countless new maps from both games, we also hail the return of the marriage system, which actually adds quite a bit of depth to the gameplay. Players can choose to marry whoever they choose and the benefits will be enormous, large stats boosts await them.

It’s this beautiful mix of strategy, amazing visuals and addictive gameplay that makes “Fire Emblem: Fates” so appealing. You couldn’t go wrong with either version. “Birthright” and “Conquest” are now available.

Rating: 4 out of 5