Hearth Emblem is rather a lot like Pokémon: After you’ve performed one essential title, you’ve roughly performed all of them. However some anime chess simulators are extra strong experiences than others.
We’re not rating all the Hearth Emblem video games. Some titles in Nintendo’s tactical RPG sequence by no means made it out of Japan (RIP Binding Blade and Family tree of the Holy Conflict). We’re additionally excluding the odd spinoffs and musou titles. Evaluating wildly completely different kinds of gameplay feels unfair. And it feels type of unfair to incorporate the free-to-play cellular sport Heroes, which has gotten years of fixed updates. We’re rating mainline Hearth Emblem video games solely.
And look, I might have cherished for this to be an all-inclusive checklist of employees opinions. It seems, solely Ethan Gach and I are masochistic sufficient to spend numerous hours transferring anime troopers backwards and forwards throughout dozens of maps. However we even have one of the best tactical RPG opinions at Kotaku, so that you’re nonetheless in good arms.
So right here’s the checklist, from worst to finest: