Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest is the game recommended to veterans of the franchise, mostly because "it has no grinding." Nintendo marketing didn't really highlight how much of a difference it is from the other game, Birthright, or most other games in the series.
Most of the mechanical changes such as pair-up, weapon durability, and kid units have been highlighted in my review of Birthright.
Conquest is a more difficult game than Birthright, not because it has higher enemy stats or the inability to grind levels outside of DLC. It's a smart tactical game of map design and enemy utilization.
In the battle between Hoshido and Conquest, Corrin (Your avatar) chooses to side with the family that raised him/her, trying to understand why this war was started. Advertised all over, your quest in this game is to change the system from within.
It's certainly an interesting twist to the franchise, as previous stories usually has your side as the clear good guys that fight the evil empire and then beat up a dragon. The story doesn't live up to the potential, but it certainly takes enough of a risk within Fire Emblem expectations.
But let's get to the real reason to play this: The gameplay.
In Conquest, many chapters have a variety of ways to obtain victory. In one chapter, you have to defend a port for 10 turns only to have a twist in combat that puts you on your feels. Another chapter has you interrogating your own soldiers for a spy as Gold is being stolen every turn. One chapter is filled with breakable pots that can heal or poison both allies and enemies, but also serve as useful chokepoints.
The enemies themselves are more diverse and smarter than Birthright. Your mighty army of Great Knights and heavy armor units will be destroyed by units carrying anti-horse and armor weapons constantly. Hoshidan ninjas will pelt you with debuffs, forcing you to rotate your units to not get killed in future attacks. Sorcerers and Priests will freeze you in your place, heavily debuff your stats, or even teleport you into their zone, mobbing you into oblivion. Always make sure to check enemy stats and equipment.
The characters in Conquest aren't on the light side, expect the crazy.
While Birthright characters are noble and good and loyal and all that, Nohr employs anyone from bandits, murderers, con women, or even Hoshidan defectors if they feel like it. It's a stark contrast when the seemingly noble and proud Prince Xander employs a literal murderer who slays her servants at a whim and a gigolo. Or Camilla's retainer who's an assassin. Or even younger sister Elise who employs a woman that lifts tree trunks and crushes apples in her hand as a greeting sign.
A thing to note is that there are characters directly from Fire Emblem: Awakening employed by Nohr. It'll be quite obvious who they are.
While Birthright continues the path to be accessible for everyone, Conquest fills the thirst for veterans that want a challenge for the brain.
The gameplay updates to Fire Emblem: Fates and Phoenix Mode gave way for the developers to create very challenging maps and objectives without sacrificing audiences from reaching the end. Between the unique cast of misfits, a story beat that hasn't really been explored before in the franchise, and the enemy doing as many abusive tricks as the player, Conquest is a unique experience not just compared to Birthright, but to all of Fire Emblem games as a whole.
