Skip to main content

'Fire Emblem Heroes' makes the switch to mobile devices with new iOS, Android versions

'Fire Emblem Heroes' for mobile is now available for North American users

Fire Emblem Heroes - Trailer
Nintendo’s long-running Fire Emblem series made the jump to mobile devices this week with the launch of Fire Emblem Heroes. European and Japanese players were 
Recommended Videos
among the first to get their hands on it Thursday morning, and by the afternoon, the game was rolled out to both the App Store and Google Play for North American users.

“This is your adventure — a Fire Emblem that’s like nothing you’ve seen before!” said Nintendo in a press release detailing its new games.

That’s certainly true. Unlike the other, full-price Fire Emblem titles, which permanently give you heroes for use in the game’s tactical role-playing stages, Fire Emblem Heroes uses a free-to-play “orbs” system. Either by using real-world cash or by clearing levels in the game’s story mode, you can summon a variety of characters from past games like Lyn from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade — simply known as Fire Emblem outside of Japan — and Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening.

A number of these heroes have also made an appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series, either as a fighter or a trophy, including Awakening‘s Robin and Mystery of the Emblem‘s Marth.

Additional characters were voted into the game over the last few weeks, with Path of Radiance‘s Ike leading the poll. Ike is among the best characters in the series, so fans are doing their duty admirably.

Fire Emblem Heroes‘ story mode will also introduce a selection of all-new characters in the Kingdom of Askr, and an “Arena” mode will allow you to compete against other players around the world for the chance to win extra rewards.

Fire Emblem Heroes is just one of four Fire Emblem games that Nintendo plans to launch by the end of 2018. In May, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, launches for Nintendo 3DS, while Fire Emblem Legends hits both New 3DS and Nintendo Switch this holiday season. A full-fledged Fire Emblem game will then hit the Switch in 2018.

Updated on 2-2-2017 by Steven Petite: Added info about North American availability.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Fire Emblem Engage takes the right cues from Nintendo’s mobile games
Alear clenches his fist while wearing a ring in Fire Emblem Engage.

Given how long the video game development process takes, sometimes we don’t see the full impact of a game’s innovation until years later. That’s something I immediately noticed when booting up Fire Emblem Engage, the latest installment of Nintendo’s long-running tactics series. After a few hours with it, I could see how the project was likely conceived as a direct reaction to 2017’s Fire Emblem Heroes, one of Nintendo’s biggest mobile hits. Though 2018’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a major critical success for the series, Heroes seems to be the title that’s shaping Fire Emblem’s future five years later.

Fire Emblem Engage - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Direct 9.13.2022

Read more
Fire Emblem Engage is coming in January and bringing back Marth
Marth glowing blue.

Nintendo has announced a new entry into the ever-expanding Fire Emblem series during today's Nintendo Direct: Fire Emblem Engage. It's set to release on January 20, 2023, and it's bringing back iconic heroes from the franchise, like Marth as summons.

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1569689174109995008

Read more
Discord is making its Android app more like iOS, and in a good way
Discord app icon on the screen smartphone

If you own an Android phone, you may have noticed that the iPhone gets new features from your favorite apps before Android devices do -- or, in some cases, not at all. Discord is changing that by switching to React Native for its Android app.

According to a blog post written by Discord's product team, React Native is an open-source UI software framework that will allow the company to release new features across all platforms simultaneously. In other words, Discord users who have Android will receive all the new features the company introduces at the same the iOS app does instead of waiting for them to come weeks or months after iOS.

Read more