Fire Emblem Heroes for iOS and Android: Everything You Need to Know

Fire Emblem Heroes is Nintendo’s second smartphone game. Much like mainline entries in the franchise, it’s a strategy role-playing game that lets you summon heroes, attack opponents, and hopefully indulge you in a tale steeped with intriguing characters. Unlike Super Mario Run, the game is slated to hit Android and iOS at the same time. Here’s what you need to know about Nintendo’s sophomore smartphone effort.

Fire Emblem Heroes release date
Fire Emblem Heroes has a February 2 release date globally. If you’ve signed up for the notifications to the game, you will be told when it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.

Fire Emblem Heroes download time on Android and iOS
The Fire Emblem Heroes release time may vary depending on the region you’re in. If we were to consider how Nintendo launched Super Mario Run, that game was available from around 10am PST in the US and 11:30pm in India. You could expect Fire Emblem Heroes to sport a similar release time. However according to an email from Nintendo customer support, the game could be out as early as 7am in Japan on February 2. This was later confirmed by the official Fire Emblem Twitter account which clarified that players would be "notified when other regions receive the game." The wording implies a staggered roll out of the game similar to Pokemon Go. Hopefully, the gaps between releases in each country is less. For what it's worth, 7am JST on February 2 translates to 3:30am IST on the same day and 2pm PST on February 1.

Fire Emblem Heroes iOS and Android requirements
In order to play Fire Emblem Heroes on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll need a device with iOS 8 or above. As for Android, your smartphone or tablet should sport Android 4.2 or later and have 2GB RAM. Nintendo hasn’t stated how much storage the game would need just yet or its download size.

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Fire Emblem Heroes is free
Unlike Super Mario Run which was free to try, Fire Emblem Heroes can be played in its entirety without giving Nintendo any money. But there’s a catch…

Fire Emblem Heroes in-app purchases explained
The game has a stamina metre. It tells you which missions you can play. It replenishes hourly. According to early impressions, the opening missions cost a single stamina point to play. As the game progresses, harder missions will cost more stamina. Essentially, your progress is bound by the stamina you have. In order to play more, you can use orbs — in-game currency in Fire Emblem Heroes. A single orb fills up your entire stamina bar. Furthermore, it can be used to obtain new heroes to use in battle. Although you can’t buy the hero you exactly want. Instead what you get is determined at random.

This is similar to how loot boxes work in Overwatch or FUT packs in FIFA. Japanese smartphone games such as Blood Brothers and Puzzles and Dragons have used these monetisation mechanics effectively, and Fire Emblem Heroes appears to be no different. Three orbs cost $1.99 (around Rs. 134) with options existing upto $74.99 (around Rs. 5,066) for 140 orbs. They can be earned via in-game activities as well.

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Fire Emblem Heroes is always online
Super Mario Run isn’t the only Nintendo mobile game that requires you to be online. Fire Emblem Heroes will need you to do the same. So if you fancy a quick round of it while commuting, think again.

Fire Emblem Heroes Choose Your Legends vote
In the middle of January, Nintendo launched a campaign to determine the most popular heroes in the Fire Emblem universe. The winners would show up in Fire Emblem Heroes when it launches along with special costumes to mark their victory. Voting ended on January 31 and Nintendo is yet to announce which characters made the cut. Safe to say, we'll know for sure when the game is out on February 2.

Do you plan to give Fire Emblem Heroes a go? Or are you waiting to see what Nintendo does next with the franchise on the Nintendo Switch and 3DS? Let us know in the comments.

We discussed Fire Emblem Heroes on Transition, our gaming and pop culture podcast. You can subscribe via iTunes or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.