The new year is off to a bright start as you can now pre-order both versions of Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Conquest on the Nintendo 3DS eShop as well as online. Here are the links to pre-purchase Birthright and Conquest.
Though it might initially sound like the developers are taking a Pokemon approach and releasing two versions of Fire Emblem Fates with only slightly different content, it stands that they are actually two almost entirely separate games telling a different half of the same story. In both games, players take control of a prince or princess of Hoshido raised by royals of the kingdom of Nohr. In Birthright, the Avatar joins Hoshido to fight alongside his/her homeland against the king of Nohr while in Conquest, the Avatar remains in Nohr but works instead to change the country from within. Additionally, the gameplay in each differs slightly. Birthright is more newcomer friendly, allowing players to level up between scenarios, a la Fire Emblem Awakening. Conquest, however, works in a manner similar to earlier entries in the series, with a predetermined number of scenarios and thus more limited ability to level up and earn money.
The digital versions of Birthright and Conquest are $39.99 each. Additionally, once one version of the game is purchased, the other can be purchased for a discounted price of $19.99, though the website is unclear whether or not this discount applies now or will be available at a later date. And lastly, for the record, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright clocks in at 1634 MB while Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest is 1624 MB. Better have lots of space available! Both versions release on February 19 for Nintendo 3DS systems.
