There are a lot of problems with the newest Fire Emblem, so let me just break it down into an unholy trinity. 1. You make the big, game-changing choice that affects the entire game after said choice, by choosing which copy you buy. Instead of just giving you the game and letting you make whatever choice you want, you have to buy the version you think you'd like more and (If you're like me and don't watch let's plays for a game you're going to play) hope that you don't end up wanting to choose the other option first. Why is that an issue? Well... 2. If you want to make the other choice, you have to pay extra. Ignoring the inevitable "Is it worth paying for this" arguments that are gonna spring up, that just adds more pressure on which copy you buy. Think about it; you don't know much about the game, its plot, the characters, or who you'll like more, and you have to buy it and hope you don't end up liking the other faction more, or else you have to pay extra upfront in order to actually make the choice you want to make. Oh, but those issues are mainly gonna be for veteran players, because new players are gonna have an even bigger issue... 3. Birthright is easier by default than Conquest. That means that if a new player wanted the game, they'd essentially have to buy Birthright instead in order to enjoy the game before getting into the much tougher content. That means that your hyper-important choice will most likely not be made because of your feelings towards the world and characters, but based off if you want to play a version that's more beginner-friendly or the much more difficult version. Just giving the player a simple difficulty option between the more complicated and difficult objective style of Conquest and the easier, more simple objectives found in Birthright could've stopped this from being an issue, but instead, the developers ruined the major choice for most new players by making one the clear choice for beginners. This can also be an issue for veteran players who want to play Birthright and still want the same challenge that Conquest gave them. And get this: The downloadable version fixes the first 2 issues! In that version, you can pick the route you want during the actual choice instead of at the store! Why this is not part of the retail version baffles me. Even so, I will still not buy this game due to the way it ruins the impact for new players like me during the big decision, the defining twist on the formula, the biggest advertising point, by not adding some freaking difficulty options.