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It's a bit shocking that this game hasn't seen too much coverage here on GBAtemp, other than maybe the initial coverage from its reveal on a Nintendo Direct not too long ago. Which is definitely a shame, because Fire Emblem was one of my favorite franchises growing up. I put a ton of hours into Awakening on the Nintendo 3DS, and seeing this game's details start pouring out, it definitely has me hyped up, considering they're going a more Pokemon-esque route here, with multiple versions.

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First of all, I have to say that I am really digging the art style. It's akin to what we saw in Awakening, yes, but the character models look like something that came out of Samurai Warriors, admittedly one of my secret guilty pleasures. I see a lot of waifu potential too. Apparently, the motif for this game is black and white, which is fitting because the titles will be called Fire Emblem if: Black and White Kingdoms. Yep, two versions. Having two versions has its own individual perks, too.

The two versions will follow the same story up to Chapter Six, and then diverge on very different paths. Both versions, combined, will have the most content of any game in the series, according to the developers. Each title also has the same relative length as Fire Emblem: Awakening, already one of the more vast titles of the series.

Yokota: "The volume of chapters and story in 'Hoshido,' 'Nohr,' and the third scenario are all the length of Awakening. All are downloadable too, so we aimed to give a considerable amount of content."

Maeda: "We offer two different packages both for fans of the series and newcomers to look forward to. In the end, this game is the largest we have made to date in terms of sheer volume. Please enjoy this epic game."

Aside from game length, each game will have different scenarios that are required to clear. What I will be looking forward to are the more varied mission objectives that will go beyond clearing out enemies or rushing the leader will Killing class weapons in tow. The franchise has kind of staled out and I'm definitely looking forward to the changes in game mechanics.

If is going to be the most accessible game to fans, apparently. The developers have since stated that by adding the new Phoenix mode to the title, fans will be able to experience the story and enjoy the game. Before you scream "CASUAL!" though, there are limitations. Just because you are brought back one turn after you die in battle, does not mean that there aren't consequences. Fans who engage in this mode will be unable to obtain the best endings of the game. It does make sense, though. That'd be a bit unfair, and Fire Emblem has always been about those achievements, for me.

Higuchi: From the start until “Radiant Dawn,” we built up the view that those games are the “ideal FE style.” But with that sort of game, one new problem was born: we reached the logical conclusion that it was always difficult for newcomers to pick up. We wanted to make a game that new fans could enjoy too. We wanted to make it even bigger than “Awakening” with this concept as the focus first and foremost. That was the beginning of the game’s development....Just because a player chooses Phoenix Mode does not mean they will miss out on any scenes or items. However, if you change from Classic Mode to Casual or Phoenix Mode, that data will be unable to change back. For those proficient in the series who want the sense of accomplishment in completing “IF” on Classic, please play on Classic without changing all the way to the end.

I've personally grown up and bled in Classical Mode, so I'll definitely have to step aside on Phoenix Mode, but there's the option available, which is nice. Classical Mode had an incredible sense of tension in those later stages because there's a lot of work that went into raising those individual units and losing one, or rather, the potential to lose a unit forever was great, because losing units sometimes would ruin support arrangements completely. Those of us that started early out remembered losing our cherished unit to stray critical hits - not a fun prospect.

But what about that old school weapons triangle? The rock paper scissor mechanic returns in full, but comes with some new changes. Back in the old days, Swords were good against axes, weak against lances. Axes were strong against lances, but weak to the sword, and lances overpowered swords but fell to axes. Magic followed similar trends - Dark, Light, and Anima magic. For the new games, the system has been expanded, with swords and magic being strong against bows and axes. Axes and bows will be then useful against lances and (!) new weapons for the game, concealed weapons, used by, basically, the ninjas - shinobis and maids. Gone also is the durability system - something that I absolutely hated in the old titles. Thankfully, they added the extra strategic element of having certain weapons being useful in certain scenarios. I'm definitely all for the adding of this new element because it seems like we might actually have to think a bit more instead of just spamming Killing Edge all day.

The game is also introducing a newer strategic element called the Dragon's Pulse. I found a lot of intrigue in this particular element because it alters the course of the battlefield, in a pretty significant way apparently. Eight characters of "royal" blood will be able to utilize this mechanic. A bit more information is provided below, from the developer roundtable interview.

Yokota: Dragon Pulse is a special power of Dragons that serves as a map gimmick. It is put to use by the Main Character and Aqua, as well as 8 different characters between the two kingdoms. It changes the map in various ways, such as transforming deserts to grassy plains, or drawing water from the sea.

Maeda: Depending on the timing of Dragon Pulse, it can provide a serious advantage or disadvantage. We hope players implement this in their various strategies. Also, it is not just the player who uses the power of dragons, the enemy will have units who are able to utilize this too in their own strategies.

*grins* This could be very fun. Speaking of fun, they're also changing up the arena component. I spend tons of time in the Arena making the perfect units. Apparently, instead of fighting for money, there's something else to fight for but the team is being mum about it right now.

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Before I can wrap up this piece, one of the things that has come to light recently is the idea of creating a village. Yep, we're going into Animal Crossing territory now, with the fact that we can create houses and amusement facilities. Pokemon-amie comes back in a way, allowing us to... pet our units...? I don't know what to say about this, but it's a quirky change that should get some fans excited. I want to see more of this feature before I make judgments, but based on initial feedback from fans it looks to be a relatively welcome change. Video Link.

Wow. The scope of these games are enormous. There's so much to take in for this game, and it's looking to be the franchise's best yet, with a fair degree of accessibility for any type of gamer and a large scale that will be unmatched by any game. Fire Emblem if comes out in Japan in September of this year, with a 2016 release date in the West. Here's a trailer that came out in English earlier this week! Video link.

With that being said, thoughts on the game? Will I be seeing you guys in 2016 or will you end up passing the title up?

 

[donaldgx]

For some reason I think this game will end up as a "FE Sacred Stones"-ish game with Ephraim campaign hidden behind a paywall-dlc

 

[Hells Malice]

I heard there were more than a 100 characters and the recruiting limit is 100.. Or something along these lines..

Not true?

Of proper characters there's like...42. You can get them all.

There are some wifi/dlc characters from previous games that are basically just an old avatar pic from their game, and they're just a standard NPC clone of whatever class they are, with no dialogue at all. The sprite is generic, and there's really no reason to recruit any of them because they're basically useless. They can't form support bonds with anyone either so using any of them is just a waste of time and steals exp from your normal characters.

 

[Madridi]

Of proper characters there's like...42. You can get them all.

There are some wifi/dlc characters from previous games that are basically just an old avatar pic from their game, and they're just a standard NPC clone of whatever class they are, with no dialogue at all. The sprite is generic, and there's really no reason to recruit any of them because they're basically useless. They can't form support bonds with anyone either so using any of them is just a waste of time and steals exp from your normal characters.

Thanks. But can you elaborate more on what characters? You said its from previous games, like characters we had before such as Ike, Soren and whoever? Even though, from what I understand, their power would be generic with no support bonds, it would be cool to use them, no?

Or were they just NPC in previous games? I'm a bit unclear about that

 

[Hells Malice]

Thanks. But can you elaborate more on what characters? You said its from previous games, like characters we had before such as Ike, Soren and whoever? Even though, from what I understand, their power would be generic with no support bonds, it would be cool to use them, no?

Or were they just NPC in previous games? I'm a bit unclear about that

Pretty much any named character from previous Fire Emblem games. A good chunk of them anyway. Like Marth, Minerva, etc. They come with no unique equipment, average stats, no special skills, etc. They're essentially just a generic character that has the persons avatar to signify who they are. Their character sprite is just the generic sprite for whatever class they are as well (the main 42 characters are a bit unique). They have 0 dialogue, even when they level up it's just "...". They're a neat idea but absolutely no effort was put into them. They're really just there for, I guess, if you want more of a certain class. I can guarantee you'd have no desire to fill your roster with them. I'm amazed anyone even found out there might be a limit to how many you can recruit, because they're just worthless. So really there's no need to worry.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

I'm still in shock Nintendo allowed another Fire Emblem game to be made. The buzz around Awakening had it seem like the franchise was going to sleep for good after that.

 

[CathyRina]

I'm still in shock Nintendo allowed another Fire Emblem game to be made. The buzz around Awakening had it seem like the franchise was going to sleep for good after that.

Really? I thought Awakening was quite popular?

 

[Harsky]

I'm still in shock Nintendo allowed another Fire Emblem game to be made. The buzz around Awakening had it seem like the franchise was going to sleep for good after that.

Quite the opposite from what I heard. Awakening was Intelligent System's last chance after the DS FE games kinda flopped to make the series great again.

Personally I hoped for a new Advance Wars but I can always dream.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Oh I fully realize it was popular and sold well on the 3DS. However, I also recall interviews with Intelligent Systems devs that implied Awakening would be the series last because Nintendo wasn't all that interested or something to that effect. Whatever. Just glad that wasn't the case. Fire Emblem needs more love.

 

[Blaze163]

Ok so hang on, there are two versions and in order to get the full story I basically have to buy half the campaign as DLC or buy another version of the game? Unless the entirity of the alternate campaign is day one free DLC, that's just bloody extortionate corporate bullshit that can fuck right off.

Does anyone remember systems like the Super Nintendo, where when you bought a game like Super Metroid or Final Fantasy 6, you got the whole damn game instead of just a bit of it (Kaiser Dragon notwithstanding)? At what point was the decision made that this was a bad idea? 'Cause I need to go to that moment in time, Chrono Trigger style, wait for that one idiot who thought of it to speak up, and drive a full size Masamune replica into his childhood memories by way of his eye socket.

 

[Skelletonike]

Oh I fully realize it was popular and sold well on the 3DS. However, I also recall interviews with Intelligent Systems devs that implied Awakening would be the series last because Nintendo wasn't all that interested or something to that effect. Whatever. Just glad that wasn't the case. Fire Emblem needs more love.

After Awakening was released they said they would be moving on to other projects (I'm guessing it was Project Steam), as far as I remember though, they never actually implied that the Fire Emblem series would be dropped. Heck, given the popularity Awakening had it would be really stupid of Nintendo to drop it (and I'm kinda glad they stuck to the formula of Awakening with if, player created characters are always awesome imho).

 

[pastaconsumer]

Hopefully they are not NN3DS exclusives...

 

[CathyRina]

Ok so hang on, there are two versions and in order to get the full story I basically have to buy half the campaign as DLC or buy another version of the game? Unless the entirity of the alternate campaign is day one free DLC, that's just bloody extortionate corporate bullshit that can fuck right off.

Does anyone remember systems like the Super Nintendo, where when you bought a game like Super Metroid or Final Fantasy 6, you got the whole damn game instead of just a bit of it (Kaiser Dragon notwithstanding)? At what point was the decision made that this was a bad idea? 'Cause I need to go to that moment in time, Chrono Trigger style, wait for that one idiot who thought of it to speak up, and drive a full size Masamune replica into his childhood memories by way of his eye socket.

Imagine there was 1 version per Kingdom Hearts Birth By sleep character and the other character stories were DLC xD
Yeah I really don't think this is a very consumer friendly decision from nintendo. Especially since the red game is easier and the dark game is more difficult.

Hopefully they are not NN3DS exclusives...

We would know by now if that was the case.

 

[Hells Malice]

From what I head about the game, Nintendo said that in the west, the game would be released as a single release, while in Japan it would be released as two different games. Can't really recall though.

That would be incredibly wise though I can't really see them doing it. For the most part all i've seen is negativity towards the choice to split the game, and rightfully so. If they wanted to do a SEQUEL that branched off into a game for each faction...that'd make more sense to me, because you'd know what side you probably wanted to take. The way it is now is just very consumer unfriendly.

 

[JFTS]

It's a bit weird that the Wii U barely exists while the 3DS gets some of the best titles in Nintendo's history!

I played Fire Emblem Awakening and I was really impressed. I hope this one is equally great!

 

[Click This]

Oh I fully realize it was popular and sold well on the 3DS. However, I also recall interviews with Intelligent Systems devs that implied Awakening would be the series last because Nintendo wasn't all that interested or something to that effect. Whatever. Just glad that wasn't the case. Fire Emblem needs more love.

Why would they can the franchise when Awakening sold 1.7 million copies world wide?

 

[CathyRina]

It's a bit weird that the Wii U barely exists while the 3DS gets some of the best titles in Nintendo's history!

Probably has something to do with the fact that the 3DS sold five times better and the Wii U can't even outperform the Vita in terms of sales.

 

[Bimmel]

Thanks for the "Look Into" - though I don't want to know more about the games after I've read through this.

I will absolutely get this game! Awakening was already a great title. They should just stop to make grinding possible, that was a really hard mistake.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Thanks for the "Look Into" - though I don't want to know more about the games after I've read through this.

I will absolutely get this game! Awakening was already a great title. They should just stop to make grinding possible, that was a really hard mistake.

I just kept grinding. Battle after battle. Kid after kid. It hit the point where I only needed one character to clean up an entire map, mission after mission after mission.

 

[Bimmel]

I just kept grinding. Battle after battle. Kid after kid. It hit the point where I only needed one character to clean up an entire map, mission after mission after mission.

That's exactly what I mean - and I sure did the same, just because it was possible to wander around the world map as often as I wanted.
And that is were another flaw shows itself: The shops and the unlimited supplys of Master Seals and Second Seals.

I never changed classes so much as in this title. Back and forth. First that class to get this ability that I wanted and back to the other cause there were more weapons to choose from. The characters lost there uniqueness.

When I recall playing Radiant Dawn or Path of Radiance the choices you made mattered. Do I spend this money for a sword? Or no.. this magician is almost out of wind magic! And that seal.. which one should I rise in class? I only have one! That one cause I like her more, or that fighter that is just to weak in his current form?

Damn! What do I do!? There is no second chance to decide!

Awakening is a great title - but this feeling of choice was just not there as in the other 2 titles.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Oh I fully realize it was popular and sold well on the 3DS. However, I also recall interviews with Intelligent Systems devs that implied Awakening would be the series last because Nintendo wasn't all that interested or something to that effect. Whatever. Just glad that wasn't the case. Fire Emblem needs more love.

I think it sold 1.5 million or something? More than the best selling F-Zero.

Never underestimate the power of waifu