Today, Nintendo gave us some insights into their future Fire Emblem titles during their Fire Emblem Direct. Among them are: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, which is a remake of the Japanese exclusive Fire Emblem Gaiden; a Fire Emblem Switch announcement, Warriors, and more!
Let’s check them out!
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Fire Emblem: Echoes – Shadows of Valentia is the name of the upcoming Fire Emblem title for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Inspired by the story and gameplay of the Japanese exclusive NES title, Echoes will follow the story of two warring kingdoms, each with very opposed methods of ruling their kingdoms.
The story will include two protagonists: Alm and Celica. Both characters will travel over the continent of Valentia to try to achieve peace between the warring nations of Rigel and Zofia.
Fire Emblem Echoes is unique in that units have entire class trees, as opposed to singular classes. Furthermore, units promote by going to special shrines instead of using Master Seals or other special items to change class.
There are various other features that are unique to Gaiden that are recreated in Echoes — like free roaming, dungeon exploration, flexible character progression, and more. The game will also feature animated cutscenes by Studio Khara – known for Rebuild of Evangelion, and Gurren Lagann.
Fire Emblem: Echoes – Shadows of Valentia is expected to release on May 19th, 2017. Also, be on the lookout for the two-pack of Fire Emblem amiibo coming out on release date as well (below).
Fire Emblem Switch
While there was nothing yet to show, Nintendo made sure to announce that there is an upcoming Fire Emblem title coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. No details about the game have been revealed as of yet. However, it is interesting to note that this would be the first console Fire Emblem to be released ever since Radiant Dawn on the Nintendo Wii.
Speculation Alert!
It is also possible that the reveal might also hint at the Nintendo 3DS line of systems, perhaps seeing their retirement in 2018 as the focus shifts over to the Nintendo Switch.
Fire Emblem Warriors
Today we also got our first video presentation of Fire Emblem Warriors in action. In it we see Chrom mowing down a horde of enemies in true Warriors fashion, with special skills featuring the cut-in critical lines we’ve come to expect of modern Fire Emblem titles. How else they will implement Fire Emblem into gameplay has yet to be seen.
Hopefully we’ll get to see more characters in the near future. As for now, the game has an expected Fall 2017 release, and will also be coming to the Nintendo new 3DS line of systems.
Fire Emblem Mobile
The mobile game that was announced almost a year ago was also featured during the Fire Emblem Direct. Branded Fire Emblem: Heroes, the free-to-play mobile title is headed to smart devices on February 2nd and will feature a brand new Fire Emblem story, as well as the majority of past characters from the series.
In Fire Emblem: Heroes, players will assume the role of a summoner. As the summoner, you will be responsible not only for basic strategy on a 8×6 grid, but also to summon various heroes from past Fire Emblem games. All of the classic Fire Emblem strategy is there, as well as some typical mobile game approaches.
One example of the mobile transition is the requirement to use orbs in order to summon new Fire Emblem characters. These are acquired by rather playing through the game, or through in-game purchases.
The color of the orb determines what type of character you will get, and the more you use will reduce the required orbs over time. Successive summons will likewise reduce the number of orbs temporarily. Each orb also has varying traits, be it elemental types, weapon types, or otherwise. As such, it is somewhat easier to get the exact heroes you want.
Similar to games such as Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, summoned characters will have a star rating which determines how powerful they will be compared to other versions of themselves. Characters will also feature various artworks, and so it is possible to get multiple versions of the same character without the two ever being identical.
There are also other modes for players to explore outside of the main story and summoning. The Training Tower allows for experience grinding and rewards, special maps will correspond with various seasonal events, arena duels are a leaderboard style game, and also a separate hero battle game mode will allow players to hire much more powerful units.
What the game essentially boils down to is a simplified mobile version of the franchise. Whether or not it is successful comes down to the individual player, but considering it’s an entirely free to play game there’s no harm in at least trying it out when it releases next month.
That’s it for now!
This Fire Emblem Direct certainly took viewers for a spin as it showcased two announcements that no one expected. While the focus was certainly on Heroes and Echoes, Nintendo has at the very least shown that it is dedicated to its Fire Emblem fans.
But what about you guys? Are you excited about any of the upcoming titles? Still wish Fire Emblem Fates was still coming to the Switch like rumors said? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
