The New 3DS Fire Emblem Will Force You To Pick A Side

Looking forward to this, hoping to see an early 2016 release.

Funny how the asian-inspired nation is peaceful, while the more european-inspired nation is out for war.
To humorously quote CinemaSins: "That's racist."

The perfect excuse to play the game at least twice!

Looks amazing. Can't wait until next year.

@Kaze_Memaryu Please don't bring racistism into Video Games or stuff like that in general, I had enough of that stuff with Gamergate.

Off-screen strategist? That's Fire Emblem for GBA and not Awakening.
(The screenshot on the front page isn't from a FE game for that matter).
In any case this sounds interesting!

This game will probably the best thing I play in my entire life. #TeamNohr

@DreamyViridi I know, right? I know this is gonna be my game if 2016!

I'd definitely love a route where you go against both sides.

@Chaoz It's just a joke, why do you think I chose to quote CinemaSins, of all things? Besides, I find this depiction rather funny, actually.

nintendo didnt have anything coming out a little sooner to show off?

but hey mario in a match three game, and a second pokemon cash grab in 3 months... i think nintendo is subtly telling everyone the 3ds is dead

@Dark-Luigi - The release date's rather far, isn't it?
Either way, I expect lots of drama when it comes to deciding sides!

Meh, we'll get Fire Emblem Nohrido the following year anyway

@DreamyViridi I can totally handle the wait! Not to also mention intensity!

Red haired waifu or blonde loli.

Hmm hmm hmm tough choice.

HOLY F*CK!!!!!!! I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TO BE RELEASED!!!!! Obviously, every experienced fire emblem player such as myself is gonna pick the Nohr side, as it was stated that it´s harder than the Hoshido route. Being part of the bad guys team is something I´ve wanting to do for a looooong time in fire embem. 2016 is the Fire Emblem year for sure.

Now I'm actually interested in this game. Will it be my first Fire Emblem game?

I was kinda hoping that we could maybe stop both sides or something, but then again, that doesn't happen too much in reality, so that's neat, I guess. Besides, it's not like I wasn't going to replay this more than four times.

Apparently according to the Japanese Direct, there are two versions of this game. The Nohr and Hoshido are different games. You'll need to buy both copies to get the full story

@StaticWind If history has taught us something, is that you gotta pick a side, otherwise you get killed for being in the way. Awakening had an AWESOME replay value, now imagine having 2 different storylines and I´m sure intelligent systems is gonna release DLC for this. Damn, so much hype!!!!

Legendary. Before I die I must play this game.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is my favorite game on 3DS so far. I will buy the crap out of this game, I don't care how long the wait is!

Awesome, and I just got the New 3DS today.

Well, I must say this looks quite good.

Man, picking a side is gonna be hard...they both look awesome.

Hoshido FTW

@drewb0203 Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with the peace loving Hoshido on my first play through as well.

Also, that music is beautiful! I love this game's main theme, and I hope it gets used liberally throughout the game!

Man, this is the first game in ages that I'm actually going to have a hard time waiting for...I didn't even mind waiting for Smash 4.

Well, I guess I'll be playing this game more than once! Super pumped about this game!!!

@drewb0203 Why? Nohr is obviously the better side.

It seems picking a side means picking a game =_=
It seems Fire Emblem If will be split into 3 games: Black and White, with part 3 coming later. Unless each part is the length of at least the Elibe games (if not Tellius), I'm calling this a rip off.

This is going to be AMAZING!!!!!!

Unlike Fire Emblem: Awakening, you won't be assuming the role of a off-screen strategist but will instead step into the boots of the main character, taking a major part in battles.

What, while using Robin (Avatar) in battles was technically optional you basically were the main character and were one of the strongest units not counting children. The story revolved around you and your decisions and was seen from your perspective.

Also the Nohr side looks to have much cooler characters I don't care if they are being portrayed as the bad ones. If they do it right, it can be like the Fallout 3 DLC or the Skyrim War where in the end despite initial appearances nether side is really completely right and it was really more about choosing who was less wrong.

Wait wait wait.

Is it ONE game in which you choose sides, or is it TWO games???

If its TWO, what is this, pokemon???

(Hoshido all the way :>)

@Gridatttack It's one game

Well now we know that story wise this game is going to be fantastic, which is a huge step up from Awakening's meh story. Hopefully it can also surpass or at least match Awakening's fantastic cast of characters.

Now I'm curious to see how the gameplay is changed. Most seems to be the same as Awakening but I hope they bring back the diversity in ways to beat a map so not every map is kill all enemies or generals.

Amazing <3

I KNEW it! As soon as they announced that the game would rely heavily on decisions made by the player, I KNEW it had something to do with picking a side or faction to be on. I've been hoping for a Fire Emblem story to have a decision like this for a number of years, and now it's here!

My mom used to watch this Japanese drama show based in the Samurai/Shogun era where the main character had to choose between supporting his current boss or switching sides to help his boss's brother; I thought it was quite an interesting story concept and have been waiting for a game to utilize such a story mechanic. That was at least 5 years ago, and now I am SUPER-HYPED for this game. It might be even better than Awakening if done right.

@Gridatttack It's actually kind of a bit more complicated than that, at least in japan. So in Japan, it'll be released as two seperate games. One for Hoshido , one for Nohr. But if you buy one, you can get the other side from the eshop for about $15. So if you buy the Hoshido side version, you can download the Nohr side for 15 bucks. However if you buy it originally from the Eshop you will get both story lines for the same price as any other 3ds game, and you will just make the decision on which path to take after a certain point in the game. In either case, there will also be a 3rd story line released as dlc, for about $15. There is also going to be a special version released at retail for about $77 which includes all three story lines.

Now, something tells me that this is not how it'll be done in the west. First off, though it sold better than most FE games and was critically praised, 300,000 copies sold here still makes it a bit of a niche game. Also in western presentations of the game it has been shown as one game, with 2 branching story lines. So my guess is that in the west both retail and digital versions will feature both storylines. Though the 3rd story line will probably still be dlc.

Does this mean no "breeding units"? I loved that feature though!

I'm torn on this and info from my roommate on japanese details makes it harder to choose a side. Though the hard path is always good.

Hoshido most likely. I think it's stupid to go to war for glory.

Summer 2015 in Japan -> 2016 for NA/Europe. smh. Really?

In the third time you get the secret ending where everybody lives (Path to Radiance...or Radiant Dawn has something like that with one of the villains).

1. Incredibly excited for a new FE game!
2. Gonna miss the marriage system as it seems that isn't coming back.
3. With two different paths to choose from, I'm excited for the replay value here!
4. I LOVE that they're finally representing some Japanese culture, or anything that isn't the usual Euro-Renaissance-inspired world. I love that stuff, but it's gonna be great to have some change.
5. Is Intelligent Systems devoting all of their time to this and that's why FExSMT seems to be devoid of any trace of the FE series at all?

Why couldn't they announce this on E3?

I'm confused. Can anyone tell me if this is one game or two? If you follow Kit (from Nintendo Minute) he says that he will be "poop-socking both versions". I wouldn't think that this would be 2 separate games.

@SirQuincealot Proof, please. Otherwise, the 3DS is nowhere close to disappearing. Sounds like you hate the 3DS in general and wish that it would just go away, all while ignoring its huge user base, its commercial success and its tremendous software library when compared to its competitor, the PS Vita. Amusing and sad, yet pathetic.

This is going to be awesome and the music reminds me of Samurai Warriors for some reason which is great cuz that's the kind of tune that I enjoy.

Wow, what an easy choice. Looks like you get a loli imouto either way.

Pick Nohr.

I think Nohr is yet another reference to the French word for black.
Easy choice. Nohr all the way.

I'll definitely be going with Hoshido for my main playthrough.

@jjmesa16 https://twitter.com/RPGSite/status/583415770744393729/photo/1

I'm going Hoshido.

Been reading up on the revelation it's actually two games with DLC for the other side. I'm not sure how I feel about that. If it feels like two substantial campaigns then fair enough, but the footage made it look like the same thing with light and dark skins applied to everything.

Apparently Hoshido is easier. Let the peasants have their Casual mode, I'll be with Nohr, like everyone else who makes the right choice.

Lets just hope they don't go the Pokémon route (ie. filthy game splitting). PokeFanboys may look the other way at bad business practices in their franchise but I'm not buying the same game twice.

@InterwebUser - Actually its hidden but it is there. For example the flying machine is Pegasus shaped and presumably the motorcycle was a horse. I think we are seeing that future setting Fire Emblem as the style and setting. Also the battle arena seems similar to the GBA FE games multiplayer more. An outlying area surrounding a center ring. One of the character's is stylized after Prince Marth and I'd be shocked if we don't see a weapon triangle or a little more as the game approaches.

#Teamnohr
Glory seeking vs peaceful The easiest choice ever.

LMAO! "Choose a side"!? Bahahaha!! There's no such thing as "good and bad, black and white" nations in war, only less bad and more bad ones. Individuals can be good, but not whole nations.

There is always a puppeteer and a betrayer in the background. There is no such thing as a wise or just war, and there is always someone who profits from slavery present in the materials gathering and/or weapons manufacturing buildup towards the proliferation of war. This is true in reality, and this is true in Fire Emblem. Past Fire Emblem titles have consistently made a point to highlight the truth of this inevitability of war in pretty much every title. I expect this one to be no different.

It doesn't matter what side one picks. Rather, one should investigate the shadows, then go after the puppeteer and the betrayer, not the commoner nor the puppets. But beware... One who fights monsters must always be vigilant to not become one themselves... For one who gazes long into the abyss, the abyss will surely gaze back...

Ugh. Why is this choose your side thing made as a difficulty selector?

@Captain_Toad In Sacred Stones, Eirika's liberation path was easier than her brother's war path. (Assuming no grinding is done for either.) In FE Gaiden, Cellica's pilgrimage/liberation path to the Temple of Mila is easier than Alm's war path to the Emperor of Rigel (although the paths converge). FE If is just continuing the series trend of encountering a liberation (easier) path, or a war (harder) path, depending on the main leader. Although, no previous title has gone the Pokemon route with different "versions"...ugh.

@andreoni79 Thanks. I'm not sure why they made this 2 separate games. Just have 2 story lines in the same game. I guess they have to milk Fire Emblem for all its worth.

I may have to break and import this to play it earlier. It looks too good to pass up!

@Kaze_Memaryu You have it backwards I think.

I think choosing a side would have been cooler if one weren't labeled as being easier or more difficult. I'll choose Nohr for this reason alone. Although if I were going by their look, style, and trait (peaceful vs glory) I would choose the Hoshido.

.....or I could play through both.

Not for me. I know it's just a game but I still take that kind of decision way too seriously. It's involuntary and I can't help it.

@Kaze_Memaryu I apologize, after watching it a second time, I see that I'm backwards!

I think what originally threw me off was the scene that shows the guy getting shot by arrows.

I think "liberation" is ultimately a more appropriate term than "peaceful." The meeting of philosophies between Alm and Cellica in FE Gaiden pretty much sums up how these conversations go:

Cellica:
"But when it comes down to it, both Rigelians and Sofians are the same, aren't they? We are all people of Valencia.
Even if these divisions of country no longer existed, we should all still be able to live together in happiness."

Alm:
"That's no good. You can't just tell the people of Sofia to go live under the barbarous rule of Rigel.
Seeing as how Rigel aided Dozer in ravaging the lands of Sofia, we've got no choice but to fight."

Of course, both leaders go on to draw much blood. They just have different ways of going about it, even if they are on the same side. I bet this kind of conflict of interest is going to be brought up in If. Liberators tend to be viewed as nice, but naive, while the warlords tend to be viewed as harsh, but realistic. The conflict in question here is Idealism versus Pragmatism.

It is worth noting that a "third path" DLC has already been confirmed. Incidentally, this almost certainly confirms that both sides are full of idiots, being strung about by some clever puppeteer.

@faren916 how about that there a no games announced for a year besides B atlus games and Nintendo shovelware. the pokemon free to play, or that mario match three are nothing more than cheap cash grabs taking advantage of the large user base, instead of giving the biggest group of users something to play, they put there big hits on its other two systems forcing you to uprade. But whatever i can waste tens of thousands of dollers on a single game Iawata could have made in his basement. or you can buy the latest hit from hal labs, and they've finally gotten rid of the boringly cute and charming aesthetic from kirby and smash and replaced it with cold, black and white puzzles...

@SirQuincealot I actually think the Puzzle & Dragons Z + Mario game looks really good. Monster Hunter 4 just came out. Code name STEAM just came out. I will acknowledge that if you're into platformers then the current release schedule is looking bad.

Do you think they could have put Xenoblade 3D on the original 3DS? The Wii U just got a Kirby game and there's a Yoshi game on the way. The 3DS got both last year.

@dkxcalibur Sure it looks really nice graphically, but the gameplay could not be more shallow. And not too disregard the games you mentioned but monster hunter was a capcom game, and steam was made by the b-team of intelligent systems while theier top guys worked on fire emblem, which we wont see for another year, yet its somehow ready for release in japan. it seems like they arent really worried about 3ds fans and are just trying to push consoles... unless they are japanese

@SirQuincealot You bring up some valid points, but I'm not sure how much work goes into localizing games the size of Fire Emblem so I'll leave it at that. Wow, for a "B" team developed game, they did great! I've never played the Dragon & Puzzle series but I really enjoy puzzle games in general and then you add in the ability to level up characters that you take into battles.

Are you looking for a new Mario game? There's nothing wrong with this, I love those too. Is your beef only with Nintendo? I really think they saved some stuff for E3 which is only two months away. They would be dumb if they didn't.

@ALEC_EIFFEL Definitely! There's going to be a ton of content!

@PlywoodStick So this isnt new?....interesting.