As many of you are aware, there's an upcoming crossover RPG for the Wii U between the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem series, which we'll just tentatively call Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem to save you the headache of its Japanese title. Though we do know it's coming West, very little has been shown of the game in English; meaning that the majority of information has come from what can be gleaned from the Japanese footage and related media. Continuing this trend, the Japanese blog for the game was just recently updated with new information on what to expect.
The fine folks over at JRPG.moe were kind enough to translate the blog post and this revealed a good deal of new information on the game. Mitsuru Hirata and Eiji Ishida – the game's directors – answered a series of questions and comments centered around the release. In terms of why the Fire Emblem characters look so different from their usual appearance, Ishida states it's because they've evolved to specialize in certain roles.
Chrom and his comrades are warriors from another world that are engaged in an endless battle. As a result, they've evolved into a specialised form for combat – that's the basis for the setting. They're all heroes, but at the same time they look almost like monsters. Their designs reflect something like the sorrowful, dark history of their struggle. They needed to specialise to survive, so that means that their unneeded body parts have degenerated.
Additionally, Hirata said that while each Fire Emblem character may be tied to a specific character, they will still have some sort customizable aspects to them. He wouldn't comment further, but stated that another post will expand more on this.
The game focuses on the relationship between the mirages and their masters – since we wanted to emphasise the sense of camaraderie between the two, the Mirages are all fixed to each character. That said, there are elements of the Mirage itself that can change. We're preparing to publish more on the combination of Mirage training and close relations with their masters.
Also, Ishida hinted that Wyvern Riders may show up at some point in the game, but doesn't want to spoil the surprise.
When you buy the game you can see for yourself! Fire Emblem is known for a lot of things that people will want, but we can't afford to say too much until it's out!
What do you think? Are you looking forward to this game? When do you think we'll start hearing more information on the Western version? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source jrpg.moe]
Comments 53
Yeah..... I'l just wait for the real Fire Emblem games to come out to the 3DS next year.
Such a shame, we missed out on the chance to get a proper Wii U Fire Emblem for this game.....
Q) What do you think?
A) The reasoning for the design change seems a bit silly, but I don't mind it. I just thought it was being done for stylistic purposes, and that reasoning alone wouldn't have bothered me too much.
As for the Wyvern Rider part, that would be pretty cool to see. I've been hearing about there being a total of nine party members in this game, so one of them being a Wyvern Rider is within the realm of possibility.
Q) Are you looking forward to this game?
A) It's a console based Turn Based Japanese Role Playing Game. That alone has me looking forward to this game. It also helps that I love the vibrancy and charm that's been shown off so far, and the battle system looks very pleasing to me.
Child of Light still remains my favourite game on the Wii U so far by quite a margin, so it'll be interesting to see how a much larger RPG does in terms of my... liking? I'm not sure what would be the right term here.
Q) When do you think we'll start hearing more information on the Western version?
A) Unless a Nintendo Direct pops up in November (gosh I miss those), I'm going to suggest December, as the game comes ever closer to it's Japanese release. I'm hoping for a release date for the UK/EU to be announced soon; it's currently my most wanted game of 2016!
I was so disappointed when this was revealed as the Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei game. I am still disappointed.
I think people are being too pessimistic. The game looks great, has an interesting soundtrack so far (I'm not the biggest fan of j-pop, but I'm open to the idea of having it in a game, cause why not?), and just looks plain fun. Sure, it may not have that many FE elements in it... but it doesn't exactly have too many SMT (NOT Persona) elements in it either (thinking SMT III/IV or Strange Journey)
The product is not a split and rough design of some identical FE/SMT elements found and placed in one game, but more of a, "fusion" between some of the two franchises in some ways (for example, Mirages). It doesn't have to have identical mechanics to be considered a crossover, in my opinion. I'm certainly going to buy it though, as I'm a fan of both franchises and want to see what Atlus and Nintendo have been working so hard on for the last few months/years.
Either way, we haven't seen all of the game yet - so let's all try to keep our eyes open and see what kind of surprises are present in the final product! Trust in Ishida, Hirada, and all the other Atlus/Nintendo programmers/etc. who have spent a lot of effort on making this product!
Strangely am very, after barely any RPGs on Wii U to have 2 big ones in the coming months is pretty exciting.
I really hope Nintendo gets a bunch of RPG's for the NX. The Gamecube,Wii, 3ds and DS had them. So what happened with the WiiU? Besides a couple of Indie titles and this and Xeneblade X. The WiiU is lacking in this department. Hope the NX comes with more variety then platformers and the usual.
@SquirrelNuts Dude, what were you expecting? I personally think this game looks really interesting.
I pretty much love the idea that you summon the Fire Emblem characters as ghosts to fight for you in battle.
It fits both series well I think and gives the cheerful visuals of this game a dark counterpart.
I only played Devil Survivor Overclocked and Persona Q of all SMT games, but I think this story-choice is rather typical and that their stories were all a bit "silly" as someone called it. I mean in DSO they summon demons with their mobile phones and via singing and in PQ they fight demons in a parallel dimension in their school while regularly apparently fighting demons in TVs. What did you expect? At this stage this seems to be one of the more logical stories.
I think this is basically Fire Emblem fans complaining that this isn't like the Fire Emblem games AT ALL so far. But I'm fine. I like both series.
@Peace-Boy
...good for you?
I was expecting a strategy game in line with Fire Emblem and SMT games like Devil Survivor, Soul Hackers, and other over-head TBS. I do not like Persona, it's themes, it's style or it's pop aesthetic. If they had announced the game as Fire Emblem X Persona, I would never have been excited for the game. I understand people like Persona, I just don't.
@SquirrelNuts Oh, well I've never played either SMT or Persona so I wouldn't know much about them. I've heard both series were dark though, but nothing about any pop aesthetic in Persona or anything which is weird since you're saying it has a pop aesthetic.
What's with all the Triforces in that pic at the top of the article?
I want this more than a new Zelda.
this really looks interesting. might have to get it when it launches in the west.
It's a shame people aren't supporting the game, it looks fantastic! The level of detail it has in the trailers is great. Atlus hasn't dissapointedme yet, so this will be definitively on my radar when it comes west! Plus, Fire Emblem Fates is kinda... Meh. They ruined it with the two versions.
@Tsurii What would have been wrong with a proper cross-over? I would have rather seen a game where the best characters from Fire Emblem and SMT team up to take down an evil that threatens both their words.
Ok, I'm sure most people would dismiss that as boring and generic, but I might have been interested had they gone that route.
Now, we have a game about pop singers, the Fire Emblem characters simply being mirages that "lost parts of their body because of their training and fighting or some nonsense" and a feeling that this is less of a crossover, and more of a SMT or Persona game with Fire Emblem elements sprikled on top.
As a Fire Emblem fan, what is there to appeal to me if I have never cared to play the Persona series?
I may still play this game if it goes on sales or gets insanely high review scores, but I guess I expected something different from a game that started out as a crossover.
This game looks too Japanese. Sounds ridiculous, but hear me out.
How compelling can the narrative be in a high school setting? And J-pop really only appeals to the vast minority of western people. It doesn't help that any sense of immersion the game might give would be instantly broken by the cheering crowd that oversees your battles.
My subjective opinion, but I'm pretty sure this game mostly appeals to people who are engrossed in Japanese culture.
I hope Europe gets a Limited Edition for this
@Caryslan
I don't get you.
The story basically is "the best characters from Fire Emblem and SMT team up to take down an evil".
Not every game is made to appeal to everyone.
Though I agree that this game is VERY Japanese, maybe too japanese for some. But I am pretty delighted by how strange it is to me. =]
Unneeded body parts have degenerated?! That sounds... Strange
I'm not a fan of J-Pop, but even I can't wait to get this game. I have it preordered and can't wait to play it. We don't know enough about this game to judge it based on what little we've seen or read about. It still sounds awesome to me and I don't care what the rest of you think. I can't wait to play this crossover on the big screen.
My interest in the title comes from my understanding that Atlus is a superb video game developer, and I trust their decisions. However, as a big Fire Emblem fan... I do feel somewhat left down. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it.
I don't think Nintendo and Intelligent Systems will ever release a console Fire Emblem. Personally, while I do wish that Genealogy of the Holy War gets a western release, I feel the FE games are better off on portables.
I looks less like Fire Emblem though. The more I see it the more I say "This is Persona."
I'll keep an open mind, but until these CGI trailers stop coming in, I have no idea what to think about this game.
I don't mind the design changes for the ''mirages'', they generally look cool. The overall mood of the game, which matches neither Fire Emblem nor core SMT games but Persona alone, concerns me more.
Still, the game looks good, and I hope it'll be.
@Artwark
You do know that there already are more console Fire Emblems than handheld ones?
still confused about this one.but will buy for sure.there are not many turn based rpg's coming out so i dont need a masterpiece,if its fun an not realy bad i want it
MUST BUY!
I think it's funny the only Atlus-developed game on the Wii U is a Fire Emblem cross-over. Makes me wonder why they didn't put it on the more successful 3DS instead.
Nintendo Life comment sections have been strange lately...
@Artwark Radiant Dawn and Path of Radiance say hi. There's also the NES Fire Emblem...
I would very much like to see Intelligent Systems put an Advance Wars game on the Wii U (or future home console)... I don't really care about Persona, but I will be keeping my eyes on this one.
@CB85 I actually thought the kid in blue was shaking hands with Ganondorf there for a second, haha!
isnt the name of the game Illusory Revelations #FE ? or thats just the translation ?
I like the title, what's the problem with it?
Still, looking forward to this game. It's looking to be much better than Casual Emblem 2 aka Hipster Emblem 2 aka Fates. It's a little sad that we haven't had a truly good Fire Emblem game since 2007, but hopefully that'll change once NX is out. Not really counting on it though, since the series is becoming more of a mainstream generic series ever since Shadow Dragon rebooted it.
I am so eager to get this game! Looks very interesting!
@Tiefseemiez
Meh, not so sure about that. I'm a FE fan whose been complaining about how Awakening and Fates have both brought the death of Fire Emblem as a truly Nintendo hardcore series (I know people retaliate by saying you could increase difficulty levels, but that's a bullshit answer;ANY game can be made harder simply by turning up the numbers, but that doesn't matter one bit of the core game has no difficulty, complexity, and robust gameplay of it's own), but I'm personally really looking forward to this game.
Not only because the Wii U is starved for JRPGs, but also because I appreciate what it is. Atlus is taking the essence of Fire Emblem and applying it to the gameplay and genre that they're best at. It's not trying to be a wannabe Fire Emblem game like Awakening and Fates, but a fresh new JRPG.
@CB85 Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem X The Legend of Zelda confirmed. Gosh what an unwieldy name.
The most shocking revelation here was the existence of the .moe TLD.
This is an inspired project. You cannot argue that.
@AVahne Would you have rather seen Fire Emblem go the way of Metroid and F-Zero? Once Nintendo loses faith in a series, its very hard for a series to make a comeback. Look at the long road Star Fox has endured with its most recent game.
I don't get why people, especially older Fire Emblem fans hate the game so much. Older features like Perma Death are still in the game, you can ignore the pair up system, and you can raise the difficulty of the game.
I suppose the only argument that I understand is the one where the maps have no variety outside of Route the Enemy. But all of Fire Emblem's old features like Perma Death are still there.
The only difference is that casual players can enjoy the game as well.
I've played Fire Emblem since 7, and Awakening is my third favorite game in the series after Sacred Stones and Path of Radiance.
Now, my opinion is that Radiant Dawn was too hardcore for its own good. The enemy AI was jacked up in the game, your units were oftern pointlessly under powered, and the story was a jumbled mess.
If anything, Awakening brought me back into the series after I was dissapointed by Radiant Dawn.
I still don't know what to make of this game. I'm literally on the fence, but, I more than likely will at least rent it.
I'm not exactly a Persona expert.... But from what I have seen of this game it looks nothing like Persona.
@CYKC99 One time in history scientists thought that's how species evolved.
@AVahne Finally. someone sensible here. Fire Emblem just hasn't been the same since RD. I'm a bit scared. Fates took everything bad about Awakening, and multiplied it by 10, yet it'll probably sell in the millions. I guess that's what happens when a series is changed to pander to casual players.
@Caryslan "Would you have rather seen Fire Emblem go the way of Metroid and F-Zero?"
Personally, I'd rather a series die with it's honor intact rather than be dragged on as a former shell of itself. Now let me ask you something. If you had the choice, would you rather be shot and killed, or have your arms and legs ripped off, and forced to live the rest of your life as a limbless person?
Awakening took what was bad about the FE series and threw them into the trash can. Power to the casuals!
@AVahne Shadow Dragon was not a reboot, and Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem are perfectly great Fire Emblem games, Shadow Dragon personally being my favorite, though I completely understand people's issues with it, marking off New Mystery of the Emblem as "not good" is kind of an overstatement.
@Artwark Pretty much every console release was actually really good, while the handheld releases are also pretty good but not console level, and the quality of the recent games (namely Awakening and Fates) is definitely questionable. I want console FE back ;-;
Fire Emblem has already changed a fair bit in tone (they're still good, of course), so I'm fine with whatever this game brings to the table. There's no denying that its way different from what I expected of a "Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem" game, but it looks plenty interesting in its own ways.
@LztheQuack like being balanced?
@AVahne Awakening killed FE? Fates is bad? What logic is that?
1. Awakening revitalized the franchise. That is important.
2. Fates isn't even out.
Also, yes any game can be made harder but it doesn't automatically make it bad. Especially when they specifically point out what mode was intended for veterans like you and me. I will admit that awakening had balancing issues that made you too overpowered. But to complain about an easier mode is pretty ridiculous.
@SquirrelNuts it doesn't mean its going to be persona. I'm seeing elements being taken from all over Shin Megami Tensei. Not just persona.
@SamirMalik Essentially, yes, Awakening did kill Fire Emblem. It ruined pretty much everything about Fire Emblem that was good. Actual strategy, not just artificial difficulty in numbers, good map design, good plot, good character writing, minor amounts of fanservice etc. All of that was thrown away in Awakening, though Fates did fix SOME things on the gameplay side, so for me it might be better.
Awakening was an utter disappointment through and through for me, though I cannot speak for everybody.
@Comboman77 I get the part about strategy since the game was imbalanced. Pair Chrom and Robin for most of the game and eventually you'll only need them for most of the latter half. As a veteran playing veteran mode on my first play through that bored me until the climax on Grima's back which gave me chills for the same reason Bayo 2 bosses do.
One thing I really don't get is why people keep saying stuff about the character writing in older games being better when there was almost none in most characters besides the introductions. After that most just become pawns. They never explore those characters again. This is the problem Awakening tried to fix in the support conversations which is why you see so many fan favorites. They allow you to look further into a character's personality and backstory, which I appreciate because characters are the thing you're being with for the whole game, minute by minute. So why not get to know them better? If gameplay won't be the thing everyone remembers Awakening by, which I don't think it will be, then the characters will.
I also don't get the story side of things since FE would usually use a simplistic story nor do I get the fanservice zinger that other vets label Awakening as having too much of when there is barely any. I hear the story is more complicated in Fates, which is good.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...