New Main Series Fire Emblem Title Coming to Nintendo Switch in 2018

There goes all my money

Get hyped!

Day 1. Easy. I did not expect this, and am extremely excited. Finally another console FE!

(Throws credit card at screen)

So, I am going to be so broke. I loved the WiiU because it had great games. But the Switch? Has games in the franchises I love most! And it is in a form factor that I prefer to boot. If 1080 or waverace get announced, I am convinced that this system was made just for me.

Probably late 2018. Might have to wait until late this year to see it.

I'm hoping this will be a good one. Though I think this series will never be what it once was.

Main reason I am buying a switch

And why did Nintendo not show this off during the direct?

Who runs Nintendo's marketing department? A bunch of Monkeys?

They are launching a new console in less then 2 months, and they show off a new 3DS Fire Emblem, 30 seconds of footage for a warriors spinoff that is also coming to the 3DS, and spent most of the direct on a mobile game.

I love Nintendo, but you really have to laugh at some of the decisions.

Now there's a reason to buy a Switch! Will probably pick up the console the day this comes out, along with Splatoon 2 and Mario Odyssey (maybe Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will even be out!)

Finally, a Fire Emblem that isn't being released on a seven year old handheld.

HD FIRE EMBLEEEEMM!

I don't expect much from this. The series has been on a decline for a while now.

@Caryslan If they announced it during the direct, people would have tuned in today expecting to hear more about it. Instead, people tuned in for Warriors and were wonderfully surprised.
It makes complete sense to me, especially as they had nothing to show

It makes sense that Fire Emblem Echoes is being released on 3DS then.

Finally!!!

The handheld entries are great, they really are, and FE Echoes will surely be a masterpiece. 4 more months people!

But I've been waiting for a proper console entry for so long. You heard him? "The first console entry to release since Radiant Dawn". Ya, this is gonna be the real deal here.

YES, YES and YES ! Now please Nintendo announce a main series Pokémon for Switch and I would think it was my birthday.

Let's be honest here though, it will be on the Switch in 2018 at it's EARLIEST - even the trailer said PLANNED for 2018.

I want to raise another point though ... can anyone remember Nintendo announcing a game, without a title, without a concept trailer, or really, without so much as a piece of concept art? I think we'd be lucky to see the game late next year in Japan ...

This is all a bit unsettling to me. There is so much vagueness here (thinking about the SMT concept trailer, the "statement" by Sega, the almost silly 'promise' of XBC2 launching in 2017), that I cannot shake the feeling that Nintendo is grasping at straws here. All of that cannot inspire confidence with 3rd party developers ... just flat-out impossible.

EDIT: Gee, I should mention that despite all that concern, I'm excited for the FE on Switch - best reason to eventually get one so far!

Great news! Great direct, perhaps a little bit short but I don't think FE fans could have reasonably asked for any more!

Wait, what? Radiant Dawn came out 10 years ago? Am I that freaking old?

Great news, hopefully this will turn out fine.

@Ryu_Niiyama ..lol ..here you go..

I really hope Intelligent Systems aren't speading themselves too thin. At least in that weird Gaiden remake game they seem to be toying with new ideas, and in the case of the Switch one they won't have to focus on three stories at once. I'm excited for a new console Fire Emblem, especially if they go a bit more strategy and a bit less RPG this time.

@Caryslan To be fair, there's nothing to announce. The Switch would obviously get its own Fire Emblem game, it's just common sense.

@Ralek85 They also might not want to detract attention away from all the other FE releases this year. Releasing any sort of imagery could get confusing for those who aren't aware.
I would expect late 2018, but I have confidence in them making the year.

Echoes 3DS can't wait
Warriors switch/3DS not interested
2018 switch can't wait
Heroes mobile can't wait

I'm hyped beyond words. Four, count em', FOUR Fire Emblem games! Is this the year of Fire Emblem?

This is a no brainer, since the Switch is basically combining their handheld and console business into one I'm not impressed with the Switch as of yet, but I have a feeling by late 2018, it will be a system to definitely have.

@SH007ME Unless it spits out the game in exchange I will have to wait like everyone else.

@Ralek85 There were a few in the January 2013 Direct (e.g. SMTxFE, Yoshi Wii U, Zelda Wii U) .

@Ralek85 the almost silly 'promise' of XBC2 launching in 2017
I don't know why people find that so unrealistic. XCX was released on April 2015. By the time XC2 launches, they'd have had more than two and a half years to make that title.

Don't get me wrong, it's very tight timing, but taking into account that they will probably reuse the engine and lots of assets from XCX, I don't think it's as unrealistic as, say, promising Breath of the Wild for 2015.

Here come the games all the Debby Downers said weren't gonna be on the Switch.

@MarcelRguez If it's supposed to come out on 2018, then there must be something to show off, even if its a teaser trailer.

I'm sorry, this just reeks of what happened with Smash 4 back in 2011 where they announced at E3 that "Yeah, we totally got a Smash Bros game in the works for the Wii U, and Sakurai is involved, but nothing to show yet!"

Which was so desperately grasping at straws, even Sakurai was not signed on to make Smash 4 yet. And then had to wait until 2013 to finally get something.

This just sounds like Nintendo trying to save face by saying "Oh hey, we know you can get everything on 3DS and Mobile, but we have a Switch Fire Emblem coming in 2018!)

It's good news, but everyone knew the Switch was getting a new Fire Emblem game. A little teaser would have gone a long way in my opinion.

yes nintendo !!! thank you

Cool, but I need gameplay footage before I'll get hyped.

Would actually showing anything actually have accomplished anything apart from making a few people here salivate a bit more?

Frankly the confirmation of a Switch FE was all I really needed.

Gotta save a bit for the E3 Direct.

@Caryslan I don't disagree, but I also think Nintendo has been more careful about how they approach games that will not be available soon. This is their first 2018 title, if I'm not mistaken. It would seem they were serious about not announcing titles not too long in advance. I don't think they want to repeat something like the January 2013 direct, crowd-pleasing as it was.

@thesilverbrick read your comments in Liz Lemon's voice 😂

Assuming Switch has gone down in price, I'll pick one up with this game.

This is the same situation with the FE SMT crossover that was announced with the Wii U; over 3 years later, we get Tokyo Mirage Sessions ( which was, admittedly, a great game) But I wouldn't be rushing out to buy a Switch in the hopes of playing Fire Emblem on it anytime soon...

Finally, another honest-to-goodness console Fire Emblem. Or, it's another portable Fire Emblem, I guess. It's whatever you want.

"It's a console now, it's a portable now..."

I wanted Nintendo to at least show a teaser. Just a little a teaser,it's not much.

Switch already has a better stable of confirmed first-party content than the Wii U did. All we need now are Animal Crossing, Metroid, and Pikmin.

@Nik-Davies Yeah, I don't know about that - maybe, hopefully, though the lack of an actual title is even harder to kinda explain away ^^ At the very least, I would have expected a title and some concept art for the main protagonist(s).

@MarcelRguez

Maybe I was a bit loose with my language there, but as for a release of XCX2 in Japan within this year, I'm with you. That is going to be tight for sure, but not impossible, given that it will hardly be a "from the ground up" new game, but "just" a sequel.
Now, XCX on WiiU released in Japan at the end of April. It did not hit the 'West' until early December.

That basically leaves four options:
A) There is MUCH less translation to do for the sequel, allowing for a more or less simultaneous launch - We don't have any reason to believe that at this point.
B) The translation effort itself is some kind of simultaneous undertaking - not sure how well that would work in practice, but assuming the game is pretty far along already, it's certainly not impossible.
C) The Japanese version is already done, and they are withholding it for a simultaneous launch - unlikely given the time frame you yourself described, but also not out-of-this-world impossible.
D) Well ... the development and translation process is similar to that of the previous game, meaning XCX2 will launch within a month or two from the Switch release in Japan, and will indeed hit the West 8 or so months later, just in time for the holidays 2017 - unlikely as we've heard nothing about it yet, and there is virtually no reason for Nintendo to not tell anyone that April this year XCX2 will be launching in Japan.

I just don't like the odds on any of these scenarios, hence I have to conclude that "2017" is 'optimistic' PR talk. I'd love to be wrong though, at least as long as the game does not come out in 2017 only to end up being one of those 'rushed jobs' the industry at large is so fond of releasing.

@Grumblevolcano Really? I remember SMTxFE having a concept trailer at least, didn't it? Not to mention that this was a cross-over title, not even developed by Nintendo itself for the most part. Everyone was like ... what is this? Could it be a dress-up game? - Even Atlus/Nintendo were obviously unclear on those questions. I doubt this holds true for "FE Switch" ^^

Again though, if they are now suddenly ok with presenting games this way, why not throw folks a bone at the Switch presentation. I mean, let's not kid ourselves, a "Samus will return in 2017 ... SWITCH!" at the end of the show, would have totally shifted the conversation away from all the other stuff, just like that - bang! 'Cos we all know Retro is working on SOMETHING, aren't they? ^^

I'm not saying this is the way the need to do it, but I wonder what made them reconsider their policy of announcing games, when they have to show something for it - it's hard to draw any conclusion besides ... announing stuff was all they had to offer.

I'm not hating, but honestly, what other explanation is there? A drip-feed strategy? I guess sure, possibly, but seeing under how much pressure they are to perform right out of the door with the Switch come March, I just .. I mean, again, applying reason here ... can't see that making much sense. Anyways, Nintendo is being difficult again - what else is new? ^^

@Ralek85 I'd argue that case A is all but confirmed, actually. Since the game is a sequel to the first Xenoblade, I wouldn't be surprised if it features much, much less text than XCX, which is just gargantuan.

Besides that:
I'm not hating, but honestly, what other explanation is there? A drip-feed strategy?
I'm absolutely positive that's the case. They are making damn sure there are no droughts this time in terms of games, even if that means they're planning to release a first-party retail title per month on average. It makes sense that their advertisement complements that release schedule, they can't show all their cards at once.

@MarcelRguez Wait a second, how do you get from "sequel" to a massive drop in text or for that matter dialogue, battle 'cries', cutscenes and so on and so forth. Isn't it normally the other way round? "Sequel" as in bigger and better (well, argueably not better in many case, but at least that would be the intention normally, wouldn't it?)?

Most pitches for sequels normally go like this: More characteres, more levels, more animations, more gear, bigger areas, more plantes, more voice lines, more features, more skills and so on and so forth ...

Edit: "It makes sense that their advertisement complements that release schedule, they can't show all their cards at once."

Absolutely, but again, first, they need the Switch to succeed right away. They just can't afford months and months of slow-but-steady-going, at least that is my impression. Secondly, even if that is precisely what they are planning, than simple math suggests, that they still don't have much planned for this year. If they had, they would have more to say then MK8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2/Deluxe whatever ... also two new games, Mario (duh) and Arms - well, at least one new IP. What I mean is, assuming they had even close to one proper first-party title per month, they would have at least shown folks their cards say up to and including June. E3 is a nice opportunity to throw a bunch of annoucements out after all. Anyways, right now, this would suggest that there will be plenty of Directs in the coming months, all annoucing at least one game to be released within months or mere weeks, basically just as they did with FE Echoes.

If that turns out to be true, than fantastic. It's still weird though to have a Sega guy on Stage talking about stuff that might or might not happen, if you could instead display 2 or 3 more Switch games available in the near future ... but hey, who am I to judge ^^ If they have to ration their releases this drastically, to turn out a presentation as they did, well, again, I cannot derive confidence from that, even if it is intentional and indeed part of a planned strategy.

@Lord oh come on. Warriors looks amazing. Can't wait for it!!!

This is just awesome! I didn't play my first Fire Emblem game until Awakening. I really liked it and I enjoyed Fates, too. I wanted to see the series on a main console but the Wii and GC versions of the game are so expensive. I'm really excited by this and its now the first 2018 game that excites me for the Switch. I already have several games that excite me for 2017, too. This is going to be a huge hit with fans. Seeing Fire Emblem in glorious 1080p HD up on the big screen will be great. Day 1 buy for me. I'm also gonna buy Echoes this May and Warriors in the fall. Intelligent Systems is on a role!

@LeRaposa and more popular than ever before.

@Ralek85 You remember that game called The Legend of Zelda for Wii U?

I'm thrilled! I haven't gotten into Fire Emblem before, but this is the perfect opportunity to. The 3DS's poor resolution prevented me from fully enjoying its stellar game library, but now I have no inhibitors. Is it too much to hope for HD ports of previous FE games (and other 3DS games) to the Switch?

2018 start to be a good time to get a switch

@Ralek85 Are you familiar with the series? Xenoblade Chronicles is a linear RPG with a focus on exploration. XCX is a massive open-world RPG inhabited by lots and lots of NPCs. This is a sequel to the first one, not to XCX.

And just for the record, I am hoping for more Directs as today's, but I'm not expecting a lot in terms of third-party support unless the thing sells gangbusters.

Keeping those rpg's rolling huh? That's what's up!

@Ryu_Niiyama Man i want snowboarding games to make a comeback!! (and extreme sports games in general)

Sad there are no Fates or Awakening ports And still no Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn remaster! But i'll take a vague "mainline game".

This is the one people actually care about, not Fire Emblem Warriors.

@whodatninja well we are getting steep so there is that.

@Siskan I hear you on that. Recent titles seem way to "shipping" and "dating sim" oriented for my taste. I couldn't take Fates seriously at times.

@ACrate81 not at all. Tokyo mirage sessions was made by atlus (the smt guys). This fire emblem will be made by intelligent systems (THE GUYS WHO MAKE FIRE EMBLEM).

@impurekind I care about both.

@whodatninja it's going to be an all new title. Isn't that better than a remake/port?

@TwilightOniAngel e3

@J-Manix98 Right. I wonder where this series would be today if they had never gotten that ultimatum about selling enough copies or the series will come to an end.

Yay! That's me getting a Switch then. 😁🎉✨
Hope there's a bundle with a recoloured system and that the price has dropped a bit by Xmas.

Well, this is fantastic! More Fire Emblem, and now we will have it on HD and on a big screen.

This is what we wanted, not more ports. And to those saying it is planned - the first thing we saw about Fates was the intro video with Azura dancing.

Great news.

Probably will see more at E3, if not early next year.

Didn't expect a FE15 reveal alongside what is likely going to be FE16.

Well I mean anyone could have told you that the Switch was getting a FE game but hey, at least we know it exists. Because it's so vague and it has a 2018 release date I think it could get pushed back but that's not a big deal.

Yes. So much YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!

I'm very happy with this, even if the announcement was vague.

Hell yeah, but a long wait! Love some fire emblem

Nintendo wants you to know it is betting on Fire Emblem. This was the best way to announce this. It's a long way off, but FE fans will find out they need to buy a Switch eventually.

@Nintendo_Ninja intelligent systems isn't known for delays.

It's a ways off, but I'll keep an eye on it!

My first reaction is to be really excited about this. But I'm afraid FE Awakening can never be topped for me. I didn't even like Fates very much. I'll wait and see what this brings!

Wow...
If next Nintendo Direct is Animal Crossing Switch version + video trailer, my heart can really really STOP beating, died in Hyped and Happiness. XD

The thought of this being on the horizon fills me with hope. In the meantime Echoes will keep us all entertained, as will Warriors and maybe even the mobile title. I said 'maybe!'

@Mogster Haha, I could only hope to achieve Liz Lemon's expert sarcasm.

Can't wait to learn more about the next installment in the franchise.

Don't worry everyone. Fire Emblem on the Switch is going to have only Toads as NPCs.

@Caryslan
There will be more, directs closer to the release of the switch.

Not usually one to demand graphics but the Fire Emblem art and cinematics are gorgeous, please let the rest of the game look that nice

Hmmmm

I wonder if there's going to be yet another magical vortexy worm hole type thing from the future, conveniently bringing forth the protagonists' spawn into the present to be used alongside their mums and dads? Or they could try something novel like having a generation delay in the story to allow the children to grow up? Like in the Jap only SNES game. Without breeding cousins though.

Silly story bits aside, this is great news. A part of me hopes the story and mechanics go back to the original GBA entry, still the best in the series in my opinion.

@Caryslan nobody knew.. we knew we were getting warriors - not a new game. And rumours had said a port of fates!

Games take multiple years to develop. I doubt its in a state worth showing as people will whine it's either got bad frame rate, or buggy or any number of things. Its clearly 12-23 months away which is a hell load of time to wait yet. Its probably not even full alpha yet!

And more importantly - I'd say it was also not shown so it didn't detract from the Mobile game and Warriors - which are all this year. Why show a game that's incomplete, buggy and years away when you have two coming out within 11 months.

What, is their new strategy to become the new Vita? 90% JRPGs with the niche sales demographic to match? Microsoft and Sony must be quaking in their boots by now...

@MarcelRguez I am familiar, though I don't really understand the difference. If I recall correctly, the first Xenoblade was pretty much a sprawling adventure as well, while the actual story mission in XCX were also linear. Sure, you were free to do all kinds of stuff in between, tackle 'bonding" quests as you wished, and yeah, there was an even stronger focus on the open-world, e.g. on ressource gathering in XCX, but overall, XCX was an evolution and extension of the existing concept of the first Xenoblade.

I'm pretty confident, the next Xenoblade will be just that another evolution and extention of the existing concepts of the previous two games in the franchise. There will definitely be a plenty of exploration and open-word adventure to be had, and there will absolutely be some kind of mostly linar story quests/mission to experience. I mean, I believe in the short teaser we got, we already saw a character riding a 'mount' through what looked like a world straight out of XCX - obviously, because as you said, there obviously reusing assets and apparently the same('ish) engine.

@faint Not if you havent played any of them

@Solid_Stannis Um, no it isn't. Fire Emblem is one of their more popular series as of late, and Awakening and Fates did quite well.

@Ralek85 I'm only saying that because Tetsuya Takahashi mentioned that he wants to go back to the style of the first game. Meaning: a more plot-driven, linear game. If that's the case, I don't see them implementing that amount of text again, even if they opt for an open-world adventure. I'd be surprised if XCX was very profitable, I'm sure they have realized they have to cut costs somewhere. That and the time frame for the release of XC2 makes me believe that, at least.

Very hyped!!! What great direct!

Best news about the Switch yet!

Finally a reason to own a Switch but I need some gameplay.

Why are all the good Fire Emblem games only got teased but that crappy FE Heroes got all the spotlight?

Hopefully it isn't a Fates/Awakening port, or that it also hits New 3DS.

@whodatninja so you would rather have a remake of games that are readily available (you can buy them right now) as opposed too a whole new experience????

@MarcelRguez I wasn't aware of that, but yeah, that would make quite a bit of sense. I'm certain though XCX was hardly meant to be all that profitable in the first place. It's a prestige project, at least after a fashion. It's Nintendo throwing the "core audience" a bone ...

If it was only about profit, they'd have to keep churning out 2D Mario games, MKs and, dunno, Animal Crossing games I guess.

Still, by jRPG standarts, I feel even Xenoblade was hardly all that linear, or at least confined, and more importantly, open-world/ sandbox is all the rage. It's even affecting Zelda to a degree like never before. It would be weird, if they were dialing back that aspect in one of their prestige projects like XC2. Not impossible, but certainly weird - on the other hand, Nintendo is constantly defying logic, aren't they? so ... this might make "sense"

@Solid_Stannis I think the strategy is to become the new 3DS. 90% RPGS with a niche sales demographic to boot.

I don't think anyone would complain that's a terrible strategy...It's better than making a badly failed bid at becoming The Best Place To Play(TM) COD, Battlefield, and Doom. They're not going to own that market, ever. But they have a pretty significant grip on the RPG market. It's not as big a market, but it's a more long-term loyal market. They've acknowledged 3DS as being defined by RPGs, hoped (but failed) to make WiiU the same kind of home for RPGs. No harm solidifying a market you already are a key player in.

Vita got stuck with all the B-tier Anime-based RPGs. That's niche even in Japan.

Fire Emblem is a top shelf IP, moreso in Japan than here, but it's been growing significantly in the west since Awakening.

@faint Having ports do NOT cancel out sequels, where do you get this logic? Also, Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn are NOT readily available and to play the other games you need a 3DS and a ton of DLC. So yeah I would love complete ports of these games to the Switch. The 3DS got a ton of Wii U ports, why do people get upset when it's the other way around???