Even though Nintendo only just finished unwrapping the details on the Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem got its own dedicated Nintendo Direct to reveal more. Fans of the franchise thought they knew what to expect, but there turned out to be some surprises. I would even say there was just as much to be excited about if not more than most of the Switch presentation, even if this was smaller and had much less bombast. Anyway, to the details:
Going out of order to focus on the meat of the Direct; as previously teased Fire Emblem coming to both Android and iOS devices-and soon. Fire Emblem Heroes will include characters from all over the franchise’s long history as players will recruit these characters to fight in a new storyline. These legends will be redesigned by various artists to look distinctive for this game, and will also include brand new voice recordings. These extra efforts help set Heroes apart from Nintendo’s other mobile offerings. The standard turn based strategy of the series appears to translate well, as you’ll be able to either tap a target location or drag units based on your comfort. The game will have microtransactions, though it was clearly indicated that the same items available for purchase can be obtained through gameplay. Heroes offers multiple game modes outside of the story and I couldn’t identify any energy meters or timers limiting your time.
Right now, Nintendo is running a fan poll on the Heroes official site. The top male and female hero will be offered as event characters upon release. I would imagine other characters will be made available through this same method going forward. Looking at the poll, it looks like there are no characters being left out of possibility; for example I was able to select a non-playable but great character from Awakening. Things are looking good for this one. Fire Emblem Heroes will be available on Google Play and the App Store on February 2nd
Heroes was not the only brand new reveal today. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a complete remake of the Japanese-only Fire Emblem Gaiden. Rebuilt from the ground up while retaining aspects not seen in other entries; Echoes promises to be a very different experience. The story will be told through full voiceover and animated cutscenes and feature amiibo support; including two brand new amiibo figures. Echoes will carry other features over such as free range of the over map and even third-person dungeon crawling segments. Fire Emblem Echoes will be released on all 3DS models on May 19th.
While all of these are exciting, Nintendo does have a new console on the way; and it was not left out. Fire Emblem Warriors was already revealed last week, but we got our first look at gameplay today. If you’ve ever played a Warriors game, you know what to expect. That said, visually it does look like this game will take advantage of what upgraded hardware the Switch will offer. Warriors is also in development for New 3DS models. This last part is important-unlike Hyrule Warriors Legends, this new title will not work on 2DS or classic 3DS models. Seeing as Hyrule suffered a bit when played on these machines, this seems to be a good choice. Nintendo also confirmed that a brand-new Fire Emblem game will be released on the Switch in 2018, though it has no title.
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There is a whole lot of Fire Emblem out there for fans to be excited for indeed. Are you excited for the upcoming releases? Do you think other venerated franchises will see this same kind of push, such as Metroid? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for more on all of these titles!
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