Fire Emblem Echoes: details from Famitsu (new characters, gameplay systems, more)

Update: the official website was opened in Japan. Click here for details about the story, characters, gameplay systems, amiibo, and more (including soundtrack samples and more footage)! And click here for the remaining detaisl from Famitsu magazine!

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This week, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be featured in Famitsu magazine, with a fresh batch of details. And thanks to the usual leaks, we don’t even have to wait until the magazine is actually out before getting some of the details (though be warned: they may be inaccurate!).

First, we have the difficulty settings: there’s two of them, Normal and Hard. You can also chose between Classic (units that fall in battle are lost forever) and Casual (units that fall in battle come back to life once the battle is over). It looks like the Phoenix Mode introduced in Fire Emblem Fates will be nowhere to be found in Fire Emblem Echoes.

Next, we have a new gameplay system called Mila’s Gear. When used in battle, it allows you to go back in time during battle, though only for one unit at a time. This allows you to cancel an action (for example), though you need to be careful: you can only use that feature a certain number of times, preventing you from abusing it. Save it for those times when you really mess up!

As mentioned in the GameSpot preview, there is no weapon triangle in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. However, the terrain is pretty important: it actually has a direct impact on battles. For example, in the forest, the accuracy of enemies drop by 40%, so you need to take advantage of that. This is most definitely one of the ways to get an advantage in battle, mentioned in the GameSpot preview.

As for magic, it’s not affected by the terrain, but as mentioned in the preview, mages lose some HP when they use their spells.

Finally, here’s the three new and returning characters revealed in Famitsu magazine:

• Veract / Belcto (official spelling TBC) (voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki): the newpew of the Rigel King, and a member of the aristocracy (something he always put a lot of emphasis on);
• Faye (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki): a childhood friend of Alm’s. She’s member of the resistance army led by Alm, and she wishes nothing more but to stay by his side. Her starting class is Villager;
• Silque (voiced by Yuka Inokuchi): it’s from her that Alm received the Mila’s Gear mentioned above, after saving her from thieves (who kidnapped her). Her starting class is Cleric.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS) comes out on April 20th in Japan, and May 19th in Europe and North America.

Source: Famitsu
Via: Hachima Kikou