Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia revealed for the Nintendo 3DS, out in May

Nintendo decided to start today’s Fire Emblem Direct with a major surprise: a new Fire Emblem game… for the Nintendo 3DS! It’s called Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and it’s a re-imagining of the second Fire Emblem game (Fire Emblem Gaiden).

This game offered a clever twist on the strategy genre, with exploration in towns and dungeons like in a traditional RPG. The two main characters are:

• Alm (Fighter)
• Celica (Priestess)

The chara-design was done by Hidari (and not Kozaki Yuusuke, who previously worked on Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates), with the animated cutscenes done by Studio Khara. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia features udpated graphics, with fully voiced dialogues. Gameplay-wise, the game will offer free roaming, dungeons, and flexible character progression.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be released on April 20th in Japan, and May 19th in Europe and North America (first time ever a Fire Emblem title comes out on the same day in those two regions). Along with the game, Nintendo will release two amiibo:

 

• Alm
• Celica
• Alm + Celica (only in North America, where the amiibo will only be released as part of the dual-pack).

Here’s the boxart for the game, and the amiibo packaging (North America):

But that’s not all: in Japan, the game will get several Limited Edition! Here’s what they are, and what they consist of:

Limited Edition (6 980 Yen)

• a physical copy of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
• Fire Emblem 0 card featuring Alm (also offered as an early purchase bonus for the regular edition)
• download code for some DLC content that will make it easier for you to progress through the beginning of the game. DLC will also be sold separately for players who are not buying the Limited Edition. Naturally, the various bits of DLC will only be unlocked once they’ve been released, even if you have a download code;
• SOUND SELECTION ECHOES: a soundtrack CD with tracks from the original game (Fire Emblem Gaiden) and this re-imagining.

Valentia Complete (10 980 Yen, My Nintendo Store exclusive)

 

• a physical copy of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
• Fire Emblem 0 card featuring Alm (also offered as an early purchase bonus for the regular edition)
• Fire Emblem 0 card featuring Celica, which happens to be holographic
• download code for some DLC content that will make it easier for you to progress through the beginning of the game. DLC will also be sold separately for players who are not buying the Limited Edition. Naturally, the various bits of DLC will only be unlocked once they’ve been released, even if you have a download code;
• SOUND SELECTION ECHOES: a soundtrack CD with tracks from the original game (Fire Emblem Gaiden) and this re-imagining;
• VALENTIA ARTBOOK: an artbook featuring concept-art, character illustrations, and more;
• Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection: a collection of animated cutscenes from various Fire Emblem games, from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn to Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia, including Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates… all in HD, on a Blu-Ray disc.

Valentia Complete (game-less) (6 980 Yen, My Nintendo Store exclusive)

 

• Fire Emblem 0 card featuring Alm (also offered as an early purchase bonus for the regular edition)
• Fire Emblem 0 card featuring Celica, which happens to be holographic
• download code for some DLC content that will make it easier for you to progress through the beginning of the game. DLC will also be sold separately for players who are not buying the Limited Edition. Naturally, the various bits of DLC will only be unlocked once they’ve been released, even if you have a download code;
• SOUND SELECTION ECHOES: a soundtrack CD with tracks from the original game (Fire Emblem Gaiden) and this re-imagining;
• VALENTIA ARTBOOK: an artbook featuring concept-art, character illustrations, and more;
• Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection: a collection of animated cutscenes from various Fire Emblem games, from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn to Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia, including Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates… all in HD, on a Blu-Ray disc.

 

Here’s the trailer for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on Nintendo 3DS:

And here’s a short clip from the official website (Japan):

The Upcoming Releases page has been updated!

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