Fire Emblem if: lots of new details and scans from Famitsu magazine

14 May 2015 Lite_Agent Famitsu, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright & Conquest, Intelligent Systems

This week, Famitsu magazine is dedicating a 8-page article to Fire Emblem if, including an interview with the developers.

Game details

Some details already leaked earlier this week, like the new Phoenix Mode. The game will have the usual difficulty modes (normal, hard, lunatic), but also the Casual Mode and the Phoenix Mode (which are both independent of the difficulty modes).

Phoenix Mode is described (in the game) as a mode where your allies cannot die. The developers explain that it was created for players who might be interested in the game, but are afraid it might be too hard for them. It’s especially important for the Nohr campaign, where you can’t train outside of the main story.

Instead of restarting the game, players will be able to lower the difficult and change the mode (but they won’t be able to go back to Classic Mode). The developers also confirmed that there is no disadvantages to using the Phoenix Mode: no locked endings or anything. Classic Mode is for players looking for a strong sense of accomplishment when beating the game. Phoenix Mode is for players who want to enjoy the story in a casual way.

To compensate for the removal of weapon durability, developers have tried to make players think pretty hard about what kind of weapons they should use, according to the situation. For example, one weapon can lower the enemy’s critical rate, while another maybe be extremely powerful but hard to attack twice with. What’s more, Hoshido and Nohr both have their own weapons.

Introduced in Fire Emblem Awakening, the Dual and Pair UP systems have been reworked. Now, the two friendly units can adopt stances:

– Attack Stance: occurs when a friendly unit is next to the main unit while attacking. The friendly unit will launch a follow-up attack once the main unit is done attacking.
– Guard Stance: the two units combine together, which boosts the stats of the main unit. The characters have a Shield gauge, which seems to be related to the Guard Stance.

In the Hoshido campaign, you can take part in optional battles, but to do so, you need to pay a fee (using the in-game currency, obviously). When you initiate one, you can pick up a location from a list (suspension bridge, mountainside village, royal capital plaza, grasslands, a fortress, etc.).

Next, we have some details about the characters, starting with the Avatar: by default, it will in the Dark Prince(ss) class. Just like in Fire Emblem Awakening, you can customise it freely: build, hair, hair colour (27 instead of 20 this time around) and face, but also hair accessories and facial features.

And just like the Avatar, the heroine (Aqua, seen with a Bronze Naginata in the scans below) was originally the princess of Nohr, but she was taken prisonner by Hoshido under some rather mysterious circumstances. Her class is Songstress, and she can use Sing to allow allies to move again.

The magazine also introduces the eight royal family members from Hoshido and Nohr (who are all the siblings of the Avatar):

Nohr

– Marx (Paladin)
– Camilla (Revenant Knight)
– Leon (Dark Knight)
– Elise (Rod Knight)

Hoshido

– Ryouma (Trueblade, most likely a new name for the Swordmaster class)
– Hinoka (Pegasus Warrior)
– Takumi (Bowman)
– Sakura (Priestess)

Both Nohr and Hoshido revere the Divine Ancestral Dragon, and the members of the Royal Family (the eight characters above) possess the blood of the dragon (which is why they have exceptional abilities, like the Dragon’s Vein ability). Dragon’s Vein is a really useful ability, which can work to your advantage or disadvantage (depending on how you use it). Be careful though: the enemy can also use it!

Next: some details about four classes:

– Sorcerers (Nohr): they excel in magic;
– Brave Heroes (Nohr): they’re heroes, wielding swords and axes;
– Oni (Hoshido): mace-wielding warriors, reknown for their strength and defense;
– Priestesses (Hoshido): maidens who use batons to heal allies.

Finally, we have some minor details about the game. First, SpotPass, StreetPass, Local and Internet functionalities have been confirmed, though we still don’t quite know what they’re all about. One of the screenshots below show a Clan Soldier, which seems to indicate that there’s at least one faction in the game besides Hoshido and Nohr.

Interview

Next, we have an interview with Kouhei Maeda (Intelligent Systems, Director), Yokota Genki (Nintendo, Director), Masahiro Higuchi (Intelligent Systems, Producer).

Genki Yokota first starts by explaining that Fire Emblem if was always about two massive countries locked in a mutual struggle. Having the story change based on the main character’s choice is something both Nintendo and Intelligent Systems got really excited about when the game was still in the planning stages.

For Masahiro Higuchi, the Fire Emblem series has always tried to appeal to both existing fans and newcomers, which is why Casual Mode was added to Fire Emblem Awakening, for example. Fire Emblem if became two games for several reasons: the branching story, but also the various difficulty modes and ways to play.

He definitely recommends that players start with the version that appeal the most to them, and he’d be quite happy if players asked themselves what the other side is like when they’re playing the Nohr or Hoshido route.

Next, Genki Yokota explains that the volume of content (story, chapters) in each of the three scenarios is equal to Fire Emblem Awakening’s, which means that Fire Emblem if does provide quite a lot of content. With the branching routes, allies become enemies: it’s not the first time a Fire Emblem game has had such themes, but never before had it been done on so big a scale.

According to Masahiro Higuchi, after Radiant Dawn, the developers realised that Fire Emblem games were always hard to get into for newcomers (as they were built according to the “ideal Fire Emblem style”. With Fire Emblem if, they wanted to make an even bigger game than Fire Emblem Awakening, but one that could also appeal to newcomers.

He also mentions an Arena-like system in the game, but we will have to wait for more information about it. He did explain that instead of earning experience, you will be able to get something else… what exactly? It’s a secret to everybody (except the developers, obviously!), just like the allies for the third route (sold as DLC)!