Fire Emblem if: the two versions will have different victory requirements, more details
Yesterday, 4Gamer.net published an interview with Masahiro Higuchi (Project Manager, from Intelligent Systems) and Hitoshi Yamagami (Producer, from Nintendo). One of the topics they talked about is the new Fire Emblem titles, called Fire Emblem if: Hoshido / Nohr. As explained before, the story isn’t the only element that is different between the two versions.
Masahiro Higuchi explains that the Hoshido version is more aimed at fans who discovered the Fire Emblem series with Fire Emblem Awakening, or those who will be playing a Fire Emblem game for the very first time. Therefore, this version was designed to be easier and more beginner-friendly than the Nohr one.
On the other hand, the Nohr version of Fire Emblem if is significantly harder, with less money and experience points distributed, but also different and harder victory requirements. Of course, players will still have to beat the general or all the enemies on the map, but those are only the basic requirements.
Indeed, on top of that, players will also have to meet certain conditions, such as suppressing enemies, breaking through enemy lines, or defending their base. What’s more, some of the maps will have a limited number of turns. Apparently, there’s quite a lot of “map gimmicks” in this version of the game.
Masahiro Higuchi explains that there’s major differences in the maps and how the game is played. According to him, players will be able to feel satisfied by playing just one of the two versions. That being said, if they were to play both, they will be quite surprised by the differences.
As for the third route, sold as DLC, its difficulty is “harder than Hoshido, but easier than Nohr”. And if you want the Nohr route, you can still lower the difficulty at any time. FInally, the developers confirm that players with each version will be able to communicate with each other even if they don’t own the same version (probably for StreetPass).
Hitoshi Yamagami then reminds us that the story of the two versions isn’t completely different.
During the first few chapters of the game, the story is exactly the same. But at one point, the story branches in two directions: in fact, in the digital version of the game, players will have to chose between the two. For the producer, this choice isn’t just about the story, it’s also about giving players the freedom to chose the side they want as allies.
In Hoshido, your character will be part of the howtown he/she was born in, while in Nohr, they will be part of the country they were raised in. While the characters are the same, you will get to see different sides of their personalities depending on the version you chose. One character will be an ally in one version, but an enemy in the other…
But players don’t have to worry: both sides have their own attractive characters, so players will get to meet great allies no matter which patch they chose.
For Intelligent Systems, having two versions (plus the extra storyline, as DLC) made development rather hectic, as if they were making three games at once. They decided to do things that way right after they completed Fire Emblem Awakening, during their period of free time.
The developers also talked a bit about the digital version, which is different from the retail version. Hitoshi Yamagami explains that it’s a bit of an experiment for the series. Once you’ve picked up a route, you’ll need to download the additional data for it (of course, you don’t have to pay for that), as the digital version does not contain the data for the two routes.
Then, once you’ve made your choice, you will be able to buy the other route as DLC. The good news is: you won’t have to replay through the first five chapters of the game when you decide to go check out the other route. There’s actually a special, separate save file on the 3DS, with data up to chapter 5, which won’t be overwritten once you’ve picked up a route. In fact, you can even save directly on your console, not just on the cartridge.
Fire Emblem if (3DS) will come out on June 25th in Japan, and in 2016 in Europe and North America.
Source: 4Gamer.net
Via: Siliconera / Serenes Forest
