| Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
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ファイアーエムブレム Echoes もうひとりの英雄王
Faiā Emuburemu Ekōzu: Mō Hitori no Eiyū-ō
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North American box art
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| N. America:
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May 19, 2017[1]
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| Japan:
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April 20, 2017[2]
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| Europe:
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May 19, 2017[3]
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| Australia:
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May 20, 2017[4]
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| S. Korea:
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Summer 2017[5]
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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a Nintendo 3DS remake of the 1992 Famicom title Fire Emblem Gaiden. The game was released in Japan in April 2017[2], and is set to be released worldwide in May, making this the first time that Fire Emblem Gaiden will see an international release.[1]
The game launched alongside of pair of amiibo figures of protagonists Alm and Celica.[1] In Japan, two special edition versions of the game were also released at launch. The "Limited Edition" version includes a Fire Emblem 0 card depicting Alm, a download code to unlock special add-on content, and a soundtrack CD including songs from the original Fire Emblem Gaiden and their remastered versions in Fire Emblem Echoes. The "Valentia Complete" edition also includes an art book, a Fire Emblem 0 Celica card, and the "Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection", a Blu-ray compilation of CG cutscenes used in this game and previous Fire Emblem games.[6]
In North America, the Special Edition includes a hardcover "Valentia Artbook", the "Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Sound Selection CD", a pin set depicting the battlefield sprites for Alm, Celica, and Marth; and a reversible cover based on the box art for the original Fire Emblem Gaiden.[7] The European Limited Edition includes all of the contents of the North American release, as well as including the Alm and Celica amiibo.[8]
Blurb
Expand
Nintendo website (original)
In 1992, the second game in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem Gaiden, launched exclusively in Japan. Now, for the first time, fans outside of Japan will get a taste of this classic game on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is inspired by the 1992 original, reimagined on a grander scale. Every aspect of the Fire Emblem Gaiden game's presentation has been updated, along with the game being fully voiced. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia recreates classic Fire Emblem gameplay with a modern twist, mixing in exploration of dungeons crawling with enemies.
Expand
Nintendo website (current)
In a continent torn asunder by warring gods, guide legions of soldiers through tactical battles—as this reimagined RPG epic invades the West!
Uncover the intertwining tales of heroes Alm and Celica, engage foes, fend off monsters, and explore 3D dungeons. Your prowess will grow as you master this melding of modern and legacy Fire Emblem™ gameplay.
In Valentia, battle is waged in the traditions of elder Fire Emblem™ games, when the rules of battle were simpler, yet the challenge formidable as ever. To stop the war and unify the continent, you'll have to balance the needs of an army of soldiers with unique stats. Play as iconic Fire Emblem character classes, such as Mage, Paladin, and Archer as you bring strategic skills to bear in the challenging grid-based battle system. When you encounter a dungeon on the world map, explore every corner in action-adventure style. You never know what secrets you may unearth.
- Unite a continent torn apart by mortal strife and warring gods
- Test your mastery of tactical warfare across a long campaign of grid-based battles
- A strategic mix of modern and legacy Fire Emblem™ gameplay, including permanent death of characters
- Explore new 3D dungeons in action-adventure style
- Fully voiced cinematics and story dialogue conjure up a stirring tale of loss and triumph
- Reimagines the Famicom classic, Fire Emblem™ Gaiden—never before released in the West
- Master iconic character classes; Paladins with heavy armor, airborne Pegasus Knights, bow wielding Archers, and more
Gameplay
Fire Emblem Echoes recreates the gameplay of Fire Emblem Gaiden using the engine of Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates. Dungeon exploration is set in a full 3D environment, while enemy encounters are fought using the series' traditional tactical strategy gameplay.[1] From the world map, players are able to visit towns to talk to people and gather supplies, enter dungeons, and battle enemy forces that appear.[9] The game once again features the Classic and Casual gameplay settings.[9]
Strategy gameplay remains similar to previous titles. The Pair Up feature from Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates, is notably absent from this installment, and while units are able to support each other, other support features such as Dual Attack and Dual Guard have also been removed.[9] Terrain effects are present in this title, though magic attacks ignore terrain.[9] A feature new to this game is Mila's Turnwheel, which can be used to rewind a certain number of turns.[10] Units are able to be upgraded at shrines of Mila's servants in dungeons.[9]
Fire Emblem Echoes is compatible with certain amiibo. Scanning the Alm and Celica amiibo allow the player to access special dungeons. In addition to this, Alm and Celica's stats can be saved onto their respective amiibo and summoned as a special unit for one turn. In addition, scanning the amiibo for Ike, Marth, Corrin, Roy, Robin, or Lucina summons a phantom of that character that can assist the player.[11]
Development
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was first announced during the January 18 Fire Emblem Direct.[1] Planning for a new Fire Emblem title had begun in 2015, following the completion of Fire Emblem Fates.[12] While series producer Hitoshi Yamagami had begun thinking about a new entry in the series for the upcoming Nintendo Switch console, it was too early to start developing a game for that system; instead, a number of Intelligent Systems staff suggested a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden that would allow them to implement features that they could not in Fates, such as dungeons and free-roaming, as well as the fact that the game's 25th anniversary was approaching.[12] The staff had invited the director of the previous games, Genki Yokota of Nintendo, to return for this game, but because he was busy at the time, they instead chose Nintendo's Kenta Nakanishi to be the game's director, due to his strong emotional attachment to the original two Fire Emblem games.[12] When development fully started, Yamagami had originally planned to have the game finished within one year and released in September 2016 (before the launch of the Nintendo Switch), but it was delayed to ensure player satisfaction.[12] According to Yamagami, the goal for this installment was to make newer fans of the series since Awakening aware of the older titles.[12]
When deciding on a name for the remake, the team was told by director Kenta Nakanishi to not use the name "New Gaiden", in order to prevent confusion as future titles used the word "gaiden" to refer to side chapters.[12] His specific goal for the name was to communicate that the game was a spin-off title without using the word "gaiden".[12] A number of possible titles were suggested to emphasize the game's remake status, such as adding "Re:" to the title, calling the game "再度(saido, lit. "once again/2nd time", a suggestion by foreign staff)", or simply using a capital "G".[12] The team wanted to use an English word for the title so that it could be used worldwide, and settled on "Echoes", as "older games could now “echo” to the modern players."[12]
The animated cutscenes were done by Studio Khara.[8] Like Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Fire Emblem Awakening before it, 8-4 handled the game's translation and localization.[13]
Reception
| Reviews
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| Famitsu
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37/40[14]
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Famitsu gave Fire Emblem Echoes a total score of 37/40 (9/9/10/9).[14]
Technical details
| Media:
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Nintendo 3DS Game Card
Digital download
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| Supported features:
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amiibo
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| Input / compatible controllers:
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Nintendo 3DS
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External links
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on other NIWA Wikis:
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References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Fire Emblem Direct 1.18.2017. Nintendo (YouTube; January 18, 2017). Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 ファイアーエムブレム Direct 2017.1.19 プレゼンテーション映像. Nintendo 公式チャンネル (YouTube; January 18, 2017). Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ "#FireEmblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia arrives on Nintendo #3DS on May 19th!" Nintendo UK on Twitter (January 18, 2017). Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ "#FireEmblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia arrives on Nintendo #3DS on May 20th!" Nintendo AU NZ on Twitter (January 18, 2017). Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Press Release from Nintendo of Korea (April 3, 2017). Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Japan getting Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia special editions. Nintendo Everything (January 18, 2017). Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Limited edition bundle on the way for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Nintendo (March 21, 2017). Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ↑ Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 The fate of Valentia is in your hands in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, coming to Nintendo 3DS family systems on May 19th. Nintendo UK (March 21, 2017). Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia – Two Armies. Nintendo (YouTube; March 21, 2017). Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Echoes: “Two Armies” Trailer Analysis. Serenes Forest (March 22, 2017). Retrieved March 27, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ Limited edition bundle on the way for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Nintendo (March 21, 2017). Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ↑ Jump up to: 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 Fire Emblem Echoes: Dengeki Developer Interview (April 2017). Kantopia (April 27, 2017). Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- Jump up ↑ John Ricciardi 決算地獄 on Twitter (March 25, 2017). Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ↑ Jump up to: 14.0 14.1 Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1480. Gematsu (April 11, 2013). Retrieved April 11, 2017.
