Now that Fire Emblem Fates is out in Japan, Famitsu have started turning their attention to the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei inspired game coming out later this year: Genei Ibun Roku #FE.

Last week’s issue included a sizable feature on the game, although most of the information was already presented at E3 or on the game’s official website.

In addition, there was a lengthy developer interview that contained several juicy tidbits–and this week, Famitsu has published the full interview online, which you can read here (in Japanese).

To save some manpower, you can find the most interesting parts–in English–at Persona Central.

Some other parts I thought were interesting…

Why a RPG?

Early on, the game was planned to be a strategy RPG set in modern times, where you would see things like “pegasus knights swooping below the streets of Shibuya.”

(Note: A similar scene occurs near the start of the E3 trailer.)

However the Atlus team got the feeling that they were simply creating a poor imitation of Fire Emblem, devoid of Atlus’s distinct personality.

So it was decided that the game would be created with Atlus’s strengths in mind–in other words, a modern RPG about believable youths who grow to overcome their struggles.

Shadow Dragon and Awakening

The developers suggest that “most” of the Mirages will be based on Shadow Dragon and Awakening characters. So far all the Mirages we’ve seen fit that notion.

This is because Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was, of course, the very first Fire Emblem, while Awakening was the most recent (barring Fates), so they have the most recognition amongst fans.

Cain but not Abel?

(Note: Cain and Abel were the original Cavalier pair.)

When asked about why Cain was chosen instead of Abel for Toma’s Mirage, this was solely because Cain’s personality fit Toma’s more, since they’re both hot-headed youths.

However this doesn’t necessarily mean that Abel isn’t in the game.

Game length

This was widely reported last week, but in case you missed it, the main story of Genei Ibun Roku #FE will take around 30 hours to complete.

In case you thought that’s short for RPG standards, then you’ll be pleased to know that all the side stories (and things like that) will take around a similar time to complete.

(So the game will be roughly 60 hours if you do everything.)