Soon, we’ll be saying “goodbye” to 2019 (or depending on your time zone, it might already be gone). In any case, let’s use this opportunity to reflect on how this year treated the Fire Emblem series!
Disclaimer: This isn’t meant to be an objective review of the year, but the author’s personal take on things.
Three Houses
Obviously, the biggest event this year was the worldwide release of Three Houses, the latest installment in our beloved franchise. This game was important for numerous reasons; it was the first mainline game released on the Nintendo Switch and the first console entry in nearly a decade(!).
Leading up to the game’s release, signs were looking promising, but there was always a chance it might mess up the landing… Thankfully, when the game arrived, it received nearly universal praise and, at the time of writing, it’s currently the series’s second best-selling title (number one is Fates, although that one had 3 separate versions).
Recently, the game also won 2 prizes at The Game Awards: “Best Strategy Game” and “Player’s Voice”. The first one probably was expected, but the second award was a very welcome surprise! Especially because it was voted by the public. Against all odds, fans of Three Houses gathered together, beating the other candidates–including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate–by double the votes! Well done, everyone!
One thing that doesn’t get discussed a lot, but you’ve probably noticed: Three Houses had the miraculous effect of harmonising the Fire Emblem community (as far as I’ve noticed). It wasn’t like the community was previously in disarray, but there was some friction between newer fans, who entered the series with Awakening and Fates, and older fans who were there since before Awakening.
Echoes: Shadows of Valentia attempted to bridge the gap somewhat, but it arrived pretty late into the Nintendo 3DS’s lifespan and it was a remake of an under-looked title, so it had a minimal effect. But then Three Houses came along, effortlessly balancing the newer social and nurturing elements that Awakening/Fates focused on, with the intricate story-telling and deep lore that the older games were famous for.
Additionally, the voice actors of Three Houses have been an absolute pleasure post-release, frequently interacting with fans and participating in silly skits. Of note, Joe Ziega (the voice of Claude) is the definition of a national treasure, from busting out memes left and right, streaming himself playing the game to zany antics like trying to recreate battle animation stunts (seriously).
The good news is that even though Three Houses is already out, the story isn’t over just yet. Since the game’s release, we’ve had four DLC updates (some smaller than others) with at least one final, story DLC (Wave 4) planned for before the end of April 2020. Thanks to data-miners, we have a few clues about the contents of the final DLC as well…
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
The other big event of this year occurred during the Nintendo Direct presentation on September 2019. Fans were asking for it and Nintendo/Atlus responded in kind: a Nintendo Switch version of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was announced for release on 17th January 2020. This was the game produced through the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem collaboration.
When the original game released, it was extremely well-received by those who played it. But very few did, since it was released on the ill-fated Wii U and subject to apathy and scorn for not being the Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem crossover that people wanted. On top of that, there was a lot of censorship drama, which further bred negativity.
Now that the dust has settled though, I’m hoping fans will appreciate the game for what it is, rather than what it isn’t. In the words of the Prince of Iris, our newly recruited guest editor and resident TMS#FE expert: It’s a zany blend of the concepts from Atlus and Fire Emblem stirred into a unique RPG told across a fashionable scape about making it big in showbiz, with a strong emphasis on performing arts and music.
Binding Blade
The biggest surprise of the year was perhaps the discovery of an unreleased Chinese version of Binding Blade. It wasn’t until Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, the 15th mainline game, that a Fire Emblem game was officially released in Chinese. Since then, every title now includes a Chinese translation. However, in an alternate timeline, the first Chinese Fire Emblem could’ve been Binding Blade back in 2007 or so. Better late than never?
Dragalia Lost
In April, there was a big Fire Emblem Heroes collaboration event in Dragalia Lost, a mobile game co-developed by Nintendo and Cygames. Alfonse, Marth, Fjorm and Veronica crossed over into the land of Grastaea as playable characters for a limited time. They were also joined by Loki, as a NPC. The event featured an exclusive game mode inspired by the FE series, where you had to defend your castle from waves of foes. It was tons of fun!
Vestaria Saga I: War of the Scions
Technically not Fire Emblem, but there was another game launch this year. During the final month of 2019, Vestaria Saga I, the latest game by the creator of the Fire Emblem series, was officially released in English. The announcement of the English version was made back in August 2018, while the original Japanese release came out in September 2016, so it’s been a long road to get here!
It’s still early days, but hopefully we’ll also get official English translation of the two Vestaria Saga side-stories, in addition to the currently unreleased Vestaria Saga II. In the meantime, hopefully enough people buy the game and spread the word around. That said, although we tend to remain neutral, it doesn’t help that the publisher has been accused of shady practices…
Fire Emblem Heroes
In terms of Heroes, we witnessed the game’s 2nd anniversary during February. New additions to the on-going game include Dragonflowers to augment stats, Pair Up for certain Legendary Heroes, Aether Resort where Heroes can chill out, Duo Heroes, which–as the name suggests–are pairs of Heroes treated as one, and Mjolnir’s Strike, a multi-phase defence map.
The game’s other big milestone was reaching the conclusion of Book III, with the defeat of Hel, and the beginning of Book IV. In the newest arc, Alfonse and company are whisked away to the realm of dreams, where they meet Peony, a cheery light elf. After the grimness of Book III, it’s nice to have a colourful change in scenery. Although only time will tell if they use the concept of dreams to its full potential.
Fire Emblem Cipher
As for the other on-going game, the Cipher card game, we saw the release of another four expansions. Series 16: “O Courage! O Soul Aflame!” featured characters from Binding Blade, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia and Radiant Dawn (essentially, the sequels or–in Echoes’s case–the side-story), together with those from Heroes Book III.
Series 17, which released during the card game’s 4th anniversary, broke the usual trends by featuring characters from every game released thus far! Dubbed “The Alliance of All Heroes”, protagonists and key/popular characters from a whopping 15 games showed up, plus there were guest appearances from the House Leaders of Three Houses.
The next two expansions were a bit more straightforward. Series 18: “Oratorio of Embarkation” focused on characters from the recently released Three Houses, alongside old faves from Awakening and The Sacred Stones (they all feature monsters). Finally, Series 19: “The Holy Flames of Sublime Heaven” had more Three Houses characters and those from Genealogy of the Holy War (both feature a time-skip).
Events and Merchandise
Otherwise, this year we had the first Fire Emblem Expo event in Japan during May. This was before Three Houses came out, so some fans were expecting major news to be dropped. However, as we reported, it was mainly a relaxing event geared for fans, with a live concert, art gallery and opportunity to buy merchandise. Next year, there will be a Fire Emblem Expo II around the same time.
Speaking of merchandise, during April, the long-awaited Fates artbook “Pellucid Crystal” was released. We first heard whispers of the artbook back in March 2018, so it took around a year for it to be realised. Sadly, the artbook doesn’t contain every character’s official artwork. However, Yusuke Kozaki–the character artist–created a stunning panorama for the artbook’s cover. Perhaps we’ll see the other characters another day…
During the Fire Emblem Expo, two new lines of merchandise were announced. Firstly, San-ei, who are renowned for crafting high quality licensed toys, showed off plush versions of popular main characters: Marth, Roy, Ike, Lucina and female Corrin. Secondly, there was the “Fire Emblem Armory Collection”, a set of top-notch key-rings designed around the legendary weapons, such as Marth’s Falchion and Corrin’s Yato.
Also, perhaps to no-one’s surprise, a figma of Edelgard, the Black Eagle’s House Leader from Three Houses, was unveiled in July. You can check out the updated version here. So far, that’s about it for notable Three Houses merchandise (outside of smaller things like Cipher cards, acrylic stands and tapestries). Hopefully we’ll start to see a bigger range of items next year!
Closing Remarks
That’s about all the major happenings in 2019. All in all, it was a pretty great year, don’t you think?
Next year is shaping up to an extremely interesting year. Although we’ve just had a mainline Fire Emblem this year, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the Fire Emblem series. So I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t something special. Like maybe a remake or collection (but that’s just a wild guess, although there was a rumour…)?
Regardless, we hope you have a Happy New Year and that you’ll continue to hang around with us next year! (Speaking of anniversaries, it’s our website’s 15th anniversary in 2020!)
