As promised, here’s our analysis of the Fire Emblem Engage trailer from today’s Nintendo Direct.
Note: I won’t be discussing the leaks in this particular article (I may do in a separate article, later).
The Continent and History of Elyos
The trailer opened with a familiar tale for Fire Emblem fans
A thousand years ago, the continent of Elyos was attacked by the Fell Dragon. The people called upon heroes from other realms, known as Emblems, and eventually emerged victorious, sealing away the Fell Dragon. But now that seal is beginning to wane and the Fell Dragon threatens to return…
Many of you probably know of a Fell Dragon already–Grima from Fire Emblem Awakening. The one depicted here appears to be a different beast, resembling a wyvern with cobra-like frills on its head. It’s possible the human-like figure surrounded in purple flames may be the human form of this Fell Dragon too.
According to the narrator, Elyos is home to four realms (nations) surrounding a holy land. These are all visible on the tapestry-like map.
The holy land in the center features a vast castle vaguely remiscent of the Halidom of Ylisse, with towering spires and fantasy architecture. Now, I don’t think it’s Ylisse itself, because the geography looks so different. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to evoke the same feeling, especially since they’re revisting the Fell Dragon concept.
Curiously, the castle is surrounded by a dark, ring-shaped landmass, separated by an inland sea. This landmass also has buildings, but with different, almost alien-like architecture near the south-east corner. Is this landmass part of the holy land or something else?
The darker landmass also features jagged lines all over the place, as well as giant spikes protruding out from the ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is where a massive battle took place–perhaps the final battle with the Fell Dragon?
To the north-west is a rocky nation with a city constructed at the mountaintops. The buildings here are blocky and less extravagent. Although there are red flags drapped from some of the towers.
At the south border is a cave that connects to the next nation. North of that seems to be a fortress. Around the southern half of the nation, there are numerous, very abstract-looking trees with almost rectangular-like canopies (I think the actual trees don’t look like this). Some type of four-legged creature can be seen above the bordering cave and to the left of the southern fort.
To the south-west is a verdant nation with many trees. There’s a city a short distance south from the bordering cave mentioned above. The buildings here are a bit more fancy; there are a few spires, but mostly triangular roofs. This nation features windmills and horned creatures, resembling bulls. There are also some strange, tall trees.
To the south-east is the obligatory desert nation. The buildings here have very distinctive dome and round-shaped roofs. At the west and north border are fortresses belonging to this nation. Possibly suggesting they have considerable reach. Camels are shown between the west border fort and the main city.
Finally, to the north-east is a slightly more elusive nation. The land appears darker and the trees have inverted colours. Perhaps it’s a nation in perpetual darkness akin to Nohr from Fire Emblem Fates?
The buildings here are blocky similar to the rocky nation, but taller, with rectangular spires. There’s also a volcano next to the city and some kind of tower nearby. A pegasus is also depicted near the city and in the forest further south.
Update: Various users have mentioned this could be a snowy nation instead. I’m unsure myself, but it’s definitely a possibility. The trees resemble fir trees, commonly associated with snow. Silesse in Genealogy of the Holy War and Ilia from Binding/Blazing Blade are also snowy nations with Pegasus Knights.
These four nations also form a ring around the holy land. There’s a sea both outside and inside the ring. Within the seas, various sea vessels and sea monsters can be seen.
Alear, the Protagonist
Alear is the chap (or lass) with the unmistakable red and blue hair. Their clothes seem Japanese-inspired to me; they’re mainly white with red and blue highlights. Unsurprisingly, they’re a sword wielder.
Strangely, only male Alear appears in the gameplay footage. But female Alear appears on the box art and the special edition contents.
By the way, Alear’s Japanese name is Lueur, which is French for glow or faint light. Their weapon, Libération also appears to be French. However, even in the Japanese version, their name is written as “Alear” in English. This is a similar situation as Arval, who’s Japanese name is literally “Larva”, but the English spelling is always Arval, even in the Japanese version.
(For the record, mostly everyone has the same name in the English and Japanese version of FE: Engage. Presumably, the localisation was being worked on alongside development of the game, considering it’s releasing worldwide at the same time. Similar to Three Houses and Three Hopes.)
Apparently Alear is a Divine Dragon that’s been asleep for a thousand years. So they’re basically Tiki, but the protagonist.
In their “awakening” scene, male Alear grabs a ring and the scene suddenly transitions to them in a grassy field facing a flying white dragon (another Divine Dragon?). In the distance, you can see the castle from the holy land. In the center is a singular tall spire; towards the left is the tower separated by a bridge.
Next thing we know, they’re standing in front of a tree with a mysterious girl (the dragon’s human form?) next to it. There’s a windmill in the background and the ground has colourful flowers, where there were none before. Suggesting this scene is in the verdant nation.
Did Alear teleport? Actually, there might be a simpler answer than that, which I’ll discuss later. Hint: Alear’s sword has also changed.
The Five?
Moving on, Alear is rushing through the middle of a battle. This scene really reminds me of one of the battles with the Risen in FE Awakening.
There are soldiers wearing blue fighting Risen-like soldiers, except they have a singular red eye. We later learn they’re called the Corrupted. In the Japanese version, they are odd-shaped/alien-like soldiers; this kind of description was used for Anankos in FE Fates.
The scene then transitions to a red-haired male leaping through flames to perform a powerful ground-based attack. I think this might be the same scene, because you can see the Corrupted flying around. That said, it’s too dark to really tell. Next, a brown-skinned girl performs a spinning attack. She has colourful baubles on her head and clothes.
Next we see a blonde, prince-like character spinning a lance. This ain’t Dimitri, it’s Alfred, who we’ll see again later. Finally, up above, a purple-haired lady drops down, tome in hand. She has a laced headpiece and lace-like tights. Also notice the red horn-shaped bows behind her hair.
One thing I noticed. It’s not very clear, but red-haired guy seems to be wielding the same triangular-hilt sword wielded by the figure that inflicted the final blow on the Fell Dragon. It’s definitely not the same sword as Alear’s, because that one has a fancier handle.
Emblems
Alear clutches his ring, summoning forth the beginning of it all: Marth, the Lodestar and Hero-King!
As we learned earlier, the denizens of Elyos called forth heroes from other realms to fight alongside them. This art appears to require a conduit: an Emblem Ring. The summoned heroes, called Emblems, are wreathed in blue flames to make them stand out.
When they showed the tapestry map, around the world, there are depictions of the Emblems, presumably from the war a thousand years ago. From the top and going clockwise, they correspond to Marth, Celica, Sigurd, Leif, Roy, Lyn, Eirika, Ike, Micaiah, Lucina, Corrin and Byleth. These are most of the protagonists from oldest and newest.
For the most part, these heroes wield their original weapons. Although, perhaps to reduce the number of sword wielders, Ike instead wields an axe and Lucina a bow. In fact, Brave Ike and Legendary Lucina wield these weapon types in FE Heroes. A few protagonists are missing, especially for games with multiple, but otherwise every era is accounted for.
The Beginning?
After discovering the name of the new game, we witness Alear meeting two young characters: a green-clothed boy and a red-clothed girl. Are these our “Cain” and “Abel” characters? The girl we later learn is Framme. Due to the similar hair and eye colours, as well as style of clothes, I imagine these young’uns are siblings, maybe even twins.
Correction: The boy is wearing green/teal clothes, not blue. I have trouble discerning certain shades of blue and green. Thanks to nerdybowties for bringing it up.
It’s at this point that Alear discovers they’ve been asleep for a thousand years. While they’re shocked, there appears to be a bed surrounded by a veil behind them. I hope it was reasonably comfortable. Just a guess, but from the style of the pillars and the railings, this might be inside the castle at the holy land.
Presumably not long after Alear awakens, we’re given a better look at the new enemies: the Corrupted.
They’re a dead-ringer for the Risen, with the glowing red eye (but just one eye). Although the head mask concept is similar to the Faceless from FE Fates. The jagged spikes of the mask and the shape remind me of the Fell Dragon’s “human form”. Also when he’s closing his eyes, his third eye is still glowing red, evoking the cyclops-like Corrupted.
Looking at the ground, I think there’s a good chance this scene takes place near the very of the holy land. The grass looks like a similar shade of green. Plus there are white flowers here, although they’re less noticeable in the earlier scene with the white dragon. You can also see the bridge that leads to the outer tower near the top-left corner.
The camera turns around and we’re shown Alear’s initial entourage, possibly. It includes the green-clothed boy who wields a tome, Framme who wields a staff (but may have other tricks) and an older, male knight with an axe (who we later learn is called Vander).
Gameplay
Finally, we get a look at the map-based Fire Emblem gameplay!
The player selects Alear and moves him to fight a lance-wielding Corrupted. Alear’s class is Dragon Child; Divine Dragon Child in the Japanese version (too long for English). Their class type is also indicated: Dragon. We also see they’re wielding a sword called Libération.
The UI indicates there’s space for four secondary items, including a spare sword and presumably a Vulnerary. There’s also space for three skills, although these might get expanded later. Meanwhile the foe is a Corrupted Lance Fighter. Their class type is… Backup? The Japanese trailer doesn’t offer much clues, listing it as something along the lines of “Linkage”. Maybe they’re just fodder.
Now the map features windmills and colourful flowers, so I think it’s changed to the verdant nation now. I wasn’t sure initially, but if you check the party, it’s more expanded compared to the scene with just the four characters. Now there’s also a lance cavalry (Alfred), blonde mage girl (Céline), archer girl (Etie) and a male axe infantry.
Three Emblems have also been assigned. Sigurd to green kid, Marth to Alfred and Celica to Céline. The Emblems have some kind of circular meter around them, with 7 bars. Is this their HP or how many times they can be used?
In addition, the colour of the weapon icons match FE Heroes. Red for sword, blue for lance and green for axe. Tomes here are colourless, although they can be any colour in FE Heroes.
Also, Framme has fists (gauntlets) and staves. Usually, multiple weapons suggests a promoted class. But assuming this is early-game, it’s probably more likely that it’s a way to let healers attack. I imagine they expect many players to come from FE Heroes where healers can attack, albeit not with their fists.
During the battle forecast, we can see the weapon triangle is back: lances have an advantage versus swords. It also shows how the number of attacks and the order of attacks down the center. 10 damage from Alear, followed by 6 damage from the Corrupted, then 10 more damage from Alear.
In-battle, a castle is visible in the background. I think this is the verdant kingdom’s castle, since the tower/spire is more triangular than tall. However, the holy land’s castle has a somewhat similar design and we don’t know how abstract the world map is. That said, besides the windmills, you can see the horned creatures by the yellow flowers.
The combat data in the middle is similar to the forecast, but instead of 10 x2, it’s 10 twice. This is probably to distinguish between follow-up attacks (here) and consecutive attacks (which we’ll see soon).
Next is Vander the axe-wielding Paladin charging ahead. Alear is close by. You could see one in the previous battle map, but aggro lines are back. These indicate which characters the enemies are likely to engage. All of them are focused on Vander. NPCs of the two children are located north. Could this be the first mission in the holy land? The white boulders and pristine green fields, with the occasional white flower suggest so.
We return to the verdant nation, perhaps the same map as before. Etie the archer is engaging a flying foe from a fort. There’s a flier class icon on the enemy. Towards the north-east is a blue sparkly spot. Could this be a way to power up/replenish Emblems? Or something like the sparkly spots in Awakening/Fates that yield random bonuses/items?
Etie’s foe is a Corrupted Pegasus Knight, although it’s wielding a sword. Normally they wield lances.
Framme gets the spotlight next, using her fist weapon, Iron-Body Art, to demolish an Elusian Soldier. Here, Framme attacks consecutively (Brave effect), which matches with how Gauntlet weapons function in Three Houses.
This battle takes place indoors, perhaps during sunset. The brown colouring of the interior makes me wonder if this is the desert nation. There’s a dark-coloured (can’t tell the colour due to the lighting) flag on the right, with a five-pointed star or flower symbol. Anyway, her foe is an Elusian Soldier, presumably from the nation of Elusian (or Elusia?).
In the Japanese version, the nation’s name is spelt like Illusion–and its English name also sounds like Illusion. This nation seems to favour green/teal clothes, like the soldiers being attacked by the Corrupted during an earlier cutscene. This is pure conjecture, but I wonder if Elusian is the north-east nation, with the mysterious feel?
Alternatively, they could belong to the desert nation. Deserts are known for mirages. That said, you’ll see more Elusians later and they look a bit too pasty to be desert dwellers, in my opinion.
The next fight is between Louis, possibly an Armor Knight, versus an Elusian Pegasus Knight. This Pegasus Knight is also wielding swords. Probably not a coincidence. The area here is earthy, with rows of dragon sculptures and orange trees (the rectangular ones from the tapestry?) in the background. There are also catapults and spiked barricades. The rocky mountains remind me of the rocky nation.
Regardless of where this is, the Elusian nation appears to be a commonly fought enemy. However, given they were being assailed by The Corrupted, I imagine they won’t be antagonistic towards Alear forever. It’s easier to see here: notice how the Elusian enemy is pale skinned. Not what you’d expect from a desert dweller.
When Louis hits the Pegasus Knight, “Break!” appears. It’s unclear what the effect is, but it brings to mind the ill-fated Dragalia Lost. If I had to guess, perhaps it works similarly, either weakening the foe’s stats and/or preventing them from moving for a while.
Update 2: Although I’m unsure what Break does, I think one of the conditions is to have a weapon triangle advantage. Besides Louis here, we see Alear and Alfred triggering Break later in the trailer. In all three situations, the character has a weapon triangle advantage (sword versus axe or lance versus sword).
Afterwards, we witness Chloé the Pegasus Knight dueling a Hammer-wielding Thief. Unlike other Pegasus Knights, Chloé wields a lance though. Huh, can Pegasus Knights wield both swords and lances? Although upon closer inspection, maybe she’s a Falcon Knight? Her steed has a horn, whereas the others didn’t. Also, her damage (42 twice) is really high.
Update: Nevermind, ciphertul pointed out to me that the Corrupted and Elusian Pegasus Knights fought by Etie and Louis also have horns.
Update 2: By the way, I wonder if Chloé is from Elusian? She’s wearing teal, similar to the Elusian forces. Also, if my guess is correct that Elusian is located to the north-east, that would match up with the Pegasus on the map.
Update: Sugarcane98 noticed something peculiar in the Japanese trailer. Chloé’s Damage and Critical stats are much lower (and more in line with what you’d expect), while the foe’s combat stats are higher. Did they hack Chloé’s stats for the English trailer (wouldn’t be the first time)? Furthermore, the enemy side has two columns, with one column having a green background. Curiouser and curiouser…
The backdrop is a ruined village at night. Makes me think of the north-east nation, if there’s indeed perpetual night. Otherwise, it could be anywhere else during night.
Emblem Rings
We return to Alear, who’s got a new trick to show us. Characters can equip Emblem Rings to call forth Emblems (summoned heroes) to aid them in battle. We also get our first look at the character stats.
Alear’s Dragon Child class appears to be sword locked. In addition, the Build stat is back. Unless I’m mistaken, this last appeared in Radiant Dawn. It reduces the speed reduction from wielding heavy weapons, but Strength took over that role afterwards. There’s also SP, perhaps for learning skills like in FE Heroes?
Strength and Magic split is still here. Luck has been moved to the bottom and Charm from Three Houses is gone, presumably because Battalions are no more (their purpose replaced by Emblems).
Here, Alear has 5 inventory slots (equipped slot, plus 4 spares), with potential for one more? They have 3 skill slots, one occupied by Divinely Inspiring, possibly their personal skill?
Marth meanwhile has a Rapier weapon and four skills: Perceptive (previously Nihil), Break Defenses, Divine Speed and Lodestar Rush. These skills appears to be locked, due to their blue colour. Alear can also equip Sigurd. Furthermore, there seems to be three tabs related to Emblem Rings.
Besides that, Alear and Marth share a Bond level of 6. Chances are this will improve Marth’s performance (stats?) when it’s higher. Maybe you can improve it by continuing to fight with Marth and perhaps even socialise with Marth (see later)?
The next map is again in the verdant kingdom with the windmills. Alear and Marth move together as one unit, somewhat similar to batallions in Three Houses. On the left are Louis (lance wielder with shield), Vander (axe cavalry), Céline (tome user with Celica’s Ring), I’m guessing Alfred below her, Framme below him and then Chloé on Framme’s right.
As one unit, Alear and Marth have boosted stats, access to Marth’s weapon and seemingly two of Marth’s skills.
Update 2: For the record, when the trailer transitions from equipping the Emblem Ring and the map, these are actually two separate scenes. You can tell because Alear is Level 5 while equipping and then Level 4 afterwards. In the Japanese trailer, Alear is Level 4 before and after, but their Experience and Bond Level gauges differ slightly.
When Alear and Marth fight, Marth’s Perceptive skill kicks in. Also, Marth deals 6 damage after Alear’s 13 damage. I think Marth’s attack is consecutive, but the battle ends before we can see Marth land a hit.
Afterwards, we see Alfred equipping Sigurd from Genealogy of the Holy War! Marth is also available to Alfred, suggesting characters can equip multiple Emblems. That said, we don’t know if every character can wield Emblems and if they can wield every Emblem.
Alfred here is in the Noble class, but unlike Three Houses it’s a lance-locked Cavalry. Alfred has the Self-Improver skill, while Sigurd has the Ridersbane weapon, plus Canter (previously Canto), Gallop and Override skills.
Forgot to mention, but there’s a Type bonus for some Emblem skills. Such as Override for Alfred and Sigurd and, previously, Divine Speed and Lodestar Rush for Alear and Marth. In the Japanese version, it’s called a Style Bonus. I’m guessing it’s when the skill type matches the character’s class type?
After equipping Sigurd, Alfred marches out. The map looks like a defense mission, especially if you check the mini-map. It seems you need to defend the northmost tiles from foes. Near the center is a catapult you can use (with 10 charges). There are also some destructible walls nearby.
I don’t think this is the same map as when Alfred equips Sigurd. In the equipment menu, you can see green fields with colourful flowers. Also, Sigurd has 2 weapons and 5 skills here. You can’t trick me!
I count eleven characters. For my sanity, I won’t try to name them all. Except for Alfred, all of them have already moved and are greyed out, making them harder than normal to identify. Nevermind, I’ll try…
Along the top is Framme (fist/staff with beret), with an unknown tome wielder next to her. To the right are Celine (with Celica’s ring, but now wielding a sword), Framme’s male counterpart (tome and now staff, with Micaiah’s ring) and Etie (bow girl).
The remaining five I think are unknown lance cavalry, Alear (sword with Marth’s ring), unknown archer, unknown swordsman (with Roy’s ring), and Louis (lance armor).
Update: TheDanMan051 noticed the characters aren’t greyed out in the Japanese version. I dunno who the unknown characters are (well, redhead with Roy might be the wielder of the triangular hilt sword), but at least you can get a better view of them!
Update 2: The unknown caster might be Citrinne (seen later during the base/Somniel segment), since the hair style/colour (short blonde) and clothes colour (brown) seems to match. However, it’s difficult to tell from afar.
Our foes are again the Elusian Soldiers. This time we see a red flag, with golden trimmings. Hey, isn’t this the rocky nation? Remember the red flags being draped on the tapestry map?
Somniel
Now for a change in pace. We’re shown a glimpse of the game’s base area, which appears to be called Somniel.
Somnial (with an “a”) is something related to dreams. Is this place somewhere found in dreams–like Alear’s dreams? Huh, this reminds me of My Castle from FE Fates. But it conveniently explains two things.
How Alear seemingly jumped from the holy land to the verdant nation. Presumably he was dreaming when he was in the holy land and actually in the verdant nation. Plus if the holy land is extra special, it would make sense if you had to travel to it, instead of actually being there from the start.
Secondly, it gives an excuse to always have access to the base. Like how My Castle was with Lilith all the time. Maybe Alear can just snooze and then their divine dragon powers transports them and their friends to the dream castle?
One other thing supporting the castle being in a dream: the floating rocks. Although these existed in Valla in FE Fates, they’re not things you’d normally see in reality.
By the way, “Somniel” could be extra flare added in the localisation. Where it says “Somniel Map” in the top right corner, this is simply “Base Map” in the Japanese version. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Somniel is used elsewhere or they derived it from the lore.
Anyway, the architecture of the base resembles the castle in the center of the holy land. Although I’m not convinced it’s entirely the same. Perhaps the base is an abstraction of the real holy land or just based on it.
As Alear is strolling along, you can see Marth ahead. So Emblems will appear outside of battle too. The big question: will there be support conversations with Emblems? I think they may have some kind of conversations, perhaps tied to their Bond level. But it’s just a guess.
The mini-map has a lot of useful intel. There are icons for a weapon shop, item shop, smithy and clothes (accessory) shop. There are also 9 characters around, including Marth. Some icons have speech bubbles, although Marth lacks one. All the character icons are the same colour; are these all Emblems? I have my doubts though, unless this is really far ahead.
Update 2: Oh right, the speech bubbles only appear near pairs of characters. I haven’t played FE Fates in so long, but it had something similar. Where characters could talk to one another and you can get support points between them.
For what it’s worth, in the Japanese trailer, some of the character icons are located in slightly different places. Marth’s location is the same though.
Oh, there’s also a fishing icon, if you’re sad that it was absent in Three Hopes.
The Somniel/base also features different times of day, such as night time. The next scene is Alear next to one of the shops. The item shop maybe? On the right looks to be the weapon shop. At this shop, there’s a brown-skinned lady with medieval clothes and a Christmas hat!? Nah, it’s probably just the colour scheme. I imagine she’s a playable character.
Next is a farm-like area during sunrise. There’s one of those horned creatures from the verdant nation, a cat (meow), dove with a speech bubble and a dog! Next to the dog is a sparkly spot.
Update 2: A minor observation: the horned creature (ram?) also has a speech bubble. As does Marth, when the player gets close enough. So presumably the dog and cat can be interacted with too, when you get close to them.
Another shop next: the Smithy. This is run by Calney. We don’t see how it works though. On the right is Vander, in more casual looking clothes. Actually, I forgot to mention it, but Alear seems to be wearing a more simplified version of his battle costume, without the cape. Are these both class changes or simply different costumes? Speaking of…
Here’s the clothes/accessory shop. Citrinne, Prince Alcryst‘s retainer, is checking out the various clothes. Oh, name change spotted. In the Japanese trailer, her liege is called something like Starook instead. Not sure why it’s so different. Also, Citrinne is Citrinica, but that’s a mouthful understandably.
Update 2: A minor observation; Alcryst is an anagram of Crystal. Additionally, if you swap some of the letters around, it’s also vaguely similar to Starook: Starylc.
We’re shown Citrinne’s default outfit, the Noble Jacket. The player then selects the Sunlit Apron, weaved by Firenese tailors. Firenese?! I’m guessing this is the desert nation or the rocky nation? In the Japanese trailer, it’s made clear that the nation is called Firene. Other outfits include Floral Apron, Blue-Sky Dress, One-Piece and Training Wear. You can also select an accessory too.
Update (3rd Oct): Firene is the name of the verdant kingdom that Alfred is from.
The Japanese trailer is missing one costume (I think the Blue-Sky Dress). Before your alarm bells ring, it could be that the shop gains new stock as you progress. It also suggests the One-Piece is a Flared Bikini Swimsuit. Not going to lie, I’m really looking forward to the costumes!
Finally, Alear chats to Alfred behind a counter. I’m guessing this is also another shop. Presumably playable characters run the shops, akin to FE Fates (oh hey, another My Castle resemblance). By the way, remember the insignia on the cloth on the counter.
Update 2: The noticeboard to the far left has a map of Elyos; I’m curious to see what it looks like, up close.
Emblem Engage!
You know, it’s high time to add some ridiculousness to the mix.
The next scene has Alear and Marth seemingly unleash their true power (of friendship). Now Alear and Marth apparently combine into one unit, almost exactly like in Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. In this form, Alear takes on a very otherworldly appearance, with pure white clothes, golden frames and see-through blue wings.
That said, I don’t know if this form is unique to Emblem Engage (it could be promoted Alear for example). Or if this particular form is unique to Alear fusing with Marth.
Apart from the new mechanic, Alear and Marth wield Mercurius, one of the Archanean Regalia. It’s also coloured blue, suggesting it belongs to Marth–or is connected to him, at least. On the opposing side is an Elusian cavalry wielding an axe. The backdrop is the rocky nation, with the spiked barricades etc.
Although the combat stats indicates 10, 21 and 21 damage, Alear and Marth only seem to deal the 21 damage parts (unless I missed the 10). Also, the Elusian soldier cannot counter, although it’s unclear whether it’s due to Emblem Engage or the Hand Axe hypothetically having 2 range.
Not to be outdone, Alfred Engages with Sigurd, fighting with the Ridersbane and bright white/golden clothes, like Sigurd’s. Hey, maybe the outfits are actually unique for each Emblem Engage?
After blasting the foe, Alfred’s (or rather, Sigurd’s) Override skill triggers, sending Alfred and Sigurd 3 spaces forward. Also, due to the Momentum skill, the enemy behind also suffers damage. The battle map features snow and a pair of axe-wielding pegasus/falcon knights. Hmm, what’s up with the axes? From the character stats, it seems classes have locked weapons, unless it’s a simplification?
Also, which nation would have snow? North-east? But there’s a volcano there…
For our third exhibit, Céline engages with Celica. At first, Céline is wearing a black top with a golden crown with flowers inside. After engaging, her clothes resemble Celica’s and she loses her crown. Also, wow, she can warp to foes within a fairly large range and then drop a Ragnarok spell on them. The Elusians probably didn’t see that coming! The battle forecast also suggests counters are prevented.
Update: James Richardson III points out that Céline’s HP is reduced by 1 during the fight. As far as I’ve noticed, this is the only time it happens in the trailer. This brings to mind using HP to cast spells in FE Echoes, which Celica and the Ragnarok spell also appear in. 1 HP cost seems a bit low for such a powerful spell, but Céline doesn’t have much HP and it’s possible her skills could reduce the impact.
This particular fight seems to be the defense map in the rocky nation again. I recognise the catapult near the center, flanked by destructible walls. The characters all look similar too. However, all the Emblem wielders have engaged, it seems. The Emblems now have a number next to them, possibly indicating the number of turns before they disengage.
While Céline is moving, we see Céline’s class is Noble, like Alfred. However, her move/class type is Mystical (magic). She also has 6 secondary inventory slots (seems to cap at 7), 1/3 skills for herself and 5/5 for Celica. She’s Level 9 with 24 HP, so this may be relatively early on. Her Bond Level of 10 seems somewhat high though.
Strangely, Céline is equipped with an Iron Sword, but has two tomes and a staff. Actually, I think I’m starting to see the picture. The first tome is Ragnarok and it has a blue circle, like the staff. I’m guessing Ragnarok and the staff belong to Celica. Hence why Céline automatically wields Ragnarok when fighting the enemy (because when engaged, they use the Emblem’s weapon exclusively).
That magic circle… It’s Tellius’s ancient language, no doubt. I don’t think it means anything special though. Awakening also used it for its spell animations.
Drama
Now for my “favourite” part of every trailer (minor sarcasm). Where they throw all kind of random out-of-context scenes in your face!
First up is a red-haired king figure brandishing a blade. The weather is snowing. The “king” and his soldiers are wearing mostly red (the king with golden highlights). I’m betting that they’re from the rocky kingdom, since the flag is also red, with bits of gold. It would make sense for it to snow there, especially if the castle is high up the mountains.
Update: In the background, you can just about make out the red flags with gold trimmings. So I’m convinced they’re from the rocky nation. However, there’s one element I hadn’t considered. This scene could occur at the border between the rocky nation and its eastern neighbour. The border fort here seems to have architecture from the rocky nation.
Oh hello dragon girl. I heard FE Heroes is looking for more Mythic Heroes…
Oh no, some evil-looking guy is putting on a red-gemed ring. Is this one of the counterparts to the Emblem Rings, allowing villains to be summoned? It’s cliched, for sure, but I imagine there are lots of popular villains that fans would love to summon and/or fight against. We don’t see the villain’s face, but their collar has golden spikes, like the Fell Dragon’s apparent human form.
Next is a snow-covered battlefield. I believe the red soldiers from the rocky nation are fighting the Corrupted? This scene is very short, but I get the impression the opposing soldiers are walking like zombies. It could also be the gloomy weather, but there’s a dark veil around them too.
Alear looks up, Emblem Ring in hand. In front of them is the Fell Dragon. Is this the final battle or a premonition? Please, not a premonition… We don’t see them clearly, but there are four other characters fighting with Alear. I believe they’re Alfred on the far left, brown-skinned lass with the baubles next to him, followed by red-haired guy, then Alear and finishing with the female tome wielder with the horn-like bows.
As it happens, these are also the five characters on the box art. If you cast your mind back, Elyos has four nations and a holy land. I imagine these five are their representatives. Red-haired dude for the rocky kingdom (Firene?), purple haired mage for the night kingdom (Elusian?), Alfred for the verdant kingdom (no reason, except it’s kinda fairy-tale like) and brown-skinned girl for the desert (because nobody else is tanned).
Finally, Marth and Alear push open a gate together. Fans have waited long for a brand new Fire Emblem entry and the gate has finally opened!
Special Edition
In addition, we’re shown the special edition for the game, called the Divine Edition (North America/Europe/etc.) or Elyos Collection (Japan).
The special edition boxart/poster depicts a lot more characters, including the white dragon girl in the center, Vander on the far left, Celine in the top-left corner, plus Framme and her counterpart near the bottom. Strangely, the nation reps are all relatively small here, maybe to compensate for hogging the regular box art.
Update: Forgot something. In the sample above, there are exactly 12 art cards (9 unknowns plus Sigurd, Celica and Marth). Assuming the image is an accurate representation of the contents, this further suggests there may be only 12 (main) Emblems.
Update 4: I only just noticed the symbols on the art cards, which all seem to be unique. Upon closer inspection, these symbols match the symbols on the characters’ clothes when they’re engaged with the corresponding Emblem.
If you stare at the artbook sample, you can see a familiar insignia, under the category “Land of Lythos”. This insignia appeared in the Somniel/base, on the counter where Alfred was. With this, we can assume the holy land may be called Lythos. Right now, I’m unsure what Lythos means though.
Other
Later, Mika Pikazo revealed via their Twitter that they’re the artist for the game. Apparently they retweeted the Nintendo Direct hours earlier, suggesting their involvement with one of the games.
I can’t seem to find this anywhere else, but the Hong Kong product page mentions that Alear’s story begins when they meet the “Dragon Guardians” who have protected the Divine Dragons for generations. These are probably the two kids, huh.
Also, I hate to say it, but the product page for all/most regions (eg. UK) mentions that Alear has amnesia. Well, I guess sleeping for a thousand years does a number on you. Maybe they should get some pointers from Tiki… Nah, of course, the real reason is so you–the player–has no information at the start.
Well, that’s all for me. There’s probably a lot more I could discuss, but alas I’m out of time. If you’ve noticed anything cool that I missed or you think I got something wrong, please let me know in the comments etc.
