Tag Archive for Kantopia

Valentia Accordion Translation Progress

April 7, 2018 FE Echoes, News 6 comments

Last week, on 30th April, the Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia memorial book “Valentia Accordion” was released in Japan.

 

Since then, Kirokan and I have teamed up to translate new information from the book. You can follow our progress on the forums or Kirokan’s website.

Anyway, here is a recap of our progress so far.

First things first, Kirokan has kindly scanned all the official artwork and full body portraits from the book, including many previously unreleased ones.

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Echoes: Nintendo Dream Interview from May 2017

August 16, 2017 FE Echoes, News 11 comments

Back in May, Nintendo Dream conducted a post-launch interview with the developers of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Thanks to Kirokan, this interview has now been translated into English.

In the interview, the developers reflect on the player feedback received after launch and discuss how certain design choices were made, such as the inclusion of new characters and Alm becoming left-handed.

We were incredibly anxious due to development limitations, as well as wondering whether the newer fans of the series would be accepting of this game. So after seeing the great response the game got, well, it was a relief!

–Toshiyuki Kusakihara

They even briefly mention Fire Emblem Switch and touch on some Fire Emblem Heroes-related trivia.

With the experience and “know-how” gained from Awakening and Fates, we attempted to make [the people] in both this game and the next one on Switch closer to realistic proportions and movements.

–Toshiyuki Kusakihara

Whereas really, the FEH side just wanted another archer unit [with Faye].

–Toshiyuki Kusakihara

You can read the full interview over on Kantopia or our forums.

Awakening: 1st Anniversary Interview from 2013

June 2, 2017 News 5 comments

With so much going on in the Fire Emblem world lately, it’s too easy for things to be forgotten and left behind. Such as this interview with the Awakening development team from way back in 2013.

Conducted by Nintendo Dream to commemorate the game’s 1st anniversary in Japan, this interview was one of the first to touch on how Awakening helped to save the series from dire straits.

Yes, we can rest easy now, but, during development, we were faced with a rather grim situation: “If this game doesn’t sell well, the FE series is probably over.”

–Kouhei Maeda

There’s also a lot of insight into how the game’s DLC was developed, including some amusing commentary about the controversial censored swimsuit Tharja CG in the North American version.

But it actually had to do with the rating systems. So in North America, they chose to hide part of Tharja’s swimsuit.

–Toshiyuki Kusakihara

But in their efforts to conceal it, we heard it ended up being taken as even more suggestive…

–Kouhei Maeda

You can find the full translated interview over on Kantopia or on our forums.

Echoes: Free DLC + Dengeki Staff Interview

April 27, 2017 FE Echoes, News 8 comments

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia has been out for a week in Japan now. Starting today, players can download “Gift from the Goddess 2”, which grants a rare Villager’s Fork item, but only once per save.

When equipped with this item (which cannot be found in-game), any character who isn’t Alm or Celica can Class Change to a Villager at a Mila Shrine, allowing them to explore other class paths and gain more Levels.

In related news, Kirokan has kindly translated a rather lengthy interview with the Echoes development staff from the June 2016 issue of Dengeki, which came out recently. You can read it on Kirokan’s website, or over on our forums.

You may have already seen an out-of-context quote from this interview posted on various gaming sites; if so, we definitely recommend reading the entire interview (or at least the relevant parts) to see what the developers really meant.

Besides that, the interview provides a lot of insight not just for Echoes, but for the well-being and future of the series. There’s even a sneaky mention of the abandoned real-time Fire Emblem game.

A special thanks to Kirie for sharing the interview!