Our second look at the Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem crossover came almost immediately after the English trailer for Fire Emblem Fates at Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event.

Before gearing up for this analysis, I will state upfront that there’s even less gameplay shown compared to the first trailer, if that’s even possible.

Given the importance of E3, it’s likely the trailer is simply designed to introduce people to the game, especially for those who don’t often tune in to the Nintendo Directs.

That said, we do learn a lot more about the story and the characters. So let’s start with those, shall we?

Mirages

From what we learn in the trailer and Nintendo’s fact sheet, the game takes place in modern Tokyo, where mankind is invaded by “Mirages” from another world.

Mirages are simply described as “beings of unimaginable power”. Although some Mirages are evil, others see the creative potential of humans and share their power to guard humanity.

In other words, the Mirages are characters from the Fire Emblem universe, even though their appearance is different to what we’re accustomed to.

Our heroes are “Mirage Masters“, chosen ones who can fight back against the Mirages, presumably by wielding the power of benevolent Mirages themselves.

The Cast

In the trailer, we’re formally introduced to the main (and side) characters, as well as their supporting Mirage.

Those who read my analysis (or otherwise) should be familiar with most of the characters’ names.

Itsuki Aoi

A dark-haired male who appears to be the main character of the game. His Fire Emblem costume or “persona” is reminiscent of a Lord.

Mirage: Chrom

(For those curious, Chrom’s voice actor is the same as in Awakening, so there is some consistency.)

Tsubasa Oribe

A cheerful-looking girl who attends the same school as Itsuki; likely the heroine. Her Fire Emblem costume is based off a Pegasus Knight.

Mirage: Caeda

Toma Akagi

A red-haired male who rides Cain’s motorcycle into battle. Obviously his Fire Emblem costume is based off the stalwart Cavalier.

Mirage: Cain

Kiria Kurono

A dark-haired female who is likely a hit singer already. It’s hard to tell, but her Fire Emblem costume is probably inspired by the Mage.

Eleanora Yumizuru

A short-haired female who also seems to be familiar with showbiz. Her Fire Emblem costume is easier to guess: it must be the Archer.

Maiko Shimazaki

A manager-like figure, perhaps for stars like Eleanora or Kiria. Befitting her position, she may have a supporting, rather than fighting role.

Tiki

This young girl needs little introduction. In the Fire Emblem games, she is the last of the Divine Dragon clan. Here, she’s a singer of some renown–in fact, the song in the trailer is sung by her.

Before moving on, I should note that Tiki is a curious character because she’s clearly from the Fire Emblem universe, but she doesn’t seem “distorted” in appearance like the Mirages.

The easiest explanation would be that she’s a different entity from the Mirages. Maybe a Mirage that has successfully adapted to human life? Or just an incredibly powerful Mirage?

Abilities

The very first scene, with main gal Tsubasa riding her pegasus showcases the type of power our heroes wield–the ability to fly freely around Tokyo (although I doubt this is possible in-game).

Pretty straightforward so far; if you can summon a pegasus, of course you’d want to fly with it.

Not just that, but as Tsubasa approaches the ground, she meets another version of herself (in a different costume), who subsequently turns the concrete ground into a beautiful flower garden.

Is Tsubasa here conjuring some form of “mirage” (as in the real-world definition) or is she pulling a landscape from the more-natural Fire Emblem world?

Showbiz

When our young heroes aren’t busting Mirages, they’re working hard to perfect their singing and dancing skills as aspiring entertainers.

In the game, we’ll see them struggle not just to save the world, but on their way to stardom too. So if it wasn’t already clear from the first trailer, the entertainment ‘biz is a crucial part of the game.

In fact, this second trailer has a heavy focus on the showbiz side, featuring a heavy dose of singing, dancing and general flashiness.

…Plus a touch of fan-service. Well, what do you expect from a game about entertainment?

Costumes

This was hinted at in the first trailer; the main characters possess the ability to change costumes, possibly even mid-battle.

Near the start of this trailer, we see Tsubasa in a wide range of costumes, not just her iconic pegasus outfit.

“Costumes” may not be the best word to use here, as the characters often undergo a more radical transformation, even changing the colour of their eyes and hair.

Right now, it’s not clear what effects the different costumes have. At the least, it’s likely some costumes are tied to the character’s class or abilities (like the pegasus outfit).

Actually, during one point in the trailer, we see scenes that suggest the heroes borrow their Mirage’s power to don the costumes. Here, Itsuki and Tsubasa cause their Mirages too dematerialise.

Next, the scene skips to Itsuki in his Lord costume, with a blue aura around him similar in colour to Chrom’s aura in the previous screenshot.

If that wasn’t evidence enough, a few seconds later we physically see Tsubasa undergo a transformation into her pegasus outfit, all the while being surrounded by a pink aura, like Caeda’s.

So the Fire Emblem costumes seem significant, but what about the others? Many of the other costumes seem a tad superficial (even if they are interesting)

Especially since Tsubasa can be seen fighting in her regular, school costume in the first trailer. So clearly the other costumes must have some benefit (beyond visual) to warrant wearing.

Are the costumes related to the appeal of the audience that can be seen in the background of battles? It would fit in with the entertainment theme, at least.

Could it be that some costumes are required for specific combo attacks (or appeal moves), like Tsubasa and Eleanora above?

Tiki’s shrine

Towards the end of the trailer, the main characters take turns posing in front of Tiki’s shrine with their Fire Emblem-like costumes.

Moments earlier, we see Tiki perform some kind of ritual at the back of the altar. Maybe these specific costumes and powers were provided by Tiki?

That said, this contradicts slightly with what we’ve learned. Instead, maybe the characters visit Tiki to enhance (i.e. upgrade) their costumes?

Curiously, we see all the main characters here, plus an unidentified character in golden armour wielding an axe right before Itsuki. Is that Maiko or a character we haven’t been introduced to?

By the way, all of the known Fire Emblem costumes are based on series staples: Lord, Pegasus Knight, Archer, Mage, Cavalier and Fighter.

Locations

We’ve seen a decent number of battles, but not a lot of the environments or dungeons.

Just before reaching Tiki’s shrine, we catch brief glimpses of some places that we’ll visit or explore.

The first significant location is the Japanese water garden seen in the first trailer, which has been updated to include clouds hanging by wires.

Does this suggest that dungeons take place in similar “faux” environments as the battles, to match the “show-like” entertainment theme?

The second location is within an ancient-looking building or temple–something that wouldn’t be completely amiss in a Fire Emblem game. Could this place be in the Fire Emblem world?

Name of the Game

At the end of the trailer, we finally learn the game’s title… or do we?

Instead of the slightly generic “Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem”, we’re told the game is instead “Genei Ibun Roku #FE“, a direct transliteration of its Japanese title.

To further confuse things, this is not even its final title. So why has Nintendo even bothered to change its previous placeholder title to a new placeholder title?

This is just speculation, but maybe the original placeholder title didn’t quite fit in with fans’ expectations of a crossover and thus Nintendo acted accordingly.

Now it is simply “an ATLUS-developed RPG with Fire Emblem elements”, which its current placeholder title does not contradict with (not just because your average Joe can’t read it…).

Closing Remarks

Well, that’s all the key details I’ve noticed, but there’s definitely a lot more hidden in the trailer. However, with such limited context, I won’t try to embarrass myself by guessing what it all means.

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