Nintendo held a brief twenty-minute long Direct video focusing on Fire Emblem. At first it seemed like an excuse to divulge more details about the announced Fire Emblem Warriors for the Nintendo Switch, but the Direct gave us multiple announcements concerning Intelligent Systems’ tactical RPG.
First it must be said that Nintendo has gotten a lot better with having clear and distinct English speakers for these Direct videos. While it was charming for the late Satoru Iwata to bring his announcements… directly… to you, having the voice talent of Yuri Lowenthal isn’t bad to have on hand either.
hey look 4 fire emblem games and i'm going to play ALL OF THEM
— SungWon Cho (@ProZD) January 19, 2017
Which brings us to the first big announcement:
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia for the Nintendo 3DS
A remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, a game that only came out in Japan way back in 1992, but modern touches. In addition to the game using the same 3D engine and control scheme as the more recent Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates, the game will also include features unique only to that installment: dungeon crawling and open world exploration. It is scheduled for release on May 19th 2017. On the same day there will also be Amiibo figurines of the two main heroes of the game, but no details were given as to their functionality in the game. So collectors you better pre-order thirty minutes ago if you want any chance of getting one this year.
A New Fire Emblem Title Is in Development For Nintendo Switch
An official return of the franchise to consoles since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on the Wii in 2008.
There is no official title, but we’re told the game is scheduled for a 2018 release date.
A New Trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors
A better look at the Warriors spin-off developed by Koei Tecmo Games. Not much new footage was shown, but what there was showed the hero of Fire Emblem Awakening, Chrom, cutting through hundreds of enemies like they were tissue paper with over-the-top super attacks. In addition to coming out for the Nintendo Switch, the game has also been confirmed for a New Nintendo 3DS release. Both are scheduled to come out this Fall. And now last but not least….
Fire Emblem Heroes Announced for Mobile
An announcement for a new Fire Emblem experience coming to smart phones, Fire Emblem Heroes. The title appears to be a crossover title, introducing characters from past installments Awakening and Fates as playable units. The game will be a complete story and feature the franchise’s iconic grid-based combat, all reconfigured to fit on a smart phone. The game will have microtransactions, which will be used as part of an RNG system used to obtain the various iconic Fire Emblem characters as units for your army. But even if you don’t get exactly what you want, these heroes can be leveled up thanks to an accessible arena mode. Also it is possible to earn various heroes by defeating them in battle, so hopefully this means things won’t be entirely dedicated to random dice rolls. There is no confirmation as to whether the game will be completely 
Free-To-Play or not, but it is scheduled for release on iOS and Google Play on February 2.
There will also be a Choose Your Legends event, where fans can vote on what certain heroes they wish to see in the full game. The link is here. My Nintendo members will get Platinum points for participating. Pre-registration for everything can be done on January 19th on Google Play.
And that’s it for the Fire Emblem direct. If you’re a fan of the franchise, it looks like this year will have plenty to offer you.
