Fire Emblem Warriors devs on Female Robin / Cordelia, Pegasus Knights gameplay, including Fire Emblem elements, more

The method of including strategic features exclusive to Fire Emblem

ND: You’ve been implementing a lot of features exclusive to Fire Emblem in the systems, including the Pair Up system which came up in our discussion just before.

Usuda: When I first heard of the talks for Fire Emblem Warriors, the first thing that came up in my head was an image of character unit icons being lined up on a 2D map. That’s exactly what we have in the screen where you give orders in this game.

ND: I see.

Usuda: In the end, you will want to give individual orders to everyone. [You’d order] things like… ‘This character should attack this place’ or ‘should proceed through this route’. In order to reproduce that ‘desire that come out when you’re playing a Fire Emblem’ in a Warriors game, we added systems like the Weapon Triangle, effective damage, character change, and flying units. Warriors games have been about tactical actions, so they have superb compatibility with Fire Emblem’s strategic elements.

ND: We imagined including elements from the strategy simulation genre of Fire Emblem would be difficult, unlike Zelda which has stronger action elements from the start, but turns out that is not the case.

Usuda: Yes. Before we actually move [characters] in the game, we wrote scenarios on paper: Draw a map, place allies and enemies there, and discuss about things like ‘this character should proceed like this’. We had discussions so deep that ‘we might be able to make a board game with just this’. In my opinion, this game has the highest strategy element even among the legacy Warriors series.

ND: So there is a need to set up the strategy to properly think about things like the compatibility of the Weapon Triangle.

Usuda: However, that is the point where you can have various methods to play it.

Hayashi: Time stops in the pause menu, so if you think deeply like in Fire Emblem, there will be rewards for contemplating it. However, in an action game like the Warriors series, I think there are people who feel ‘stopping time to think’ would be an obstructive feature. In order to fulfill the needs of both Fire Emblem and Warriors fans, we have included a system where you can leave characters to move somewhat automatically on their own accord.

Usuda: People who aren’t good with action games can clear it just by thoroughly working on strategies, and those who want to fully enjoy action can set ally orders to automatic and keep on fighting. Those people will surely be able to find a playthrough method that fits them.

Hayashi: We always thought ‘not to force things too much’.

Usuda: We considered that by having a broad selection of choices in the option settings, like the option to turn the level up scene or on off, which we have talked about in the previous interview.

Please taste the nervousness from the lost/permadeath system!

ND: Can you also choose whether characters can be lost or not?

Usuda: It’s impossible for a Fire Emblem game to not have a permadeath feature, isn’t it (laughs). Even in Awakening and Fates, you could choose between Casual and Classic.

Hayashi: So we definitely need to put it in (laughs). However, in the Warriors series, characters will grow little by little, so having them become lost with just an instant mistake would be too harsh. So although it doesn’t mean we’re putting in limitation play modes, we do prepare Casual and Classic modes as one of the option selections.

Usuda: Of course you can also play it on Classic and aim to beat the game without making everyone lost.

ND: Can you switch between Casual and Classic in the middle?

Usuda: If you change from Classic to Casual, all lost characters will be revived.

Hayashi: On the contrary, we’ve made it so that it would be impossible for you to switch from Casual to Classic. We hope you choose the mode that fits your play style.

ND: For example though, if you lose everyone but the protagonist, then he/she would have to fight all on his/her own, right?

Usuda: Of course that will be the case. I had experienced it well in [the original] Mystery of the Emblem though (laughs). So I hope you get to taste the ‘nervousness on the battlefield’ with the lost/permadeath system.

Hayashi: In scenes like rescuing a character, you could also opt to intentionally ignore them like in past Warriors games, but I think you’ll get the feeling of ‘having to rescue them at any costs’! There will also be the need to work more on strategies.

Usuda: You can also heal allies with staves, so you should use them effectively.

ND: Is the staff one of the weapons here?

Usuda: In this game, it will appear as one of the healing items. There is a difference between Vulneraries that will heal the character themselves, and Staves that will heal allies.

ND: So making precise character changes might be important too. Up to four characters can be controlled in the battlefield, but can you sortie four or more characters at once?

Usuda: There are also maps where you can sortie even more allies. The player can control up to four of them, and the other allies shall fight by giving orders to them. Furthermore, some maps may have cases where new allies are added in the middle.

Various weapons are appearing from each Fire Emblem game

ND: Regarding the weapons, there are many weapons based on the original games, like the Armorslayer.

Usuda: There are weapons with varying traits, from the basics like Bronze-Iron-Silver, to Pole Axe and Dragon Lance.

ND: So a variety of weapons from each Fire Emblem title will appear here.

Usuda: However, for the ‘Legendary Weapons’, we limited them only from titles that appear in this game. Because those Legendary Weapons are things that have a meaning in contrast to the characters.

ND: Speaking of which, in the screenshots we have right here, there is a ‘2P can participate’ text. So there is a co-op support for TV and Tabletop modes, but will it be split-screen?

Usuda: Yes, both players will play on the same screen with split-screen. Also, the Switch version supports [Joy-Con] share playing.

ND: I see. This time we heard a lot of things with a focus on the systems, but our time is up soon. So please leave a message for our readers.

Usuda: I think we’ll have a chance to show new videos soon, but please take a look at the depth of the strategy! I think all of our players will get many chances to find new ways of playing that not even I can think of. The systems have an emphasis on strategy, but of course we’re not lagging back on the action either. This time the basic setup is a 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second, but in the option settings, you can also set a 720p resolution with 60 frames per second, so I hope all gamers who want an emphasis on action can look at it as well.

Hayashi: We have about one more month until release, but for the playable characters, we’re going to follow up with continuous announcements, so please look forward to them! Other than Fates and Shadow Dragon characters, we still have non-character features we want to tell you about, so please anticipate them.

Massive thanks to BlackKite for helping with this translation!

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