More Fire Emblem If details from Famitsu’s full interview with the dev team
In a Famitsu issue from earlier this month, the magazine spoke with a few developers working on Fire Emblem If. But it turns out that the magazine didn’t contain the full discussion. It wasn’t until today that the full interview was finally posted on Famitsu’s website.
Serenes Forest has once again taken on the task of translating the full Famitsu discussion. A summary of what was shared can be found below.
– Interview starts off with the concept behind the game
– Again, it was built around the main character (Avatar) and how his/her choice impacts the story, splitting it into 2 distinct “what if” stories
– Movie scenes are generally from a first-person perspective since the Avatar is the main character
– Phoenix Mode is designed for newcomers; not existing Fire Emblem fans
– Although it sounds like you cannot lose on this mode, there are times when you still have to play somewhat carefully
– Ex: there may be complicated victory conditions, such as reaching a destination within a certain number of turns in the Nohr campaign; failing these conditions means Game Over
– When development began, one of the major challenges was to find ways to help newcomers enjoy the game without feeling too stressful
– One thing that came to mind was the timing of when to use valuable weapons (eg. saving them for a future mission)
– It was perceived that this form of intense micro-management was too much for newcomers to properly enjoy
– Since some players may consider it wasteful to use a particular weapon, they may end up not using it at all; at which point it’s as if the weapon doesn’t exist
– By removing the durability of weapons and giving them more interesting properties, it allows for more enjoyable play, without detracting from the fun of picking weapons
– Weapon weight isn’t in, but there are “strong weapons that are harder to double attack with”, which functions a bit like it
– Javelins and similar ranged weapons can no longer double attack
– The staff unanimously agreed on bringing back Yusuke Kozaki for character designs
– Since the new game has more characters than even Awakening, there was some concern about who to call if Yusuke Kozaki didn’t accept the offer, so the team were very glad when he agreed to reprise the role again
– This game takes place in a “completely new world”
– Some familiar elements that those who played Awakening will appreciate
– Hoshido is based on ancient Japanese culture, while Nohr is built on the series’s traditional Western fantasy setting
– Nohr is western-themed, but also carries a dark atmosphere
– Nohr’s castle even stands in the middle of a giant hole in the ground
– Hoshido is a pacifist kingdom with exceptional peace and order
– In contrast, Nohr is subject to terrible weather conditions, leading to poor crop yields and a lack of law and order
– In order to expand Nohr’s influence, King Garon orders his children to invade Hoshido
– Thus the royal siblings fight for Nohr, although they each harbour their own hidden thoughts
– Meanwhile the Hoshidan royals take up arms to repel the Nohrian invasion
– As this happens, the hero–the Avatar–is stuck in between and forced to make a difficult choice
– Classes available largely depend on the campaign chosen
– In Nohr, you will typically see more characters in familiar classes, like Cavaliers
– In Hoshido, most of the characters are in Japanese-themed classes, like Samurais
– The campaign also determines the weapons you can obtain
– In Nohr, you will commonly obtain “swords”
– In Hoshido you are more likely to find “katanas”, which have slightly different properties
– Although Pegasus Knights have been in the series so far, they technically do not exist in this game.
– If instead features Hoshido’s very similar “Pegasus Warrior” class
– Pegasus Warriors can be male or female
