Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (Wii U / 24th June 2016)

[JaidynReiman]

Just Shadow Dragon and Awakening?

 

Well that's very disappointing, no one even cares about Shadow Dragon's characters except for Marth, Tiki, Caeda, Minerva, and the original Red and Green Caviliers Cain and Abel.

 

But they also said the characters would be based off popularity, so I'm expecting Lyn, Hector, Tharja, Lucina, Ike, Robin, Soren, Seth, Titania, Joshua, Lute, Emphiram, Erika, Batre, and some other fan fav characters appearing then.

 

No idea for if/Fates, but the Royal Families are already popular as they are already so who knows.

I would expect other characters based on popularity like Ike and Lyn, but they specifically said just Shadow Dragon and Awakening... which is definitely disappointing.

 

 

Anyway I'm still interested in the game, at least its confirmed its basically not the same game as the original teaser.

 

 

 

 

I think this game might end up being quite good honestly.

 

They shouldn't have called this SMT X FE in the first place though because now it's being judged on that when it never really was. That teaser trailer was a lie.

I don't think it was a lie. It just ended up being changed after they realized what they wanted to do wouldn't quite work.

[Junko]

New information about #FE

From left to right, those involved in the developer interview are the following:

• Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo producer)
• Shinjiro Takada (Atlus producer)
• Kaori Ando (Nintendo director)
• Eiji Ishida (Atlus director)
• Mitsuru Hirata (Atlus chief director)
• Fumitaka Yano (Atlus art director)

Some of the information from the interview:

Side Quests

Takada: “New songs won’t just be seen in the main story. Each character has a side story, and if you help the character achieve their goal, there are rewards such as additional movies and songs, or new abilities and moves in battle.”

Level System and Party

Hirata: “The experience gained in battle will be shared among party members, with a variety of options to choose how they improve as they level up.”

Hirata: “The party system is restricted to three characters fighting simultaneously, but members outside of the party will occasionally burst into the battle to aid the characters. The battle director and chief designer Ishida stated that ‘I want to see all the characters fighting’, which has been suffering (laughs).”

Mirage Design

The Mirage characters, based on Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Awakening, are purposefully designed to be differentiated from toi8’s human characters to give the impression that they are from a different world.

Specializing in combat, Mirages are made to give a “machine-like” impression. Tiki is the only one who gives a more humanlike impression, and there are reasons for this.

User Interface and World Design

The game’s world uses pop colors to represent the entertainment industry concept. Using youthful colors such as lime green in the design, sparkle effects and ripples are meant to show that it is a  “colorful world.”

This changes when it comes to dungeon design and locations which have more of a fantasy element to them, evoking mystery where fantasy and reality are intermingled. Because Mirages have been robbed of their “power of expression,” the dungeons also embody this.

A variety of different locations will be seen through the dungeons such as movie sets, but they are not necessarily tied to the physical real world. The dungeons will have a bunch of different gimmicks and puzzles to them.

Locations

The game has primarily been shown to be set in Shibuya, but it was revealed that the game will also take place in Harajuku. Genei Ibun Roku #FE will also take place in other locations, which hints of can be seen in the second promotional video for the game.

Wii U GamePad Functionality

Some of the functions of the Wii U GamePad for #FE resemble the popular Japanese communication app LINE. The GamePad will display the game’s map and various options, along with something called “The Topic.”

“The Topic” is a pseudo-chat tool that the characters use, as the game progresses, to send messages to each other. The personality of each character is represented with how they chat.

Additional Staff Information

The staff members responsible for the game’s art include:

• Character Design: toi8 (Maoyu illustrator).
• Mirage Design: CyDesignation (Rage of Bahamut), Hideo Minaba (Final Fantasy XI).

The staff members responsible for the game’s music include:

• Music Production, Choreography: Avex Group.
• Music: Yoshiaki Fujisawa (Love Live!)

The staff responsible for the game’s anime scenes:

• Animation Production: Anima (Love Live!), Studio 4°C (Catherine)

Meaning Behind the Title “#FE”

As previously stated, the notation “#” in “#FE” comes from the music symbol “sharp.” Signifying a semitone high note, this is intended to symbolize how Genei Ibun Roku is more than a simple collaboration project, and that it will be reaching greater heights.

The game’s logo is inclined obliquely, which is intended to show how the game will show the Fire Emblem series from a different angle.

RPG Elements

The renowned Atlus RPG aspect of taking advantage of an enemy’s weakness is combined with the “Weapon Triangle” system from Fire Emblem. Different difficulty settings are available, so those who might not be familiar with previous Atlus games will still be able to enjoy their first one with #FE.

Assuming Different Clothes in Combat

During combat, the main party members will assume their combat suit, called “Carnage form,” by merging with their Mirage partners.

Live Performances

One of the defining aspects of Genei Ibun Roku #FE will be the live performances by the characters during certain points of the game. Making full use of motion capture, Anima handles the 3D animation. Combined with the music and choreography of Avex Group makes the whole thing truly shine.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

you guys should find this interesting, new interviews

http://gonintendo.com/stories/242079-genei-ibun-roku-fe-staff-discuss-mirage-designs

Genei Ibun Roku #FE staff discuss Mirage designs

 

06 September, 2015 by rawmeatcowboy | Comments: 0

The following comes from Art director Fumitaka Yano and Hideo Minaba from CyDesignation...

With Minaba-san and Mirages – Yano

Here is my late-summer greeting card.

I’m meeting you for the first time. I’m Fumitaka Yano, and I work as an art director at Atlus.

This time I’m going to discuss things that are related to art.

Nintendo and Atlus are developing #FE together. Also everything isn’t done in-house, as many people are cooperating on the project.

On the art side, prominent people are participating, like toi8-san with character designs and Minaba-san leading the people of CyDesignation with Mirage designs.

As toi8-san has talked about things like the character outlines in a previous blog, this time I’d like to introduce Minaba-san, who is responsible for designing Mirages that are like buddies for the main characters.

I got an order from director Hirata when creating the world of #FE, ‘I want to make a story in which the player is living in present-day Japan and meets by chance people that have completely different principles’, and I racked my brains in order to find a person who could express this kind of a world.

In the middle of that, a discussion came up how Minaba-san of CyDesignation is known for combining fantasy and science and how that would be just fitting for Mirage design.

Minaba-san is well-known from certain epic RPGs and he is a very busy person on top of that, so I was nervous whether he would accept to talk, but when I visited his office with a #FE project summary in my hands, he was interested and we gladly accepted to cooperate.

Now I’m going to tell you about an impressive episode of encountering Minaba-san.

I think it was on December 2013, when we had the first meeting with Minaba-san at Atlus.

Just when things related to this game’s world, protagonists and Mirages were explained, Minaba-san, who had been silent up to this point, suddenly took out a brush and created a character in a moment! It was that cool-looking Chrom. With speed that was like magic, he overwhelmed everyone who happened to be there. No – he wanted to show everyone!

Although image documents for creating 3D models were drawn again later, that influential silhouette and essence that was drawn during the meeting was entirely fixed at that early phase.

There are still Mirages that haven’t been shown to everyone, and all of them have a wonderful design, so please look forward to it.

Of course we at Atlus don’t lose to people who are cooperating with us when it comes to working hard every day. In order to show visually that characters are an active part of the show business, we elaborated a plan to produce many different stages and gorgeous costumes. If you’re a fan of Atlus, you might recognize some familiar outfits… (haha, please look forward to those, too)

The project is currently entering debugging, and all of the developers are going all out on the challenge every day. I hope you will like it.

Also many people have helped us, like Tomomi Ozaki and Hokekyo Tashiro, and I’d like discuss it in detail, but the developers’ turn is coming to an end and I’d like to return to the frontlines.

Thank you for reading until the end.

[On the greeting card/art:] It isn’t just about females, hello from the male side! Toma is a really cool guy! -Yano

About the design of Mirages – Minaba

Hello.

I’m [Hideo] Minaba from CyDesignation, and I was responsible of designing Mirages.

I wanted to write an article that has something to do with designing Mirages, but I pondered what I’d write and I thought to discuss ‘identity’.

As you know, Genei Ibun Roku #FE is designed as a collaboration of Fire Emblem and Atlus. I’m following that concept plan also in the Mirage design.

…But that is difficult!

I’m originally ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ type of person, so I think that putting a thread through a needle hole like this is my strong point, but early Fire Emblem games that I respect and love have character designs that are just impossible! Straightly put, they have their unique design.

And it is wonderful how each of the series tends to reflect their own era. In addition to this, Atlus works on both Shin Megami Tensei and Persona! (It goes without saying!) … I remember starting designing while thinking it was an impossible mission.
While Mirage Chrom is named Chrom and the design represents successive lord lineage, it has sharpness and darkness that is a characteristic of Atlus games. And you can’t have him taking the spotlight from the main character, but then again you can’t lower his presence too much, either.

It is the same for Caeda. Whether a red or blue outfit would be better was already a cause of trouble. (During a play she wears red, but usually Fire Emblem series shows allies with blue costumes and enemies with red costumes in-game)
At those times I remembered the words of Takada-san from Atlus.

‘In order to pile up two cultures on top of another, we too had discussions repeatedly at first, we did trial and error over and over again, but finally it is something that has the identity of the creator.’

Please enjoy the fruits of struggling to find an identity like that.

[Junko]

So, I got quite a bit of news here.

SMTxFE is released on December 26th in Japan and there's DLC costumes, along with a Limited Edition

Along with a new blog post from the game’s director Shinjiro Takada, Nintendo has confirmed that the Japanese release date of the Wii U exclusive Genei Ibun Roku #FE will be on December 26, 2015.

Just in time for the New Year holidays, Genei Ibun Roku #FE will be releasing in Japan on December 26th for 6,700 yen. Additionally, Atlus specific DLC costumes for the characters in the game have been revealed as first-print copy bonuses, following Fumitaka Yano’s recent hint:

From left to right: Walter (SMT IV), Protagonist (Devil Survivor 2), Rei (Persona Q), Princess (Etrian Odyssey III)

The upcoming turn-based RPG will have two retail editions: the normal edition, and the Genei Ibun Roku #FE Fortissimo Edition.

Derived from the musical term relating to playing very loudly, the special “Fortissimo” edition will cost 9,698 yen (including tax) and contain the following:

• A special box illustrated by toi8 (the game’s character designer).
• An original art book with various concept art and designs.
• Original costume DLC codes (Fashion Show set, Girls Swimsuit Set, Boys Swimsuit Set).
• Original soundtrack CD with 6 songs carefully selected among the game’s vocal tracks, including Kiria’s “Reincarnation” (by Yoshino Nanjo).
• A ticket to the Genei Ibun Roku #FE Premium LIVE concert.

Additionally, there will also be a special Wii U bundle version of the “Fortissimo Edition” for the game costing 40,824 yen (including tax), which will come with a 32 GB black Wii U console, six character specific lyric cards for their songs (album-sized), two exclusive sticker sheets and a “3 Support Quest” set DLC card.

Hit the spoiler for close-ups on the stuff included in the Fortissimo Edition.

What is this #FE Premium Live Concert?

Taking place on May 15th, 2016, “the Genei Ibun Roku #FE Premium LIVE” (tentative name) concert for the upcoming Wii U exclusive RPG will feature live performances of music from the game with the respective character voice actors who originally contributed to the vocals.

All “Fortissimo Edition” copies of Genei Ibun Roku #FE (including the Wii U bundle version) will include a ticket bundled in for the Premium LIVE concert.

Event Details

• Date: May 15, 2016
• Location: Nakano Sun Plaza

Annnnnnnnd, just a screenshot fest. Hit the spoiler for them.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Athena Cykes

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

More new info translated from the blog

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/09/25/shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem-composer-on-the-challenge-of-video-game-music/

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem Composer On The Challenge Of Video Game Music

By Sato . September 25, 2015 . 3:00am

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The official page of Genei Ibun Roku ♯FE, or what we’re calling Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem until it gets an official English title, has a new blog post featuring the game’s BGM composer Yoshiaki Fujisawa, who talks about his involvement in the upcoming RPG.

 

Yoshiaki Fujisawa has worked on plenty of music arrangements in the past, including arrangements for talents such as Kenichi “Hyadain” Maeyamada, music for some anime such as Nichijou, and more recently Love Live and GATE. For Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem he’s working for Avex Group, known for having produced many of Japan’s famous pop singers such as Ayumi Hamasaki.

 

Fujisawa says that his work with Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem all started back with a single phone call in late-fall of 2013.

 

“Fujisawa-san, are you busy?”

 

It was from Avex’s Aburai [George Aburai] who shot  the proposal, and from there, it was decided that he’d join the staff in the development of a new game, which would end up being Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. From there, he met up with the developers and sound team, learned more about the game, and was a bit nervous, considering that he’s more familiar with working on music for anime an TV shows.

 

The first thing he felt was “it was very difficult!”

 

Fujisawa explains that he struggled a lot in the completely different mindset that is required for making video game music, as he’s more familiar with how things are done for TV shows. Everything from the timing, flow, and feelings of a song, were all different from the way he usually works on music; however, the sound team from Atlus gave him all kinds of advice that came in handy for his work.

 

Fujisawa notes that working with the team in an incredibly creative environment, where ideas shapes themselves up, was really fun. He recalls how excited he felt when they first checked out a demonstration of one of his songs, although he says that he was always nervous whenever it came to presenting the songs, nonetheless.

 

Since “entertainment” is a big theme of Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Fujisawa explains that the game is full of songs that bring out the feelings of the stages and floors, and plenty of groovy tracks.

 

“Especially for the battles—I just can’t help but want to dance [to the music] while fighting!” exclaims Fujisawa, as he explains that all the field and event scene tracks have been made with a variety of tracks that have been made through the challenges of ideas provided from the team.

 

“Oh, and everything about this title is overwhelmingly great, if I do say so myself.”

 

Fujisawa ended the blog post with a look at the above image. It’s actually a character that appears in the game, and it was modeled after the composer’s actual looks.

 

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem will release in Japan on December 26, 2015 for Wii U.

 

Read more stories about Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem & Wii U on Siliconera.

[Junko]

We have some new characters and Mirages to talk about.

The new characters are:

• Mamori Minamoto (voiced by Kaori Fukuhara) – A talent and Mirage Master that belongs to the same public entertainment office as the protagonists. She’s an elementary school student that likes Showa era songs and clothing.
• Barry Goodman (voiced by Yuichi Nakamura) – A once popular musician who’s come to Japan in search of otaku culture. Following his retirement, he works with the protagonists as a trainer.

Famitsu also confirms Mirages, otherworldly beings drawn to people’s creative energy and fight alongside the protagonists, for a couple of previously announced characters:

• Kiria Kurono – Tharja (Fire Emblem Awakening)
• Eleonora Yumizuru – Virion (Fire Emblem Awakening)
• Mamori Minamoto – Draug (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Blade of Light)

Just for some perspective to attach names to faces:

 

 

And although we don't have art for Mamori, here's her Mirage-to-be, Draug.

[Junko]

So, because we go in to the new characters, I should explain the one gimmick called Carnage Forms:

Mirage Masters can transform in battles by borrowing power from their Mirage partners. This adorns them with a combat outfit while fighting called the character’s “Carnage Form.” The character’s clothes in this form reflect their personality, and battles become more intense when they are worn.

Now, the recent Famitsu article detailed some key things regarding #FE in general:

There are a few keywords for Genei Ibun Roku #FE like “Idolsphere”, “Mirage”, and “Mirage Master”. The Idolsphere is an alternate version of cities such as Shibuya and Harajuku where the Mirages come from. As for the plot, it’s about an average protagonist who stumbles into such a world. Mirages are mysterious beings from the Idolsphere dimension that lend their power to humans. Of course, they look like Fire Emblem series’ heroes and villains. Mirage Masters, who receive aid in battle from heroes such as Chrom and Caeda, are those who hold a mysterious power that allows them to utilize Mirages by summoning them.

Mamori Minamoto, voiced by Kaori Fukuhara, is one of the new characters introduced by Famitsu. She’s a talented Mirage Master who works in the same entertainment district as the protagonist. Mamori had a small break to fame as the “Wrenchin’ Idol Mamorin”. We also know that she’s a middle schooler who loves to sing Showa ballads and wears traditional clothing.

Barry Goodman is another new character, and he’s voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura. Barry is a musician who came to Japan seeking Otaku culture (loves the anime “Dear Witch Mother” by the way!) He’s a trainer of Fortuna Entertainment, and teaches the protagonist and others Spartan-like lessons. Famitsu describes him as a strict teacher from abroad named the “Demon Instructor” in the entertainment world. Thanks to his bright demeanor that makes any place feel at ease, he’s a “mood-maker”.

Here’s more information on Mirages and characters:

Draug

– Voice Work: Takeuchi Ryouta
– Mamori’s Mirage
– Mirage of an impregnable Armor Knight
– Supports with great defense
– Utilizes a giant axe in combat to assist his master

Eleonora

– Voice Work: Ayane Sakura
– A half Japanese girl who aims for Hollywood
– Likes to be called Ellie
– An upperclassman to those in the Entertainment World and as a Mirage Master
– A caring older sister type

Virion

– Voice Work: Hiromichi Kogami
– The Mirage of a magnificent archer
– His noble personality sticks out when having to support the unmanageable Eleonora
– Changes into a bow during battle

Kiria

– A top musician who is both cool and beautiful
– Has a lot of support from younger people
– Has a secretive private life, not many people know about it

Tharja

– A Mirage of a Dark Mage that uses forbidden arts
– Supports Kiria by becoming a staff in battle, also supports her in everyday life

Genei Ibun Roku #FE’s two worlds – the Entertainment and Other World – have their own battles. In the Entertainemnt World, it’s a modern Tokyo setting that looks peaceful. Allies here are involved in entertainment lessons, live shows, and other events. The “Other World” has players defeating invaders by summoning allies from the Idolsphere in a turn-based combat setting.

Here's some official art for Barry, Mamori, Draug, Tharja and Virion (the rest in a dump after)

Annnnnnd here are the carnage forms.

And time to put names to faces for you guys.

Itsuki Aoi w/ Chrom

Tsubasa Oribe w/ Caeda

Toma Agaki w/ Cain

Kiria Kurono w/ Tharja

Eleonora (Ellie) Yumiziru w/ Virion

Mamori Minamoto w/ Draug

[Junko]

Two new trailers... if you can speak Japanese.

 

[Junko]

Update since only I care, however.

Game overview trailer.

 

Bloom Palace:

 

Carnage Unity: Using materials acquired in dungeons and through battles to craft new weapons called “Carnage” for characters to wield.

Radiant Unity: As Mirage masters improve and gain “Performa” from enemies in battle, they can gain new abilities called “Radiant Skills” that help them in the entertainment world, as well as skills which can be used in battle.

Class Change: As in the Fire Emblem series, items called “Master Seals” can be used to change a Mirages class to another, such as Caeda changing from her default Pegasus Knight to a Falcon Knight or Wyvern Rider.

New character called Yashio with Narbarl as a Mirage. 

Final boxart:

New character art:

Here's a dungeon and battle overview trailer:

And since the game is just over a week out for Japan, here's the eShop size:

 

[JaidynReiman]

I'm still interested, but my interest will peak more once we learn more about when it'll be localized. I thought it'd be early 2016 but we've heard nothing about it, so now I suspect it'll be a lot later.

[Nexthehedgehog]

Super Saiyen Marth is now a thing, deal with it!

[Junko]

 

[Salamander]

Subbing it without dubbing it is probably the best thing they could have done with this game, given that it's so rooted in the Japanese music industry not just as a theme but in terms of its production.  ...Also considering that this is not going to sell well in the west by a long chalk, given how completely removed it is from the original intentions of the project and the interests of the fanbases and the tastes of western consumers.

[Conando]

I'll probably give it a go regardless, because I do like the systems of both Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. Gonna be really weirded out by all the pop idoling though.

[Candescence]

I'll probably try it out at some point, I hear the game itself is apparently really good for a JRPG.

[Graystripe2000]

We have a rumor on alleged changes in the western versions. http://personacentral.com/potential-tokyo-mirage-sessions-fe-localization-content-changes/

[ElectricAngel]

I never really followed this game much, but after seeing it in Nintendo Directs, I'm a little interested. I haven't played Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem seems like a weird thing to include in this type of game but other than that.. it looks interesting, if not confusing. Still not sure how the game is supposed to play, but then again, I haven't read up on anything. One thing that does interest me is the musical aspect. Heck, I might get the game alone for the music. :V Though it does seem like a nice RPG too. Just with odd mechanics that I'm sure I'll get used to once I start playing. 

[Radiant Hero Ike]

THEY'RE CENSORING IT

Which is fine because if they didn't it'd probably be rated M and I don't really play M rated games for personal reasons.

I'm still looking forward to this yes, I love RPGs.

Think we might get DLC at some point that adds some Fates stuff?

[PSI Wind]

On 3/4/2016 at 5:08 PM, Valentine's Playa Kirito said:

THEY'RE CENSORING IT

Which is fine because if they didn't it'd probably be rated M and I don't really play M rated games for personal reasons.

I'm still looking forward to this yes, I love RPGs.

Think we might get DLC at some point that adds some Fates stuff?

They're only editing costumes which, by the way, cleavage in a T game is still 100% allowed. I honestly don't mind the changes (especially the spats) as I don't really care about cosmetic changes but its still really fucking dumb. Things like Fates where they actually cut out game content I can never defend and support, so it's a good thing I can still support this as while its lame we won't get the DLC, I rarely buy DLC on consoles and they aren't cutting content already in the game.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

48 minutes ago, PSI Wind said:

They're only editing costumes which, by the way, cleavage in a T game is still 100% allowed. I honestly don't mind the changes (especially the spats) as I don't really care about cosmetic changes but its still really fucking dumb. Things like Fates where they actually cut out game content I can never defend and support, so it's a good thing I can still support this as while its lame we won't get the DLC, I rarely buy DLC on consoles and they aren't cutting content already in the game.

Well sure cleavage isn't some horrible sin but I figure there might be some other things, mixed with the scantily clad women, that might make it M rated. Though if it was only rated B in Japan then my concern was for nothing, lel. I just assumed it would be M since the Personas were (I think).

Oh also... Spats? What's that?

[Salamander]

8 hours ago, Valentine's Playa Kirito said:

Oh also... Spats? What's that?

The classiest shoe accessory.  Live your life like it's 1916, not 2016.

[PSI Wind]

No, not THOSE Spats. The Bike Short spats.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Ohh.

Yeah, I was kinda wondering how panties were turned into those.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

So this highly anticipated game that everyone definitely wants to buy is getting a special edition!

http://nintendoinquirer.com/blog/2016/04/20/tokyo-mirage-sessions-fe-gets-special-edition-launch/

$80, has an artbook, soundtrack CD, some cards, and the DLC.

Also I remembered why I thought it would be M rated, the first trailer said it was anticipated to be rated Mature. :V

[Junko]

30 minutes ago, Gambling Idol Luka said:

So this highly anticipated game that everyone definitely wants to buy is getting a special edition!

http://nintendoinquirer.com/blog/2016/04/20/tokyo-mirage-sessions-fe-gets-special-edition-launch/

$80, has an artbook, soundtrack CD, some cards, and the DLC.

Also I remembered why I thought it would be M rated, the first trailer said it was anticipated to be rated Mature. :V

Also something to note is that the DLC costumes come out on launch at cost $1.99 each.