Fire Emblem Warriors

Fire Emblem Warriors (ファイアーエムブレム無双, Fire Emblem Musou) is a collaboration title between Omega Force's Warriors IP and Nintendo's Fire Emblem series, making it Koei's fourth major collaboration with a Nintendo franchise. It was first revealed during the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 12, 2017.

Yosuke Hayashi is the producer, Kouya Usuda is director, and Masahiro Higuchi serves as supervisor on behalf of Intelligent Systems. According to Hayashi, Nintendo executives had approached him to do a Fire Emblem Warriors collaboration during the early development phases of Hyrule Warriors Legends. At the time, Hayashi and crew were too engrossed in Zelda to immediately consider it. Shortly after Legends's completion, he asked the same team to work on the Fire Emblem project and selected the ones who are Fire Emblem fans to join development. Hayashi was pleased by the reactions the project's announcement received from developers in the company and fans around the world. He was personally surprised that this project hadn't happened before Zelda.

Unlike Zelda, Fire Emblem's strategy base was a challenge to adapt for the team. Their goal was to include Fire Emblem aesthetic and gameplay traits in a way that would satisfy Intelligent System's criticisms while showcasing their appeal to non-strategy fans. Playable characters were selected based on developer and publisher requests, and by overall popularity with series's fans. As a result, the other hurdle became distinguishing the vast number of sword-wielding characters. Key poses for attack animations eventually drew inspiration from promotional artwork and material for a character's respective title. While there were numerous setbacks, Hayashi believes that every party involved in development was just as excited as the fans for this game and hopes everyone enjoys it.

Players who order the Premium Box edition will receive a visual book, a copy of the game's soundtrack, and postcards featuring the playable cast. The Treasure Box edition includes all the aforementioned items plus a voiced Dragonstone paperweight.

Plot
After the death of their king, the Kingdom of Aytolis was expecting the next heirs, a brother and sister, to take over the throne. However, that all changed when a mysterious portal brought forth monsters within the royal castle. They besieged the kingdom and left it in shambles, forcing the royal family to flee. The two siblings carried with them the Fire Emblem, a relic from their mother Queen Yelena, in hopes of one day eliminating the danger threatening their lands. Along the way, they come across otherworldly heroes who lend their support to restore order.

Gameplay

 * Players can deploy up to 8 (4 playable, 4 NPC allies) characters for a battle, with some restrictions depending on the battle. The player can freely switch between the playable characters during battles like in the Samurai Warriors Chronicles games. Although players can only control one character at a time, simple commands may be issued to the other party members through the grid-based map screen.
 * The Pair-Up mechanic introduced in Awakening also is implemented in this game, as characters can pair up, switch, and separate. When fighting in pairs, the character being controlled by the player is referred to as the "Vanguard" unit, while the character not being controlled is referred to as the "Support" unit. If both the Vanguard and Support unit are playable characters, then the player can freely switch between them when paired up.
 * When paired up, the Support unit can be called in for an attack after filling up a meter.
 * When paired up, the Support unit can auto-block some attacks for the Vanguard unit.
 * It is possible to delegate orders to NPC allies on the menu screen, similar to the Dynasty Warriors Empires games.
 * Musou attacks are referred to as Warrior Specials in this entry. Characters may also devastate surrounding enemies with an Awakening once the rage meter is filled. If players are fighting with paired characters, they can unleash a Dual Special instead.
 * The Awakening Special can be performed either by performing a Warriors Special during Awakening, or by letting the Awakening gauge naturally deplete.
 * The Dual Special can be performed when both the Vanguard and Support unit have a full Musou gauge. The animation for the attack will be different depending on which character is the Vanguard and which is the Support.
 * Battle maps contain various bases like in Hyrule Warriors and the One Piece: Pirate Warriors games, and must be captured to secure spawn points and strongholds.
 * Useful actions include dodge maneuvers, guarding, and a camera target lock-on function.
 * Outside of mounted units where the character and mount are glued to each other and are treated as a single entity, there are no mounts in the game. To help with map traversal, all characters have a sprinting animation that allow them to run at speeds rivaling that of mounts in traditional Warriors titles.
 * Fire Emblem mechanics like the weapon triangle and unit class system are implemented in the game.
 * Known weapon types include swords, Lances, axes, bows, tomes, and dragonstones. Some come with unique attributes for defeating specific units.
 * Attacking enemies of disadvantaged weapon types can allow players to deplete an enemy's Stun Gauge and trigger Critical Hits, which are Fire Emblem Warriors implementations of the Storm Rush attack function from Dynasty Warriors 8. Aside from dealing heavy damage, it also recovers a portion of the rage meter.
 * Characters that were non-combatant characters in their base classes in the Fire Emblem games (such as Lissa, Elise and Sakura) are given modified movesets to match up to other classes based on what they promote into.
 * When units level up, they will receive a random stat increase and possibly change class. Permanent stat boosts are possible through the emblem shop system.
 * The Fire Emblem stat system is retained, but adapted to fit Warriors gameplay:
 * HP – Maximum HP
 * Strength – Affects damage dealt for those using swords, axes, lances and bows.
 * Magic – Affects damage dealt for those using tomes and dragonstones.
 * Skill – Affects power of Critical Hits and Warrior Specials.
 * Speed – Affects how long the character can stay in Awakening.
 * Luck – Affects the drop rate of recovery items and also the effectiveness of some chance-triggered skills like Sol and Luna.
 * Defense – Reduces physical damage taken
 * Resistance – Reduces magical damage taken
 * The amount of points gained in each attribute for a given level is fixed in Warriors, as opposed to most other Fire Emblem titles.
 * Flying units gain exclusive access to out-of-reach areas, but take more damage from archers.
 * The support mechanic is included, though they are strictly limited to friendship. These are acquired by raising bond levels – as in Fire Emblem, this can be done while characters fight paired up, or when they heal each other, but in Warriors, fulfilling requests can also increase bonds.
 * Support ratings go from C,B, A/A+. Only some pairs will have an A+ rating in place of a regular A rating.
 * A and A+ rankings are functionally the same. The difference is that reaching A+ Support triggers a unique support conversation event between the two characters. For the most part, characters' support conversations are with characters that they cannot form supports with, even if they are from the same game (for example, Sakura and Camilla were not able to support in Fates but can do so in Warriors.
 * Reaching A or A+ Support also bestows Essences of the two characters, which can be used for others to learn those characters' unique Crests.
 * History Mode re-enacts previous Fire Emblem battles on a 2D grid map. Each is taken from one of the games represented – for example, the first map, "Invisible Ties", is taken from Awakening, while the second, "The Path is Yours", is taken from Fates.
 * Another Fire Emblem element that is available is the option of selecting Casual or Classic Mode for the player's gameplay experience. However, instead of the regular Classic Mode "permadeath" option (In regular Fire Emblem Classic Mode, allowing a story character to die means they are lost for the rest of the campaign), the Warriors equivalent excludes wounded characters from participating in battle, though they will still appear in story events.
 * The Camp menu in between battles allows players to upgrade characters and their equipment in the following ways:
 * The Crest Market, which uses materials to unlock and upgrade the characters in a similar manner to the Badge system in Hyrule Warriors.
 * Included in the Crest Market is the Surge Crest, which requires using Master Seals. Crafting this Crest will promote that character to their next class, which in turn unlocks new costumes, heavily upgrades stats, and unlocks new Crests to be crafted..
 * The Smithy, where weapons can be enhanced by fusion, appraised, or sold. As in Hyrule Warriors, some abilities are locked and require a given number of KOs to unlock, but can be appraised here for a price.
 * The Temple, which is similar to the Apothecary in Hyrule Warriors. Here players can craft Blessings by using up materials, which provide an enhancement for the next battle. Players may also be able to return wounded characters to fighting shape using this option.
 * The Training Ground, which returns from Hyrule Warriors. This allows players to spend Gold to forcefully level up underleveled characters. A character can only be trained to the level of the highest-leveled character using this method.
 * Much like the Samurai Warriors series, players are given objectives to follow via a voiced navigator, informing them of in-game missions, accomplishments, and failures. The default voice belongs to Anna; however, after beating the game's story, players can unlock the option to use the voices of the rest of the playable cast.
 * Downloadable content includes costumes, characters, new weapons, new History Mode maps, new equippable items, and new materials.

Story Mode
The main campaign of the game, which covers twenty-two chapters. Every chapter after the first contains two of Anna's Mementos.

History Mode
A game mode which recreates famous chapters from the Fire Emblem series. Each History Mode is a grid-based map with sprites on it that represent battles. Players will need to beat these battles in order to clear the way and open up the path to the rest of the map. In a similar manner to Hyrule Warriors' Adventure Mode, these stages have different challenges and restrictions. Each battle has a level number attached, warning how strong the foes will be. Battles in this mode are ranked, with S being the highest, and sometimes granting unique rewards for achieving said rank. The rewards in questions maps include more of Anna's Mementos, special weapons (and the ability to strengthen characters' unique weapons), special items, hidden characters, and extra costumes.

Five maps are included in the vanilla title, and a further ten so far have been released (one free, and then three for each of the three DLC packs that were part of the Season Pass.) All except one are based at least loosely (and unless noted otherwise, directly) on at least one map from a previous Fire Emblem title, and features both characters who feature regularly in the chapter and characters from other characters deputizing in the other roles. Each of the nine maps that are part of the paid DLC also corresponds to a chapter where a DLC character is either recruitable or first playable in his or her original Fire Emblem title.


 * Invisible Ties – Awakening Chapter 23
 * The Path is Yours – Fates (all versions) Chapter 6
 * The Dark Pontifex – The Dark Pontifex Lives – Mystery of the Emblem Endgame Part 2 (Original) / Chapter 23 (New Mystery)
 * Noble Lady of Caelin – The Blazing Blade Chapter 15E/16H
 * Together to the End – Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia Act 5
 * Hero Challenge – Original
 * Grief (DLC – Azura) – Mother – Fates (all versions) Chapter 5 / Memories – Fates (Revelation) Chapter 22 / Arete Undone – Fates (Revelation) Chapter 23
 * Land of Gods (DLC – Oboro) – Fates (Birthright) Chapter 9
 * Cold Reception (DLC – Niles) – Fates (Conquest) Chapter 8
 * A Brush in the Teeth (DLC – Navarre) – Shadow Dragon Chapter 3
 * Princess Minerva (DLC – Minerva) – Shadow Dragon Chapter 10
 * Knorda Market (DLC – Linde) – Shadow Dragon Chapter 11
 * Scion of Legend (DLC – Owain) – Awakening Paralogue 5
 * Emmeryn (DLC – Tharja) – Awakening Chapter 9
 * Caravan Dancer (DLC – Olivia) – Mad King Gangrel – Awakening Chapter 11

Convoy
A menu where players can manage their weapons, items, costumes, and support levels. This screen can be accessed in the battle preparation screen.

Camp
This is where Crests are forged, weapons are strengthened or sold, temporary boosts are purchased from a temple, and character levels can be purchased. This mode can only be accessed outside of any individual battle.

Extras
Badges (replacing the medals achievement system from Hyrule Warriors) can be found here. Unlocked music tracks, audio clips, and illustrations are also found here. Previous Support conversations can be accessed here as well. Amiibos are scanned in this mode for their rewards.

Characters
The title mostly features characters from Shadow Dragon, Awakening, and Fates, who are primarily important to the game's main storyline.
 * See also Class Types (Fire Emblem Warriors)

Fire Emblem: Warriors

 * Rowan
 * Lianna
 * Anna
 * Darios (UNPC)
 * Yelena (UNPC)
 * Oskar (UNPC)
 * Velezark (UNPC Final Boss)

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

 * Marth
 * Caeda
 * Tiki
 * Navarre (UNPC/DLC)
 * Minerva (DLC)
 * Linde (DLC)
 * Gharnef (UNPC)

Fire Emblem: Awakening

 * Chrom
 * Lissa
 * Frederick
 * Robin
 * Lucina
 * Cordelia
 * Owain (UNPC/DLC)
 * Tharja (DLC)
 * Olivia (DLC)
 * Validar (UNPC)

Fire Emblem: Fates

 * Corrin
 * Ryoma
 * Xander
 * Hinoka
 * Camilla
 * Takumi
 * Leo
 * Elise
 * Sakura
 * Azura (DLC)
 * Niles (UNPC/DLC)
 * Oboro (UNPC/DLC)
 * Iago (UNPC)

Other

 * Lyndis (Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade)
 * Celica (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

Stages
The stages found in this game are new to the series, but draw inspiration from locations in the Fire Emblem franchise.


 * Aytolis Castle
 * Aytolis City
 * Kingswood
 * Dragon Valley
 * Desert Arena – inspired by Regna Ferox, including Arena Ferox (Awakening)
 * Desolate Gorge
 * Castle Sol – inspired by Castle Shirasagi, Hoshido (Fates)
 * Ebony Volcano
 * Dusk Castle – inspired by Castle Krakenburg, Windmire, Nohr (Fates)
 * Great Plain
 * Fortified Citadel
 * The World Tree
 * The Interspace

Badges
Badges are similar to the medals of Hyrule Warriors, serving as internal achievement tracker for the game.

Bronze Medals=
 * -|Silver Medals=
 * -|Gold Medals=

Related Media
Fire Emblem Direct showcased the game on January 18. Compatible amiibo for this title include Chrom and Tiki.

Yuuma and Maaya Uchida hosted a livestream of them playing Nintendo Switch games together; Fire Emblem Warriors was among the titles included in the video.

Trivia

 * This is the first Fire Emblem game to not have playable Armor Knights and Lance Cavaliers despite an early interview suggesting otherwise.