How would you are feeling if the subsequent mainline Fire Emblem sport was solely a social sim?
While a change this drastic is nearly actually not within the playing cards, the id disaster presently confronted by Fire Emblem signifies that change should come. While Engage’s 1.61 million gross sales as of March 2023 is respectable for the franchise, it marks a return to 3DS-era numbers after whispers of blockbuster standing when Three Houses bought practically 3 million in its first fiscal year. The cause for this discrepancy is straightforward: Three Houses expanded the fanbase by shifting the main target away from its technique parts, whereas Engage doubled down on its technique roots.
It’s fairly the pickle for any franchise when a reputation spike happens for causes that run counter to its conventional method. However, these which can be already taking part in to area of interest genres can shortly be reshaped by such a phenomenon. Turn-based technique video games—one such style—hardly ever come near attaining million-seller standing. It took Fire Emblem over 20 years to realize this regardless of being arguably the most important participant within the house. Awakening notoriously saved the franchise from imminent demise by garnering a fanbase round its marriage system that later advanced into the Persona-coded social simulation of Three Houses.
Simplifications like outsized bland maps and the removing of the signature weapon triangle would’ve buried another entry than Three Houses, however the common participant wasn’t targeted on this; they wished to sip tea with their lord of selection, romance their favourite pupil (insert a collar tug right here), and micromanage their monastery duties. If social media chatter across the franchise wasn’t already character-focused earlier than this seminal Switch entry, after releasing it turned an all-out transport conflict. Some followers of older Fire Emblem formulation have been left behind within the course of, however a newfound viewers doubled the franchise’s attain. Fire Emblem turned synonymous with its social parts and there was no turning again if Nintendo wished to keep up the momentum of its reputation.
Three Houses characters look and act like individuals, whereas Engage characters look and act like caricatures.
But turning again is precisely what Nintendo tried with Engage.
Perhaps extra aptly, Engage tried to have its papaya and eat it, too. For my cash, the essential moment-to-moment decision-making—significantly relating to the titular “engage” mechanic—resulted in Intelligent Systems’ most enthralling fight system but, however by this identical token many new followers who confirmed up for an immersive social narrative have been alienated.
That’s in the event that they confirmed up in any respect, as the sport’s narrative and writing high quality have been extensively panned, and there have been fewer significant social methods by which to work together with characters. Even the characters themselves didn’t match the mould of contemporary Fire Emblem needs. Three Houses characters look and act like individuals, whereas Engage characters look and act like caricatures. This boldness works properly for the normal Fire Emblem method whereby most characters solely have plot relevance throughout their introductory mission (in order that they’re free to perma-die thereafter), however that philosophy is antithetical to what made its predecessor sensationally standard.
Would or not it’s a lot of a attain to then say I may get pleasure from a Fire Emblem sport that solely targeted on socializing?
It could seem apparent that Intelligent Systems ought to merely copy and paste the Three Houses method for the subsequent mainline Fire Emblem, however this tactic has spectacularly faceplanted previously. Fates carbon-copied Awakening’s homework however coloured between the traces with much less memorable characters and bloat by the boatload. It’s additionally noteworthy that Heroes, the most important Fire Emblem moneymaker, simplified fight to the purpose that it performs second-fiddle to the seasonal character outfits.
So, change should come. Or extra particularly, the franchise should adapt to the needs of its largest participant base, lest it danger returning to its perilous pre-Awakening state. To which I ask once more: what if the subsequent Fire Emblem sport absolutely embraced being a social sim, even to the purpose of abandoning its turn-based technique roots?
Let’s take into account three potentialities of what this future may appear like:
- If you fully take away fight, you then need to confront the problem that warfare continues to be a story pillar of the franchise. Perhaps a social sim on this setting may act as a commentary on the affect an out of doors conflict has on residents inside a kingdom. Think of this because the story that takes place whereas the turn-based Fire Emblem sport you’d sometimes be commandeering is ongoing. Character decisions influenced by your interactions may result in outcomes like permadeath (perhaps you fail to persuade them to not be part of the conflict) or romance. Point is, most of the conceptual concepts and thematic parts of Fire Emblem can stay on in a format that eschews fight. Combat-based entries may very well be relegated to remakes of basic video games within the Echoes lineage.
- For a much less nuclear choice, turn-based fight may very well be an optionally available offshoot of a social sim story. You may select to ship armies out to routinely combat so that you can internet additional time for social duties, whereas gamers who wish to take level on the battlefield may nonetheless achieve this. Balancing storytelling and pacing on this format could be troublesome to strike and creating primarily two video games in a single is one thing builders aren’t usually wont to do. Still, a ‘do what you need’ mannequin labored for video games like Fantasy Life so maybe there’s a method to additionally implement it right here.
- They may change the fight style to at least one extra approachable for the common gamer. I discussed the Persona stylings of Three Houses earlier, however what if it took the idea to its logical conclusion and made full-stop medieval Persona? Frankly, little change could be wanted to suit conventional JRPG dungeons into the slots the place main story beats occur in Three Houses and fill the interim content material with Mementos-style dungeon crawling. We may even go so far as going the motion route, one thing Three Hopes already proved viable.
This is to not say that I’m championing a future the place Fire Emblem isn’t a bastion for turn-based technique followers. However, when considering again on the 2 mainline Switch entries I’m met with a conundrum. Despite having main points with Three Houses’ fight design while adoring Engage’s, I nonetheless suppose extra fondly of the previous for the bonds I constructed with its pupil physique. Would or not it’s a lot of a attain to then say I may get pleasure from a Fire Emblem sport that solely targeted on socializing?
I suppose the reply to that query may solely ever come within the type of Nintendo greenlighting such a challenge, however the extra I’ve contemplated this risk the extra I’ve grow to be considering seeing that sport exist.
Would you play a Fire Emblem sport that targeted totally on its social parts as an alternative of turn-based fight? Or do you continue to swear by the stalwart weapon triangle?
