Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (幻影異聞録♯FE Genei Ibunroku ♯FE, lit. Illusory Revelation Sharp FE) is the title for an upcoming RPG for the Wii U. A collaboration between Atlus and Intelligent Systems, it is a crossover between the Fire Emblem series and the Shin Megami Tensei series. The game was released on December 26, 2015 in Japan and will be released on June 24, 2016 in North America and Europe.

Development
The origins of Tokyo Mirage Sessions date back to 2011, during a point when Atlus was working with Nintendo on an app for the DSi and 3DS. Kaori Ando, a producer at Nintendo, approached her coworker Hitoshi Yamagami with the suggestion that they pitch Atlus the idea of working together on a crossover between Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei. Atlus intially turned down the pitch due to not having the time for the project, but in 2012 reopened talks with Nintendo regarding the idea.

The game was first announced to the public via a teaser trailer during a Nintendo Direct video presentation on January 23, 2013. The teaser consisted of character art from past Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei titles and was presented with the working title of Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem.

For the following two years, information on the game was sparse. Yamagami revealed to the magazine Hobby Consolas in an interview published on July 9, 2013 that the game will be set in the modern era. Nearly a year later, on June 11, 2014, Yamagami and other members of Intelligent Systems held a Q&A during E3 focused on their just-announced new intellectual property Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. During the Q&A, the question of Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem's status was brought up. Yamagami responded by saying that development was "on schedule", but did not elaborate any further.

On April 1, 2015, Nintendo unveiled the first proper trailer for the game in a Nintendo Direct, showcasing the game's look, as well as snippets of gameplay, cutscenes, and character interactions. It also showed some of the main protagonists and enemies.

The trailer was set to the song "Reincarnation," which in the game is a number one hit on the charts and performed by the character Kiria Kurono, a pop singer. Though the song has an upbeat tone, the lyrics reference darker desires to destroy, to disappear, and to be reincarnated. Music in general appears to be a central theme of the game, as musical references can be seen elsewhere, such as combat system's UI. In the Japanese version of the presentation, the game's Japanese title Genei Ibun Roku ♯FE, was announced. ♯FE, or Sharp FE, is another reference to music; a major thematic element of the game's presentation.

An E3 2015 trailer debuted on June 16, 2015 during Nintendo's Digital Event. The trailer showed the main characters in more detail, in addition to more snippets of gameplay. The trailer also put more emphasis on explaining how Fire Emblem characters fit into the game's universe as "Mirages." On June 17, Nintendo showcased the game during the Nintendo Treehouse livestream, where they demonstrated live gameplay in action for the first time, including elements of dungeon exploration and combat.

In a Nintendo Direct on March 3, 2016, it was confirmed that the game would retain its Japanese voices, but with english subtitles for western audiences.

Crossover
In Tokyo Mirage Sessions, the main characters live in Tokyo; a key setting in many Megami Tensei titles. Existing alongside their world is a fantasy realm from which Mirages emerge. The Mirages, which serve a similar role to the demons found in traditional Megami Tensei games, are figures from the Fire Emblem series ranging from the original to Awakening. The player characters form bonds with Mirages as a key part of their adventure. Villains from the Fire Emblem series also appear in the game as antagonistic Mirages of some nature, with characters such as Gangrel and Aversa from Awakening sporting demonic redesigns of their own.

An exception to this rule is Tiki, who appears in the game as her younger self from Shadow Dragon. In the game's world, she is actually the key visual character for a Singaloid, similar to a real-life Vocaloid such as Hatsune Miku. In the E3 2015 trailer, she is also credited as the singer of the song "Beastie Game," which plays over the game footage. Despite this, however, she also appears to have a strong connection to the "Idolosphere," the world from which the Mirages originate.

Gameplay
Tokyo Mirage Sessions is an RPG focused around the exploration of dungeons and turn-based party combat. When not in dungeons, the player explores familiar locations in the city of Tokyo and can interact with NPCs and visit shops. Dungeons take the form of multi-level labyrinths with light puzzle-solving and generally share a theme with the location they are found at. Within these dungeons are hostile Mirages that when touched trigger combat. The player character Itsuki is armed with a rapier while exploring the dungeon and the player can gain the initiative by stunning Mirages with a well-timed strike before starting battle.

Combat is turn-based and predicated on discovering and exploiting enemy weaknesses. As in both Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem, enemies are weak to specific magic or weapon types. The weapon types are based on the weapon types from Fire Emblem (Sword, Lance, Axe and Bow) while the magic types are based on the magic from Shin Megami Tensei (Fire, Ice, Electric, Force, Expel, and Death). The player can also trigger Session Attack combos where the other party members follow up the attacking character's blow with strikes of their own. As party members gain affinity, they can also learn Duo Arts where pairs of characters can combine their strength to deal high damage. Battle parties are restricted to a maximum of three party members at a time, but other party members can enter the battle to provide temporary assistance.

The Wii U GamePad serves a variety of functions. One prominent function that it is used for is as a communication tool. A simulation of real-life chat applications like LINE, the player can use it to allow Itsuki to communicate with other characters and advance events in the game. The GamePad UI also distinguishes content related to the main story and sidequest content.

Like in traditional Fire Emblem games, Mirages can use Master Seals to promote to new classes, with branching promotion options. For example, Shiida can promote from a Pegasus Knight to a Falcon Knight or Dragon Knight. Class changes and other character enhancements such as Carnage Unity and Radiant Unity are performed at a special location called the Bloom Palace with Tiki's aid.

The player explores wards of Tokyo such as Shibuya and Harajuku over the course of the game and can visit shops, businesses and key story locations, as well as talk to NPCs. To travel between major sections of the city, the player selects a location from the world map.

Characters

 * See main article: List of characters in Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

The original teaser trailer that debuted in January 2013 featured artwork of fifteen characters from the Fire Emblem series. The artwork used was existing character art originally created for their respective games. Because the trailer was a teaser and did not depict any assets from the actual production, it is not guaranteed that most of the characters that appeared in the trailer will have roles in Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE: Of the characters listed above, only Shiida and Chrom appear in the game. Marth is referenced and his "spirit" makes an appearance at the end of the game.

Fortissimo Edition and Downloadable Content
On September 11, 2015, it was announced that in Japan, a special edition of the game dubbed the Fortissimo Edition will be released alongside the standard edition in two forms; one featuring the game and some extras, and the other a Wii U console bundle. Both feature an artbook, a special vocal selection CD, free access to two sets of costume DLC, and a priority ticket to the Genei Ibun Roku #FE Premium Live show. The Wii U bundle also features character lyric cards, sticket sheets, and three "support quest" download codes.

Costume DLC for the game was also announced. All first-print copies of the game will come bundled with a code for a set of "collaboration costumes" that dress the party as characters from other Atlus titles, including Shin Megami Tensei IV, Devil Survivor 2, Persona Q, and Etrian Odyssey III. The Fortissimo Edition will also come with codes for an "original costume triple set" which includes a special "Fashion show" costume set for the female characters and swimwear for the entire playable cast.

The Fortissimo Edition was announced to be released in North America and Europe on June 24, 2016.

Etymology
The Japanese title Genei Ibunroku ♯FE is derived from Megami Ibunroku (女神異聞録, lit. Goddess Revelation), the prefix used to designate several spin-offs of the Shin Megami Tensei series in Japan.

The English title, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, abbreviates to TMS, which is the inverse of SMT, the abbreviation of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Trivia

 * Early trailers for Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE are prefaced with ESRB bumpers indicating that Nintendo of America originally expected the game to receive an M rating. However, the game ended up receiving a T rating. In the event that it had gotten an M rating, it would have been the first Fire Emblem game to receive an ESRB rating of Mature.
 * A number of shops and other businesses in the game have names and features that reference demons from the Shin Megami Tensei series.
 * In addition to the Mirages based on Fire Emblem characters and classes, there are enemy Mirages based on demons in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
 * The Shield of Seals appears in the game as a school crest that appears on the uniforms of Itsuki and Tsubasa's high school.