Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

Genei Ibun Roku♯FE (幻影異聞録♯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 is stated to be released in Q3/Q4 in 2015 in Japan. A western release date has been set for sometime in 2016.

Development History
Genei Ibun Roku was announced 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 presented the title as Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem.

For the following two years, information on the game was sparse. Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami revealed to the magazing Hobby Consolas in an interview published on July 9, 2013 that the game will be set in the modern era. Yamagami, who had previously desired to see a Fire Emblem set in the modern era, was the person that pitched the initial idea of a collaboration effort to Atlus.

Nearly a year later, on June 11th 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.

Crossover
In Genei Ibun Roku, 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
Genei Ibun Roku 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 their found. 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 element or weapon types. 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 dual attacks 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.

Character Roles
Tiki: In the world of Genei Ibun Roku, Tiki is the key visual character of a Vocaloid-like software called Singaloid TiKi. She has a popular following online and younger audiences create and share songs made using her software.

Anna: Though Anna isn't confirmed to appear in the game by name, a clerk in the convenience store Hee-Ha Mart named Shio bears an intentional resemblance to her.

Mirage Characters
Mirages are beings that traverse into the modern world from a plane of existence called the Idolosphere. They are attracted to humans with Performa; a manifestation of creative energy. Some are benevolent and aid the player-characters, while others appear as enemies and seek to drain humans of their performa. Known Mirages based on Fire Emblem characters include Chrom, Shiida, Cain, Gangrel, and Aversa.

2013 Trailer
The Fire Emblem characters that appeared in the initial trailer in 2013 were:

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.

Trivia

 * Early trailers for Genei Ibun Roku are prefaced with ESRB bumpers indicating that while not yet rated, Nintendo of America expects the game to receive an M rating. In the event that it does, it will be the first Fire Emblem game to receive an ESRB rating of Mature.