Fire Emblem Fates

Fire Emblem if (ファイアーエムブレム if Faia Emuburemu Ifu) is a Japanese tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS, developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. It is the fourteenth game in the Fire Emblem series. It will be released on June 25, 2015 in Japan, and 2016 outside of Japan.

This title features the first title split, in which two different versions of the game exist, each one with a unique story. Fire Emblem if: Byakuya Oukoku (ファイアーエムブレム if 白夜王国 lit. Fire Emblem if: White Night Kingdom) will follow the story of the Avatar aligning with Hoshido and Fire Emblem if: Anya Oukoku (ファイアーエムブレム if 暗夜王国, lit. Fire Emblem if: Dark Night Kingdom) will follow the story of the Avatar allying with Nohr instead. A master version containing both storylines plus a third storyline, which will also be DLC and will involve the player choosing neither side, will be released on a future date.

Release
Fire Emblem if was first revealed in the January 2015 Nintendo Direct and will be released in Japan on June 25th, 2015 while it will be released in North America and Europe in 2016. It is developed by the same team that created the previous title; Fire Emblem: Awakening and Yūsuke Kozaki designed the characters of the game as well. Manga writer Shin Kibayashi has joined the writing team. According to Satoru Iwata during the Nintendo Direct, the player will have to make numerous choices during the game that will affect the overall story. Unlike past games where choices had little effect on the story, these will be larger choices, and the player will face greater challenges.

In the April 2015 Nintendo Direct it was revealed that the game will revolve around two kingdoms about to enter a great war with each other: the peace-loving country of Hoshido and the glory-seeking country of Nohr. The player will have to choose a country to represent, changing the story overall and will affect the difficulty, which is predetermined by the version of the game bought. There are two versions of the game, each one following a specific story line. Byakuya Oukoku follows the Hoshido storyline which is designed to be friendly for all players, returning or new. Anya Oukoku follows the Nohr storyline which is designed to be much more challenging. There will be a digital copy of the game which allows the player to determine which version they wish to experience. At the end of Chapter 6, the player will have to choose their faction, permanently locking their digital copy into that storyline for all files on the game there and after. DLC will be available for all versions of if in which the storyline not chosen will be playable on that copy of the game. A third storyline option will be released as DLC sometime after release which revolves around the player choosing neither side. Later a version of the game containing all three paths will be available, but not upon launch.

Japanese video game website 4Gamer posted an interview with the if development team on April 28th, 2015. The interview covered a few more details regarding the storyline. The Hoshido route is designed to be more like Awakening, allowing players to train units outside of battle. The Nohr route will be more challenging with less funds and experience on top of more diverse victory tactics compared to Awakening. Players can also adjust the difficulty of the Nohr route if it becomes too difficult. All versions of the game will be the same about 1/6th of the way through, but the rest of the game for all three versions will be different. The idea of choice in the game was inspired from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi and its remake Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon where the player was given the choice between recruiting Samson or Arran, but not both. They also decided to make the third route to give the players an option to not vilify one side. For downloaded copies, after the player has purchased the game, once they start Chapter 6, they will be given the choice to choose a side, which will automatically download that side onto the player's system. This will permanently lock them onto this route unless the other storyline is purchased. Details about the third storyline were slightly discussed, revealing that the difficulty of the third route is between the Hoshido and Nohr routes. All characters will appear on all routes, though the story route chosen will bring out different characteristics and personalities from them.

Story
The player will take on the role of an Avatar who was born to Hoshido royalty, but raised in Nohr. On the brink of war, the player must choose whether to follow the destiny tied to their birthplace or the fate bound to the country that raised them. Siding with the Hoshido kingdom will involve the player defending it from the invading Nohr kingdom. Aligning with the Nohr kingdom will involve the player in a revolution within the Nohr kingdom. There will be an option to align with neither side, though details about this route are currently unknown.

Returning Features

 * The player will create an Avatar for the game.
 * The player will have more customizable options for their Avatar than in Awakening.
 * Female Avatars can have special hair accessories, similar to the hats that could be worn in Shin Monsho no Nazo.
 * The Pair Up and Dual System functions from Awakening return, however enemies now can use the Dual System.
 * The Dual System received tweaks including a new mechanic called Attack Stance and Guard Stance
 * The game will have voice acting, much like Awakening.
 * Each version of the game will change the format of overall gameplay outside of the storyline.
 * The Hoshido path will have a traversable map similar to Awakening, Sacred Stones, and Gaiden. The player can level up characters outside of the storyline chapters by paying a fee to initiate a Skirmish, similar to using a Reeking Box. Like Awakening, map victory conditions will mostly be either rout the enemy or defeat the boss.
 * The Nohr path will be more structured, having no external battles outside of the storyline chapters much like most previous Fire Emblem titles. Experience and funds are much more limited and more victory conditions will be present such as defending a base, breaking through the enemy lines, and turn restrictions for certain maps.
 * Skills make a return in the game and units will learn new skills as they level up.
 * Each unit is given one fixed skill that is always equipped to them. They will also have 5 additional skill slots to equip whatever skill their character learns.
 * Reclassing and Promotion Branching are featured in the game. However a new item called the Parallel Seal has been introduced which changes a units class into another class of the same tier, but does not reset the level nor does it allow class demotion like the Second Seal. It is unknown if the Second Seal exists in the game.
 * Monsters similar to the Risen, called Nosferatu (ノスフェラトウ), will make an appearance.
 * Einherjar-like units are featured in if. Unlike Awakening, these units can only be accessed via special codes from the Fire Emblem Cipher TCG in Japan. It is currently unknown if this will be the case in localized versions.
 * Only 3 Einherjar have been confirmed: Marth, Lucina, and Minerva.
 * StreetPass will make a return, though details are unknown.
 * Casual Mode is available.
 * Like Fire Emblem Gaiden, Weapon Durability is not featured in the game. However, Staves retain their limited uses.
 * Knives returns from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn under a new weapon class: Hidden Weapon.
 * A total of 9 save slots will be available for the player to use.

New Features

 * New weapons, including Katanas, Naginatas, Kanabōs, Ofuda, and Shuriken.
 * New classes including Songstress, Revenant Knight, Rod Knight, Bowman, Pegasus Warrior, Oni, Priestess, Butler, Maid, and Ninja.
 * Several characters are exclusively playable to a particular route such as the Nohrian and Hoshidan royalty siblings. Others are playable in both routes.
 * All royalty characters, including the Avatar, have the ability known as Dragon's Vein, which allows them to alter the terrain at certain locations on a map.
 * The game will have Amiibo compatibility, though details about it are currently unknown.
 * A new mode called "Phoenix Mode" is introduced, which revives any fallen allied character on the next turn.
 * Gameplay mode style can be changed during a playthrough if the game proves to be too difficult for the player to progress. Players can change from Classic to Casual and then to Phoenix Mode but not in reverse. The storyline will be unaffected by gameplay mode changes.
 * The Weapon Triangle has been revised. The triangle flow now works as follows:
 * Sword and Magic > Axe and Bow > Lance and Hidden Weapons > Sword and Magic
 * Weapons have built in stat modifiers including increased Critical avoid or decreased defense stats.

Characters
Currently twenty-nine characters in numerous trailers have confirmed names:

Main

 * Avatar (Default name Kamui in the Japanese version)
 * Aqua

Nohr

 * Marx
 * Camilla
 * Leon
 * Elise
 * Garon
 * Elfie
 * Nyx
 * Harold

Hoshido

 * Ryoma
 * Hinoka
 * Takumi
 * Sakura
 * Kazahana
 * Tsubaki
 * Saizou
 * Orochi
 * Rinka
 * Kagerou
 * Oboro
 * Hinata
 * Tsukuyomi

Both

 * Felicia
 * Joker
 * Gunter
 * Suzukaze
 * Cyrus

Unconfirmed Affiliations

 * Gans