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 Okoku (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 Okoku (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 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-seeking 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 Okoku follows the Hoshido storyline which is designed to be friendly for all players, returning or new. Anya Okoku 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.

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 destiny tied to their bloodline or the fate bound to their loyalty. Siding with the Hoshido kingdom will involve the player defending their birthplace from the invading Nohr kingdom. Aligning with the Nohr kingdom will involve the player in a revolution within the Nohr kingdom. There will be a option to align with neither side, though details about this route are currently unknown.

Returning Features

 * The Pair Up and Dual System functions from Awakening return, however enemies now can use the Dual System as well.
 * The game will have Voice Acting just like in Awakening as well.
 * Each version of the game will change the format of overall gameplay outside of the storyline
 * The Hoshido version of the game will have a traversable map similar to Awakening, Sacred Stones, and Gaiden, allowing the player to level up characters outside of the storyline chapters.
 * The Nohr version will be more structured, having no external battles outside of the storyline chapters much like most previous Fire Emblem titles.
 * Skills make a return in the game. However, a unit can now equip up six skills compared to 5 in Awakening
 * Monsters similar to the Risen will make an appearance. One of which is called Nosferatu (ノスフェラトゥ)

New Features

 * New weapons, including Katanas, Naginatas, and kanabōs

Characters
Numerous characters have been revealed with a blue-haired dancer being the most prominently featured. Currently fourteen characters in numerous trailers have confirmed names:
 * Avatar (Default name Kamui in the Japanese version)

Nohr

 * Max
 * Gallon
 * Camilla

Hoshido

 * Ryoma
 * Hinoka
 * Tsubaki
 * Sakura
 * Kazahana
 * Saizou
 * Orochi
 * Felicia

Unconfirmed Affiliations

 * Gans
 * Rinka