This was all done on my free time, and so took a little while. It was certainly a lot of work, but I do hope you enjoy! I am unemployed… so please consider donating if you like the work I do. : )

Nice to meet you!

June 9th, 2015

Company: Atlus

Chief Director / Game Design for Illusory Revelations#FE

Mitsuru Hirata

Hello! I am Mitsuru Hirata, Chief Director of Illusory Revelations#FE. I was previously involved as the Director and general support in Radiant Historia and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.

It’s been two months since the official announcement of this title… I imagine that by now not many people are still surprised. Similarly, I too was surprised, saying things like, “No way! This is the collaboration with Fire Emblem?!” This was despite having worked on it myself, too!

Thinking about it, I remember when the first Fire Emblem released 25 years ago. It reminded me of someone’s masterpiece theater anime with such a soft touch on the package design…contrary to expectations [of how it actually was.]

“This is enough to make a die-hard computer RPG fan like me feel like absolutely nothing!” –said my younger self when totally destroyed by this game. You would mutter “This is merciless…” each time you would lose an ally. In the end of the first time through, you realize you have an insufficient amount of allies, and so have poor fighting strength overall. You would weep and start the game from the beginning to get it right this time.

It was a true wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Day after day, it was a desperate attempt involving using the Reset Button countless times, saying things like “I have to do things THIS way this time! Not what my predecessors did in their previous attempts! Yes! Ahahahaha!” Reset -> Cry in bed -> Eat -> Try again harder -> Reset -> Cry in bed -> Take a bath -> Try again harder -> Reset… it was a vicious cycle. I played through so many times while lamenting at how it was so dreadful to the point of being toxic.

This was my precious innocence I lost when I was introduced to the game. After that, my miserable fate would continue. My Super Famicom Reset Button broke, and the replacement for it got stuck. While playing the Game Boy Advance on the train, I noticed I missed my stop because I was too busy reading my enemy’s movements. When I did notice, we were at the final stop [of the train line]… I had to take a taxi back home. Though, I think back fondly on that now. Ahaha…

Anyway, enough writing about my love for the series now…

The truth is, I’m actually a little bad at Simulation Games (awkward smile) “…Hey, what?!!” is the general response I get for admitting this. But I love Fire Emblem. Somehow…

Ever since Fire Emblem was released, it changed the so-called Simulation Game genre. I felt it was no longer simply about “winning in the end.” Rather, it was about tactics and the various ways one could go about achieving victory. I always thought the idea of throwing mass numbers of units who lack any real value at the enemy to achieve victory was a poor idea. There are a lot of games like that…

Fire Emblem is a Simulation RPG with a very different approach. Value toward your units was a big aspect in this! They don’t come back when they die! You cannot win with just logic alone! Beyond simply winning, drama unfolds as you cut through the enemy lines and achieve victory with your personal favorite characters! (I suppose that is a lame way to say it).

…You become quite numb to it the more you play. Each time you move a unit one square, each time you attack the enemy, a story is created in your head.

“Gah! Draug is dead! The Castle is overflowing with Knights because of me! Everyone take a roundabout path and perform a surprise attack!”

“Ro–Rogggerrrr!!!!”

“I am the only one able to cross over this mountain as a Pegasus Knight! I shall come running to assist my comrades! I have to save them!”

That was the gist of it… it was a little painful, huh?

But I think this is the real charm of Fire Emblem. We at Atlus consider characters to be of utmost importance. When you look at it that way, it seems like a collaboration between Atlas and Fire Emblem was more likely than it may have seemed at first. (Laughs)

With both things like likes and dislikes joined in, it cannot be expressed in one word. However, after playing it, perhaps you will will get a sense of what it is… I guess it’s fate.

“The Femme Fatale of my youth! I’ve been waiting! With years of grudges!”…is not what you say when you run into your long time crush by chance. But, from the start of development through the changes over the years to where we are now, I hope that everyone can see the reflection of 25 years of my thoughts and feelings on this series.

No matter the changes, I feel that the true contents of the game should be the things that are talked about from now on. This is the first time I’ve actually expressed my sentiment toward Fire Emblem, I think. (Laughs)

Finally, a little screen shot…

This is a particular dungeon in the game. It appeared briefly in the PV in the April 2nd Nintendo Direct. Does it seem different than before? Things like the floor material being improved, objects being added, etc. The April 2nd PV is not the final image [of the game] at all. We intend to improve the quality of the game step by step from now on. Please look forward to it!