Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

[Nester the Lark]

Well, the new trailer does make it a little clearer what the game has to do with Fire Emblem.

[Nester the Lark]

Here is this morning's Treehouse Live demo of the game:

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EDIT: Here are the bullet points from the demo:

- takes place in Tokyo
- see districts like Shibuya and Harajuku that have been modeled after their real-life counterparts
- Shibuya is a fairly large district but has been made a little more compact in Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
- Harajuku in real life has narrow streets, but they’ve been widened in the game
- Atlus staff had to wake up early in the morning so that they could take reference photos of different areas around Tokyo
- once Tsubasa has made her debut as a performer, the posters around the city will change to reflect that
- you’ll hear her song playing in convenience stores
- Hee-Ho Mart in Shibuya, which is a convenience store
- store is run by a shopkeeper named Shio who looks like Anna from the Fire Emblem games
- “Performa” is one of the game’s core aspects.
- this is people’s creative energy
- Mirages are attracted to Performa and suck it out of people
-Tsubasa’s Performa awakens when she watches a concert by Kiria, and it spurs her on to pursue her own dreams
- Mirage Masters are people with extraordinary Performa
- they can also see each other’s Performa awakening, as well as when it is being sucked out of somebody
- all of the songs within the game are being written and produced by actual Japanese songwriters
- every voice actor and actress within the game has to sing their character’s songs, which is a “real localization challenge”
- dialogue choices within the game, but how these affect events has not been revealed yet
- when Tsubasa’s Performa awakens, you can encourage her to pursue her dreams or tell her you don’t think she’s cut out
- when in a dungeon, aggro works just like it does in Shin Megami Tensei IV and the recent Persona games
- enemies will spot you and begin making their way toward you
- if you can hit them with your weapon before they make contact, you’ll stun them
- this will give you an advantage at the start of the battle
- every dungeon within the game has its own gimmicks and themes
- the dungeon shown off during the livestream was modeled after the 109 building in Shibuya and fashion
- the battle system contains traces of both Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem
- weapon triangle from Fire Emblem is supposedly in the game
- so is the focus on exploiting enemy weaknesses from Shin Megami Tensei
- target an enemy with an attack they’re weak to, the game will let you know with a green exclamation mark
- won’t know the enemy’s weakness right away, though
- you’ll have to learn enemy weaknesses by engaging them and hitting them with an attack they’re weak to
- characters can have Dual Arts attacks together
- these become available as the bond between two characters strengthen
- depending on the two characters in question, the Dual Arts look different
- Tsubasa and Eleonora have an attack where they’re singing together
- Toma and another female character share somewhat of a rivalry with each other
- their Dual Art consists of them trying to outdo each other
- Fire Emblem leveling up music plays when your characters level up
- one enemy is a boss based on Gangrel from Fire Emblem: Awakening
- he’s a Mirage that has taken possession of a fashion photographer, and you’ll battle him to free said photographer
- GamePad serves as your cellphone in Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
- get messages from your friends, asking where you are and what you’re up to
- contact them using your phone, and there are dialogue options within the text messages as well

(Source)

[nocturnal YL]

Dear Nintendo, 26 December is not a good day to release anything, regardless of region.

[Leon]

I'm amazed that they're arranging an actual live concert for the game. That's a pretty pricey event.

[nocturnal YL]

I get the feeling that they're trying to rival the main series with the special edition and soundtrack.

[nocturnal YL]

This game is... interesting. It doesn't feel that refreshing in terms of game mechanics, and I'm actually a bit disappointed in quite a few things: cutscene frame rate, loading time (it loads quite a bit between battles too), invisible walls everywhere, and the fact that it doesn't support off-TV play. The last one is bad for me because I have no TV to start with; the computer monitor I used for output has no speakers. And this game is about music.

It's like some comments I've seen before (from Niconico, I think?), being that the game system is something that FE players can easily understand, what with the character and weapon stats and the weapon triangle. But other than that, I'm a tad disappointed to see the characters' positioning having no effect. It really is just finding out each enemy's weakness and go for it.

The physical product itself is a bit weak too: softcover art book and a thin paper box. And the only DLC it comes with are costumes (you'll need the Wii U bundle to really get everything). At least it also comes with a CD.

But enough complaning about something I've only played for 3 hours. I still like the interesting characters (can't say for the overall story yet). Poor Tsubasa can't catch a break. And the TOPIC system (the Wii U GamePad) is very handy too, especially when it comes to navigating dungeons. Oh, and I like how it has 20 save data slots. More games should do this.

So far, it's very enjoyable. Just not too remarkable, either, but maybe it's because I'm still very early in the game.

[nocturnal YL]

Now I'm completely addicted to it. But it has also become a source of frustration to me. Notbecause of the game itself, but I was trying to add an HDMI to HDMI+audio converter to my speakerless setup. It doesn't work (despite that it was shown to be working at the seller's place), and that thing costs US$50. Ugh.

Also, since I'm basically spending a day for every small change (buy a piece of hardware, exchange it, try a different solution...), I'm slowly and steadily progressing halfway through the game. With no music. In an entertainment-themed game. Which means that I've already watched a few music videos without music.

I like it so far. The story is quite enjoyable (beats FE Fates), it gives a good sense of immersion (even when played without audio), and above all, I like the characters. Especially Tiki, who I like far better than Tiki in Fire Emblem. Maybe her role just isn't big enough there.

This game has lots of the standard RPG annoyances, though. I mainly take issue with the game having a locked main character (so you can't swap him out and let the others get more experience) and item grinding (needed for getting weapons). But those are minor complaints, and there are more annoyances that I'm glad isn't present (like a main character with no fixed personality and save points).

Can't say much until I've experienced the game in its full form. Meanwhile, I hope no one spoils the story for me.

[Nester the Lark]

I'm still very interested in this game, but I haven't really been following it. I'm kinda waiting for NoA to start its own promotion for the English-language version.

Glad to hear you're liking it!

[nocturnal YL]

I've cleared up to Chapter 5. I'm at late game, in a way.

Thoughts thus far:

• We're back to a traditional, blue-haired lord with a fixed name and personality with no story branches. Yay!
• The battle system is quite good. It's nothing like what I've seen before, although it's not like I have a diverse RPG portfolio.
• But I'm a bit annoyed that Itsuki cannot be removed from the active team, causing a little imbalance in experience distribution.
• Is this Shin Megami Tensei, and is this Fire Emblem? Both and neither. This game is littered with references to not only ATLUS and Fire Emblem, but to other things as well. I think I've missed a lot of humour by just not understanding the original materials. I don't see any direct connection between this game and ATLUS's worlds, but SMT/Persona magic and Persona graphics style are present.
• The towns are small, but the dungeons are quite big. If you aim to clear every sidequest, this will take you a while.
• The story is decent, and character development is good. Better than FE Fates, I'd say.
• I think Itsuki's mirage shouldn't have been Chrom. Marth or Kris seems to fit better.
• Kiria and Tharja don't seem to fit either. I suspect there's a reason behind this pair...
• Ayaha should have been a major NPC. She's right there in the office all the time!
• I like Tiki the best. Counting only the playable cast, I like Kiria.
• I also want to ship Kiria and Itsuki. Too bad that isn't going to happen...

About Tharja:

SPOILER: Click to show

Tharja seems to be a founding member of Fortuna Entertainment. Between helping Maiko at the beginning and making the TIKi UTALOID, she's far more respectable than her FE Awakening iteration may suggest.

Toma's final sidequest spoiler:

SPOILER: Click to show

Abel and Riku aren't playable. Sob. They could have been the Est archtype of this game.

Chapter 5 spoiler:

SPOILER: Click to show

Dark Yashiro!? That's a wasted opportunity. They could have made a connection between him and Samto.

Fan theory (Tharja):

SPOILER: Click to show

Tharja is actually Maiko's mirage (their personality fit better too), and she transferred her to Kiria.

Fan theory (mirage):

SPOILER: Click to show

The FE heroes are actually already dead and in their afterlife. This explains their unusual appearance and their godlike attributes.

I'm still far from completing the game, and I wish to avoid spoilers until then.

EDIT
I'm closer to completion now (there are 6 chapters total, by the way, but the dungeons are big and sidequests are plenty, so this game is long), and I can say this: this game changed my view on Tiki from "that latecoming unit I don't have space to train" to "the best thing that happened to Fire Emblem, ever". Thanks, ATLUS!

Tiki's final sidequest feels highly satisfying. One advice though: if you plan to play, do not view spoilers (mine are thus far are fine), and definitely do not view the music videos beforehand. It feels great when I unlock them myself. I don't know how it would feel otherwise, but please don't go for that.

[nocturnal YL]

Finished the game. I'd say it has one of the most satisfying stories I've seen. Some more thoughts:

• I like the second playthrough bonuses. With that, you can enjoy the story again without having to level up from the beginning, but your job isn't really done yet because there are extra fights.
• There will be a short, interactive ending after the final boss is defeated. I don't like how most RPGs skip straight from the final boss to a simple ending that doesn't tell you what has happened to the NPCs you helped so far, so this is a big merit to me.
• The final cutscene is a must-see. But like everything else in this game, I highly recommend you to see it in-game first.
• I'm not gonna touch Lunatic mode (unlocked by beating the game once). Nope.
• This game is said to be "highly polished", with no part that seems unfinished. If one has to pick any shortcoming, it's the loading time. The download version loads faster.
• Well, one shortcoming. There's no in-game cutscene viewer, and you'd think this is a very important thing to have in this kind of game.
• This game targets a very tiny demographic, but if you happen to be part of it, I can almost guarantee that this game will be highly satisfying.
• I spent 106 hours completing my first run. Coincidence?

My fan theories above are wrong, by the way.

On this game's connection to SMT and FE:

SPOILER: Click to show

No connection, actually. I already mentioned how this world has no connection to other ATLUS games, and there are obvious contradictions between this game and Fire Emblem (like Shiida is right there next to Chrom despite being his 2000-year-prior ancestor), and only one pair of characters' relation is retained.

The mirages are just beings of their own worlds, with no special implications.

Actual spoilers, concerning the character relations mentioned above:

SPOILER: Click to show

- Cain and Abel are rivals. This isn't really a secret since it's in the official site.
- Draug respects Lorenz, but this is more of a reference to the fact that both are Generals.
- Navarra and someone... too spoiler-y to talk about.
The followings do not retain their relations:
- Shiida and Navarre, although Yashiro has one line referencing that.
- Virion and Tharja have no interaction whatsoever.
- What's happened to the rest of Shiida's harem recruited fighters?

[Nester the Lark]

The official English name for this game is Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, which sounds awkward, but at least it's in English.

The game will also keep the Japanese voice acting and singing, which I was surprised by, but also not surprised by. Surprised because NoA usually does a full localization (even Fatal Frame got English voice acting), and not surprised because with the singing, the game might've been next to impossible to recreate in English anyway.

No complaints from me, tho. It's better than if NoA decided to just not localize it at all because it was too hard.

Coming to NA June 24.

EDIT: Just realized that the acronym for Tokyo Mirage Sessions, TMS, is SMT backwards. And SMT = Shin Megami Tensei. Coincidence?

[Leon]

I think the title is meant to be throwback to the old SMTxFE title. I'm ok with subs only, I think it would be near impossible to find good singers and actors to do the game justice.

[nocturnal YL]

I'm reminded of this company.

I don't really like the name, since "Tokyo", "Mirage" and "Session" are random keywords (although important) in the game that aren't directly related. But it's not bad, either.

[Nester the Lark]

Mar 3, 2016 20:08:38 GMT -5 Leon said:

I think the title is meant to be throwback to the old SMTxFE title. I'm ok with subs only, I think it would be near impossible to find good singers and actors to do the game justice.

Where was it I heard Nintendo considered hiring stage actors who can both act and sing (and do both at the same time)? Or maybe I just imagined that.

I think the bigger issue, however, would've been translating the song lyrics in a way that would've preserved the original meaning while still working as song lyrics. If that was done badly, it certainly would've massacred the original songs.

[nocturnal YL]

I think they meant the JP version when they talked about the voice actors being able to sing.

English voices or songs aren't necessarily bad. FE Fates handled that well enough. But I do think keeping the Japanese works better in a modern Tokyo fantasy.