All Articles: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

After its splashy reveal last year, everyone assumed that the hybrid nature of the Nintendo Switch meant the 3DS was most likely on its way out. Further proof to that fact was delivered this week with the revelation that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will probably be the last “mainline” game in the series to appear on the handheld.

Fire Emblem Series Producer Hitoshi Yamagami confirmed this end of an era in a recent chat with Japanese magazine Dengeki Nintendo (via Game Memo).

However, Yamagami is also looking towards the future of the Fire Emblem franchise, including a Switch-exclusive Fire Emblem game that’s set to launch sometime in 2018. Koei Tecmo and Omega Force are also hard at work on Fire Emblem Warriors, which will launch for the New 3DS and Switch this Fall.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be available on May 19, and in case you missed it, Nintendo recently unveiled a few details about the game’s Season Pass.

It’s taken more than 25 years for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia to travel across the Pacific Ocean, but Nintendo has decided they also want to expand the strategy adventure with a wide array of post-launch downloadable content.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will released exclusively for the 3DS on May 19, and Nintendo will release the first DLC Pack on the same day. Additional Packs will arrive every week after that, and a Season Pass option (priced at $44.99) will be available for those who want to collect them all. However, players who aren’t interested in obtaining all five DLC Packs can purchase them separately.

Each DLC Pack for Fire Emblem Echoes will feature a variety of new content including new maps, new dungeons, new character classes, and a sweeping new story chapter that serves as a prologue to the main game:

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia – DLC Schedule

• DLC Pack #1: Fledgling Warriors Pack – Ideal for early- to mid-game adventurers, this pack includes a new dungeon (The Astral Temple) and two new maps, great for gaining more items, money and experience points. (May 19, $7.99)
• DLC Pack #2: Undaunted Heroes Pack – In addition to a new dungeon (The Inner Sanctum), this pack also includes two challenging new maps that stronger, more seasoned heroes will want to tackle. (May 25, $9.99)
• DLC Pack #3: Lost Altars Pack – The mysterious dungeons included in this pack hold the power to upgrade characters to exclusive classes that don’t appear in the main game. (May 25, $14.99)
• DLC Pack #4: Rise of the Deliverance Pack – Discover the previously untold history of Valentia in this prologue pack. Complete with new story content and additional voice acting that details the rise of the Deliverance in Zofia, this collection of challenging maps includes new support conversations between selected heroes, as well as the ability to take command of a character players won’t be able to control in the main game. (June 1, $12.99)
• DLC Pack #5 – More information about this final DLC pack will be revealed in the future. ($5.99)

In addition to this series of paid expansions, Nintendo plans to release several free updates for Fire Emblem Echoes. The first free update will also be available on May 19, and it’s a special gift that can be obtained from the Goddess Mila.

More information about all of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia’s DLC Packs can be found at the game’s official website.

Nintendo will release Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia in North America on May 19, and it’s been a long time coming. Previously only available in Japan for the NES (as Fire Emblem Gaiden), Shadows of Valentia is one of the “lost” Fire Emblem games, and is finally making its North American debut (on the 3DS) after 25 years.

Naturally, Nintendo wants to give fans a package worthy of this formerly forgotten game, and they’ll do that with a special Limited Edition. Priced at $59.99, the Limited Edition will include several goodies that should be of interest to Fire Emblem fans:

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Limited Edition

• Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Gamecard
• Hardcover Valentia Artbook
• Sound Selection CD
• Pin Set (Alm, Celica, and Marth)
• Reversible Cover Sheet (Based on the Packaging for the Original Famicom Game)

Nintendo also announced that an Amiibo Two-Pack featuring Alm and Celica will also be released on May 19. Not available separately, the Amiibo figures will unlock their own exclusive dungeons, “allowing heroes to earn items and level up their armies further by defeating bosses.” Tapping these figures in battle will also allow players to summon a computer-controlled Illusory Hero, which acts as an ally for a single turn.

Finally, Nintendo unveiled a brand new Story Trailer that’ll give fans a history lesson on the two armies in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and “their differing quests attempt to achieve the unified goal of bringing peace to the land of Valentia.”

A closer look at the contents of the Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia’s Limited Edition can be found after the break. (more…)

The Fire Emblem franchise had a long history in Japan before Fire Emblem made its North American debut in 2003. Later this year, fans outside of Japan will get to experience some of that history.

Announced yesterday during a Fire Emblem Direct presentation, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is an enhanced remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was originally released for the Famicom in 1992. Coming to the 3DS on May 19, Shadows of Valentia will include a completely updated visual style, new cutscenes, and an overall “grander scale”:

In 1992, the second game in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem Gaiden, launched exclusively in Japan. Now, for the first time, fans outside of Japan will get a taste of this classic game on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is inspired by the 1992 original, reimagined on a grander scale. Every aspect of the Fire Emblem Gaiden game’s presentation has been updated, along with the game being fully voiced. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia recreates classic Fire Emblem gameplay with a modern twist, mixing in exploration of dungeons crawling with enemies.

Nintendo also announced that an Amiibo 2-Pack featuring Shadows of Valentia’s main characters, Alm and Celica, will be available alongside the game’s launch.