RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

We had a chance to participate in an interview with three of the developers of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. They were: Tohru Narihiro and Masayuki Horikawa from Intelligent Systems and Masaki Tawara from Nintendo.

The talk began by giving some basic information about Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. It is a remake of the original Fire Emblem game that was first released on the Famicom in 1990. The game’s hero, Prince Marth of Altea, loses his country to the Shadow Dragon Medeus. He sets out to slay the evils of the land and bring back light with his longtime mentor Jeigan.

After that, they said this remake has four new features that they wanted to highlight with the first being a new tutorial system. Since this may be the first Fire Emblem game for many players, they wanted a new tutorial to help players get to the real meat of the game.

The second addition is the Battle Forecast system, and it will be instantly familiar to everyone that has played any of the Fire Emblem games in North America. Before initiating combat, a screen will show the damage that will be dealt, the number of attacks, the hit percentage, and the percent chance of a critical attack for both units. This allows players to make better decisions. This system actually began in the second Fire Emblem game and has been with the series ever since.

The third change is that there are now six levels of difficulty so everyone should be able to find an appropriate challenge, and finally, there are now mid-map save points. After crossing a certain point in each map, a permanent save can be created. It doesn’t have the increased inflexibility found in Radiant Dawn’s battle saves, but it will allow players to not have to restart entire battles if the end goes badly.

Next, the talk shifted to the Wi-Fi features found in Shadow Dragon. There were three main points they addressed. Firstly, players will be able to connect via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for 5-on-5 team battles. This is a first for any Fire Emblem game.

The next point is the Rental Unit System, which was created to help newer players. Essentially, it is possible to borrow a character from a friend for use in the single-player campaign. There are no restrictions, so if you are struggling, renting a more highly leveled character from further in the game might be just what you need to get through some of the harder battles.

And the final aspect they wanted to draw attention to was the online shop. Players will be able to spend the in-game currency to buy weapons, armor, and items from a special shop by using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

At this point, it opened into a Q&A session where everyone involved in the interview could ask questions.

*All questions and answers are paraphrased*

Q: Do you have any plans at this time to remake any of the other Fire Emblem games?

A: As of this time, we are undecided. If the game is a hit, we may consider remakes in the future.

Q: What differences in reception have you seen among Fire Emblem players from North America, Japan, and Europe?

Nagahiro: It is very difficult to pin down since many players focus on different things. It seems that players in the US are more focused on building up their characters. Europe is very diverse and has many countries, but the focus there is usually on the story or the battle system, and in Japan, the story is usually the most important. This is especially the case with female players.

Q: With the recent trend of casual games, are there some mechanics in place to appeal more to casual players? For instance, with the Rental Character system, can you rent out a character that has died?

Tawara: This is the first Fire Emblem game to be made on the DS. The DS has greatly expanded the market for video game players, and we’d like to see this trend continue, and the Rental system is a concession to make the game easier for new players.

There is also a new Reclass system. Since death is permanent in Fire Emblem, it is possible that an important character may die. If this were, for instance, a healer, the party would have a very hard time continuing, so we have added a way to change a character’s class. For instance, warriors will be able to become more like healers. And if that’s not enough, you can always borrow a really strong character from a friend to help make things more manageable.

Q: Can you explain more about the Gaiden missions?

Horikawa: The Gaiden missions are to help users strengthen weak teams. The first four missions will allow players to get a strong unit, and the final Gaiden mission is to help with the last boss. If the team is too weak, they will not be able to finish the game, so you will be able to recruit some very strong characters to help level the playing field.

Q: Since the game is already out in Europe, we know that it has a very simple storyline. Did you consider adding anything to it?

Horikawa: We decided to keep the game as it was since we really liked how simplistic it is. We felt that if we added too much, it might confuse new players, so we wanted to essentially boil down the experience so everyone would be able to enjoy it.

Q: If given the chance, would you rather remake another Fire Emblem game or work on a new entry into the series?

Tawara: My preference would be to make a new title. Many mothers are playing Brain Age, and even though we wouldn’t want to add Brain Age features, we would like to make a game that is more accessible to players like that to expand the audience further. If I did remake a game, I would like it to be Fire Emblem: Seien no Keifu. In this game, you can get married and even have children. I think it would be fun to remake a game like that.

Horikawa: I would also like to make a new game. With a new game, I would have a clean palate to make a new and fresh experience. If I did remake one, I’d like to remake Fire Emblem VI so North American players could get to know Roy.

Narihiro: This game is nearly 20 years old, and I feel that many new games have lost the charm that games like this had. We wanted to revisit the original Fire Emblem for its simplicity. If I did make a new game, I would like to take some of the characters from previous games, a sort of all-star cast, and weave them all into one game so it would be both a little bit old and a little bit new.

Q: Do you think being able to use the stylus will streamline controls or change the pace of the game?

Horikawa: No, we do not feel the stylus will really streamline the controls very much, but we did think it will be more intuitive for new players. You may use the buttons or the stylus at any time, and you never have to use both at the same time. The one new feature that will help change the pace is the addition of the second screen. Since you can use the top screen to check on character status and confirm position, you will not have to go back and forth from the menu so much. This will definitely effect the pace in a positive way.

Q: Do you have a favorite class? For instance, I really like Myrmidons.

Tawara: I agree! I like Myrmidons too. They are not very strong, but they have a higher chance of doing a special move or an attack that will do triple damage. I think they are very exciting!

Horikawa: My favorite class is the Pegasus Knight. They may be easily damaged by bows, but they are very light and maneuverable. Also, I really like the design and I think they are very beautiful to animate.

Narahiro: I like the Sniper class, but it’s hard to pick a favorite. Yes, it would have to be the Sniper. They are very quick and agile, and since they can use ranged attacks, they are very good in a pinch.

RandomNPC would like to offer our thanks to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems for including us in this interview. Please look forward to our reviews in the coming weeks.