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Fire Emblem Warriors devs on how the game came to be, choosing characters and more

P

PK Gaming

Member
Source
This month’s issue of Nintendo Dream contains a lengthy interview with a couple of developers working on Fire Emblem Warriors. The Japanese magazine spoke with producer Yosuke Hayashi and director Hiroya Usuda. The interview covers some old topics, but also expands on previous interviews and throws new discussions into the mix as well.

Hayashi and Usuda first elaborated on Fire Emblem Warriors origins. The interview later talks about how the represented characters and games were chosen, including heated conversations between the developers, going with Shadow Dragon over the original game, choosing female Corrin over her male counterpart, and more. There’s also talk about the original characters and how their designs were updated after seeing the new characters in Fire Emblem Heroes – and plenty of other topics.

You can read the full Nintendo Dream interview with Hayashi and Usuda below.
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Apparently even the staff got into arguments regarding character inclusion:

Hayashi: Because we want to make it a Warriors game where you can properly use the distinguished classes. Even so, if we were to put in protagonists from every series, most of them would end up becoming Lords. In that case everyone would have swords, so there wouldn’t be any strategic systems with switching characters or even anything else. So just like how we chose three 3D titles in Hyrule Warriors, we’re doing the same selection method too this time. That means we want to put an emphasis on the gameplay of switching classes, so we went on with narrowing down the titles…However, just like the fans, even a number of our own staffs cannot fathom it.

Hayashi: Some staff even got into quarrels with us to the point that they were saying ‘I’m going to leave this project’. They said bizarre things like ‘Hayashi doesn’t know anything about Fire Emblem!’. Even I had to make this bitter decision, because if we didn’t narrow them down it wouldn’t develop into [proper] gameplay! (laughs)

ND: It’s precisely because they have fondness towards the characters. So how did you manage to convince them?

Hayashi: If this game is well-received, we may be able to make a sequel (laughs). That’s why this time we’d like to narrow it down.
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On Corrin's gender:

ND: I feel refreshed. Speaking of which, the Kamui/Corrin announced this time is the female one.

Hayashi: We intentionally made Kamui/Corrin into the female one. Because we don’t want the [main] visual we’ve announced right now to consist of only males, and female Corrin is also very popular. Even so, it’s still hectic for us to choose which characters to put in after settling with the three titles.
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Re: Character representation

Hayashi: We had a really hectic time in choosing them. At first our company considered from the weapons first and sent the proposal
  • , but Intelligent Systems pointed us to the results of popularity polls, and Nintendo also told us ‘please add this character’, so we adjusted it little by little.

    ND: Will the appearing characters be equally numbered from each series?

    Usuda: They won’t be exactly equal. In exchange for that, the total number of characters is a lot for the first title in a collaborative Warriors game.

    Hayashi: Other collaboration Warriors including Hyrule Warriors at first only had around eight to fifteen characters, but this time it will exceed them in a large scale. They’re being physically added so it’s getting hectic, but we feel we must pour our full effort here. Even so, the fans will still end up thinking it’s not enough. So although we do feel sorry about that, we’re doing our utmost to our limits.
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  • Re: The main protagonists:

    Hayashi: Yes. Since both Awakening and Fates are in, there are a lot of characters designed by Kozaki Yusuke-san coming out. So as a basis, we intended to gather them to become pictures that don’t look too different from them. However, in Heroes, there are also protagonists of siblings based on gold.

    Usuda: When we showed them to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, proclaiming ‘These are our original characters for this time, Shion/Rowan and Lianna!’, they said ‘Actually we’re creating sibling characters like these…’ and showed the [then] unannounced characters. Then Heroes also had gold and white, and especially Sharon/Sharena and Lianna were way too similar to each other, including their background settings…

    Hayashi: They told us ‘Hayashi-san, your team also did it with gold, huh!?’ (laughs). That’s why we revisited the designs, and we made some adjustments to them like changing their hair color.

    Usuda: Although the changes were quite hectic, I personally am very glad that we could match up with the original team. Like, our minds think alike!
    Click to expand...

    Final Message:

    Hayashi: We’ve created this game while always thinking about what Fire Emblem fans desire, so we think this should be satisfactory. If you’ve played Fire Emblem Warriors and get to like characters you haven’t been acquainted with before, there will have been even more of a reason for us to have created the game. And also for those who don’t know about Fire Emblem, there are a lot of appealing characters appearing, so I think you’ll definitely get to like someone here. We will still announce a lot of characters up until release, so please look forward to them.

    Usuda: Fire Emblem Warriors has been always a Warriors game for Fire Emblem fans from the start, and we’ve decided to create it for people who have always played Fire Emblem. Homages are being spread all over the place, including the [gameplay] system. Also, in order to make this enjoyable by people who play Fire Emblem but aren’t good with action games, we’re creating this so that it can also be played easier and more casually. This game will be playable even if you don’t know Warriors/Musou, so please feel free to try it out.
    Click to expand...
 
NeonZ

NeonZ

Member
ND: Yes, with My Units / Avatars.

Usuda: Yes. That’s why we really wanted to have character customization.

Hayashi: We really wanted to do it from My Units / Avatars, but since we also want to add a lot of video scenes, we gave up on that. If you could edit the protagonist, they couldn’t appear in the cut-scenes, and most of the scenes would have to be done from a first-person view. So we decided to properly create the protagonists instead.
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Hm... Kind of disappointing CG cutscenes took precedence over customization.
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Member
Really sad they don't list the iconic pic as an inspiration

2wf8vwJ.jpg
 
F

Fiendcode

Member
Hayashi: If this game is well-received, we may be able to make a sequel (laughs). That’s why this time we’d like to narrow it down.
Click to expand...
Different approach from Hyrule Warriors. Probably smarter planning to make it a series from the get go.
 
L

Lynx_7

Member
I mean, we have what, around 13~15 protagonists for the series, right? One of them uses axes, another uses lances, and the other is a mage (two, if you count Robin), so that already cuts down the number of sword users a little. Make their OC protagonists use something other than freaking swords, cut down secondary characters with swords, and I think that's an acceptable number of sword users. Aren't these games supposed to have tons of characters?

Eh, I guess I'll still play it someday.

Jawmuncher said:
Really sad they don't list the iconic pic as an inspiration

2wf8vwJ.jpg
Click to expand...

iunderstoodthatreference.gif
 
P

psychowave

Member
Lynx_7 said:
I mean, we have what, around 13~15 protagonists for the series, right? One of them uses axes, another uses lances, and the other is a mage (two, if you count Robin), so that already cuts down the number of sword users a little. Make their OC protagonists use something other than freaking swords, cut down secondary characters with swords, and I think that's an acceptable number of sword users. Aren't these games supposed to have tons of characters?

Eh, I guess I'll still play it someday.



iunderstoodthatreference.gif
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If you add Celica, Micaiah and Robin that's three mages. They could go wild with Leif's Light Sword and make him do fancy magic-y stuff like Zelda in Hyrule Warriors, but alas.
 
O

OVDRobo

Member
So, they saw the results of the popularity polls and took them into account when designing this game, yet still came to the conclusions they did?

They also saw the designs for Alphonse and Sharena and changed their designs in response to theirs. If they were so similar I don't know why they didn't just borrow the characters because the two main OCs in this game both look bad and too similar. Lianna still looks pretty similar to Sharena, too, so good job with that redesign.

I'm getting reminded a lot of the 'characters are functions' Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite interview from these answers. Nailing a good balance of weapon types and classes is obviously important but there are lots of characters from across the series that solve that problem for you. Ephraim has a lance. Hector has an Axe. Ike has a Greatsword. Lyn has a Katana. There are literally hundreds of side characters with a wide range of weapons and classes available to them but because of the focus on main characters from only 3 games in a 12 game series (not including remakes) of course you're going to be limited in what characters you can include to the point that you have to give Lissa a fucking axe.

If you want to narrow the focus, then the evolution of the series has even done that for you. There are 3 eras of Fire Emblem - NES/SNES, GBA/GC and 3DS. Pick one title from each and go to town. All fans are vaguely satisfied and everything's decently represented with DLC filling in the gaps.

Someone should put this guy on the next Dissidia game so we can only get characters from Final Fantasy XIII - XV.
 
7

7Th

Member
DecoReturns said:
I like Female Corrin. Better design at least. Glad they picked a default one
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She is overwhelmingly more popular than male Corrin, there was no other way for them to approach the decision; female Robin is also more popular than male Robin but the gap is much smaller.
 
Velcro Fly

Velcro Fly

Member
They were never going to please everyone with their roster choices. Just admit you are either already planning for a sequel or are ready to gouge the fanbase on character DLC after including characters from only 20% of Fire Emblem games. The sword excuse is complete bullshit. I feel like they think we are dumb if they expect us to believe it.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
7Th said:
Female Robin is also more popular than male Robin but the gap is much smaller.
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Is she?

Male Robin actually had more votes in the popularity poll, and I feel like people talk about him more (anecdotal evidence of course). Regardless, he's sure to be more popular eventually.
 
K

Korigama

Member
Hayashi: We've created this game while always thinking about what Fire Emblem fans desire, so we think this should be satisfactory.
Click to expand...
Yeaaaaah...FE has one of the most polarized fanbases of any Nintendo franchise this side of Zelda at this point, so that was never going happen. The overwhelming popularity of new FE means the choices they've gone with have made plenty of sense, but it's no surprise that fans of games pre-Awakening/Fates are less than pleased (to put it mildly).
PK Gaming said:
Is she?

Male Robin actually had more votes in the popularity poll, and I feel like people talk about him more (anecdotal evidence of course). Regardless, he's sure to be more popular eventually.
Click to expand...
Male Robin indeed ranked higher in the popularity poll, albeit nowhere near as large a gap as Female Corrin vs. Male Corrin. Can't speak for FE fans specifically, but Female Robin is apparently more popular among Smash players than the male one, IIRC.

Would've preferred the female variants for both myself, but Male Robin is okay I guess. Don't particularly like Male Corrin at all, so Female Corrin instead was the ideal outcome.
 
K

Kinsei

Banned
Hayashi: We’ve created this game while always thinking about what Fire Emblem fans desire, so we think this should be satisfactory.
Click to expand...

The problem is that there are many types of FE fans. The character choices they've made so far really only cater to two types.
 
B

batfax

Member
OVDRobo said:
There are 3 eras of Fire Emblem - NES/SNES, GBA/GC and 3DS. Pick one title from each and go to town. All fans are vaguely satisfied and everything's decently represented with DLC filling in the gaps.
Click to expand...

My biggest hope right now is that the poll at least got them to throw in Ike, Roy, and/or Lyn at the last minute to help push copies, and that Gaiden/Echoes will be covered too even if it's just Alm and/or Celica. At least then it'll KIND of feel like the roster gaps aren't so ridiculously huge.
 
S

snow in jamaica

Member
ND: Yes, with My Units / Avatars.

Usuda: Yes. That’s why we really wanted to have character customization.

Hayashi: We really wanted to do it from My Units / Avatars, but since we also want to add a lot of video scenes, we gave up on that. If you could edit the protagonist, they couldn’t appear in the cut-scenes, and most of the scenes would have to be done from a first-person view. So we decided to properly create the protagonists instead.
Click to expand...

can they not just do in-engine stuff
 
O

OVDRobo

Member
batfax said:
My biggest hope right now is that the poll at least got them to throw in Ike, Roy, and/or Lyn at the last minute to help push copies, and that Gaiden/Echoes will be covered too even if it's just Alm and/or Celica. At least then it'll KIND of feel like the roster gaps aren't so ridiculously huge.
Click to expand...

Ike? Oh you must mean blue Ryoma.

Roy? Not worth it. Just a red-haired Marth. Let's put Inigo in instead.

Lyn? She's that girl that's like Lon'qu, right?
 
B

Blues1990

Member
Man, they can't be serious with the whole "Were not trying to overflow the game with Lords & Sword users", despite they are doing just that.

It's really hampering my excitement for this Warriors game, as I adored Hyrule Warriors to a fault.
 
C

Chrom

Junior Member
on mrobin v frobin pop

mrobin has never beaten out frobin in any past popularity polls except for the fe heroes one, though that may be due to post fe awakening marketing making him more impressionable later on (smash/amiibo)

i think it's probably true that frobin's more popular at least among smash players (she really outshines mrobin in that game character-wise), but i think within fe/casual circles, mrobin probably has more fans. it's a lot less one-sided than mcorrin v fcorrin that's for sure
 
V

Vital Tundra

Member
I really, really don't like that the game focuses on only 3 games. It'll be great and I'm sure there will be a ton of characters with varied play, but damn I don't get there excuse not to include many characters from older titles. Or rather I get the excuse and fuck Nintendo and IS.

Also not including a create a character because cutscenes makes me fucking laugh. Like, what? Your telling me in 2017 they can't figure a way around that?
 
B

blitzwolf215

Member
I'm actually really glad they didn't do customizable protagonist. I'm actually getting sick of those in the main games. Just make some good characters, Shadow of Valentia has some really good ones.
 
N

NSESN

Member
vaporeon said:
Don't know why people are so upset *now* when there are more characters still left to be announced, apparently?
Click to expand...

That's because they still have to reveal the Fates and Shadow Dragon characters outside the main ones. There's even a chance more awakening characters are in.
 
R

Reki

Member
Korigama said:
Yeaaaaah...FE has one of the most polarized fanbases of any Nintendo franchise this side of Zelda at this point, so that was never going happen. The overwhelming popularity of new FE means the choices they've gone with have made plenty of sense, but it's no surprise that fans of games pre-Awakening/Fates are less than pleased (to put it mildly).
Click to expand...

This. FE is a franchise with such a massive roster of characters that if you have to choose 15 or 20 there will be always lots of fans dissapointed. But the problem has to do with the games chosen; a big portion of the older FE fanbase prefer the old entries (the same as part of the development team) so the backlash should have been expected.

Even then, if they had to choose three games - as they said - it was the right call. The process for the characters too: KT making a list with diverse weapons, and then adjusting it according to popularity polls. Some of us should have preferred other characters, but we are overrepresented in places like GAF.

So much hate for a game that looks so fun and has a lot of potential. The siblings designs are horrible though.
 
C

Chrom

Junior Member
vaporeon said:
Don't know why people are so upset *now* when there are more characters still left to be announced, apparently?
Click to expand...

we haven't even seen half the roster yet, going by previous comments stating it's much larger compared to past warriors games

i'm pretty excited to see who else will be shown playable. the game has nowhere to go but up imo
 
S

Semajer

Member
My thoughts went from "instant buy" at announcement to "wait until the updated release" after the initial roster reveal and games chosen for representation. I hated the oldest and newest games only when they did it in #FE and I hate it here.
 
H

Hours Left

Member
NSESN said:
Frederick is. The only good thing about Lissa is Owain/Odin
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Obviously I'm a Frederick fan so I'm very pleased with his inclusion, and he's providing some much needed variety, in both personality and weapon type.

Personally I'm indifferent toward Lissa but I'm glad she's in because war cleric is cool class. (Odin is marvellous though.)

I get people wanting/expecting the mega popular characters like Ike, Hector, Lyn, Roy, etc, (I want Ike and Hector too.) but as I said in previous topics, the developers have laid out their overview and I'm fine with that.

Do we need Lucina when we have Chrom and Marth? Probably not. I wouldn't of included her, but I understand why she's there. They made a choice of prioritizing popularity over variety in that case. Rosters in games like these are almost an impossible task. You'll never please everyone, but we're getting at least 16 characters in this game, so I'm sure there will be someone for everyone.
 
X

Xist2inspire

Member
OVDRobo said:
If you want to narrow the focus, then the evolution of the series has even done that for you. There are 3 eras of Fire Emblem - NES/SNES, GBA/GC and 3DS. Pick one title from each and go to town.
Click to expand...
Um, I'm fairly new to the series, but that doesn't sound much better than what (little) we already know about the character selections. Picking just one title from the GBA/GC era in particular is a disaster waiting to happen.
 
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