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#FE Interview: How the collab happened, how is it FE/SMT, demographics.

K

kiryogi

Banned
Venturebeat is on a roll!

http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/18/h...ade-shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem-happen/#

Figure this should be brought to the front since it's getting lost in the mess of derailment in other topics, and not to mention it's been a huge hot topic on what this title really is. Without further ado, here's some choice quips:

GamesBeat: Fans will be interested to know about the particulars of how the conversation came about. You said Mr. Yamagami put it forth. Where was that? How did the connection happen initially?

Shinjiro: I’m not too sure, since this all happened a long time ago. But the way it all started, Atlus was involved with Nintendo when we were making a Print Club app for the Nintendo DSi and the Nintendo 3DS. Then there was a conversation that started about whether Atlus might be in charge of making a new Fire Emblem game. It wasn’t anything serious at the time. I think we turned it down at first because we had too much on our plates.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: The very first showing, the announcement, was basically just character portraits. There was a lot of room to think about what could potentially happen. When the first true trailer debuted, it was a surprise for a lot of people, because they just had these preconceived notions of how these two things would come together. Some people said, this is not at all what I expected. That speaks to some of the struggle you had, perhaps?

Shinjiro: When we showed that first trailer, just the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei character portraits, that was basically two months after we decided, between the two companies, to make this new game. We weren’t too certain of where we would take the direction of the game at that point. We just wanted to say that this collaboration was coming.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: How long did it take to get to a point where that decision was solidified and production went forward?

Shinjiro: Deciding what to make it closer to, that happened a bit after Mr. Yamagami brought us the idea. The problem is, if you make it too much like a Fire Emblem game, then why doesn’t Intelligent Systems just make it themselves? The goal for this was to do something that the Fire Emblem series can’t do. In the end, the reason the game looks the way it does, the reason the content is the way it is, is because this is something we wanted to do as an Atlus game, a game only Atlus could make.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: Were there any efforts put in to really support this as a gateway, something that can bring new players to either or both franchises?

Shinjiro: In my opinion, this game is a Shin Megami Tensei-type of game. It’s a game that Atlus would make. People will inevitably be drawn to other Atlus games if they enjoy this game. Fire Emblem is a little bit different, because it’s a simulation game. It has players working with a tile set and things like that. While it’s true that they may go to play other Atlus games, I’m not so sure about the Fire Emblem aspect. We didn’t think too much about that when we were making this game.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: For fans of one or both series, the appeal is easy, but I wonder about someone who’s never played a game from either series. Is there anything that could get in the way of their enjoyment? Was that considered at all in your approach?

Shinjiro: This game was made as an entirely new IP. It may use some bits of the Fire Emblem series as motifs, but there are no demons or anything like you’d see from Shin Megami Tensei. If you know both series, you’ll notice some things and think that they’re very interesting, but we made this so that any player who’s new to the game won’t need any information beforehand to appreciate it.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: The previous trailers showed very small teases of battle systems or other aspects of gameplay. Was that intentional? It got a lot of people talking, to the point where we saw frame-by-frame analysis of the trailers. It was fun to look into and explore.

Shinjiro: We weren’t paying too much attention to the response to the first trailer, but we did check out some of the Japanese YouTube comments. People were making some really strange predictions. A few of them got pretty close, though. We put a lot of Easter eggs in the trailer for people who were looking hard. You’ll see that some of the posters have tikis in them and stuff like that. On 2channel, the Japanese message board, they were looking at that and doing all kinds of analysis. It was fun to watch that.
Click to expand...

GamesBeat: So you were playing with the fans a little?

Shinjiro: We’ve put together such a big project here that we’d like fans to look in every corner. They’ll be able to see lots of different things. There’s one thing I forgot to talk about when we were discussing the way the game came about, by the way, talking about whether to make it more like Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei. We were talking about different systems and had to drop certain things as far as the scenario was concerned. One thing we were worried about at first in the scenario was, how would we treat the way the Fire Emblem characters work? What we finally ended up with was a role that is very similar to how the demons are used in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

But we were wondering — should we make them into humans that can become friends with the main characters? That was one thing that changed throughout development. We were able to figure out throughout the scenario that we were going to make the Fire Emblem characters into demon-like figures, like the demons in Shin Megami Tensei. They would serve as heroes that helped your main characters in battle situations. However, one thing we were worried about was how the battle system would work here. Initially we thought it would be closer to a simulation-type game, where there would be different lanes and you controlled different characters. But in the end we made it look more like a traditional RPG. I think that’s the right decision, but we were really worried.
Click to expand...

Please keep discussions related to the interview and title, and not fanservice/otaku pandering woes.
 
S

SalvaPot

Member
The Treehouse segments completely sold me on the game, the trailer picked my interest enough because it was such out of left field, just something I never imagined. I was expecting something dark and dramatic, and instead we got a fashion and idol setting.

I have to admit I know very little about this two themes, but my girlfriend is a big fan of both and she got so excited about the game when we watched the trailer and she had no idea this was SMT X FE (She liked awakening). In a way I think this game is going to attract a new audience to both series, and the gameplay seems to be on point for me, it just looks like a great time.
 
Sojiro

Sojiro

Member
If it weren't for Treehouse i'd still be really lost what kind of game this was going to be, damn stoked for it now though thanks to those guys.
 
R

rhandino

Banned
Red Hood said:
I'm not familiar with SMT, but all the footage I've seen definitely was NOT Fire Emblem.
Click to expand...
For what is worth the Fire Emblem elements are there as much as the SMT/Persona ones, from the other thread we have noticed:

- The Fire Emblem.
- Anna.
- The Weapon Triangle.
- The bosses and performas being characters from the games being pulled from their respective worlds.
- Classes.
- Dual Attacks / Pair Up.
- Supports.

Its really full of elements of both franchises but remixed and make them fit the Idol / Entertainment industry theme they have going.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
He got it, this is a new IP, not a crossover. Altus developed a game they wanted to develop, without too much influence from Nintendo. They developed a game only Atlus could develop, which is more similar to Persona than any other game from Atlus.

I'm completely fine with all of that.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Announced two months after they decided to collaborate on the game. Pretty much as expected, given the reveal trailer.
 
R

random25

Member
The Fire Emblem aspect are the characters and some of the elements in the battle system. The other half is SMT, from exploration to interaction to the setting. I think it's pretty justified for a cross-over game. And this is a majority development from Atlus, so expect it to play like an Atlus RPG rather than an IS SRPG.

I don't see much Persona here as a lot of you suggest, honestly. Aside from having heavy character interactions and possibly development that are the features of Persona series, I see it more of a Devil Survivor (specifically, Devil Survivor 2) with SMT dungeon exploration, from the aesthetics and character design to the story location, obviously with the director handling the previous DS games. I don't know, but we'll see when we get more information in the coming months (and spoilers from Japan imports :p)

I wonder if FE paired heroes can be changed.
 
B

Bjoern the Smexy

Member
Shizuka said:
He got it, this is a new IP, not a crossover. Altus developed a game they wanted to develop, without too much influence from Nintendo. They developed a game only Atlus could develop, which is more similar to Persona than any other game from Atlus.

I'm completely fine with all of that.
Click to expand...

Well it IS a crossover though.
I've seen SMT related characters and enemies as well as re-designed FE characters.
It's just not a crossover to the extent of, say, Kingdom Hearts.
It's more subtle in its approach and gameplay-wise it does its own thing.
 
OuterLimits

OuterLimits

Member
So excited for this game. While Nintendo E3 left me slightly disappointed, I'm still happy I bought the console. So many good games, and this along with Xenoblade and Fatal Frame will keep me happy.
 
M

Mononoke

Banned
Skelter said:
Feels more like Persona/Fire Emblem to me.
Click to expand...

Which is a dream come true for me!

Just not sure I feel the whole moe/idol stuff. It's a bit TOO IN YOUR FACE. I don't mind anime/moe stuff, but even if I have my limits. Gameplay sections though have me sold.
 
T

The Silver

Member
Yamagami: When we thought about making this game, we thought, what would Fire Emblem look like in modern times? If we set the Fire Emblem series in modern times, it would be this game.


I don't know about that buddy
 
C

Calvero

Banned
The Silver said:
Yamagami: When we thought about making this game, we thought, what would Fire Emblem look like in modern times? If we set the Fire Emblem series in modern times, it would be this game.


I don't know about that buddy
Click to expand...

Given the waifu elements of Awakening it probably is

meh, the relations building was dope
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
The battle system looks dope. It's like SMT Press Turn + FE Weapon Triangle and pairings.
 
T

Tyrant Rave

Banned
Interesting how they mention Fire Emblem characters kind of filling the role for demons in this game. Hopefully we see a fusion system.

The initial trailer was a dead giveaway that the game was barely in production. Two months doesn't surprise me one bit.
 
S

SuomiDude

Member
Shinjiro: said:
Deciding what to make it closer to, that happened a bit after Mr. Yamagami brought us the idea. The problem is, if you make it too much like a Fire Emblem game, then why doesn’t Intelligent Systems just make it themselves?
Click to expand...
The problem is that Intelligent Systems doesn't have FE in works for Wii U, so this game could've been just that :(
 
R

rhandino

Banned
The Silver said:
Yamagami: When we thought about making this game, we thought, what would Fire Emblem look like in modern times? If we set the Fire Emblem series in modern times, it would be this game.


I don't know about that buddy
Click to expand...
Well, in a previous interview they toyed with the idea of a Pegasus Knight atop of a building in a modern city (which the imagery of the trailers evokes a lot) or set it on Mars... =P

====

This part is just the best, imho
In the end, the reason the game looks the way it does, the reason the content is the way it is, is because this is something we wanted to do as an Atlus game, a game only Atlus could make.
Click to expand...
 
R

RMI

Banned
I need this game.

SuomiDude said:
The problem is that Intelligent Systems doesn't have FE in works for Wii U, so this game could've been just that :(
Click to expand...

what? if you're saying what I think you're saying, there's a fire emblem coming out on 3DS. Throw your ridiculous disappointment in that direction.
 
K

KingBroly

Banned
I don't know why they aren't calling it Persona: Fire Emblem or Fire Emblem: Persona, because that's what it looks and feels like to me.
 
M

Mauricio_Magus

Banned
The game looks amazing, I saw the whole Treehouse segment and you can feel how much work and love has gone into the title, and with the awesome team behind it, the game is going to be truly special.

I also love how insane everything about the game is, I wish it was a 2015 game because I need it already.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
In my opinion, this game is a Shin Megami Tensei-type of game. It’s a game that Atlus would make
Click to expand...

3QO1OUv.jpg
 
T

Totakeke

Member
Sales happened, they still made Strange Journey and SMT4 though.


To me this seems like the standard SMT or Persona experience from the gameplay presentation, except, I'm curious what will replace the demon fusion part where a big chunk of the SMT gameplay is about.
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
The goal for this was to do something that the Fire Emblem series can’t do. In the end, the reason the game looks the way it does, the reason the content is the way it is, is because this is something we wanted to do as an Atlus game, a game only Atlus could make.
Click to expand...
This is an amazing quote
 
Astral Dog

Astral Dog

Member
The game evolved to be its own thing, Nintendo announced it out of desperation, a simple "Atlus x Intelligent Systems" would be enough. then there wouldn't had been so many dissapointed fans, and while idol stuff is a theme through the game, put a little less emphasis on fanservice.
 
P

Pandora012

Member
The treehouse reveal actually made me less interested in it. I hope that I will see something that catches my interest later on.
 
M

Megidolaon

Member
Taruranto said:
3QO1OUv.jpg
Click to expand...
LOL. I remember those guys from that one Persona stream, everyone was like "uhhhhh"

If people see the idols and kawaii desu stuff and their first thought is "Persona", then I really hope P5 moves away from that direction and improves the series' image. The fan base makes it seem like its all abot romancing cute girls and idols, which is a shame.

The Social Links had Akinari, Mutatsu, the bookstore elders, Maya, Hisano, etc. It's a shame only the cute girls get much attention, there's much more to the series.

Nothing wrong with idol fluff and good fun, not bashing this game, of course. It looks fun.
 
S

SuomiDude

Member
RMI said:
what? if you're saying what I think you're saying, there's a fire emblem coming out on 3DS. Throw your ridiculous disappointment in that direction.
Click to expand...
What I'm saying is that Intelligent Systems is making FE for 3DS not for Wii U. Ok, Shinjiro said they didn't bother to make this game like a real FE, because Intelligent Systems could just as well make one. But like I said the problem is that Intelligent Systems is NOT making a Wii U FE. So that's why I hoped that this game would've been that real FE game instead (just with that SMT thrown in). The first trailer of the game didn't show what the game is about, so it wasn't until this E3 Treehouse presentation that I saw what kind of game this is. And it's definately not what I thought and hoped for.
 
K

Kouriozan

Member
Interesting interview, thanks for sharing.
People will inevitably be drawn to other Atlus games if they enjoy this game.
Click to expand...
Oh yes, I hope so as well.
But in the end we made it look more like a traditional RPG. I think that’s the right decision, but we were really worried.
Click to expand...
I also think it's was the best thing to do.
 
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