Rumoured FE games in development

[Metal Flash]

Looked at the screenshots and they look, for the lack of a better term, bootlegged as all hell. I am struggling to believe this is anything close to real. Once again, I will wait for official confirmation that this is a real game.

[Fabulously Olivier]

I think the screenshots are real, but also early in development.

 

But I also yeah.... I really hope they are fake. Especially the protag looking like a Nahobino who got dropped in a vat of multicolor hair dye.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[zuibangde]

TFW people in that reddit thread say that it's probably a Chinese knock-off but China doesn't even use traditional Chinese. If anything, the fact that the text is in traditional Chinese makes the leak a bit more believable as games need to be completed and approved to be released in China + the game was probably sent to Taiwan/HK for translation or play testing which caused these screenshots to be taken. 

The hair of the protag is what's really bothering me and I was also expecting more colourful character designs from Gust. However, looking at older Atelier games (Atelier Lulua, Atelier Escha & Logy), the character designs seem to be in the similar art style. 

Also noticed that there's no S support betwen WWWWWWW (looking to be the avatar/protag) and the character in that screenshot. Not sure how well some fans of the series will receive that (unless they standardized it so all paired endings to be able to only reach A support similar to the students in TH). Edit: Omg just remembered that the protagonist is supposed to be male which makes the lack of S support in that screenshot make sense (but also RIP to the idea of everyone being bi if the picture is real). The hair made me think the protagonist was a she. 

I do find the redditors to be overreacting a bit though lmao.

Edited June 15, 2022 by zuibangde

[Fabulously Olivier]

Spoiler

There are many new characters in this game, and I believe people are overreacting a bit about the summoning with thinking of this as a full-blown FEH-style game

And then they proceed to not explain in any way why the game isn't what people are thinking it is. FEH also has "many new characters" (most of whom are the quality of Sonic fan OCs), so that doesn't really contradict the notion.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[Florete]

If it's real, we really should reserve judgement for when we see something we're actually meant to see. Real leaks often look and sound dumb before the actual reveal. It's a tale as old as time that the worse you think it looks/sounds, the more likely it is to be real, yet good games still exist.

[Seazas]

I believe Fire Emblem is too niche to get a leak this elaborate if it's supposed to be fake. Wouldn't it be like the Vampire Emblem and other "leaks" and have simple text with no attempt at screenshots and extensive elaboration? Unless someone finds the source and these assets were stolen, this leaker would have to create multiple sprites, multiple portraits resembling the original style, and all this other stuff from the screenshots. I have a hard time believing this isn't real.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Seazas

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 minute ago, Seazas said:

I believe Fire Emblem is too niche to get a leak this elaborate if it's fake. Wouldn't it be like the Vampire Emblem and other "leaks" and have simple text with no attempt at screenshots? Unless someone finds the source and these assets were stolen, this leaker would have to create multiple sprites, multiple portraits resembling the original style, and all this other stuff from the screenshots.

We still think of Fire Emblem as this niche thing, but it's pretty much equal to Persona at this point. The franchise doesn't get the level of promotion and content creator exposure that it deserves; if it did, it would be a 4-5 million seller easily.

[Seazas]

1 hour ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

We still think of Fire Emblem as this niche thing, but it's pretty much equal to Persona at this point. The franchise doesn't get the level of promotion and content creator exposure that it deserves; if it did, it would be a 4-5 million seller easily.

I just don't believe FE reached a point where it'll get multiple faked fully-created attempts at a leak for no good reason. And so quickly too! It's not even just one screenshot with a bare minimum, there's multiple with a degree of effort that is a state of absolute insanity. I'll stand corrected if someone finds that the leak's assets are ripped from somewhere.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Seazas

[Rose482]

What personally makes me believe the screenshots are real is that I can at least count 8 or 9 female characters, while I can only count 4 or 5 male characters. It's VERY on brand for a game that Gust has something to do with, let's just say. 

[Alastor15243]

I saw someone on an FED video say that the picture of the red-and-blue-haired lord from the back is just an edited screenshot from SMT V, with the "lord" being someone named Nahobino. Can anyone who's played that game confirm?

Edited June 15, 2022 by Alastor15243

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

I saw someone on an FED video say that the picture of the red-and-blue-haired lord from the back is just an edited screenshot from SMT V, with the "lord" being someone named Nahobino. Can anyone who's played that game confirm?

They do look like the Nahobino after falling into a vat of multicolored hair dye. 

[Alistair]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

I saw someone on an FED video say that the picture of the red-and-blue-haired lord from the back is just an edited screenshot from SMT V, with the "lord" being someone named Nahobino. Can anyone who's played that game confirm?

Yeah, SMT V's player character is a guy with long blue hair who doesn't have a canon name but whose title is more or less Nahobino. Here are some screenshots for reference. Personally, thought the UI and environment don't look like anything from SMT V, so if it is an edit it's a very involved one. 

[Fabulously Olivier]

Like, idk. I think that debunk is wishful thinking. The Nahobino's hair texture looks way better, and you can actually see their body past it.

[SMinairo]

Yesterday I said that I'd like it if the returning characters were older than in their games.

I take it back, I don't want them to make new designs if they are going to look like the two we have seen lmao.

[Jandopo]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

I saw someone on an FED video say that the picture of the red-and-blue-haired lord from the back is just an edited screenshot from SMT V, with the "lord" being someone named Nahobino. Can anyone who's played that game confirm?

Meh, I agree with Olivier: the models are similar but not identical.

[Use the Falchion]

So the new protag's hair photo was uncovered on at least one forum and then again on Reddit, and then some YouTuber who shall not be named used another leaked character as a thumbnail on their video which I did not and will not watch.* I've seen more than I wanted to, but I still want to be relatively blind and open-minded going into whatever reveal may or may not happen. 

Anyways, for the protag's hair...I don't hate it. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. It just reminds me of Azura from the back, which makes me think we'll get to choose the gender of the protag but they won't necessarily be an "Avatar." Like Byleth in Three Hopes vs Byleth in Three Houses, if that makes sense. If that is a guy and that's his hair, I think maybe seeing the face and full body art may put it into a more "yeah this works" perspective. The background of the picture looks unpolished, but that's what I'd expect from an early picture that was probably taken during an early build or whatnot. I'm sure the real game - will look better. 

The thumbnail picture of the old man looks about what I'd expect out of a Fire Emblem/Atelier combination, or just Fire Emblem in general. It's a little more generic than I hoped for, but nothing out of place. Again, context, perspective, and a better sense of the game and aesthetic overall will help put these desperate pieces in place. 

 

 

*Edit: now more YouTubers are using pictures or at least the same picture as a thumbnail. Not happy. 

[Metal Flash]

Looking at the leaked images again, the artstyle reminds me of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Not sure why, but it just does.

Also, the hair on the supposed protag looks bizarre. Like, the color is evenly spread, except for that wing-like thing in the middle. Otherwise, meh.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Fire Emblem Heroes has gotten a lot of asset flipped, low-rent clones over the years. Still hoping this is one of those trying to graduate from the mobile space, but never saw the light of day because of a Cease and Desist order.

[Shrimpica]

[Fabulously Olivier]

You had 99 ways to do two-tone hair.

 

Why did you pick option #437 and a half!?

[Use the Falchion]

So, I ended up seeing all of the leaked images, including the new one. I don't hate them, surprisingly, but I find them to be exactly what I feared in a way. 

I've never played an Atelier game, but once I heard the rumors of Gust working on the game, I looked up some of the artwork, and I wasn't a fan. It was too...Moe-leaning for my tastes. I don't need my Fire Emblem to be as down-to-earth as say Shadows of Valentia was, but I don't need it to be more anime-esque than it already is either. To me, Fire Emblem (and especially Heroes) has had the distinct privilege of being perfectly within the anime-esque JRPG genre without it going generic, like several other Gachas, brand-mascots in Japan, and forgettable anime have gone. Maybe it was the quality of the artwork, maybe it's simply my familiarity with the genre, but that's how I felt. This...this may be a step too far. I don't know. I need to see more of the world's aesthetic, the classes, and the final artwork of the characters themselves.

I will say that the massive style change amuses and delights me though. The last two times we got a style change this massive was Three Houses after Shadows of Valentia (and SoV itself after Fates), and Heroes Book 4 after Book 3 - they went from a dismal nihilistic underworld adventure that ended with them killing Hel to a freaking fairy dream world. Man, Norse mythology is a trip! 

[Dandy Druid]

18 hours ago, Wooster said:

By extension, Fire Emblem titles have been on 3 year release cycles, and IS likes to announce Fire Emblem games LONG before they’re ready. So not only are we due, but the ~real~ question is why we’re just learning about it. Like, what changed internally specifically.

(I’m also laughing at the Reddit topic. The purported screenshots are from an early build. Stuff changes and gets polished. That’s hardly reason to doubt the credibility. I mean, there ~are~ good reasons to be skeptical, but having a knee jerk dislike to the art style is hardly one of them.)

It wouldn't be unusual for IS to wait to announce a title. With Three Hopes and SoV, for example, they were announced relatively short before they came out. They were announced and promoted just a few months before release date. It wouldn't be unusual for them to do the same for this game. Hopefully, a shorter release date frame means it'll get a lot of promotion. I could see them announcing it this month or after Three Hopes release and slot it in for the Fall or Holiday 2022. Especially since Breath of the Wild 2 was delayed until next year I believe.

 

Also, going back to the Reddit, someone else (u/Tzekel_Khan) posted this:

The front side of our hero. The character model does not look FE to me, but the dragon statues in the back scream FE to me. Even though the art style they decided to go with doesn't look like Fire Emblem's brand, it does look like something Gust would do, which is one of the rumored teams working on this project. If you're not familiar with Gust, they're mainly known for the Atelier series, which has a more moe/cute design direction.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if the art style is "cuter" and more colorful this time around. Fire Emblem's art style tends to follow current anime/gaming trends, and right now the trendsetters would be games from miHoYo (Genshin Impact, Honkai Impact 3rd, Zenless Zone Zero). So while this style isn't reminiscent of FE, it is following a trend with a company.

If this is the art style for this game, I don't see myself liking it at first and thinking it's too "anime-y". However, I'm sure I'll get use to it. All we can do for a more "mature-looking" FE is to pray that's what the trend will be when they develop the next game.

Also the original leaker of the other thread stated that there will be more open exploration of towns and dungeons, similar to SoV. Most [playable?] characters hail from two cities, one of which is aquatic themed. (Like Derdriu?) They also said there will be a female character people will be excited about, but that isn't saying much in my opinion. It could be another Camilla-esque character (yet again, Dorothea was considered to be like Camilla in the Three Houses leaks and is highly loved within the fandom). But people like different types of female characters, so this is one claim I'm kinda ignoring.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Dandy Druid
credit

[Tryhard]

the stuff mentioned makes me think that this game is a do-over of the Wii FE that was eventually canned. Mainly because it was Kusakihara's first director role, and he is assumedly the director of this game as well after being it for Echoes and Three Houses. Because the plans for that Wii game were that it would have open exploration of towns just from the small amount of concept details that we got.

 

 

[Dandy Druid]

11 minutes ago, Tryhard said:

the stuff mentioned makes me think that this game is a do-over of the Wii FE that was eventually canned. Mainly because it was Kusakihara's first director role, and he is assumedly the director of this game as well after being it for Echoes and Three Houses. Because the plans for that Wii game were that it would have open exploration of towns just from the small amount of concept details that we got.

 

 

That is quite similar to the stuff mentioned. I think I've even see Wii FE thrown around somewhere too.

If it is based off of Kusakihara's first FE idea, I would say this game has a lot of potential. It has had time to marinate, and there may be a big deal of passion involved with this particular title.

Also seeing those images again makes me realize how weird a Stefan-Rhys(?)-Ilyana trio would be.

[zuibangde]

If I was told that that was a character from the rumoured Atelier Ryza 3, I’d believe it.

Can’t decide which is worse - the hair or the shoes. Will be interesting to see what the male version looks like. 

Edited June 16, 2022 by zuibangde