FE7 is Coming to the Nintendo Switch!

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

...Via the Online Expansion Pack, that is. Start marinating your mutton now, because this game is leaving the bench on Friday, June 23rd.

Fire Emblem: FE7: Rekka no Ken: Blazing Blord: When Hector met Eli was my third title in the series, and my first exposure to the "golden age" that is GBAFE. I've probably beaten it close to a dozen times, although it's been a few years. Not my favorite by any means, but still a strong title, and one I think I'd like to revisit on a modern console.

What do y'all think? Still not ready to give Uncle Nintendo that fifty thousand gold? Or, are you ready to sign that Fell Contract for another trip to the Dread Isle? Let me know below!

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'm just darn happy this game is coming to Switch. Best FE, in my opinion, with the best cast and story, awesome sprites, and the quintessential gameplay style of the series.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I am the owner of a Family Plan who was bullied into the Expansion pak so yes, somebody is playing this game so I can watch. And clap on every dodge.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Yaaay, these are great news!

I already have this and Sacred Stones for Wii U, but more ports are always welcome. 🙂

[Baron the Shining Blade]

Well we already knew Blazing Blade was coming. Not surprised Binding Blade remains locked in the eastern vault (and if they won't even let us have Binding Blade, there's no way they'll let us have Mother 3). But honestly, that's good if you ask me. Not wanting to localize FE6 on the GBA furthers the precedent of a remake.

[Punished Dayni]

Maybe some day, if I am getting the expansion pack. Until then, I'm curious to see if SS gets put up or not.

Nothing else coming out outside Japan also bothers me. Took a few minutes to find any official communication of it. An update with one game is too little, even if it's two because BinB.

[Jotari]

I already have the GBA subscription, but I won't be playing it. It would mean going through forced tutorial Lyn mode. *shudder* I've done that too many times for comfort. And I'm too comfortable with modding the GBA games to just play them on a console. It's just more fun to play around with stuff and cultivate an experience after having toughly played vanilla.

Now if it were Binding Blade, they released, then that would be some excitement. Not only do I enjoy the game a lot more, but it being one of the Japanese exclusives I would be pretty pleased to see it become accessible to more people, even if they had to make it 5 bucks to justify it. I paid that for NES Shadow Dragon and it's nowhere near as good as Binding Blade. Coming to think of it, because you can change your region on Switch to play games in a different language, we might just see Binding Blade available outside of Japan, just not in English.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Jotari

[Captain Karnage]

Honestly I'm kind of meh, on the re-release 

It's nice that it's there, just not worth the price per year

[MadBoar]

17 hours ago, Jotari said:

I already have the GBA subscription, but I won't be playing it. It would mean going through forced tutorial Lyn mode. *shudder* I've done that too many times for comfort. And I'm too comfortable with modding the GBA games to just play them on a console. It's just more fun to play around with stuff and cultivate an experience after having toughly played vanilla.

Now if it were Binding Blade, they released, then that would be some excitement. Not only do I enjoy the game a lot more, but it being one of the Japanese exclusives I would be pretty pleased to see it become accessible to more people, even if they had to make it 5 bucks to justify it. I paid that for NES Shadow Dragon and it's nowhere near as good as Binding Blade. Coming to think of it, because you can change your region on Switch to play games in a different language, we might just see Binding Blade available outside of Japan, just not in English.

You can create a japanese nintendo account to download the japanese GBA virtual console in order play Binding Blade. Your current membership will also work with your japanese account.  Since Binding Blade has the same user interface as the other GBA games, playing it in japanese will not be an issue. I used a japanese account to play Holy War and Mystery of the Emblem.

Unfortunately, hard mode will not be unlocked in both games. Since I have hard mode unlocked on my cartridges, I will not waste my time playing through the low difficulties on the virtual console. 

The fire emblem 7 japanese version is easier than the international versions, because weapon effectiveness is only 2x in international, and 3x in japan. 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Guess I should dust off the old PSA too. If you want to access the Japanese NSO games you need:

• An email address that isn't linked to any existing NNID
• An active NSO subscription on one of your Switch profiles. 

Then head on the Nintendo website, create a new account with the region set to Japan, then link that NNID to a new user profile on your Switch. That new profile does NOT need NSO. Head on to the eshop, selecting your new japanese account as the user. On the left tabs you'll see, in English, Nintendo Switch Online, and from there you'll see the systems you can download. Once downloaded to your system, play them with your usual NSO-linked account. And that's it.

They never did put Gaiden and Thracia on the Switch. Lazy bastards.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

1 hour ago, MadBoar said:

You can create a japanese nintendo account to download the japanese GBA virtual console in order play Binding Blade. Your current membership will also work with your japanese account.  Since Binding Blade has the same user interface as the other GBA games, playing it in japanese will not be an issue. I used a japanese account to play Holy War and Mystery of the Emblem.

Yep, that's a good point! Specifically, you can create an account with a different email address, say it's set in Japan, and download the Japanese version of GBA Online through that account. Then, when opening it on the home screen, you use your default account (the one where you actually paid for the NSO). I did likewise to replay FE4 on Switch, too.

Edit: Just do what @Zapp Branniglenn said above!

On 6/15/2023 at 11:21 PM, Zapp Branniglenn said:

I am the owner of a Family Plan who was bullied into the Expansion pak so yes, somebody is playing this game so I can watch. And clap on every dodge.

parks Lyn on a Forest tile

C'mon, my hands can only get so sore!

On 6/15/2023 at 10:49 PM, Fire Emblem Fan said:

I'm just darn happy this game is coming to Switch. Best FE, in my opinion, with the best cast and story, awesome sprites, and the quintessential gameplay style of the series.

No way this wasn't a pun.

20 hours ago, Punished Dayni said:

Nothing else coming out outside Japan also bothers me. Took a few minutes to find any official communication of it. An update with one game is too little, even if it's two because BinB.

To me, this really depends on the frequency. Small drops are fine IMO, if they're happening with regularity. If we have to wait acouple more months for the next drop, though... yeah, I can see it disappointing people.

19 hours ago, Jotari said:

I already have the GBA subscription, but I won't be playing it. It would mean going through forced tutorial Lyn mode. *shudder* I've done that too many times for comfort. And I'm too comfortable with modding the GBA games to just play them on a console. It's just more fun to play around with stuff and cultivate an experience after having toughly played vanilla.

True points! The world of mods is a rich one, with many talented creators running around. Some in this very room! Still, there's something so tempting about getting to play on official hardware. I can't "cuddle up" with my laptop, in the same way that I can with my Switch in handheld mode.

23 hours ago, Baron the Shining Blade said:

Well we already knew Blazing Blade was coming. Not surprised Binding Blade remains locked in the eastern vault (and if they won't even let us have Binding Blade, there's no way they'll let us have Mother 3). But honestly, that's good if you ask me. Not wanting to localize FE6 on the GBA furthers the precedent of a remake.

And if they did create a translated port of FE6, they'd only keep it up for sale for three months or so, if history is anything to go by. Nintendo whyyy.

Edited June 17, 2023 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Typo, update.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Guess I should dust off the old PSA too. If you want to access the Japanese NSO games you need:

• An email address that isn't linked to any existing NNID
• An active NSO subscription on one of your Switch profiles. 

Then head on the Nintendo website, create a new account with the region set to Japan, then link that NNID to a new user profile on your Switch. That new profile does NOT need NSO. Head on to the eshop, selecting your new japanese account as the user. On the left tabs you'll see, in English, Nintendo Switch Online, and from there you'll see the systems you can download. Once downloaded to your system, play them with your usual NSO-linked account. And that's it.

They never did put Gaiden and Thracia on the Switch. Lazy bastards.

 

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Yep, that's a good point! Specifically, you can create an account with a different email address, say it's set in Japan, and download the Japanese version of GBA Online through that account. Then, when opening it on the home screen, you use your default account (the one where you actually paid for the NSO). I did likewise to replay FE4 on Switch, too.

Edit: Just do what @Zapp Branniglenn said above!

parks Lyn on a Forest tile

C'mon, my hands can only get so sore!

No way this wasn't a pun.

To me, this really depends on the frequency. Small drops are fine IMO, if they're happening with regularity. If we have to wait acouple more months for the next drop, though... yeah, I can see it disappointing people.

True points! The world of mods is a rich one, with many talented creators running around. Some in this very room! Still, there's something so tempting about getting to play on official hardware. I can't "cuddle up" with my laptop, in the same way that I can with my Switch in handheld mode.

And if they did create a translated port of FE6, they'd only keep it up for sale for three months or so, if history is anything to go by. Nintendo whyyy.

I really hoped we'd have seen a Gaiden translation by now. I guess NES Shadow Dragon didn't sell that well. Could it be that limited availability of a digital produce, already a shitty and unpopular business move, is unsuccessful when it's an archaic game from 1990!? No matter how popular Fire Emblem becomes, the NES titles are always going to be niche titles.  They would have made more money just just keeping it on the E Shop indefinitely. I'm sure a few people who become fans after Engage would look up Fire Emblem on the eShop and say "oh cool the first game. I wonder who that Marth guy Alear was talking to and who I've seen in Super Smash Bros is. That's worth a fiver." They'd certainly make their money back at any rate, as less face it the overheads for translating the game would not be that big. I've probably had legal documents translated with less text than Shadow Dragon or Gaiden. But they decided to gamble on hype instead of slow investment and it'd be weird to release Gaiden now.

[King Marth 64]

On 6/16/2023 at 11:43 PM, Jotari said:

I really hoped we'd have seen a Gaiden translation by now. I guess NES Shadow Dragon didn't sell that well. Could it be that limited availability of a digital produce, already a shitty and unpopular business move, is unsuccessful when it's an archaic game from 1990!? No matter how popular Fire Emblem becomes, the NES titles are always going to be niche titles.  They would have made more money just just keeping it on the E Shop indefinitely. I'm sure a few people who become fans after Engage would look up Fire Emblem on the eShop and say "oh cool the first game. I wonder who that Marth guy Alear was talking to and who I've seen in Super Smash Bros is. That's worth a fiver." They'd certainly make their money back at any rate, as less face it the overheads for translating the game would not be that big. I've probably had legal documents translated with less text than Shadow Dragon or Gaiden. But they decided to gamble on hype instead of slow investment and it'd be weird to release Gaiden now.

Actually, the Limited Releases of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light did show up on the Best-Selling Category in the Nintendo Switch eShop when it first launched. I do like to see other past Fire Emblem games get translated like how Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was handled.

Other than that, I do like to play both GBA Fire Emblem games on the GBA Nintendo Switch app one day when I get a chance to get the Expansion Pack membership activated one day and I'm definitely curious when Nintendo going to rerelease The Sacred Stones might come to the GBA Nintendo Switch app.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 6/20/2023 at 2:31 AM, King Marth 64 said:

Other than that, I do like to play both GBA Fire Emblem games on the GBA Nintendo Switch app one day when I get a chance to get the Expansion Pack membership activated one day and I'm definitely curious when Nintendo going to rerelease The Sacred Stones might come to the GBA Nintendo Switch app.

This just reminded me that you could play Sacred Stones on 3DS, via the Ambassador Program. Thinking about it, when FE7 (and FE6) come out, it'll be possible to play almost every mainline entry in the series on either 3DS or Switch. I believe Gaiden, Thracia, and the Tellius games are the only exceptions.

On 6/17/2023 at 2:43 AM, Jotari said:

 

I really hoped we'd have seen a Gaiden translation by now. I guess NES Shadow Dragon didn't sell that well. Could it be that limited availability of a digital produce, already a shitty and unpopular business move, is unsuccessful when it's an archaic game from 1990!? No matter how popular Fire Emblem becomes, the NES titles are always going to be niche titles.  They would have made more money just just keeping it on the E Shop indefinitely. I'm sure a few people who become fans after Engage would look up Fire Emblem on the eShop and say "oh cool the first game. I wonder who that Marth guy Alear was talking to and who I've seen in Super Smash Bros is. That's worth a fiver." They'd certainly make their money back at any rate, as less face it the overheads for translating the game would not be that big. I've probably had legal documents translated with less text than Shadow Dragon or Gaiden. But they decided to gamble on hype instead of slow investment and it'd be weird to release Gaiden now.

Yeah, it would've been very cool, but alas. Gaiden remains the black Genny... er, sheep, of the early series. Maybe they figured "well we just released Echoes, so the game it's based on would be redundant!" Even though it's likely the opposite, whereby Echoes enjoyers would happily check out the game it's based off of. Alternatively, it might be that, given the substantial redesign a good number of characters got in the remake, they're worried that releasing the original would introduce confusing. In an "if you're Boey, then why are you white?" kinda way.

Anyone, no defense for "limited time release windows". There's no way that "extra purchases from FOMO", plus "money saved by not hosting one game on the shop", is greater than "revenue that would've been generated by additional sales beyond the initial takedown".

[King Marth 64]

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

This just reminded me that you could play Sacred Stones on 3DS, via the Ambassador Program. Thinking about it, when FE7 (and FE6) come out, it'll be possible to play almost every mainline entry in the series on either 3DS or Switch. I believe Gaiden, Thracia, and the Tellius games are the only exceptions.

I already have Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console since I had got the Nintendo 3DS from launch price back then and yes, I already know Fire Emblem Gaiden and Thracia 776 aren't on the Japanese NES and SNES Online app yet. I'm just saying with my thought on it.

I definitely would like to play The Binding Blade first when I get a Expansion Pack membership before trying out The Blazing Blade since I already did created a Japanese account and I did that with downloading the other Japanese Console Apps back then.

Edited June 22, 2023 by King Marth 64

[Mizerous]

The switch save rewind features are a godsend for this game. Serves the same fuction as Mila turnwheel.