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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

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Shadows of Valentia

File:SoV logo en.png
Ba america fe15.png

Developer(s)

Intelligent Systems

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Release date(s)

JP April 20, 2017
TW April 20, 2017
HK April 20, 2017
US May 19, 2017
EU May 19, 2017
AUS May 20, 2017
NZ May 20, 2017

Rating(s)

ACB: M
CERO: B
ESRB: T
PEGI: 12
USK: 12

Platform(s)

Nintendo 3DS

Predecessor

Fire Emblem Fates

Successor

Fire Emblem for Nintendo Switch

On partnered sites

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム Echoes もうひとりの英雄王 Fire Emblem Echoes: Another Hero-King) is a turn-based strategy role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS system. It is a remake of the NES title Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the Fire Emblem series.[1]

Plot

As a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia recounts the general story of Gaiden. The remake expands the script and roles of characters significantly.

Like the original, it is set in Valentia in the centuries after the clash between the sibling gods, Mila and Duma. After swearing to go their separate ways, the gods created their own kingdoms: Duma's harsh and militaristic nation of Rigel in the north, and Mila's hedonistic kingdom of Zofia in the south. The game follows Alm and Celica, a pair of childhood friends, as they conduct separate campaigns during a time of crisis in Valentia.

Gameplay

New features

While the game's engine is based off those of Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates, Shadows of Valentia is a departure from the gameplay of both games. Specific new mechanics are: free-roaming world map, dungeons,[2] and flexible character progression though multiple class change options.

The magic stat is completely absent; in the original Gaiden, Magic was just a separate label for Strength, and was used for both physical and magical damage. Other new features include the world map now featuring the passage of time, represented as a date. This is similar to the original Gaiden's world map having a turn count. The new Mila's Turnwheel artifact allows players to undo mistakes by rewinding their actions. Units can also learn abilities from their equipped weapons by using that weapon often. The game also has amiibo compatibility similar to Fire Emblem Fates, though the allies summoned from amiibo in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia are not permanent members of the party and vanish after one turn.

The game is fully voiced,[3] which marks this game as the first mainline Fire Emblem series title to have full voice acting.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

The entire playable cast of Gaiden returns for the remake, with the addition of two brand new playable characters, Faye, for Alm's party, and Conrad, for Celica's party. This brings the total playable roster to 34 characters in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Additionally three new antagonists appear in the remake, Berkut, Rinea, and Fernand. Most bosses also return in the remake, with the exception of Shizas, who is replaced by Berkut in Act 4.

Acts

Main article: List of Acts in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia introduces an additional prologue and a postgame chapter to the original game's five chapters. Chapters in Shadows of Valentia are instead known as "Acts", presumably to differentiate them from more traditionally-structured chapters in other Fire Emblem games.

Support and Base Conversations

Main article: List of supports in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Main article: Base conversations in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia introduces both base and support conversations to the game, neither of which existed in Gaiden. These conversations expand on the existing cast. Additionally, Memory Prisms, when combined with Mila's Turnwheel, provide further character interactions, though these take place in the past rather than the present.

Development

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was revealed in the Fire Emblem Direct alongside Fire Emblem Heroes on the 18th of January 2017 at 2PM PT/5PM ET. During the direct gameplay footage, animated cutscenes, and character artwork of Alm and Celica were shown.

In Japan, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will also be available in two special editions: the more basic Limited Edition contains the game, a soundtrack CD, a download code for early downloadable content, and a Fire Emblem Cipher card featuring Alm. The Valentia Complete edition includes all of the Limited Edition's contents, as well as another Cipher card featuring Celica, a copy of the Valentia Artbook, a collection of concept art from the game, and a Blu-Ray copy of the Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection, featuring high-definition cutscenes from Echoes: Shadows of Valentia itself, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, and Fates.[4]

Outside of Japan, the game has received one Limited Edition, featuring the game itself, the Valentia art book, a reversible cover featuring the original Fire Emblem Gaiden artwork, a pixel art pin set, and a sound selection CD.[5] The international Limited Edition unfortunately does not include the Fire Emblem HD Movie Collection, DLC codes, or trading cards from the Japanese Editions. Though the pixel art pin set is exclusive to international Limited Editions. Additionally, the European Limited Edition comes bundled with one Alm amiibo and one Celica amiibo.

Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be the first title in the Fire Emblem series to be localized for Chinese markets, featuring both Traditional and Simplified Chinese versions of the script. The announcement of the Chinese version, released on February 12th 2017, also confirmed that the spinoff Fire Emblem Warriors would receive Chinese localizations.[6] This follows the introduction of the Fire Emblem series to the South Korean market with Fates.

On April 3, 2017 the Japanese version of Echoes: Shadows of Valentia leaked on the internet, roughly seventeen days before its official Japanese release.[7]

Reception


This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.


Sales

At Japanese release it sold through 80% of its initial shipment, selling about 132,000 copies; this is a similar number to the previous remake released in Japan.[8] By the end of 2017 Shadows of Valentia sold a total of 199,701 copies in Japan.[9]

No concrete numbers have been given for the game's sales outside of Japan, though Nintendo commented on it as "a popular title" in their quarterly earnings release in 2017.[10]

Reviews

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia holds scores of 83.34% and 81 on GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. Common criticisms of Shadows of Valentia were it being too hard, and lacking elements from other games. The Mila's Turnwheel feature was praised.

It received a nomination for "Best Handheld Game" at The Game Awards 2017, losing to Metroid: Samus Returns.

Fan translation

Main article: Fan translation § Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

When the Japanese version of the game leaked shortly before the game's official release a simple menu translation was released on April 3, 2017 by SciresM. It translates the menus, character, class, and item names, as well as some descriptions.[11] The project was never planned to become a full translation and was only made for English speaking fans to play the game early more easily.

Trivia

  • Echoes: Shadows of Valentia had the shortest wait between Japanese and international release of a mainline Fire Emblem series title yet, with English-speaking fans having to wait a mere 29 days after the Japanese release. The most quickly localized game previously was Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, whose first international version to be released, the PAL localization, was released five months after the Japanese version.
The logo for this "game".
  • For April Fools' 2017, a new game called "Fire Emblem: Battle of Revolution" (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム 維新大乱) was announced, for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS. It prominently features Valbar, Kamui, and Leon. It takes place in the Edo period of Japan. Some text on the website is in traditional vertical writing, and all character and location names were written in kanji with the katakana names as furigana. DLC featuring Marth in was also announced for "Battle of Revolution". There would also be scrolls as a limited bonus. It was stated to be released on April 20, 2017, the same date as Shadows of Valentia.[12]

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language Name Definition, etymology, and notes
English

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Valentia is the name of the continent the game is set on. An echo is a repeated sound, possibly referring to its remake status.

Spanish

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

As above.

French

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

As above.

German

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

As above.

Italian

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

As above.

Dutch

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

As above.

Gallery

Screenshots

References

  1. "In 1992, the second game in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem Gaiden, launched exclusively in Japan. Now, for the first time, fans outside of Japan will get a taste of this classic game on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is inspired by the 1992 original, reimagined on a grander scale." — Nintendo, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (webpage), nintendo.com, Published: January 18th 2017, Retrieved: January 19th 2017
  2. "Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia recreates classic Fire Emblem gameplay with a modern twist, mixing in exploration of dungeons crawling with enemies." — Nintendo, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (webpage), nintendo.com, Published: January 18th 2017, Retrieved: January 19th 2017
  3. "Every aspect of the Fire Emblem Gaiden game's presentation has been updated, along with the game being fully voiced." — Nintendo, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (webpage), nintendo.com, Published: January 18th 2017, Retrieved: January 19th 2017
  4. VincentASM, Fire Emblem Echoes Trailer Info + Analysis, Serenes Forest, Published: 2017-1-18, Retrieved: 2017-2-13
  5. "*Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Limited Edition Includes:
    • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Game
    • A Hardcover Valentia Artbook
    • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Sound Selection CD
    • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Pin Set depicting characters Alm, Celica and Marth
    • Reversible cover sheet that looks like the packaging for the original Famicom game this new one is based on" — Gamestop, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Limited Edition, gamestop.com
  6. VincentASM, Fire Emblem Echoes and Warriors Receiving Official Chinese Translations, Serenes Forest, Published: 2017-02-13
  7. https://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?/topic/70712-data-mined-information-spoilers-please-read-first-post/
  8. http://nintendoeverything.com/fire-emblem-echoes-shadows-of-valentia-sold-through-80-of-its-initial-shipment-in-japan/
  9. https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/games-by-year/2017-top-100
  10. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2017/170726e.pdf
  11. https://github.com/SciresM/FireEmblemSoVTextTranslation/releases
  12. ファイアーエムブレム 維新大乱 | 任天堂, Wayback Machine (archived from Nintendo.co.jp on 31 March), Retrieved: 2 April 2017

External links

Fire Emblem series
Main series Shadow Dragon & the Blade of LightGaidenMystery of the EmblemGenealogy of the Holy WarThracia 776The Binding BladeThe Blazing BladeThe Sacred StonesPath of RadianceRadiant DawnShadow DragonNew Mystery of the EmblemAwakeningFatesEchoes: Shadows of ValentiaThree HousesEngage
Spin-offs Archanea SagaTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FEHeroesWarriorsWarriors: Three Hopes
Crossover games Super Smash Bros. (MeleeBrawlfor Nintendo 3DS and Wii UUltimate) • Club Nintendo Picross+Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.Project X Zone 2WarioWareDragalia Lost
Unreleased games and prototypes Fire Emblem 64The Blazing Blade pre-release build 0206The Blazing Blade pre-release build 0219The Sacred Stones prototypeFire Emblem Wii
TearRing Saga series Yutona Heroes War ChroniclesBerwick Saga
Vestaria Saga series War of the ScionsThe Sacred Sword of SilvanisterLucca GaidenChronicles of the Norden Civil War
Related titles Mario Kart: Double Dash!! bonus discLINENintendo Badge Arcade
Versions and releases List of version differencesLocalization of the Fire Emblem seriesVirtual Console
Other References in other mediaReferences to other media
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Playable characters Alm's Party AlmClairCliveDeltheaFayeForsythGrayKliffLukasLuthierMathildaMycenPythonSilqueTatianaTobinZeke
Celica's Party AtlasBoeyCatriaCelicaConradDeenEstFayeGennyJesseKamuiKliffLeonMaeNomahPallaSaberSonyaValbar
DLC EmmaRandalShadeYuzu
Non-playable characters HalcyonIrmaMassenaMilaPeddlers
Bosses ArgentumAurumBarthBerkutBlakeBrigand BossCerberusThe CreationDeenDeltheaDesaixDolthDumaFernandGarthGarciaGazelleGharnGriethHadesHestiaJamilJarth*JedahJeromeLawsonMagnusMarlaMikhailMuellerNaberiusNuibabaRineaRudolfSlaydeSonyaTatarrahWolffXaizorZaksonZeke
Background characters ForneusLima IVLiprica
Regalia and personal weapons Beloved ZofiaFalchionGradivusMercuriusParthiaRoyal Sword
Acts and Battles Prologue Alm and Celica
Act 1 1: Ram Woods Battle • 2: Fleecer's Forest Battle • 3: Thieves' Shrine • 4: Storming of Ram Valley • 5: Attack on the Southern Outpost • 6: First Battle of Southern Zofia • 7: Second Battle of Southern Zofia • 8: Deliverance Hideout • 9: Liberation of Zofia Castle
Act 2 1: Skirmish • 2: First Pirate Raid • 3: Second Pirate Raid • 4: Assault on the Pirate Throne • 5: Third Pirate Raid • 6: Beast Hunt • 7: Seabound Shrine • 8: Fourth Pirate Raid • 9: Fifth Pirate Raid • 10: Zofia Castle Battle
Act 3 Alm 1: Northern Zofia Battle • 2: First Battle of Zofia Forest • 3: Forest Crossroads Battle • 4: Siege of Desaix's Fortress • 5: Second Battle of Zofia Forest • 6: Sylvan Shrine • 7: Forest Northside Battle • 8: Retaking of the Sluice Gate
Celica 1: Zofian Coast Battle • 2: Skirmish • 3: Attack on the Desert Stronghold • 4N: Northern Desert Battle • 4S: Southern Desert Battle • 5: Attack on Grieth's Citadel • 6: Storming of the Valley Approach • 7: Dragon Shrine • 8: Liberation of the Temple of Mila
Act 4 Alm 1: Border Battle • 2: Rigel Forest Battle • 3: Fear Mountain Battle • 4: Fear Mountain Shrine • 5: Siege of Nuibaba's Abode • 6: Rigel Plains Battle • 7: Fight at the Dragon's Maw • 8: Rigel Falls Battle • 9: Secret Shrine • 10: Attack on the Last Bastion • 11: Attack on Rigel Castle
Celica 1: Dead Man's Mire Battle • 2: Skirmish • 3: Attack on Dolth Keep • 4: Lost Treescape • 5: Storming of Duma Gate • 6: The Swamps of Duma Battle • 7: Duma Tower
Act 5 1: Duma Temple • 2: The Final Battle
Act 6 1: Archanea Seaway 2 Battle • 2: Archanea Seaway 4 Battle • 3: Archanea Seaway 6 Battle • 4: Thabes Labyrinth
amiibo Duma's OrdealsMila's Ordeals
DLC The Astral TempleThe Inner SanctumBand of BandagesLords of the GraveWretches and RichesWealth Before HealthAltar of the DestrierAltar of the TitanAltar of the SkylordAltar of the SorceressAltar of the FaerieAltar of the OgreAltar of the MarksmanAltar of the SavantAltar of the QueenAltar of the King • 1: Battle of Zofia Harbor • 2: Outpost Rescue • 3: Flight from the Ruins • 4: Siege of Zofia CastleCipher Legends ICipher Legends IIMila's Bounty 1Mila's Bounty 2Mila's Bounty 3Mila's Bounty 4Mila's Bounty 5
Locations ValentiaRigel (Fear Mountain ShrineSecret ShrineLost TreescapeDuma TowerDuma Temple) • Zofia (Deliverance HideoutDragon ShrineNovisRamSylvan ShrineTemple of MilaSeabound ShrineThieves' Shrine) • ArchaneaThabes
Groups, objects and concepts Death MasksBook of Valentian RevelationsDeliveranceMila ShrineMila's TurnwheelTerrors
Lists Base conversationsActsCharactersClasses (Class change) • ItemsScriptsSidequestsSkillsSupportsWeapons
Related topics Ancient LettersName chartDownloadable content • Other games (GaidenShadow DragonNew Mystery of the EmblemAwakening) • Pre-release information (Unused content) • Sound TestTimelineWorld map