Genei Ibun Roku #FE Impressions (Wii U)

Back in 2013, Atlus and Nintendo delivered shocking news: Shin Megami Tensei would receive a crossover with Fire Emblem for the Wii U. But after two years of no information, a Nintendo Direct in April finally showcased more of the game... and immediately made it one of the most controversial entries in both series.

To start off, Genei Ibun Roku #FE is rather unconventional. Rather than having a direct crossover or meeting between the characters of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei, Atlus has instead opted to create an original setting and story, with elements of both franchises spread throughout. The game is set in Tokyo, and stars a cast of high school students who dream of entering the entertainment industry in some way, be it through singing or acting.

Yes, that's actually CHROM. From Fire Emblem Awakening.

The humans of this world all have a creative energy called "Performa", and it apparently attracts otherworldly invaders known as Mirages. These Mirages seek to consume that energy, and the main cast is tasked with stopping them and saving the world. That's where the Fire Emblem aspects come in; the Fire Emblem characters we've seen so far are more like re-imaginings that come from the same world as the Mirages. They're capable of merging and bestowing powers to the main cast, and the whole concept is somewhat reminiscent of Persona.

In terms of gameplay, Genei Ibun Roku #FE also seems to take a rather similar approach to Persona. The Nintendo Treehouse segment at E3 this year showcased some of the areas you can explore in Shibuya, as well as some dungeon gameplay. The battle system seems to merge the weapon triangle from Fire Emblem and the weakness system from Shin Megami Tensei together. It also incorporates "Session Attacks", where characters will team up and throw out multiple attacks in a row. An interesting thing to note is that the Fire Emblem characters who are paired up with your characters also seem to have an EXP bar on the Battle Results screen (though it does not fill up at all during the gameplay we've seen at E3), which leads me to believe that a Class Change or Promotion system may be in the game in some form.

Overall, we don't know much about the story and have only seen the basic battle system. I can see why this game has become so controversial for fans of both Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem; everyone was expecting a more typical crossover. I was actually expecting a game that played like Devil Survivor myself because it seemed to be the best kind of gameplay style to use in a crossover between Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. No one expected a modern day setting with an original story and cast with themes centering around J-Pop Idols. But the game looks great, and I think it has a lot of potential. Genei Ibun Roku #FE is expected to come to the West in 2016.