To summarise:

• Fire Emblem Echoes, a re-imagining of the Japan-only Fire Emblem Gaiden for the Famicom is coming May 19 for the 3DS.
• Fire Emblem Warriors is coming fall 2017 for the Switch and the New 3DS.
• Fire Emblem Heroes, a smartphone game featuring classic Fire Emblem gameplay on a smaller scale as well as gashapon-style hero collecting with different rarity versions of various Fire Emblem characters, is coming February 2 to Android devices and eventually to iPhone as well. Pre-registration opens January 19 and a special character popularity poll is open right now where fans can vote on their favourite hero and heroine. The winners will be featured in-game as special event characters.
• An untitled Fire Emblem game being developed exclusively for the Switch will be released sometime in 2018. No other information regarding it.

I'm honestly kind of disappointed by this Nintendo Direct. Fire Emblem Echoes seems like the perfect game to release on the Switch to show that 3DS-style games will still happen on that platform, so it not being at least a multiplatform release is a bummer. Fire Emblem Warriors being a multiplatform and not actually a Switch exclusive is also kind of a bummer, but not all that much considering how badly Hyrule Warriors Legends performed on the New 3DS. At least they announced something for the Switch, but the complete lack of any information besides "TBA 2018" kind of leaves me feeling like it'll be a very late 2018 game.

Fire Emblem Heroes is pretty much exactly what I expected from a mobile game in the series what with the huge roster of characters and waifu- and husbando-ing happening in the Fire Emblem fanbase. I'll definitely give it a try but I don't expect it to stick for me personally. It'll probably do well though, gashapon-style collection stuff on smartphones seems to be pretty lucrative.

Despite being disappointed by the lack of push for the Switch in this Nintendo Direct I'll probably end up getting Echoes eventually and enjoying it, Fire Emblem has been a pretty sure-fire franchise for me. I still need to get around to buying and playing through Fates though, so I'm in no rush.

Interesting decision to put the new smart phone game on google play first.

Since people started seeing the characters in Smash Bros. games Fire Emblem has grown to become a key franchise for Nintendo. Four new games for a single IP! I do wonder about the timing for this. Announcing a new 3DS game so soon after the Switch launch does seem like they got it the wrong way around like you say.

But the announcement of a Switch exclusive Fire Emblem is exciting. I don't think it automatically has to be a late 2018 game. It depends when they show more really. Maybe they will say more at E3.

They said that the Fire Emblem Warriors was going to exclusive for New 3DS. The only other New 3DS only game I'm aware of is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. I wonder if they will be able to extend the life cycle of the 3DS by having more and more New 3DS only games.

The Fire Emblem Gaiden news is so dang cool. That game looks like it could be absolutely incredible!

A Fire Emblem Gaiden remake with amiibos. What a time to be alive.

I voted for Marth to be in the Fire Emblem game. I'm sorry it may be unpopular but I did it.

Didn't they release like 3 Fire Emblem games last year? And now at least 4 more in the next two years? Does the world need that much Fire Emblem?

Yes.

The only worry I have about echoes is that Gaiden is infamous in the fandom as having the most unconventional game mechanics of any Fire Emblem game, a fact that is usually excused due to it occurring so early in the series. We'll see though, the trailer looked good. That aside, seeing them return to a never-localized game for a remake can only be a good sign.

You're right about the Switch, however. This adds weight to the building case that Reggie is telling the truth and Switch isn't the grand Nintendo unification we're all hoping for, at least not for now. Warriors is another game in the franchise nobody asked for (after TMS #FE), and Dragon Warriors is an established console series, so there not really taking any risks with that game. At the same time, the history of licensed spin offs from Nintendo isn't stellar. Much like TMS, I imagine it'll appeal more to the fans of the genre they're going into rather than the series they're coming from.

Kinda crazy that not too long ago Nintendo was considering shelving the series altogether. Now we're getting a year of nothing but Fire Emblem. That's a pretty impressive comeback.

Yuri Lowenthal earning his paycheck with some of that line delivery.

The Gaiden remake is unexpected and neat. Having played a decent amount of the Famicom original, it has some interesting mechanics and ideas that are different from the rest of the series. It's also a NES game, and could very well do with some updating... hopefully better updating than either Shadow Dragon or New Mystery of the Emblem. I dunno, I'll buy it. It's not like Fire Emblem is my favorite series or anything. I'll probably buy those Amiibos too, because I'm an idiot. It seems like a smaller-scale side thing though, given how they teased a full new Fire Emblem game for the Switch next year.

The mobile game is basically what I thought it would be, complete with the grindy F2P gatchapon-style mechanics that will ensure I won't spend much time playing it. The real treat of that game is how it will lead to certain elements of the fanbase getting pissy about more localized character names being slightly different from the fan-translated ones.

@hunkulese: The games last year were all technically Fire Emblem Fates. It had two versions with separate campaigns and a DLC campaign and tons of other DLC, some of which never left Japan. Grr...we should be past this now, shouldn't we?

Fire Emblem Warriors coming to New 3DS as well makes me wish I had upgraded to one of those years ago as that game is the only reason I want a Switch this year. Still very excited to play it and I can't wait to see if they incorporate some of the GBA crit animations into the game for any of those characters that might make it onto the roster.

Surprised to see the mobile game coming to Android first. That gacha system is really scaring me right now. Hopefully it doesn't have hellish draw rates for the good stuff but that price list has me thinking otherwise ($74.99 best value!!).

I came in hopeful and left more disappointed than not. I'm happy to be getting a surprise release of gaiden so soon and that we're getting a full on fire emblem game for the switch, which helps justify me buying a switch.

But the fact that chrom was shown in the Warriors game was a major disappointment, I was hoping for a game with new characters, story etc. but it looks like it might just be a lazy job, wasting the potential of what a fire emblem X musou game could be. And that mobile game is not what I wanted at all, but after seeing what Mario run turned out to be I really shouldn't be so surprised with what we're getting. As much as I adore fire emblem, I don't know if I have the time or interest for another free to play game, but I'll at least give it a shot.

Also for gaiden, they just gave a blanket date, is that the jap release, world wide, US and jap only and no Europe? I ask this as the footage they showed was all Japanese text.

Reimagined Fire Emblem Gaiden is something I really, really want.

Also I just fucking love Hyrule Warriors (over 200 hours logged), so Fire Emblem Warriors has me really excited.

I can see Fire Emblem on mobile becoming a huge deal for Nintendo. More than Super Mario Run. I never played a Fire Emblem game before, but it looks somewhat similar to Shining Force mixed with Xcom. I would probably enjoy it.

I'm not interested in Heroes at all. It looks like a reskinned Dragonball: Dokkan Battle - right down to the rock, paper, scissors combat. You randomly recruit heroes using currency, level up their rarity with yet another currency and battle them against each other to... earn currency. Aside from the bare minimum strategy of, "don't put a sword guy against a lance guy", I don't think it will have any of the tactical nuance that makes Fire Emblem fun.

One is a remake which is a good thing since it's harder to get a legal copy of a very old game.

the other game is a musou game - for anyone who loves Musou and Hyrule Warriors - I don't mind if it's on 3DS or Switch. In Japan, the 3DS is very popular since most folks are into handheld and mobile gaming, making it tough for console gaming market.

Ever since the death of Iwata whose stance was to not to make Nintendo games for mobile devices for personal and probably cultural reasons, Nintendo is making its move into the market. After Mario, I can see Fire Emblem making good on it. I don't have a smartphone nor a tablet, so I won't be playing it.

Finally after Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, the last game to hit console, a new game is on the horizons

Not bad of a direct. It's better than nothing in comparison with other Nintendo first party games (or was that called IP. I'm not too versed in gaming culture with jargons and stuff).

I don't mind Fire Emblem being popular and getting lots of games because it has come a long way and it shows how influential Smash Bros can be. Sadly, it didn't help Earthbound, Metroid, and F Zero games but Xenoblade and Fire Emblem both have new games popping up frequently.

I am very interested in the mobile game.

I wouldn't be that dissapointed tbh. Hyrule Warriors runs like ass and looks not amazing on the New 3DS, especially compared to the Wii U version. The Switch is more than likely going to be the place to play that game.

I'm super into everything they announced. Looking forward to the remake, and the TBA 2018 title the most. The mobile game sounds like itll be a good time killer, but I'm not expecting it to be too deep. Same with warriors. If warriors can give me a power fantasy experience playing as my favorites then that's all I really need from that game. I love that Nintendo is going all in on fire emblem. It's becoming my favorite series of theirs.

@thecitizenkaneofthings: Yeah, I realize that. I've got a couple musou games on the Vita and I'm never satisfied with the enemy count and playing it on a handheld is awkward for me. It just would have worked out cheaper for me so that I could put off buying the console a little longer.

I quickly went to that "Choose your Legends" poll and it's way too daunting. So many characters I really like, I can't possibly choose between them. Maybe I'll come back later and do it - but even if I limit myself to my favourite Fire Emblem game (Awakening), there are a bunch of characters within that single game I love so much.

@dixavd: you can pick a different character every day if that helps at all. Once I picked Cherche it moved her into a day1 choice slot and had a bunch of other days. Not sure what it's building, but it seems to be making a list.

I have no idea which characters are popular, i just went with this old geezer with white hair from the Wii game because that's a novel look.

I came into this thinking it was going to be info on the mobile cash in and an extended look at the Musou. I came out incredibly hyped and grateful as a huge Fire Emblem fan. A re-imaging of Gaiden is awesome, a brand new mainline game on the Switch is awesome, and the mobile game looks like it is pandering to me in every conceivable way, which is awesome. I'm slightly disappointed that the Musou seems like it's only going to feature characters from Awakening and Fates, but the mobile game pulling from every FE entry may fill that gap a little bit instead.

It's the best time to be a Fire Emblem fan.

@arbitrarywater said:

Yeah, that's my concern. I heard mostly underwhelming things about Shadow Dragon, and that they didn't really update it enough, so I completely avoided it. To be honest, most pre-PlayStation console strategy RPGs have done absolutely nothing for me, either because the series is so in its infancy that they've kept the mechanics simple, or because of the technology of the era the story is very simple and dull and poorly told, or both the mechanics and story are underwhelming. I'm not super jazzed about buying the Gaiden remake unless all the reviews say "It plays and is structured like a modern FE, so no worries!"

Also while I'm making random observations, I kinda want them to tone down the player interactivity stuff in FE overall. Awakening was pretty much the maximum of what I want; some light battling, or if you want you can buy one item that they're carrying on their person. All the My Castle stuff in Fates feels really bolted onto the story for the sake of more Streetpass/online "interactivity" with other players, but it just felt like way too much extra busywork in Fates.

All I was looking for was a confirmation that they were developing a main-line game for the Switch. What I got was that and a Gaiden remake. Good show.

I am kind of Fire Emblem-ed out after so much mediocre Fire Emblem content last year (the Fates games). It really feels like Nintendo is oversaturating the market right now with all these Fire Emblem projects at once just a year after three Fire Emblem games along with an offshoot game all came out . I think the phone game is honestly the only thing that looks interesting, and that's mostly from a perspective of wanting to see how it translates to mobile.

Yeah, I wasn't into the My Castle stuff at all. Not even gonna get into the Skill buying part of it with all the broken characters because you don't have to engage with that if you don't want to, but if I want to upgrade my weapons and my own castle doesn't happen to have the material, I have to go around and visit random people and hope I can find a Topaz or whatever, it sucked.

@redyoshi said:

Yeah, the grinding for My Castle materials was stupid, and getting food you either feed to your little dragon or your troops was an overly simple system that added nothing to my experience. Also the Streetpass battles against other players are still terrible since they don't autobalance in any way, so when you first buy the game you're just going to get crushed by everyone else's endgame teams unless you buy the game on exactly release day. It's bad in the way that I thought the town stuff was bad in Bravely Default: in both games, if you fully engage with it you can just get a bunch of broken skills/moves way earlier in the game than you should which is just poor balance, but also it's a bunch of busywork you have to be constantly checking.

Thought maybe this was an old Direct video or I was going crazy as the title says "Fire Emblem Direct 2/18/2017", but then realized Nintendo is wrong.

@redyoshi: The my castle stuff was mostly pointless and I wouldn't mind seeing it go, but I'm not sure if you noticed you can convert gems. So if you don't have topaz as in your example and you need it to upgrade, you can convert the gems you do have. Not at a 1:1 ratio of course, but the game never requires you to touch the online visiting stuff to upgrade your gear. Unless you're trying to create a fully upgraded copy of every weapon (why would you?) the game gives you enough gems and options to multiply that gem count to get more than what you actually need in a playthrough.

Also for everyone talking about oversaturating the market, it's important to remember that it's been a much longer gap for Japan than it has been for us. These games typically take some time to translate. Meaning we likely won't be seeing the 2018 fire emblem right away in 2018. It will have been over a 2 year gap for us which is fairly standard for their main line entries in the series, and even longer for japan since they got fates before us. There's some fire emblem themed content for sure this year, and a remake for those interested in diving into the past of the series; however it's not like they're releasing new core fire emblem games annually like Activision or ubisoft games. It feels much more akin to the pokemon series where they're releasing spin-offs and remakes to hold people over in between major entries. If you don't want to burnout, take the year off and wait until 2018 to see what's happening.

FWIW, New Mystery of the Emblem is actually a much better game than Shadow Dragon (it has real supports, much better map design, etc), though neither is really up there in my personal tier list of the series. It's also the game that introduced the concept of the player-created blank-slate protagonist whom everyone loves to the franchise, which I think is probably a bad thing?

Despite my reservations, I think it's highly unlikely that Echoes will be as straight a remake as Shadow Dragon was. Fire Emblem is probably one of Nintendo's flagship franchises at this point and they probably have to make it accessible in the same way that Awakening and (2/3rds of) Fates were accessible. I think they'd be well served keeping in some of the weirder, unique mechanics of Gaiden and polishing them up to modernity, but I could also see a lot of that stuff getting streamlined out because of how different it all is from the rest of the series (i.e. Mages in Gaiden don't use spellbooks as weapons, they learn spells as they level up.)

The mobile game seems like something I would play (yay for Android first!). And it looks like the 2018 Switch game would be a mainline entry which is great.

I may or may not pick up Echoes (I feel like my time would be better spent catching up on better games in the series that I haven't played yet), and almost surely will pass on Warriors.

The Echoes game looks cool. Hopefully it turns out better than Shadow Dragon. I'm also hoping it leaves out most or all of the relationship stuff of the modern games.

I played Awakening and liked it a lot. It had engaging enough gameplay (though I ruined the challenge for myself somewhat by grinding) and the whole match-making part was fun to invest yourself in. But when Fates came around and seemingly doubled down on having your own character and picking your preferred flavor of mate I got a little hesitant.

Then there was the whole "several games" thing. I actually went as far as preordering a copy of the version that included both "games" on a single cart, but ended up getting that cancelled on me because of "lack of supply" a few days later. Failing to get this copy, as well as the slight hassle with the seller of getting my deposit back, soured me on the whole thing and I ended up not getting the game at all.

Despite all this I saw Echoes and got excited. It doesn't seem to have a player stand-in character and seems just different enough in other aspects that it felt fresh. At least, to someone like me with limited investment in the series. Enough time has also passed that I feel like I have enough of an appetite for this type of game again.

As for Warriors, I don't mind the Dynasty Warriors type of brawler too much, I'm just not invested enough in the franshise for something like that to mean a lot to me at this point. Heroes I want to know more about, might try that one if I hear good things.

@paulmako: It doesn't have to mean that it's a late 2018 game, but I kind of suspect as much. The Switchs lineup for 2017 is rather slim so far (we'll probably see more game announcements in the leadup to and in the E3 Nintendo Direct) so you'd think if they had something like a Fire Emblem game already lined up for early 2018 that they would just come right out and say so.

@freedom4556: I'm hoping that whatever the first revision of the Switch is (Switch Lite? Switch Micro?) will make a much stronger case for it being the successor to the 3DS and that what we're seeing right now is just the growing pains of a new console.

@mezza: If Hyrule Warriors is anything to go by then Fire Emblem Warriors should at least good as a fan service fantasy kind of thing. I don't care for the more traditional Musou games but still had a lot of fun playing through Hyrule Warriors just because of how packed it was with fan service, I fell off pretty hard once I hit the post-game though.