Trailer for SMT x Fire Emblem (Winter 2015 in Japan)

The Japanese name for the game does not contain "SMT" in the title. It's Genei Ibunroku # FE. That translates to Illusory Revelations # FE. It appears to be a more standard RPG than Fire Emblem, but we'll have to wait for more details on that. For now, it looks like a poppy, happy, modern / fantasy RPG with some fan-servicey stuff thrown in and a game show vibe. The Japanese direct called the game Illusory Revelations ♯ Fire Emblem and announced a Winter 2015 release window.

What do you think?

Something about that trailer made me really glad that my fascination with Japanese media was mostly a phase.

EDIT: I think it was all the panties.

@toowalrus said:

I know what you mean, but either way, I'm glad Atlus is doing something new rather than strictly Persona / SMT / Etrian Odyssey.

Last time they did that was Radiant Historia, and I really enjoyed that game. I'm not gonna count this game out right away just because it seems rather open with its cliches. It could still be fun.

I have just about zero experience with Fire Emeblem and SMT (outside of Persona) and seeing this trailer caught my attention to this game. I will be watching out for this now.

Well, I love Altus, I love Fire Emblem, and that looked pretty cool. I'll definitely keep an eye out to see what comes from this.

Well, that was not at all what I was expecting this game to look like. I won't lie, I'm just a bit disappointed in the tone this seems to be going for, but more than anything I just want to play the game already.

Seems like 90% Persona , 10% Fire Emblem. It looks really fantastic but I was hoping for some FE type combat. No release date mentioned so I'm guessing Holiday 2016 at the earliest.

I'm sure I'll really like it either way. Man that Trailer was hype!

This doesn't seem to be very SMT nor very Fire Emblem. The trailer was very lacking in the stoic people with eyeliner and demons department. Not sure how Fire Emblem is gonna play into all this, since I expected a SRPG with characters from both series when I first heard about this.

Yeah, this isn't even slightly what I was expecting. Why did that first trailer show off a bunch of classic SMT and FE characters when there's no hint of anything even resembling them here? Maybe I would have been more excited if they hadn't created false expectations, but I can't help but be disappointed with what this turned out to be.

Especially calling it an SMT crossover. Persona might make sense, but I see no SMT anywhere there.

It's been a decent while since I've been able to honestly say "What the hell did I just watch?" from a video game trailer.

I guess the characters from Fire Emblem are students in Japanese high school and they fight demons with the power of anime? Not exactly what I was expecting. I mean, I'm an idiot who will buy anything with the Fire Emblem name on it and I like the way Atlus makes RPGs so I imagine it will work out alright, but whaaaaaaat.

I think when they revealed the crossover project they hadn't started working on the game in earnest yet, so they probably didn't know exactly which direction it would take. They just got money from Nintendo to make an RPG on the Wii U. There was a recent interview with an Atlus employee and he said he's been working on an RPG for two years that hasn't been announced yet. Pretty sure he was talking about this project. He described the game as "innovative and different from previous Atlus games". Hopefully it shows up at E3 and we'll have a better idea of what the game is actually like.

Also in the Japanese direct, the game wasn't even called SMT x FE. It's "Genei Ibunroku sharp FE"

This was not what I was expecting from the crossover but if it works out in the end than I'm ok with it. It is hardly smt and kinda FE.

I fuckin' love this. I don't even really know what it is yet, and I have a feeling that SMT x Fire Emblem started out as a very different game than this- which is probably why everything about it was so hush-hush and everyone thought it was canceled. It's a japanese developer, though, so losing your shit when a game changes direction is somehow more acceptable to people. Don't forget to throw in a few lines about how somehow the entire country is making your life worse by existing and producing media.

Personally I'm just extraordinarily glad something is still being made from the idea and it looks cool as hell. It's like some kind of weird Persona/Super Sentai mixup where everyone has Knight/Fire Emblem powered armor or some shit. It's great. The main character is a pretty boy in the vein of Marth and I can totally get behind that. I expect copious amounts of flower petals when he attacks. People will probably make snide remarks about that seeming homosexual, in the same way they deride the FFXV cast, not realizing how fucked up of a complaint that is.

Also, despite the super happy music and the colorful, brightly-lit trailer, that flash of a good-old fashioned SMT style apocalypse at the end totally seals the deal. I want this game.

@make_me_mad: I don't see even a single person "losing their shit" in this topic.

You should see the NeoGAF thread. Some people are heartbroken. I even saw a comment that was something like "This is what SMT is now".

Like I said before, this wasn't even labeled as SMT in the Japanese direct. It all has to do with expectations. I didn't want this to just be a crossover where Fire Emblem characters and SMT characters interact in the same world. Personally I'm not interested in that. I just wanted a new ambitious JRPG out of it, which is why I'm not upset. While the cliches are super apparent in this, I like the upbeat vibe and that girl jumping and transforming her Pegasus summon thing looked cool to me. I'm optimistic about it.

@zeik: That was a general statement, not aimed at this thread, more just musing on a reaction I've seen online since that trailer came out. Lots of "How dare this game not be what I thought it would be based on a two year old announcement trailer that showed zero in-game anything". It's something that I see a lot and it's increasingly disheartening to me. I especially see it in regards to Atlus due to the long amount of time they generally have between releases. Taking that as a nonsensical shot against imaginary forum users invisible to all eyes but mine is silly.

The more I watch that trailer the more I start to think your team might actually be a Featherman-esque team of Tokusatsu heroes and if that's correct it'll be great. Probably. I'm way into the weird visual style they've got going on with NPCs being colorful silhouettes. Not nearly as visually striking as Persona 5 but I'm still a fan.

@aegon: Well of course NeoGAF is. That place is so often a cesspool.

I'm not so much disappointed that it's not an actual crossover, more that it's basically the complete opposite of what I expected and wanted from an SMTxFE crossover/collaboration. I like Persona a lot, but I was really hoping this was going to be something more serious and way way less anime.

Honestly, even if you remove those expecations, if it wasn't for the mere fact that I like so much of what Atlus develops I don't think that trailer would get me interested in this game at all. But it is Atlus, so hopefully when more details come out they can turn my opinion around.

@zeik: That's fair since nothing in the trailer looked interesting to you (rather than judging based on what you wanted it to be).

I need to see more of the actual battle system for it to catch my interest. Also, will there be demons/personas?

Time will tell, but I like the style of it so far (maybe a bit overdesigned, but hey, its SMTxFE, what should I have expected?)

I feel like this might be the Persona 5 for WiiU, since I doubt Atlus would ever bring the Persona series cross platform, except for side stories like Persona Q. I might check this out, but not expecting too much, who knows, this could be really good.

That is super not what I was expecting this game to be, but I can't say I'm not interested in see more.

The first interview about the game addresses a couple of the issues some people have voiced. Some interesting tidbits from the guy in charge of the project (who also headed the Devil Survivor games):

I think many people will find it quite different than they had originally expected. Originally, it was very challenging for us to get the “Fire Emblem” aspect into the game, but we worked carefully with Nintendo to ensure it’d work well and deliver the feeling you get from the series...In this PV, many people may find it hard to understand where the essence of “Fire Emblem” comes into play. However, this will be explained more in the future, so please wait for a follow-up to this.

@aegon: I got more Fire Emblem from that trailer than SMT though. When do they plan to explain that part? <_<

I didn't really get much SMT or FE from that trailer, but it looks alright either way. HD Demi Fiend and Flynn pls.

They made a mistake announcing this so early with so little information. They gave fans the opportunity to decide what they think a SMT x Fire Emblem crossover should be, and whatever they imagined is almost definitely cooler to them than whatever the reality is. I didn't really let my imagination wander cause I think crossovers are dumb, but this is still pretty far from what I expected. My perception of SMT is that it's really dark, am I wrong about that? This has upbeat high pitched jpop, it's bright and colorful, it has happy anime people, and fanservicey outfits. Also I don't really see any Fire Emblem stuff in here except like weapons, and a pegasus.

I guess I wasn't really interested in the idea of bringing the characters from either series together, so I feel like whatever this is has more potential than what early reports suggested. But this trailer looks like an anime I don't want to watch. Hopefully the gameplay's good at least?

It looks more like Fire Emblem X Persona to me. That high school setting and the persistent world with the colored NPCs.

This looks like exactly the type of JRPG that you usually have to import.

And I am totally on board.

That said, I don't own a Wii U so that is a major bummer, because I would definitely get this.

Whoa, I didn't see the "This game is anticipated to be rated Mature" text when I first watched the trailer. Still confused.

Other than some unit designs and health bars, I'm having a hard time picking up on the FE elements of this crossover. It looks like a 90/10 Persona/FE split to me.

I am a bit shocked at this trailer it was not what I was expecting at all because both franchises have never really had fun high school time anime stuff in them. I love SMT,Atlus,and Fire emblem so I am looking forward to it even if it just to see how weird a crossover this is.

Also I think Fire emblem characters are their persona/demon things. I am pretty down for an Ike persona.

I don't...

Huh? Are those...and did they put them in...

What?

I'm not heartbroken or upset, I'm just...confused. Why are they putting the SMT x part on the trailer's releases outside Japan? What is this game supposed to be? Is it just Persona? You can tell me! You don't have to hide it, I'm fine with that! Lord it wasn't even that long since the last mainline SMT game, it wouldn't be a huge deal if they just wanted to make their own WiiU Persona.

I don't know what I wanted this game to be, but I...certainly did not expect this. Can I play as Demi-fiend? Can I play as Demi-fiend this is all I actually want.

This looks alright, but I would not have been able to tell that the trailer was for SMT x FE if you hadn't told me. This really looks more like Persona x FE.

Don't have a Wii U, but interested to see how this pans out.

When I saw this during the Direct I didn't know what to think of it and I didn't even realize it was SMT X FE until Bill confirmed it after the trailer. But now that I've had some time to let it sink in I'm actually kind of excited about the game, especially since it was announced that Shinjiro Takada is producing the title (the same guy who directed the Devil Survivor and Growlanser games). I'm also happy that this is not like Atlus's other crossover titles, Persona Q and Etrian Mystery Dungeon, where they just put the characters from one franchise into the gameplay of the other. Not to belittle those games, I like Persona Q a lot, but it is sort of cool that this crossover is going to be something really different. At least that's what I think based on what little has been said about the game so far.

Was not hoping for Final Fantasy X-2 the sequel.

I'm confused by the narrow definition of SMT that some people have. It's a great big series of games.

The big series of games is known as Megaten. SMT refers explicitly to the mainline titles, which include SMT if..., SMT III: Nocturne, SMTIV and Strange Journey.

So 'SMT' is general forum speak for the series proper, got it. I was just a little confused on the logistics of it all.

Is this a Japanese thing? Because in America Shin Megami Tensei is written above the title on the box art of pretty much everything including the Persona series and Devil Survivor.

@hunter5024: SMT isn't on the Persona boxes in Japan, nor the Devil Survivor and Devil Summoner boxes if I'm not mistaken. It also isn't on P4 Golden's box. They aren't totally separate franchises but the links between them are super loose.

@hunter5024: It was a marketing thing Atlus USA started doing when Digital Devil Saga 1 came out, after Nocturne was reasonably successful. Neither Persona 1 or 2 had SMT in their title prior to that either.

Where's the SMT? It's supposed to like Fire Emblem characters function as SMT demons or something, basically? Really at first glance this looks and sounds nothing like an SMT game or a Fire Emblem game, I'm kind of blindsided.

Atlus USA has been slapping SMT on Persona and others that are now only vaguely connected for years now. They are all broadly still considered 'MegaTen' games, but SMT refers specifically to 1-4, Strange Journey and If... generally.

Looks pretty damn good, but hopefully that song isn't in the game.

I... Fuck it atlus I'll trust you and go all in on this. Not feeling the FE at all, WHERE THE FUCK IS ROBIN, but i love SMT and atlus so I'll trust them to put out a good game. This game is part of the reason I got a Wii U

It's not at all what I was expecting, but it's nice to see Atlus put out a game that isn't leaning super hard on P3 or P4 nostalgia, and also isn't Catherine. Looks super nuts, and I'll be curious to see how the FE aspect gets integrated aside from having FE-style armour.

I was hoping for a Fire Emblem game with SMT characters but this looks like a completely different beast. I am definitely less excited for it but I'll keep an eye on it all the same.

Not what was I expecting but I have to see more about the game

Same here. No experience with either except Persona but the trailer looks cool.

Looks like a more fantastical Persona game. Could be interesting.

It's really weird and not at all what I was expecting. I don't know how I feel about it, but I'm probably gonna buy it. Also, it seems to be more Persona than SMT, but that's completely fine with me.

A bit unrelated, but I'm a really big fan of the way that when walking around town, all the "ordinary people" are just colored silhouettes. I love those kinds of Atlus style touches.