Not so long ago, Fire Emblem was on the verge of cancellation- sales of the franchise had been steadily declining over the years, and it was simply becoming far too unprofitable to continue making these games. Then Fire Emblem Awakening released, got incredible critical reception everywhere, and ended up selling almost 2 million copies worldwide. Last year’s Fire Emblem Fates only continued that kind of success for Nintendo, and the series’ fate was sealed- it would now be one of Nintendo’s major tentpole franchises going forward.
How major? Well, during yesterday’s Nintendo Direct broadcast dedicated solely to the Fire Emblem series, Nintendo revealed not one, but two new Fire Emblem games in development. One of them, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, is coming to the Nintendo 3DS (which will, at this point, clearly never die) this May. Shadows of Valentia is actually a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was released in Japan a long time ago, but never in the west. It is a game starring Marth, the most iconic character from the series, and its story actually serves as a prequel to Fire Emblem Awakening, so it should all work out for 3DS owners.
Those 3DS owners won’t be the only ones getting Fire Emblem action, however- Nintendo also confirmed that a brand new game in the series is in the works for Nintendo Switch, and that it is slated for a 2018 launch. No other details at all were shared- but the prospect of the very first HD Fire Emblem game ever has us all pretty excited.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia launches May 19 on Nintendo 3DS.