Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
The game now known as Tokyo Mirage Sessions sounded like a joke at first. A crossover between Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei seemed a bit outlandish, but it’s a reality. What comes out is a game that looks and feels more like Persona, and something fresh for the JRPG genre.
Every aspect of Tokyo Mirage Sessions oozes Japanese culture. The game itself is set in Tokyo, utilizing many well known locations like Shibuya and Harajuku. The main cast is part of a talent agency known as Fortuna Entertainment. Music features heavily as a theme of the game, and even features original songs from Japanese entertainment company Avex Group.
The game combines elements from both Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei both in battle and out. Beings known as “mirages” function similarly to Personas from the SMT games, and the mirages are in fact based on Fire Emblem characters from other worlds. Tokyo Mirage Sessions features a turn-based battle system that combines the weapon triangle system of Fire Emblem, and the mechanics of melee weapons and elemental properties from SMT.
The fact that Nintendo chose to localize the game in North America is surprising enough, let alone knowing that they’ll be using the Japanese voice tracks with English subtitles. Fans of the genre should make sure it’s on their radar this year. As unlikely of a combination these two series were, they’ve come together to make something wholly unique and fresh for JRPGs.
