Wii U – Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
The Wii U has had a relatively slow year even though Nintendo as a whole has not. The 3DS is still going strong with no shortage of great software, and as 2017 moves closer, so too does the still mysterious Nintendo NX. But that doesn’t mean the current console has been completely cast to the wayside, as some top-notch gaming experiences have made their way to the machine over the past couple of years. 2016 in particular saw the release of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, a crossover of Nintendo’s incredibly popular Fire Emblem franchise and Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions is the culmination of a crossover between the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei series, but it definitely stands out on its own. The game is set in modern-day Tokyo, and revolves around a cast of teenagers trying to become stars in the entertainment industry. There’s a poppy, colorful style that permeates the entire game from its aesthetic, to its story and music.
The title also does a smart job of combining elements from both series, and feels more like a Persona game than anything else. Battles implement the weapon triangle of Fire Emblem games, while simultaneously using the elemental weaknesses you find in SMT. It all adds up into a system where exploiting your enemy’s weaknesses is the key to victory, and taking advantage of move-linking “Session” attacks. For anyone that has a passing interesting in either JRPGs or Japanese culture, Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a must play.
It’s also a different type of offering on the Wii U, a console that has made its small successes behind the tried and true “cute” Nintendo stable of exclusives. A major JRPG, one that also happens to be a crossover, is somewhat risky. But it managed to captivate fans and even draw attention to the console amid a storm of major releases on the Wii U’s biggest competiton.
