Nintendo previously announced a new entry for the 3DS in their long-running Fire Emblem series back in January, and today’s Nintendo Direct stream provided a few interesting new details on the way the follow-up to the critically praised Fire Emblem Awakening will present its story.
The currently untitled game will once again enable players to create a custom character, but while Awakening primarily focused its story on preset lead Chrom, the player-created character will take center stage this time around.
Plot-wise, the game will focus on a war between the kingdoms of Hoshido and Nohr, with the lead being of Hoshido blood but raised by the royalty of Nohr. As a result, the player will have to choose which kingdom their character swears loyalty to, and though the primary cast will remain the same, both allegiances will provide drastically different stories, battles, and character interactions.
The Hoshido path will offer a more traditional and novice-friendly experience, while the Nohr path will provide a higher difficulty for series veterans. The branching storyline looks to offer a unique take on traditional Fire Emblem narratives, and it will be interesting to see how the two paths differ.
Finally, Nintendo has also confirmed that the game will launch in North America some time in 2016. We’ll keep you posted once we have an exact date.
