Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Box art featuring dual protagonists Alm and Celica
DeveloperIntelligent Systems
PublisherNintendo
DirectorsToshiyuki Kusakihara
Kenta Nakanishi
Genki Yokota
ProducersMasahiro Higuchi
Hitoshi Yamagami
DesignersNaohiro Yasuhara
Ryuichiro Kouguchi
ProgrammerSusumu Ishihara
ArtistsHidari
Akio Shimada
WriterSatoko Kurihara
ComposersTakeru Kanazaki
Yasuhisa Baba
Takafumi Wada
Sho Murakami
SeriesFire Emblem
PlatformNintendo 3DS
Release
  • JP: April 20, 2017
  • NA/EU: May 19, 2017
  • AU: May 20, 2017
GenreTactical role-playing
ModeSingle-player

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017. It is the fifteenth installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the 1992 Famicom game Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second entry in the series. It follows dual protagonists Alm and Celica as they aim to bring an end to the war through opposite methods, with Alm fighting to resolve the war through battle, while Celica attempts to find a peaceful end through guidance from the Goddess Mila. Fire Emblem Echoes carries over the core gameplay mechanics of the Fire Emblem series while incorporating mechanics from Gaiden, like dungeon crawling.

Development of Fire Emblem Echoes began in 2015 following the completion of Fire Emblem Fates. Intended as the culmination of the Fire Emblem series on the 3DS platform, several staff members from both Fates and Fire Emblem Awakening were involved. The game carried over the unconventional mechanics of Gaiden while expanding and rebuilding the story and gameplay based on recent Fire Emblem games and the team's wishes for added role-playing elements. While Gaiden remains exclusive to Japan, Fire Emblem Echoes was localized by 8-4. The game was commercially successful, selling over one million copies, and received generally positive reviews from critics for its story, unique gameplay additions and high quality of its full voice acting, with criticism focusing on its archaic elements, like the map design, and the lack of some features from Awakening and Fates.