The Fire Emblem series has grown considerably in popularity thanks to Marth and Roy’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but it wasn’t until Fire Emblem Awakening that it exploded in the West. Since then, Nintendo has been improving the series with each title, culminating in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, one of the best games in the series. This was followed up with Fire Emblem Engage, which, while successful in key areas, dropped the ball in others. Legacy titles also offer features and stories that hold up to this day. Considering the numerous Fire Emblem games, Nintendo has the opportunity to create the best Fire Emblem game on the Nintendo Switch 2.
That said, Nintendo needs to focus on several important aspects. Combat, story, setting, and characters are what make a Fire Emblem game. These work together to build an engaging and thrilling title, and few games in the series have managed to hit the mark on all of these. Considering how big the series has become, Nintendo needs a major hit for Fire Emblem on its next console.
These are the five things Nintendo needs to focus on when creating Fire Emblem for the Nintendo Switch 2.
1) Improve Storytelling
While storytelling has never been the strongest aspect of the Fire Emblem series, several entries have had an excellent narrative and deep character development. Most recently, Fire Emblem: Three Houses proved how compelling the writing in Fire Emblem can be, even with a branching path. Previous Fire Emblem games have shared a strong narrative driven by its characters, and the series needs to lean more into this.
Fire Emblem Engage largely has the worst story and writing of the series, though one could overlook this, considering it is an anniversary title. Regardless, this was a huge step back for Nintendo’s storytelling, and the Switch 2 is the perfect opportunity to fix this. Looking at Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War along with Three Houses for its overarching story, phenomenal characters, and plot twists would let Nintendo craft the best story in the series yet. Fire Emblem games have always been driven by their characters, and a strong cast making tough choices is needed going forward.
2) Streamline Relationships
Relationships have always been important in the Fire Emblem series, but Fire Emblem Awakening took these to a new level. Allowing players to romance, marry, and build lasting friendships that directly contribute to combat reimagined the series and brought in new fans. While Nintendo has expanded this system, it has become bloated and almost needs a spreadsheet to maximize it. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, in particular, has a great relationship system bogged down by tedium due to the monastery’s size and number of fetch quests.
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Fire Emblem Engage streamlined this system to a degree, but Nintendo can do better. With the Nintendo Switch 2’s increased power and a new starting point, Fire Emblem’s relationships need an overhaul. This not only applies to how characters interact and develop with one another, but the recruitment system, too. Nintendo can take the depth of Three Houses and combine it with Engage’s less tedious systems to make a base camp that is fun to explore but not overly huge to be overwhelming. This can improve the relationship system and give players activities they can engage in with their favorite characters.
3) Return to Non-Avatar Protagonist
Fire Emblem games live and die on their protagonist, and Nintendo has taken the route of player avatar-style protagonists of late. The likes of Robin, Corrin, Byleth, and Alear are quite popular, and many of these deserve their popularity. However, Lyn, Ike, and Marth are some of the most iconic characters in the series. This is due to their definite role in the world, story, and defined writing. This allows for an engaging character-driven plot that has been missing since Nintendo incorporated avatar protagonists.
The next Fire Emblem needs a solid, predefined protagonist to lead the cast through the inevitable war. Nintendo also needs to drop the silent protagonists and make them fully voiced, giving them the treatment Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude received. Alear being voiced in Fire Emblem Engage shows steps in the right direction. Creating an iconic character to helm the future of Fire Emblem on Nintendo Switch 2 can bring the series to even greater heights.
4) Keep the Mature Aesthetic
While Fire Emblem has always had dark themes, it has a certain anime-esque nature that contradicts itself. This is extremely apparent in Fire Emblem Engage, which has the writing and attitude of a Saturday morning cartoon, even in the face of death and destruction. Nintendo perfected the mature atmosphere of Fire Emblem in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and it should continue this aesthetic going forward.
Fire Emblem has always dealt with the heavy themes of war, betrayal, and death. Why, it even has a permadeath function built into the game. Nintendo needs to lean into this and fully embrace Fire Emblem’s darkest parts. This doesn’t mean to remove what makes the series what it is, but Fire Emblem: Three Houses incorporated lighthearted moments into its dark narrative, but ultimately showed what a soldier’s life is like between warring nations. The story also needs to reflect its permadeath mechanic by deepening the effect a character’s death has on the rest of the cast and the outcome of the story.
5) More Experimentation
The Fire Emblem series has made some innovations in recent years, but the games remain largely the same. The Nintendo Switch 2 is the perfect opportunity to take some big chances with the next generation of Fire Emblem. The core concepts of the series must remain, but Nintendo can make tweaks and adjustments to how these are presented and function. The weapon triangle, war stories, and strategic elements give plenty of room to incorporate new ideas.
One of the biggest things Nintendo can experiment with is Fire Emblem’s setting. Almost every game takes place in a medieval-inspired world, though Fire Emblem Fates did offer a Japanese-themed nation. Taking players to a Greek or Egyptian world would be a huge change and could shake up the series for the better. Focusing on a story that isn’t simply “us vs. them” and adding branching storylines like Fire Emblem: Three Houses would give more freedom in the writing. Finally, more settings to tweak how the game plays would be great and make it more accessible.
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