"Without the Help of Koei Tecmo, it simply wouldn't be possible." - Fire Emblem: The Three Houses interview

[Fireblend]

It's funny to me that some Japanese devs seem to think that there's a "Western appeal" set of features that they have to include in their game for it to be popular, or that they have to be very conscious of Western audiences in order for one of their games to succeed here. Just make good games :D FE Awakening was outstanding and it sold what it did because of that, not because they accidentally made a "Western love potion".

 

[Patazord]

They also needed help for the visual too that's for sure.

 

[Dellstrami]

I actually think FE3W looks pretty great graphically. Why am I alone?

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The textures for the environments can look a bit off but besides that I think it looks absolutely fine. From the trailers they've uploaded, outside of the monastery outdoor textures, it's pretty nice to look at. Not "great" but definitely fine.

 

[Strings]

The textures for the environments can look a bit off but besides that I think it looks absolutely fine. From the trailers they've uploaded, outside of the monastery outdoor textures, it's pretty nice to look at. Not "great" but definitely fine.

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Tons of things are missing shadows too, which is super distracting.

 

[Disclaimer]

I actually think FE3W looks pretty great graphically. Why am I alone?

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You're not. It's great looking in motion, just not in some screenshots people focus on.

 

[Kouriozan]

Tons of things are missing shadows too, which is super distracting.

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Actually, shadows are there, just barely visible in some situations.
I've watched the most recent Japan Expo gameplay and everyone cast shadows.

I'll take that instead of everyone missing feet on 3DS lol

 

[Mr. Pointy]

I like my Mario games to be 60fps, thank you

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I know. I don't like 64 or Sunshine either.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I know. I don't like 64 or Sunshine either.

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you joke, but exploratory Marios are the weaker entries to me anyway

 

[Oregano]

Actually, shadows are there, just barely visible in some situations.
I've watched the most recent Japan Expo gameplay and everyone cast shadows.

I'll take that instead of everyone missing feet on 3DS lol

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The recent overview trailer and TVCM from Japan look like they have an extra level of visual polish tbh

 

[Dinobot]

I'm gonna repeat this. You don't buy studios. You buy IP's. Studios are essentially mercenary talent you contract out to help with games. You have no guarantee talent will stay in a studio, that's why buying them is risky. It's why Nintendo won't buy Platinum or Koei.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Koei-Tecmo and Bandai-Namco sure have been doing a lot of work for Nintendo in recent years.

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I would say Koei Tecmo goes even further as they also support the platform with their games unlike Namco.

 

[tenderbrew]

Koei-Tecmo does good work for them and takes some of the load off allowing a more consistent stream of new games. Think this is working perfectly. Same with Namco, Platinum, etc.

 

[Oregano]

July's three big Switch games are all developped or co-developped by Koei Tecmo: Dragon Quest Builders 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and FE Three Houses.
They've diversified a lot these past few years.

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They also just released AOT2: Final Battle yesterday.

 

[Klappdrachen]

Bit of an off-topic question, but how is FE:Warriors? Especially if you've already played (and liked) Hyrule Warriors?

 

[Aostia82]

Bit of an off-topic question, but how is FE:Warriors? Especially if you've already played (and liked) Hyrule Warriors?

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Youbwill miss the boss fights with specific weapons, but at the same time there are more warriors and contents (compared to the wiiu version at least) and a better battle system based on the character swap

 

[tenderbrew]

Bit of an off-topic question, but how is FE:Warriors? Especially if you've already played (and liked) Hyrule Warriors?

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Depends on what you enjoy. Tactically I'd say it's better, but HW has more unique characters & weapons. I like both a whole lot.

 

[Disclaimer]

Bit of an off-topic question, but how is FE:Warriors? Especially if you've already played (and liked) Hyrule Warriors?

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If you're a Fire Emblem fan and a musou fan, it's a great combination of the two, and I personally found that the addition of commanding other units' actions made it the most tactically satisfying musou.

The roster is its main disappointment, but if you enjoy Awakening/Fates/Shadow Dragon characters (+ unlockable Lyn and Celica), then it'll be fine.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

They also just released AOT2: Final Battle yesterday.

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Completely forgot about that but you're right. They're on fire.

 

[Klappdrachen]

Youbwill miss the boss fights with specific weapons, but at the same time there are more warriors and contents (compared to the wiiu version at least) and a better battle system based on the character swap

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Depends on what you enjoy. Tactically I'd say it's better, but HW has more unique characters & weapons. I like both a whole lot.

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Thanks for the impressions!

If you're a Fire Emblem fan and a musou fan, it's a great combination of the two, and I personally found that the addition of commanding other units' actions made it the most tactically satisfying musou.

The roster is its main disappointment, but if you enjoy Awakening/Fates/Shadow Dragon characters (+ unlockable Lyn and Celica), then it'll be fine.

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I'm not a huge fan of the franchise, I only played the Gamecube one and a bit of Awakening and liked those. That said, I know a few characters and even have my favorites, like (hunky) Ike and Lyn for example :)
Please tell me that Titania is in? That would seal the deal.

 

[Smash Kirby]

If you're a Fire Emblem fan and a musou fan, it's a great combination of the two, and I personally found that the addition of commanding other units' actions made it the most tactically satisfying musou.

The roster is its main disappointment, but if you enjoy Awakening/Fates/Shadow Dragon characters (+ unlockable Lyn and Celica), then it'll be fine.

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I am just hoping a Sequel might be made so they can include New Mystery stuff in the game also other games in the series that need more love.

 

[tenderbrew]

I am just hoping a Sequel might be made so they can include New Mystery stuff in the game also other games in the series that need more love.

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Hoping so too but I don't think it sold well 😔.

Probably a better chance at HW2.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Hoping so too but I don't think it sold well 😔.

Probably a better chance at HW2.

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Didn't FEW sell over a million?

 

[Smash Kirby]

Hoping so too but I don't think it sold well 😔.

Probably a better chance at HW2.

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I thought it sold decently, but I mainly want New Mystery in the sequel as a lot of people in West know mush about it due to not coming to the West. Also would like Katarina as a playable character with a Warriors remake of Tearing Shadows.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Who is to blame for the in-game graphics then?

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IntSys

I would say Koei Tecmo goes even further as they also support the platform with their games unlike Namco.

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that's a bit harsh on namco I feel. Sure they don't put everything on Switch but they put a good amount. KT is exactly the same.

 

[Disclaimer]

Please tell me that Titania is in? That would seal the deal.

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Sadly not...

 

[Deleted member 8593]

that's a bit harsh on namco I feel. Sure they don't put everything on Switch but they put a good amount. KT is exactly the same.

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Koei Tecmo is definitely better in this regard, tbh. Their games have been appearing on the Switch day-and-date and they put pretty much everything on the console. The only recent game that could have been on Switch and wasn't is Dead or Alive 6.

 

[Strings]

Keep in mind Gust is KT too, and they also put out ~3 games a year / everyrhing on Switch. Granted, this isn't really anything new. KT is obscenely efficient (and their production values are particularly suited to the platform / they're not exactly fighting the specs to port anything over, like Capcom or Bamco in cases).

 

[Deleted member 10629]

Nintendo's about to buy Koei Maybe?

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Please don't, I like my KT games on PC.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Koei Tecmo is definitely better in this regard, tbh. Their games have been appearing on the Switch day-and-date and they put pretty much everything on the console. The only recent game that could have been on Switch and wasn't is Dead or Alive 6.

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They are better, that's true. (I don't think DoA6 on Switch would be a pretty sight. It's probably the last of the 3D fighting games I'd expect to see on the system due to performance)

But I don't think Namco has been terrible either. They've been very slow at times and there are some questionable omissions but that comment read like they are capcom or something.

 

[KtotheRoc]

Nintendo's about to buy Koei Maybe?

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That's one way to get Ryu Hayabusa in Smash, lol.

 

[Laserplane]

I'm just sick of this "WHAT? PEOPLE EVERYWHERE LIKE STRATEGY GAMES?!" thing. Yes god damn it you just can't half ass it, like anything else!

 

[arlu]

Koei-Tecmo and Bandai-Namco sure have been doing a lot of work for Nintendo in recent years.

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In an old interview, Iwata stated that that was Nintendo's way of getting in touch with the japanese game dev industry, which at the time was shrinking, so by contracting other studios, they would speed up their HD development and avoid fellow companies to go broke by paying for their talent.

 

[Aostia82]

Didn't FEW sell over a million?

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Yes, it did ww

 

[Deleted member 42484]

I'm gonna repeat this. You don't buy studios. You buy IP's. Studios are essentially mercenary talent you contract out to help with games. You have no guarantee talent will stay in a studio, that's why buying them is risky. It's why Nintendo won't buy Platinum or Koei.

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Interesting about the Monolith Soft purchase then. Seems like the developer has really grown and flourished under the Big N.

 

[Wilsongt]

If only they got help in the character design department... Those pre-timeskip designs are just bland and everyone's face is so same-y.

 

[Sub Boss]

Eeeeh.

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It looks hideous but has hundreds of hours of content and some character models look good for a srpg so ⚖ i guess :^P


On the other hand Mario and Rabbids is lovely im waiting for the sequel <3

 

[Cow Mengde]

Make Romance of the 3 Kingdoms 14, you cowards!

Oh Uncharted Water 6 would also be nice.

IntSys

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This is a Koei game on the SNES made in 1993/4.



This is also my favorite game of all time. Also the only good open world game I've played.

 

[Sub Boss]

Like with game freak and Pokemon, a lot of people struggle to understand how the change from 3ds to switch can be overwhelming for those devs. People think : with that amount power, the will full berserk. But no, this is not how it works.

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At least Pokemon has cute artstyle to mask some of the flaws 😷

 

[Chalphy]

Uncharted Waters is great, gave me a real appreciation of canals.

 

[RPGamer]

I'm gonna repeat this. You don't buy studios. You buy IP's. Studios are essentially mercenary talent you contract out to help with games. You have no guarantee talent will stay in a studio, that's why buying them is risky. It's why Nintendo won't buy Platinum or Koei.

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Bying Monolithsoft was the best nintendo has ever done and i think it depends on the studio and if they want to be bought. Platinum wants to be free so thats a no go. Still Nintendo should probably buy some more studios with technical talent. Or build new studios and let existing studios grow. It's a damn shame they don't give Honne the manpower to make his own games (he worked on games from Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross to Baten kaitos (and every new Nintendogame)).

 

[Sub Boss]

I searched for Fates so I could get insight on how Intelligent Systems could have made the one of the worst written games in the medium regardless of language/localization but no such luck.

With regards to this though it doesn't look hot but I'm sure it'll be fine on the handheld itself.

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They tried outsourcing the writting to appeal to complex plot lovers, it was a behemonster of a script 🤭

 

[PlanetSmasher]

So they didn't change their internal plans to make Awakening more palatable for the west, and their solution to that was "FUCK IT LET'S GO FULL CREEP!" for the next one.

Priorities, IntSys. Priorities. You need to get some priorities.

 

[unholyFarmer]

Koei Tecmo is great, hope their partnership with Nintendo keeps getting stronger!

Now then, why are people asking for Ryu Hayabusa on Smash? If they are to bring someone from KT, then we need Lu Bu. Or Pang Tong.

 

[Aurica]

No joke, I still haven't seen a single straight line in any of the promo material. The game needs AA sooooo badly.

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That is the thing that bugs me. I'd be happy otherwise.

 

[McNum]

Koei Tecmo is great, hope their partnership with Nintendo keeps getting stronger!

Now then, why are people asking for Ryu Hayabusa on Smash? If they are to bring someone from KT, then we need Lu Bu. Or Pang Tong.

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Because of Ninja Gaiden. Ryu is an NES veteran, with the Ninja Gaiden trilogy there. One of the early series to embrace cutscenes between levels.

 

[Tochtli79]

I mean, it's pretty clear that Awakening blew up mostly due to a) Nintendo of America actually advertising it, whereas the most advertising I can remember of any previous game was the original GBA FE having some screenshots in booklets of other GBA games together with other upcoming RPGs and Radiant Dawn getting one short E3 trailer; and b) being more newcomer-friendly, whereas the older games had built up this reputation of being much harder and unforgiving than they actually were (not helped by reviewers, I remember this one review for RD where the person specifically started by saying they hated strategy RPGs and were bad at them, but counted its difficulty as a negative).

3H is looking great so it seems the partnership with KT really paid off. I wonder if they'll also work on future FE games? Either way hopefully Is learned useful things from them.

 

[Phendrana]

It's funny to me that some Japanese devs seem to think that there's a "Western appeal" set of features that they have to include in their game for it to be popular, or that they have to be very conscious of Western audiences in order for one of their games to succeed here. Just make good games :D FE Awakening was outstanding and it sold what it did because of that, not because they accidentally made a "Western love potion".

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They'd made plenty of 'outstanding' Fire Emblem games before Awakening. I'd say most of them were even better tbh. And yet their high quality didn't lead to high sales, so it makes sense that they'd question what it was about Awakening that made it stand out so much. I think it was mostly just a case of releasing at the perfect time, coupled with actual marketing.

 

[Dekuman]

Yeah the game looked a lot like FE:W so I am guessing it's using the same or a variant of the engine from FE:W

 

[Verelios]

Okay, now it makes sense. The armies in battle reminded me a bit too much of KT's musous.

 

[fiendcode]

Yeah the game looked a lot like FE:W so I am guessing it's using the same or a variant of the engine from FE:W

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I'm not so sure, if that were the case I'd expect "Omega Force" to get credited directly. I think it's more likely this is the ROTK/Nobunaga team.