In 2013, Atlus and Nintendo announced a collaboration that we had no idea we wanted so bad up until that point. Promising a crossover between the legendary Shin Megami Tensei series and the comparably popular Fire Emblem turn based strategy games from Intelligent Systems, fans of JRPGs around the world were abuzz over what possibilities such a partnership could deliver. What kind of game would it be? How would the two drastically different tones come together in one game? In what way will the game play be consolidated to make fans of both series’ happy? Those questions came and went… And we had no answer for nearly two years, with the project getting pushed to the wayside.
When Atlus was finally ready to show off the game in action, what we got was something resembling neither property. Replacing the dark, desolate world of SMT and Fire Emblem‘s feudal Japan setting with a bright, bouncy version of modern day Tokyo, with a plot line revolving around Japan’s idol obsession. Similarly to the infamous GameCube reveal of The Legend of Zelda, only to seemingly bait and switch the realistic looking tech demo with the toon shaded Wind Waker, many who were looking forward to the potential crossover felt cheated in a way. On the surface, it’s the opposite of what was expected, so it’s no surprise that the game was met with a certain level of negativity. But after playing the game, I can say with certainty that what we ended up with was something better, because rather than plugging two series’ into each other and being tied down to the conventions of both, Atlus was faced with the challenge of creating something that resembles both while creating something brand new. Something better. The final result is Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, a role playing game that masterfully blends old school RPG conventions with some exciting new game mechanics, an unforgettable cast of characters, and some nostalgia fueled call backs that proves that a little creativity can go a long way.
We may not have asked for an RPG about idols and singing, but I’m sure glad we got one.
Placing us in modern day Tokyo five years after a mass disappearance led an entire concert hall full of people to seemingly vanish, we follow Aoi Itsuki, your run of the mill high school boy. Tokyo is holding a massive open audition to choose the next big idol, and after finding his way inside, he bumps into his childhood friend, Tsubasa Oribe. As the younger sister of the lead singer who performed during the disappearance, she hopes to become part of the music industry so she can find out the truth about what happened during the incident, (even if she is clumsy and dense.) It isn’t long before this audition turns out to be a ruse orchestrated by a group of monsters called Mirages, who feed off of the creative energy of humans. After lucking into running into two friendly Mirages, Chrom and Caeda, they lend the teens their power, giving them the ability to fight off this new threat. Now classified as Mirage Masters, the pair are recruited Maiko Shimazaki, the head of Fortuna Entertainment who was a former model herself. Serving as both a talent agency and a defense force against the Mirages, Itsuki finds himself trying to find a way to fit in with all these wildly different talents with no talent of his own, while trying to save the world from the growing Mirage threat. You know, typical Japanese high school stuff.
On the surface, the game plays very closely to your standard Shin Megami Tensei spin off. Once battle starts and your team takes the stage, (literally, since combat takes place on a concert stage with an arena of monsters cheering you on), the bright and bubbly aesthetic hides some punishing combat. The core mechanics involve your party taking advantage of enemy weaknesses, which will put those taking the damage at a huge disadvantage. In TMS, it takes the typical elements like electricity, fire, force, light and dark, and throws in the weapon triangle from Nintendo’s series, throwing swords, axes, bows and lances into play. Once an enemy is struck with their weakness, unlocking skills through leveling up triggers a Session, where your non-active party members will jump in and create a chain of attacks for huge damage. If done right, your whole team can attack in a single move! As your party grows and your ability list becomes longer, you’ll be rewarded with free money, items and a potential chance to wipe out the enemy party during a single turn at no cost to the extra participants. Keep in mind though, that your party has their own weaknesses too depending on their pre-set class, such as Itsuki’s familiar Lord class, and Tsubasa’s Pegasus Knight for example. If an enemy hits your weakness and a Session starts, chances are you’re getting one hit killed. Thankfully for us, you can swap party members in and out mid battle to adjust for weaknesses with the exception of Itsuki. Even if he is a damage dealing monster late in the game, the early chapters can be frustrating when he keeps getting KO’d and can’t do damage.
Itsuki constantly finds himself in trouble early on, regardless of how great his Lord form is.
Itsuki aside, that’s the brilliance of the game play, because while playing smart is always going to be the key to victory in an RPG, you’ll really need to prioritize your moves here. Each character and enemy’s turn order can be seen at the top, so planning ahead during tough battles can make or break your run. Leveling up to higher levels will eventually max out the amount of active skills, passive skills and Session skills you can hold. When you create a new weapon with its own set of abilities, it’s often more advantageous to equip a weaker weapon so you can unlock better abilities. The choice can be nerve-wracking when you’re asked if you have to choose between being immune to sleep or raising your attack for example, which is why making your whole team balanced plays such a big role.
Each attack skill has a set amount of EP to use special attacks, with an SP bar that the party shares. By spending SP, each character can unleash a tide turning special attack, with effects such as starting a guaranteed Session, removing enemy resistances and reflections for the turn, or healing your party. Tying back to the musical theme, unlocking songs for your team of performers during the story gives them a chance to randomly use an Ad-Lib Performance if the right attack is used. Here, the standard attack will be replaced with a short cutscene, mirroring their performance outside of battle while delivering a powerful version of your chosen ability. Even dozens of hours in, the unpredictability of combat constantly keeps it exciting. Even when you think you have the mechanics down, each chapter typically introduces a new challenge to take on, and a new mechanic to add that bit of depth as you proceed. Once all the cards are on the table, pulling off those massive Sessions is insanely rewarding, (even if there is no way to skip or fast forward extra long Sessions).
Sessions, Duo Arts and Ad-Libs are the bread and butter of a great offense.
Unfortunately for my sentimental self, sometimes I would go against my strategic interests in combat, because I would stubbornly stick to certain characters that I was attached to. Thanks to how incredibly well characterized the cast is, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the entirety of the party, with one glaring exception. Much like the Persona series that this game has been so often compared to, the strongest aspects of the narrative are not the main conflict, but the party members that you interact with. As your team becomes stronger and you advance through the game, you’ll be able to take on Side Stories, which give you more background on your Fortuna co-workers. While not nearly as depressing and rife with conflict compared to what you’d find in Atlus’ other friend simulator, completing missions and tasks will help them come to terms with their own insecurities while making them better performers in the process. Plus, you’ll often unlock Duo Arts upon completion, skills that will randomly be offered mid-Session where two party members act out a scene while extending the Session, delivering huge damage, healing the party, or inflicting status ailments in the process.
What makes them stand out so much is that much like the game play, or even the initial reveal of the game itself, it gives you an expectation, then either flips it on its head, or immediately gives you a reason why they’re the way they are. Touma for example, comes off as the typical “bro” character who always has your back. He’s desperate to star in a super hero show after many failed auditions because of his troubled childhood, and is extra loyal because of it. Eleonora on the other hand, seems like a snooty brat who is overcompensating for the fact that her TV show is doing poor ratings by coming off with an air of arrogance and an obsession with Hollywood. Yet, she’s always kind and sincere, never letting her perceived ego make her think that she’s above her colleagues. When we almost immediately learn about the her trouble coming to terms with how she’s viewed as a bi-racial actor in Japan, this light touch on xenophobia and the awkwardness of feeling like an outsider makes her instantly sympathetic. And she’s not the only one… Despite not being playable, Tiki serves the very important function of being able to unlock new abilities with the Performa and items you find for your cast, creating new weapons for your Mirages, or performing late game class changes. As the team’s “vocaloid”, her existence as a non-physical entity gets played up to incredible heights, making her one of the saddest characters in a game this year. Even Itsuki, who serves as the bland player insert, is far from the typical silent protagonist, with his own charm with how oblivious he is to all that is going on around him. Barry, the resident American who is obsessed with Japan on the other hand, is the exception, and gets worse as his story goes on. Going from drill sergeant trainer to creepy and obsessed was unfortunate, and the final result is flat out strange. And unlike the rest of the game, not in a good way.
Oh, Ellie. You’ve shot me with Cupid’s arrow.
To be frank, the core story is a bit of an afterthought. After the first chapter is completed, the main plot line gets pushed aside until the third act in favor of some often hilarious character development. Each stage in the middle is like those Nephrite episodes of Sailor Moon where someone extra talented is possessed by a monster, lures in unsuspecting citizens who want to work with them, and drains their energy, (or Performa in this case), while building their own to feed their master. But throughout these chapters, we learn that these challenges are the catalysts to fast track Tsubasa’s growth as a performer, taking her from every aspect of what life as an idol is like. Despite Itsuki being the player’s character, this is very much Tsubasa’s story, displaying her evolution from a clumsy, insecure and ditzy kid, to a national superstar. Away from Ms. Oribe however, one of the more compelling mysteries is how characters like Chrom, Tharja, Virion and Tiki came to be in this timeline, and what their purpose is in modern day Tokyo. Once that question is finally answered at the end of the game, I couldn’t help but get chills, and I’m not even the biggest Fire Emblem fan! If you have any attachment to the series and can accept how silly the concept is, these moments really can’t be missed.
If there’s a pattern to any of this, it’s that from concept to completion, Atlus has taken a game and balked at expectations at every turn. The final result is what might be the best game of the year so far, with a 50 hour plus story, and plenty of extra content when the New Game + rolls around. When the curtain fell and my time was Fortuna Entertainment had come to an end, I felt empty, like I didn’t want it to be over. I haven’t felt that way about a game in a very long time. It’s hard to say if it was because of the rewarding combat that blends classic mechanics with a modern flair, the incredible cast of characters, the stylish interpretation of Tokyo and its many locales, (which would suffer some minor slowdown when the population is high), the concerts rendered with the gorgeous Fire Emblem cutscene style, how well the music plays into everything that takes place on screen, or how cleverly the two franchises that inspired this game were brought together to create something so special while being so original, but one thing is for sure. If you love RPGs, if you love J-Pop, if you love Fire Emblem and especially if you love something that turns genre conventions on its head, do yourself a favor. Pick up Tokyo Mirage Sessions. There’s really no better way to say it.
tl;dr
+ A beautiful interpretation of modern day Tokyo, with a unique style that makes everything from dungeons to character designs pop from the screen.
+ An unforgettable cast that baits you with their on the surface tropes, then hits you hard with their depth and motivations.
+ Challenging, yet rewarding combat. Knowing when to make the right moves, (and avoid the wrong ones), will get you through with little to no level grinding.
+ The music! Everything from the remixes to the original songs and the music videos will stick with you long after the game is over.
+ So much to do! From the requests, side stories, and a New Game +, you’ll be playing this for a long time.
– Sessions can’t be fast forwarded, making it repetitive to sit through them every battle.
– Being unable to switch Itsuki out of battle can handcuff your choices in battles where he’s ineffective.
– Barry’s side story gets borderline creepy.
– Minor slowdown during crowded battles and in the streets of Shibuya.
Final Score: 4.75/5