Fire Emblem Is Perfectly Primed For A Bright Future On Nintendo Switch 2 (2024)

The Fire Emblem franchise is in a position to capitalize on the success it had on the Nintendo Switch and carry it over to Nintendo's next platform. With the Switch 2 confirmed to be announced within the next fiscal year and no current announcements of a new game within the strategy-RPG series, speculation is that Nintendo is working on the next entry right now.

The series had four entries on the Nintendo Switch. The first was Fire Emblem Warriors, which Omega Force developed with gameplay mimicking its Musou titles. Then came Fire Emblem: Three Houses in 2019. The title is the best-selling entry in the franchise and won multiple awards after its release, including multiple categories at The Game Awards that year. Three Houses was so successful that it spawned an alternate history spin-off via Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Finally, in 2023, Fire Emblem Engage was released on Switch and was also successful on the platform.

How Nintendo Can Build Off The Success Of Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Compelling Stories & Characters Are The Most Important

All four titles on the Switch were successful sales-wise and got positive reception from critics overall. For the Switch 2, Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems can analyze these four games and use their strengths to advance the series further. The best example of this comes from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which sold the most Switch games and was the most praised. The biggest reason for this was that the tale of the titular three houses and the characters within the realm of Fódlan were enticing, intriguing, and fun to watch unfold.

Characters like Edelgard and Dimitri were praised due to how they were portrayed in the branching storylines. In many ways, they were far more important than the player character of Byleth. Both their tales broke stereotypes and highlighted why the series arguably is Nintendo’s best narrative franchise. To that end, the four storylines within Three Houses were all unique and told from different perspectives. People wanted to not only beat the story chapters but unlock support conversations so they could learn more about their comrades.

This fellowship is bolstered through the gameplay elements within Garreg Mach Monastery and how people interact with the many characters. As Byleth, people trained their chosen house to become various classes, including ones the characters might not have wanted to be initially. Then, through activities like having a tea party, cooking, choir practice, and more, people could grow their relationships with their students or even faculty members more easily. This helped ensure their support rankings grew quickly, unlocking even more story elements. The next Fire Emblem title must embrace this level of character depth and worldbuilding.

How Nintendo Can Build Off The Success Of Fire Emblem Engage

Gameplay & Style Changes Can Go A Long Way

As for Fire Emblem Engage, while the title wasn't as praised for its story by critics, its gameplay was proclaimed fun while advancing what past titles did. For example, they upgraded the user interface to feature character animations instead of simple static images. It also included the Engage feature, which would pair a character with a past Fire Emblem series protagonist to give them a power-up in battle. These features being received positively show that people want to see advancements within the gameplay itself, so long as it doesn't take away from the story.

Outside the gameplay, Fire Emblem Engagewas praised for its graphics and cutscenes. The visual aesthetic was far more stylized in the 2023 outing, attracting many people. This carried over to the game’s animations, which in the past featured incredibly basic strikes or attack patterns in battle. Here, the game put more personality into each character as they fought. The little details can sometimes help elevate a title, as this game showed. Thus, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems should consider the little details and changes they can make to elevate the next Fire Emblem.

The Potential Of Spin-Offs & Remakes

If Made Properly, They Can Do Well

As for the two Warriors spin-offs, high sales for both games highlight that there is room for the Fire Emblem franchise to have meaningful titles outside of its mainline games. It's not unlike how Nintendo was able to capitalize on the Pokémon franchise on Switch via that same notion. Three Hopes, in particular, had deep storylines and new insights into the characters people already knew. It's incredibly possible that the Switch 2 could feature a set of spin-off games from this franchise. What’s more, they could feel the need to experiment once again to see what other genres Fire Emblem could fit into.

The wild card, though, is the past titles in Fire Emblem's history that haven't been brought outside of Japan. Currently, there are several titles that people haven't gotten to try, including Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, which features Roy, who is a mainstay of the Super Smash Bros. roster. These titles are ranked highly within the series despite not being localized. Given the series' popularity in recent times and Nintendo's love of remastering and remaking older games for new generations, it's entirely possible that the Switch 2 could bring a previously unreleased title to the world with a huge upgrade.

In the end, Fire Emblem proved on the Nintendo Switch that it could move units and get acclaim from critics. Nintendo is known for its vast IP library, and Fire Emblem is now firmly in the AAA franchise bracket of that catalog. There are many rumors and reports about what Nintendo has in development for the Switch 2’s launch lineup and beyond. If they're wise, they'll ensure Fire Emblem has at least two entries on the platform, as there is still much potential to be mined within it.