In a mobile free-to-play gacha game likeFire Emblem Heroes, where medieval swordsmen and girls who transform into feline beasts alikewear outfits like kimonos to celebrate the holidays, nothing should seem strange. Yet it’s undoubtedly strange to see five idol characters from the modern-day world ofTokyo Mirage Sessions #FEjoin the ever-growing cast as a promotion for their game’s enhanced port.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encorewill be released for the Nintendo Switch on January 17. It’s a bizarre crossover between Atlus’Shin Megami Tenseiseries (most popularly known for thePersonagames, with a spin-off inPersona 5 Scramblecoming soon) and Intelligent System’s RPG series in which teenagers from modern Tokyo team up with “Mirage” characters inspired byFire Emblemto become pop idols and defeat monsters from another dimension.
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Fire Emblem Heroeshas a history of releasing banners with characters a player can summon using in-game currency called orbs that are meant to advertise upcoming releases. It has done so forFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of ValentiaandFire Emblem: Three Houses, and nowTokyo Miragewill have its run with the “A Star Is Born” banner starting on July 27, 2025 at 11:00 p.m. PT.
The four characters available to summon are Eleonora (with Virion fromFire Emblem: Awakening), Kiria (with Tharja fromFire Emblem: Awakening), Mamori (with Draug fromFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light), and Tsubasa (with Caeda fromFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light).Tokyo Mirage’s main protagonist, Itsuki, will also be made available through a Tempest Trials event soon.
Unlike Duo Heroes with unique mechanics that have been released inFire Emblem Heroesover the last few months, the Mirage characters accompanying these new units are purely aesthetic and referenced in weapon names (such as Eleonora’s “Mirage Longbow”). In a way they’re similar tothe ability-granting stands fromJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Since the enhanced port was announced last September,Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encorehas been met with excitement from fans who wanted to see the game ported off of the Wii U where it first released in 2015, as well as skepticism from thosewho would rather the North American version not be censored like the original.
Regardless of how people feel about the Switch port, it’s generally exciting to see it get this much play in Intelligent System’s mobile juggernaut.Its last spin-off crossover game with Koei Tecmo’sDynasty Warriorsseries,Fire Emblem Warriors, saw an event inHeroesbut not the release of its unique lord characters Rowan and Lianna as summonable units.
Fans ofTokyo Mirage Sessions #FEwill have to wait until Sunday to test their luck at summoning these pop idol representatives. In the meantime, players can still get their tactical RPG fix with the highly-acclaimedFire Emblem: Three Housesfor a discount at Walmart.
Fire Emblem Heroesis available now on iOS and Android mobile devices.
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