Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE – From FE x Pokemon to FE x SMT (Interview snippet)

A fellow translator and FE fan over on Twitter was curious as to a certain post’s legitimacy, that is, a claim that before Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei, there were plans for it to be Fire Emblem x Pokemon.

After some searching for the Nintendo Dream issue it had apparently come from (Dec. 21 2015 issue), a twitter follower came forward saying they had it, and provided me the scans. So, let’s please give a HUGE thank you to @nohrianpeach for not only providing the scan for that particular page, but for all the FE pages from this issue.

It turned out this particular segment is actually in the companion booklet that came with the magazine, rather than the magazine itself.

And so, here is the snippet translated. It turns out it is true, too! (I provide the transcript in Japanese below too, but the shot itself won’t be posted here. It is available by request however). It is only mentioned in passing in the first paragraph.

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Please tell us what led up to the planning of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

Yamagami (Nintendo Producer): 5 years ago, Ms. Andou proposed a plan [for a crossover], saying “You know, I think FE and Pokemon‘s rules are pretty compatible!” Though I agreed with her, by chance the Pokemon group had already proposed what eventually became Pokemon Conquest at the same time [so we were unable to follow through].

Andou (Nintendo Director): Yes, which I was in charge of too.

Yamagami (Nintendo Producer): As the plan was a secret, she was put in charge of that first. (Laughs). And then, it took her less than a week to say, “Here’s the next plan.” The new plan was a collaboration with Atlus. At that time, new games like Xenoblade and Pandora’s Tower were coming out, and, because I myself was quite interested in Atlus’s games, I figured “This could work!” At first, we made informal plans within our own small group, but…

Takata (Atlus Producer): At that time, the organization itself was undergoing changes. and it was almost impossible to deal with Atlus as a second party, and so we almost decided to give up on it. After roughtly 2 years, we heard from Hiraoka (board member at Atlus), “Let’s try to collaborate and level up by making an RPG together.” After that, we attempted to contact Nintendo repeatedly, asking “Do you want to bring that RPG to life [with us]?”

Yamagami (Nintendo Producer): We replied immediately with, “Let’s do it!” We then quickly began to draft plans for the game, still only having a rough idea of what it would be. And so, we released an image that showed, “Shin Megami Tensei Meets Fire Emblem” to the public.

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And that’s that! There’s more to the interview regarding the development of TMS#FE that I may get to later, but right at the start they mention the potential Pokemon collaboration that didn’t come to be due to Pokemon Conquest.

Imagine how FE x Pokemon would’ve been? Though, Pokemon Conquest itself was quite a fun game! So I don’t entirely mind having gotten that at the expense of the other game, personally.

Once again, thanks to @shadwofchaos725 for bringing it to my attention, and @nohrianpeach for the scans!

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Original transcript:

ー「幻影異聞録＃ＦＥ」の企画が立ちあがったきっかけを教えてください。

山上　５年まえ、安藤が「「ＦＥ］のルールと「ポケモン」の相性は非常にいいと思うんですけど」と企画を提案してきたことがあったんですね。僕もいいと思ったんですが、たまたま同タイミングでポケモンさんから「ポケモン＋ノブナガの野望」＊１が提案されまして。

安藤　はい。それは私が担当しました。

山上　企画が被ったので、まずはそちらを担当してね、と（笑）。そうしたら、安藤が一週間もしないうちに「次の企画です」って、新たな企画を持って来たんです。それがアトラスさんとのコラボ企画でした。当時「ゼノブレイド」とか「パンドラの塔」といった新しいタイトルに挑戦していましたし、僕自身もアトラスさんの作品に興味があったので「いいかも」と思ったんです。で、まずは内々にご提案したんですけど・・・。

高田　同時、ライン編成の調整がつかなかったのと、アトラスでセカンドパーテイとして取り組んだことがほぼ無かったので、一旦は会社として見送りという判断でした。そのあと、２年くらいしてからウチの平岡から、”更なるレベルアップの君にセカンドとしてのＲＰＧ開発にも挑戦してみよう”という判断があり「あの話生きています？」と弊社から改めて任天堂さんにご連絡しました。

山上　「生きてます！」って、すぐにＯＫをして一揆に企画を立てまして、まだ荒い状態だったんですけど「真・女神転生ＭＥＥＴＳファイアーエムブレム」って画像だけを公開しました。