We’re less than a month out from Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave‘s release date on Switch 2, and if you read that sentence, you’ll realize it’s the end of an era for Nintendo and Intelligent Systems’ storied strategy game series. It might seem slightly unusual based on Nintendo’s release patterns, though it’s entirely keeping with how the company viewed Fire Emblem when the series was at its high points.
The newest Fire Emblem game will not be on Switch 1, though after we went hands-on with it for our Fortune’s Weave preview, we’ve got a pretty clear idea why.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is a Switch 2-exclusive
If you own a Switch 1 and haven’t managed to snag a Switch 2 yet, Fortune’s Weave will be out of reach once it launches on Sept. 17. On the surface, it’s a slight break from tradition with the series. Nintendo has, with a few exceptions, published three Fire Emblem games on the platforms where the series excelled.
In the ’90s, long before Nintendo started localizing the series for international audiences, Intelligent Systems launched two Fire Emblems for the Famicom: the original game, remade as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for the Nintendo DS in 2008, and Fire Emblem Gaiden, remade as Echoes: Shadows of Valentia on the 3DS in 2017. Then there were three on the Super Famicom:
- Mystery of the Emblem
- Genealogy of the Holy War
- Thracia 776
And three more for Game Boy Advance (Binding Blade, Blazing Blade, and Sacred Stones) and, eventually, three on the Nintendo 3DS. The Gamecube era only saw one Fire Emblem, Path of Radiance, and this is where the release strategy started to shift. While Intelligent Systems could have developed Radiant Dawn, its sequel, for the Gamecube as well, the studio and Nintendo decided it should launch for the Wii instead. That wasn’t part of Nintendo’s generational temper tantrum. Fire Emblem’s international success convinced the company the new game could help sell Wii units. Intelligent Systems never said whether its big bet paid off, but the series’ trajectory for the following decade.
When Fire Emblem needed saving the most, Intelligent Systems reverted to making the series for handheld consoles. That’s where Nintendo’s best business was, too. Nintendo shifted 11.5 million 3DS units in 2013; the Wii U sold 13 million units across its entire lifespan. With Switch 1 production winding down worldwide, it makes sense to repeat that pattern from the Gamecube years, following up on the series’ newfound popularity with a game exclusive to new hardware that’s already proving successful.
That, plus Fortune’s Weave would likely struggle on the older console. Blurry textures — plus stretched fruit JPEGs — and long load times plagued Three Houses, and the loading woes weren’t just getting from menu to gameplay or in between missions. Exploring certain parts of Garreg Mach Monastery involved waiting several seconds for a door or gate to open while the locations beyond it loaded. Extra-monastery exploration was nonexistent, and maps were comparatively small, at least by the standard the series set in earlier years.
In what we played for our Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave preview, the newest Fire Emblem is much more ambitious. Dagsion, the main hub, is substantially larger with more people and activities. Load times are practically instant when playing docked and only slightly longer in certain parts of the city in handheld mode. There’s a world map with dozens of locations, including many you can explore. And maps are frequently quite complex, with different effects and objects you can interact with. That’s all before you even consider the
So, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave won’t be on Switch 1. The practicalities of business are, undoubtedly, one of the primary reasons behind this decision. However, it’s also just impossible to see Fortune’s Weave realizing its potential on the original Switch — at least not without considerable compromise.
