Mobile developer Niantic has a strong thing going with Nintendo-themed AR games. Pokemon GO is an ongoing, successful part of one of the biggest multimedia franchises of all time, and its latest venture Pikmin Bloom recently hit two million downloads after a few weeks on the market. It's unclear what the studio will tackle next, but if it wants to adapt another Nintendo property, Fire Emblem seems an apt choice.
The jury is out on how long Pikmin Bloom will remain active, though after Niantic announced Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be shutting down it seems this partnership with Nintendo is Niantic's main focus. Its work so far has had different aims, with Pokemon GO centering the "catch 'em all" moto of its home series and Pikmin Bloom being a more casual, exercise-focused app. If Niantic wants something with more of a competitive edge, perhaps based on controlling plots of land akin to its original product Ingress, Intelligent Systems' tactical RPGs could offer a good baseline.
Fire Emblem's Success on Consoles and Mobile
Fire Emblem has become more of a powerhouse franchise under Nintendo's umbrella in recent years. For all the jokes that circulate about Fire Emblem characters being too prevelant in Super Smash Bros., the extra marketing is warranted to an extent. Fire Emblem Awakening revitalized the franchise in 2012, and 2019's Fire Emblem: Three Houses became the best-selling entry across 30 years of games. Another hallmark of Fire Emblem's growing audience is the success of Intelligent Systems' mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes.
Heroes is a gacha game first launched in 2017 that encourages players to spend an in-game currency called Orbs in order to summon characters from various entries in the franchise - sometimes wearing unique costumes. Its gameplay is a simplified microcosm of the tactical systems in average Fire Emblem games, with part of the appeal being a chance to mix fan-favorite personalities from different cultures in the fantasy universe. Its ongoing success proves the property can work on mobile, and while Niantic might not want to retread Pokemon GO's approach by letting players recruit Fire Emblem characters from the main series, they could be crucial to building a virtual war in the real world.
A Niantic Fire Emblem Game Could Blend the Best of Its Predecessors
One integral facet of Ingress and Pokemon GO that Pikmin Bloom abandoned was letting players choosing a side for overarching goals. Ingress has two factions: The Enlightened and The Resistance; meanwhile Pokemon GO has three teams: Mystic, Valor, and Instinct. For Pokemon GO in particular, one's team influences the other trainers they work with to take on facilities like Gyms set in real-world landmarks. It's up to each individual to raise a Pokemon team strong enough to back up their allies in battle.
A theoretical Fire Emblem Niantic game could take a similar approach. The franchise centers war and political intrigue, with characters recruiting soldiers in order to tackle despotic empires or otherworldly horrors. Niantic could making original characters to lead different warring armies and have players serve as their generals, but it would also make sense to crib conflicts from the source material. A triad of options immediately springs to mind with the Blue Lions, Golden Deer, and Black Eagles from Three Houses. Other viable options include Fates' Nohr and Hoshido, or even playful conflicts like Sacred Stones' siblings Eirika and Ephraim.
To better capture the idea of conquering territory, Niantic could transplant its existing landmark map and have players hold fortifications ala Pokemon GO's Gyms. However, the units used in that conflict could work more like Pikmin Bloom, with players able to find generic soldiers during walks that fit one of Fire Emblem's many weapon types: swords, axes, lances, bows, magic, and more - ideally with the traditional rock-paper-scissors weapon triangle intact. Special units could be named characters, or soldiers with powerful weapons. Once a fanbase is established, Niantic could introduce the series' many dragons or demons as collective challenges; ones the warring factions take on by setting their differences aside.
Intelligent Systems has been willing to experiment in recent years with games like Fire Emblem Heroes, the Koei Tecmo hack-and-slash Fire Emblem Warriors, and Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei crossover Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. An AR game by Niantic could be a perfect companion if the mobile developer continues working with Nintendo, and it's not farfetched given Niantic has dealings with The Pokemon Company. Perhaps a competitive-driven Fire Emblem spin on mobile games like Pokemon GO would turn some heads.