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Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Wii U
Released On: Jun 24, 2016
80
7.9
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 64 Critic Reviews
80
75% Positive
48 Reviews
48 Reviews
22% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 64 Critic Reviews
80
75% Positive
48 Reviews
48 Reviews
22% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Effortlessly, it’s the best game that has been released on the Wii U, and, given the games to come, discounting Zelda as an NX launch title, it will be the best game that will ever be released on the Wii U.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 413 User Ratings
7.9
77% Positive
316 Ratings
316 Ratings
8% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
15% Negative
63 Ratings
63 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 413 User Ratings
7.9
77% Positive
316 Ratings
316 Ratings
8% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
15% Negative
63 Ratings
63 Ratings
This is a wonderful game that deserves way more recognition. While it may be a little too cheesy and it has some annoying anime tropes, TMS is a very special game.
The setting and story are pretty unique, the characters are trying to make their way into the Japanese show business and along the way they have to fight with the obstacles of the industry and their own personal demons, this is represented with demons and dungeons in a similar style as Persona.
The gameplay is fantastic, one of the best combat systems of any JRPG ever, its addictive, accesible but deep and very eye-candy. The presentation of the game as a whole is really good, very vibrant and colorful with a ton of style. The music, while not my style, its really well produced and fitting with the game, its high quality J-pop for the most part.
The whole vibe of the game is quite light-hearted, maybe a bit too much for a Shin Megami Tensei spin-off but its really charming and quite engaging.
An absolute gem, a game that always makes me happy, great gameplay, great presentation, likeable characters, unique story, its just really good.
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Wii U
Underrated game. This is the one of the best RPG I have played. This is the closest game to Persona series that Nintendo console owners can have.
Other people might have concerns with the censorship when Atlus ported it outside Japan, but it did not affect the gameplay at all. I'm not mad that Atlus adapted the gameplay of Persona more than Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei, I'm actually surprised and happy!
Battle system is the best part of this game. I don't have a problem with the story being corny at times or that the protagonists aspire to be superstars. I don't. This game still deserves a 10 for me.
I hope Atlus continues to support more games to Nintendo consoles.
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Wii U
We expected this one to be a shallow and extremely niche JRPG but it turned out to be an addicting and extremely deep variation on the Persona formula. Too bad the Fire Emblem side of things doesn’t really shine through. [July 2016 / page 069]
This game is a song for J-RPG fans and Japanese culture enthusiasts in general. It's long, it has a strong battle system and an interesting and brave narrative. Pure Shin Megami Tensei with a taste of Fire Emblem.
While folks probably won't be rushing out to buy a Wii U for it anytime soon, the famed publisher has once again proved that it is at the top of the food chain when it comes to JRPGs.
The whole thing is just so gleefully off its head that you can forgive its little missteps. [Aug 2016, p.114]
If anything, this game is a promising gateway to many future projects, but to consider this a successful blend between the franchises wouldn’t be true.
Initially announced as Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE is an Atlus JRPG that mixes several elements from those beloved franchises. Luckily, the result is a game that's very much its own idea.
The protagonist is Itsuki Aoi, a high school kid who finds himself involved in an interdimensional war with mythical beings of another world. The force that allows humans to fight those beings is called 'performa', which gets more powerful depending on each person's artistic talents. As such, the cover-up for Itsuki and his ever-growing group of comrtades is Fortuna, a developing talent agency.
In his quest, Itsuki roams Tokyo to find special gates to another dimension (called the Idolosphere), where colorful turn-based battles take place. Exploration of the overworld is very limited, as the game's Tokyo is made of several self-contained spaces instead of a single open world. Each of the game's several Idolosphere-based dungeons, however, offers more secrets and hidden passages to uncover.
One of the game's best traits are the battles, which are extremely colorful turn-based affairs. They're technically deep without being overwhelming, and require players to carefully choose between several attack types and magical elements in order to maximize combo sections. The enemies are all based on the Fire Emblem universe, which adds a great layer of fan service.
Equally interesting is Tokyo Mirage Session's focus on the Japanese music industry. As the story progresses, Itsuki and his friends go through several side quest to awaken their performa, which invariably lead to music videos showcasing their development as artists. Now, I don't really know the first think about J-Pop, nor am I really interested in it, but even so I though this was a pretty nifty idea. The music itself, while not my cup of tea, should be pleasant to fans of the genre, and the insight into Japan's ubiquitous idol industry makes for a novel background.
There's also a weapon-crafting side that's vital to progression in the game. Each character has their own weapons, and each weapon offers different attacks and static abilities to learn. There a lot of depth here, and I often spent many minutes lost in the intricacies of transforming hard-earned loot into fine new swords, lances, and axes. The one problem is that the process is a bit obnoxious, as you're forced to skip the same animation every time you make a new item.
Finally, there's the elephant in the room: the censorship. This is something that almost never bothers me, and sometimes it even rids otherwise fine releases of cringe-worthy sections. (Hey there, petting minigame in Fire Emblem Fates!) But here, there's no two ways about it: it's a problem. It gets to the point that whole plot points stop making sense altogether until you search the web and discover that critical details were censored. It's a bummer, and makes it harder to actualy care about the story.
TL;DR:
TMS has all the characteristics of a classic Atlus RPG, which means satisfying turn-based combat, but also some anachronic conventions (such as limited exploration and animations that get repeated over and over). Although marred by censorship of critical plot points, the final package is a fun adventure with a music industry-based background that I hadn't seen in a game before. It's admittedly a niche title, but if you're a fan of JRPGs, or Fire Emblem, or J-Pop (or all of the above), this one should be right up your alley.
Rating: 7.5
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Wii U
Pros:
- Combat is great. This probably the best version of the press-turn system I've ever played. Hopefully they implement similar mechanics for Persona 5.
- The character customization system is really simple but enjoyable. Upgrading your Carnages until mastery was pretty addictive.
- The OST is amazing. I'm not a huge J-pop fan but some songs are really catchy.
- I thought the way you use the gamepad as a cellphone for text messaging was actually a nice idea.
Cons:
- Unnecessary and inconsistent censorship. Seriously, if they really had to censor the game they could have done a better job at it. In some scenes you will see cleavage censored and next minutes, you can the characters **** (ie. in the Tsubasa's "Feel" video her boobs are covered but then you can see her in her Pegasus form and her **** are popping out, also in the Aversa bossfight they censored her breasts in the cutscene but in the actual battle they're uncensored, etc...)
- The story is horrible. Really generic stuff. The characters are really plain as well. Itsuki is the typical aloof guy who is really dense, Tsubasa is the clumsy but cute girl... I have already seen that before. Come on Atlus, you could have done a better job here.
- Since the characters are so plain most sidequests are really boring, unless you're really into that kind of romance/slice of life anime stuff...
Bottomline: really decent effort by Atlus that was brought down by the stupid censorship Nintendo put on them and by a bad story and characters. If Persona 5 fixes the issues this game had we could have a masterpiece in our hands.
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Wii U
Really good underrated game on the Wii U. Recommend it for anyone who loves RPGs. The graphics in the game look really good and the soundtrack is superb.
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Wii U
Summary An Atlus-developed RPG for Wii U set in a modern-day world of music and art featuring characters and gameplay elements from Intelligent System's Fire Emblem franchise mixed with elements from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- Wii U
Initial Release Date: Jun 24, 2016
Developer:
- Atlus
Publisher: Nintendo
Genres: