I started watching yesterday’s Fire Emblem Direct expecting news about Fire Emblem Warriors and the new mobile Fire Emblem game. So imagine my delight when we got news of no less than FOUR upcoming Fire Emblem games – and some sweet, sweet new Amiibo to boot.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a remake of the Japanese exclusive Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series. And – surprise, surprise – it’s being released in May, just a few short months away. Even better, it’s coming with two lovely-looking Amiibo featuring the two main characters, Alm and Celica. I spent much of last night searching in vain for somewhere I could preorder them – goddamn I need these so bad. And just when I thought I had my Amiibo addiction under control.

Echoes looks like an interesting departure for the series, which sounds like an odd thing to say when it’s actually a remake. But Gaiden was unique in that it had free-roaming and dungeon elements, whereas later games stuck to turn-based battles and mostly linear maps. I can’t wait to give it a go.

The other unexpected game was a new Fire Emblem title coming to the Switch, which marks the first time since Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on the Wii that the series has been released on a home console. The release of that game alone will probably be enough to push me into buying a Switch, I reckon. No real details on it yet, save for the tentative 2018 release window.

Fire Emblem Warriors is looking pretty slick, and the franchise seems like the perfect fit for Koei Tecmo’s musou stylings. The big news is that it’s coming to the New Nintendo 3DS as well as Switch in the autumn, so I’ll almost certainly be buying the 3DS version. I loved Hyrule Warriors Legends, so this purchase is another no brainer.

Finally, Fire Emblem Heroes on Android is coming out surprisingly soon, at the beginning of February (no date on the iOS version yet). I was a bit concerned about the chibi, big-headed art style at first, but it’s already growing on me, and the large character artwork is beautiful.

I’m a bit concerned about the small play area though – each map is just a tiny one-screen grid. This makes sense in that play sessions can be short, but I feel like it might torpedo the tactical depth of the main series. Also, the free-to-play elements could prove annoying: you can buy orbs that randomly give you a new hero, but the orbs can also be acquired through playing. Throwing money at a random number generator sounds a bit like gambling to me. But I’ll reserve judgement until I play the damn thing.

Anyway, as a big Fire Emblem fan, I’m pleased as Punch with this unexpected Fire Emblem bonanza. Now could someone let me know when I can preorder all this lovely stuff?