Genei Ibun Roku #FE devs on the game's setting, how Fire Emblem characters were picked

A portion of a Nintendo Dream interview with Hitoshi Yamagami (Nintendo), director Kaori Ando (Nintendo), producer Shinjiro Takata (Atlus), director Eiji Ishida (Atlus), chief director Wataru Hirata (Atlus), and art director Fumitaka Yano (Atlus)....

ND: How did the world of show business came to be the setting of the game?

Takata: I considered which elements would be the characteristics of this game after the game systems were decided. I wanted to have many elements about everyday life as I have already created “growing to adulthood in the midst of unusual events” with Devil Survivor. But no everyday life elements came to my mind as I haven’t done them before (laughs).

Ando: At the same time we wanted to find a reason why you are fighting together with Chrom. We had discussions as to how you summon Chrom and others like demons in Shin Megami Tensei, but there were arguments about where this power to summon comes from.

Takata: In the end we finally arrived at the keyword “performing arts” based on Hirata’s idea.

ND: Why are the Fire Emblem characters who appear from “Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light” and “Fire Emblem: Awakening”?

Ando: I guess many people think about the first game Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light when they hear “Fire Emblem”. And then Awakening was the newest entry when we were creating this game, so I think people who have been introduced to Fire Emblem in the recent years probably have a strong attachment to Awakening, so we chose the founder and the newest title.

ND: If Tiki is excluded, how were the seven main Mirages decided? Especially characters like Draug and Virion.

Hirata: We started by thinking about which classes would be good for gameplay and we decided to include an Archer and a Knight. Speaking from the conclusion, characters were decided based on their compatibility with their partner masters.