New Screenshots Released for Fire Emblem Fates and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Nintendo released a new collection of screenshots for two of its major upcoming Nintendo 3DS role-playing games, Fire Emblem Fates and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. The images provided a closer look at the gameplay, art style, and unique mechanics of both titles, which were scheduled to launch in North America in early 2016.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

The screenshots for Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam highlighted the game’s central crossover premise, which merged the 3D world of the Mario & Luigi series with the flat, 2D characters of the Paper Mario franchise. In the game’s story, Luigi accidentally unleashes the inhabitants of the Paper Mushroom Kingdom into the regular Mushroom Kingdom, leading to an adventure featuring two Marios.

The new images showcased the battle system, where Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario team up as a trio. Paper Mario’s unique paper-based abilities were on display, including his power to create copies of himself to amplify attacks. The combat also featured special moves called Trio Attacks that required coordinated actions from all three heroes. Another key feature shown was the Papercraft Battles. These were large-scale encounters where the heroes pilot a giant papercraft version of a character to fight massive paper-based enemies from Bowser’s army. Nintendo confirmed that Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was set to release in North America on January 22, 2016.

Fire Emblem Fates: Two Paths

For Fire Emblem Fates, the new screenshots focused on the game’s core conflict and its unusual dual-version release structure. The tactical RPG was planned to launch as two distinct games: Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright and Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest. The story centers on the player-created avatar, Corrin, who must choose between siding with their birth family in the kingdom of Hoshido or the adoptive family that raised them in the kingdom of Nohr.

This choice defined the experience. Birthright, where the player sides with Hoshido, was designed to be more accessible for newcomers, with opportunities to gain experience and money outside of main story battles. Conquest, which follows the path of Nohr, was created as a more demanding challenge for series veterans, featuring more complex map design and limited resources. The screenshots depicted the series’ classic grid-based combat, detailed character portraits during dialogue, and the contrasting aesthetics of the Japanese-inspired Hoshido and the European-medieval Nohr. The release date for both Birthright and Conquest was announced for February 19, 2016, in North America.

A Strong RPG Lineup

The back-to-back release schedule for these two games positioned the Nintendo 3DS for a strong start to the new year, especially for fans of RPGs. Paper Jam offered a humorous and inventive adventure combining elements from two beloved series, while Fates promised a deep, dramatic tactical experience with high replay value because of its branching narrative. The release of these screenshots provided players with a much clearer picture of what to expect from two of the handheld’s most anticipated titles.