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1%% Caption changed per Caption Repair thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900&page=21#505
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4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2831884_sharpfe.jpg]]
5[[caption-width-right:350:The road to stardom has never been this rough.[[note]]Clockwise from top: Itsuki Aoi, Kiria Kurono, Eleonora Yumizuru, Tsubasa Oribe, Touma Akagi, Mamori Minamoto, Yashiro Tsurugi and Tiki.[[/note]]]]
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7''Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE'' (''Genei Ibunroku ♯FE'' / ''"Strange Mirage Tales ♯FE"'' in Japan, WorkingTitle ''Shin Megami Tensei × Fire Emblem'') is a {{JRPG}} crossover between ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', released for UsefulNotes/WiiU on December 26, 2015 in Japan and June 24, 2016 in the western countries.
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9''Mirage Sessions'' revolves around ChildhoodFriends Itsuki Aoi, an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent in modern day UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, and Tsubasa Oribe, an aspiring IdolSinger with a DarkAndTroubledPast. During Tsubasa's first professional audition, the concert hall is invaded by [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent supernatural beings]] called "Mirages"; spirits who seek to devour the [[ThePowerOfLove creative energy all people possess in their hearts, called Performa]]. While attempting to escape, Itsuki and Tsubasa end up [[FusionDance fusing]] with two Mirages, named [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Chrom]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragon Caeda]], after using their own Performa to free the mysterious spirits from [[BrainwashedAndCrazy the dark force controlling them]].
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11The two are soon approached by the Fortuna Entertainment talent agency, whose clients are all "Mirage Masters" like themselves, to help fight off the invading Mirages while perusing their own careers in the entertainment industry. And so, despite his disinterest in showbiz, Itsuki joins the agency to realize the dreams of Tsubasa and their new friends, and put a stop to the supernatural menace that threatens to destroy all of Tokyo.
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13If that sounds silly to you in any way... [[DenserAndWackier that's because it is]]. Serving as a love letter to both ''Fire Emblem'' and ''Shin Megami Tensei'' and also an AffectionateParody of J-Pop idol culture, the game is ''firmly'' on the LighterAndSofter end of the scale of both series, being unrelentingly ridiculous and pretty heavy on {{Camp}}. The game noticeably shocked a lot of people because of the change, but the game nonetheless won itself a niche fandom in terms of being a CultClassic.
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15An UpdatedRerelease, ''Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore'', was released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on January 17th, 2020, which includes a new song and additional content.
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17Additionally, Itsuki, Tsubasa, Mamori, Kiria, and Eleonora have all appeared as [[GuestFighter Guest Fighters]] in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes''.
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19For games in the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise that feature ''Fire Emblem''-esque tactical style gameplay, see the ''[[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor Devil]] [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 Survivor]]'' games.
20----
21!!''Tokyo Mirage Sessions#FE'' provides examples of:
22
23* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Kiria's song "Reincarnation" puts the emphasis on the "tion" in both [[GratuitousEnglish "reincarnation" and "realization"]].
24* AlmostKiss: Itsuki and Tsubasa almost have one as part of a TV show, but get stopped before they can finish.
25* AmnesiacHero: The Mirages have no memory of their past lives.
26* AnimeThemeSong: Several, given the game's overarching IdolSinger theme.
27** The debut trailer has one, "Reincarnation," which in-universe is Kiria's chart-topping single.
28** "Beastie Game" is in the second trailer, sung by none other than Tiki.
29* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
30** Notices will come in over Topic when you have the items required to perform a new Unity. The enemy guide will also tell you where to find an enemy and what drops they provide once you've fought them and gotten their drops at least once, so you don't have to run all over trying to grind for some items.
31** Ad-Lib Attacks, Duo Acts, and Sessions that have finished off their original targets and moved to a new one will ignore enemy immunities, so the player doesn't have to worry about those attacks hitting an enemy that would normally absorb or repel it.
32** Much like ''Shin Megami Tensei'', weaknesses are not uncovered on enemies until it is applied. However, if the player has any bit of knowledge of how weaknesses in ''Fire Emblem'' normally work, then you already have a good idea of where to start.
33* ArtShift: The game has three art styles: The hand drawn animated sequences, the pre-rendered cutscenes in a style reminiscent of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Fates]] for the character's idol videos, and in-game sequences.
34* ArtificialStupidity: How your allies prioritize session attacks will sometimes work against you when fighting enemies that nullify certain elements, such as Touma using Sword-Fire against an enemy that nulls fire, even though he also has Sword-Lance, which would have actually worked. Why they do this is pretty difficult to pin down. This can only be fixed by either shuffling in a new party member, using an SP attack, or hoping an Ad-lib attack activates.
35* AscendedMeme: Touma's final sidestory Performa is called "[[Memes/SuperSmashBros Fight for my Friends]]".
36* ArmorIsUseless: Explicitly stated, the flashy outfits provided by the mirages have no advantage over regular clothes, since Chrom explains that the protection is magical and independent from them although Mamori's is the only one whose mirage outfit is an actual armor.
37* AssistCharacter: Characters in the "Sub Cast" part of the party menu can assist the "Main Cast" during Sessions once they learn the respective skill.
38* AwesomeButImpractical: Almighty spells are some of the strongest around and ignore resistances, but there are no skills that allow them to start [[CombinationAttack sessions]] with. Since sessions are the only way to initiate Dual Arts, the only way to get key crafting items for weapons and skills, and are a great source of damage overall, there is almost no reason to ever use spells or Dual Arts with the almighty element, like Dream Catcher in the case of the latter.
39* BadBadActing: Chapter 4 involves Tsubasa, who has no acting experience, being cast as the lead of a TV drama out of the blue. The results are what you'd expect, with her delivering an entire monologue in DullSurprise and barely changing tone when her character flips into her SplitPersonality. Itsuki's acting when he stands-in for the role to practice with Ellie is ''even worse''.
40* BattleStrip: Tsubasa does this at one point, whipping off her clothing to reveal a tiny white bikini. The Western version changes this to a simple costume change.
41* BirdsOfAFeather: The protagonists are typically paired with Mirages that are similar to themselves in some manner.
42* BossInMooksClothing: Savage Enemy Encounters. These spawn as purple-black (instead of the usual red) shadows, and you can't get a First Strike on them because they can't be knocked down by your weapon. The enemies are all Mirages you can encounter in regular fights (except these are of bigger sizes) and are something like six-seven levels above your highest-leveled character, so as you can guess they're pretty powerful, and if your level starts nearing a given set of enemies', they will change to another higher-leveled set. And even if you have devised a strategy against a set, these battles can still take forever due to their high HP and defenses. The game suggests Escaping from Savage Enemy Encounters the first time one appears, but on harder difficulties the chance of a successful Escape attempt is negligible without an item.
43* BossRush: Most of the chapter-ending bosses pop back up in the final dungeon. They're spaced out enough for you to recover and level up a bit between each one.
44* {{Bowdlerise}}:
45** Tsubasa's idol outfit was edited for the Western release to be less revealing, and the lines on her hips from her pelvic bones were removed. She was also aged up from 17 in the Japanese version of the game to 18.
46** Interestingly, Kiria's outfit was edited prior to the original Japanese release, as the thong and chaps she wore in early trailers were replaced with pants in the finished game.
47** The localized version of the dungeon centered around Gravure photography was heavily changed. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y1RVMplNAc Besides Tsubasa going from stripping to a bikini to changing into a completely different outfit, mentioned above,]] her poses were also altered to be less suggestive. Also, [[http://i.imgur.com/3uvMhzt.jpg posters littered throughout the dungeon]] originally depicted swimsuit models, which are now all fully clothed.
48** The ''Encore'' re-release for the Switch retains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMSLjU4tp-I all of the changes that were in the original's Western release]] for ''all'' releases.
49* BrokenBridge: In all the Idolaspheres there are a couple of green walls with pink spheres etched into them that Itsuki notes he can't break. It's in chapter 5 that you get the ability to break them. Some of these passages are actually vital for progressing the game even while being in Idolaspheres you cleared 3 chapters ago, while others just house really rare items.
50* ButNotTooForeign: Eleonora "Ellie" Yumizuru is half-Scandinavian.
51* CantDropTheHero: Itsuki must always be present in battles, and cannot be swapped out for any other reserve party member, unlike the other active fighters, who can be swapped out at the player's choice. The ''Encore'' edition removes this limitation in NewGamePlus.
52* {{Camp}}: Like you wouldn't ''believe.'' As far as silliness goes, think if 60's ''{{Series/Batman|1966}}'', ''VideoGame/RedAlert3'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird Saints Row: The Third's]]'' campiness all had a JRPG baby, and you ''still'' won't reach the silliness of this game.
53* CharacterClassSystem: Both ally and enemy Mirages are classified under the same class system ''Fire Emblem'' uses. For example, Chrom is a Lord-class Mirage, while the first boss is a Myrmidon-class Mirage.
54* ChildhoodFriend: Itsuki and Tsubasa.
55* ColorMotif:
56** Similar to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' / ''VideoGame/Persona4'' / ''VideoGame/Persona5'', this game features an abundance of a particular color throughout its theming and interface. This time around, it's green.
57** Several of the characters also have surnames referring to colors such as Itsuki ''Aoi'' (blue), Kiria ''Kuro''no (black), and Touma ''Aka''gi (Red). The conspicuous exceptions of this being Tsubasa Oribe (though her first name means "wings," a reference to her being a Pegasus Knight) and Eleonora Yumizuru (though the 'Yumi' in her name means "bow" which references her Archer class).
58** Even further, the hair colors of the currently shown characters (Blue, Red, Black, Green, and White) match up with the five colors of the Fire Emblem from the original game.
59* CombinationAttack: Dual Arts, where two characters pair up and attack together. The attack changes depending on the characters involved, and they also reset the Session chain when triggered, allowing you to get massively long Sessions if you manage to get several of them to trigger.
60* {{Combos}}: Session attacks involve multiple party members attacking one after the other, chaining attacks that're recorded on a hit counter.
61* CreatorProvincialism: It's set in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan, and features female characters who are idol singers.
62* DarkIsNotEvil: Chrom, Caeda, and Cain look a LOT more intimidating than their traditional designs, but they are clearly heroic. However, the former two had to be purified by the heroes in order to utilize their powers.
63* DefeatMeansFriendship: How Mirages become attached to Masters.
64* DenserAndWackier: On top of being LighterAndSofter than both its parent franchises, it's also a lot more unabashedly silly and quirky; featuring a group of Totally18 [[TeenIdol Teen Idols]] gifted with the power to fight demons from the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' franchise harnessing the power of creative talent, singing and dancing to save the day from the creatures -- and yes, you defeat the final boss with a sing-along. [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/FireEmblemRecurringCharacters Tiki]] is [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking also a vocaloid here, too]]. [[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/06/tokyo_mirage_sessions_fe_switched_development_direction_after_six_months This was apparently because]] of the fact that Creator/{{Atlus}} and Creator/IntelligentSystems -- due to their games likely being on different ends of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism -- couldn't agree on what direction the game was supposed to take, so compromised by taking an unrelentingly silly approach to both games while acting as a love letter to both series.
65* DetachmentCombat: Gangrel can detach his head from his body and attack the entire party.
66* EasierThanEasy: Friendly mode, which you can't choose at the start of the game; you have to lose a battle on Easy mode for the game to offer it to you. Playing on Friendly mode nets you more EXP than on Easy and enemies don't hit as hard.
67* EvolvingAttack: Using a specific type of skill (usually the character's main element and weapon attack) has a chance of triggering an Ad-Lib Performance instead, which are special attacks that generally hit all enemies for increased amounts of damage, ignore enemy resistances, and have some kind of an addtional effect.
68* {{Expy}}:
69** In a broad sense, Itsuki's combat form is one for Marth.
70** Tiki, as a popular "Uta-loid" is a loose one for Music/HatsuneMiku, and vocal synthesizers in general.
71* EyepatchOfPower: Kiria has one of these in her Dark Mage form.
72* FacelessMasses: Non-important [=NPCs=] are rendered as flat, solid multicolor beings, like in the ''Just Dance'' games.
73* ForeverWar: The mirages have been engaged in one. Their current appearance is the product of losing parts of themselves that were inefficient for survival and combat.
74* FreeRangeChildren: Itsuki, Touma, Tsubasa, Mamori and Eleonora are all high school aged and Mamori is eleven, but their parents are nowhere to be seen and don't seem to mind the kids becoming pop stars, famous actors, [[spoiler:president of a talent agency]] or fusing with interdimensional spirits in order to combat other interdimensional spirits.
75* FunWithAcronyms: The English title can be shortened to TMS, a.k.a. [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei SMT]] backwards.
76* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Whenever your characters appear in new casual wear, you have instant access to them. But any costumes worn during a performance must be bought. This is because the ones they're wearing belong to the networks. The ones you purchase are replicas.
77* GenkiGirl: Tsubasa and Eleonora.
78* GenreShift: One of Ellie's shows, ''Dandelions in Love'', gets reworked from a sappy romance into a horror/action hybrid in order to pull in more views. Despite such a radical shift, it's actually said to have worked, mainly due to Ellie accidentally turning the main character from a timid FinalGirl into an ActionGirl and the directors going [[ThrowItIn "sure, let's go with that."]]
79* GirlWithPsychoWeapon: Subverted. Mamori is eleven years old and wields a huge axe. She can barely lift it and has to use various workarounds to actually attack, rather than just swinging it.
80* GratuitousEnglish:
81** All over the place, most notably in Barry Goodman, who is supposed to be a native English speaker, but whose voice actor clearly isn't.
82** Most attacks are in English, too, with performance-related words like "Session Attacks" and "Performa." The weapons and transformations, on the other hand, are called "Carnage," which is slightly jarring in an otherwise light-hearted game.
83* GuideDangIt:
84** Itsuki and Tsubasa have hidden RelationshipValues that the game never tells you about, and one of the Duo Arts in the game is [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost]] if they don't have enough by the time of her final sidequest. It's somewhat downplayed in that the game is so generous with these RelationshipValues that it's easy to get the Art without even trying, but it's still never hinted at in-game.
85** There seem to be more locked chests in the game then there are Treasure Keys. As it turns out, there's a hidden [[MasterOfUnlocking Locktouch]] Radiant Skill for Itsuki that lets you open them without keys, but unlike all other Radiant Skills that require unique Performa, this one never appears in the Radiant Unity menu until you're able to make it, so there's no indication it exists. ''How'' to get it is also fairly obscure: you need to accept the request "Arena Staff on Hire" (itself easily missed, you need to talk to the arena receptionist ''from behind'' to start it), talk to the ghost Mirage in Harajuku to recruit him to the Arena, trade Detritus with him 12 times, then speak to him in Illusionary Daitama to get the "Path of the Strong" request, which gives you the Locktouch Performa.
86* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Maiko LOVES hitting the sauce.
87* HarderThanHard: Lunatic, which is unlocked after beating the game.
88* HenshinHero: The leads combine with their respective Mirages, forming outfits based on those Mirage's appearance from the game. A more in-universe example is Touma's occupation as one on television.
89* HeroicHost: The Mirage Masters towards their Mirages. They get the phenomenal fighting abilities of their partners in exchange for providing energy for the Mirages.
90* HeroicMime: Averted with the protagonist, Itsuki Aoi, here. Unlike most ''Shin Megami Tensei'' protagonists (which are avatars for the player), Itsuki has a defined name, voiced lines, and a canon personality.
91* HiddenDepths:
92** Kiria's personality and image is that of a cool, calm, punk rocker and does not in any circumstances do 'cute' things not to mention that she takes the form of a Dark Mage in battle. However, she still keeps a dinosaur plush named Sir Gen and loved cute things as a child and still in fact does; she only cultivated the cool, punk image because a now ex-friend thought her love of cute things was disgusting as she got older. A side quest can be taken to help Kiria embrace cuteness again.
93** Ellie may seem overly obsessed with Hollywood but she has good reason; being referred to as 'bi-racial' makes her feel completely out of place in Japan and while she has gained acting gigs, she feels the chances would be better off in Hollywood as she wouldn't be judged by appearance as much.
94* HonoraryUncle: Barry Goodman to Mamori Minamoto whom he absolutely cherishes.
95* HopelessBossFight: The first fight against Yashiro ends after several turns with him unleashing an almighty-elemental attack that hits your entire party and easily does over 2000 damage to all of them. Even by the end-game, none of your party will likely have 2000 HP, let alone at that point.
96* HotterAndSexier: In comparison to both parent series. The reveal trailer alone has both male and female characters down to their underclothes, and the female characters' idol costumes in particular are {{Stripperific}} as hell. This was downplayed eventually, when at least one heavily revealing costume was made more modest.
97* IdolSinger: Pop music, Japanese Idol culture, and the entertainment industry are the central themes. In fact, every character is part of the entertainment industry in some form and the company they work for intentionally scouted them due to their powers.
98** Itsuki is part of the company, but isn't really interested and had to be dragged into recruitment. As such he's often placed as an extra in productions.
99** Tsubasa wants to be a pop singer, and one of her outfits is comprised of a black bra and hot pants with detached sleeves, gold bangles on her wrists and thighs, a collar, and a huge star-shaped necklace. Her Pegasus Knight outfit also resembles a frilly idol singer costume.
100** Touma wants to be an actor and works as an extra on a Tokusatsu show.
101** Kiria, another female character who joins the party at some point, is also a famous idol singer - her Dark Mage Class staff is even a microphone stand - who appears on a billboard on the Shibuya 106 building and on advertisements throughout the game.
102** Ellie is an actress and aims to be a Hollywood star.
103** Maiko is their boss, being the president of a company called Fortuna Entertainment which also scouts Mirage Masters. [[spoiler: And she used to be a gravure idol.]]
104** Tiki is Music/HatsuneMiku in all but name (even being called Uta-loid [=TiKi=]). She also sings the theme song for the second trailer.
105** Several of the Dual Arts involve [[MusicalAssassin weaponizing duets.]]
106** The costumes worn in battle by the characters resemble outfits you'd see worn by J-Pop groups.
107* ImprobableAge: In the TrueEnding [[spoiler: Itsuki becomes the president of the talent agency that manages some of the most famous stars in Japan at the ripe age of 18.]]
108* InstantRunes: Magic casting does this, but with a twist: in keeping with the IdolSinger theme, the runes contain each character's ''signatures''.
109* InterfaceSpoiler: The only characters who get mini-portraits next to their names in dialogue boxes are the main party members, whether they're directly playable or supporting from the sidelines. [[spoiler:As such, the fact that Mamori and Yashiro get mini-portraits right from the start of the game should tip you off that they'll join the party at some point.]]
110* IntergenerationalFriendship: 11-year-old Mamori Minamoto, presenter of the cooking show 'Microwavin' With Mamorin', and middle-aged, ex-guitarist and vocal tutor Barry Goodman. Though he's friends with the other protagonists as well, he cherishes Mamori the most, making sure that she's looked after.
111* InTheHood: The enemies you face in combat appear in the dungeon dressed in red cloaks with no face.
112* InvisibleParents: The kids have parents (Tsubasa briefly alludes to her father in one text), but they never appear on screen or do anything plot relevant.
113* JigglePhysics: Kiria and Tsubasa have large busts that jiggle conspicuously during some scenes, but Maiko is even bigger and bouncier.
114* LighterAndSofter: ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' is a very dark series, with games typically involving TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, FightingYourFriend, and BlackAndGreyMorality at best. ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' is lighter, but tends to at least touch on WarIsHell and often has several sympathetic characters die. ''Tokyo Mirage Sessions'' is primarily about aspiring entertainers fighting monsters, has a generally upbeat and optimistic tone, and [[spoiler:the only character to actually die during the game is a villain who sacrifices his own life as part of his scheme]].
115* LimitBreak: Special Performances, where a Mirage Master uses varying amounts of SP (SP is a relatively small resource, with EP being used for general spellcasting) to call upon the power of their Mirage.
116* LyricalDissonance: When translated, [[https://kantopia.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem-reincarnation-lyrics-translation/ the lyrics of Kiria's single Reincarnation]] are rather dark while still sounding incredibly peppy:
117-->I want to destroy all of the important things I've held onto\
118You can heal me of this painful loneliness\
119(Chorus) Reincarnation, Realization\
120…I want to disappear\
121The noise of the endless city streets\
122The melancholy of false smiles\
123The real face behind them, in a way that has never been seen\
124Whenever someone is anxious\
125Even if they don’t say it, we know it\
126I want to destroy all of the important things I’ve held onto, give me the courage\
127But, I won’t be up front about it\
128Even when I’m lost, even when I’m troubled, I still want you\
129At least, I will destroy this painful loneliness\
130(Chorus) Reincarnation, Realization\
131I want to be reborn.
132* MeaningfulName:
133** Nearly every character has a name where at least part of it hints at their role or character class. They're even highlighted on the official website.
134** In Japan, the game has the ''Ibunroku'' / "Strange Tales" label Atlus used for ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' {{Spinoff}}s like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', making its name basically "Shin Megami Tensei spinoff: Fire Emblem". In the West, the game is similarly "TMS #FE," i.e. "Reverse Shin Megami Tensei: Fire Emblem".
135* MetalSlime:
136** While it has pathetic damage and very low health, Sixth Element has maxed out speed and will run away if you don't beat it, sometimes after the first round, and you need to beat it in order to get the Macca Converter needed for certain Carnages. It is identified on the field as a golden Mirage as opposed to the usual red or black, but good luck finding one; they're extremely rare.[[note]]Saying that though, there is an easy way to find Sixth Element. In Illusory 106, go to the 6th floor and in the orange booth, activate the middle switch. Go up the arm and you'll find yourself in a small space with a wall that can't be broken until much later. Run around and a golden Mirage should appear. If it's red, just swipe it with your sword or run onto the carpet. After a while, no more will spawn but run back to the transporter, warp to any floor, go back to the 6th floor. Rinse and repeat.[[/note]]
137** In later dungeons, the Sixth Elements are replaced with a new rare enemy called Bretorius, which looks like a UFO with tentacles in battle. True to the trope, it has virtually no attack power whatsoever, but its speed is at the absolute cap (999) and its defenses are over 100 each. It may only have 35 HP, but you'll be very hard pressed to do more than [[ScratchDamage one point per attack]] Furthermore, it has no weaknesses so you'll be relying on Special Performances to pull off Sessions. And as if all that that weren't enough, while it won't directly attack your party, it will cast spells to inflict status aliments on your entire party at once, making it even harder to get in attacks and defeat it before it flees -- and you'll ''need'' to defeat it to get the Interstellar Sefirot, which is necessary to make several Carnages.
138* MoreThanMindControl: Despite possessing people, the vast majority of Mirages exorcise very little control over their hosts: instead, they blind them with negativity or obsession, and in their delusion the host does the Mirage's bidding, believing that it's what they themselves want. Once the heroes manage to get through the [[MeaningfulName Mirage's]] deceptions, the host usually turns around and [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls the Mirage out on their manipulations.]]
139* MsFanservice: While most of the girls can count, Maiko is the top contender, even having been a gravure idol when she was younger.
140* MundaneMadeAwesome: Most Ad-Lib Performances and Special Performances that don't directly involve the character's Mirage are usually some form of this and involve the character reenacting an event from their earlier sidequest performances with much deadlier results, such as Touma donning his [[{{Toku}} Tokusatsu]] outfit and charging into the enemy and Kiria trapping the enemies into an icy tornado as she performs a part of her [[MagicMusic newest pop song]].
141* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch:
142** The majority of Mirages are parasites who suck people dry of their passion and drive, called Performa. The heroic Mirages such as Chrom or Caeda partner with people with high amounts of Performa in order to let these Mirage Masters fight off more villainous Mirages.
143** Some members of the Mirage species you fight are content to serve as [=NPCs=], giving you hints, sidequests and trading items with you. A good example is the Mirages you scout for the Arena.
144* MythologyGag:
145** Itsuki Aoi, the lead, has the blue hair, blue outfit, cape, and rapier that almost every lord of the series has had. His outfit borrows most heavily from Sigurd, with a white cape and cravat, but also has elements of Marth's manga outfit, with the golden fringe on his shoulders, and Chrom's promoted armor. He is the only cast member who has no desire to be in showbusiness, instead preferring to stay in the shadows, like Kris from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem New Mystery of the Emblem]]''. He has a proficiency for [[ShockAndAwe Zio spells]], mirroring Robin's preference for Thunder tomes, and his Mirage is even Chrom.
146** Hitoshi Yamagami, a longtime producer of the ''Fire Emblem'' series, once stated he wanted to make a game set in modern-day Tokyo, where a pegasus lands on the roof of the Shibuya 109 department store. While it may not land on it, the ''Shin Megami Tensei × Fire Emblem'' trailer opens and closes with a pegasus flying in front of the game's version of said building. And one further, the actual sequence from the game has said pegasus starting from the top of the building before landing in the plaza below to fight a dark flier based monster.
147** Tsubasa Oribe, the female lead, has blue hair and a pegasus theme in her idol clothes and vehicle, which harkens back to Caeda, a blue-haired pegasus rider who was the love interest of the main lead of her games. Appropriately, her Mirage is Caeda.
148** The reveal trailer gives a glimpse at iconic settings from both franchises, namely a [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI destroyed Tokyo]] and the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Mila Tree]].
149** The magic energy called Performa is a reference to [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Forma]].
150** The Japanese title is even a nod to other games, but that is known as ''Megami'' Ibunroku (which is the original title of ''VideoGame/Persona1'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''). Considering the aspects of those games and this one (both having modern-day settings, having ThePowerOfFriendship as a lead trope, and featuring characters in high-school years), this may not be a coincidence.
151** The English title has shades of this as well, since the initials for '''T'''okyo '''M'''irage '''S'''essions is the reverse of the initials for '''S'''hin '''M'''egami '''T'''ensei.
152** Touma is a HotBlooded FieryRedhead, and is paired with Cain, the original Red Cavalier.
153** Navarre and his Master start out as enemies before joining the party, just like he (and most other members of the archetype he popularized) did in his original appearance.
154** Jack Frost appears as the Mascot of the Hee Ho Mart, which is run by an [[Characters/FireEmblemRecurringCharacters Anna]] lookalike named Shio.
155** Lookalikes to other ''Fire Emblem'' characters have also appeared in some other shops, namely [[Characters/FireEmblemPathOfRadianceBeorcAllies Ilyana]] in Cafe Seiren, [[Characters/FireEmblemTelliusNonPlayerCharacters Aimee]] in Carabia Jewelry and [[Characters/FireEmblemTheBindingBladePlayableCharacters Cath]] in Anzu Tokyo Store.
156** It's revealed that stores and businesses across Tokyo have demons from ''Shin Megami Tensei'' as their mascots. This list includes the likes of Uzume Lessons Studio and Carabia Jewelry, which is represented by [[Literature/ArsGoetia Decarabia]].
157** Touma is a guy with [[PlayingWithFire fire element]] that is VitriolicBestBuds with Eleonora, an archer girl. This is a nod to Junpei and Yukari from ''VideoGame/Persona3''. This may also be a reference to the relationship between Virion and Sully in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', further reinforced by their Mirages; Touma has Cain as his Mirage, the character who Sully was the {{Expy}} of, and Eleonora's Mirage is Virion himself.
158** Weapon types seem to be taken from both ''Fire Emblem'' series staples (Falchion, Iron Sword, Rapier) and ''Shin Megami Tensei'' staples (Vajra).
159** The recruiting of Mirages by Mirage masters resembles visually how recruiting enemy units worked in ''Fire Emblem'': The characters colors change from red, in this case the red robe the brainwashed Mirages wear, to their own colors.
160** The Shield of Seals from the original game appears as the crest of Itsuki and Tsubasa's high school.
161** The Bloom Palace, where you create new weapons, skills, and eventually change classes, [[Franchise/{{Persona}} is accessed by a blue door in Fortuna Entertainment]].
162** The Carnage Mastery system is basically the Magatama system from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''.
163** Ellie's line when she tries to urge Itsuki to awaken [[spoiler:after Medeus shoots the latter down]] is: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know?"]]
164** There's a {{Sidequest}} chain about a character who keeps falling in love with different enemy monsters, just like in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
165** In his first battle, Gangrel has a move called "Reversal of Fortunes," which summons minions to aid him. This comes from a line he says in ''Awakening'', when Aversa summons Risen archers to shoot Phila and her squadron down.
166--->'''Awakening!Gangrel''': I believe this is what they call a reversal of fortunes.
167** The Genome Monsters from Touma's side stories wear masks identical to those worn by the Risen in ''Fire Emblem Awakening'', and the monster seen in Ellie's show from her second side story is visually identical to the Revenant enemy from the same game.
168** Kiria's live stage performance of "Reincarnation" has her form a magic rune like the critical animation for Sages in the GBA and Tellius games. The Dominant Queen costume that she wears for the performance also bears a resemblance to [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Lyn]], specifically the long green ponytail and feather boa (which is featured on her Swordmaster attire in ''Awakening'' DLC).
169** One of Eleonora's Special Performances is named "Mass Destruction," which is the title of the main battle theme from VideoGame/Persona3.
170* NewGamePlus: Beating the game unlocks [[HarderThanHard Lunatic difficulty]], and allows you to save the cleared data. From there, loading the clear data starts a new game and allows you to choose whether or not you carry over character levels, Carnage, skills, and other data into the new game. Though Lunatic difficulty automatically limits you to cosmetic features, ensuring that the game isn't made easy.
171* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Averted for the most part. Characters will always have their equipped weapon and any Class Changes to their Mirage will stay in effect. The exception is during Unity scenes and the final battle, where the Mirage Master will always have their default combat outfit.
172* {{Otaku}}: American Barry Goodman is obsessed with anime, especially "Dia Witch Iroha" which is intended for young girls. He is sometimes distracted from the lessons he's supposed to be teaching because of some limited-edition merchandise on sale and considers real-life girls as somehow lesser than the 2D versions with the exception of Mamori who is "a 3D angel sent from heaven by God".
173* PeripheryDemographic: In-universe example. The MagicalGirl anime ''Dia Witch Iroha'' is aimed at young girls but said to also be popular among adults. Barry Goodman, a 35-year-old American man, is one such fan.
174* PermanentlyMissableContent: The game is pretty good about averting this, but there is a single Duo Art you can miss out on if the player doesn't build up enough of the [[GuideDangIt never mentioned in-game]] affinity points with Tsubasa from the dialogue options throughout the story. Thankfully, about half of the required points are attained through her sidequests alone, with plenty of extra opportunities available in the story scenes, allowing enough freedom so the player is pretty likely to get it without even ''knowing'' it could be missed.
175* PrecisionFStrike: A seemingly out-of-place one from Barry when he realises he hasn't got much time left to collect some special-edition merchandise because the lesson's essentially in the way.
176* PowerDyesYourHair:
177** Ellie is naturally a blonde but changing to an Archer turns her hair cyan.
178** Itsuki gains a light blue tinge to his hair upon accessing his Lord form. Taken even further when [[spoiler:the spirit of Marth powers him up, turning his hair a bright blue entirely]].
179* RainbowSpeak: Important parts of the text tends to be highlighted in red.
180* RedHerring: At the end of Chapter 3, while the party [[spoiler: is wondering where they should look to try and find the evil Mirage's human collaborator,]] Hatanaka, who has been trying to look into the incidents on his own, mentions that the new president of Daiba TV has appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Suspicion towards this individual rises as he ends up responsible for the city-wide Enter-Kingdom event, which is in danger of ending up as a feeding ground of Performa for the Mirages to attack like SIV-LIVE was back in Chapter 1. [[spoiler:When the president is revealed as an old man, signs point to him even more for players, as Gharnef, the evil sorcerer recently revealed to be the mastermind behind the attacks, is also an old man. But at the end of Chapter 5, it turns out that Hatanaka was the one collaborating with Gharnef from the beginning, and was likely just trying to throw the party off the trail back then. As for the president, he is never mentioned again.]]
181* RedOniBlueOni
182** Itsuki is calm and mild-mannered, while his best friend Touma is very HotBlooded. They wear the trope's corresponding colors as well.
183** Tsubasa is a ditzy, cheerful girl, while her favorite idol Kiria is outwardly cold and of few words.
184* RefusalOfTheCall: Played with. Itsuki takes becoming a Mirage Master rather well and is perfectly willing to shoulder the responsibility that comes with it. It's the showbiz side of things he has to be dragged into kicking and screaming.
185* RiddleForTheAges: Everything about the shopkeeper in the Black Frost mask. It's never stated why she's InvisibleToNormals or what she's collecting Performa for.
186* RocketTagGameplay: Enemies have relatively low HP and Session Attacks eat through it quickly, however all attacks that aren't resisted tend to hit your party hard, especially on the higher difficulties.
187* RuleOfCool: Quite blatant. If the various character designs didn't clue you in, then there's the futuristic motorcycles and the pegasai with rocket boosters...
188* ShouldntWeBeInSchoolRightNow: Tsubasa, Touma and Itsuki are explicitly high school students and the intro even shows them at school, yet they never attend a single class. There's a brief mention of Tsubasa struggling to balance her schoolwork, but otherwise the characters seem to loiter all day.
189* ShoutOut:
190** Dream ☆ Catcher utilizes the tune of [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} the Squid Sisters' pop song]], Calamari Inkantation, complete with matching outfits in neon pink and green.
191** The DLC adds costumes from Atlus's Nintendo lineup, namely [[VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth Rei]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV Walter]], [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 Hibiki]], and [[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey Princess]]. The ''Encore'' edition adds costumes for [[VideoGame/Persona5 Joker]], [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses a Garreg Mach uniform]][[note]]more specifically, Annette's uniform, if the hairdo and the fact that both she and Mamori are axe wielders are any indications[[/note]], [[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey the Hero]], and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney the Demonica suit]].
192** One of Touma's Radiant Skills, "Get a Freebie!", is a reference to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', both in name and effect. (Items used in battle have a random chance of not being consumed)
193** This one may have been unintentional, but a Performa Touma can unlock is called [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stand Proud]].
194** The name for Tiki's first side quest is "I'll Tiki-Tiki You (For Reals)," referring to the translated name of [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} one of Miku's demo songs]].
195** Mamori's TV show, "Microwavin' With Mamorin," bears resemblance to a TV show from another idol in [[VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight another SMT universe]].
196** One of the supporting characters is a director named Kuen Tarachino, possibly named after Creator/QuentinTarantino.
197** Several enemies are references to other works.
198*** One of the enemies in the first dungeon is called "[[Literature/{{It}} Nickelwise]]". One of its {{Palette Swap}}s in later dungeons is [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Skellington]].
199*** A ghost monster called [[WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost Gaspar]].
200*** A StringyHairedGhostGirl monster called [[Film/TheRing Samantha]]. One of its {{Palette Swap}}s in later dungeons is [[Film/TheExorcist Regan]], which in turn has a giant version (appearing only in a specific sidequest) called [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject Blair]].
201*** A {{Kaiju}} like monster called [[Film/PacificRim Slattern]].
202** The TV show the gang participates in, "Sneeze Detective Maho," which deals with the titular character having a split personality of a meek and shy side but completely shift into a loud and boisterous persona when she sneezes, is probably a reference to Lunch/Launch from ''Manga/DragonBall''. She even changes from blue hair to blonde.
203** One of Ellie's Radiant skills is ''Theatre/DerFreischuetz''.
204** Kiria is [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 an ice magic user who wears her hair in a single braid draped over her shoulder]].
205** A late-game quest in ''Encore'' involves a Mirage who wants to make [[spoiler:Souji Iori, the NPC who gave three other quests involving him crushing on mage Mirages (and getting dumped by said Mirages)]] her prom date. The Mirage's name? [[Film/Carrie1976 Carrie.]]
206** A trophy you get for talking to 100 female [=NPCs=] is called Manga/CityHunter.
207** ''Masqueraider Raiga'' is one letter and a translation away from ''Series/KamenRider''.
208** Likewise, the MagicalGirl series ''Dia Majo Iroha'' shares a title format with ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'', but there's an extra ShoutOut hidden in the title. Specifically, in the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, Dia is a ''[[Anime/PrettyCure cure spell]]''.
209* ShowWithinAShow: Naturally, being about show biz, we get to see of the shows that the characters are acting on.
210** Barry's a big fan of "Dia Witch Iroha," a magical girl anime.
211** Touma is a fan of, and ends up starring in, the tokusatsu show "Masqueraider Raiga".
212** Mamori hosts "Microwavin' with Mamorin," a cooking show aimed at children who want to help in the kitchen.
213** Ellie has "Dandelion in Love," which starts off as a romance series before moving into a ''Buffy'' style show named "Horror Hunter Angel." To prepare for that, she has Itsuki go with her to see a movie called "Evil Ball of the Dead IV".
214* StalkerShrine: The Chapter 2 dungeon, Illusionary Shibuya, has the feel of one, with the walls being made of photos of models kidnapped by the dungeon's boss, and the final floor being entirely photos of Maiko (who the boss is implied to have once been involved with). Once the boss is defeated, the idol photos are replaced with general photos of Shibuya on revisits to the dungeon.
215* {{Stripperiffic}}: Tsubasa's idol costume is comprised of a black bra and short shorts, and at one point she [[BattleStrip removes her clothes]], revealing a swimsuit, although this particular scene was edited in the English version. Kiria's idol costume initially consisted of a BDSM-type chest harness, a corset, and black panties and garters, but was replaced with black leggings in development.
216* {{Superboss}}: [[spoiler:M-DEUS, a souped up version of the final boss Medeus that can only be fought in a NewGamePlus and would make the [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Demi-Fiend]] proud.]]
217* TacticalRockPaperScissors: The game makes use of ''Fire Emblem'''s weapon triangle mechanics.
218* TakeYourTime: In the last chapter, the Enter-Kingdom event is supposed to take a few days at most, yet you can do all the side stories then, some of which include concerts being presented and even a TV show being completely rehashed. Even if you have completed all the side stories available before the event, Maiko's only can be completed then, and it involves a photoshoot in Guam and the edition of a modeling book from it. ''Then'' you defeat the final boss and in the PlayableEpilogue the character reminisce of your battles as if at least a few days have passed since, all of this while Enter-Kingdom is still going.
219* TeamMom: Maiko to the kids, being not only their mentor but also their boss.
220* TheMaze: The dungeon of the fourth chapter, Illusory Daiba Studio, features an entrance with ten screens, with a few of the screens featuring an 'episode', and the following area has ten rooms. The player needs to memorize which door corresponds to the correct screen to advance the mission. Picking the wrong door forces the player back into the starting area.
221** The sealed area follows a similar pattern: The player is given a key item with a sequence of six numbers, and the screen displays numbers 0 to 9. The player must memorize which number corresponds to which door, and enter through the doors in the correct sequence.
222* TinyTyrannicalGirl: Dark Clerics are Mirages that look like little girls and have high-pitched voices. A number of them are [=NPCs=]; should you engage them in conversation, you'll find yourself being bossed around and possibly verbally abused.
223* TokenMiniMoe: Tiki, who looks about preteen at ''best''. Even her voice actress is younger than the rest of the cast.
224* TransformationSequence: Most battles start with one of the party members fusing with their mirage in a flashy manner, although the transformation won't occur (in normal battles, at least) if they're wearing the same outfit as they did in a previous fight. Oddly enough, this sequence can still occur even if you change the character's clothes to what they were wearing outside of battle (the Mirage still transforms into the weapon regardless).
225* UpdatedRerelease: ''Encore'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch has several additions. New elements include a new dungeon, a new song for Kiria, Mamori getting an [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Officer's Academy student uniform]] as a costume, Tsubasa wearing glasses, and Maiko Shimazaki, Barry Goodman, and Tiki being promoted to assist characters with Tiki even donning her garb from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon]]''.
226* UrbanFantasy: As typical of ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' and ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'', the game is set in Tokyo and stars a group of teenagers.
227* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:Illusory Dolhr, the Idolasphere in the Cosmic Egg.]] The visual design is vastly different from any other area, and it's the place where [[spoiler: Medeus is supposed to be residing.]] For bonus points, [[spoiler:[[MythologyGag it shares a name with the kingdom from ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon'' that Medeus founded in the game's backstory.]]]]
228* VitriolicBestBuds: Eleonora and Touma have this relationship. They argue during their team up attack and Eleonora even uses Touma's head as a vault.
229* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Subverted. While initial trailers gave the impression that the game seemed to share the splitting of time between going to school and fighting monsters, like in the ''Persona'' series, the characters are never depicted actually going to school (and only some mentions from fellow students show that they even still attend between chapters).
230* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Subverted. Losing Itsuki in a fight is not an automatic game over. Rather surprising since both of the game's parent series love to implement this trope.
231* WindIsGreen: Wind (though Wind is actually called Force here)-based spells and attacks have a green icon and a green glow when used.
232* WordSaladTitle: Tokyo is where the game takes place, while Mirage and Session are words that have a unique meaning in the game. These three words strung together make one hodgepodge of a title, specially when it's randomly followed by the 'sharp' symbol and the ''Fire Emblem'' initials. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It's mainly to]] act as a reversal of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' initials, as a [[RuleOfCool way to show it's a spinoff]].
233* YouDontLookLikeYou:
234** The trailer features Tiki's younger design, albeit not that far removed from her original design... but also [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Gangrel, Aversa and Chrom]], the former two looking incredibly monstrous.

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