Fire Emblem If: White Kingdom will be the easier of the two versions. It will provide alternate ways to acquire experience points and money outside of the main scenario and will also give you more freedom as far as growing your characters goes, although just what this means isn’t entirely clear yet.



Meanwhile, the more difficult version, Fire Emblem If: Black Kingdom, will present players with the challenge of “how should I fight with the limited experience points and money I have,” so it sounds like you’ll have to strategize in order to make the most of scant resources.



There are other major differences, too, though, and this is where it gets tricky. The story for White Kingdom and Black Kingdom is the same until chapter 6. After chapter 6, the storyline splits. Depending on how you purchased the game, this is what will happen:



Physical version (4,700 yen excluding tax): You will be locked into the path of the version you purchased. However, you can buy the other story path at a steep discount (2,000 yen) as DLC if you wish to play the other path. Whether you’ll need to start a new save file to access the other path or if you can switch after chapter 6 is unclear.


Digital version (4,700 yen excluding tax): You will pay your 4,700 yen upfront and play through the game until chapter 6. After chapter 6, you will be asked to choose which path you want. Once you’ve chosen a path, the other story path will be permanently locked away until you purchase it as DLC (again, 2,000 yen).


You’re probably wondering what the major difference between the physical and digital versions is. The difference is that the digital version gives you the advantage of playing the story up until chapter 6 without committing to either Hoshido or Nohr, whereas in the physical version you’re locked into one of the two paths, depending on whether you bought White Kingdom or Black Kingdom.


The Fire Emblem If website mentions that both story paths have about the same amount of content as Fire Emblem: Awakening, individually. Additionally, there will also be a third storyline available as downloadable content, although details of this story are not yet available.


Finally, the website also reveals a Fire Emblem If Special Edition, which has a special two-in-one cartridge of both versions of the game. It also includes the third storyline, which will be available upon release, in addition to a limited edition art book and a limited edition Fire Emblem 0 (Cypher) TCG card. The Special Edition will cost 9,250 yen (without tax).