Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the brand new entry in the amazing Fire Emblem Series. This game takes a few bold new ideas and infuses the series with them. These new ideas help to propel this game into a new stratosphere, making it one of the best Fire Emblem games I’ve played.
The first choice in the game is the choice between casual and classic. For the uninformed, classic mode kills characters forever once they die. For me as an emotional softie I can’t help but choose casual. I just grow attached to my characters and their pairings. Plus I don’t want to feel like garbage when out of nowhere half my characters die.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses tells the tale of a new professor at a school. They are at first a mercenary but after a chance encounter with students from Garreg Mach Monastery’s Officers Academy, they find themselves in a whole new world.
Garreg Mach Monastery is first and foremost the headquarters for the Central Church. There is a split of ideals between the different churches of the land but the Central church is the most powerful. It is lead by school’s headmaster Rhea, a powerful, sweet, and a rather ominous woman. What are her intentions, is she as nice as she seems to be on the surface?
Fire Emblem Three Houses tells different stories depending on which house the player chooses. The choices are different and lead to quite different ends. The three stories vary enough that every one of them is worth playing.
The first house in the game is led by the Adrestian Empress to be Edelgard. Her house is filled with strong and magical characters. There is also Bernadetta who is the cutest recluse you will ever meet.
Dimitri of the Kingdom Leads the Blue Lions. This House is the true rival to the Black Eagles. He is a confident and nice man with hidden darkness. His house is strong in the weapons category and includes some strong fighters like Felix the fantastic swordsman.
The Golden Deer are lead by Claude. This young gentleman is quite the tactician and schemer. His house is filled with people who either aren’t that into battle or would rather fight from afar. The only house to be filled evenly with commoners and nobles.
These three houses represent three different ideas on what classes should be. There is so much life in the characters. Players will find themselves wondering if they have chosen the right house but they are all worth choosing.
The player is also joined by a strange green-haired girl. This girl offers the hero a special power that changes up the game. With Divine Pulses, the player can go back to before any event occurs. They can go back to the beginning of the battle. What is her true purpose and why is she visible only to the player?
Three Houses leads the player on a journey I had not thought possible. It makes them a teacher which people might not think is fun. But there is something intrinsically special about teaching these youths how to fight. Watching them blossom before the player’s eye is a beautiful thing.
Players will wander the great Halls of Garreg Mach Monastery, completing quests and talking to students. This school is quite big and honestly, I would spend about two hours just roaming it’s halls every chapter. It’s such a nicely crafted school with so much energy.
While roaming players will have certain amounts of energy to do things based on their professor level. This level will rise throughout the game and will hit a cap often. With so few actions players must balance themselves and work to figure which as actions to take.
As a professor, players can pick students to sing with, cook with, or eat with. They can also work with other professors on their skills. This is a great way to level up the skills needed to recruit students into the player’s house. This is also important because players will find students from the other houses to be just too great to pass up.
I was unsure of how many students I could win over when I only took three in my first playthrough. But in my second I took in just about all of them. It’s rather impressive that this professor can win over most of the students. They can also win over the professors which opens them up to use in battle as well.
By participating in events and answering student questions their motivated rises. The more motivation, the more chances to school youths. It might not always be possible to max the motivation for all the students but it’s good to teach every single one at different points. The times the professor can teach a student also caps at seven so keep that in mind.
Players will also notice glowing spots on the ground. These spots either contain basic items or are lost items. Students have lost a variety of things and using context clues players will want to return them all. There is not only a sense of accomplishment, but it also raises the support level,
somewhat drastically. It’s just great seeing how happy they are when they receive something they lost.
The students will each have their favored styles. Players can simply follow what they want to teach or teach them based on their whims. There are some skills that these students simply haven’t thought of honing. These skills are denoted by three stars. Honing these skills is quicker than honing the other skills as they have latent skill. It might be worth upgrading them at some point
During the teaching time, players might even have chances to gain extra teaching slots. These slots are gained when the character is either able to perfect a lesson or fail. Students always love the praise of the professor, enough to get a little more training in. If they fail, the professor will need to either critique them or console them. Choose wisely and get another training slot, if not they will just be defeated.
Players will need to train these students right and it’s not a bad idea to get them gifts and stat-boosting items. Like in past games, players have support levels with all the characters. Players can gift them things to not only increase that level but also to increase their motivation. The best way to do this is by going to the greenhouse. In the greenhouse, players can grow flowers which they can then give to the students. Some gifts are even able to gift the student two points of motivation which can come in handy.
As the player raises the students they will eventually be able to change their class. These classes are similar to the previous entries. They slowly but surely will gain skills as the professor gives them their knowledge. It’s special watching students grow, and again I never thought I’d like the feeling this much. Choosing the right jobs is always one of the more interesting parts of the series, especially when the student is dying to be a certain class.
Watching the students fulfill their own goals is also just as rewarding. Players can do what they want, but when the shy Marianne becomes a powerful mage, the player will be nothing short of proud of her. As they are the player’s students they will surely form a tighter bond with each one of them.
It’s also important to note, that in this game students need to have high enough skills to change class. They must pass a certification exam to even think about fighting a certain style. Depending on their skill level they can even fail. This simply isn’t worth it as players will waste a class advancement token.
Players can also fish in this game. While not a requirement, fishing is often quite fun. In this mini-game, players will be forced to rhythmically press the button to catch fish. It’s a great way to pass a little more time while also giving the professor ingredients. These ingredients are important for the player to cook with and to make extra meals for the students.
This game is based around a calendar and weeks often go by in the blink of an eye. Players will need to choose the right activities at the end of every week. Most weeks start with the professor leading their students in a lesson. It’s rewarding starting this way because the end of the week is always just a little different.
Players can either explore the marvelous monastery and learn from professors, but there are three other options. They can host seminars either as the speaker or as an attendee. These events provide motivation and extra learning for all those in attendance.
The professor can also lead their students into battle. These battles are simple Fire Emblem fare. The player will eventually be able to take on three different battles in a given week, once their professor level is high enough. If the player plays on normal they will have other battles which they can take on infinitely. While they don’t gift the player renown, which we will talk about later, the experience is often helpful. They also gift gold and food which are important for the furthering of the student’s education.
This game also includes a new system called Battalions. This mechanic pairs the student up with a battalion that offers different boons. These hired soldiers provide the students with extra stats and even a powerful gambit. These gambits can turn the tide of battle and should be used when necessary. It’s cool to see the different gambits and their effects. If the characters are close enough they will even sometimes team up to increase the gambit’s might.
I will also say that battles have never looked so pretty. The world stretches out before the player as they blast and slash their way through foes. Plus critical hits are as cool as ever and sometimes they can even be funny. Watch out, even regular enemies can get a critical hit and while its great giving three times the damage its never to good to recieve it.
At the end of the month, players will participate in a grand story-driven battle. These battles are necessary to keep the story going. They are missions given by the lovely Rhea, and will eventually lead to the stories conclusion. It’s great to have them punctuate a long month as there is just so much story to tell.
The battles in this game are also a little different. The player can zoom in super close in this game. They can guide their character like they do in the overworld. It makes battles a little more interesting as players can see what they are up against a little more clearly. Plus the fighting arenas are rather beautiful to look at.
The story itself is once again split into chapters, each ending with a big battle. There are at least sixteen big battles to win over the course of the story. The player will soon see that the Central church has some powerful enemies. There is also some unrest in the world, over who should wield all the power, and a certain, powerful evil is coming back to take over as well.
There a few story beats that can change the story, but they are marked. It’s great to see something pop up that says, the story will change drastically depending on the player’s choice. While few and far between it adds a little to the story. The stories are filled with twists and turns, and honestly, I never knew what was coming next.
This game has turned up the appeal of support conversations. These conversations, will bring the characters together and also give them stat boosts. With the professor, however, they will also grant other scenes. These other scenes add to the game and show the player just who is the most taken with them. It’s great arriving at a certain scene and seeing a character waiting because realistically every playthrough it will be different.
This game like all the Nintendo games of recent memory also is coming with DLC. While the first pack is simply a costume for the professor, the later packs surely will be more interesting. By spring of next year, there will even be more story and characters for the player to enjoy. If the player likes the base game, the DLC might be worth picking up.
Fire Emblem Three Houses even has amiibo support. This is done at the Amiibo Gazebo, which is by far one of the most perfect names for it. Players will need to go to this gazebo and scan an amiibo. By doing so they will gain items to use in-game over every saves file. Scanning a Fire Emblem series Amiibo will give the player battle music from that game along with items. It’s a great yet simple use and works for this game.
The music in this game is great, and always fits well with the surroundings. Plus it’s nice hearing the peaceful music of the monastery after a rough battle. The old Fire Emblem songs also are a nice touch. It’s cool playing a modern game with the old school music playing.
This game is unlike any Fire Emblem game before it. A new twist on a classic series. This game brings in new ideas and still manages to keep Fire Emblem the same as it always has been. It’s honestly been awhile since I’ve played 140 hours of a game, and I’ve loved every minute. I can see myself playing even more as I work now to finish the Golden Deer story.
Fire Emblem Three Houses is an amazing game. Providing a stellar story, with great characters, and a teaching mechanic that is sure to bring the player a different type of joy. Whether the player is a novice or pro, they are sure to find some enjoyment. Fire Emblem Three Houses releases tomorrow, which house are you choosing. Choose wisely as the fate of the content, nay the world is in the balance.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided