Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Voices of: Yusuke Kobayashi, Shizuka Itou, Zach Aguilar, Jeannie Tirado, Tara Platt, Chris Hackney, Joe Zieja, Robbie Daymond, Billy Kametz, Chris Patton, Ben Diskin, Erica Mendez, Allegra Clark, Faye Mata, Lucien Dodge, Shannon McKain, Joe Brogie, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Abby Trott, Brittany Cox, Janice Kawaye, Xanthe Huynh, Salli Saffioti, Ratana, Mark Whitten, Deva Marie Gregory, Dan Woren, Veronica Taylor, Doug Stone, Dave B. Mitchell, Laura Post, David Lodge, Griffin Burns, Cherami Leigh, Cassandra Lee Morris, Alejandro Saab, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Joe Thomas
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Directed by: Toshiyuki Kusakihara, Genki Yokota, Takashi Sano
Rating: T
Genre: Tactical Role-Playing
System: Nintendo Switch
2019

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: In the land of Fodlan, Byleth is thrust into a teaching position at a prestigious Officer's Academy, where unexpected events thrust him into a conflict that could shape the continent.

Review:
Tim: I've been a fan of the Fire Emblem series for years now, but nothing prepared me for the amazing quality of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This is one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch and one of the greatest games I've ever played in my life. I loved it so much, sunk so many hours into this game and regretted none of them. In a franchise of great games, this is the crown jewel, the ultimate achievement.

The game is massive. There are four different paths you can choose- one from each of three houses- the Black Eagles, the Golden Deer, and the Blue Lions. Each path gives you a different team, made up of diverse and fascinating personalities. The character list in this game is immense and as you play, you form emotional relationships with each team. So, although you're replaying the game, it feels fresh and different because the people surrounding you are so different. As the game progresses, you legitimately come to love each group- of course, you have your favorites, but it's the relationships you form that make this game so memorable. There is a fourth path, a second Black Eagles run where different decisions send you in a different direction. And yes, this requires playing through the game four separate times. It's so fun, so engaging that I rarely minded doing this.

I started the game with Byleth joining the Black Eagles. I believe this was my favorite group. I loved the leader of this team, Edelgard. She is one of the most complex, fascinating, unexpected characters in any game I've ever played. I took the Silver Snow Path in this first playthrough. As Byleth, I ended at Level 52. I fought 352 battles, had 229 Victories, and I ended the path with Sothis. My Professor Level was B+. I was excited to dive right back into the game, this time on the Golden Deer, Verdant Wind Path. This team's leader was Claude, and it offered a totally different experience from collaborating with Edelgard. As the game progressed, I grew to love Claude's carefree charisma. I thought his team was excellent. I finished this path with Byleth in Level 48, 264 battles, 141 Victories. I ended in a relationship with Dorothea. Of all the characters in the game, I thought Dorothea was one of the best written. From who she is at the beginning of the path, to who she reveals herself to be, the depth of this character- her development was remarkable. She was one of my all-time favorite characters. In this second playthrough, I finished with a Professor Level of A+, and I restored all the Saint Statues.

My third playthrough was with the Blue Lions, the Azure Moon Path. This time, I switched things up at played Byleth as a girl (you can choose gender at the beginning of the game). I loved being part of Dimitri's team and ended the game in a relationship with him. Dimitri surprised me- he's so different than Claude, but his pain and depth were fascinating to discover. I finished this round with girl Byleth in Level 51. I did 305 battles, 196 Victories. Dimitri had 400 battles and 247 Victories. I relied on him immensely. Professor Level was A+. In my fourth full playthrough, I returned to the Black Eagles and did the Crimson Flower Path. I finished with Byleth in Level 47. I did 235 battles, 150 Victories. Edelgard was 216 battles and 138 Victories. I was amazed at how different the story was this time- a vast narrative distinction from the first time. I ended with Dorothea again (she's the best!) and my Professor Level was A+.

This probably seems kind of crazy- to do all four playthroughs, I beat 198 Levels, did 1,156 Battles, 716 Victories. To do all that required 140 hours of play time. That's insane. But oh, there's also a Cinder Shadows DLC, which I did after my second playthrough. I completed this story and enjoyed the different narrative with Yuri, Constance, Balthus, and Hapi. This took me 6.5 hours. So, I played Fire Emblem: Three Houses a total of 146.5 hours. Yes, there were times when it felt repetitive, but overall, I simply adored playing this game.

The characters are all so compelling, though. I felt so much emotion at Edelgard. I felt sympathy for Dmitri, humorous surprise at Claude. Leonie became someone I truly appreciated and wanted to see her continue to grow, to be the best. I wanted to see Bernadette break out of her shell. Ferdinand was exasperating at times, but I grew to rely on him heavily in battle. Petra was certainly a stalwart for my armies. Hilda always brought a smile to my face with her enthusiasm. The amazing thing about this game is that you get to know these (and many more) characters from a relationship, personality standpoint, but you also learn their strengths and weaknesses in battle. Like a true commander, understanding your people allows you to leverage them better in combat and move to victory. It's so compelling, so entertaining to play this game.

Now, I've played several other Fire Emblem games before, so I was familiar with the tactical, turn-based strategy battles. One thing I love about the game is that death is for real- if one of your people die in battle, they are unable to be used for the remainder of the game. Now, the game does give you an opportunity to rewind time- I was absolutely not going to lose any of my characters (except for Caspar in my first playthrough, RIP my friend). But, it does add a real sense of danger to every battle you engage in. But, what surprised me was the immense amount of content that happens in between battles. You have free reign to move around Garreg Mach Monastery. You can talk to people, build relationships, develop romances, and do a host of other activities- share a meal, fish, engaging in group assignments. Blyeth as the teacher assigns work that develops the strengths of your characters, getting to the point where you can raise their Class. This system is complex and there's so many different paths you can choose. I absolutely loved watching these characters develop strengths and skills as the game progressed.

While this is all fun, the greatest strength of Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the narrative. This game is so well written, you feel immediately drawn into this world. There's so many unexpected twists and turns as the game progresses. MINOR SPOILER ALERT- each path has a time jump. This does so much for the narrative- you get to see these characters grown up, and they may have changed in unexpected ways. I loved getting to that point of the game on subsequent playthroughs to see how these characters would change. The overall story here is outstanding, one of the best in any game I've ever played. I know I've already mentioned the characters, but that's the other great strength here. You spend so much time with these different personalities, you learn to care about them deeply- perhaps more deeply than any characters in any game I've ever played. They feel real, which is one of the ultimate achievements in any video game.

So, suffice to say, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a masterpiece. It's clearly the ultimate achievement for this franchise, a massive, engaging, fascinating game that delivers some of the best characters and best story I've ever played. This is one of the highlights for the Switch, one of my favorite games of all time.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia