Topic: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5doMgxxc0

@Venus_Adept Captain Toad is on the shorter side for the most part and is an excellent puzzle game. Earlier levels are on the easier side, but the challenge starts ramping up if you stick with it. That kinda depends on if you're going for all the collectibles too.

@Tyranexx Started it today and quickly get hooked by the charm and simplicity (in the good way) of this game. Im having a blast and is perfect for me to wait untill Fire Emblem. Thanks for recommending it.

@Venus_Adept No prob! I quite enjoyed it on the Wii U. I don't blame Nintendo at all for porting it to the Switch. 😁 It's definitely a charming little gem.

I'm filling my time until the Fire Emblem release with Final Fantasy X-2. It's just the right level of camp to keep me amused haha

Nice preview from Nintendo World Report

And don’t watch this one if you don’t want to be spoiled, but here’s a vid showcasing some characters before/after the time skip.

Been playing Radiant Dawn cause I figure I should finally finish it before Three Houses comes out. I had to start a new game on Easy though, and even then the game can be super frustrating. They made some really baffling design choices in this one, and I would rate it one of the worst games if not for the story being great (and basically the second half of Path of Radiance).

I'm currently in Part III and getting whiplash from bouncing between different armies, which generally suck badly except for the Greil Mercenaries.

The Radiant games had some brutal difficulty. Every map was a test of your skill, and that’s ultimately the reason why I never finished either of them. There was no casual mode so having such a high difficulty meant one mistake cost you a character, which meant restarting.

I love the games though. Both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.

@JaxonH They're definitely tough. I feel like PoR is more manageable, if you know what you're doing (don't archers, do use flyers and cavalry, etc.), but I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's first FE game.

RD betrays your expectations constantly, what with characters coming and going and the terrain of certain maps making units you would normally favor (like cavalry) almost useless. It makes long-term planning very difficult without foreknowledge.

Still, I prefer their old-school style to the nu-Emblem, Awakening-onward era. I like the addition of Casual mode, but I'm less thrilled about the direction the writing and gameplay has taken. Still gonna play Three Houses though!

@BougieBeetle
To be fair, Three Houses seems to be a completely different direction than Awakening and Fates. According to previews and impressions it’s more Game of Thrones than Harry Potter. And the writing and story is apparently top notch in this entry (even being touted as best in the series ever aside from Geneology of the Holy War) and the incredible voice actors really enhance the characters.

The gameplay also seems to have been perfected. Fates balanced a lot of what was wrong with Awakening, but this game has done away with the Rock Paper Scissors weapon triangle in favor of combat arts, added new mechanics like aggro... it just seems like a breakthrough entry for the series, in the best way possible.

@JaxonH All of that information is very heartening to hear! I have to admit that early teasers didn't do much for me, but I've really come around lately. I'm hoping for a classic-series style Fire Emblem continent with lots of interesting political machinations, supported by those cool gameplay updates you mentioned!

Well, naturally, early teasers couldn't really show much, @BougieBeetle ... & I know some were worried when they revealed about being a teacher

My god, now I'm hyped for this game and I have no money! I blame you guys!

@BruceCM Very true! Yeah I wasn't thrilled on the academy aspect of it when first revealed, but the stuff they've been showing lately has turned me around on it.

@darkfenrir, Blame Nintendo, not us, lol!

@BougieBeetle But I didn't get hype until I read through this forum! I hate not having steady income

I'm now leaning more firmly towards Blue Lions after the most recent trailer popped. Golden Deer isn't bad though.

I'm unfortunately gonna have to leave this entry until sometime after its release. I'm so behind on my SRPGs. XD

Derrick from GameXplain is also talking about the possibilities of Three Houses being one of the best Fire Emblem stories as well.

I don't really care about story as much as the gameplay, which is what I'm gonna be in for, but everyone did a complete 180 for this game for the better lol.

Maybe people need to stop hyping games based on graphics next time :^]

@EvilLucario
What’s ironic is, while I agree the textures at ground level look subpar, the game actually looks gorgeous in the top down map view.

I was comparing to the 3DS and Wii entries and I was like... wow. This game has very impressive graphics when you’re in battle in the normal view. Everything just looks so nice, especially compared to previous entries.

But ground level, ya. Not so hot. Either way, it’s serviceable. After playing this series on 3DS this feels like a major leap forward, visually (as did Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate- 3DS really makes you appreciate Switch visuals).

@EvilLucario I feel E3 was the changing moment for Three Houses for many, once Nintendo revealed the timeskip and showed gameplay on Treehouse Live that's when things changed from unsure to hype.

Ironically Pokemon Sword/Shield had the complete reverse effect, E3 was when everything went downhill.

I very rarely judge games on graphics alone. What typically wins me over is the story and/or gameplay depending on the genre.