Fire Emblem: Three Houses is just around the corner and being the lucky so-and-sos that we are, we've been playing through the game's opening stages to bring you our initial impressions. Well, when we say 'we', we actually mean our lovely video producer, Zion, who has shared his thoughts in the video above.
We'd urge you to check out the video to get the full rundown on this one; Zion talks you through the game's story - including the whole house-choosing process, how the game's opening works, and your character selection; school life, including how you spend your time and the quests you'll be taking on; as well as the game's battles themselves, of course.
There's a whole lot to talk about here, and we've barely scratched the surface of what the game has to offer. Games as large as this one can be an incredibly daunting prospect, but as mentioned above, we're now more excited than ever to play through the full thing and we think you should be too.
Make sure to watch the video and let us know your thoughts. Naturally, we'll share a full review of the game on the site a little closer to the game's release date of 26th July.
Comments 42
I’m eagerly anticipating this! Two weeks to go and happy I got special editions from the US, Europe and Japan for my gaming collection. Will also be getting Kill la Kill and Rune Factory 4 Special that day as well
Got this one on preorder for the physical version. Really looking forward to it.
@TossedLlama I'm kind of in the same camp. I'm not a hardcore FE fan...I suck badly at it and welcome all the "cheats" of the new games to make it less brutal.....and I don't necessarily think removing the weapon triangle is a bad thing, nothing says they can't replace one system with another system and make the game interesting....but the school thing still has me a bit....unexcited? Even if I know from all accounts it's great anyway, I can't see it as anything but Harry Potter with more swords every time I watch stuff on it....
So hyped! I feel bad for skipping out on Echoes so I'll make up for it with the hundreds of hours I intend to spend on this one.
@RickD Uhm.. you not liking the genre says a lot about Nintendo’s thoughts on this game? Unfortunately, while your opinion is yours it does not reflect an entire company or product.
@TossedLlama
Weapon triangle is mixed in with character abilities.
Military Academy.
I love the social stuff in Persona, but this looks kind of boring tbh.
My hype is fading.
Oh Boy... Between FE: Three Houses and Trails of Cold Steel III there will be A LOT of "school life" in my future
Anyway - Sounds like Persona, and I love Persona. Hopefully they didn't go overboard.
@RickD Fire Emblem is popular. Not Zelda/Mario-level popular, but popular enough to have become a priority franchise for Nintendo.
I heard the school section is an absolute chore. Has me worried
@LUIGITORNADO
It’s been said that while tedious the school section is a fairly small part to the game. Doesn’t worry me at all.
Advance Wars is one of my all time favorite series of games, so I like Fire Emblem just because there is some similarity. One thing I love about both series is how almost all games run at 60fps, which makes navigating menus, moving the cursor on the grid, and everything in general very snappy, responsive, and pleasing to watch. Does FE 3 houses run at 60fps? I really want to know! If not, I hope Nintendo translates Super Famicom Wars and releases it on Switch! Well, I want that no matter what, but especially if they trash Fire Emblem with an ugly 30fps game on Switch.
@TossedLlama I don't even mind if it becomes Persona Emblem...I love Persona....but....why did it have to be schools? And even if it had to be schools...why oh why did they have to make it an almost drop-in replacement for Harry Potter houses? It just feels so recycled.
I'm confident they did a good job with it and it's fun...but it just turns me off thinking about the campiness of a permanent "wait is this team J-Slytherin, or team J-Hufflepuff? Glad I'm J-Gryffindor." It's a distraction that just doesn't suit the feel of FE to me - armies in the clash of the balance of fate in a medieval world, ancient magic, dragon gods......that's FE. 3 rival prep schools..... even if it becomes armies.... I have it preordered as well, but instead of feeling like "only 2 weeks until FE!!" It's kind of like "hmm...maybe I'll play with Mario Maker and do some DQB2 before I bother with the prep school game..."
As long as I don't have to pronounce "leviosa"...
@ShikabaneHime13 That's hopeful sounding.
You don't need to sell me on this game. I pre-ordered it weeks ago. lol
@RickD What exactly does it say? Fire Emblem might not be a household name like Mario or Pokemon but it's a long running well loved series dating back all the way to Famicom(Japanese NES). So the genre doesn't appeal to you personally? So what? Nintendo shouldn't put effort into it?
I’d say my only disappointment is that after Awakening and Fates there’s no customization to the player character this time around. Still gonna play it, but I feel if we’re supposed to feel like the avatar is us for the sake of emersion in the game, customization should be included.
Great video! I'm definitely thinking of leaning towards the Blue Lions, but that just might be the Ravenclaw in me, HAHA. I like the colour scheme. I hope that the game has same-sex marriage in it like Fire Emblem Fates did. But I hope that it's more than just 1 specific same-sex character. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Niles but I'm hoping if Nintendo did bring this feature back, that there are more than 1 character that we can enter in to a same-sex marriage with.
This'll probably be the first Fire Emblem since the debut on the GBA that I skip- at least for this year. I loved the 3DS entries, after being lukewarm to the GC and Wii games- but between the art style and the school setting and the threat of 80hours x3 playtime- I just don't have it in me to invest in this thing. I might have time to play two or just one long RPG type game/year, and this year I think it'll be DQ11.
I probably won’t be able to get this day 1, but I’ll get it eventually.
This is going to be my GOTY for sure, I can't wait!
@TossedLlama Someone offered the explanation of Japan viewing those years as the best years of their lives once the corporate monotony of their existence takes place, so they like reliving it in entertainment....but...I don't buy it. It's not so different in the US and we don't have a school obsession.
To a large degree, I think it has more to do with media doing what media does: Play it safe by copying what worked before. In the US it's guns and various updated revisions of "Cowboys vs. Indians" (including "space marines vs. aliens".) It works, it's safe, it makes money, so every media company clones or repackages it forever and ever.
In Japan, school seemed to be an easily sellable theme at one point, so media just keeps repackaging it forever and ever so long as it sells. Plus Japanese storytelling in fiction/hero stores tends to always center around an ordinary child being a hidden destined hero. So school as a starting point is logical - the hero is a normal kid, just like you are/were, and so they'd be in school like a normal kid.... and then from there....media just copies what's been done.
In a way maybe the more surprising thing is that the west doesn't have a school obsession. It seems logical, it's a simpler life most adults would miss. Or maybe we do have a latent school obsession....Harry Potter's rock star success with a "very Japanese" school fixation is still one of the biggest things of the quarter century..... Wonder why media hasn't cloned it more?
Technically I have a feeling the school parts are well done, and they're probably going to be enjoyable for both of us to play and learn character back stories more. I don't think I'll be skipping it. And I probably will enjoy it....but....it's also making me not look forward to it even if I know it's probably fine.
This will be an excellent game to play on the Switch Lite 🥰🥰
I don't have a problem with the school setting. Maybe because the characters don't look any younger to me than the characters in any other RPG. Tales of Vesperia? Those experienced knights, Captains and world-famous inventors all looked like they were teenagers. Xenoblade Chronicles 2? Your character is canonically an adolescent boy. Zelda, Valkyrie Chronicles, most Final Fantasies? Same. Legendary heroes and warriors who appear to be 16. Nothing new here.
I also remember the reality of being a soldier at age 18, training at Armor School and being sent out on missions just like the kids in this game. We were teenagers and warriors. It's not that incongruous in a militarized society.
@ShikabaneHime13 I wonder why even include it. The school thing feels like a bad cliched anime gimmick.
@JasmineDragon I don't think the character age, or a military academy is what bother's people. It's the generic anime high school/prep school trope being used. Real military academies don't look like prep schools. And the prep school in a castle split into 3 opposing houses does smack a little too much being Potteresque. I really doubt that's accidental, Japanese games have used specific Western themes as inspiration for ages, always being a bit cloney but making it it's own thing. Perhaps this would seem cooler if there weren't already another famous, kind of campy pop culture craze involving a prep school in a castle with 3 opposing houses?
@TossedLlama Haha, I always thought gunblades were cool. It works for Dante and Bayonetta after all....
@NEStalgia I get what your saying about the school setting, but I'm still excited to see what Intelligent Systems does with it. The whole point of the school to me storywise is the leaders of the three houses went to school together and had more friendly rivalries, but for some reason they're now at war. It also seems to be a vehicle for influencing the main campaign to an extent I don't think has been done before.
But then again, the reviews may end up with a common thread of "once you get through the tedious school section, the games gets really good." At least we don't have long to wait.
@TossedLlama LOL, good point. Though 8 was just...weird...even for an FF game it was weird.
@BlueKnight07 Yeah...still...three prep school houses. I'm cool with a 3-way conflict with 3 noble houses....but they all happen to have their own little corner of a school? I think even the school setting didn't need to have it divided into 3 Quidditch houses.
I sound like I hate Potter. I don't. That Potter RPG that was leaked a while back actually looks interesting! It's just....the idea that FE that has it's own strong identity is leaning so heavily on a borrowed world, both in concept and visuals....and then has an unhealthy mix of an overdone anime trope....leaves me feeling ambivalent about it.
I'm sure it's actually great once I get into it. But it's keeping me from being motivated to want to.
Getting very positive previews. Not a huge fan of the series but will be watching reviews with a view to maybe giving it a try.
Lots of VERY POSITIVE impressions going around from gaming websites right now.
Apparently the Persona approach was the right call. People are loving it to death.
And I understand why. Game looks hype! Look at this pic... crazy giant wild beasts!
And handheld play looks as gorgeous as ever. Linked for anyone curious
https://youtu.be/9GkvAuD7VL0
Check out the opening cinematic though
@NEStalgia You're right on all counts, I'm not arguing at all. Just saying that the setting dkesn't really bother me. If this is anything like most Fire Emblems, the school is just window dressing for the core tactical game. Fire Emblem stories have always been pretty cliched, but they didn't get in the way for the most part. YMMV on that, of course - I know there are people who are really into the stories. And I do dig the characters in the games, but I'm not sitting here wondering what happened to Tharja and Corrin.
Hopefully the school is just the equivalent to a town in most RPGs, where you level up, get kitted out, and do some minigames along with moving the story along to the next mission.
I'm not into the school setup but I like the idea for this one as it is a central hub /neutral ground to maintain a tentative peace. Obviously it fails at some point but I'll be curious about how they do the world building for it.
Personally going to wait for reviews from people who have played it all, nothing worse then a crazy long RPG which gets boring half way through. Xb 2 did it great, it got better and bigger the further you got so if it’s on that level I will definitely get this.
@RickD You're of course entitled to your opinion, but...
Back off man, Fire Emblem is the greatest game franchise to have ever existed.
I'm gonna have a lot of disagreeing people, but this is fact (I say while realizing it is completely subjective, but also not giving a hoot because no matter what horrible mainstream garbage the industry puts out, at least there are enough people who can appreciate quality games like Fire Emblem so that we keep getting them instead of being overrun with mainstream garbage.)
The game's looking amazing and it's gonna be a smashing success.
beri beri smol edit: and this genre is bloody amazing. Down with fps and arena style games, bring in the stratagems!
@JasmineDragon Oh I doubt anybody is wondering what happened to Tharja... I think we're all pretty sure she's still, to this day, stalking around trying to concoct an evil plot to capture the heart of her fated one (assuming you've played the game, awakening, and know who I'm talking about)
As for Corrin? Story was pretty clear on that as well. I wouldn't say FE stories have always been cliché, some of the games actually have a very nuanced story. Not gonna sit here and tell you Birthright was some sort of revolution (or Revelations for that matter), but Conquest was actually ace in all departments.
I just pre ordered at Smyth's UK. If you opt for in store pickup you get the £5 off bringing the price to £37.99 which I think is pretty good. Also they don't take the money off your card until you pick it up so you are not tied in if you find it elsewhere or change your mind. Just a heads up for a good deal
I wasn't sure about this game, although I have played Fire Emblem on the DS, the art style has put me off.
The battles are what a Fire Emblem game is about not the story. This, at least from what I got from the video, seems to be all about the story. I would read a book if I wanted a story.
I have preordered this game to get a £5 discount, but I'm having second thoughts now. The above preview has a lot of negativity about it, maybe justifiable, but it does not seem as if we are getting more of the same Fire Emblem we had on the DS.
Fire Emblem is a number of boards in which you battle the other team using strategy in a chess like fashion. These battles are linked together with a weak storyline that can be skipped. It looks like Nintendo has changed this,
I feel there is going to be a lot of mixed reviews for this game and I hope a demo is offered before release date or I may cancel my pre order.
For those concerned about the school part for one reason or another, it can all be automated if you don't like it. Yes, the story is probably cliche. That's fire emblem folks. War starts, war happens, war ends, big evil reveal, fight big evil, big win.
Those concerned about the combat, the loss of the weapon triangle is hardly a loss. Between combat arts and battalions, different gambits and so on, we have more options than "Oh boy, rock paper or scissors?" Breakers still exist, so it's not 100% gone either. You can train your units in what you want and class changing is more flexible than ever with the tutoring. You have all the strategic depth that's been there, minus always arbitrary xyz combat.
Reasons to like Fire Emblem games:
I understand these games are not perfect, but it is hard for me to find negatives in these games.
All this school stuff has me worried that it’s evolving into the Persona series. I’m not that interested in mundane conversations with NPCs. I’m just here for RPG tactics 😂
Love the Fire Emblem franchise. I’m sure I’ll be spending too much time with this.
The opening cutscene for this game is probably the most brutal I've seen of any Nintendo-published title ever.
After watching some newly released gameplay I'm furious that Nintendo is f-ing up own of their classic franchises by cutting the frame rate in half! F Nintendo for releasing the crappiest looking version of Fire Emblem on their most powerful console! I wish they would go with lower resolutions like Yoshi's Crafted World or Super Mario Odyssey, which both run at at 60fps in handheld and docked modes. What a disappointing pile of crap Fire Emblem 3 choppy Houses is! Damn it! Just look at the beautiful GameCube and Wii games! They run very nicely at 60fps. Oh well, hopefully Nintendo will release an Advance Wars game on Switch that runs at 60fps...
Idk guys.... This video just put a huge damper on my hype. The school stuff looks boring as hell. One thing I loved about fire emblem games was how straightforward they were, as far as progression. You beat one level, you go to the next. I really don't like the highschool (military academy 🙄) aspect at all... Also, I'm just sensing another over-focus on support conversations, and the dating sim aspect. Idk... My hype is almost dead, and I pre ordered the special edition too! Guess I will be scalping it 😏
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