REVIEWS

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review (Switch)

Fire Emblem was a popular strategy RPG that slowly faded after a series of failures in the industry. It resurfaced with a surprise hit the Nintendo 3DS and the momentum has not ceased for it ever since. This has resulted in a whole generation of Fire Emblem games that have only increased its popularity. Fire Emblem: Three Houses will mark an important step for the show because it is the first time since 2007 when it’s making its way back.

Fire Emblem’s gameplay revolves around managing a set of warriors on a grid-based battle field. This battlefield is a map that’s designed around purpose and a common mission. This has carried over to Fire Emblem: Three Houses but there have been some significant tweaks when it comes to improving the story outside the conflicts. It has been developed into a full-blown RPG with a central hub in a Monastery’s shape comprising an Officer’s Academy.

If you’ve played Atlus’ Persona matches or learn about the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the narrative concept of Fire Emblem: Three Houses will sense like. This game is set in the continent of Fódlan where the danger of war lurks close. You’re assigned as one of the professors at the Officer’s Academy. You begin the game by choosing a guide and then have to settle teaching among the 3 sides which rules every part of the continent of Fódlan. This option has a dramatic impact on the rest of the story unfolds.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review (Switch)

psulated in Fire Emblem is the lifestyle of a professor in the Officer’s Academy. You don’t feel like you are roaming a random location but slowly start to feel attached to the place with time. The academy works on a time table synced to a calendar that makes it easier to manage and organize the various tasks. Not every day will require a battle, some also contain important story events or fresh side-content while others will allow you to explore and talk with students, get a better understanding and improve your relationship with them.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses never fails to surprise us with its dynamic cast of characters. The emphasis on crafting relationships with the various social elements in place never feels like it is artificially used to pad the game’s length. This also has a great effect on character development. Your choice not only matters in the beginning when picking between the three houses but it also carries over to the conversations and decisions that you make during the various story events. These are detrimental to building relationships so every choice has a consequence behind it making you think it carefully.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review (Switch)

Three Houses is not just a social or dating game, it has a deep and complex strategic combat behind it. If you have played any of the 3DS Fire Emblem games, the combat won’t be difficult to understand. For newcomers, the combat system is a bit complex but once you go through the first couple of battles, it is easier to figure out most of it. As I have enjoyed my fair share of time with the series, it felt like a homecoming when returning to the battlefield again. A lot of the mechanics revolve around not just knowing your enemies but also strategically placing warriors on the grid-based battlefield. Once you understand most of the key gameplay mechanics, it easily becomes one of the most addictive battle systems.

The perks that are useful during combat are now tied to your academy performance. As a professor, you will teach your selected house new skills and improve their battle capabilities by training them in the academy. Every choice carries an impact over to the battlefield. While most of the combat plays out in a grid-based layout, the camera shifts to a third-person view when you trigger a battle with an enemy. Every level up that you gain will improve the stats of your character thus making them open to learning some of the more complex abilities. They can eventually end up graduating in the academy which can also change their character class.

During every battle, the map is strategically designed to make you think and devise your plan carefully. There are usually set objectives that can lead to the end of the battle but others require you to clear the whole battlefield. You control a number of units that are assigned before every battle. The game offers a normal and hard difficulty with a casual and classic mode. This means that permadeath is possible if you pick the classic mode so unless you want to risk losing a well-developed and highly-skilled unit, it is better to play through the casual mode first and pick the classic one for a replay once you have mastered the combat. You can also assign an additional set of troops to any of your valuable units with a new Gambit feature. It reduces the threat of losing them in the case of permadeath.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review (Switch)

It is difficult to talk about the story without spoiling major events that happen in it. The writing is pretty high-quality and it is hard to find fault here. Some of the conversations do feel like they are more of a cliché but this is not a problem for the majority of the game. The soundtrack is thoroughly pleasing with some nice melodies and memorable tracks. The production values are quite high and it feels like Nintendo kept a good budget aside when it comes to this new console entry. There are many high-quality anime cutscenes throughout the main story. They all look great and help make some of the cinematic moments stand out much better.

Visually, it is a great looking game but there are some technical flaws especially during the exploration in the Officer’s Academy that does make it feel a little underwhelming. Some elements of the visuals look rough like the anti-aliasing while others are gorgeous like the character models, so it was mostly a mixed bag for me. The art style is perfect though and Three Houses easily features some of the best-designed characters in the series for me.

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