I have absolutely no idea how I fell in love with this game as much as I did, you ever have that video game/television show/album that just hits every note that you didn't even know you were looking for? Fire Emblem Three Houses is the first game in the storied Nintendo franchise that I had ever played as I never owned a handheld and didn't get into the games on the Gamecube/Wii and I think I benefitted greatly.

Three Houses is Persona-like in the way that it is split into two sections: School & War. In the school section through what was a thirty-five hour playthrough (shorter on subsequent five playthroughs) I got to meet tons of different students who had an impressive amount of depth and interactions with eachother. I was honestly blown away from each playthrough when I found out how much dialogue was written & recorded between just about every character in the game. While some characters are fairly one dimensional (Raphael & Bernadetta) for example, there were more with some extreme depth that operated in that grey area of hero & villain/good & bad. Even though it sounds dumb, there was something extremely cathartic about taking these unique characters on tea-dates, eating dinner, or singing with them in the Church choir. You got to learn and experience what made them so different and appreciate the backgrounds they came from due in effort to hard work by IntSys' lore team. On the topic of characters, the romance aspect was something I never knew I'd appreciate as much as I did. Even though Byleth is a silent protagonist which is NEVER my favorite, the unique personalities of every in Garreg Mach Monestary made romancing one of the best things to look forward to each playthrough.

To rank my romances: Rhea > Flayn > Hapi > Dorothea > Catherine > Edelgard.

The combat/war sections are another great part about 3H and something that opened up a whole world to me. I was never a fan of the tactics genre, why? Because I simply had never dipped my toes into it and always found it a bit dense, however FE3H is inviting and easy enough to understand that it made the battle sections in the side stories and main story something to look forward to rather than an afterthought. I still have yet (looking forward to a seventh playthrough soon) to experiment a ton with unit classes and skills but the tools you are given through recruitment to create a party that forms to your liking is much appreciated.

One thing that did surprise me was how well done the story was in 3H. The major twist that happens throughout the game (that I'm sure everyone knows by now) I didn't see coming the first time through and blew me out of the water and got me to apprciate when games just pull a full 180 on the player. I had to rethink my alleigances, rethink the cost-benefit of doing the morally RIGHT thing versus doing what is technically CORRECT. There is a lot of social dilemma and intricate politics woven into the lore of Three Houses that make the games narrative 100x more interesting. Are the Church the good guys, or is it the eventual villain?Is the Crest system valuable or is it a terrifying way to control populations? Seeing major characters like Rhea, Edelgard, and Dimitri in a different light from the first half in the second half is something I will never take for granted. I think character growth and contrast is one of the most valuable aspects of a game and Three Houses nails it. Though the plot line with TWISD could have been done a bit better, I think the story is great overall, especially in how varied it is across each house you pick.

In terms of House Story that I played: Blue Lions > Church Route > Black Eagles > Golden Deer

I haven't included the music yet in this review but I'll be darned if it isn't one of the best things about this game, my favorite song is easily The Edge of Dawn which I think is one of the best vocal video game songs ever made.