This review contains spoilers
For starters, let me say that I have NEVER played a Fire Emblem game before this one, so I don't exactly know how the previous games in the series are. However, after playing through this game for about 4 months, it has made me want to try all other games in the series. Before the true review starts, I want to also say that this game is amazing in my eyes, and it will stay with me for the rest of my life thanks to the great cast of characters and story. Anyway, with that stuff out of the way, here goes my ramblings.
Playing through this game truly felt like a fantastic journey, and getting to see my units grow and develop, especially after the time skip, was so cool to see, and it made me feel extremely proud of them. Watching Marianne go from this extremely shy, quiet girl to a woman with confidence in herself made me so happy. Seeing Byleth develop and grow with support from her friends made me feel as if I truly had something driving me to see the journey through to the end. I chose Golden Deer because I thought Claude was interesting and I liked the students in that house the most. The route I went with was the Verdant Wind route, and little did I know that there were 3 other routes in the game, those being:
- Crimson Flower Route (Join Black Eagles & side with Edelgard)
- Silver Snow Route (Join Black Eagles & side with Lady Rhea)
- Azure Moon Route (Join Blue Lions)
While I have no intentions of playing through this game again, at least not anytime soon, the fact that there are THREE other routes to choose during my future playthroughs is incredible to see. I heard that the Crimson Flower route was vastly different from the other routes, so I might go for that route the next time I play. There are so many things that can happen during your playthrough that can completely alter some of your unit's epilogue endings, which, yes, YOUR units can have varying epilogue endings depending on who you recruit and bring to battle. The fact that there is so much varying content in this game is amazing, and it gives the game a large amount of replayability. It can be kinda depressing when you realize how sad some of the dialogue exchanges are depending on what route you choose and who you have in battle.
The gameplay was very enjoyable to me, even though I'm not too big on the Tactical RPG genre of RPG games. I loved how the characters can interact with each other during battle, it really made the game feel more alive. The game has a bonding system, which goes towards your Support Rank for that certain unit, and if maxed out, you can even marry them by end-game. It was nice to see the characters become more fleshed out by seeing them bond with their fellow classmates and friends, which also helped the story by feeling more in-depth. I think my favorite one had to be the Catherine and Shamir Support Ranks, I'm so glad they got a happy ending in my route.
The game also has a Professor Rank system, which goes towards Free Time points, and those points allow you to do things during Free Time with your students. By doing things around the monastery, such as giving gifts, giving lost items, planting flowers, or eating food with students and friends, you earn XP that goes towards leveling your Professor Rank. By doing things with students or friends during Free Time, your bond with them can greatly deepen, especially if you invite them for tea or hand them a gift. All of these ways to bond with your units is a great mechanic, as it can help you feel more immersed within the world, as well as giving you the chance to spend more time with some of your favorite units. I think the Free Time mechanic was a great inclusion for the game.
By the end of my game, I had the following people alive after the war:
- Claude (who I married)
- Hilda
- Marianne
- Lysithea
- Leonie
- Mercedes
- Ingrid
- Shamir
- Catherine
- Flayn
- Cyril
- Sylvain
- Seteth
- Bernadetta
- Rapheal
- Lorenz
- Ignatz
- Lady Rhea
- Anna
As for their epilogue endings, here were some that I took note of:
- Catherine & Shamir partner together for the rest of their lives, traveling around and sticking their nose in things they shouldn't. Eventually, they go back to Shamir's homeland, Dagda, and spend the rest of their days there. They eventually become known for Catherine's Thunderbrand and Shamir's amazing marksmanship. So thankfully they live happily ever after together. :')
- Flayn disappears shortly after the war and soon becomes a distant memory to everyone else, becoming forgotten during the following years. Seteth stays with the Church and gets everyone to accept one another as equals. Many years in the future, a young woman emerges within the new Fodland, and as she gazes at the young man beside her, she asks if she can call him her father. I have no idea what Flayn's ending means...I guess it means she has been rebirthed/reincarnated? Who is the young man, is it Seteth? Why exactly did she disappear after the war...? So many questions...
- I saw nothing about Rhea during my epilogue, so I assume she lived? She was alive prior to the final battle against Nemesis so...
- Once Bernadetta inherited House Varley from her father, she withdrew from anything political and focused on her territory. Due to her long periods of "hibernation", she earned the name as the "Bear of Varley."
- Lysithea returns home to help her parents restore their land. Many years later, after a long period of hard work, she relinquished House Ordelia, handing the territory to a nearby lord. Not long after, both she and her family faded into obscurity. This ending makes me extremely sad because it implies that Lysithea dies and I never removed the crests from her so I think she truly died in my route...
- Hilda and Cyril end up marrying each other and living happily as a couple for the rest of their lives.
- Since I got my female Byleth to marry Claude, Byleth works to rebuild Fodlan. Many months later, a battle happens and right as it seems that Byleth is finished, Claude emerges with an army to defeat the enemies.
- Ignatz became a painter and explored the world, eventually causing a wave of new artists to emerge wherever he went.
- Marianne returns home, where she is cheered for and praised as a savior of Fodlan. Her adoptive father groomed her as his successor, and once she claimed inheritance, she transformed into one of Fodlan's most skilled orators.
- Leonie joined the mercenaries formerly led by Jeralt. As his successor, she quickly became the leader and was granted the title of Blade Breaker. She eventually grew the habits that Jeralt had, such as drinking at taverns and gaining many unpaid tabs.
- Mercedes resides in Garreg Mach, becoming a model cleric. She devoted her entire life to the service of the goddess and became loved by the people.
- Ingrid put in hard work to ensure that the people of Galatea lived peaceful lives and reformed the land's farming practices. Soon, Galatea bore many fruit, and the land became a land of plenty.
- Sylvain devoted his life to improving the relations of people within the Sreng region. He created a new way of life for the people and made people view life where crests were no longer necessary. It eventually became customary to refer to cheaters as "sons of Gautier."
- Raphael returned home to serve as a knight. After years of service, he resigned and devoted his time to the inn that his grandfather and sister made. He eventually took over the inn and became known for his amazing cooking skills.
- Lorenz took leadership over House Gloucester. His political talent yielded revolutionary policy changes, many of which were beneficial to the common folk.
- Anna's business became a great asset during the reconstruction of Garreg Mach. Once it was rebuilt, she vanished, although stories have been passed around in the world for centuries about a mysterious merchant. It is said that she still travels the world, selling her items to wanderers.
With all of that stated, that was how my experience with Fire Emblem: Three Houses was. It was a fantastic journey, one I won't ever forget. The cast of characters is amazing, the story reels you in, and the gameplay is great fun. One of my favorite games of all time.
Playing through this game truly felt like a fantastic journey, and getting to see my units grow and develop, especially after the time skip, was so cool to see, and it made me feel extremely proud of them. Watching Marianne go from this extremely shy, quiet girl to a woman with confidence in herself made me so happy. Seeing Byleth develop and grow with support from her friends made me feel as if I truly had something driving me to see the journey through to the end. I chose Golden Deer because I thought Claude was interesting and I liked the students in that house the most. The route I went with was the Verdant Wind route, and little did I know that there were 3 other routes in the game, those being:
- Crimson Flower Route (Join Black Eagles & side with Edelgard)
- Silver Snow Route (Join Black Eagles & side with Lady Rhea)
- Azure Moon Route (Join Blue Lions)
While I have no intentions of playing through this game again, at least not anytime soon, the fact that there are THREE other routes to choose during my future playthroughs is incredible to see. I heard that the Crimson Flower route was vastly different from the other routes, so I might go for that route the next time I play. There are so many things that can happen during your playthrough that can completely alter some of your unit's epilogue endings, which, yes, YOUR units can have varying epilogue endings depending on who you recruit and bring to battle. The fact that there is so much varying content in this game is amazing, and it gives the game a large amount of replayability. It can be kinda depressing when you realize how sad some of the dialogue exchanges are depending on what route you choose and who you have in battle.
The gameplay was very enjoyable to me, even though I'm not too big on the Tactical RPG genre of RPG games. I loved how the characters can interact with each other during battle, it really made the game feel more alive. The game has a bonding system, which goes towards your Support Rank for that certain unit, and if maxed out, you can even marry them by end-game. It was nice to see the characters become more fleshed out by seeing them bond with their fellow classmates and friends, which also helped the story by feeling more in-depth. I think my favorite one had to be the Catherine and Shamir Support Ranks, I'm so glad they got a happy ending in my route.
The game also has a Professor Rank system, which goes towards Free Time points, and those points allow you to do things during Free Time with your students. By doing things around the monastery, such as giving gifts, giving lost items, planting flowers, or eating food with students and friends, you earn XP that goes towards leveling your Professor Rank. By doing things with students or friends during Free Time, your bond with them can greatly deepen, especially if you invite them for tea or hand them a gift. All of these ways to bond with your units is a great mechanic, as it can help you feel more immersed within the world, as well as giving you the chance to spend more time with some of your favorite units. I think the Free Time mechanic was a great inclusion for the game.
By the end of my game, I had the following people alive after the war:
- Claude (who I married)
- Hilda
- Marianne
- Lysithea
- Leonie
- Mercedes
- Ingrid
- Shamir
- Catherine
- Flayn
- Cyril
- Sylvain
- Seteth
- Bernadetta
- Rapheal
- Lorenz
- Ignatz
- Lady Rhea
- Anna
As for their epilogue endings, here were some that I took note of:
- Catherine & Shamir partner together for the rest of their lives, traveling around and sticking their nose in things they shouldn't. Eventually, they go back to Shamir's homeland, Dagda, and spend the rest of their days there. They eventually become known for Catherine's Thunderbrand and Shamir's amazing marksmanship. So thankfully they live happily ever after together. :')
- Flayn disappears shortly after the war and soon becomes a distant memory to everyone else, becoming forgotten during the following years. Seteth stays with the Church and gets everyone to accept one another as equals. Many years in the future, a young woman emerges within the new Fodland, and as she gazes at the young man beside her, she asks if she can call him her father. I have no idea what Flayn's ending means...I guess it means she has been rebirthed/reincarnated? Who is the young man, is it Seteth? Why exactly did she disappear after the war...? So many questions...
- I saw nothing about Rhea during my epilogue, so I assume she lived? She was alive prior to the final battle against Nemesis so...
- Once Bernadetta inherited House Varley from her father, she withdrew from anything political and focused on her territory. Due to her long periods of "hibernation", she earned the name as the "Bear of Varley."
- Lysithea returns home to help her parents restore their land. Many years later, after a long period of hard work, she relinquished House Ordelia, handing the territory to a nearby lord. Not long after, both she and her family faded into obscurity. This ending makes me extremely sad because it implies that Lysithea dies and I never removed the crests from her so I think she truly died in my route...
- Hilda and Cyril end up marrying each other and living happily as a couple for the rest of their lives.
- Since I got my female Byleth to marry Claude, Byleth works to rebuild Fodlan. Many months later, a battle happens and right as it seems that Byleth is finished, Claude emerges with an army to defeat the enemies.
- Ignatz became a painter and explored the world, eventually causing a wave of new artists to emerge wherever he went.
- Marianne returns home, where she is cheered for and praised as a savior of Fodlan. Her adoptive father groomed her as his successor, and once she claimed inheritance, she transformed into one of Fodlan's most skilled orators.
- Leonie joined the mercenaries formerly led by Jeralt. As his successor, she quickly became the leader and was granted the title of Blade Breaker. She eventually grew the habits that Jeralt had, such as drinking at taverns and gaining many unpaid tabs.
- Mercedes resides in Garreg Mach, becoming a model cleric. She devoted her entire life to the service of the goddess and became loved by the people.
- Ingrid put in hard work to ensure that the people of Galatea lived peaceful lives and reformed the land's farming practices. Soon, Galatea bore many fruit, and the land became a land of plenty.
- Sylvain devoted his life to improving the relations of people within the Sreng region. He created a new way of life for the people and made people view life where crests were no longer necessary. It eventually became customary to refer to cheaters as "sons of Gautier."
- Raphael returned home to serve as a knight. After years of service, he resigned and devoted his time to the inn that his grandfather and sister made. He eventually took over the inn and became known for his amazing cooking skills.
- Lorenz took leadership over House Gloucester. His political talent yielded revolutionary policy changes, many of which were beneficial to the common folk.
- Anna's business became a great asset during the reconstruction of Garreg Mach. Once it was rebuilt, she vanished, although stories have been passed around in the world for centuries about a mysterious merchant. It is said that she still travels the world, selling her items to wanderers.
With all of that stated, that was how my experience with Fire Emblem: Three Houses was. It was a fantastic journey, one I won't ever forget. The cast of characters is amazing, the story reels you in, and the gameplay is great fun. One of my favorite games of all time.