Ever since the first Fire Emblem game was released in Europe, I was hooked to the Fire Emblem series. The games held a niche position for a long time, but that changed when Fire Emblem: Awakening was released for the Nintendo 3DS. One of the best things about the games is that they always keep on evolving, but still manage to stick to the core principles that makes the games so great. When I heard Nintendo was releasing a brand new Fire Emblem game on the Switch, I knew that this would be an instant buy for me (as with most Nintendo related stuff 😛 )

One of the first battles!

This time around, you’re playing as a recently appointed Professor in Garreg Mach Monastery. The students all hail from three different houses and shortly after the game starts you’re forced to choose which house you will be the professor of. I chose to go for the Black Eagles in my first playthrough, and also the normal difficulty with the casual play style. I do intend to play the game again with the other houses and on a higher difficulty setting, too. 🙂

A map of the monastery. Not every location is open from the start!

The Fire Emblem games have evolved to become part tactical, turn-based strategy games and part dating sim. At least that’s how it feels to me. In between missions, you’ll be teaching your students and developing bonds between all of them. And of course, as it’s been since Fire Emblem: Awakening you can date several characters too!

Manuela seems like a bit of a cougar 😛

What I really love about Three Houses is that all the dialogue is fully spoken. The voice actors have done a superb job of portraying their roles and I was pleasantly surprised that the voice-overs didn’t just stop after the introduction.

Dorothea has increased a skill level! 🙂

The gameplay itself is very deep, as with all previous entries. Your students will tell you if they want to focus on different skills, and you can reclass them, once they have met certain conditions. There are base, advanced and master classes, and once a class is mastered that character will receive additional bonuses.

The story itself is really good too. In the beginning of the game it takes quite some time before you’re actually battling, but in that time you will have been acquainted with all of the three houses and the fact that there’s quite a bit of tension in Fódlan, the country where Fire Emblem: Three Houses takes place. Soon the antagonist of the story presents itself and you’ll find yourself chasing after him!

Bad RNG means you can level up with barely any stats increased 😦

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game that can consume hours of your time, if you let it. I found that I wanted to speak to every single person in the monastery in between missions, and really try to get most out of the game. This means you’ll be talking to a lot of people. The game generally has a very slow pace, which is great if you love taking time with decisions and the deep system of classes, weapons, magic and bonding makes this game a unique experience. The new addition of classrooms and being a professor adds a new layer to the gameplay and I really do think that this might just be one of the best entries in the series! A must-have for everyone who loves a good RPG and planning strategies!

Happy gaming!

Jeffrey

Rating:

Graphics: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Gameplay: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟½

Overall rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟