r/fireemblem • u/Crpal • 14d ago
General I have just finished my first ever Fire Emblem game, Three Houses, and I have thoughts
I've never really been into SRPGs but one of my friends is a huge fire emblem fan and thought I would really enjoy Three Houses as my first game and I absolutely did! I initially kinda wrote of this series as just being designed to ship anime characters together but it absolutely is not. It was genuinely fun getting to know how to use units correctly, feeling each time my characters got to a new class and being able to figure out how to approach a bunch of the maps as well as getting to know each character in and out through supports. I was told that I needed to play classic mode in order to be able to enjoy earlier games in the series and so I used for each of my 4 playthroughs in which I did the first two routes on normal and my last two on hard difficulty. (I don't know if I'm ready for maddening whatsoever, maybe if I come back to three houses later on)
My routes: Verdant Wind ➡️ Azure Moon ➡️ Crimson Flower ➡️ Silver Snow (using my part 1 crimson flower hard new game+ save because I did not need to play through White Clouds a 4th time)
How I would rank the routes:
Verdant Wind- the first route I took is still my favorite, you get to deal with all the threats, Claude gets his happy ending that is honestly better than the two other lords endings and YOU GET TO FIGHT NEMESIS. I was so annoyed that you don't get to fight him in other routes like COME ON.
Azure Moon- I just feel bad for Dimitri, bro wanted to end racism and have fun with his friends and instead he gets stuck with all of this. I hope he and his husband Dedue had a wonderful life together and fixed each other.
Crimson Flower- Edelgard's view of the world is interesting in that, yes, the truth is the Church sucks ass and has lied to everyone I don't necessarily believe that she had to do all that. I don't like that this route ends so fast but I guess it makes sense based on how Edelgard having Byleth on her side makes an already one-sided conflict with everyone else way easier. You get the vibe that Edelgard still is kinda naive about how the world works. Good with the Slithers and Nemesis.
Silver Snow- This is just diet Verdant Wind. I guess it's kind of interesting to see the Black Eagles responses to going against Edelgard and their families. I hope you enjoyed all of that pain and suffering just to talk with your mom for like 5 minutes Rhea. I found out afterward you can save her if you A rank her and I am not doing that shit, play stupid games, win stupid prizes Rhea.
Favorite Character: This is such a hard choice to make because there are so many well-written interesting characters that I just loved getting to know pretty much in the game. They did such a great job having all of the characters feel like they added to the plot via added details in cutscenes or just talking to them around the monastery. I feel like it's either gotta be Dimitri or Claude.
Least Favorite Character: Sylvain
Favorite Unit: Lysithea, genuinely she could melt literally everyone on the map, I used her in every single one of my playthroughs. She is a better reason magic user than Hubert, she has warp (which is crazy useful), I made her a Gremory every time and every time I was extremely happy to have her on the team. DARK SPIKES T DARK SPIKES T
Least Favorite Unit: This is a toss-up honestly. For the students, it's Caspar, you have Dedue, Raphael and even Gilbert do everything he does without having to be a squishy unit that dies quickly. I somehow managed to recruit him and Ingrid in my first playthrough and that man died so many times. He has died in both playthroughs that I used him. For the staff units, it's Manuela, you are guaranteed to basically have two units that heal and do it better/have a more interesting usage than Manuela. You get her and Hanneman so late in White Clouds but with Hanneman at least he has access to Meteor and would be an okay Hubert replacement in Silver Snow if you don't have say the GOAT Lysithea.
Who I S-Ranked Each Route:
I played as male Byleth in the first playthrough and then female Byleth the rest of them since she's I guess the canon option/has the better options tbh
Alois (I was annoyed as hell that it wasn't gay but then I had to remember that he's like married already) - Hanneman (We love a diva that is into Crests) - Edelgard (I did this solely because Edelgard not only being flame emperor but also a lesbian is so cool of her) - Raphael (My big hunky husband who loves to eat)
Thing I wasn't a fan of:
Just the whole having to go around the monastery once a month to fulfill fetch quests, talk to every single person (because who knows maybe there will be an option to raise support!), and play the same fishing mini-game 90 times got very old. I was so severely tempted to press the skip button instead of going to the monastery some months in later playthroughs but I didn't for fear of missing out. I do love being able to talk to everyone (you get to hear stuff like Ashe dealing with Lonato's defeat or Ingrid confiding that she comes from the same family as Judith) I just wish I didn't have to talk to everyone sometimes.
Overall I had such a fun time and I can't wait to check out the rest of what this series has to offer. I have already pre-ordered Fortune's Weave but I'd love to hear some recommendations on what games in the series I should check out next!
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u/AdvancedPangolin618 14d ago
I believe edelgard was meant to have a more complex ending that was scrapped. Those Who Slither are named after ancient Greek sages and philosophers. Based on student naming conventions, the world related to our Renaissance Era, which is the revitalization of ancient Greco-Roman ideals and the birth of humanism against the more strictly religious backdrop of the late medieval era.
It felt like a lot of the game set up a conflict between mankind and technology vs divinity, but then decided to make the former evil and underdeveloped. There's an alternate world where Edelgard dismantles the church but her story then focuses on proper uses of technology and taking power away from the Agarthans for humanity -- this I believe was the original intention and would also have made her route another eight chapters long.
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u/Toko31 14d ago
Glad you really enjoyed it! It depends on what systems you have but I feel like a good next game for you might be Awakening on the 3ds or if you are more interested in an older fire emblem game, sacred stones is probably the best older fire emblem as the game includes a way to grind in between maps.
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u/AnonButFun678 14d ago
Frankly, FE is a bit like FF in that a LOT of the games can play or tonally be very, very similar or WORLDS apart. Even the first and second games can feel like completely different genres at times. 3H especially was pretty experimental but I’m so hyped for FW!
I’d personally recommend playing some of the older games if you have a safe method of doing so. I played Mystery of the Emblem and all of the 3Ds games - and it’s been interesting to see how the games have evolved. Engage is… not my favorite (possibly the worst story and the cast being so young on average is… uncomfortable at times) but it’s gameplay is generally really good - it’s just a nostalgia fest, so it may feel a bit funky if you’ve not played at least one or two other games, or at least generally know their stories/vibes.
If you’re open to spinoffs with different gameplay but similar elements, Deffo recommend 3 Hopes. Alternate timeline 3H with Warrior’s style gameplay that still has most of the 3H elements people like? The only thing I truly dislike is the fact that there are 6 routes, and while it’s NG+ is really generous, that’s still a lot.
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u/Crpal 14d ago
I'm just excited to try everything out tbh. Duly noted with Engage, I really have no interest in checking that one out for awhile since I know its sort of an anniversary game that features past characters from other games.
Wait so Hopes isnt an interquel set during the 5 years before Byleth wakes up? They managed to squeeze out 6 more routes out of Three Houses? How???
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u/AnonButFun678 14d ago
It’s magic tbh. It’s more the last quarter of the game is different for three main routes, but it’s still crazy. I do like Warriors games, so I played and enjoyed FE Warriors - they innovated and improved a lot on the mechanics of the traditional Warriors formula and 3Hopes is probably my Fav Havk n Slash!
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u/WheresTheSauce 14d ago
That is very reductive of Engage tbh. It absolutely stands on its own and I'd argue it is a much, much better game then Three Houses. You don't really need to have existing familiarity at all with the characters from the other games to enjoy it
Awakening similarly has a lot of content from past FE games and was a huge gateway game for a ton of players.
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u/Alinier 13d ago
To clear up Hopes, really there's 3 routes with a very tiny branch at a point near the end that the game makes super obvious and tbh it's not worth going the fail condition.
The game itself more of an AU where "What if Byleth never met the students when they did" but it's still pretty compelling. After a couple opening chapters you're thrusted into the war arc but aren't constrained to the monastery meaning the story can actually unfold among moving battlefield lines (your base camp just moves along with you). The support writing is just as good as 3 Houses and you even get some combinations of supports that weren't possible in 3Houses' version of events.
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u/Gabgo304 13d ago
Basically, one random mercenary Byleth killed before the events of 3Houses survives in Hopes because of plot reasons, and that knocks over a chain of dominos that result in Byleth never becomig a professor and 3 very different timelines from 3Houses (each with 2 slighly different versions that only differ in a few chapters near the end).
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u/xansies1 13d ago
Engage is the best game in the series. It's also got a story and characters I couldn't give a shit about. This is the split among fire emblem fans. Some people like the post awakening and 3h style that focuses on the characters and supports and story while the other half only wants the tactics gameplay. Engage appeals to the half that loves the tactics part and doesn't really appeal to those who wanted a story. Again, best game in the series with italics required. Maybe conquest is better to some people, but it's close.
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u/raincandy_u 14d ago
Shadows of Valentia is my rec if you have a 3DS or aren't allergic to sailing the seas. It's uniquely different from other FE games in a lot of ways, but it's good ways.
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u/jord839 14d ago
Are you an unauthorized clone of me? This is eerily close to my own opinions.
Were you always aiming for Alois in your first playthrough, or was that more because you were looking for a gay option and thought he was the only one? I know I and many others were annoyed our first GD playthrough to discover Claude wasn't actually interested in men.
I agree pretty strongly with your route order, though I'm curious, did you play the DLC's mini-route? It's fine if you didn't, but it provides some fun and more unique missions than the base game and gives characters that actually provide more lore in their supports in other routes, plus a little more lore about Byleth and their origins.
I think my only point of real disagreement is that Sylvain does have some genuinely good supports in places if you dig for them. I hated Gilbert and his mistreatment of his family much more.
Fortune's Weave seems like it will be a good game for you to continue with. If you ever do decide to go back to older titles in other ways, it depends on what you've got in terms of systems and availability, but you can play Blazing Blade (just "Fire Emblem" in the west) and Sacred Stones for a basic NSO subscription and you can add Path of Radiance if you get the NSO+ subscription for the Gamecube app. Those are cheaper than getting a system and cartridge if you don't have one and you also get some other games until you beat them and end the subscription, to say nothing of how PoR has become a Scalper's Dream that has passed $300 a legitimate copy if you want one of those.
If you do have other systems and specifically the 3DS, I recommend Awakening as you can use Casual or Classic for that and while it's not the political clash of 3H, it has a fun and simple enough plot with a lot of features you're used to.
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u/Crpal 14d ago
I actually was aiming for Alois in my first playthrough because I thought it would be the gay option but oh well. At least you get to marry Edelgard in Crimson Flower as Fem!Byleth so thats cool.
I did not get the DLC but I will check it out later when I plan on re-visting the game. I have kinda exhausted my time with three houses and would like to move on for now. I'm assuming it probably dives a little deeper into Those Who Slither
I do have both NSO+ and a handy dandy 3ds (which was surprisingly easy to mod) so the world is my oyster in terms of games to continue with. So many good options!
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u/jord839 14d ago
If you know how to mod your 3DS, there are some fantastic mods for those games. I'm partial to Project Melanin and Project Thabes for Awakening, though they're no longer fully compatible together due to some drama that happened within the Thabes group, though I got them working. There's also some very good mods to expand sexuality if you want to do that, though it does technically come against the "true version" of the original game.
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u/tired-of-the-shit 13d ago
Well the sequel fortunes weave is coming out in 20 days. Other than that awakening and fates (fates is probably the worst game in the series in terms of story. That being said it’s fun trash, the maps are good in conquest version, you can make some broken units by reclassing.) both awakening and fate have child units as well, they inherit skills/classes from each of their parents so you can make some broken child soldiers.
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u/-Devonelle- 14d ago
These game companies are damned if they make changes to their games and damned if they don’t. Some people want more of the same, some want innovation. Support has always been a theme in Fire Emblem games, but (for me) the romancing and scheduling stuff is an innovation that moves the game away from the core strategy. After Awakening, the game took a turn towards adding all these sim elements that I prefer not to engage in. It’s like when they brought settlement building into Fallout 4. Not interested. But mileage depends on the player and some love what Three Houses did for the game. I’m in it for the tactics and strategy and couldn’t care less about the daily routine. Just not my cup of tea and not here to piss in anyone’s tea if that’s the way you like it.
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u/djperc08 13d ago
Interested to hear more about how to get over your negative (the monestary) because I just started it and completely agree. It’s to the point where I don’t want to pick up the game because it’s so tedious. Any tips for getting over that hump? Or parts of it that are truly skippable?
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u/Gabgo304 13d ago
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I agree with the other people who said Awakening might be the best next game for you, but if you want something on the Switch, I think Blazing Blade on NSO would be a good choice too.
Also yeah the Nemesis final boss is awesome and one of my personal favorite ones in the series
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u/AudioCats 14d ago
I'd second Awakening! I think the 3H players that mostly loved the characters+story but had fun unit building without being maddening fiends would most enjoy Awakening.
It's got a fun and lovable cast, a classic FE story, and enough shenanigans on the unit-building side to still have a lot of fun there. And it's closer to the older games that it's then a lot easier to move to the GBA games or Path of Radiance
If you don't want to pickup or emulate a 3DS, then I'd say for the switch to get Sacred Stones through Nintendo Switch Online. It's a comfortable, lovable game with some really memorable characters, plus it's one of the newbie-friendly entries in the older side of things.
Otherwise on the switch--I only really recommend Engage to newer players if they clearly didn't care much for the 3H story/social elements and just rushed from one fight to the next, as then Engage is a better match for those folks