Fire Emblem: Three Hopes Review
Fire Emblem: Three Hopes is not only the second game in the “Fire Emblem Warriors” spin-off series whose first game debuted in the same year the Switch released, back in 2017. But it’s also an alternate “what if” scenario that follows the world and characters of the highly acclaimed Fire Emblem Three Houses.
I’m a huge fan of Fire Emblem, and that includes Three Houses, but over the years since that game’s release I’ve more than soured on it due to the sheer popularity it received after the fact. It didn’t help that I felt Three Houses was lacking in several areas that I love about Fire Emblem, and that was namely in its battles which I found tedious and uninteresting, as well as very bloated game that was stretched far too thin with four routes total in the main game.
It was a mixture of those criticisms and the amount of love the game got that made me irrationally angry about the game. To the point that anytime a new batch of Three Houses characters would show up in the mobile spin-off “Fire Emblem Heroes” I would audibly groan.
To my surprise, Three Hopes has helped me put those feelings aside, and refocus on the things I actually liked about Three Houses. Namely its characters, world, and indeed some of the social aspects that Three Houses fans came to love so much.
As I mentioned before, Three Hopes is the second “Warriors” game. I was a big fan of the first game, despite its shortcomings. I’m not one of those people that instantly turn their nose up at Musou games, because I have actually enjoyed quite a few of them over the years. Also, the original Warriors, as well as Three Hopes do a pretty respectable job of implementing elements of the main Fire Emblem series into the game.
Just like the first game you have the standard style of Musou hack ‘n slash gameplay. But similar to the original the game puts an emphasis on tactics as being a key part in fighting battles. You’ll direct your units to where you need them to be on the map. Take advantage of the series staple “Weapons Triangle” and have the added benefit of having access to different classes, abilities, and equipment for you to customize your characters with.
For better or worse, the move sets a character has access to are generally tied to which class they are. This means, most characters will play identical to each other within the same class. But there are some characters in the game who have access to unique classes that nobody else does. In addition to that, each character in the game has their own unique traits and abilities that allow for some variety even between characters of the same class type. As a result you can start finding the character and class combinations that are either more powerful, or just suit your playstyle more.
Once again, Three Hopes splits the game’s campaign up into three routes. Each route sees you siding with one of the titular three houses from the first game. So people can pick their favorite route for a single playthrough, or make use of New Game+ to play through the remaining routes at a much speedier pace.
So far I’ve completed the Blue Lions’ route “Azure Gleam” and I would wager that it took roughly 70 hours for me. Fair warning, I was very thorough in my playthrough and I tend to play games a lot slower than most. So that might average down to a 40–50 hour playthrough for most people.
This is an area where I feel Three Hopes is better than the original game. There’s still plenty of combat to be had, social activities to occupy you during the downtime back at camp, and plenty of ways to build your characters up. But it all feels more condensed than in the original.
It also helps that you don’t have to play through the equivalent of The Academy Arc, which was mostly similar among each playthrough in the original. After a few short battles in the beginning the game quickly spins off in completely different directions for each route.
Another thing I really ended up enjoying about Three Hopes has been that its alternate reality take on the original game proves to be a story worth seeing. I can’t speak for those who might be jumping into this game first, but as someone who played Three Houses, getting to see these characters in slightly different circumstances helped some of them grow into better characters, or at least have better supports and relationships.
This doesn’t apply to every character mind you, but I think I enjoyed a lot of the writing in this game more. Even if the story doesn’t quite measure up to some of the extremes the first game goes to. Another great thing about the game are the new designs for almost every returning character. I wouldn’t say they’re all slam dunks, but many of them are just as good, if not straight out better than my favorite Academy or War designs from the first game.
And finally, surprisingly enough after the disaster that was the first Warriors game’s bland, poorly designed dual protagonist. The original character for this game, Shez (who you can choose to be male or female) is actually a really great character. I’m so glad they gave him/her a voice instead of the silent route they inexplicably went with Byleth in Three Houses. Also, minor spoiler (but not really if you’ve seen anything about this game) Byleth is also a much better character in this game because she/he talks finally.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Three Hopes, and I’m already a decent bit into my second playthrough with the Black Eagles route. I wasn’t expecting to like this game nearly as much as I did, and I’m glad it renewed my interest in Three Houses. I would recommend any fan of that game to check this one out. So long as you don’t have a closed minded view about the Musou genre.
