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I have never really taken time to explore games on this blog, not because I do not play them, but because there have not been many worth talking about that have come out recently. Well, I say recently, by which I mean relatively speaking. One game definitely worth talking about is the newest addition to the “Fire Emblem” series, “Fire Emblem Three Houses.”

The game came out on July 26th of this year and was immediately met with a lot of praise. Given that I have played about half the games in the series, and enjoyed pretty much all of them, I was excited to hear good things. From what I have played so far, that being roughly the first six chapters of the game, my expectations have not only been met but heavily exceeded.

For starters, the game looks incredibly gorgeous, especially in comparison with its counterparts. Now, part of this is due to the simple fact that the Switch is a much more powerful and traditional console. Considering that almost all of the other “Fire Emblem” games have been on either a much older systems or a handheld, there were, of course, going to be limitations on how good the game could look.

However, there also seems to have been a lot more detail put into the game. For example, many different terrains found on the battlefield, including the buildings, seem much more well-drawn than in previous iterations of the series. This also goes for the characters models, which in previous games were all 2D, but in “Three Houses” have been upgraded to 3D.

The game-play is also noticeably more interesting, mostly due to the integration of a time management mechanic. Time management mechanics have been utilized heavily in other JRPG series such as Persona, but despite being influenced by those series, the mechanic is still implemented in a unique way that ties in directly with the story.

You, as the newest professor at a school for knights, need to interact with and train your students. The more you interact with them, the better a professor you become, allowing you to do more things, such as getting better battalions for your units, as well as the ability to recruit new units from other classes.

Battles have always been my favorite parts of many of the games in the “Fire Emblem” series. Given that for the last few games players have been able to choose between casual and classic mode, the game has gotten significantly easier. Still, even with that casual setting, some of the battles thus far, such as the ones with the Death Knight, have felt legitimately difficult at times.

However, another important aspect of the battles is how they implement the story being told, and “Three Houses” manages to do this quite well. So far there has only been a lot of build-up and mystery, but it is definitely laying the seeds for a good story to come, and makes every battle worth paying attention to, even when it does seem pretty easy.

I will most likely be finishing this game, and am expecting to enjoy it thoroughly. So far, it has taken everything that makes “Fire Emblem” such an iconic series, and made it even better. Long time fans who have yet to play this game are missing out on an incredible experience.

What was your experience with Fire Emblem Three Houses? Let me know in the comments.

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