Overview
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo and published by Nintendo, released in 2019. I played it on Nintendo Switch.
What we were given here is truly an excellent Fire Emblem.
Story and world
The story takes place on the continent of Fódlan. You play as Byleth, a mercenary who becomes a professor at the Officers Academy of Garreg Mach Monastery. There, you have to take charge of one of the three houses, each led by the heir of a nation: Edelgard for the Black Eagles, Dimitri for the Blue Lions and Claude for the Golden Deer.
A bit like in Harry Potter, you get to choose which of the three houses to play. And unlike Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, there's no need to buy the game three times to play every storyline!
You really get a very good story whichever house you choose. I loved Edelgard's, .
Gameplay
Here, you have to manage your time a bit to improve your relationships with your classmates at the school, which serves as the central hub. You can also take part in other activities, like fishing. The game follows a calendar: you alternate between teaching, exploring the monastery and battles.
In battle, weapons have durability, but once it reaches 0, the weapon doesn't break and can be repaired. There's also a very interesting battalion system, but I won't say more.
Another feature of this entry: level is no longer tied to class. In previous entries, each class had 20 levels. So you no longer have to wait until level 20 in a class before moving on to the next one, or risk missing out on stats.
A power also lets you rewind a few turns if you make a mistake.
Graphics and music
The game is fully in 3D, and you can freely explore the monastery in third person. The character design is by Chinatsu Kurahana, and key moments of the story are told through animated cutscenes.
Verdict
An excellent Fire Emblem, with a very good story whichever house you choose and three storylines available in a single game. Time management at the school, the battalion system and the separation between level and class make for a welcome refresh of the formula.