The Fire Emblem: Three Houses Review-athon Part 4: Three Hopes
With the announcement of Fire Emblem: Engage last week, it seems the book is finally closing on the universe of Fire Emblem: Three Houses—meaning it’s probably as good a time as any to finally talk about Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. As you could probably tell by the fact that I did a whole blog subseries regaling my thoughts on the original game’s 3-4 stories, I was really excited for this semi-quasi-they-have--units-in-the-mobile-game-now-so-technically-canon(ish) revisit to Fódlan. After getting swallowed into the hype, did the game end up hitting the spot?
I’d certainly say so… albeit with an asterisk or two.
Despite being a first-timer to Koei Tecmo’s Warriors series gameplay, I found myself getting into the groove of the mechanics pretty easily while still enjoying the difficulty of hard mode without dependence on NG+ benefits. Mistakes made once or twice were pretty easy to correct on subsequent runs of the mission while using weapon advantages to tear through vulnerable units never failed to satisfy. Perhaps I could gripe about weapons being restricted to individual classes and how it put a dampener on the level of customization I got used to in Three Houses, but I was too busy crunching through great knights with Shez’s Dark Spikes T to complain.
That being said, I don’t fancy myself the best barometer when it comes to critiquing how a game plays, or else I’d talk about such things much more often. Rather, my point of specialty is delving deep into the plot and sifting through both the great moments and the grating moments of the game’s narrative(s).
And oh boy did this game really manage to hit the spot (while making some pretty blatant blunders in the meantime).
Here’s your obligatory HEAVY SPOILER WARNING because this reflection will be covering both Houses and Hopes’s stories pretty thoroughly. You may also want to check out my previous Review-athon posts if you want a little more insight as to what I think about Houses’s stories (Here are the links for my Azure Moon, Verdant Wind/Silver Snow, and Crimson Flower posts).
Alright, let’s roll!
SCARLET BLAZE: THE RISE OF PROTESTANT EDELGARD
We’re starting where I started with Edelgard’s route, aka the one story in this game that I pretty much needed to be good. You may recall that I considered Crimson Flower a major disappointment as the route focused wholly on the conflict between the Adrestian Empire and the rest of Fódlan, leaving no room for defeating those who slither in the dark in earnest despite being multiple chapters shorter than every other route. With the presence of the previously-dead Monica in pre-release materials, I, like many others, hoped that we would finally see an actual, on-screen resolution to that previously semi-quasi-sure-some-character-endings-talked-about-the-Agarthans-getting-beaten-but-we-didn’t-see-or-play-it-so-it-was-pretty-unsatisfying-all-the-same-unresolved(ish) plot point.
Not only did we get that resolution, but we got it in the prologue.
The narrative decision for Edelgard to strike against Thales and Duke Aegir and purge the Agarthan’s influence was not only cathartic, but freed up the rest of Scarlet Blaze from the same pervasive, icky feeling that plagued Crimson Flower. Now, Edelgard’s ambitions can be analyzed and critiqued without any influence from those who slither in the dark, as well as watch her make good on things like her comment to Rhea in Three Houses that she did not seek to make an enemy of the faith by re-establishing and weaponizing the Southern Church to provide a pillar of support to Adrestian’s Seiros faithful while effectively decentralizing the Archbishop’s Central Church. Factor in her new, silvery getup and trading in Aymr for a Sacred Weapon and you could be so bold to think of her as less of an edgy anime godslayer and more like a figurehead of whatever you’d call the Seiros equivalent of Protestantism (Don’t worry. I’m only half-joking). This is also to say nothing of the decision to delay her war by a whole year later while getting coronated a whole year early, giving her two years to enact revolutionary policies so effective that even Dimitri, who is effectively her political nemesis, has respect for what she’s trying to do (though he emphasizes such rapid reform wouldn’t benefit the stubborn and suffering people of Faerghus).
So yeah, the game treats Edelgard pretty well in Three Hopes, but Scarlet Blaze leaves room for mistakes and complications as well. Part I is filled to the brim with having to deal with wild obstacles, from Lonato lashing out against the church forcing House Rowe to defect early and Edelgard to rush to their rescue to Claude’s devious pincer maneuver with the triple-crossing Count Gloucester. We even get to see some personal tension as it’s revealed that Edelgard and Hubert only entrusted the player character with their high-up military role to evaluate whether or not they were a threat in league with those who slither in the dark. Where Crimson Flower tried humanizing Edelgard through small interactions, Scarlet Blaze does so by putting her face-to-face with the reality that her war won’t be won so easily.
Part II keeps the spice flowing with a really great moment as Adrestia and Leicester sign a pact to work together against Faerghus and the Central Church, keeping with the theme of Three Hopes adding significantly more to the political climate of Fódlan while serving as a win for the Empire over an enemy who had come the closest to throwing a wrench in her plans and a sign that Edelgard has allowed herself to be more flexible in accomplishing her goals (although depending on what course of action the player takes throughout the story, that pact can very easily be broken). Putting a bow on a relatively straightforward set of military campaign chapters is a thrilling conclusion with the three-way house battle Crimson Flower never got and a symbolic, satisfying showdown with Rhea and Thales simultaneously at Garreg Mach. Depending on whether or not you killed or recruited the Ashen Demon, the war will either be on the verge of its conclusion, or right back to square one, but either way, Edelgard finally gets what she deserved: liberation, both in the grand sense with the Church of Seiros’s defeat, and in the personal sense with the defeat of those who slither in the dark
Scarlet Blaze brought about the Edelgard I always wanted to see, and though I got her much sooner than expected, that only allowed her to shine as she was allowed to make choices and act without any strings or shadows tarnishing her intentions. Any complaints and criticisms I’d have are none that would be exclusive to her arc (except Monica’s characterization, perhaps. It’s kind of a problem when the rest of her alleged personality traits and interests are overshadowed by her harrowing over-devotion to Edelgard).
So yeah. Scarlet Blaze was the one story path I desperately wanted to be an improvement over its Houses counterpart and it ended up surpassing my wildest expectations. Without a doubt, it’s my favorite of Hopes’s three stories.
GOLDEN WILDFIRE: A FEDERAL OFFENSE
Pardon the inflammatory title—I’m just trying to be funny here—but overall, I consider Golden Wildfire to be a mixed bag, and my least favorite story of the batch.
My thoughts on Claude’s route can pretty much be summed up in one sentence: “It was great…until it wasn’t.” Kicking off the story with fending off an Almyran Invasion was a pretty cool twist, and introducing Shahid as an antagonist was especially cool considering we never got to see much of Claude’s Almyran side beyond Nader’s presence in Houses and a handful of allusive support conversations. While we’ve had plenty of opportunities to see how Claude wants to help shake things up in Fódlan for the better, having Almyran-born opposition to stand in the way of his plans was a very effective and compelling way of showing just how much he has his work cut out for him.
The Fódlan war kicking off at the start of Part I made for some pretty good story beats as well. It’s clear that the Alliance has a lot to sort out, both in light of its unconventional roundtable approach to government and its awkward place as Fódlan’s third power, lacking the raw strength of the Empire and the idealistic grit of the Kingdom. Thus, we get to see Claude the schemer in full swing as he not only pushes the Empire out of Leicester but goes so far as to fight the one and only Count Bergliez to a draw at Gronder Field, only retreating as things go south at the Almyran border.
Sadly, everything that I had gotten used to enjoying about Golden Wildfire quite literally felloff a cliff once Part I wasdone. The Almyran aspect of Claude’s character only comes up again in a potentially-unobtainable paralogue depending on your decisions. Any intrigue surrounding the roundtable is thrown out the window with the reorganization of the Alliance into the Leicester Federation (I’m just saying I’d give more kudos to Claude for adapting to and and earning the trust of the roundtable lords in its current state over technically doing the same thing by getting voted into kingship and getting rid of what made Leicester unique compared to the Empire and Kingdom). Perhaps most frustrating of all, though, is the story’s abrupt change in course when Claude pacts up with Adrestia and unveils his immense hatred for Rhea and the Central Church.
“But Sean!” you may reasonably cry out. “You just talked about how cool the Adrestia-Leicester pact was in Scarlet Blaze! Isn’t it a little hypocritical to decry it in Golden Wildfire?”
Honestly, it’s all in the framing. The pact in Scarlet Blaze comes after Edelgard’s army manages to completely undo Claude’s master scheme by reclaiming Gloucester territory and stealing away and/or killing a significant portion of the Golden Deer house. In this light, the pact is viewed as a win for the Empire and the removal of a threat as Leicester promises its cooperation in the war for its own continued safety.
I would view Golden Wildfire’s depiction of the pact similarly were there any ounce of foreshadowing to Claude wanting to join Edelgard and take down Rhea before turning face at the beginning of Part II. Don’t get me wrong: all of those things sound completely in character for Claude given his personality and ambitions, but these are the luxuries of someone who previously played through Verdant Wind. From the standpoint of someone who knows little to nothing about Claude save his Golden Wildfire characterization, the decision to ally with previous invaders and suddenly show animosity to the Church of Seiros is really tough to swallow due to the lack of any narrative precedent.
Now, there are a few good moments in Part II. Claude’s sinister maneuver at Ailell leads to compelling development, but it works best when he has to reap the whirlwind of his actions when the Ashen Demon isn’t recruited and he is forced to bear responsibility for Judith’s death. I’d also say that despite a lukewarm Part II, the finale at the Tailtean Plains was an excellent way to end the story thanks to the soundtrack, general atmosphere, and the mirroring of the final battle with the game’s first cutscene portraying Epimenides’s battle and presumed death at the hands of Seiros.
Sadly, the rest of Golden Wildfire ends up in the same pitfall as its Houses counterpart by being Scarlet Blaze featuring Claude (albeit in a less literal way than Verdant Wind being Silver Snow w/ Claude was). Moments that should be satisfying—and ARE satisfying in other routes— fail to stick the landing due to a simple lack of narrative setup, leading to a caddywonked second half that fails to follow up on the strong writing of the first.
AZURE GLEAM: AZURE MOON, BUT A WARRIORS GAME:
Finishing where I first began my initial Three Houses journey with the Blue Lion house, I find my feelings about Azure Gleam pretty similar to my feelings about Azure Moon. Almost too similar, if you ask me.
On its own, the story is pretty solid. The Blue Lion cast stands out as the strongest (in my opinion), and the addition of Rodrigue as a long-term (playable) character only adds to the fun. It’s also the route that puts the most focus on those who slither in the dark as the y are considered the route’s ultimate enemies(ironic, given Dimitri’s defeat of them in Azure Moon is practically by accident). The route even does a fantastic job with Edelgard, painting her as a victim and puppet of Thales in order to show the kind of threat that the Agarthans pose. Nothing stung more than seeing that unique portrait of Edelgard in a brainjacked, innocent state, and it only made taking down Thales all the sweeter.
It's hard to tell if I was really surprised that we never got to see much of Dimitri’s “boar” face. The moments where it slips out, especially at the story’s tail end, are fun to see, but overall, Dimitri’s arc has much more in common with more conventional Fire Emblem Lords than his Azure Moon counterpart. I will say that it is interesting that Dimitri’s quest for revenge over Duscur was properly indulged here, compared to Azure Moon teaching him that such desires can be unhealthy and destructive. I won’t say Dimitri is better or worse off for it—just that it was worth noting.
The rest of Azure Gleam, however, follows pretty heavily in the footsteps of Azure Moon in terms of its narrative structure. The Kingdom is rescued from Cornelia (although, in all fairness, the Western Lords and their implication in Duscur are highlighted as part of the story) and then launches a counter-invasion into the Empire with the Alliance’s help (before allowing the story to be as open-ended as the rest of Three Hopes’s narratives with a climactic battle at Garreg Mach). Compared to Scarlet Blaze, which felt like a breath of fresh air compared to Crimson Flower, and Golden Wildfire, which at least shakes things up with the first half, Azure Gleam doesn’t do a whole lot to separate itself from Azure Moon. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since Azure Moon is pretty much my favorite of Three Houses’s stories, but that’s just it; I could just play Azure Moon and get everything I got out of Azure Gleam. Well… except for playable Rodrigue, of course.
So overall, I did enjoy Azure Gleam, and I felt like it was a great way to close out my adventures in Fódlan. It’s just… well… there’s not much else to say about it.
“DARK DAWNING”: EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
Despite having three (mostly) different stories, there’s one more narrative that manages to slither its way into each of them: the intertwined destinies of Shez and Byleth (I normally prefer to avoid referring to player characters as anything other than “the player character” if they have a customizable name but I figure having two such characters forces me to drop that admittedly-quirky mannerism today).
As a protagonist, I think I enjoy Shez a little more than Byleth, mainly on account of their apparent personality and what being an actual vocal character adds to their character and story. That’s not to say Byleth was poorly handled in Houses; as a matter of fact, I’d say Shez’s biggest struggle is that he’s a protagonist in a world that where that world was tailor-made for Byleth. However, the story that they tell with Shez and how he manages to shake up Fódlan are genuinely fun and interesting to explore thanks to how well-written they are. I guess I would put it like this: I like Shez’s character more, but I like Byleth’s (Three Houses) story more.
Arval, Shez’s dedicated brain goblin and “partner in destiny” is also a pretty fun character in terms of interactions. They’ve got sass to rival Sothis, but while the progenitor god’s diction is more on the mystical side, Shez feels more like a mentor fed up with a student who has made the same mistake ten times in a row but nonetheless endeared by the fact that they’re at least trying.
The decision to make Byleth an antagonist and/or rival in Hopes was a pretty bold decision, but I feel like it pays off pretty well for the development of both characters. Seeing the stone-cold mercenary persona of the Ashen Demon really brings to light just how important their experience at the Monastery was to their development. We also end up seeing a much more bitter and controlling Sothis than we’ve seen before, likely on account of having two extra years of hibernation within Byleth to restore their memories and lacking the experience of “growing” alongside Byleth as well.
All these things come to a head at several points in the story, leading to one pivotal moment that splits each route in two. In one of these possibilities, the Ashen Demon and their mercenary company are outmaneuvered and ultimately recruited by your cause, turning your old enemies into allies before forcing Arval—or rather, their creator, Epimenides—to take control of Shez and kill the Ashen Demon himself, leading to a showdown in Zahras that sees both Epimenides and Arval effectively vanquished. In the other, Jeralt is killed and the Ashen Demon is forced to retreat, but not before killing one of your closest allies. Seeking vengeance, Byleth is convinced to turn their body over to Sothis to become her vessel, leading to a final, intense confrontation between Shez and Byleth that leads to the end of the Ashen Demon and the progenitor god dwelling within.
The fact that you get to effectively choose your path through gameplay is pretty cool, and you get to decide after witnessing several chapters of discourse between Shez and Arval whether their feud with the Ashen Demon is actually worth it. Granted, there are some pretty dramatic cons to going down the path of killing Byleth, with Scarlet Blaze’s ending being objectively worse, Azure Gleam killing off Rodrigue (again) and preventing him being playable, and Golden Wildfire missing out on several A Supports and Paralogues because certain NPCs integral to their occurrences were killed. As some folks have put it before me, it’s a trade-off between extra content and a more impactful narrative.
I suppose I should also mention the two chapters that are unlocked by recruiting Byleth that depict the conflict with Epimenides as well. As a finale for Shez and Arval’s partnership, and as a chance to play as all three lords in a chapter that doesn’t necessarily count as a “golden ending” scenario, I’d say it does a pretty swell job. As a means of exploring who and what Shez, Arval, and Epimenides are, though, I’d say it misses the mark to such a point that I wonder if they were really trying at all.
That’s not to say it doesn’t answer ANY questions, as it confirms that Shez is from Shambhala, Arval is effectively the avatar of a powerful Agarthan, and the “cycle of the world” refers to the process of soul-transferring that enable Shez to be their vessel as Byleth was for Sothis. While these things are explanations, they are nonetheless explanations without proper closure, leaving too much to the imagination than even I am used to.
I’d have loved to have unraveled the mystery behind Shez’s departure from Shambhala and how his adoptive mother factored into his story. Sadly, the announcement of a New Fire Emblem game coming in almost four months means that any kind of DLC, be it a full-sized story or something smaller like Cindered Shadows, is likely off the table.
FAREWELL, FÓDLAN!
If you don’t mind corny similes, I would say Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is like a tasty pizza that’s missing a slice: enjoyable down to the last bite, but making you wish there was just a little more. Its greatest weaknesses, much like the original Three Houses before it, is what it doesn’t do, because what it DOES do is fun and fantastic.
I’m happy that I got a chance to finally enjoy Edelgard as a protagonist. I’m happy I got to see Claude actually earn his reputation for devious strategies. I’m happy I got to go another round with Dimitri and the Blue Lions. I’m happy we got to meet characters who spent the longest time being nothing but faceless names occasionally mentioned by other characters. I’m happy I got to enjoy Byleth in a way I never expected. Most importantly, I’m happy I was able to get a few more Fódlan adventures in before we moved along to whatever comes next.
Fire Emblem: Engage is looking like a “return to form” of sorts, taking heavy inspiration from Fire Emblem Heroes and the multiverse components of Awakening and Fates in its own semi-quasi-I-remembered-the-comedy-rule-of-three kind of way that the Einherjar were. After a relatively sour first impression, though, I’ve found myself starting to warm up to what it has to offer. Whether or not it ends up reaching the same heights as Fódlan’s world building is something I won’t necessarily expect, but I’ll hold to hope that the use of “emblems” won’t tarnish what this new land of Elyos has to offer.