The Fire Emblem games are a series of tactical, turn-based, RPGs set in a medieval fantasy world teetering on the edge of a massive conflict.
I’ve always enjoyed the games since the GBA and 3DS titles, but 2019’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses on the Switch completely blew my mind with its gameplay, strategy and incredible cast of characters.
So I was overjoyed and a little nervous when Nintendo announced a new Fire Emblem game, those feelings were further exacerbated when I learned it was to be a Warriors game by Koei Tecmo.
This is because the Warriors spin-offs take the hack and slash fighting mechanics of the Dynasty Warrior s series and apply it to completely different series, like for example, Zelda, Persona, One Piece and of course Fire Emblem.
At first, this idea seems at odds with Fire Emblems slower paced tactical turned-based nature but in Three Hopes it works surprisingly well.
Warriors, or as they are often called, ‘Musou’ games, feature a limited number of characters that you control as you roam a large map accomplishing objectives like capturing or defending points and units.
Charging your band of elite characters through massive armies and monsters and cutting a swathe through them, completing objectives, side missions and fighting bosses.
However, your objectives change and update while you're on the battlefield and you need to adapt while staying alive. It’s fast-paced but very satisfying action.
In 2020 Koei Tecmo created a prequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild with Age of Calamity and back in 2017 they created Fire Emblem Warriors which successfully merged classic Fire Emblem characters with the Warriors Musou style gameplay.
The game is set in Fódlan, a world beset by three powerful Kingdoms sharing an uneasy peace until war breaks out fracturing the land, and causing trusted friends and allies to become bitter enemies.
While still taking place in the same setting as Three House, however, Three Hopes is set in a parallel universe, where the characters and events from the previous title exist but with some intriguing changes.
The game begins with the protagonist (default name Shez) witnessing their whole band of mercenaries wiped out by Fire Emblems Three Houses’ main protagonist Byleth, aka The Ashen Demon.
This leads to an intense sword fight between Shez and Byleth and after Shez receives a fatal blow, a powerful and mysterious entity called Arval intervenes just as you are about to be struck down and changes your fate by endowing you with great power that allows you to match the mighty Byleth.
Shez then decides to dedicate his or her life to becoming stronger so they can one day track down and destroy Byleth.
Shez meets and helps defend the three future leaders of Fódlan, Crown Prince Dimitri, House Riegan heir Claude, and Princess Edelgard, who attend the Officers Academy.
After coming to their aid, he joins the academy as a student in a slight twist from the previous game instead of Byleth becoming their teacher.
This allows you to pick one of the three main factions the Black Eagles, Blue Lions or Golden Deer. The house you join will determine not only key parts of the story but which roster you have access to and can play as in missions.
This is important as each character has unique moves and abilities making them play differently in combat as some suit certain playstyles, but some can be recruited later.
The majority of the game is set in the ‘Second act of Three Houses’ after the students have left the Officers Academy and war has broken out, and it's up to you to fight to defend your noble house.
Three Hopes features more depth to gameplay compared to Previous Warriors titles that merge aspects of Three Houses with Warriors, making it different from previous titles.
Before Missions you can explore your base camp in preparation, this lets you talk to characters, buy items and weapons from merchants, as well as train to level up characters and take part in chores.
These chores strengthen the bonds between your teammates as well as gain experience and rewards, which is reminiscent of Three Houses explorations around Garreg Mach Monastery.
Much like in Three Houses you can also sit down for a meal with some of your team and not only strengthen bonds between them, but also gain useful bonuses and effects in the up-and-coming battle.
You can also upgrade and improve your camps buildings, for example improving the number of characters who can train, giving merchants more supplies, or having a better-stocked kitchen leading to better and more varied meals.
You have a finite amount of time to spend on activities that can be performed in camp. These cost Activity points (much like in Three Houses you gain more as you level up).
Training, however, uses a different resource called training points. Both training and activity points are refilled at the beginning of a new chapter, with any unspent points lost, however, are sometimes given as a reward on the War Map.
You can change anyone in your roster to a limited number of other classes and mastering a class then allows you to learn new skills which can be used in combat, unlock more advanced classes, as well as increase your weapon proficiently, which in turn improves your damage and unlocks new skills.
This game doesn’t feature the calendar system of the previous title, you instead plan your next move on the War map screen.
From here you select your missions including main quest missions and side missions. Once you complete a side quest you unlock surveying spots, which provide rewards like resources, but certain specific conditions will need to be met. You can also take part in extra quests that are only available for a limited time.
Combat in Three Hopes is fast, frenetic and ferocious but most importantly it's fun to cut through hoards of enemies while keeping an eye on your special gauge, trying to get your timing just right before unleashing a devastatingly powerful attack to obliterate anyone who stands against you.
In true Fire Emblem style, you can play the game in ‘Classic Mode’ to add some challenge, which means any characters lost in battle will no longer be playable throughout the game.
You can also perform Combat Arts just like in Three Houses, these are powerful, special moves that lower the durability of your weapon.
While in combat from the map screen you can issue commands to your main characters and tell them to heal themselves, defend a target, take an area, attack a foe or tell them all to drop what they are doing, allowing you to manoeuvre your forces and even trap or surround foes.
During combat, you can switch between your characters on the fly allowing you to try different play styles and see which of your characters has the advantage over a particular enemy type.
Combat has you fighting a masses of foes for standard soldiers to special units and bosses, some requiring special attention to defeat
Three Hopes look like it's taken lessons from both Age of Calamity and Fire Emblem Warriors and used those to improve the formula.
It's refined and evolved the Warrior's gameplay, improving on Fire Emblem Warriors in every way, offering more strategic gameplay, much more fluid combat and a more compelling story.
Fire Emblem Three Hopes provides a much more satisfying blend of Fire Emblem strategy and Warriors combat that'll complement each other better than ever and looks like a treat for both newcomers and fans of both series.
Fire Emblem Three hopes is due for both physical and digital release 24 June for £49.99 on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED Edition .
