Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes keeps the best parts of Three Houses

My 2019 obsession was to spend hundreds of hours in the gym. Three Houses: The Fire EmblemThe Black Eagles, Golden Deer and Blue Lions teams ran together. I loved strategizing over the game’s turn-based combat, but I absolutely lived for the Garreg Mach Monastery segments, where I took Dorothea (and her dumb little hat) to choir practice, talked about napping in the library with bisexual icon Linhardt, and attempted to entertain my greasy son Hubert over tea. I often spent combat time trying to boost support relationships in order to enjoy new dialogue scenes — even if it meant the battles themselves didn’t go as well as they could have.

So far, I’ve played Fire Emblem Warriors: There are Three HopesThe same goes for me. I had a lot of fun watching the character designs trailers in the build-up. Once I was done, however, I began to dig into character rosters. I’ve since pored over Reddit, combing through others’ arguments over the ways characters have changed, and which cutscenes were the most rewarding to work toward. Hilda will Claude be able to grasp his neck while Hilda does the same. Only time will tell. I’ve since mapped out my approach for which relationships I’d like to foster, plus who I think Should be friends, and who I’d try to set up — with a little actual combat strategy on the side. One regret is none.

Three Hopes, you play as a mercenary named Shez who becomes a student — a relief after playing as a teacher in Three housesTry not to be a huge creep. Three Hopes’ time jump happens much earlier than in its turn-based predecessor, though, setting the game at a base camp rather than Garreg Mach Monastery. You can still build strong relationships through camp activities. I’ve shared meals with Bernie and Petra and assigned Ferdinand to wonderfully dorky camp chores like horse tending, document organizing, and equipment managing. This is what it looks like Three houses, I’ve enjoyed collecting as many support conversations as possible, before lavishing myself with an hour of unmitigated dialogue content. You’ll see characters fighting, flirting, pine, and sharing a story. LotYour personal history.

I’ve also learned to love expeditions — definitely dates — even more than Three houses’ tea times. Three HopesBy making these experiences more enjoyable, one can tap into the joy of those interactions. During an expedition you go on horseback to a beautiful (read: romantic) location, have a “pleasant stroll,” and plop down onto a picnic blanket to answer questions. If all goes well, you get to “observe” your expedition partner, which the game notes you should do “respectfully, of course.” It’s a great way to learn more about characters’ personalities. And it’s also a great way to date Claude specifically. It’s not that I have particular preferences.

They are an advantage considering how the Musou combat sections have caused me to become ill more than once. I’ve worked around it by setting the game to “casual” (to avoid permadeath), and then focusing on base tactics and assigning combatants to individual enemies. But even within these limitations, I still make a point to pair up students in order to improve their support levels with each other — because I only want one thing, and it’s disgusting. I want to be everyone’s friend, and I also want to set everyone up with one another. I will not be stopped. My own nausea is not enough to stop me.

Three houses made me into a person who spends hours poring over wikis to determine characters’ favorite gifts and meals. You can read more about it here. Three HopesAlready I’m watching YouTube video of dialog exchanges. Then, I plan to make my own recruiting efforts around those little tidbits. I plan on playing with the Blue Lions next just because of the internet sleuthing I’ve done — from learning Dimitri had to swim in full armor for combat training to a number of excellent Felix and Sylvain cutscenes. Three housesMore than anything else, it taught me to be prepared.