Every once in a while, a series needs to take that “next step forward” to be far more than it was in the past. For a certain strategy RPG franchise from Nintendo, it had been living on the success of its handheld entries and not taking things back to the console world. Part of this was that previous console entries hadn’t done that well, while the handheld ones sometimes sold millions. Then, Fire Emblem Three Houses came to the Nintendo Switch five years ago, and everything changed. Everything about the title seemed bigger, better, more pronounced, and more nuanced. Fast forward to today, and many still call this one of the best games in the series and one of the Switch’s best titles.
The story around Fire Emblem Three Houses was part of what made it special. It focused on the classic silent protagonist of Byleth, who goes from a mercenary to a teacher at Garreg Mach Monastery. There, they meet three classes of students, one of whom they’ll teach. Whom they pick will directly affect the story and the fallout that comes from certain choices.
All three mainline stories are incredibly powerful, with fans instantly falling in love with characters like Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude. Plus, all three classes had characters with deep backstories beyond their leaders, making it truly easy to want them to not just live but possibly be in a relationship with them.
The game’s combat was also incredible, as it took all the mechanics that happened in past games and updated the visuals, animations, and the ways that one could boost attack and defensive capabilities.
Plus, through Garreg Mach Monastery itself, people had open-world elements to explore where they could not only talk with other characters, but have bonding time with them and even elevate their stats and abilities through certain activities.
Upon its arrival in 2019, the game instantly took the world by storm, becoming the best-selling game in its series and genre and winning numerous awards. It even won the best video game of 2019 via a fan vote that was held at The Game Awards!
While other entries in the franchise came afterward, including a spinoff done by Omega Force, many are hoping that Intelligent Systems and Nintendo take a cue from the “Three Houses” and make another grand epic for the Switch’s successor. If nothing else, the franchise has proven to be a good seller of units, and that means that we should get another title sooner rather than later.
