Site News |
---|
Warning: This wiki containsspoilers. Read at your own risk! Social media: If you would like, please joinour Discord server, and/or follow us onX (Twitter),Bluesky, orTumblr! |
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- "Three Houses" redirects here. For other uses, seeThree Houses (disambiguation).
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Japanese:ファイアーエムブレム 風花雪月Fire Emblem: Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon) is a turn-based strategy role-playing game for theNintendo Switch. It is the sixteenth main installment in theFire Emblem series, the first for the Nintendo Switch console, and it was released on July 26, 2019 in all regions.
This game is set on the continent ofFódlan, which has three major powers: theAdrestian Empire, theHoly Kingdom of Faerghus, and theLeicester Alliance, at the center of which lies theGarreg Mach Monastery, which is the headquarters of theChurch of Seiros, a religious organization which has a major influence in Fódlan. The player takes control ofByleth, son or daughter of the renowned mercenaryJeralt Eisner, and is assigned to work as a teacher at Garreg Mach. Byleth is given the choice of teaching one of three classes, each of which features characters from one of the three major countries. After Byleth has taught there for a year, Adrestia's newly crowned emperorEdelgard von Hresvelg launches a full-scale invasion of the monastery with the intent to remove the influence of the Church of Seiros, and also has the goal to conquer Faerghus and Leicester and unify the continent. Byleth's role in this war depends on what the player has chosen.
Plot
The game features four main characters:Byleth, the playableavatar unit, and the leaders of the titular three houses,Edelgard,Dimitri, andClaude.[3] Byleth, after arriving at theGarreg Mach Monastery and given a teaching position, chooses one of the three houses to teach; this choice will have ramifications for both students and teachers down the road.
Part I: White Clouds
After a vision of a battle betweenNemesis andSeiros and a meeting with an amnesiac girl who eventually identifies herself asSothis, a mercenary namedByleth and their fatherJeralt rescue three nobles from an attack by bandits:Edelgard,Dimitri, andClaude. The five travel to the Officers Academy at theGarreg Mach Monastery, where Byleth is offered a position as a teacher and Jeralt resumes his former post as a high-ranking member of theKnights of Seiros. Byleth chooses one of the three lords to take charge of and spends the next year teaching them the ways of battle and going on missions for theChurch of Seiros. During this time, they come to blows with forces conspiring against the Church, including "those who slither in the dark" and a masked individual calling themselves theFlame Emperor. The Flame Emperor's forces stage an attack on the Holy Mausoleum where Seiros' remains are allegedly stored, but they only manage to uncover a Relic called theSword of the Creator. Upon learning that Byleth can wield the blade, ArchbishopRhea entrusts it to them. Byleth also eventually learns that Sothis is the name of the goddess ofFódlan. During an attack byDemonic Beasts on a chapel on monastery grounds, Jeralt is murdered by an assassin namedKronya working for "those who slither in the dark". Byleth pursues Kronya and slays her, but is trapped in a realm of darkness by her allySolon. Sothis sacrifices herself to imbue Byleth with her full power, and Byleth escapes and kills Solon. Afterwards, Rhea takes them to the Holy Tomb to receive a divine revelation. The Flame Emperor and their troops invade the Tomb and engage Byleth in battle, and over the course of the battle they are unmasked as Edelgard. Edelgard then escapes and declares war on the Church and its allies and besieges Garreg Mach. The Adrestian forces win the battle, and Byleth vanishes and falls into a five-year coma.
Part II
Black Eagles
If Byleth is a member of theBlack Eagles, witnessed Edelgard's coronation as Emperor ofAdrestia, and chooses to protect her, they may defect to her side. Otherwise, they remain allied with the Church by default.
Silver Snow
If Byleth sides with the Church, they awake to discover that Rhea has vanished. Reuniting with Rhea's second-in-commandSeteth and the former Black Eagles, the two form a Resistance army and vow to defeat the Empire. After receiving reinforcements from LadyJudith of Daphnel, the Resistance begins an invasion of Adrestia. At Gronder Field, Imperial forces kill Dimitri and drive Claude into hiding. Byleth continues the assault on Adrestia, and conquers Fort Merceus. However, the fort is destroyed by ballistic missiles that the Resistance refers to as "javelins of light". The Resistance storms Enbarr, kills Edelgard, and rescues Rhea. Afterwards, Edelgard's vassalHubert posthumously informs them about the ones responsible for the destruction of Fort Merceus and much of the tragedy that has plagued Fódlan, a cult called "those who slither in the dark". The Resistance besieges their fortress, an underground city called Shambhala, and kills their leaderThales. Rhea reveals that she is one of the children of the goddess and that Byleth is the ultimate product of her millennium-long efforts to resurrect her mother Sothis. However, she suddenly has a draconic degeneration-induced mental breakdown, transforms into a colossal dragon, and goes on a rampage. The Resistance defeats Rhea in a final battle. Afterwards, Byleth unites the continent and becomes the first ruler of the United Kingdom of Fódlan.
Crimson Flower
If Byleth sides with Edelgard, they awake to discover that Rhea has taken sanctuary in the Kingdom capital of Fhirdiad and that Adrestia is locked in a stalemate withFaerghus andLeicester. Byleth's return tips the state of the war decisively in Adrestia's favor. First, the group conquers the Alliance capital of Derdriu and either executes Claude or forces him into exile. Right before the empire begins their invasion of Faerghus, the Church attempts to retake Garreg Mach in a surprise attack which ends up foiled and with Seteth and Flayn either slain or spared in the process. Edelgard then resumes her invasion of the kingdom by seizing Arianhrod in a surprise strike, taking down the generals guarding it as well asCornelia, an undercover agent working for "those who slither in the dark". In retaliation for Cornelia's demise, the cult incinerates Arianrhod with a ballistic missile. Edelgard and her elite forces then proceed to defeat Rhea and kill Dimitri on the Tailtean Plains, forcing Rhea (revealed to be Seiros) to retreat to Fhirdiad. The Imperial forces pursue her to Fhirdiad, where she orders the city burned and transforms into a dragon in a mad attempt to kill Edelgard, but Edelgard emerges victorious and slays Rhea. Now the ruler of a united Fódlan, Edelgard begins her sweeping reforms of the nobility and the Crest system and begins a silent war against "those who slither in the dark".
Blue Lions - Azure Moon
If Byleth is a member of theBlue Lions, they awake to discover that Rhea has vanished and Dimitri has been forced into exile in the Garreg Mach region and has been driven mad by his desire for revenge against Edelgard. Reuniting with the former Blue Lions, the two form a proper Kingdom army and vow to defeat the Empire. After receiving reinforcements from Dimitri's allyRodrigue, the Kingdom begins an invasion of Adrestia. At Gronder Field, Dimitri defeats Edelgard and forces her to retreat, and he is subsequently attacked by an Imperial General's sister, as revenge for Dimitri slaying the general. Rodrigue sacrifices himself protecting Dimitri. Reassessing his priorities and vowing to atone for his sins and become a worthy king, Dimitri doubles back to Fhirdiad and wrests it from Imperial control. He then marches to Derdriu and reinforces Claude, driving the Empire out of Leicester. Claude disbands the Alliance, places their former territories under Dimitri's governance, and departs Fódlan. Dimitri then launches a proper invasion of Adrestia and conquers the Imperial capital of Enbarr. Cornered, Edelgard transforms herself into a monstrous abomination, but is ultimately defeated by Dimitri in a final battle. Dimitri makes one last attempt to reconcile with her, but she attacks him with a dagger, so he stabs her in the heart. Afterwards, Fódlan is united under Dimitri's prosperous rule.
Golden Deer - Verdant Wind
If Byleth is a member of theGolden Deer, they awake to discover that Rhea has vanished. Reuniting with Claude and the former Golden Deer, the two form a proper Alliance army and vow to defeat the Empire. After receiving reinforcements from Lady Judith of Daphnel, the Alliance begins an invasion of Adrestia. At Gronder Field, Claude defeats both Edelgard and a deranged and vengeful Dimitri; Dimitri is killed by Imperial troops afterwards in an attempt to pursue Edelgard. Claude continues the assault on Adrestia, and conquers Fort Merceus. However, the fort is destroyed by ballistic missiles that the Alliance refers to as "javelins of light". The Alliance storms Enbarr, kills Edelgard, and rescues Rhea. Afterwards, Edelgard's vassal Hubert posthumously informs them about the ones responsible for the destruction of Fort Merceus and much of the tragedy that has plagued Fódlan, a cult called "those who slither in the dark". The Alliance besieges their fortress, an underground city called Shambhala, and kills their leader Thales. In a last-ditch effort to destroy Fódlan, the cult resurrects Nemesis; Rhea reveals that she is one of the Nabateans, a race of dragons, and that Nemesis was a common bandit who massacred them, created the Heroes' Relics from their bones and hearts, and drank their blood to gain the original Crests. The Alliance defeats Nemesis in a final battle. Afterwards, Claude founds the United Kingdom of Fódlan to unite the continent under Byleth's rule.
Gameplay
Unit attributes
Crests

- Main article:
Crests
Crests are a new unit attribute introduced in the game, akin toHoly Blood fromGenealogy of the Holy War. Several characters in the game, descended from historic heroes, possess crests that grant them particular abilities during combat such as increased damage or ability to nullify counterattacks.
Stats
Characters possess the standard set of stats theFire Emblem series is known for. There is also a new stat called "Charm" (Japanese:魅力charm), which controls the unit's capability with Gambits.
Classes
Many characters start in the mechanically identicalCommoner orNoble classes and may change classes upon reaching level 5; doing so does not reset the character's level. In order to take an examination, the character must spend an exam pass; passing is based on a percentage chance, which can be increased through their abilities. Characters can freely reclass between any class they have unlocked. Any class can use any weapon, but certain classes specialize in certain weapons. Characters have affinity towards and against certain classes.
Battalions
- Main article:
Battalion
New to the series, units are now able to equip battalions, groups of generic characters, to accompany them in battle. Different battalions give different benefits and also allow access to new abilities.
Garreg Mach Monastery

- Main article:
Garreg Mach Monastery
The Garreg Mach Monastery serves as the game's "hub" throughout most of the game. It, on the surface, can be likened toMy Castle inFire Emblem Fates; however, it is far larger and has more features.
The Officers Academy, housed within Garreg Mach, allows the player to set up teaching schedules and goals for their chosen house. During the weekends, when the player is not teaching, the player may freely walk around the grounds to speak with students, give advice, plan meals, or partake in battles.
Calendar
- Main article:
Calendar
The calendar is a system used to visualize the course of a single chapter in the game. During weekdays the player spends time teaching their students; on weekends, the player can, as mentioned above, wander the grounds or begin battles. On the last weekend of every month there is a mandatory battle serving as the ending of the chapter and progression to the next.
Returning features
The game brings back thedurability attribute of weapons after its absence fromFire Emblem Fates andFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Additionally, when weapons break they stay in the unit's inventory in their broken state instead of vanishing. Broken weapons can be taken to the blacksmith to be repaired at the cost of crafting materials.
Dismount
- Main article:
Dismount
Dismount marks its return to theFire Emblem series with this game. It is a feature that last appeared inFire Emblem: Thracia 776, twenty years prior. Unlike previous games, it is not required in indoor maps. Dismounting can be used to alter a unit's stats or avoid effective weaponry and disadvantageous terrain.
World map
- Main article:
World map
Once again a form of the world map returns as a feature, however it is closer toFire Emblem Fates's version of the world map, where it instead serves as a background for the game's chapter select. The world map is not directly explorable like the ones inFire Emblem: The Sacred Stones,Fire Emblem Awakening, orFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.
Divine Pulse
- Main article:
Divine Pulse
Divine Pulse is an old feature with a new name; similar toMila's Turnwheel, it allows the player to rewind their actions during battle. It is an ability granted fromSothis toByleth.
Combat arts
- Main article:
Combat art
Combat arts make their return fromEchoes: Shadows of Valentia, however they are slightly different. Unlike their first appearance, they no longer costHP and instead consume multiple points ofdurability of the weapon used to perform the art. Additionally, combat arts are learned as the unit becomes more proficient with certain weapon types, instead of being learned from and connected to specific individual weapons.
Characters
- Main article:
List of characters inFire Emblem: Three Houses
Between all four routes, there is a total of 35 playable units, one of which was added for free with the Wave 3 DLC. 29 of these units are fully available inSilver Snow, 32 are available inAzure Moon, 30 are available inVerdant Wind, and 28 are fully available inCrimson Flower. Outside of the initial 35 units,Anna,Yuri,Balthus,Constance andHapi can be recruited in all routes via the Season Pass DLC.
Chapters
- Main article:
List of chapters in Fire Emblem: Three Houses
InThree Houses each standard chapter consists of one calendar month in the game. Additionally, the game is divided into two parts; Part I possesses 12 chapters, including the prologue, while Part II possesses 9 chapters on the Silver Snow route, 10 chapters on the Azure Moon and Verdant Wind routes, and 6 chapters on the Crimson Flower route. There are also 26 paralogues available; Part I possesses 15 paralogues, while Part II possesses 13 paralogues. Lastly, the Cindered Shadows side-story possesses 7 chapters.
Development
In a Famitsu interview around the game's release, it was revealed that the game concept began development around the timeFire Emblem Fates released; while the initial plans were to release the game as a3DS title, the development was put on hold once it was decided the next game would be a remake ofGaiden, which later becameEchoes: Shadows of Valentia. Fledgling development continued alongsideShadows of Valentia whileThree Houses was being moved to the Nintendo Switch, and development began in earnest onceShadows of Valentia was released. In order to release aFire Emblem game on the switch prior to the end of 2019, another development team was deemed necessary, and Koei Tecmo was asked to be involved with the development due to already working jointly withIntelligent Systems onFire Emblem Warriors. Koei Tecmo was left mostly in charge of the game's development, as Intelligent Systems reportedly only provided a minimum staff of designers, music composers and programmer advisers. The Japanese title of the game was decided late into development; since there would be four main characters, the developers chose to use a 4 character idiom for the game's subtitle: "風花雪月", translated as Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon, representing the four passing seasons. It's international title of "Three Houses" came from the motif of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms being used for the composition of the titular houses, a title which wouldn't work as effectively in Japan when translated. The game also had influences fromFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, as there was interest in exploring aspects of characters studying from an Officers Academy, showcasing the passage of time, and how people would become friends and then be reunited as enemies in war. By admission of the developers, the game ended up twice as big content-wise compared to the initial projection.[4]
In a subsequent Famitsu interview, it was mentioned the direction each house would take character-wise was planned from the beginning of development; The Black Eagles would have more "challenging backgrounds", the Blue Lions would be more "traditional characters" and the Golden Deer would be "full of misfits". It was also decided from the start that only the Black Eagles would have a hidden story branch because the developers "thought it would be more interesting to have two stories" in it.[5]
In another interview with Nintendo Dream, it was revealed that Part I: White Clouds and the Silver Snow route were created first with the intention both would serve as the basis for worldbuilding, with Koei Tecmo's scenario team opening up later the subsequent routes and lords' stories. The main basis for the Silver Snow route was chosen to be about Byleth having to fight against Edelgard as their former house leader; during its development however, staff from Koei Tecmo voiced their desire to join Edelgard instead, which resulted in the requirements for accessing the Crimson Flower route becoming easier to grasp, as there weren't any clues hinting an exploration event could lead to a route split initially.[6] The theme of the Crimson Flower route was chosen to be "military rule", achieving your own beliefs and values at the expense of the well-being of whoever stands in your way, even if they once used to be cherished. The theme of the Azure Moon route, by contrast, had the notion of being the "righteous" route where, after some unfortunate circumstances, Dimitri would eventually awaken and realize what is true "righteousness"; that way, the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes would work as the antithesis of each other, creating a paradoxical conflict between them.[7] Lastly, the Verdant Wind route started with the notion of Claude learning how to oppose xenophobic worldviews for the benefit of his homeland.[8]
Pre-release
- Main article:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses pre-release information
The game was initially announced early in 2017 on January 18th in theFire EmblemNintendo Direct. At the time it was announced without subtitle and was only presented with the broad release date of "2018". Nothing of the game was shown during its initial announcing except for a genericFire Emblem logo. No further details were given on the game for over a year until areveal trailer aired at Nintendo's 2018E3 showing on June 12th. During the reveal trailer they revealed that the game would release in Spring 2019, marking a delay from its initial 2018 release window.
After another lengthy absence the game resurfaced again in February 2019 during Nintendo's Nintendo Direct presentation and received a story trailer and confirmed release date of July 26, 2019, marking another, though much smaller, delay, from spring 2019 to early summer 2019.
Game credits
- Main article:
Staff of Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Reception
This section has been marked as astub. Please help improve the page by adding information.
Sales
As of December 31st of 2022,Three Houses has sold 4.12 million copies worldwide.[9]
Trivia
- Three Houses is the first mainlineFire Emblem game to have a single, worldwide release date.
- The name of theSeasons of Warfare limited edition of the game appears to be in reference to the game's Japanese title. See theetymology and other languages section below for details. The "Seasons of Warfare" name was also used as a translation of the Japanese subtitle in the name of the main theme,The Edge of Dawn (Seasons of Warfare), and in the name of the opening movie.
Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
---|---|---|
Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
English | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Three Houses appears to refer to the three houses that students of the Officers Academy at theGarreg Mach Monastery are sorted into: theBlack Eagles,Blue Lions, andGolden Deer. |
Japanese | ファイアーエムブレム | Fire Emblem:Wind,Flower,Snow,Moon. This combination of characters is used when describing the beauty of the four seasons in a poetic fashion.[10] It is rearranged compared to the poem and adds wind as the summer aspect, which is not present in the original poem. These four words are used in the names of the four different versions of Part II. |
Spanish | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | As above. |
French | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | As above. |
German | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | As above. |
Italian | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | As above. |
Korean | 파이어 엠블렘 풍화설월 | Fire Emblem: Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon; similar connotation to Japanese. |
Simplified Chinese | Fire Emblem风花雪月 | Fire Emblem: Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon; similar connotation to Japanese. |
Traditional Chinese | Fire Emblem風花雪月 | Fire Emblem: Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon; similar connotation to Japanese. |
Gallery
Meta
Artwork
Game logo and artwork ofSothis.
Screenshots
Bernadetta preparing to attack an enemy.
References
- ↑File:FETH seasons of warfare edition.jpg
- ↑ Nintendo,Nintendo Direct 2.13.2019, YouTube,Published: February 13, 2019,Retrieved: February 13, 2019
- ↑"Your protagonist meets three main characters—Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude—who play important roles in the story." — Adam Vitale,Fire Emblem: Three Houses revealed for Nintendo Switch, rpgsite.net,Published: June 12, 2018,Retrieved: June 12, 2018
- ↑ Translated by Oni Dino,Fire Emblem: Three Houses devs on the game's origins, working with Koei Tecmo, Japanese title, Expansion Pass, more, Nintendo Everything,Published: July 27, 2019,Retrieved: March 4, 2020
- ↑Three Houses: Famitsu DLC Interview via Nintendo Everything + Bonus Questions, Serenes Forest,Published: February 23, 2020,Retrieved: March 4, 2020
- ↑Three Houses: Nintendo Dream Interview Reveals the Very First Route, Claude's Real Name & More!, Serenes Forest,Published: March 24, 2020,Retrieved: April 14, 2020
- ↑ Translated by Oni Dino,Fire Emblem: Three Houses devs on Cindered Shadows, user feedback, increased save slots, new outfits, Nintendo's requests, creating houses and students, more, Nintendo Everything,Published: March 21, 2020,Retrieved: April 11, 2020
- ↑ Translated by Oni Dino,Fire Emblem: Three Houses devs on inspirations, world-building, approach to Byleth, Dimitri's eyepatch, more, Nintendo Everything,Published: March 21, 2020,Retrieved: August 22, 2021
- ↑ CESA,Tons of sales data revealed for first and third-party Switch / 3DS games, Nintendo Everything,Published: August 3, 2023,Retrieved: August 3, 2023
- ↑ xkan,Fire Emblem: Three Houses vs Fire Emblem: 風花雪月, kantopia,Published: June 11, 2018,Retrieved: June 12, 2018
External links
- Fire Emblem™: Three Houses for the Nintendo Switch™ system – Official Site, official US website.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details, official US product page
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Nintendo Switch | Games | Nintendo, official European website
- ファイアーエムブレム 風花雪月|Nintendo Switchソフト|Nintendo, official Japanese webpage
Fire Emblem: Three Houses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|