Fire Emblem: [s]Tree[/s] Three Houses

[Aeolus]

https://nintendoeverything.com/new-fire-emblem-three-houses-character-and-gameplay-details/

The new details have been translated. Basically, Byleth is notIke in all but name and having an official genderflipped version (okay, Byleth hasn't pulled a younger staffbot sister out of his/her Aether yet (also Boney Chainwhip Sword versus Greatsword with Sword Beams)), and a lot of the previous speculation on mechanics (i.e. Mila's Turnwheel, promotions/class changing being turned into exams, proficiencies in the various weapon/magic/movement types, Nobles/Commoners being this game's Villager class, etc) getting confirmed.

The most interesting new deets are levels do not reset when promoting (ala FE4 kinda/more like Fates) Dragon Girl has memory issues, and warping is now a map feature rather than something to break maps with/not exist (hopefully this doesn't get too gimmicky).


Editted for even more deets:
- FeByleth's default name looks to be written as Bylese and both can be renamed.
- Forest terrain offers +30% Avoid and +1 Def. Healing Tiles offer +1 Def, +1 Res and 30% Healing per turn. Warp Tiles have the same Crest Symbol as the one that burned up in previous images.
- Some Golden Deer recruit names.
   - Lorentz (dude with purple bowl cut hair)
   - Leonie (short orange haired girl)
   - Raphael (big dude)
   - Hilda (pink haired Serra wannabe)
   - Marianne (the long blonde barbie)
   - Lysithea (light blue/purple/lavender haired girl)
   - one other dude
- With new training comes new skills.
   - Swords get Swordallsfaire 1 (+5 Hit, +7 Avoid and +5 Crit Evade)
   - Lances get Swordbreakdancer (+20 Hit & Avoid versus Swords)
   - Axes get Axerenifaire 1 (+7 Hit, +5 Avoid and +5 Crit Evade)
   - Bows get Close BeanCounter (can counter from 1 Range)
   - Reason gets Reasonablefaire 1 (+7 Hit, +5 Avoid and +5 Crit Evade)
   - Faith gets Faithhillfaire 1 (+5 Hit, +7 Avoid and +5 Crit Evade)
- Shown Classes include.
   - Commoner/Noble
   - Myrmidon
   - Soldier
   - Fighter
   - Monk
      - Which is interesting given how none of these classes had shown up on the class application exam from Feb's Direct.
- Difficulty modes confirmed are Classic/Casual and Normal/Hard.
- One other detail involving those green triangle of chevrons by certain characters, when a character only has 2 chevrons instead of 3 they are colored orange. If I had to hazard a guess, my money would be on a red shirt army support/strength indicator.
- Still no idea on what those 3 stars on a character's proficiency page indicates (maybe something to do with the aforementioned red shirt army), but Edelgard is bad with Bows and Faith.

[Arvis]

Thanks for the details!  This is still my most-anticipated game of the year.

[Aeolus]

Thanks.

Also, https://www.siliconera.com/2019/04/25/fire-emblem-three-houses-details-the-protagonist-and-a-first-look-at-anna/

Have an Anna.

[Aeolus]

So Famitsu has opened the floodgates. As a warning, this post is filled with potential spoilers, rampant speculation and rushed translation errors (the last of which will likely get ironed out over time). So readers beware....

Mechanics-wise, you have:
- Personal Skills, Class Skills and Custom Skills, as well as a potential 4th trait based upon if they have a Major or Minor Crest or not (Byleth and Felix have confirmed Major Crests, many of the other students have Minor Crests, including the main 3, but not all students have one).
- Personal Skills work just like in Fates, Class Skills are obviously Class locked, and Custom Skills can be used in any Class.
- Additionally, there are some classes that are gender locked to Males like Dark Mage and Punch Wizards (although Barbarians look to have the same weapon set as whatever they'll end up calling the Punch Wizards). No mention on any potential Female only Classes, but here's hoping that they aren't just Peg Knights and a Staffbot yet again.
- Crests meanwhile are literally FE4's Holy Blood mechanic (albeit it doesn't specify how much Crests affect stat growths; or if there's gonna be a second generation (wrrrrryyyy!!!); Holy Weapons will likely be tied to them though).
- Canto's back and will work like it did on the Console games (i.e. FEs 4, 5, 9 & 10), but certain Weapons/Classes cannot be used with Horses. Still likely won't stop the Three Horses jokes.
- Those Green Triangles are indeed the health/strength indicator of a character's Squad (which are largely similar to Langrisser's hirelings). Said Squad can also level up as well as become more effective as a character's Leadership skill rises.
- Claws are indeed auto Brave weapons that can be used to attack twice but cannot be used from Horseback.
- There is indeed a Persona style Calendar system (admittedly, this is already looking like a better Persona x FE crossover than TMS ever was) with a 1:1 layout to your standard IRL calendar.
- Magic, along with Gambits, have a per map number of uses (which for Magic was something similar to Berwick Saga's implementation where you regen'd a couple of charges of spell use per map).
- Gambits themselves are used alongside your Squad/hirelings and can't be used if you either run out of charges or your Squad is defeated.
- Instruction Mode functions by giving you a few periods a week to spend time teaching your students, with weekends spent wandering the campus/grounds to find other activities to do.
- Each Month is treated like a chapter with the end of the chapter having an old fashioned battle for each character to strut their stuff in.
- There are a variety of activities that can also occur that can offer rewards to the player/students such as Edelgard's Birthday, a Magical Power Fluctuation, a Mirage Fish 'sighting', a Choir Festival and so on.
- Instruction Energy is used to teach classes per week and increases in capacity as your experiences as a teacher improve, while Strolling Energy is required for wandering around the School Grounds with as well. Motivation Energy are the smiling faces shown by each character that limits how much instruction they can receive per week.
- By answering a student's question correctly and using them well in battle, their Motivation Energy can increase as well.
- There are four possible outcomes from instruction that can effect the amount of Ability Experience a student can gain.
- Goals can increase the effectiveness of instruction in certain areas and can be unlocked through interaction with the student.
- Group Activities are useful in building Ability Experience as well as increasing Support Levels between students, as well as providing other rewards such as Exp, Gold, Items and increases to the various Energies.
- Those Abilities that have those 3 stars on the side are a character's hidden potential (i.e. they're initially mediocre to bad at it, but with training it can become stronger than even their proficiencies).


Backstory/Lorewise we now have the following:
- Something called 'The Heroes War' that featured Saint Serios and the other named Crest dudes Blaiddyd, Riegan, Gloucester, Goneril, Farldarius, and 5 others fought a guy known as the "Liberation King" Nemesis (there's a high chance that the Valkyrie + Belmondo peeps seen in Feb's Direct are Serios and Nemesis; especially given that the latter shares the same Crest marking as Byleth and Sothis; on top of all of them using that same sword).
- Serios also went on to found the Adrestian Empire from which Faerghus broke off of, followed by the Leicester Alliance.

Also, the last unnamed house student has a name at last. Ingrid. Blonde girl of the Blue Lions.

An interesting observation I've made recently is that if the Crest Mural depicts Saint Seiros in the bottom center with the sword. Its interesting that the sword in the mural looks considerably closer to the sword used by that tan blonde swordswoman from Feb's Direct than Byleth's ???? Crest Sword.


Edit: Welp. NoE may have let it slip that

Code: [Select]

the church is indeed the badguys.

[Gregosa]

I'm not sure how I feel about canto returning. Personally I prefer the way it worked in the GBA games where it didn't apply for attacking but you could still use it for rescue and trading shenanigans. In some maps in the series if you're not too careful you could run into a situation where mounted units during enemy phase would all gang up one unit taking advantage of canto(i.e. chapter 2 of fe4).

Crests being similar to holy blood on the other hand has me really excited. High growth rates are a given but can we also expect boosts to weapon rank? The holy blood mechanic made pairing up characters very interesting as some units could start out in A or S rank territory.

[Aeolus]

As promised, I've separated out the bios that have accumulated and restricted them to just the students for the sake of making your choice between Griffondor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff easier. (as well as some Archtype comments):

- Black Eagles -

Edelgard: Imperial Princess of the Adrestian Empire and the house leader of the Black Eagles, she gives off a sense of nobility and dignity and calmly assesses her situation and those around her.

Hubert: The Tactician of the Black Eagles, and the eldest son of the Marquis Vestra(?). He has served Edelgard from a young age and will do whatever it takes to eliminate obstacles to her. According to Edelgard, he is calculating but honorable. (Is a Soren/Jakob expy?)

Dorothea: Once studied singing at the Mittlefrank Operahouse and admires Manuella. She feels uncomfortable about being the only commoner within the Black Eagles, but generally tries to get along all the same. (The only other inexperienced singer in the series to date has been Shigure but I don't think they were going for that. Maybe she'll be more like Fates' Layla. :v  )

Ferdinand: Eldest son of the Ageir Dukedom, a line that has long since served as chancellors to the Imperial Court, which brings him a great sense of pride. Hates losing. Especially in regards to Edelgard's natural talents. (...but Edelgard is Red, not Green)

Bernadetta: Only daughter of the Dukedom of Varley. Extremely shy around others and prefers to remain secluded in her room to pursue her hobbies. (Hikomori much?)

Caspar: The second son of Count Bergliez family. As he's not expected to succeed his father as the head of his house, he instead focuses on training himself as a martial artist. Considered hotheaded but possesses a strong sense of justice. ("Go! Go! Power Ranger!")

Petra: The granddaughter of the King of Brigget, a suzarian island nation to the Empire. As a token of their allegiance, Petra was sent as an exchange student to the Officer's Academy. She's not yet fluent in the region's dialect, but is committed to its mastery. ("Ve vish to fight vith you.")

Linhardt: The son of Earl Hevring. Generally prefers to take it easy and at his own pace rather than having to perform to expectations. His main interest lies in the study of Crests and will work to the point of obsession towards understanding them, and surprisingly gets along with Caspar fairly well. (More the descendant of Mitama than of either Lyn or Reinhardt.)


- Blue Lions -

Dimitri: Crown Prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and house leader of the Blue Lions. He's a sincere and chivalrous young man who occasionally displays a hint of darkness beneath his demeanor.

Dedue: A peasant from Daska and a servant of Dimitri. Owes a great debt to Dimitri and is willing to die for him. Calm and gentle in spite of his stern and stoic face. (Is basically Benny but someone's servant now.)

Felix: The eldest son of House Fraldarius and refers to his longtime friend Dimitri as 'Boar'. Tries to act like a lone wolf and will duel anyone he perceives as a challenge. (Our resident Navarre apparently.)

Mercedes: Daughter of an Imperial Noble house, but left that behind to study Magic as a commoner within the Kingdom of Faergus. Generally friendly and caring to those around her, and claims that she's "a bit older" than your average student. Also good friends with Annette. (Has 'Sickly/Dead Mom walking' vibes in spades.)

Ashe: Adopted son of Lord Ronato of the Casperd region. He hold Lord Ronato in high regard, especially for sending him to the academy, despite his past as a commoner. He studies hard in order to follow in his adopted father's footsteps. ("I have no strong opinions one way or the other." There's always one in these games.)

Annette: The niece of the Baron Dominic. A graduate of the Faergus' Mage Academy and a long time friend with Mercedes. Cheerful and hardworking but occasionally takes missteps that lead to failure. (Its too bad Mercie's hair isn't Green because we haven't had a female/female Red/Green Cavalier duo yet.)

Sylvain: Successor of House Gautier after his older brother was removed from succession for lack of a Crest. Generally acts like an older brother type, but fancies himself a ladies man. (Return of the Sain/Inigo/Soleil...)

Ingrid: The daughter of Count Galatea and childhood friend of Dimitri, Felix and Sylvain. While she aspires to become a knight, her stiff and sometimes overserious nature leads Dimitri to comment that she's already more of a knight than certain other 'knights' he knows. She also tends to lose her composure when in the presence of delicious food. (Shades of Stahl and Lowen or a less over-the-top Effie.)


- Golden Deer -

Claude: Heir of House Riegan, the leading house of the Leicester Alliance and house leader of the Golden Deer. He seems easygoing enough, but will occasionally show a side you shouldn't let your guard down around.

Lorentz: Eldest son of House Gloucester, and snobbish noble who can occasionally reveal his serious nature. Tries to make moves on the ladies with little to no success. (Is basically Virion minus being the Archiest Archer.)

Hilda: The only daughter of the Goneril Dukedom. Has a tendency towards slacking off and sweet-talking others thanks to having been spoiled by her father and brother. She comes off as a noble lady and enjoys fashion and fancy things. (FE7's Serra, down to the hair.)

Raphael: Son of a Merchant family of Leicester. He's had a hard upbringing due to losing his parents in an accident. Generally optimistic, and spends more time worrying about what's on the menu and hitting the gym than he does on lectures and hitting the books. (Voted most likely to get left behind to watch the castle.)

Lysithea: Eldest daughter of the house of Count Cordelia. She's 15 yrs old as the youngest student admitted in this year. A magical prodigy but is still a hard worker despite her many talents though she hates being treated like a child. (The Ricken x Cordelia ship isn't my first choice, but at least she isn't just another Ricken clone like Hayato was.)

Ignace: The second son of a merchant family within the Alliance. Since his elder brother is inheriting the family business, he chooses to become a knight to please his parents, despite feelings towards wanting to aspire to something else. Has a kind demeanor and a disposition towards nature and art. (Shota quota reached!)

Marianne: The foster daughter of the Duke of Edmund. Deeply pious. And though she rarely speaks in the presence of others, she is at home with nature and communing with birds and animals. (She too took lessons from Mordecai.)

Leonie: Daughter of a hunter from the village within the Alliance. Having borrowed heavily from her village in order to become a mercenary, she trains hard and lives frugally to honor their support. She views Sir Jeralt as her 'master' and herself as his 'top protege'. (A heady mix of Sully and Castor with a dash of Zelgius.)

[Hathen]

I have finished my first playthrough of Three Houses. As usual a lot of this was said Discord chit-chat, but I imagine some people don't hang around there so.

Story/character thoughts:
* I picked Black Eagles. I can't say this for certain yet, but I think I might warn anyone who's undecided against playing this path first because it doesn't feel like the one you should play first to me.
* I think there will be many debates over which Lord made the right choices, but it'll probably be interesting discussions this time instead of just everyone bashing Corrin for being a weenie. Even compared to the Tellius games I think they did a much better job with the conflict this time, you understand everyones' motivations for doing what they do, and none of them are really perfect people or have things just happen to go their way.
* I liked the first half of the story a lot more than the second half, but part of me thinks its because I'm missing a lot of context that I will be getting as I play through the game in a different house (just started a Blue Lions playthrough)
* Full voice acting for the supports really adds a lot, I find. In Echoes it was already pretty nice but here, you also get some basic character models emoting while it's going on, as well as Dual Audio. Also the supports I've read dig a lot deeper into character motivations and backstory this time instead of Sumia doing prat falls over and over or whatever single gimmick a character might have. Maybe it's because FE has been starved for better characterization for years now, but I think they did a pretty good job with what I've seen of the cast. The one thing I really don't like off the top of my head is how

Spoiler: show

In a lot of the A supports the characters will have some kind of budding romance or even a semi-serious marriage proposal. I don't think that's really necessary for every single one, or at least some more subtlety to it would be nice.

* As someone who really didn't like the waifu dating-sim stuff in Awakening and Fates, I feel like it was handled much better this time. There's a minigame where you drink tea with a character, which is basically this game's version of the Face-Rubbing from Fates, but instead of being a stupid superfluous feature, you need to actually understand the other character before you can successfully complete these segments (you pick from a list of conversation topics with the character). Rewarding the player for actually understanding the characters is a thumbs up from me.

Gameplay thoughts:
* I played Hard/Classic, the correct way ™ to play a Fire Emblem game
* It was still really easy
* I like the open class branching that still limits you and doesn't just let you class into whatever the hell you want at any point in time. I actually wouldn't mind an even more open-ended game, I'm imagining a potential game where they just do away with classes altogether and just do the skills up thing, but I don't know how well that would work.
* Archers are actually really good this time, but I still destroyed the game with fliers because they're always OP. In fact they're even more OP here than possibly in any other FE game because you can dismount and just laugh at enemy archers.

Overall, my feelings on this game are largely positive. It's not perfect of course, but it's almost everything I hoped it would be. IMO easily the best FE game since Radiant Dawn, and I think it might even dethrone it. Will report back after I've played more.

[Gregosa]

Got one of the endings over the weekend. Overall, I was very satisfied with the game.

Regarding story elements I felt the world building and cast was a big improvement over Fates. To me it really did feel like a modern take on Genealogy of the Holy War.

As for gameplay I loved how weapon ranks were handled in this game as there were now multiple ways to raise them, plus they served as prerequisites for unlocking classes and more skills. Also, did anyone find it odd or notice how all the cavalry classes required some proficiency in lances including bow knights(which historically used swords on the side)?

I think on my next playthrough I will check out the Blue Lions route.

[Rook]

So far its ahead of FE: echoes for my favorite FE. Sure i could nitpick, its definitely the easiest FE game i played. Plus i still would like a more of a banner saga like thing where difficulty is turned up a bit but the characters are knocked out for a while.  But other than than that the battles are great, there are no real cheap deaths. I really enjoy the graphics, the decent voice acting and the story is passable and would gives you a ton of replay.

Instead of just mission packs I wouldn't mind seeing a say a 30 hr prequel, say before Blyeth is born set in the same world.   

[Jimmy]

Haven't played it yet, but I'm disheartened by everything I'm hearing about how easy the game is. I'll get to it eventually, but my backlog still includes slogging through all the supports in Fates: Revelation, so it'll be a while.

[Rook]

Haven't played it yet, but I'm disheartened by everything I'm hearing about how easy the game is. I'll get to it eventually, but my backlog still includes slogging through all the supports in Fates: Revelation, so it'll be a while.

Its not easy for newbies, its just that they made it so that none of your squishy characters will get 1 shotted. Also difficulty does get a bit harder when enemy movement is greater. Plus classes like archers can now do serious damage to bosses when in the past arrows used to just bounce off strong characters.  Hard difficulty is supposed to be a good challenge but its locked until new game+ for some reason.

[Hathen]

Is it? I played Hard difficulty my first go-through. Dunno if they patched that though.

They're going to add 2 new difficulties in a patch I think. I hope it's more like Conquest's hard difficulties and less like Awakening's Lunatic difficulty (which was just a waste of time).

[Rook]

Is it? I played Hard difficulty my first go-through. Dunno if they patched that though.

They're going to add 2 new difficulties in a patch I think. I hope it's more like Conquest's hard difficulties and less like Awakening's Lunatic difficulty (which was just a waste of time).

Oh didn't know that started playing on day 1 so never checked