Does this game flame to please?

Join Fire Emblem: Three Houses characters as you engage in massive battles across Fódlan Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and other Fire Emblem: Three Houses characters return to put their combat expertise on display as you revisit a war-torn Fódlan. Unleash devastating combos and striking special moves in action-packed, real-time combat. Cut through hordes of enemies as characters from the Fire Emblem: Three Houses game. Take down dozens of foes with Edelgard’s axe or Dimitri’s lance, or blast enemies from a distance with Claude’s bow. Slash, swing, and spear your way to a brighter future for Fódlan.

If you’ve ever played a Dynasty Warriors-type game before then you’ll feel right at home when you start up Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. The game is a “What if…” story that connects to the previous tactical entry “Three Houses”, so you’ll get an alternative take on the events of the game.

For a Musuo game, Three Hopes actually has a decent level of strategy to it, which is quite rare considering the formula is joked about as mostly pushing forward and button-mashing. Koei Tecmo have clearly understood what fans loved about Three Houses and combined that with the gameplay of their most famous series to deliver what is undoubtably up there as one of the most impressive games of its type.

The combat feels more refined, the roster is huge and fans of both Fire Emblem and Musuo games will definitely find something that will keep them happy. The gameplay follows the traditional pattern for the most part where you’ll take over an area, followed by dialogue before the next objective appears, either followed by a territory with a high-level enemy or boss to defeat towards the end of the level. There are a few nice surprises thrown in and being able to name your main character and pick their gender, as well as your rival was a nice addition.

Visually, Three Hopes looks superb with great anime characters and the locations are nicely detailed. The framerate is more consistent than past entries from Koei Tecmo, but it does still dip here and there. Ultimately though it is impressive for a machine that is over 5 years old now and shows there’s still life in the Switch yet. Voice-acting is also pretty good, while the soundtrack also manages to capture the feel of Fire Emblem incredibly well.

The Verdict

While not changing the formula too much, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes does a lot to please fans of both Musuo games and the series itself. It feels more tactical than past entries, while still maintaining the classic gameplay fans have grown to love from Koei Tecmo. Even better, there’s a free demo you can download to see if its for you or not, you can’t ask for much else.

Score: 8.5