Genre: Tactical RPG
Year: 2019
Developed by: Intelligent Systems
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: Switch
#146
Feeling Like: Walking a fine line
Hey, another entry from a Top 10 list! It goes to show how much variety there can be from year to year. In 2019 my favorite game of the entire year barely cracks the Top 150.
…Maybe I should have called this blog the 150?
Here’s what I said in the Top 10 of 2019.
It’s no secret that I love JRPGs, and have been longing for one that reminds me of Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber or Suikoden 2. Hard to find these days – it may have been “easier” in the past to provide a cast of dozens, and allow you to build up your army and your base against the back drop of political intrigue, magic and deception in the past – but in today’s landscape that all just sounds very expensive, niche and risky.
Thankfully, Fire Emblem: Three Houses answered the bell and I couldn’t have been happier.
It scratches every itch I have as a gamer – colorful personalities, dwellings that feel like home, a massive supporting cast that you care about, varied combat, a feeling of progression and a story that forces you to keep playing. I loved it.
It’s very anime, and if you’re not into that, I don’t blame you. For every great line read, or poignant scene, there’s an overly melodramatic one that makes you roll your eyes or cringe at the attempted humor. To boot, it takes about 50 hours to beat. I mean, who has the time these days?
But, if you’ve read any of my previous top 10s, you’ll know I’m forgiving when it comes to minor blemishes if a game gets the big things right, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses just does that.
First of all, how impressive is it that you can choose one of three school houses and it affects the story throughout the game? To see every plot beat and ending, you’ll have to play through the game four times. That’s ambitious, even if I never plan to do so. I picked the Golden Deer House and can’t imagine getting as attached to other students as I did to Raphael, Hilda and Lysithea. They were my rag tag bunch of miscreants; we fought and celebrated together many times, and the interludes where they interacted without me started out as cheesy, but quickly grew on me. Seeing Lorenz and Ignatz evolve throughout the years into more mature, if not still goofy, adults made my heart swell.
I couldn’t handle the potential of permanently losing one of my friends – I turned perma-death off and played on normal difficulty. I couldn’t care less if it was easy, I was having fun in the battles, I was having fun running around the school, I was just having fun. Every minute. The soundtrack got me pumped up for the upcoming fracas, recruiting students opened up new tactical possibilities and learning about the students only endeared themselves to me more.
The final act felt a bit rushed, especially compared to the meticulously crafted story up until then. But by the time the credits rolled and I got an update on where my housemates ended up in life, it was utterly satisfying. I’d grown so attached to these characters, both as useful tools in battle and as comrades that I ate and sang and dreamt next to for dozens of hours, that a quiet bookend to their lives was a beautiful relief. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is my game of the year.
It’s nice to remind myself why I enjoyed my very first Fire Emblem, particularly since I fell off of Fire Emblem Engage pretty quickly. I thought for sure I’d be into it, but the systems seemed more complicated and the characters less compelling. Maybe I missed the social aspect of Three Houses, or maybe because I’m not overly familiar with the series. Quite a bit of the appeal was incanting the spirits of former Fire Emblem game heroes, which is a fantastic idea – if I had played any previous Fire Emblem games. Unless I saw them featured in a Smash Brothers, I was completely out of my element.
I never felt such hesitation with Three Houses. The structure was simple and certainly welcoming for a rookie player such as myself. Really, the only issue was trying to explain to Kyla why I was inviting students to have tea with me.
“No, it’s not weird, I’m just trying to get them to like me.”
(Kyla raised an eyebrow)
“No no, it’s so I can get them to come over to my house.”
(Kyla’s other eyebrow raises)
“Sorry, that sounds bad, I’m not trying to seduce them or anything, I just am giving them presents so they’ll follow me into battle.”
(Kyla) why are there hearts showing?
“Well, I can romance them later on.”
(Kyla gives me a look)
“WAY later on. Like a few years.”
(Kyla leaves)
“Wait, it’s not like that!”
So aside from sidestepping potentially creepy circumstances regarding being friendly with students, this was the complete package. I failed to mention the story beats much in my original writeup, but that’s probably because to get the full picture I’d have to do four playthroughs and there’s no way in hell I’m doing that. I WILL say that the revealed big bad was a shocker to me and it really did make me want to try out another playthrough as the other two houses.
But I can’t cheat on my Golden Deer homies! The thought of going through trials and tribulations with a different group of eccentric underachievers feels slightly like cheating and nearly the entire emotional investment was with Hilda, Claude, Ignatz and the rest. So I think it’s best Fire Emblem: Three Houses and I part ways on good terms.
This may be my only Fire Emblem, but I seem to have picked a great one. The gameplay loop ensured I was never too bored or frustrated; I enjoyed navigating the castle grounds and speaking to everybody I could. The combat scenarios never felt the same and the challenge seemed fair. The story really does go places and surprised me, especially in the third act. It’s a bit too rushed at the ending, but that’s probably more on me for only surveying one of the three houses.
The 500 