Fire Emblem: Three Houses

***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 the Nintendo Switch. It is the sixteenth main installment in the *Fire 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 of Fódlan, which has three major powers: the Adrestian Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance, at the center of which lies the Garreg Mach Monastery, which is the headquarters of the Church of Seiros, a religious organization which has major influence in Fódlan. The player takes control of Byleth, son or daughter of the renowned mercenary Jeralt 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 emperor Edelgard 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

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The game features four main characters: Byleth, the playable avatar unit, and the leaders of the titular three houses, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude.[3] Byleth, after arriving at the Garreg 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 between Nemesis and Seiros and a meeting with an amnesiac girl who eventually identifies herself as Sothis, a mercenary named Byleth and their father Jeralt rescue three nobles from an attack by bandits: Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude. The five travel to the Officers Academy at the Garreg Mach Monastery, where Byleth is offered a position as a teacher and Jeralt resumes his former post as a high-ranking member of the Knights 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 the Church 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 the Flame 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 the Sword of the Creator. Upon learning that Byleth can wield the blade, Archbishop Rhea entrusts it to them. Byleth also eventually learns that Sothis is the name of the goddess of Fódlan. During an attack by Demonic Beasts on a chapel on monastery grounds, Jeralt is murdered by an assassin named Kronya working for those who slither in the dark. Byleth pursues Kronya and slays her, but is trapped in a realm of darkness by her ally Solon. 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. If Byleth is a member of the Black Eagles, witnessed Edelgard's coronation as Emperor of Adrestia, and chooses to protect her, they may defect to her side. Otherwise, they remain allied with the Church. In either case, Edelgard 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

#### Azure Moon

If Byleth is a member of the Blue 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 ally Rodrigue, the Kingdom begins an invasion of Adrestia. At Gronder Field, Dimitri defeats Edelgard and forces her to retreat, but Rodrigue sacrifices himself to save Dimitri from the younger sister of an Adrestian general he killed. 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 one last time and he executes her. Afterwards, Fódlan is united under Dimitri's prosperous rule.

#### Crimson Flower

If Byleth is a member of the Black Eagles and 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 with Faerghus and Leicester. 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. After beating back an attempt by the Church to retake Garreg Mach, the Empire begins an invasion of Faerghus. Edelgard and her elite forces 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.

## Unit attributes

#### Crests

*Main article: Crests***Crests** are a new unit attribute introduced in the game. Based on what has been revealed about them so far they are alike to Holy Blood. Several characters in the game, descended from historic heroes, possess crests that grant them particular abilities during combat.

#### Stats

Characters possess the standard set of stats the *Fire Emblem* series is known for. Attack speed can be seen in the trailer, but it is as of yet unknown if weight returns, though the AS being zero suggests that it does.

Two new battle stats can also be seen: "Prt" (presumably for protection; Japanese: 防御 *defense*) and "Rsl" (presumably for resilience; Japanese: 耐魔 *magic endurance*), and they are possibly the battle equivalents to defense and resistance, akin to strength/magic and attack. There is also a new stat labeled "Cha" (presumably for charisma or charm; Japanese: 魅力 *charm*).

#### Classes

Many characters start in the mechanically identical Commoner or Noble 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.

#### Batallions

New to the series, units are now able to equip batallions, 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" for at least Part 1 of the game. It, on the surface, can be likened to My Castle in *Fire 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 the durability attribute of weapons after its absence from *Fire Emblem Fates* and *Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia*. Additionally, when weapons break they stay in the unit's inventory in its broken state instead of vanishing.

#### Dismount

*Main article: Dismount*
Dismount marks its return to the *Fire Emblem* series with this game. It is a feature that hasn't been seen in a *Fire Emblem* game since *Fire Emblem: Thracia 776*, twenty years prior. Unlike previous games, it is not required in indoor maps.

#### World map

*Main article: World map*
Once again a form of the world map returns as a feature, however it is closer to *Fire 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 known to be explorable like the one in *Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones*, *Fire Emblem Awakening*, or *Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia*.

#### Divine Pulse

*Main article: Divine Pulse*
**Divine Pulse** is an old feature with a new name; similar to Mila's Turnwheel, it allows the player to rewind their actions during battle. It is an ability granted from Sothis to Byleth.

#### Combat arts

*Main article: Combat art*
Combat arts make their return from *Echoes: Shadows of Valentia*, however they are slightly different. Unlike their first appearance, they no longer cost HP and instead consume multiple points of durability 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 in Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
## Chapters

*Main article: List of chapters in Fire Emblem: Three Houses*
In *Three Houses* each standard chapter consists of one calendar month in the game. Additionally, the game is currently known to be divided into two parts, Part I is known to possess at least 12 months, the duration of Part II is unknown.

## Development

According to credits on promotional images of the *Seasons of Warfare edition* of the game, Koei Tecmo is involved with the development of the game in some way, though details are currently unknown. Koei Tecmo has previously come into contact with the *Fire Emblem* series through *Fire Emblem Warriors*.

### Pre-release

*Main article: Fire Emblem: Three Houses pre-release information*
The game was initially announced early in 2017 on January 18th in the *Fire Emblem* Nintendo 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 generic *Fire Emblem* logo. No further details were given on the game for over a year until a reveal trailer aired at Nintendo's 2018 E3 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

### Sales

As of September 2019, *Three Houses* sold 2.29 million copies worldwide.[4]

## Trivia

* *Three Houses* is the first mainline *Fire Emblem* game to have a single, worldwide release date.
* The name of the *Seasons of Warfare* limited edition of the game appears to be in reference to the game's Japanese title. See the *etymology and other languages* section below for details.

## Etymology and other languages

 English
 English
(unofficial)
 Japanese