My name is Rachael (Grade 11), and I would rate Fire Emblem: Three houses 5/5.
Released in 2019 by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo, this strategy focused RPG plunges you into a world of medieval fantasy.
The game starts with character becoming employed as a teacher at an academy for the future leaders of the land’s three factions, which leads to the first and most influential decision you make. Which of the titular three houses you want to lead. This greatly changes the story, giving the game good replay-ability.
From there the gameplay takes 2 forms, exploring the academy to complete quests and deepen your bond with characters, and participating in battles, where you lead your students in combat. Beware, however. In most later scenarios, a student falling in battle means their permanent death and removal from the story. Of course, this feature can be turned off or circumvented through a time reversal feature, but it is my opinion that the game is at its most fun when the threat of death is imminent.
This game has a very solid story fuelled by plot twists and characters you will quickly find yourself growing invested in, with the narrative really picking up around halfway through the game. You do not need to have played any other fire emblem games to understand or enjoy Three houses. Multiple difficulty settings allow the experience to be customized, but for the most part the strategic elements of three houses involve how you spend your unit training time and positioning a mix of ranged and melee combatants.
My only complaints with the title are the combat can become a bit stale in scenarios where you have the advantage, more of a matter of marching than strategy. Plus the graphical presentation of the temple that you explore is rather dated. However these elements did little to hamper my overall experience.
A single play-through of Three Houses will likely take around 50 hours, lasting a whopping 200 hours if you wish to see every available ending. In conclusion, this game will be enjoyed by Fire Emblem series fans, as well as those who appreciate solid characters and strategic gameplay.