As mostFire Emblemfans are aware, the series was nearly canceled leading up to the smash-hit 3DS titleAwakeningin 2012. The revival that ensued has resulted in2019’sFire Emblem: Three Housesbeing its most successful title, as well as numerous spin-off games including Atlus’Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FEand Koei Tecmo’sFire Emblem Warriors. Intelligent Systems' next project is another developed alongside Koei Tecmo, this time capitalizing onThree Houses' sales withFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.
TheFebruary 2022 Nintendo Directled off with a trailer forThree Hopes, which has a strong resemblance toHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Both 2014’sHyrule Warriorsand 2017’sFire Emblem Warriorswere standalone titles that mixed characters from various entries in their respective franchises;Age of CalamityandThree Hopescenter their latest Switch entries with an “alternate universe” story. OneMusou/Dynasty Warriorspattern that bodes well for this upcomingFire Emblemgame is how it uses the hack-and-slash formula to give its cast members even more character.
RELATED:Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Should Get DLC Like Age of Calamity
How The Warriors Series Brings Characters to Life
Warriorsgamesboil down to players defeating waves of faceless enemies, as well as more nuanced boss characters, in order to capture settlements. This core formula offers a satisfying power fantasy for many fans, but it can get repetitive even with bells and whistles applied to match the series a game is crossing over with, such asThe Legend of Zelda,Fire Emblem, orPersona. That’s why nailing diversity in character move sets is so important.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityoffers a good example of how developer Omega Force differentiates what would otherwise be similar character archetypes. A major plot point inAge of Calamityis that thedescendants of Hyrule’s four Champions fromBreath of the Wildtravel back in time to defeat the Blight Ganons and create a brighter future. Since all four characters join the party, players have access to two Zora, Rito, Goron, and Gerudo characters. Both the Zora Mipha and Sidon use spears; likewise both the Rito Revali and Teba use bows.
Yet these characters are all distinct from one another in the way that they play, and these styles also say a lot about their characters. Mipha moves gracefully across the field, stirring up whirlpools and healing her companions. Meanwhile, Sidon wields a pair of tridents that he can power up with aGears of War-style active button press, and his water manipulations tend to take the form of sharks.
RELATED:Non-Nintendo Franchises That Could Get the Warriors Treatment
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Has Fan-Favorites to Work With
Fire Emblemgames are strategy RPGs, so they have many character archetypes and weapon styles to experiment with. However, combat animations are often little more than characters running forward to swing an axe, or launching a magic spell from afar.Fire Emblem Warriorsmade each character’s battle strategies more dynamic, even for warriors likeMarth, Lucina, and Chrom - all of whom wield the same blade, Falchion. One stand-out example is Lissa fromAwakening, who augments her axe with thunder magic and uses energetic combo moves such as rolling like a wheel, pulling in waves of enemies.
DespiteFire Emblem: Three Houses' narrative strengths, in which each student at the Officers Academy has support conversations andmoments in the Garreg Mach Monestary hubto flesh out their characters, battles are still similar to previous titles. Everyone has unique quips and can access different abilities via their Crests, but any student can be re-classed at will and won’t visually perform that different from their peers.
This is whereFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesmay find its greatest strength. Not many in-game battle scenes are depicted during its reveal trailer, but Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude show off different acrobatic feats. Whereas Edelgard holds steadfast and advances on armies slowly to deal powerful strikes, Claude leaps around to deliver a barrage of arrows from all angles. Everyone also appears at varying points in time, battling both soldiers and Demonic Beasts, so their combat styles have room to evolve.
It’s unclear how manycharacters will be returning inThree Hopes, nor how many new adversaries the people of Fodlan have to face. However, Koei Tecmo and Omega Force’s track record withWarriorsgames suggests fans ofThree Houseswill have ample opportunity to appreciate its cast all over again. They only have to wait until June to see those characters differentiate themselves in battle.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesreleases for Switch on June 11, 2025.
MORE:Releasing a New Fire Emblem Game in 2022 Would Be Smart
