Fire Emblem: Three Houses Reviews
An ambitious and exciting game in which deep strategy and human emotions clash.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Whether you like or dislike strategy games or JRPGs in general, if you value good writing, engaging characters and genuinely good gameplay, please, do not pass on this game.
It’s on a level that I would have never even thought a Strategy RPG could achieve in terms of the sheer amount of content and without the sacrifice of quality. It’s also now the first review that I’ve ever written that has a perfect score. I will be playing this game for years to come. Thank you Intelligent Systems, and thank you Koei Tecmo, for igniting a fire that I never knew even existed within me.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a great title that is weighed down by a technical section that is too poor for the system it is on. If it were more updated in this regard, we would undoubtedly talk about a contender for the game of the year.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I haven’t made any secret of my disappointment with Fire Emblem entries after Fire Emblem Awakening—even the much lauded Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest is utter garbage in my opinion—but while Fire Emblem: Three Houses indulges in many of the same questionable design decisions, it’s also a significantly better game thanks to its restraint. Where Fire Emblem Awakening paid homage to the series’ characters, Three Houses pays homage to the mechanics that serve as its heartbeat, relegating the fluff to the sidelines.
At first, I honestly thought Fire Emblem: Three Houses was going to get a perfect score. There’s a lot of great stuff here, both old and new. Unfortunately, a few minor issues coupled with an ultimately disappointing story kept it from those lofty heights. That said, I’m still very impressed with the game. I spent about 48 hours to beat my Blue Lions campaign, and you can multiply that by 3 to fully beat the game. Then there’s New Game+ which lets you get through the game faster and bring over hard to get items with you. If that wasn’t enough, there’s cool features such as finding spirits that provide weapons and extra experience when you play the game while connected to the internet. And that’s not even talking about the DLC and amiibo functionality. When you factor all those in, you get a lot of game for $59.99. I’m happy I was able to play this latest Fire Emblem, even if it stops short of being perfect. Even then, this easily might be the best Fire Emblem game in a decade. If you’re a returning fan or just like strategy RPGs, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses manages to instil plenty of lovely features that make the experience worthwhile. It’s one of the most robust strategy JRPGs I’ve played in a long time, with mechanics and limited resources that encourage you to strategize to the fullest. It has a sweeping orchestral soundtrack that dynamically shifts as you go in and out of combat, leading to some engrossing battles. Plus, the narrative and characters are some of the strongest showings the series has seen to date.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is even more approachable than its predecessors. The game includes a lot of diverse activities, and because of that it never feels repetitive. All the game asks of you is a little bit of patience.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Fire Emblem Three Houses succeeds in breaking with the past, remaining faithful to its roots.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game I’m going to be coming back to and playing for a long time to come. It nails it’s characters and their sense of growth, has some really fun and strategic combat and gives you the freedom to control how things play out. It’s a long game, but it’s a great one. And if you too want to see all three story paths, it’s going to keep you entertained for a long time to come too.
With an epic story, lasting consequences for decisions, and combat that's more enjoyable than ever, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is sure to satisfy.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses can best be summed up as a carefully crafted mix of old and new that feels comfortable to pick up, though perhaps its new mechanics take a while to get accustomed to.
Three Houses is so vibrant that I didn't really mind the lack of difficulty. I was too invested in the characters, and looking forward to the next major plot point too much to really care. It can be bloated, messy, and unnecessarily padded with content at times, but when it comes to the core strengths of Fire Emblem - its character-driven epic fantasy, tight tactical battles and a full harem of both waifu and husbandos, Intelligent Systems have delivered something truly resonant with this one.
Combining the crapshoot of your ending with a few technical problems drags the whole game down. The actual character arcs, complete with fully voiced interactions, do a great job of accounting for the limitations, thankfully. Three Houses is certainly worth seeing through, but it is way more about the journey than the end.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a fantastic entry in the series, and has quickly become one of my favorite RPGs of the modern era.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers a massive amout of content that will keep you engaged for more than 80 hours (and that's just one house-line)
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It won our hearts with its gameplay and details.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the definitive Fire Emblem experience, with a compelling story, streamlined gameplay, and a staggering amount of content.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a very strong contender for the best Fire Emblem game. Pretty much every change to the systems is a smashing success, the storyline is fun and engaging, the characters are likeable, and the presentation is excellent. It's possible that the combat changes won't work for every fan of the franchise, but they feel like the series' strengths have been refined, without the plot weaknesses that hurt Fates. Three Houses is a must-have for tactical gamers, fans of the franchise, or anyone who's looking for a solid JRPG on the Switch.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses feels like the culmination of a decade of experimental Fire Emblem games that bring the best out from each entry into a single package. It might not be the best one in the series, but it is easily the most enjoyable one so far.