I was literally just about to tear into some leaked screenshots, desperate for any information about Fire Emblem: Three Hopesāwhich is being released June 24thāwhen this trailer dropped. And ho, boy, did they really turn our expectations on their heads.
Whereas the first trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes gave us a very different idea of how the game would play out, this newest trailer has certainly changed a few things. Likely, you have more than a few questions about what’s going on, and I have spent some time trying to decode it all. Let’s go through everything, bit by bit. Here’s what we know for sure, some possible theories, and some wild guesses.
A New Protagonist
So, while the first trailer led us to believe that the Purple Guy was going to be an antagonist, it turns out, they’re actually the player character. Their default name is Shez (which we can change, if we don’t like being called the French word for “house”), and just like Byleth, we can choose between a male or female form.
Shez was apparently a “mercenary who was lost to the pages of time,” and in this particular Warriors timeline, they’re being given a second chance at their destiny. It would seem that, a year before Byleth ran into the students at Garreg Mach, they were challenged by Shez and presumably killed them. But in this timeline, something allows Shez to live (perhaps the awakening of the God, Arval?), and while seeking a rematch with Byleth one year later, Shez meets the house leaders instead. In the events of Three Hopes, Shez will become a student, and therefore the player will engage with their classmates as a student instead of a professor. I can’t help but hope that Byleth will still become a professor, if only for how phenomenally awkward that whole situation will be.
Three Hopes, Three Paths
Many were hoping that Three Hopes would provide a “Golden Ending” to the original story of Three Houses, but instead, players will once again be given a choice between three routes with unique endings. The names of each route will be Scarlet Blaze, Azure Gleam, and Golden Wildfire. What remains to be seen is whether or not the house leaders will be fighting against each other, like before.
There are a few clues that suggest otherwise. For one, as pictured above, Dimitri is clear-headed enough to fight alongside Claude, which might suggest an alliance of sorts. For another, the only Church member we’ve seen thus far is Flayn, which may hint at the Church (or, more likely, the Agarthans) being a more unifying enemy this time around. It will certainly be interesting to see how these routes diverge from the somewhat linear nature of Three Houses, and many are just excited to get new Fodlan stories in the first place. In particular, various hints in the trailer point toward Claude’s story (and Almyran lore in general) being more fleshed out.
The Ashen Demon
Oh, boy. Byleth. Sweetie. What have you done?
This will probably end up being a red herring, but for the time being, Byleth is being framed as one of this game’s overarching villains. It appears that they’re somewhat of a thorn in Shez’s side, having defeated them prior to the original events of Three Houses. Now that Shez will be taking their place as the students’ savior, their exact role in the overall plot remains to be seen.
Many fans are theorizing that, based on Sothis’ dialogue in the first trailer, this is Byleth’s attempt at rewinding time to achieve an ending where all three house leaders survive. By placing themselves in an antagonistic position, everyone will be forced to work against them. I’d personally hate to see that, since many have grown fond of our stoic professor, but hey, it’d make for a delicious slice of tragedy.
Gameplay-wise, Byleth’s form will be choosable, so they won’t be limited to their female form as some players were led to believe. But it doesn’t seem as though we’ll be able to pick a name for them, which doesn’t bode well for the dual-protagonist theory.
Friends, New and Old
Damn, these new designs are spiffy! Let’s start with the characters we’ve already met. Fellow Fire Emblem fan Princess Weekes already covered the house leaders’ new designs, but now we’ve gotten a good look at their retainers, and WOW. Wow! Hubert’s hair is really growing on me, and I’m excited to see his trademark laugh is making a return. Dedue is truly rocking the facial hair, but did we really expect anything less from such a king?
And Hilda. My sweet Hilda. She seems to have taken fashion tips from Marianne, but with her own Hilda twist, and…I am speechless at how cute she looks.
Then, there are other characters who’ll be joining us, such as Lorenz, whose new haircut is perhaps his most charming yet (it certainly makes the most ergonomic sense between his two prior cuts). And Miss Mercedes looks so cute with her long hair. But there were also quick shots that indicated we’ll be getting Ferdinand and Bernadetta, too, so I’m hoping that ultimately, we’ll get the full roster of original students.
Regardless of whether or not that’ll happen, we’re getting some new characters, as well. A man wearing Almyran garb and riding a Wyvern could very well be a relative of Claude’s, while the original Monica (before the Agarthans got her) will be a playable unit. Then there’s a blue-haired brawler who, based on his hue, is most likely Caspar’s father.
But enough about all that, let’s get to the real meat of this topic, which is that we’re finally getting Holst, and oh my god, it’s happening.
I swear to God, if he doesn’t do a victory chant like his little sister, I’ll riot.
A Mechanic Mixture
To take directly from the Switch store:
Use the strategy of Fire Emblem to gain the tactical advantage in Warriors-style gameplay. Dive into real-time battles as you and your army of Fire Emblem: Three Houses characters take on hundreds of opponents, while using elements from Fire Emblem to maximize your strategy. Issue commands to your army in the midst of the chaos of battle to achieve missions and objectives. Plan ahead and prepare for battle by equipping weapons, skills, and classes that capitalize on opponent weaknesses. Assign elements from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, like crests or battalions, to characters to further hone how you plan your approach.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes page.
Essentially, it will be like prior Warriors games, but with many returning Three Houses mechanics. This is not just limited to combat: as seen above, we’ll get to canoodle with our boos, too, via the returning dining hall mechanic and various sparring sessions. It’s unclear whether or not we’ll get to actually romance said boos, but purchasers of the digital copy of the game will get a surplus of Owl Feather gifts, which are universally liked by all characters. The support systems will therefore most likely be more complex than in a standard Warriors title, at the very least.
Thoughts and Speculations
There’s definitely a lot to unpack here, so let’s hear your thoughts! What do you think of our new protagonist? Are you a fan of the purple hair and orange threads, or does their whole look leave much to be desired? What about the cast? And, more importantly, what do you think will happen plot-wise?
If you’d like to keep abreast of everything going on, a great channel to follow is Faerghast’s, as he’s continually uploading videos about Fire Emblem trivia and lore, and his analysis of this newest trailer is superb.
(featured Image: Nintendo)
