Spoiler Free Three Houses Fan Gushing Part 1

Oh...my...gosh. They did it. They freaking did it! Intelligent Systems actually made a new Fire Emblem game that surpassed Holy War. I didn't even know that was possible! Bravo Intelligent Systems. Bravo.

Fire Emblem Three Houses is a spectacular addition to the franchise that managed to give me what I wanted out of a Fire Emblem: Moral Gray, a well characterized cast of characters, and a sense of world-building and politics that had actual effort put into it. I did not expect the game to be THIS GOOD.

So why do I like this game so much? Well to put it succinctly:

1. The Conflict is Thought Provoking: A plot cannot happen without conflict. Good stories have engaging conflicts that draw you into their world. This is one of the major strengths of the plot of Three Houses; the conflict actually makes you think. There's a lot of ambiguity here about who was right, who was wrong, and how one would go about solving the problems of this world. This is the type of story where someone can actually side with the main villain and actually produce good arguments to support their position. No other Fire Emblem game has given us this. This is how you write a compelling story that involves Moral Ambiguity: You break the base. And that's what this game with its main villain. 

      2. Top Notch Worldbuilding: Fodlan is the love child of Tellius and Jugdral when it comes to worldbuilding. There's a lot of messed up stuff that happens in-universe. What makes this even better is that said messed up events have ramifications that affect the present course of the plot. Fodlan is a deeply broken society and its in dire need of a major change. The worldbuilding provides the sorely needed context that drives the conflict of the story. Because we see just how messed up this system is, and what its effects on the characters are, we are able to see why the cast acts the way that they do. We also see why so many people want to change the system. In conclusion, Three Houses's plot only works as well as it does because it effectively establishes the context the player needs to see just how screwed up its world is and why its in such dire need of being changed.

     3. Fantastic Characterization: Another major strength of Three Houses lies in its characters. This game gets my vote for the honor of being the "Best Characterization in the Series". The game does a great job spelling out the motivations of these characters. You totally get where they're coming from. Furthermore, Three Houses also adds layers to most of its cast. There were a lot of times in this game where my first impression of a character was one thing, but after reading their supports and getting to know that character, I came away with a very different opinion of them. You really do feel like you need to read all the supports in this game, because even in the latter supports you're still learning new things about them. Three Houses does a great job at showing its characters evolve and change their views on certain issues. As a result, this cast feels like it's populated with real people. It also helps that the voice acting breathes new life into these characters too. Shout out to Chris Hackney, the voice actor of Dimitri. Another major positive for this game comes from the fact that the supports are really, really good. The character interactions are solid and there's a variety of different emotions and character interactions you can experience in a given support. 

4. Interesting takes on classic Fire Emblem Tropes: Another element of the writing in Three Houses that I noticed is how this game managed to take the same type of tropes that we've seen before in Fire Emblem and manages to spin that trope in an interesting direction. The narrative is better off for it, and it helps to set Three Houses apart from the other entries in this franchise.

5. Interesting Gameplay Tweaks: From a gameplay perspective there's a lot of neat little tweaks that Three Houses makes to standard Fire Emblem gameplay. Not all of them work for reasons that will be discussed later, but the ones that do work make this game immersive and interesting to play. The two immediate examples that come to mind are how Three Houses handles weapon ranks and recruitment. Three Houses takes two different elements of Fire Emblem gameplay, and it manages to make them more engaging. This is also emblematic of how Three Houses took a lot of different risks, and I think these risks paid off big time.

If this all sounds vague to you now, then keep in mind that this post is more designed to act as a preview of what's to come. This is the spoiler free version too, so I'm limiting myself on what I plan to say because I know that a lot of people reading this haven't finished the game yet. But trust me when I tell you that I have A LOT to say about this game. Once I finished the Spoiler Free version I'll be able to delve into more juicy details and discussion when the spoiler filled version arrives.

In the meantime, feel free to ask me questions about things you'd like for me to talk about. I'd be more than happy to include it somewhere on this blog.

FE Lords Tier List

Tier List Explanation

SS Tier:
Robin and Sigurd aren't just the best lords in the series, they're the best units in the series. They're gods capable of soloing their respective games with no effort. 

• Robin: Robin has Veteran and Pair Up, which is all they need to solo their game. Thanks to how Awakening is designed "Robin Solo" is a vastly superior strategy to just about anything else. 

• Sigurd: Sigurd has 9 movement, god tier base stats and awesome growths that will keep him going throughout the entire game. 

S Tier:
These are characters that would have to make it in a "Top 15 Best FE Units" list. They're powerful juggernauts in their own right, but they require a tiny bit more set up than Robin and Sigurd do. 

• Corrin: Corrin's placement on here is based on their Revelation counterpart, who can snowball really fast with their own version of Robin's Veteran skill. Thanks to how Revelations is set up Corrin gets more chapters to themselves to snowball than they would in Conquest or Birthright.

• Kris: Kris only needs the Prologue of FE 12 to snowball. Even during the Prologue Kris is still head and shoulders above everyone else combat wise. 

• Seliph: Seliph is basically Sigurd Jr. but with a slightly lower start. In faster  playthroughs Seliph's inheritance will consist of the Leg Ring, a 50 + kills sword or two, a Knight Ring (sometimes), a Magic Ring, etc. Seliph only needs one chapter to promote. After that, Seliph pretty much dominates the Second Generation of Holy War.

A Tier:

These units are really good, but they don't dominate in the same way that the characters in the previous tiers do. 

• Alm: Alm has access to everything he could want in Echoes. His base stats are head and shoulders above the rest of the cast who start the game with him. He eventually gets access to Double Lion which guarantees that anything he fights will die and he's also a viable candidate for "Hunter's Volley" from a Killer Bow. The only reason why he's not "S Tier" is because his impact on his game isn't quite as dominant as Corrin, Kris or Seliph. 

• FE 1 Marth: Yes that's supposed to be FE 1 Marth. The Tier List Maker that I used didn't have FE 1 Sprites available so this is the best I could do. With that out of the way, FE 1 Marth is a legend for good reason. His Rapier in this game is like a nerfed Wing Spear which means that Marth's offense will skyrocket.  Thanks to the way this game is designed enemies will automatically try to attack Marth if he is in range which means that Marth has a good claim to any defense boosting items in the game. 

 In this game the Mercurius is Marth's Prf rank weapon (and it increases his growths too) and the Falchion straight up negates melee attacks from non-Manaketes. So Marth basically gets 3 powerful Prf rank weapons in a game where enemies are total weaksauce. I should note that FE 1 Marth is the first lord on this tier list who isn't the best unit in his game, which lowers his overall rank. (Echoes!Alm > Gaiden!Alm thanks to the fact that Warp got nerfed in Echoes) 

• Ike (Radiant Dawn): This is definitely the upgraded Ike. His Prf rank sword is better, his base stats are amazing and he gets access to better 1 - 2 range than his PoR counterpart. It also helps that he has the awesome Earth affinity to help his avoid. Unfortunately Ike has a lot more competition in his game than Alm or FE 1 Marth do so his rank on this list is held back. All things considered he's an amazing unit. 

• Leif (Thracia 776): If you need an idea of what a cheerleader looks like in lord form it's Leif. He has supports with half the cast and a Prf Rank weapon that's really good. He's your best candidate for stat booster items thanks to the Manster chapters where he really shines. His start is far slower than the lords ranked above him and he has even more competition in his game, but Leif makes do with what he has. 

B Tier:

These lords are good, but far more flawed than the A tier lords. 

• FE 3 Book 2 Marth: This is one of those rankings that I'm not 100 % sure about. Based on what I remember, FE 3 Book 2 Marth isn't a bad unit, but his contributions don't stand out as much as the previous lords. His rapier isn't as effective as his counterpart in FE 1 and Mercurius is no longer his exclusively. In faster playthroughs he gets the sole claim to Boots so he can seize faster. His combat is acceptable, but there are plenty of other units who can kill things effectively too. 

• Ephraim: This rank is based off his performance in his route of Sacred Stones. Reginleif rocks and his base stats are pretty good. Being foot-locked hurts him more in his game than it does for everyone ranked above him and his late promotion also holds him back.

• Lucina & Chrom: Both of these characters are fairly similar in terms of usefulness. They both have access to higher movement and their skill pools aren't bad for their games. However, they both get overshadowed hard by a lot of different units and their respective contributions don't stand out as much as the characters ranked before them. 

• Celica: Celica is blessed with a nice arsenal of spells like Excalibur and Seraphim. Having Seraphim early on is really good as she can take down the Necrodragons early on in the game, as well as the horde of monsters that show up afterward. She also has healing utility which is nice. Unfortunately Celica's route hates her as it's filled with deserts and swamps that hurt her movement. It also doesn't help that Palla and Catria can fly over these terrain and that Celica also gets multiple Dread Fighters. 

• FE 12 Marth: In the words of General Horace: "What does FE 12 Marth do other than accumulate experience so that he can stab Medeus?" I'm curious if anyone has an answer to that question.

C Tier:

These characters have major flaws in their performance. They're mixed bags in terms of performance.

•  Hector: His earlygame performance is good. Wolf Beil can roflstomp Armor Knights and Cavaliers. Unfortunately his low movement, late promotion and speed issues catch up to him. Toward the end of the game he'll spend most of his time getting rescued by higher move characters.

• Ike (Path of Radiance): In terms of performance he's the opposite of Hector. Ike's performance during the earlygame is bad and it doesn't get that much better in the mid-game. Once he gets Ragnell he's amazing. Too bad Ragnell doesn't show up until the last 2 chapters are in sight. 

• Eirika: She's Lyn 2.0 which is not a good thing. Fast but frail. Sword-lock sucks. She does get a horse once she promotes, but her promotion is late in her game, just like her brother Ephraim. 

D Tier: 

• Micaiah: Non-existent Enemy Phase due to her pathetic defense. Thani bombing is overrated and even if it weren't it's usefulness wanes after Part 1. Staff utility is nice but insufficient to justify her being in a higher tier. 

• Roy: Um, he has Rapier chip damage going for him? He gets the Binding Blade after promotion. Foot-lock, late promotion time and garbage bases are why he's down here.

• Marth (Shadow Dragon): Guess what else that FE Tier List Maker doesn't have? Shadow Dragon sprites. It has FE 12 sprites, but not Shadow Dragon nor FE 1 sprites. I have no idea why, but that's just how it is. Anyway, Shadow Dragon Marth is worst Marth. He's got Forged Rapier utility....and I think that's it? Does Marth have anything else going for him in Shadow Dragon? That's a serious question.

• Eliwood: Late promotion time, sword lock, poor base stats, blah blah blah. At least he gets a horse.

• Lyn: Crap durability. Swords and bows are bad weapon types in FE 7. Late promotion time hurts. So does foot-lock.