Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes brings a fresh and unexpected twist, both for lovers of the franchise and for fans of the musou classics. After the success of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, this new installment of the saga gives us the opportunity to rediscover its history and its characters through an alternate story arc, seamlessly blending action and strategy in a game that revolutionizes the genre.
In my particular case, I played the game in classic mode, losing the allies that fall in combat, but at the beginning you can choose two other difficulty levels: Easy (for players who just want to enjoy the story) or difficult (level indicated for experts), once you complete the game you will unlock a level of extreme difficulty, to measure your skills to the maximum.
back to adventure
The game begins in the middle of the action, with an epic battle scene, very similar to the start of other titles in the franchise, with the surprise of coming face to face with the hero you would have personally controlled in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Soon you will meet once more with the characters of this title, being a point in favor to have the opportunity to return to both its protagonists and its secondary ones, who continue in the correct line of character development, with great charisma and personality, which these games have offered us since their inception. As the story unfolds you will get to know them better, not only them, but also members of their respective families. I think that this helps to understand the previous installment more in depth and follow this new story with a more complete point of view. In this line, it is also a success new main character, with more personality than its previous counterparts. It is superior both for its design and for having its own dialogues, with characteristic identity features.
A negative point is the amount of information with which you are bombarded as soon as you start. Tutorials, options… It takes time to get hold of some controls in combat and you even lose subplots of the story, which go unnoticed in the face of more weighty events for the main plot.
A feature to highlight, which already seemed right to me in the previous installment of the franchise, is the choosing an ally at the beginning of the adventure, allowing you to enjoy playing several games by discovering in each of them a different point of view, accompanied by different secondary companions with their respective stories and interactions. This dynamic already conquered me in Fire Emblem Fateswhere you might choose a side from the moment you bought one edition or another of the game (Birthright or Conquest), through the following deliveries they have perfected this election model in a single game, without having to purchase several editions (with the expense that this entailed for the players), and it is appreciated.
As a personal observation, I have to admit that, having such a careful and high-quality illustration style, it would have been a great point in favor to have more facial expressions in the characters’ dialogues or to have exploited this resource with small traditional animations, instead of to see the entire game in 3D animation. Still I enjoy it good character designboth main and secondary (although we already knew most of them) and I would like to highlight the originality of the design of Arvala new ally that accompanies us from the beginning of the adventure as equivalent to Sothisfrom the previous installment.
We go into battle
You might say I’m new to the gender musou, that made me prejudge this title, I admit. At first, I thought that the gameplay was going to disappoint me, used to the characteristic strategy of the classic Fire Emblem, but following a few hours of play you adapt to the controls easily and in fact, you can ignore some of the options it offers you and play in a faster or more frantic way, but I prefer to use 100% of the potential it offers. It preserves the mechanics of the effectiveness of some weapons or others depending on the enemy, and introduces a motivation system, by which you increase experience by using allies who want to fight. Something that I appreciate is the weight that history has and not only the battles, demolishes the idea that a musou can only consist of pounding buttons.
The first screens are a bit chaotic, until you get used to the fast pace of the combat, but once you control it It is a very easy game to enjoy. It can attract a diverse audience, on the one hand, it provides close and immediate combat, which entertains and absorbs with astonishing ease. And, on the other hand, and this is the part that has surprised me the most, also keeps strategy lovers happy. You might think that we are losing the essence of the main titles in the saga, but the option to give orders to your allies, set objectives, plan the units to deploy… gives us key elements to enjoy a great hybrid. Another remarkable feature is found at be able to fight with any member of your armyI find it useful and original, it is always exciting to be able to put yourself in the shoes of some of your favorite secondary (or main) characters.
To get some defect, the dialogues in the middle of the battle do not work for me. At certain moments, it is impossible for me to follow the conversations of the characters while I am attentive to the enemies in front of me, I would have appreciated a small pause in the action to appreciate these lines, I feel that I inevitably lose that part of the plot. I’m not convinced either extreme simplicity of fighting mechanics, compared to how visually spectacular the special attacks and some of the combat are. Victory depends more on the kind of allies we choose than on our skill with the command, even so I appreciate the slight increase in difficulty when fighting large beasts or main enemies, where yes you must think your movements: when to attack, dodge or defend yourself, choose the right weapon and character… The design of the maps is not in its favor either, offering repetitive locations, although it is compensated by the variety of objectives and the change of these in the middle of the action, making combat more interesting.
We return to camp
We arrive at one of the great points in favor, in my opinion: the variety of actions to perform when you are not in combat. If this feature didn’t exist, the game would be a bit repetitive and I don’t think I’d get hooked that easily. There is a wide range of possibilities: talk with the characters, unlocking fun and even endearing interactions; upgrading equipment and facilities, leveling up and training, changing classes… And best of all, these options can be optional elements, since most of them can be ignored and continue with the normal development of the game.
In this regard, I was surprised by the depth of character developmentan element that I did not expect to find in a game of the genre musou, and this can translate into a significant increase in the hours that you can extend the game. We will get to know our allies better, imposing the narrative at a balanced level with the combat throughout the entire adventure. However, this can turn once morest us, since it translates into a huge amount of information, which might saturate us and end up skipping conversations and ignoring these aspects of the game.
behind the action
In terms of more technical aspects, the graphics are quite similar to the previous title in the saga, perhaps with a little less quality in the main cinematics of the story. Resolution and performance can fall a bit short, both in handheld and desktop modes, but this doesn’t stop you from enjoying the game.
On the other hand, we find a high quality soundtrackwhich does not disappoint fans of the franchise, and some illustrations of characters in their line, with their careful and characteristic style. I also make a note of the perfect translation of all the texts into Spanish, impeccable. On the graphic side, I would only complain regarding the combat scenarios, which soon start to get repetitive.
In a nutshell
Overall, I recommend this title. Ensures hours and hours of entertainment for different player profiles, providing specific elements of the musou genre, without neglecting the great personality of the Fire Emblem saga. It is a perfect combination between strategy and action, with a good quality in both aspects.
You can always improve some details at a technical, visual level… but this can be said of practically any game, so I don’t think it’s a decisive element to reject this title. The musou genre has permeated Nintendoand it doesn’t stop improving with each new title it brings us, I think that Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes has brought a fresh air to this category, and that opens up new possibilities for future games from other franchises, it’s worth being stay tuned for the next releases in this line.
Datasheet Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
| Developer: | KOEI TECMO GAMES |
| Distribution: | Nintendo |
| Release date: | 24/06/2022 |
| Precio: | 59,99 € |
| Platform: | Nintendo Switch |
| Players: | A single console (1-2) |
| Language: | German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese |
| Online: | Yes, you require Nintendo Switch Online |
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is available on the website of Nintendo with an official price of 59.99 euros, in the specialized video game channel and on global platforms such as Amazon, which currently offers a 20% discount, leaving the price of the game at 47 euros.
ABSTRACT
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is a title to recommend, it offers hours and hours of easy entertainment for different player profiles. With a careful aesthetic and an agile and simple gameplay, this installment of the saga makes its way to the top of the musou genre on Nintendo, offering new possibilities for the company’s next projects.
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