Parallax (Emblematic, Pt. 4)

This is part four of four of my Fire Emblem Three Houses narrative review. You can find parts one, two, and three in the links.

Reach for my hand,
I’ll soar away
Into the dawn,
Oh, I wish I could stay
Here in cherished halls,
In peaceful days
I fear the edge of dawn,
Knowing time betrays

The Edge of Dawn/Lady of Hresvelg

The Ending Theme Song

Every great game has a part where it formally announces its greatness. Sometimes it introduces a new gameplay mechanic, while other times the plot ascends to new heights. Fire Emblem proclaims its greatness when the story shifts into part two, which beautifully merges gameplay mechanics and story. Last time we left off at the cataclysmic cliffhanger that quickly transitioned into a five-year time jump. Your students have reunited with their professor, some of them greatly changed over the course of five years. Continuous warfare has ravaged the continent and there is no victory in sight. Can you cut a path to victory and peace?

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There are four different titles to part two: Crimson Flower, Silver Snow, Azure Moon, and Verdant Wind. Each title labels a specific house path. In Crimson Flower you will side with Emperor Edelgard, seizing her extended hand and fulfilling the mission she set out on five years prior: liberating humanity and ushering in a new dawn for Fódlan. Conversely, if you sided with the Church you will travel down the Silver Snow path and fight her every step of the way. Will you march on the capital of the empire against your former protégé, or put an end to the Archbishop who saved your life long ago? Either way, you will have blood on your hands as you forge a new peace.

The other two paths are a bit more distinctive. In Azure Moon you will accompany crown prince Dimitri, fighting both his enemies and personal demons on his path to becoming king of Faerghus. The last five years have been unkind to Dimitri, leaving him broken and unsure about both his past and future. Can you solve the mystery of his parents’ death and reconcile him with the woman he cares for most? It’s a deeply emotional journey. Lastly, Verdant Wind involves a journey with Duke Claude, who is desperately trying to unify the Alliance’s dukedoms and determine who exactly set this war into motion. Who is Claude really and what is his endgame? What happened a millennia ago and how did the magical crest system come about? You will fight with Claude to ensure that history does not tragically repeat itself.

Regardless of your path chosen, there are many permutations still present. What students did you recruit in part one and how are they faring alongside you? More importantly, what students turned against you, and will you have to face them in battle? As previously mentioned, there is an entire gameplay support system running in the background, which means that events might transpire differently based on companionship. Unique conversations can be experienced on the battlefield, as can the opportunity to spare the life of a former student fighting you. Heartbreakingly, not everyone can be spared in this murky and gray war that has few villains present.

Perhaps most interestingly is the fact that there is no correct or “golden” path in the game. The creators of Fire Emblem have confirmed that each story is equally valid, no matter how compelling a certain story narrative is. Many players of the game have walked away confident that their story was “the right one”, only to turn around and play the game once more with a different house. Only then can all of the complexities of the game be truly understood: the absurdly deep lore, multifaceted characters, and dramatic climaxes all take new meaning when seen from a different perspective. This is a game that becomes something greater the more it is experienced time and time again.

And that brings us to the conclusion(s). After the final unique mission of every respective playthrough is completed there are still things left to experience. The entire support system reaches its crescendo: your character returns to the monastery tower where they first met their love five years prior. Heartfelt feelings are exchanged and a marriage proposal is made. The game concludes with an ending epilogue sequence that details how your character lives after the war with their new wife or husband. Likewise, your other battle companions each have dynamic endings depending on their closest relationships: lifelong friendships, surprise marriages, and bittersweet endings can result.

Let us return to the discussion that started this four-part series: why is epic fantasy so challenging and how can it be done well? What makes Fire Emblem superior to so many of its videogame counterparts? It’s simple really, but oh so complex. Epic fantasy has to force an emotional investment, provoke plot curiosity, and ultimately satiate both in a satisfactory way all the while to the very long end. Scope and scale are just exponential factors, not individualistic selling points. Saying a game takes hundreds of hours doesn’t mean it’s good. Every great story in epic fantasy has to have specific strengths to stand on both micro and macro, or it will collapse under its own weight. There is no other path to narrative victory but this one!

Paradox (Emblematic, Pt. 3)

This is part three of four of my Fire Emblem Three Houses narrative review. You can find parts one and two in the links.

This has nothing do to with where you were born. That we are fighting now is only a result of the choices you’ve made. So I’m going to give that the response it deserves. I will crush you with everything I have!

Fire Emblem Three Houses

To quickly recap this blog series I will summarize where we are in the Fire Emblem Three Houses narrative: part one outlined the general world and concept of the game, while part two elaborated on the dynamic character system running parallel to it. Parts three and four of the series will now be focused on the convergence of these two building blocks. As previously mentioned, the backbone of the Three Houses’ narrative is the inclusion of multiple timelines and a five-year time jump. While interesting in their own respective rights, each of these features could easily undermine everything in the game. Fortunately, the narrative is heightened in every way by their inclusion, making the game truly memorable.

Before we can get to these dynamic events, however, we must first outline the underlying tension that propels the plot forward. The continent of Fódlan is dominated by two powers, one institutional and one primordial. The holy Church of Seiros serves as the spiritual guide of the continent, operating like the Roman Catholic Church during the days of the Holy Roman Empire. The other and much less predictable power is that of the magical “crest” system. This magic is something that is hereditary: it is literally transferred via blood and is the basis for the establishment of the aristocracy across the entire continent. Effectively the Church co-rules with the crest-bearing aristocratic leaders everywhere.

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  Black Eagles

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  Blue Lions

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  Golden Deer

And that’s where this all becomes terribly personal. The titular three houses in the game each represent a nation: the Black Eagles come from the Empire, the Blue Lions from the Kingdom, and the Golden Deer from the Alliance. While each group is very nuanced, the easiest Harry Potter shorthand would be to say that the Eagles are Slytherin, the Lions are Gryffindor, and the Deer are Hufflepuff. (A secret fourth house exists and is more or less Ravenclaw.) The ambitious future Empress Edelgard leads the Black Eagles, while the brooding crown prince Dimitri heads the Blue Lions. Lastly, the mysterious Alliance heir Claude commands the Golden Deer (see the character slideshow above).

The player’s professorial protagonist chooses to lead a house at the beginning of the game, effectively creating trifurcation within two hours of gameplay. Nonetheless, the first 12 academic months experienced with any house hit the same story beats, albeit with wildly different perspectives. What starts out as a regular school year quickly becomes something much grander. All manner of unseen forces are operating at the monastery school, many of which have conflicting ideologies. Everyone is hiding something: their past, their future, or perhaps just a relationship that could change everything. The white clouds of act one quickly give away to a gathering storm.

Near the end of the school year, both literal and figurative masks come off, forcing a schism in the established order. It turns out not everyone is fine with the twisted and oppressive magical crest system run by the Church. Likewise, the Church’s less than noble machinations appear to be undermining it, as are the ancient societies in the shadows plotting revenge. And so the friendly competition and idealism amongst the students and their professors quickly come under assault, leading to a time of choice for all. Will the player side with the so-called liberators, strike back with the ruthless reactionaries, or attempt to bring an end to both in a quest for continental unity? Each house has a path.

Act one of the story concludes with an epic battle that links it to the second half of Three Houses. The graduation ceremony has been called off in light of a massive army marching to seize the monastery. Are you leading that army, or are you standing against it? Regardless, almost every major enemy on the field of battle is now someone you know and have a relationship with. The entire plot now hinges on the game’s character support system, recalling the relationships that you built over the last 12 months. The player may now have unexpected allies by their side, or perhaps they abruptly lost protégés who disagreed with their allegiance. It’s jarring and astounding at the same time.

Finally, the time jump makes itself known and moves the story ahead after a cataclysmic cliffhanger. Back during the academic phase, your house’s members had made a promise to return to the monastery for a millennium festival five years later to reunite with their professor in celebration. Instead, they return to a ruined monastery to discover their missing professor once more. The continent has been ravaged by five years of continuous warfare, leaving neither victor nor vanquished. It is now your duty to end the war on your terms, regardless of who stands in your way. Next time, we will cover the second half of Fire Emblem Three Houses: the wars, the combatants, and the endings!

Paramount (Emblematic, Pt. 2)

This is part two of four of my Fire Emblem Three Houses narrative review. You can find part one here.

As unwavering as your convictions may be, the others also feel strongly about their beliefs. If you hate all those whose beliefs are different from yours, you will hate everyone eventually. People with exactly the same beliefs as you simply do not exist.

Fire Emblem Three Houses

One of the great challenges of writing epic fantasy is the maintaining of the human element. All of the epic adventuring, monumental lore, and branching storytelling can allow for the humanity of the characters to be lost very quickly.  While almost all epic fantasy is indeed plot-driven, great storytelling can only be great when the characters are believable, interesting, and compelling. Epic battles, shocking twists, and narrative jumps mean nothing if the characters are two-dimensional and serve only to advance plot points. Fire Emblem Three Houses possesses no such shortcomings, choosing the build the plot through characters literally a month at a time.

Garreg Mach monastery serves as the focal point of the entire relational experience, offering all manner of education and training for the students under the player’s tutelage. The students attend weekly seminars, participate in training missions, and find side hobbies and experiences throughout the month. Based on your decision-making and guidance, a student can compete in tournaments, attend tea parties, participate in choir practice, and help run the kitchen. All of these seemingly minor activities help advance students’ skills for the battlefield and develop their comradery with other characters.

Character relationships have always been a huge focal point in the Fire Emblem games, each game featuring something known as a “support system” (commonly abbreviated to “supports”). These supports can be visually tracked in the system and have levels just like any combat expertise. Two characters with a “C” level support will have unique conversations and aid each other on the battlefield, while two characters with a “S” rank will become lifelong companions even after they’ve left the war. Not all characters can have deep supports with each other, as many do not share a common background or flat out do not like each other!

Outside of combat prowess, supports can manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Dinner conversations will transform, private dialogues will be revealed, and unique adventures known as paralogues will be available. Each one of these paralogues is an interesting mission that typically reveals a lot about an individual or a duo involved. One of these missions involves returning to a student’s decimated homeland, while another features an attempted betrothal that goes horribly wrong. Each mission has unique features and can go a long way towards developing a student both figuratively and literally. It’s critical to note that a player cannot experience all of these missions in one playthrough.

The comradery featured in the game can’t be understated. Every time the player’s professor protagonist explores the hallways, courtyards, bridges, and gardens of the monastery they find something transpiring. Students discuss current events, participate in fishing tournaments, study in the library, and even work the floral and vegetable gardens. Each of the three houses has its own classroom, dormitories, and favorite locations. A huge and perpetually hungry young man can usually be found near the dining hall with friends, while the devout and quiet young woman is typically praying in the cathedral. The extreme introvert shut-in is always in her room writing with the door firmly locked.

Naturally, every aspect of this support system integrates into the worldbuilding. An exotic island princess struggles to comprehend the language and metaphors of Fódlan which serves as great amusement to all, but the player ultimately learns that the princess is a captive serving as a ransom for her distant grandfather’s good behavior. Meanwhile, a smooth-talking young noble attempts to woo all the female classmates (both noble and common) with his charm, only to meet his match when he encounters a female student from another house hell-bent on finding a rich husband. Many of their characters discuss prior world events that impacted their personal families decades ago.

Not surprisingly, the support system leads to a huge amount of romance. Whether it’s a boy and girl who finally recognize that they have something deeper than mere friendship, or a couple that initially hates each other but finds common ground, every romance takes on a distinct form. Even the player’s professor character can eventually end up in a romantic situation, but it is a slow and steady process and dependent upon their lover not dying on the field of battle. Sometimes there are only deep platonic friendships, but they are every bit as compelling. It’s interesting to see two female childhood friends have their relationship fall apart during peace, only to have it restored in the tides of war.

Perhaps the most daring part of Fire Emblem Three Houses is its willingness to time jump. About halfway through the game the calendar months suddenly jump 5 years ahead, transforming all of these young teenage characters into full-fledged adults. Naturally, this radically alters everything, from the height of the characters to basic parts of their physical appearance. Not surprisingly, the whole support system glides along with this, featuring new conversations and activities that show how much the characters have changed. The academic life melts away into the fires of war, unveiling a new act in the story that moves it to its epic conclusion. Next time, we will dive into that drama!

Parabellum (Emblematic, Pt. 1)

This is part one of four of my Fire Emblem Three Houses narrative review. It’s good to be back!

Epic fantasy is a challenging genre. What constitutes fantasy? More importantly, what makes it epic? How can it be compelling in its own unique way? How big is too big? While no one has a perfect answer to these questions, many have concocted solutions to these rhetorical questions. More importantly, there are tremendous examples in fiction that we can reference to find these answers. Perhaps some of the best answers can be found in the latest iteration of Nintendo’s Fire Emblem franchise.

Released in 2019, Fire Emblem Three Houses was met with critical acclaim everywhere. Considered by a good many to be the game of the year, it featured many new excellent gameplay elements and story facets. For those who are unfamiliar with the franchise, Fire Emblem is a fantasy turn-based tactics game with strong role-playing elements. The series has always placed heavy emphasis on story and characters, which makes it vastly different from most Nintendo games. Three Houses is no different in this tradition, featuring three scenario writers alone.  It has a rich and beautiful world filled with facts.

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Broadly speaking, the game is strongly based on the history of the Roman Empire that fractured into the Germanic Holy Roman Empire of Western Europe and the Greek Byzantine Empire of Eastern Europe. Most importantly, the story focuses on the papal intrigue surrounding these empires and the wars raged because of it. Taking place on the fantasy-Europe continent of Fódlan, the story plays out over the course of five pivotal years of war and peace. The following prologue opens the story:

The continent of Fódlan, said to be protected by a revered goddess, has existed since time immemorial. Three ruling powers now control the land. In the south lies a region long held by a more than one-thousand-year-old dynasty— the Adrestian Empire. Beyond its borders, to the frigid north, is the home of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, ruled by the royal family and its knights. To the east, a league of nobles that heeds no king nor emperor rules what is called the Leicester Alliance. Once consumed by a tempest of war and turmoil, Fódlan and these three mighty powers now exist in relative harmony.

Fire Emblem Three Houses

Make no mistake; this game is as epic as it sounds. A single playthrough can take up to 80 hours and even at completion the player has not experienced the entire game. You see, Three Houses features a very nonlinear narrative that twists and turns depending upon player-based decisions throughout the game. Academic sessions, tea parties, war councils, and even coronation ceremonies all have an impact in the narrative, making almost every player’s experience unique in some capacity. Nonetheless, I will try to distill the essence of the story is much as possible.

Every player starts the game with a predefined male or female protagonist named Byleth Eisner (who can be renamed if desired). Byleth is a young traveling mercenary alongside their father, who is abruptly wrapped up in current events. For most of the game, the protagonist serves as a professor at a military academy situated in a mountain monastery called Garreg Mach. The monastery itself is essentially a Vatican-like papal state, featuring all manner of persons: soldiers, merchants, refugees, and priests reside in the enormous fortress-like structure. Most importantly, the monastery has many students from different nations attending the academy for centralized training.

Broadly speaking, these students are divided up into three organized houses at the academy: the Black Eagles of the Empire, the Golden Deer of the Alliance, and the Blue Lions of the Kingdom. Each house represents and is comprised of people from that nation, while the lead member of the house also happens to be an heir to each of their respective thrones (something that is uncommon in the greater story due to timing). Once Byleth is promoted from a mere mercenary to a professor they must choose which house to lead in training and education. The story branches in multiple directions at this point. Most importantly, it impacts the player’s path to war.

All of these facts are well and good, but how do they help make Three Houses an excellent epic fantasy? While there are multiple answers that we will address in future blog posts, the first has to do with deep involvement. The player has an active role in a rich story: introduction to a grand world, great characters, and huge decisions within just a couple of hours. Lore serves a purpose here and is relevant to how the player operates as the protagonist of this game. Most importantly, the monastery in which you reside serves as a unifying aspect to the entire branching story. The physical location gives the narrative focus.

Next time, we will cover the many characters in Fire Emblem Three Houses!