Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

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.

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 another must-have release for the Nintendo Switch. Featuring some of the most robust and enjoyable turn-based combat around, along with characters you'll truly want to keep alive throughout the entire 50+ hour story.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses marks another stellar entry in a beloved series that continues to find ways to keep the experience fresh even after three decades. From its improved presentation and solid voice acting to its deep combat system and compelling narrative, Three Houses serves up a lot of meat that fans of the long-running franchise will gobble up. The main character admittedly can feel wooden at times and the school life part peters out a bit toward the end. Nearly 30 years after its humble beginnings, however, Three Houses is proof that Fire Emblem's flame continues to burn brightly.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses makes a significant number of changes that breathe much-needed new life into the established series that can be refined to make better future titles.