\n<\/p>\n
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is a hack \u2018n\u2019 slash,\u00a0<\/span>Dynasty<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Warriors<\/span><\/em>-inspired spinoff of Nintendo\u2019s ever-popular\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0series. With the immensely successful\u00a0<\/span>Three Houses\u00a0<\/span><\/em>at the helm,\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0will return players to the kingdom of Fodlan, the continent of the most recent\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem\u00a0<\/span><\/em>entry, rather than Aytolis from\u00a0<\/span>Fire Emblem Warriors 2017<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n Three Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0aims to deliver an alternative, what-if scenario to the\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u2019 story, in the same vein as\u00a0<\/span>Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity<\/span><\/em>\u00a0managed to accomplish. Putting players in the shoes of mercenary Shez, they will learn and fight alongside the main lords of\u00a0<\/span>Three Houses<\/span><\/em>\u00a0as a fellow students rather than as a professor. However, things are not as they seem\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Though it may be bringing back the classic\u00a0<\/span>Musou<\/span><\/em>\u00a0gameplay,\u00a0<\/span>Three Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is more than just a fresh coat of\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0paint on a Warriors game. It teases mechanics and features that highlight more\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0goodness than the previous\u00a0<\/span>Warriors<\/span><\/em>\u00a0title could.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Amidst this hype, I bring you questions I want\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0to (hopefully) answer by the time the game releases this June.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Return of the Skill\/Crest Tree in Three Hopes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A mechanic featured in the\u00a0<\/span>Fire Emblem Warriors 2017<\/span><\/em>\u00a0was the skill crest market and tree. Not to be confused with the crests from<\/span>\u00a0Three Houses<\/span><\/em>, Warriors\u2019 crests functioned as equippable items crafted from certain materials to boost and buff characters\u2019 abilities. Every character has their own tree for players to grow, unlock, and develop.<\/span><\/p>\n Provided the player gathered certain materials, promoted particular units, or crafted specific crests, they could create skill boost crests. In contrast to the previously mentioned crests, skill boost crests are\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0skill-based crests unique to each character that provide special effects in combat. Once learned, these crests are also available to other characters, provided they possess the right resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Though not one-for-one as their original depictions, the skill boost crests gave players unique ways to customize and build their characters with the right crest combinations, turning already powerful heroes into absolute behemoths.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With that in mind, I wonder if\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0will bring back this system. It is a neat, if grindy, way to flesh out and strengthen the cast. However, with\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0introducing character reclassing, a\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0staple, it gives me pause. Having the ability to reclass all the characters into anything, just like how it was in\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>, will allow all characters to learn all skills with enough grinding (unless gender-locked classes are making their much-unwanted return). It will make the Skill\/Crest Tree mechanic almost obsolete.<\/span><\/p>\n However, I can see a way it can be re-implemented and that is through\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u2019 crests. In-game and lorewise, crests bestow unique powers to characters who possess them, letting them use certain weapons and items without consequences. In\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u2019 New Game+, the player could spend renown points to acquire whatever crest they wanted and plant them on any character, letting said unit wield crest-based items without issue (though this did not affect the plot).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps it is through this method of unlocking crests for characters that the original\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Warriors<\/span><\/em>\u2019 crest system may make a return. It would be a great way to boost up a player\u2019s barracks while also making use of a previously established and functional system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Holst Making an Appearance in Three Hopes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A gripe many players had with\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>, particularly on the Golden Deer route, is the hyping up of and subsequent absence of Holst Goneril. As head of House Goneril and older brother of fan-favorite Hilda Valentine Goneril, Holst is held in high regard by all who mention him. He\u2019s portrayed as a caring, if overbearing, older brother, a staunch believer in equality, and a capable military leader. So much so, that people within the Leicester Alliance thought that Holst should be the one to lead had it not been for Claude\u2019s arrival in Fodlan.<\/span><\/p>\n However, despite all the praise Hilda and the cast rest upon Holst\u2019s shoulders and his story\u2019s importance in the Golden Deer route, the Alliance\u2019s golden boy never appears once. He carefully avoids any screen time by instances of pure serendipity or plot contrivance. As such, Holst\u2019s absence left many blue-balled, hungry for a chance where Holst could finally catch a break.<\/span><\/p>\n As luck would have it, in the most recent\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0trailer, viewers saw a certain pink-haired, musclebound swordsman duking it out with a robin egg blue-haired opponent in a most impressive fashion. As the swordsman trades blows, keen viewers noticed the man bearing a certain symbol along his fluttering cape: the crest of Goneril.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether this solidifies Holst\u2019s appearance or not is still up in the air as the man\u2019s identity, despite bearing the Goneril sigil, is not clear. However, if this mystery man is Holst, what I want\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u00a0to answer is his degree of playability in-game.\u00a0<\/span>Fire<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Emblem<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Warriors<\/span><\/em>\u00a0isn\u2019t afraid to have interesting characters locked to NPC roles, as it did with Daario back in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n Hopefully, Holst, whilst making an appearance, is fully playable and not merely an NPC or background character. After all the hype surrounding the man, it\u2019s about time he is let loose.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. Interclass Recruiting<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n An integral component of the\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u00a0experience was being able to recruit characters to a player\u2019s class\/army provided the player fulfilled the necessary conditions to do so. What throws a wrench into this mechanic returning is\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Hopes<\/span><\/em>\u2019 protagonist, Shez.<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike Byleth, who is recruited to become a professor by Garreg Mach, Shez is accepted as a student, even if their introduction to the academy is the same. Due to the major difference in roles, Shez may not have the same authority to be able to switch their adjacent class peers over to their class. However, this is pure speculation, expecting the worst-case scenario. It will not be impossible to implement the same mechanic, having Shez persuade their classmates differently to get them to join their class.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Having this feature gone will result in a huge aspect of\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(and potentially Three Hopes) identity, drama, and tragedy excised from the game. The story details, changes, and reactions of each student depending on recruitment status, prior class, and route taken to play a huge role in worldbuilding and development, making the players\u2019 units feel alive and reactive rather than static cardboard stand-ins. Hopefully, the interclass recruiting returns, allowing players\u2019 stories to unfold and develop how they see fit.<\/span><\/p>\n 4. The Link Between Sothis and Arval<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Acting as a mirror to\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>\u2019 avatar Byleth, Shez is also in possession of a tulpa, a spiritual being only they can see. Just like how Sothis, Byleth\u2019s tulpa, saved them from death at the beginning of\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>, Shez\u2019s tulpa does the same thing, saving them from death at the start of the story.<\/span><\/p>\n Named Arval, this silver-grey clad being screams alien in the medieval fantasy setting. Arval\u2019s clothing looks akin to a cocooned or not fully developed insect, its white markings and scales lining its body up and down. It\u2019s fitting because Arval\u2019s Japanese name is Larvae, whose meaning should be self-explanatory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is curious is the juxtaposition of these tulpas against each other. Sothis and Arval are depicted facing off in the box art in the same manner their avatars are, with Byleth and Shez crossing blades. The similar nature of their powers and existence, makes us wonder what connection there could be between the two spiritual beings and if it has any relevance to Sothis\u2019 mysterious (and not particularly fleshed out) backstory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n An interesting thing to note is the color of Shez\u2019s hair. When Byleth merges with Sothis in the story, their hair turns to bright, almost minty green, indelibly marking the unification of the two beings. Shez\u2019s hair is a reddish-purple, which lies on the opposite spectrum from Byleth\u2019s hair color. With how these two avatars and tulpas are shown against each other, Shez\u2019s off-putting hair color seems deliberate, remarking on how opposite these characters are from one another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Shez\u2019s animosity towards Byleth is easy to understand, as we will get to next, but there seems to be more than what meets the eye between Sothis and Arval. Hopefully, Three Hopes puts these questions to rest while also filling in the gaps regarding Sothis herself, which were left unanswered in\u00a0<\/span>Three<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Houses<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n