The fires of war were lit once more in Three Hopes as Shez, the main character, fans are immediately tasked with the impossible job of hunting down Byleth, who is now named the Ashen Demon for their terrifying power on the battlefield. The prologue quickly reintroduces fan-favorite characters, showing the different paths Edelgard, Claude, and Dimitri take with this new student placed into the Officer's Academy. Side characters from Three Houses are given more screen time as the game does not focus on Garreg Mach Monastery but the chaos of war instead.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.]
Three Hopes' gameplay revolves around fighting hundreds simultaneously and managing the typical strategic elements of other Fire Emblem titles. This includes Three Houses features that have made their way to Three Hopes, such as cooking and eating meals that buff combat stats or imparting chores to characters that work well together, increasing their level. The training grounds work differently than in Three Houses, providing a feature from Fire Emblem Warriors instead, which allows characters to be leveled up through gold or be paired together to earn class-level experience. Seals can also be used at this training site for promotion, but the most significant departure from Three Houses is how vastly different the story is with Shez involved.
When Three Hopes introduces the main character and unlocks Garreg Mach Monastery, they are prompted with the option to one of the three Officer's Academy houses; however, their time spent as part of that class is very brief. The playable house leaders Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri, set forth to solve issues within their territories, forcing Rhea to close the Academy and send the other students home. One of the primary antagonists is quickly revealed in Three Hopes, as Tomas is discovered to be Solon in disguise, a plot hook that isn't revealed until much later in Three Houses. The three young leaders follow darker paths in the Warriors spin-off as the tragedies of war erupt throughout Fodlan, causing some characters to be trapped in a void or left mentally broken beyond repair.
Three Hopes' Story Displays A More Tragic War In Fodlan
The story of Three Hopes' also manages to solve some Fodlan mysteries from Three Houses, along with providing its unresolved issues. Jeralt's death is even more heartbreaking as he can be killed by the player, enraging Byleth, which results in the title's worst ending. Even more, changes came to the story revolving around the Church of Seiros and its leaders, who are made out to be the villains far more than was originally portrayed in Three Houses. Dimitri and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus are the Church of Serios' only true allies, resulting in the Empire and Edelgard falling to the very enemy she sought to eradicate if the Azure Gleam storyline is chosen.
While there are some happy moments within the game, Three Hopes' story portrays combat and emotion better than Three Houses did. The game isn't forcing fans to play teacher; instead, Three Hopes instead delivers on showing actual warfare in Fodlan while providing them with the rush of slaying hundreds of enemies in battle. The spin-off title has reached nearly the same critical acclaim as the game on which it is based, making fans hopeful for future DLC. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes took what made Three Houses successful and expanded upon it, creating a title that matches the original game in quality.