Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (ファイアーエムブレム 風花雪月) is the sixteenth installment of the Fire Emblem series and the first one tailored specifically for the Nintendo Switch console.

The development team brought in Koei due to their expertise in creating large-scale battles like those seen in current Warriors titles. While the Koei side worked on technical issues and programming, Intelligent Systems handled the game's overall design and core development.

Toshiyuki Kusakihara and Genki Yokota are the directors of this title while Hitoshi Yamagami is the producer. Chinatsu Kurahara and Kazuma Koda serve as the game's artists.

The Fódlan Collection comes with a soundtrack CD, an illustrated steel case, and an original art book. The limited edition boxes for overseas players include the aforementioned bonuses along with a calendar (North America) or a pin badge set (Europe).

Purchasing the game allows players to obtain Byleth as a playable unit in Fire Emblem Heroes. This offer lasts until June 29, 2020.

Plot
The story takes place in Fódlan, a continent comprised of three nations: the Adrestian Empire forming the south and west, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus surrounding the north, and the Leicester Alliance representing the east. Between these countries lies the influential Church of Seiros which holds much sway over the continent. Located in Garreg Mach Monastery, it is home to the Officer's Academy where the player is invited by the Church as a new professor. There, they are tasked with teaching warfare to students from three noble houses. The narrative of the story changes depending on which royal heir the player favors more: Edelgard of the Black Eagles, Dimitri of the Blue Lions, or Claude of the Golden Deer.

Social Simulation

 * Players are free to roam around Garreg Mach Monastery in search of activities or free time events with characters.
 * Establishing a bond with the students is essential to their growth and performance in battle. While some students including the three heirs will stick to their own house, not all of them are bound by this rule. After the five year time-skip, the player may opt to romance a character of their choice and even marry them. Same-sex romance options are available (one confirmed for the male protagonist and five for the female protagonist).
 * The game's calendar system assigns players with a set of days to plan classes and field work for their students. Activities cost points that are dispensed each day and must be spent wisely.
 * A character's class can be tweaked or customized by passing certification exams. Unlike older Fire Emblem games, classes are more weapon-based, though some do have gender restrictions.
 * Using a weapon repeatedly will cause it to degrade in durability, leaving it with weaker parameters.
 * Each weapon type can unleash Combat Arts to inflict more damage than usual, though this comes at the cost of sacrificing durability.

Battle System

 * Like previous Fire Emblem titles, battles take place on a grid-based map with each unit on both sides given a turn to move and act accordingly.
 * An auto-battle function is included.
 * New to the series are battalions and gambits which provide characters with passive bonuses and tactics.
 * If the player's professor level is C or higher, they can attach undeployed units called adjutants to active participants in order to acquire easy experience. The number of adjutants a player can bring depends on their current professor level.
 * Both Classic and Casual difficulty settings are available.
 * Any action made can be undone up to three times using the Divine Pulse ability.

Miscellaneous

 * After clearing the game, players can keep whatever progress they made with the New Game+ function.
 * Online features include interacting with other players at the academy and buying items from them.
 * This game is compatible with amiibo.
 * Downloadable content will be made available after receiving an expansion pass that lasts until April 2020.

Related Media
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was first announced in January 17 during a Nintendo Direct stream, though the game's subtitle was unknown until 2018. Video footages were shown in E3 2018 and 2019.

In Japan, reserving a copy at Geo retailer stores yields three handkerchiefs emblazoned with the crests of the three houses. The reservation period for this offer began on June 14 and will last until July 25.

Current merchandise includes pin buttons, acrylic stands, tapestries, masking tapes, and mugs.

Trivia

 * The game's story of three warring nations is said to have been partially inspired by Romance of the Three Kingdoms, particularly Koei's Dynasty Warriors series.