Fire Emblem Three Houses: A Complete Retrospective 

Pausing my 3rd playthrough of FE3H to watch this 3 hour video on FE3H…. I may be a little bit obsessed! 😅❤

As sommeone who WAS there for the prerelease for this game I can tell you that you really missed out. This game's prerelease was amazing! The memes, the theorycrafting, the big reveals... For a while, we only knew the Crest of Flames for being on Nemesis and Byleth, so people assumed that Byleth was a descendant of Nemesis. Since Edelgard has the Crest of Seiros and the Empire was instrumental for establishing the Church of Seiros many people theorized that Dimitri would be the one to fight against the Church and Edelgard would be protecting it. There were even people that called the Flame Emperors identity! And the E3 2019 trailer where, after keeping it hidden from us in the rest of the marketing, they showed of the timeskip for one trailer... that was incredible, yet we still didn't know exactly how they would handle it. If anything the people following the marketing got 2 amazing moments out of the timeskip considering how well they handled it. I had more fun with just the prerelease for this game then I had with ither full games themselves.

you're using the word antisocial wrong. it's doesn't mean recluse/introvert. antisocial is *active* behaviour that harms your social bonds. bernie and marianne wouldn't be antisocial because they only passively withdraw (due to trauma), and while sure there's a scene where Ingrid misunderstands mariannes unwillingness to accompany her as a person insult, that's on the part of ingrid. characters like felix would be way better described as antisocial, as felix continues to insult dimitri, potentially even because being so close to him in terms of personality.

When you turn on Rhea at the mausoleum, truly terrifying and scary. Wicked even

This video is only a couple weeks old but I've already played it several times over just as background noise after my first proper watch. I can feel the love and care you have for this game; its shines through the whole thing while still shying away from being blind to the game's faults. I love this game, too. No other game has made me feel what three houses has made me feel, and that is due to such a myriad of reasons that I can't begin to explain it... but you did! You explained it! Not sure if that made sense. I'm just very happy. Thank you for the hard work you put into this video.

I feel like the Ashen Wolves could’ve done with a mention during the characters section. Even with when you spoke on Dorothea and Bernadetta. Yuri does SO much for both of their characters. He and the rest of the Wolves do so much for the overall lore, have fantastic stories of their own, and really fill in some plot holes. Constance ended up being my favourite character in the game, and the relationships among herself, Emile (Jeritza), and Mercedes are so so wholesome and are written so well

Yeah, after playing through the game 2.5 times, i wondered why it was that it was always Byleth's house, regardless of which one he chose, dealing with Kingdom issues instead of the Blue Lions. You can kinda make the argument for the Miklan chapter that only a relic can stand against anouther relic, even if the wielder is Crestless, but in that case why not send Catherine who has had her relic for years instead of Gilbert and the professor who has only had their relic for barely a month? I feel like White Clouds, alongside Crimson Flower, could have gained the most if the game had more development time.

As someone who's favorite route is verdant wind, i'm litteraly in shambles. Great vid tho

I'm a huge Fire emblem fan. I've literally played all but 2 games in the series, and it is my favorite game series of all time. 3 House's was actually the 3rd game in the series that I played and Holy crap did I love it. I remember replaying the main theme every day as I waited for the game to release. 3 House's imo has the best story of any FE game except maybe Radiant Dawn. I just love Edelgard as a lord. I love all the main lords for so many different reasons. My first house I chose was Golden Deer btw, and they are still my favorite. FEAR THE DEER!

FE3H is my favorite game as well and I have over 700 hours in it. I’m always really happy to hear about other people replaying it as much as I have. 😂 And now I’m going to watch a 3 hour long video about it too!

I'm not one to usually watch out of nowhere recommendations in my youtube feed from people I don't know, but Three Houses is one of my favorite games, and a 3 hour retrospective was just up my alley on this particular topic. You vocalise your thoughts on the game and summarizes it really well, and despite having differing opinions on certain matters (like Verdant Winds and Silver Snow) I think this was a really well made video. The quality of your work definitely deserves a bigger audience.

I just finished my 8th play though of this game, and I’m planning a 9th already. Glad I stumbled upon this video! I love hearing people’s thoughts on this game. It might be my favorite game of all time.

I have about 400 hours, its my comfort game and find myself replaying multiple times a month, great video

This was my first Fire Emblem game as well. The unfortunate part of that is, from what I’ve seen of others people’s playthroughs, videos, & comments from/about other entries in the series, Three Houses set the standard way too high for me to see myself enjoying trying the other games. 😅 (Yes, even Engage. Especially Engage…)

I’ve been waiting for this! Great vegetables!

Gonna heavily disagree with the Verdant Wind analysis in that you've basically taken out the heart of the story, the Golden Deer learning to unite and Claude learning to let down his walls to let them in while also pursuing his own objectives, as well as the plot relevant portions of SS that are basically just "Claude's doing what he did in VW, but off-screen" this time. It's admittedly an extremely subjective thing, but I generally find a lot of people ignore that and focus on Byleth-heavy focus while ignoring large parts of the VW story when complaining it's a copy-paste, when AM is also a copy-paste, it just ends earlier and with more unanswered questions because literally everything gets subsumed into Dimitri's character arc, up to and including basic logic in terms of the war campaign's actual progress (like, Faerghus barely exists in 3H after White Clouds, it gets conquered and liberated almost entirely off-screen, compared to the Alliance being the main battleground for the early part of Part 2).

I think one thing that separates Three Houses from the rest of the Fire Emblem series (as far as i know, i haven't played gaiden, echos, 4, 5, or radiant dawn) is the worldbuilding, and how it connects plot and character writing to the worldbuilding to the extent that I almost enjoyed the support system for once. A really easy way to make otherwise simple characters more interesting is to introduce them with a few basic traits, and then later provide more information which recontextualizes those original traits. Basically give the character a "twist." Fire Emblem does this sometimes, usually to decent effect. A very basic example is Yunaka in Engage, who is initially introduced with a very bubbly and over the top personality, which the player will see in a new light after a few supports when they realize that Yunaka is actually an assassin putting on a bubbly persona to hide her past. Note, even if the player has guessed this twist before its fully revealed (its kinda obvious lmao) it can still create a satisfying and memorable character, since the player is now motivated to confirm their suspicions, and will be satisfied when they do. So its not a big deal if people figure out the "twist" before it happens. There are other examples of recontextualization in Engage and other games, but the way Three Houses integrates its characters into the worldbuilding allows this recontextualization to occur for the whole cast as the player learns more about the world. Many supports in Three Houses don't just provide lore that recontextualizes that specific character, but which provides worldbuilding that serves to provide context for the whole cast, usually through crests (almost like the game is about crests or something). For example Hanneman and Linhardt, who are crest scholars, have supports where they talk about both the mechanics of the crests, and the way crests impact Fodlans society. Lysithea, Marianne, and Edelgard as you mentioned in the video each have backgrounds that shed light on the impact of crests and Those Who Slither In The Dark on them as individuals, and Fodlan in general. Characters backstories are directly tied to the politics of Fodlan, and so learning more about the characters through supports also often reveals information about these politics and Fodlan as a society, which are that which motivates Edelgard and as a result the plot. This is also true for side plots like the tragedy of Duscur part of Azure Moon, where the tragedy is first introduced as an element of character backstory through supports, and is then of course part of the plot in the early part of Azure Moon. I think this is the best example in the game; Sylvain is introduced as a kinda dickish womanizer, who is heir to the house Gautier. I know my initial impression of Sylvain was that of a spoiled noble brat, and I wasn't intrigued by his character. However, in Chapter 5, Sylvain's brother Miklan steals their houses Relic and the player must fight and unfortunately kill to take it back from him. Completing the chapter, the player will learn that Miklan was actually Sylvain's older brother, and his actions were likely provoked by how he was passed over as heir because Sylvain has a Crest, and Miklan doesn't. This knowledge about Sylvain's backstory doesn't just recontextualize his character, but also provides worldbuilding by giving the player a better understanding of how important crests are in Fodlan's societal and political structures, and how inheritance is tied to crests. And that knowledge about crests isn't just worldbuilding for its own sake, it's info that recontextualizes the whole cast. Crests are such an important part of Fodlan, that your perception of even characters without crests is influenced by your understanding of how crests impact Fodlan. It's a brilliant and efficient moment of writing, as it allows the writers to intersect and expand upon all three main pillars of writing in the game; plot, worldbuilding, and character writing; all at the same time. This connection between these three pillars even helps the game seem much better than it really is. As you said in the video, the Golden Deer characters tend to be the least complex, I'd say because it was likely the last route created, so the Blue Lions and Black Eagles had more time to be written into the story and world. Yet even these characters who mostly lack direct ties to the plot (at least in comparison to the other houses) are made more interesting just by existing within the context of the world of Fodlan as created by the game. The Golden Deer aren't completely lacking connection to the world either. Characters like Claude, Hilda, and Lorenz, whose connections to their Alliance families give some insight into how the multi-state structure of the Alliance has positive and negative influences on its members, and some of the struggles the Alliance faces. Like Leone, Raphael, and Ignatz, whos merchant families and non-noble identities provide some minor insight into what Fodlan is like for more average or middle class equivalent members of society. Like Lysithea and Marianne who, as aforementioned, provide insight into how crests and Those Who Slither In The Dark (sorry still gotta type it out its funny) impact individuals. The main thing with the Golden Deer characters is that with maybe the exception of Lysithea and Marianne, much of their connection to the worldbuilding is a bit isolated, focusing on specifically the Alliance and it's issues, which are a bit disconnected from the impact of crests which defines the Kingdom and Empire, and which is of course the main issue the games plot revolves around. Again, probably because it was the last route and is more of its own thing than the other routes. IMO. Even so, the characters feel grounded because the game put the effort in to build a ground for them to stand on. Most Fire Emblem games have very barebones plot and worldbuilding, with the worldbuilding existing to serve the plot, and the plot existing to serve the gameplay. "We created a desert country that has a temple in the desert where there's this plot relevant item so we can have a desert themed map and maybe a vaguely Arabic or African inspired character" that sort of thing. I don't mind that especially in the older games, but seeing Engage follow that formula to a T when Three Houses made such big steps towards making all three of the games writing pillars serve each other AND the gameplay was pretty disappointing, even if Engage wasn't that much more poorly written than most FE games. I think it's fair to say IS bit off more than they could chew with Three Houses, and as a result the game has it's fair share of plot contrivances and holes in the lore. But while it has many lows, I really do think Three Houses is the height of efficient writing in Fire Emblem through it's heavy use of worldbuilding to connect plot and characters. It's a shame that the game has such a hard time with overall plot, and that Golden Deer were clearly given way less effort than the other routes (people often say Crimson Flower is the most rushed route but when you take into account how much of VW is just ripped from SS... Idk) because Three Houses has the flesh of an A+ written game, but the skeleton of a C- game, and it can't hold itself up. Alright essay over, rambling time. I also really liked the voice acting. Despite all that stuff i said about the supports being good in 3H i still kinda hate the support system, but the good voice acting in combination with the allure of potential lore made me sit through them on my first couple of playthroughs, which I honestly couldn't make myself do for Engage, ds emblem, Awakening and Fates (i can count on one hand the amount of support convos ive even accessed in gba fe... so). I agree that Azure Moon and Crimson Flower are the best written routes, though honestly I still would rather replay Verdant Wind because Nemesis was a much cooler boss fight and it's longer. It seems that the first route they created was Silver Snow, and then Crimson Flower, and yet I do think Azure Moon is proooobably better. I still haven't played SS because it just seems lame and I've apparently pretty much played it in VW, but I think that after SS and CF, the order of AM, and then VW makes the most sense as the likely production order. CF was apparently written as a secret route by the writer, and according to them its 3 times easier to access in the game than they had originally imagined, so its shallowness makes sense, since in it's originally intended context, it'd be more of an easter egg version of SS, with AM as a contrasting route to both SS and AM. The writers have outright stated they designed the game around the idea of your student becoming the antagonist (referring to Edelgard) as well. I think my assumptions are logical, and that VW was the last created route, since its the most narratively separate, and is composed mostly of SS maps which we know for sure was the first route created. I'm ultimately glad they did 4 routes because I quite like the Golden Deer characters, in part because of their simplicity and being kinda the odd ones out, but I am also sad we didnt get to see a 3h where instead of making VW they spent that time polishing and perhaps expanding the first 3 routes. I played CF 2nd after VW, and when they just wrote off TWSITD at the end I was so dumbfounded I wondered how anyone could be satisfied with CF, since I had played VW first and it was longer, and felt more complete. That was just my initial reaction, I'm more positive on it now, but man. It's still kinda bewildering. Anyway I really like Three Houses but I do wish it was better, and that they didn't put ambush spawns in Maddenning. Fuck that horseshit

Such a good video glad to have it randomly recommended to me

Recently discovered your channel, love your content, keep up the great work!

I think Azure Moon could've been perfect had you learned what happened to Edlegard but she never remembered Dimitri and after defeating her, you learn about the truth behind the tragedy of Duscar and get justice for both the tragedy of Duscar and Edlegard, by defeating Thales then. Dimitri learning the difference between revenge and justice, completing his story and preparing him to be a wise king. As it stands, I agree that Azure Moon is still the best route, unresolved plot threads and all, so maybe it would've seemed like too much favoritism since white clouds already seems to favor the blue lions. A simple fix to Crimson Flower could've been Edlegard also trying to resolve things peacefully, sending messengers to the kingdom trying to get them to hand over Rhea. Then I would've had Rhea herself or someone loyal to her, like Catherine, killing the messengers to ensure the kingdom continues to protect her, thus cementing Rhea as the antagonist but painting Edlegard in less of a warmongering light. Now, unable to discern if it's the kingdom or Rhea killing her messengers, but knowing further diplomacy is pointless, Edlegard attacks. Boom, everyone is justified. Rhea doesn't want to die and is willing to sacrifice the kingdom to survive, Dimitri wants revenge on Edlegard anyway, Edlegard tried for peace but ultimately had to choose war. Her route also should've ignored the alliance and headed straight for Rhea then tackled the Agarthans. Or you could've just added them on the end since Crimson Flower was so short anyway.

I am someone who has never actually played the game before but I have heard a lot about it and when I came across this videos I was intrigued and so I watched it! Since I’ve never played before I did have to rewatch some parts to fully understand and I’m so glad did because I now know so much more about this fantastic game!!! I can’t wait for your next video!

ironically i disagree about the permadeath point you made lol. in just about any other fe game I'm an advocate for permadeath, but, since three houses doesnt give you any new units post-timeskip, it's actually very detrimental to lose units in the mid-late game. it's difficult to train new units to fill a spot and, often times, it isnt plausible to. just about every fe "elitists" i know dont hesitate to reset/divine pulse when a good unit dies unless theyre specifically doing a challenge run

55:06 speed doesn’t affect hit rate at all, it just affects avoidance rate and whether a unit doubles. Dexterity is used for hit rate AND crit rate. While luck (diff in every FE but specifically in 3H is this) affects magic hit rate and crit dodge rate

Great job earned a like & sub 😅

Oh a long Three Houses video? Time to cry over Dimitri once again 😭😂

Going to continue watching this when I have more time. Already looking forward to hearing your opinions on the game. I still haven't finished every route (because white clouds is very repetitive throughout routes) but it is definitely one of my top 5 games for sure. Up there with the Xenoblade Chronicles games, Destiny 2, Subnautica and Terraria.

This story is much more understandable than Harry Potter, there's one less house you have to keep track of.

I truly think ppls criticisms of Claude's route are unwarranted. I think the story it tells is solid, has a message and is well written, it's just that it's involvement with what's supposed to be the main narrative of the game feels VERY shoehorned in and feels like they were writing the story and then said "oh yeah we gotta involve the others huh?" and did so. As such I think that if it was it's own game, it wouldn't have gotten so much hate.

I discovered FE3H during the pandemic in 2020, never played an FE game prior, and fell in love insta. Spent 350hrs across all four routes. Spent a little bit on awakening but couldn't get into it. Will try it again

my personal favourite Switch game

I had no idea there was a time skip either. My dummyhead brain was blown.

Rhea îs The worst written. She is good in white clouds, but in azure moon she doesn't even exist anymore, in crescent flower she îs reduced to an angry karen who screams "give me back my mother, and in verdandt wind she is an exposition bot for nemesis.

Engage: How cone they don't me man!?

Can I get a b side of this video of characters YOU enjoyed?

Very nice video but i found it hard to sympathize with randalf. Hes still an invader looking to kill soldiers for the empire. Dimitri is cruel but hes not really wrong

you should play pathfinder wrath of the righteous, i think you'll like it

so verdant wind was my favourite route so we disagree HEAVILY there. lmao

Rating Golden Deer last and having Dimitri being your favourite character^^ i couldnt feel further away from these opinions^^ Dimitri is holy overrated and his "redemption" arc is just troopie as hell ^^ dont get me wrong, dimitri is still a good character, but all of this is so forced ^^ And dont get me on the blue Lions class: Ash = bland, Dedue = yes milord, ingrid = kinda rasict, annette = bland, mercedes = is good, sylvain = good, felix = edgy but okey but everybody has different likes, i am just glad you liked the game;)

A mediocre messy story with one of the worst fire emblem gameplay in the series. The characters is the only thing solid, and even there, 95% of the have 1 gimmick repeated over and over again, abd they are useless in the main story. Bernadetta is also awfully executed and mkre gimmicky and her development is just weak and cliche. The game also has some of the worst villains, the argathans are so bad, azure moon is popular cuz they killed them without even knowing . Abd they for sone reason are only finished onscreen in verdandt wind/silver snow , in a bad way as well. Nemesis is bad as well, he was shown in the first cutscene and then randomly appear in the final chapter with no ezplanation, being rabdom and yet anticlimactic.