【Fire Emblem】I’ve put all the pieces together! New work “Three Houses” is a big hit overseas as well

It is the biggest turning point in the FE series, moving the platform to handheld consoles once again.
Released in 2012 as a game for the Nintendo 3DS, this game sold 450,000 units in Japan, more than 2.5 times as many as “Akatsuki no Miho”.
It was also popular overseas, selling 1.93 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest hit in the FE series for some time.

It gained many new fans, and at the same time, it was the game that confused fans of the FE series to date.
In that sense, it could be considered the series’ biggest problematic title.

The system itself hasn’t been drastically changed, but rather introduces some of the characteristic systems of the past series, such as the Free Map and the Marriage System.
The major change is the style of the game.

This title invites Yuzuke Kozaki to design the characters, and it has shifted the character depiction to a more modern style, and there are many more characters that look like typical anime and light novels.
The number of characters itself is quite large, the development aspect of the game has a lot of freedom, and the romantic elements, including the marriage system, have been brought to the forefront, giving the game the appearance of a complete character game.
This has succeeded in attracting a new fan base.

On the other hand, the gameplay was notable for its monotonous maps and lack of strategy, and the difficulty level was low, spoiling the “tough simulation” aspect of the FE series.
Not a few fans were dissatisfied with this aspect of the game.
There was also some controversy regarding the first paid DLC for a Nintendo title.

Fire Emblem Sword if

The game was released in 2015 for the 3DS.
It was released in two packages, “Byakuya Kingdom” and “Dark Night Kingdom,” followed by a third scenario, the DLC “Invisible Kingdom.

In “Midnight Sun”, the main character is on the righteous side of the story and the difficulty level is suitable for beginners.
The third scenario, “Invisible Kingdom”, is a story featuring the righteous side of the story and has a difficulty level for beginners, while “Dark Night” features the evil side of the story and is designed for intermediate to advanced players.
Sales continue to be strong, and even though the two packages were combined, more than 500,000 units were sold domestically, bringing the worldwide total to 1.84 million units.

This game follows the path of its predecessor, “Awakening”, but is not as character-heavy as “Awakening”, and players can enjoy the same strategic and challenging gameplay as the past FE series.
On the other hand, the storyline is a bit on the heavy side, so it didn’t get the high marks it deserved.

Fire Emblem Sword Three Houses

It is the latest in the series, released in 2019 for the Nintendo Switch.
It’s the first release on a console in 12 years, since “Dawn Goddess”.
It’s divided into two parts, “The Military Academy Edition” and “The War Edition,” with the storyline in the second half changing depending on the class you choose in the first half.

It introduces the military academy element that has never been seen before, but it is a work that has a strong FE feel to it.
The strength of the character portrayal is intact, and with Koei Tecmo Games taking part in the development of the game, a rich story has been created, and the scenario is rated as the best ever.
The game is extremely well-balanced in terms of difficulty, with “Normal” for beginners, “Hard” for intermediate and advanced players, and “Lunatic” being one of the best ever.

The class change system relates to the origins of the “commoner” and “noble” class, and you can change to a higher class by taking and passing a qualification test.
The voice actors are also spectacular.
While there are a few issues, such as the long load times, the game has received high praise in most aspects, with quite a few old fans declaring this game to be a masterpiece.

Sales have been very strong, selling 480,000 total domestic shipments + downloads.
The global total reached 2.29 million, the highest number ever recorded.

Fire Emblem Sword Heroes

出典 : © 2017 Nintendo / INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS : ファイアーエムブレムヒーローズ | Nintendo

This is the first app in the series for smartphones.
It was released in 2017 and has over 11.7 million downloads.
The FE series has been gaining new fans since Awakening, and this smartphone game has quickly spread to the younger generation.

This game has an all-star feel with a collection of characters from the past FE series.
The tempo of the battles is quite good, and the fact that you can play smoothly is one of the strong points of this game that only a smartphone can offer.
However, the strategic nature of the game is low, which is also unique to a smartphone game.

It is a game that specializes in character games, so it is for people who want to enjoy FE easily, or for people who are interested in the FE series but can’t play difficult games …….

Summary

It’s really amazing that almost 30 years after the series began, the latest one has stayed fresh enough to be considered one of the best!
There are few other examples of consumer titles in this era that have brought in so many new fans in such a large number, aren’t there?

So far, the FE series has been adapted into an OVA, but never into a TV anime.
Maybe in 2020, the 30th anniversary year, we’ll see a fancy media mix.
That’s how much momentum there is in FE right now!