Recently announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is an upcoming musou-style spinoff of the popular Fire Emblem tactical strategy series. Three Hopes returns to the world of Fodlan, first introduced in the 2019 title Fire Emblem: Three Houses, to tell a brand new story starring a new protagonist alongside recurring characters such as house leaders Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude.
So far, we’ve only seen two trailers for Three Hopes, and only a few gameplay, story, and character elements have been revealed. Fans have been eagerly speculating and discussing what they hope to see when the game releases on June 24, 2022. Here are ten things the GameLuster staff are looking forward to seeing in this latest Fire Emblem title:
10. Some Truly Unfortunate Hairstyles
OK, I’ll admit it…this one is more of a personal want, but I’m including it on the list anyway. The majority of playable characters in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will be receiving a brand new design, including new outfits and hairstyles. While everyone shown off so far looks pretty good – with Dimitri’s ponytail and Dedue’s beard particularly standing out – I am hoping that at least one character has an utterly ridiculous hairstyle we can laugh at. Given that the latest trailer hinted at Ferdinand von Aegir having a mullet, I think it’s a definite possibility!
9. Teatime
Teatime is simultaneously one of the most frustrating and most entertaining mini-games in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Players are challenged to serve a tea their chosen companion likes and then quickly pick the conversation topics they’re interested in out of several options appearing onscreen. Success means gaining support points with the character, while failure merely results in a waste of precious free time. With teatime quickly becoming one of the most iconic elements of Three Houses – even appearing as a micro-game in the latest WarioWare title – its return in Three Hopes seems very probable.
8. Playable Bad Guys
One major complaint fans had with the first Fire Emblem Warriors game was that all of the playable characters were fundamentally heroic. While antagonists from throughout the franchise, such as Gharnef and Validar, made appearances in the game, they were not playable even in bonus maps. Three Hopes could avert this by allowing players access to antagonistic figures such as the members of “those who slither in the dark” or even Big Bad figures like Nemesis himself.
7. Challenging Bonus Maps
Bonus maps are an iconic part of Warriors games, allowing players to take a break from the game’s story and challenge themselves to face down waves of enemies, use specific combinations of characters, or achieve unique objectives. Completing these maps can reward the player with support points, weapons, items, gold, and even unlockable bonus conversations. Three Hopes, although it promises to be a fairly story-driven game, could include bonus maps to challenge players and let them try out the entire playable roster.
6. Every Student Returning
So far, only a few students have been confirmed to be returning in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. The three lords and their retainers will be playable, and Lorenz, Mercedes, and what might be Ferdinand and Bernadetta have appeared in trailers. However, fans are definitely hoping to see all students returning, especially as the game will once again be split into three routes based on House choice. While including all eight students from each House would lead to quite the spread of playable characters, the original Fire Emblem Warriors did have a pretty large cast, so there’s definitely a chance.
5. The Ashen Wolves
The Ashen Wolf house – consisting of Yuri, Balthus, Constance, and Hapi – was added to the original Fire Emblem: Three Houses as part of the Cindered Shadows side story DLC. While the four could be recruited into your house of choice in the main game, they, unfortunately, lacked much story relevance outside of a few supports. While they could easily be neglected in Three Hopes – if Byleth doesn’t come to the monastery, is their underground hideout in Abyss ever discovered? – but including them would be a fun choice that could add richness to the story and further increase the unique playable classes to experiment with.
4. Jeralt Surviving
One of the saddest moments of the original Fire Emblem: Three Houses is when protagonist Byleth loses their father, Jeralt, to the villainous “those who slither in the dark.” Because Three Hopes is confirmed to tell an alternate story, in which Byleth and Jeralt do not return to Garreg Mach Monastery, it is possible that the mercenary could instead survive the events of this game. He has already appeared alive in at least one trailer, so Jeralt will presumably at least be showing up in – and possibly making it through – Three Hopes.
3. Development for Neglected Characters
One major shortcoming of Fire Emblem: Three Houses was that some characters got far less development and focus than others. Of particular note were the knights of the Church of Seiros, the aforementioned Ashen Wolves, and characters who were playable on only one route such as Hubert, Dedue, Gilbert, and the Death Knight. Hopefully, this new addition to the series will give some of these characters their turn in the spotlight – particular Hubert and Dedue, who have featured heavily in trailers for the game.
2. New Supports
Supports are an iconic element of the Fire Emblem series that have been around since nearly the very beginning. The Support system allows characters to strengthen their relationships with one another by fighting together, eventually unlocking unique conversations and even potentially romantic or platonic paired endings. One drawback of Three Houses was that characters, especially the three Lords, didn’t have very many Supports with characters other than their own classmates. Three Hopes could provide conversations and development for characters who didn’t get to interact much in the original game.
1. New Playable Characters
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes has already confirmed two new playable characters: the new protagonist “Shez” and Monica von Ochs, a minor noble from the Adrestian Empire who went missing in the original Three Houses. However, fans are hoping that these are not the only two new characters added to the playable roster in Three Hopes. Some commonly requested characters include commanders such as Randolph and Judith, the archbishop Rhea, the goddess Sothis, and the aforementioned Jeralt, a famous mercenary and father of Byleth. Some fans are also potentially anticipating the relatives of existing characters, like Felix’s father Rodrigue or Hilda’s brother Holst, both of whom appeared in the most recent trailer for the game.
Are you looking forward to Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes? What are you hoping to see in the upcoming title? Do you agree with our takes, or would you add to this list? Comment below and let us know!
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will release for the Nintendo Switch on June 24, 2022.
