Half a year after its announcement at E3 last year, Nintendo finally revealed more details about the next Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In February’s Direct, Nintendo provided an in-depth trailer detailing how players will interact with the different factions in the game. In previous trailers, we learned about the land of Fódlan, divided into three kingdoms, and each of the region’s heirs. But, thanks to the new information from this Direct, we now know more about the game’s setting.
The game takes place not in any one of the three kingdoms, but in a neutral monastery in the middle of the continent known as Garreg Mach. This monastery is the base of the Church of Seiros, the dominant religion in the land. The monastery is also home to the Officer’s Academy, a training academy where students from all three realms can learn the ways of warfare.
The Academy is divided into three houses, one for each kingdom: the Black Eagles for the students of the Adrestian Empire, the Blue Lions for the Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Golden Deer for the Leicester Alliance. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude, the three heirs revealed in the previous trailers, are heads of each of the respective houses. It is in this academy that the game takes place.
The player is assigned as a teacher in the Officer’s Academy and must instruct the students of one of these three houses, helping them grow both in the classroom and on the battlefield. The player must make their choices carefully, as their students’ time on the battlefield is not merely mock battles, but rather trials of life or death. Like other games in the series, the game features a massive cast of unique characters, some of whom were shown during the Direct. The trailer also showed a snippet of combat, which features the same grid-battlefield mechanic as the other Fire Emblem titles.
The most important piece of new information to come from this trailer is the game’s release date. While it was originally scheduled to release in the spring, it has now been pushed back to July 26. A collector’s edition, called the “Seasons of Warfare” edition, was also shown. This edition contains a steelbook, music selection, artbook, and a 2020 calendar.
