While fans of the Fire Emblem series were hoping for the reveal of a new game during the February 9th Nintendo Direct livestream event, most were more than a little surprised at what they got. Rather than a brand new title or even a remake of one of the earlier games in the series, the revealed title is a “Musou-style” game entitled Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. It is currently available for preorder, and will release for the Nintendo Switch on June 24, 2022.
Three Hopes will tell a new story taking place in Fodlan, the setting of the 2019 game Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the most recently released main series Fire Emblem title. It has not been confirmed whether the new story will be canon to the plot of Three Houses or take place in an alternate or non-canon timeline. However, the trailer for Three Hopes did reveal new versions of major characters Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexander Blaiddyd, and Claude von Riegen, seemingly placing the game’s plot somewhere in the middle of the game’s five-year timeskip.
Prepare for a different story set in the same universe as Fire Emblem: Three Houses with Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude in #FireEmblemWarriors: Three Hopes, arriving to #NintendoSwitch on 6/24! pic.twitter.com/RsJvPZUNRY
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 9, 2022
Other characters featured during the trailer included protagonist Byleth, Byleth’s father Jeralt, Edelgard’s retainer Hubert von Vestra, and an unidentified blue-haired character who seems to be an antagonist, as they were shown fighting Byleth. Although Byleth can be either female or male in the original version of the game, only the female Byleth was shown in the trailer, possibly indicating that Byleth’s gender will not be customizable in Three Hopes.
Additionally, Nintendo of Europe announced a collector’s edition of the game that will come with an art book, a tapestry map of Fodlan, five acrylic figures, and a set of character postcards. However, if has not yet been announced whether this collector’s edition – or a variation of it with different bonus items – will be available to purchase in the United States.
