The plot of Three Houses revolves around the continent’s church — the Church of Seiros — and its dark secrets. There’s a rebellion of some sort against it, too. It’s similar to the plots of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, something the series hasn’t really done since.
Famitsu also divulged some tidbits about two of the game’s main villains: the Death God Knight (pictured below) and the Flame Emperor. The former kidnaps people by night, while the latter apparently commands bandit troops and orders them to attack the academy and its students.
Certain events will be different depending on which of the game’s titular three houses the player chooses to align with at first, and certain bonding benefits like motivation won’t be available for students not in the player-professor’s house. However, the main story beats and battles will largely be the same regardless of choice.
Much like Persona and Trails of Cold Steel, series Three Houses borrows liberally from, each story segment is broken into months, with the primary conflict coming at the end of each month.
Battles carry over many features from previous games while adding a few twists. For example, the combined attack mechanic from Awakening and the Fates games makes a return and provides evasion and strength bonuses if other linked units are in range of the targeted enemy. There’s also a more powerful Link Strategem players can use a set number of times per battle.
The game offers a lot of content during the rest of each month as well.
Building support relationships happens on the battlefield as usual, but they can also be developed at the academy. Players can strike up conversations with students and fellow teachers, and choosing the correct response during these conversations can help improve relationships.
The dining option, shown off in earlier screenshots, allows players to invite two students from their own or other houses and provides support bonuses for those students.
Nintendo has already revealed players can train their students and improve skills via tutoring. However, it appears the players can have other teachers train themselves too.
In addition to a variety of other activities, including fishing, the academy offers a quest board. Players can take on a variety of quests, from visiting certain locations to clearing battles, and earn special rewards unavailable elsewhere.
Should players wish to skip the academy content, though, Three Houses lets them choose to fast forward to the next major event, and the game automatically completes lessons and other similar tasks for them.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is shaping up to be a massive game, and with E3 on the horizon, chances are, there’s yet more to come.
