New Game + 1) Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)

The Challenge: Complete a playthrough on Classic mode with unit classes chosen at random.

Having played through three of the four story routes present in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, completing Verdant Wind, Azure Moon, and most recently Crimson Flower for my previous article, I decided it was only fitting to switch things up a bit as I tackled the fourth and final story route. Having been introduced to the series by 2012's Fire Emblem: Awakening, I had become accustomed to the more casual game mode that eliminates the perma death option the series is known for. Not content to just play on what is essentially the normal mode, I also decided to spice things up with a bit of randomness thrown into the mix. Utilizing this tool, I had my units classes chosen at random, which led to a few interesting choices and surprising favorites. Three Houses, especially when playing on New Game +, makes it very easy to grow your units in whatever way you want, though some characters are much better suited to certain roles than others.

This decision helped to alleviate fatigue with the game, as the final story path, Silver Snow, can only be accessed by starting with the Black Eagle house, which I had just finished playing. Fearing that I may make the game far harder, I allowed myself to recruit a few characters from other houses, including the DLC members of the Ashen Wolves. Ultimately this choice proved to be unnecessary, as I was able to complete the game without losing a single unit, though there were a few close calls. I also minimized my use of the time altering powers that can easily negate death, using it only when I stupidly did something I hadn't intended to or simply misunderstood how certain abilities would play out.

Playing through the opening acts with the Black Eagle house a second time, especially considering I had just done so, proved to be a bit of a slog. All four routes start pretty much the same, but using the same cast, plus Sylvain as I choose to play as a female Byleth, made this feel even more monotonous. However, the splash of random added in quickly helped to keep things interesting. Notably, Caspar, a unit best used on the front lines with an axe or gauntlets, was chosen to be my primary mage. This sadly meant that I had to go without magic, a staple of the Black Eagle house, as Caspar was a dangerously inefficient magic user. The much better suited unit of Linhardt, who makes for an excellent caster or healer, was instead forced to become a swordsman, which he was surprisingly adept at.

The true standout in the early game, and one of my three best units throughout the entire run, was instead Bernadetta. In my previous run, she excelled as an archer and was probably my most reliable unit. In this run, her chosen path was as a War Cleric, a combination brawler and healer. With a surprisingly good selection of white magic and a pretty good affinity for Luck, Dexterity, and Speed, she was able to perform the role pretty well. Her personal ability, Persecution Complex, gives her an increase to damage if she's at less than full health. As an archer, this rarely came up, but as a front line brawler who also had a high chance of dodging attacks, this made her an absolute beast on the battlefield.

Her terrified nature made it even more hilarious when she absolutely devastated opponents with her fists.

At a certain point that is heavily telegraphed to the player, the Black Eagle route diverges. If we follow Edelgard, as I had done previously, we go down the Crimson Flower route that puts us in direct opposition to the church. If we stand against Edelgard, we instead fight for the church and go down the Silver Snow path. This greatly changes the story, arguably more so than between any other two routes, and gives us Seteth and Flayn in place of Edelgard and Hubert. While I've always found Seteth to be a fairly boring character, the childlike Flayn and the mysteries of her past were a welcome addition. Though set up to be an excellent healer, the randomizer had other, far deadlier plans for the optimistic young woman.

"So Flayn, what has the professor been teaching you?"

Going against every single one of Seteth's wishes, I taught Flayn the art of assassination. Primarily focusing on the bow, she became a devastating force on the battlefield, taking out enemies from a distance while being able to remain in covered terrain. Furthermore, her ability, Lily's Poise, allowed me to keep a healer near her at all times due to increasing their defenses. This meant that in the rare instances that an enemy could get close to her, she remained in relative safety while finishing them off with her rapier. Add to this the sheer humor I found in how I imagine Seteth reacting to what I'm teaching her, and she easily became one of my favorite units.

However, as good as the previous two characters were, and despite how good the game makes Byleth, there was one unit that stood head and shoulders above the rest. A character who I often had to actively try not to use as she could easily clear a map on her own, leaving no experience for anyone else. I can admit that part of what made her so good was her class, but her stats and personal ability truly solidified her as a force of nature. Not only was she a devastating force to our enemies, she had enough utility that she could fill in as a healer, and she generally had access to half the map on any given turn.

Behold, the true face of destruction!

Serving as a Dancer, Hapi was easily one of the best utility units I had. The ability to dance and allow others to move and attack a second time in a given round is already pretty good. Add to this her access to healing spells and her naturally high movement, which I further augmented whenever I could, and she could quite literally be wherever I needed her to be. Add in her high Dexterity and Luck, and she was very rarely in danger. In addition, her access to devastating dark magic and being equipped with the Levin Sword allowed her to decimate enemy forces. Her ability, Monstrous Appeal, completely trivialized the giant, multi healthbarred enemies as she cut through them like butter while also drawing their attacks, which she would easily dodge. On more than one occasion, I had to hold her back just so I could try to level up other characters. She could easily close the distance to an enemy commander and cut them down with no issue, meaning she was a dedicated win condition that I found myself having to show restraint in how I used her. Combined with her incredibly well written character, and I think she may officially be my favorite character in a game filled with great characters.

Like the other routes, Silver Snow answers just about as many questions as it raises. We learn a lot more about the church and Byleth's origins, though we come off as more of a spectator to the conflict between the three regions of Fodlan. While it certainly leads to a satisfying conclusion, and could easily be viewed as the "canon" route, it comes of as far less personal than the other routes. I think this is due in large part to how we abandon the three lords that are central to their respective houses and routes while also not getting a suitable replacement. While not a bad story by any means, I do feel as though it is among the weakest of the four available options.