Nintendo's crossovers with Warriors titles started with Hyrule Warriors, which has remained one of the most enjoyable Warriors spin-offs ever made. Following its success we would see Fire Emblem Warriors, Age of Calamity and finally Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. Much like Age of Calamity, it's a re-imagining of the story players experienced in Three Houses. It takes players down alternate routes through a brand new character alongside the iconic characters many have come to know and love. The question remains, however, if whether or not these were stories worth telling alongside the remixed style of gameplay.

Right off the bat it's good to be aware that Three Hopes spoils elements of Three Houses, so for those hoping to play it first they may want to do so unless they don't particularly care too much. Three Hopes begins with the new protagonist by the in-game name of Shez. They're a mercenary who finds themselves facing off against another group that is pushing them back. Shez finally makes it to the head of the mercenary group only to find Byleth, who is far too powerful for them to overcome. With Shez's fellow mercenaries killed in battle, they turn to a life of survival after meeting a bizarre and unique individual that now lives in their head who saved their life. Along the way Shez meets the three lords who hire Shez's services after a battle encounter. After heading to Garreg Mach with their party they choose a lead, much like Three Houses, who will determine the direction the story goes from there on out. It manages to give the story a high replay value, which is heavily encouraged due to there being three different stories that players can experience.

Three Hopes gameplay will be familiar to any fans of Warriors titles right off the bat. There's normal attacks, strong attacks, special attacks and exclusive to Three Hopes are Combat Arts and Magic which use up a weapon's durability in combat. The general goal of each stage is to capture keeps to gain strength and proceed towards the boss or key objective to conquer it. All the while new challenges and objectives will pop up requiring tons of micro-management in order to keeps units moving and alive. Fortunately players are not stuck just playing as Shez, as they can take four total characters into battle and freely switch between them. This is important as Fire Emblem's iconic weapon triangle plays a role in a character's strength and weakness against other opponents. These are displayed before a fight begins so it's easy to pick and choose the best units for particular maps in order to make the best use of them. It's not a requirement of course as players can stick to always picking their favorites, but it helps. While there will be a set amount of characters each house starts with, there are also occasionally option characters that can be recruited under certain circumstances. These are optional, but well worth picking up as extra units are always a plus. Each stage also has various rankings based on time to clear, total enemy kills and other objectives. Getting S rank in all of these will offer a bonus reward, making it a worthwhile endeavor to strive for all the while. Interestingly this spin-off takes quite a bit from the original Three Houses and incorporates a new area to restock items and gear up for battle before each fight.

The camp acts as a nice in-between fights where characters can get to know one another through various tasks, get stronger or simply stop to shop for a bit. Various NPCs can be spoken to and offer passing dialogue, but the various facilities are the biggest draw. Each facility makes use of various points earned by completing story or side objectives. Facilities allow characters to grow closer or have bonuses for their next fight, leading into potential support increases that allow growth when fighting together. This is also the time gifts can be given to increase support or previous story fights can be revisited in order to train or simply master a missed S rank. The biggest draw might just be the training grounds, however, as it's where players will strengthen themselves and master new classes which is by far one of the most important and in-depth elements of Three Hopes.

Classes have been a major element in Fire Emblem for some time and this title is no exception. Being a Warriors title, classes have an even larger role than usual as they can change entire movesets, in addition to offering different skills that can be combined to make powerful warriors. There are also no real restrictions for character classes, as any party member can become anything they want aside from some character exclusives. This means traditionally mage characters can be made into brawlers, or sword fighters turned into mages. The trade off is that most tend to have a better-suited class, but it's fun to mix and match along the way. The training grounds is where quite a bit of the actual class progression will take place as with enough energy characters can master their classes and learn new ones once the correct seals have been obtained. This is also where lower leveled characters can be increased to match the rest of their party, at a cost of course, or players can try out their new skills in mock battles to see if the play style is one they enjoy or not. It's worth investing time to check out the variety of classes as they all have so many different pros and cons with a slew of abilities that can almost feel overwhelming for those looking to make the strongest team they can.

When heading out into battle it isn't as straightforward as simply selecting the next story battle. Instead there are a slew of smaller battles leading up to the next big confrontation. On the war map there are also tons of little side objectives that can be completed once an area has been captured that end up rewarding players who take the time to participate. These can give players items, addition ways to train back at camp or even rare useful goods to make their army stronger. While many are freebies, some do require players to complete all tasks or objectives in a mission, meaning a replay or two in order to get everything. It's also worth noting that once the main story quest has been completed these smaller missions cannot be revisited, so it's worth doing while they're available. The catch is that the more that is skipped when the story mission is completed, the more Renown a player will receive, although generally speaking it's likely a better option to collect everything on a first run especially for those playing on Classic where a unit's death is permanent. There are other rewards that can be earned at camp as well through in-game achievements which offer great rewards for those who don't mind the typical Warrior grind, with many of them heavily pushing for the multiple playthroughs most people might skip out on after one run.

One of the biggest accomplishments of these Warriors spin-offs is often their soundtrack, and Three Hopes is no exception. The music is phenomenal, with fantastic remixes from fan-favorite songs from Three Houses. The visuals are a step up from Three Houses, of which Koei Tecmo also developed, but it's still got that Warriors-on-Switch feeling where it's clear the effort was all put into character models first and foremost and everything else last as there are a few muddy-looking textures. Fortunately most of that isn't noticeable in fights and is more so pointed out when just chilling around in the camp. The combat is also simple at its core but has enough complexity to keep players interested in their growth, although many aren't explained super well and it's easy to forget some even exist because there's a lot to remember. The variety itself feels like a facade at times as movesets can often blur together outside of the main character which makes class upgrades feel more like it's exclusively for the stat boosts rather than the skills it brings along with it.

Closing Comments: 

The original Fire Emblem Warriors was a fun, but flawed experience. The story was flat and it just didn't feel like a genuine celebration of the franchise. Three Hopes, however, manages to be fun while also focusing on one key title with a cast of characters that so many enjoyed. The story can do whatever it wants and it's a fantastically fun time with tons of new twists and reveals that returning fans can enjoy. Those who have wanted to invest in a more fleshed-out action based Fire Emblem experience might have the best time with Three Hopes as it feels more akin to what that'd actually be like than the original Fire Emblem Warriors and brings to the table a story that makes an impact. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is an utter delight that can be overwhelming at first, but is worth picking up for those wanting to dive into fast-paced combat with that Fire Emblem twist.