How to play Fire Emblem? Is Byleth the antagonist in Three Hopes?

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is an upcoming hack and slash action role-playing game developed by Omega Force, and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the second collaboration between Koei Tecmo’s Warriors franchise and Nintendo and Intelligent Systems’s Fire Emblem series, following Fire Emblem Warriors (2017), and is set in the world of Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019). The game was announced in a Nintendo Direct on February 9, 2022, and is planned for a worldwide release on June 24, 2022.

Is Byleth the antagonist in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes?

Byleth, the instructor-main character of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, also known as the Ashen Demon, is Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes’ antagonist. Hence, the player will not be playing as Byleth in this new game. Instead, players will be taking control of a new character – lavender-haired Shez, who can also be male or female in this game. This follows the previous Fire Emblem Warriors game, which also introduced two new blonde-haired protagonists in the game.

In the new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer, we see Fire Emblem: Three Houses characters in their post-war appearances, some with brand-new looks as well. The game also appears to have some empire-building aspect to it, similar to the turn-based expansion strategy mechanics of Musou Empires games. We might be able to play as one of the three factions in the game in a bid to control the entire continent of Fódlan. We’re not sure about this yet, though, as exact gameplay details have yet to be revealed. The map we see in the trailer could also get the same gameplay treatment as the one used in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Finally, towards the end of the new trailer, we saw the ability to choose between male or female Byleth, referred to only as “Ashen Demon,” which could also hint that the Ashen Demon can also be a playable character in the game.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will be coming out on June 24, 2022. Fire Emblem: Three Houses was one of the Nintendo Switch’s best games, becoming a console seller, and was so appealing that it introduced a lot of fans to the wider Fire Emblem franchise. We can imagine that Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will also sell well once it comes out.

How many Fire Emblem games are there total?

There are 16 different games in the mainline Fire Emblem series. Five games were released on the Super Famicom, three released for the Gameboy Advance, and another two games landed on the GameCube. After that, two FE games launched on the Nintendo DS, three released on the 3DS, and one has released on the Nintendo Switch.

There are a few spinoffs for the FE series, four in total. These range from crossover games to mobile gatcha-type games.

The characters of FE also play a major role in the Smash Brothers universe, with eight series characters representing the series in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. This has caused some fans to jokingly refer to SSBU as a FE spinoff game which, while hilarious, is not true.

How to play Fire Emblem?

Fire Emblem is a turn-based strategy role-playing game (SRPG for short) series which sets itself apart with permanent death, random level-ups and dedicated battle screens with pretty combat animations. On your turn, you’re able to move and use an ability with every unit you control once, and then the enemy can do the same on their turn. This makes your turns particularly lengthy and strategic, and enemy turns long and stressful. An unlucky critical hit forcing you to lose a unit forever is never too far away.

Most actions you take with your units reward them with experience points. The amount of experience needed to level up is always 100 points, but the amount of experience you gain depends on your current level and class.

Weapon accuracy and damage is affected by what is known as the weapon triangle, introduced in the fourth game in the series. It is extremely arbitrary but helps every kind of unit shine against a specific kind of enemy. Swords are better against axes, axes win against lances, lances have the edge over swords… Of course, since most main characters in the series are too cool for school sword users, early enemies tend to be axe users with terrible accuracy. Outside of the weapon triangle, axes tend to be more powerful but less accurate, lances are average all around, and swords deal less damage but are very accurate.

What does the demo of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes show?

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will tell a completely new story in the Fire Emblem: Three Houses universe, and you can get a jumpstart on experiencing the new tale today. Nintendo has released a new demo for Three Hopes that’s available now, and your progress will carry over into the full game.

Today’s demo announcement came alongside a new trailer that revealed the Ashen Wolves – who took center stage in Three Houses‘ Cindered Shadows DLC – will appear in the game. We previously learned that characters from all three main houses, the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer, will be playable in Three Hopes.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes was announced at the February 2022 Nintendo Direct. The title brings the characters from Three Houses, a strategy RPG, into a game with Warriors-Musou gameplay. It marks the fourth time Nintendo and Koei Tecmo have teamed up for a Nintendo Warriors game, joining two Hyrule Warriors titles and the previous Fire Emblem Warriors.

Three Houses is one of the best games on Switch, which we praised for its “lively cast of endearing characters” in our review. If you’re interested in trying out this new Musou-spinoff, you can check out our Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes preorder guide. And, to learn what else is on the horizon for Switch, check out every Nintendo game in development that we know of.