Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Can Give Retainers Their Time to Shine

gamerant.com:

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes was a surprise title to lead off the February 2022 Nintendo Direct, but its impending release does make sense. Nintendo and Koei Tecmo have a strong relationship via Warriors crossovers, starting with Hyrule Warriors in 2014 and continuing with Fire Emblem Warriors in 2017. Koei Tecmo was also heavily involved in the development of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, so a specific hack-and-slash spin-off feels like the logical next step.

The release of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020 also shows Koei Tecmo and its Musou-focused studio Omega Force have a good grasp on how to twist pre-established canon. Age of Calamity retold the history of Breath of the Wild in a new way, giving characters like Princess Zelda and the Champions of Hyrule more of a spotlight. Three Hopes promises to do the same, and while its reveal trailer focuses on Three Houses' trio of Lords, it also suggests their retainers may get more attention.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Shouldn't Forget the Ashen Wolves

Though Intelligent Systems is a Japanese studio, its flagship tactical RPG franchise has been steeped in medieval European fantasy since Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light released in 1990. Every game tells stories of might and magic, with kings and princes going to war so that they can defend their peoples against evil empires and demonic beings — usually dragons. The structures of each army also follow the kind of tropes one might expect.

Notably, the Lord characters in each title invariably wind up with companions like a stalwart and grizzled old mentor (often called the «Jagen archetype» based on the original knight serving Prince Marth in Shadow Dragon). In real-world medieval history,