Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopeswas 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 viaWarriorscrossovers, starting withHyrule Warriorsin 2014 and continuing withFire Emblem Warriorsin 2017. Koei Tecmo was also heavily involved in the development ofFire Emblem: Three Houses, so a specific hack-and-slash spin-off feels like the logical next step.
The release ofHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamityin 2020 also shows Koei Tecmo and itsMusou-focused studio Omega Force have a good grasp on how to twist pre-established canon.Age of Calamityretold the history ofBreath of the Wildin a new way, giving characters like Princess Zelda and the Champions of Hyrule more of a spotlight.Three Hopespromises to do the same, and while its reveal trailer focuses onThree Houses' trio of Lords, it also suggests their retainers may get more attention.
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Retainers in Fire Emblem
Though Intelligent Systems is a Japanese studio, its flagship tactical RPG franchise has been steeped in medieval European fantasy sinceFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Lightreleased 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 inShadow Dragon). In real-world medieval history, “retainer” was a term used to describe a servant who served noble families for long stretches of time, and while Jagen archetypes such as Seth fromThe Sacred StonesandFrederick fromAwakeningfit this definition, other timesFire Emblemretainers are more diverse.
Fire Emblem Fatesreally emphasized the idea of retainers, with each member of the royal family in both Nohr and Hoshido having a pair of retainers that, collectively, made up the bulk of Corrin’s army. Three of the Nohrian siblings had retainers who were also returning characters fromAwakening: Laslow (once Inigo), Selena (once Severa), and Odin (once Owain). InThree Houses, each of the house leaders had one chief retainer. Edelgard had the shadowy mage Hubert, Dimitri the stocky Duscur warrior Dedue, and Claude the lazy noblewoman Hilda - though her role was more akin to a right-hand commander followingThree Houses' time skip.
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Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Could Give the Retainers More Time
Thetwo-minute debut trailer forFire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopeswas relatively devoid of characters considering its world is full of students-turned-soldiers that fans have grown attached to sinceThree Housesreleased in 2019. It appears to be setting up a story where Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude have to team up against stronger forces rather than splintering into factions over control of Fodlan, and in that case it would make sense for them to beThree Hopes' main units alongside Byleth.
Yet there are sure to be a lot more playable characters given theWarriorsseries excels at using combat to differentiate cast members. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are the primary returningThree Housesunits to get a lot of attention so far, with notable exceptions being the goddess Sothis and Edelgard’s retainer, Hubert. Given how close Hubert, Dedue, and Hilda are to the trio of Lords, it would make sense for them to become playable warriors too; filling a magic, armored tank, and lithe brawler niche, respectively.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamitydid a good job bringing back expected representativesfromBreath of the Wildalongside bizarre choices like Monk Maz Koshia, soThree Hopeswill undoubtedly have a rich cast. If the Lords' retainers get their own spotlight, this could serve as a way to help build their characters further, though Hilda also appeared in the original games’Cindered ShadowsDLC. It would also open opportunities for them to share experiences outside a schoolyard setting, asThree Housesput them firmly on opposing armies. That’s assuming all the houses work together inThree Hopes,but fans will have to wait until June to find out how its story and character roster shape up.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopesreleases for Switch on June 06, 2025.
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