Review for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 26/07/2019
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was undoubtedly one of the best games released on Nintendo Switch last year, and considering the great year we have witnessed, this is no small thing. More than six months after its release, the time has come to return to the Fódlan.
The new adventure is available to all owners of theExpansion Pass, which so far had not given strong emotions, limiting itself to making available some extra elements, the sauna, new costumes and the possibility of enlisting the merchant Anna. Finally from Intelligent Systems we get the highlight of the Pass: the extra chapter Ashen Shadows.
Ashen Shadows is an extra chapter that takes place chronologically during the first half of the main game, when there was still no friction between the three houses. However, this is not a portion that “slips” naturally into the storyline, but it is accessed independently, using a separate save slot. The chapter is so independent that it only involves a preset group of characters, namely the three leaders Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude, accompanied by Lindhart, Ashe and Hilda. If you haven't started or finished any Fire Emblem: Three Houses run yet, the DLC will only be available from Chapter 3.
This small mixed team will enter the basement of the monastery of Garreg Mach almost by chance, finding in its bowels a huge hidden, yet unexpectedly inhabited environment, called theAbyss. Here the Church has secretly accepted criminals, outcasts and marginalized people of all kinds; a small liminal society of "unwelcome" people who are welcomed here but at the same time hidden from the outside world. The priest Aelfric takes care of their welcome and protection, who also established the unofficial fourth class of the Monastery of the Ashen Wolves, made up of only four members: Yuri, Constance, Balthus and Hapi.
The game tells us a small story that has its roots in the lore of the Fódlan and of the Church in particular, linking everything to the origins of the protagonist Byleth. Much of the appeal of the chapter certainly comes from the new characters to whom we will slowly become attached. The plot is quite interesting and in theory it would also offer a good twist at the end, but it has the only real flaw of "buzzing" it too easily.
What has left us a little perplexed is the fact that this chapter and its protagonists don't blend well within the main game. After completing the DLC, in fact, it will be possible to unlock the members of the Ash Wolves in the main adventure; this already in Chapter 2, despite the narrative arc of Ashen Shadows seems to be placed later. Speaking with the characters there is a certain discrepancy in timing and knowledge; moreover, the inhabitants of the Monastery seem to have nothing to say about strangers joining our group to go to war. It certainly wasn't an easy feat to make an addition of this caliber consistent, but it is undeniable that a good deal of suspension of disbelief is required.
In creating Ombre Cinereous Intelligent Systems has evidently taken into account one of the (few) criticisms posed by players to Three Houses, the one concerning the low difficulty of the main adventure. In fact, the developers seem to have wanted to please the historical fans of the saga by creating a much more complex and punitive chapter, quite similar to what we saw in the pre-Awakening chapters.
All the DLC puts us in a more uncomfortable and cramped situation than usual. We will have available only the characters listed above, which will all start at level 20. There are no power-up lessons, we will not be able to grind with random battles or extra missions; even the level of Support between the characters accumulated in the main adventure is not considered. One battle after another continues with the only chance to explore the Abyss and its merchants to better equip the team.
In this situation the player can only rely on his strategic and tactical abilityrather than wild grinding. The only opportunities to accumulate experience and money will be the main fights themselves, which we assure you will be able to put you to the test. And be warned: the DLC can only be played on Normal or Hard difficulty, no discounts.
In addition to being more difficult, the Ashen Shadows battles offer more varied formulas and parameters than the main campaign (another problem we encountered in our review). The design of the maps is certainly more accurate and involves unconventional parameters and contexts. Luckily too the members of the Ashen Wolves bring with them new combat possibilities, since their respective classes are "mixed" variations of the traditional ones. For example, we will see a sorceress on a pegasus, or a warrior who is also capable of healing.
There is only one thing that just didn't go down: the rush on the map of new enemy units that appear en masse from nowhere. Normally, to plan a strategy it is essential to analyze the number and extent of opponents on the field. Turning the situation over by "injecting" new units out of thin air, perhaps forcing us to restart a fight that had been going on for half an hour, seemed a bit cheap.
As it was easy to expect, graphically the DLC does not report any improvement over the original. The salient parts of the story, however, are represented by special very pleasant artwork. Some truly commendable accompaniment pieces have also been added that do not look out of place in front of the rest of the wonderful soundtrack; it's just a pity that, given the physiological brevity of the chapter, there are fewer opportunities to listen to them and become attached to them.
After finishing the DLC it will be possible to return to the Abyss and unlock various options and activities. For example, we will be able to take advantage of the merchants of the Abyss and the new classes introduced by the Ashen Wolves will be available to all students.
Ombre Cineree is a DLC that certainly raises the value of the Expansion Pass considerably, adding at least ten hours of gameplay with its campaign and enriching the experience of Fire Emblem: Three Houses with content, giving us another reason to start a new one. run. It may not keep you on the edge of your seat with a surprising story, but it will do so with its level of challenge that will make historical fans of the series happy and force new ones to roll up their sleeves.
► Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a turn-based-RPG-Tactical game developed by Nintendo Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 26/07/2019
