Board 8 > Honey, We Bought A Switch, or: Raka Plays Fire Emblem Three Houses Blind

(+) Yeah! (+)

(spoilers as I go on)

...I swear to finish Fallout 4 sooner or later!

So I told the dillos about this, but a local game store franchise here has the 'certified pre-owned' category of consoles (a.k.a. second hand without issue, checked by the store, and with a warranty). So I got this Switch + Pro Controller (no Joycons unfortunately) for 2.999.999 Indonesian Rupiah, or about $200. I also bought the game for about $50 new.

All I know about the game are:
1. There's a school system of sorts in the first half and in the second half you just build an army like normal
2. There are three houses. The Red House is led by a Kyoko Kirigiri/Chris Lightfellow kinda girl, the Blue one by Takumi Aldini, and the Yellow one by a stoner.
3. You can recruit characters during the school mode (including hijacking people from the other house if you're sly enough) and in the second half when you're in the army proper
4. The support/relationship system is much deeper than Radiant Dawn
5. My friend described it as a current gen Suikoden spiritual survivor, and we're both big Suikoden fans.

I don't mind general tips but please refrain from spoilers, I want to figure out most of the game by myself for the first run. Oh, and for context I've finished FE 6, 7, 8, RD, and Awakening. My favorite is Awakening.

SO HERE WE GO!
---

Normal mode + the non-casual one.

So we got this war with an evil looking dude with chain whip he stole from Ivy Valentine versus Sophitia. Except it's only a dream being dreamt by uhh this magical little girl who reminds me of Rune Factory 4's Venti (?), or Yune + Tiki.

My form is a human dude called Raka. And I'm apparently a mercenary with this gruff Jeigan type and the three House leaders are asking for our help because there are bandits. Whee my first battle.
---

I like Suikoden.

I like three houses.

This might be a fun topic.
---

Alanna82 posted...

I like Suikoden.

I like three houses.

This might be a fun topic.

Do you agree with my friend's assessment?
---

So what I immediately noticed was this...Combat Arts thing? I wonder what it's about.

And even the in-battle dialogue are fully voiced! Nice! Can't wait to play fully voiced Pokmon on the console too.
---

It does kind of remind me of Suikoden 3 with the 3 houses thing where you choose one. (Not a spoiler, this is literally at the beginning of the game) And in Suikoden 3 you choose one of the three main characters.

I could also see hints of Suikoden 2 in the game, depending on what you choose.

Its hard to explain without spoilers. and Yes, Edelgard does look like Chris Lightfellow.
---

A switch without joycons sounds weird but alrighty wooo rakks
---

Alanna82 posted...

It does kind of remind me of Suikoden 3 with the 3 houses thing where you choose one. (Not a spoiler, this is literally at the beginning of the game) And in Suikoden 3 you choose one of the three main characters.

I could also see hints of Suikoden 2 in the game, depending on what you choose.

Its hard to explain without spoilers. and Yes, Edelgard does look like Chris Lightfellow.

Duly noted.

Grimlyn posted...

A switch without joycons sounds weird but alrighty wooo rakks

It does lol. Whee.

Anyway, things went off without a hitch though I got scared Jarelt would kill steal the enemy boss but thankfully the latter somehow got no damage (parrying?).
Edelgard leveled up and got good gains, including Str. The yellow stoner dude only got like 3 lol. I also leveled up and got like 4 stat ups? OK.

So you can still use a weapon even if it's out of durability but with severe penalty. That's nice to know. And Combat Arts are like using up more durability for slightly better attack. OK that should add another layer of strategy.

And there are more stats here and some are new! Charisma? Looking forward to see what it's all about.

Linked attack reminds me of Awakening only nerfed a bit, which is fair enough.

The boss bandit tries to attack Edelgard but I jumped it to save her and I die whoops. Thanksfully this little tyke Sothis can save scum so I reloaded and wrecked the bandit, yay.
---

it's blue lions and black eagles

unless that was a joke? sorry.

It's almost 1 and I have work today so time to sleep. But I chose Leicester because...the other two look generic lol.
---

colliding posted...

it's blue lions and black eagles

unless that was a joke? sorry.

That was a blind guess, so 1/3 is not that bad.
---

you didn't do black eagles; that's all that matters

The Blue Lions are my favorite.

But the Golden Deer are good too. Claude (Stoner guy from your post) is the only male from that house I like though. But I like the girls from that house. (Mostly)
---

I'm off to Hogwarts and there's this bouncy lady.

Wait so I am really Jeralt's son? Or did my answer matter and I could be a spoopy ghost instead lol

Did Daddy-O really just say yes to this full time commitment just like that? Oh well.

BTW Rhea's advisor looks really evil.
---

Well, I went with my guts and chose the Golden Deer. To be honest, they just seem to stand out more than Edel and Dimitri's houses at this point in the game, which seem exchangeable.

Though reading they mostly are archers kinda make me nervous lol since they don't have the best reputation in FE games.

The girls do seem cool with one weirdo but the boys other than Claude are uggos. Caspar and Ashe are the two cutest so far...oh well.
---

yeah the dudes in golden deer- aside from Claude obviously - are... special

what were they thinking, seriously

but also you like caspar which is weird

You picked a lovely house.

HILDA HILDA
---

I like short dudes.

So the mock battle went off without a hitch.

The lecture system is interesting but I think it'll take me some time getting used to. The customization seems quite dauntingly open ended!

For now I made Raka a Myrmidon and Claude a Bandit. But then turns out if you max a job level you get bonus ability (in this case HP +5). Whoops, should let them stay in the first job a bit.

So the student recruitment is locked to stats and/or skills, very interesting. So it's partially RNG.

On the first bandit mission I got...Lysandre? whats-her-name for killed since she got doubled, whoops. And I forgot about the ability to rewind time.
...but apparently we can restart the battle with the exp intact? That's so generous.
---

Also I get shitty gains so many times. :( Maybe it's because of the starting job's growth rate too?
---

Whoever cut Lorenz and Ignatz's hair should be drawn and quartered.
---

BTW what are the >> symbols above some Support levels?

And is there a limit on the amount of Support people can have?
---

">>" above C, B or A means there's a C+, B+ or A+ conversation. The only limit to supports is only one S rank support per game.
---

Thanks!

So yeah, I'm still figuring out what's the best way to spend my weekends. So far seems like I'm doing...okay? I learned that once you explore the monastery in a month the dialogue and quests don't reset so I should probably not do that too many times.

Just finished the first battle against a rebel alliance and I recruited my boy Ashe for some of that tasty extra dialogue, but it's a shame we can't recruit the boss lol.

Battle-wise, Claude is heads above everyone else, he's a beast. Surprisingly Raphael is also turning out really good as a brawler and he's beefy too. Claude is becoming an archer for now.

The new magic system is...interesting. No more tomes so one less thing to buy/manage is good.
---

Raka_Putra posted...

I like short dudes.

So the mock battle went off without a hitch.

The lecture system is interesting but I think it'll take me some time getting used to. The customization seems quite dauntingly open ended!

For now I made Raka a Myrmidon and Claude a Bandit. But then turns out if you max a job level you get bonus ability (in this case HP +5). Whoops, should let them stay in the first job a bit.

So the student recruitment is locked to stats and/or skills, very interesting. So it's partially RNG.

On the first bandit mission I got...Lysandre? whats-her-name for killed since she got doubled, whoops. And I forgot about the ability to rewind time.
...but apparently we can restart the battle with the exp intact? That's so generous.

Lysithea.
---

Yeah. I'll call her Lys for ease.

...geez I just skipped a whole month! In that part where Seteth's sister was missing!

...I had misread that warning as just ending that particular weekend but it ended the whole friggin month! ...oh well.

Man it's a shame that Marianne is turning out to be so friggin weak in my save, she gets doubled easily and hits like a wet paper. I might have to bench her but I don't want to. :(

So I got Cyril and Seteth's sister too (man it's hard remembering everyone's names at the same time), yay. I'm still trying to coax Caspar and Ashe but it seems like Felix is the one most likely to come over to by house due to my skills and stats.

I still couldn't defeat the Death Knight, but at least I got the second Dark Seal thanks to making Raka a Thief lol.

My line up looks like this atm:
Raka - Thief
Claude - Archer
Raphael - Brawler
Ignatz - Archer
Lorenz - Dark Mage
Hilda - Brigand
Leonie - Cavalry
Lys - Mage
Marianne - Priest
Flayn - Pegasus Knight
Cyril - Brigand

It might be nice to have a Myrmidon/Hero somewhere there so maybe I'll take Felix in after all.
---

Nosferatu weighs a ton and Marianne has no strength, so she's going to get doubled pretty much all the time with it, especially early game. I gave her a couple levels in reason so she'd have a lighter tome to use in case she got attacked.

---

Thanks for the tip.

Yeah, I should probably give her some levels in Reason then.
Balancing the skill levels/Goals are kinda tricky.
---

Flayn is one of my favorites.

Sylvain is my favorite though. (He may seem shallow at first, but read his supports. Since you have Flayn I know you have seen the part with His brother Miklan and that was when I realized he wasn't just your average flirt)
---

Oh yeah. I did bring him to that battle and it was rather heartbreaking to see his dialogue.
---

Okay, so I got Ashe to ditch the Blue Lions and now the freckled cutie is mine, nice.

Last time I played was right before the part where we're going to the forest to find the evil guys who killed Jaralt.

The scene where I turned back time to stop Monicka from stabbing dad but Tomas/Shannon appeared and stopped ME from stopping her was cool.

Some of my party already have advanced jobs. Leonie is a Paladin, Ignatz is an Assassin, Raphael is a Grappler, Lys a warlock, Marianne a bishop, and Cyril a Wyvern Rider.

...I think I might be a tad overleveled, the game's becoming just too easy lately. Or maybe I should've chosen the Hard mode...eh, next time.

Lorenz is the biggest surprise to me. He just absolutely destroys as a dark mage, since he's got the highest defense out of the party (though I don't have any heavy knights).

Even story-wise, I kinda dig his shtick? Like yeah he's really classist, but he's actually working to be an honorable noble, so he can help and protect the commoners. So at least he's not all talk.

And overall I rather like everyone in the house. Marianne is literally just Fluttershy. Shy? Check. Low self-esteem? Check. Soft voice? Check. Cares for animals? Triple check.

Hilda is really good with her words, she knows how to get people to do her bidding and make them feel appreciated. But she can be generous and kind too. She kinda reminds me of Rarity in a way.

Leonie is just a great bro/tomboy buddy. Nothing too revolutionary, but very likeable.

Lys is...well, Lys. Her trying so hard not to be seen as a child kinda gets old fast, but I like her interaction with Cyril where she tries to be a big sis instead.

Ignatz is such a sweetheart. Just the sweetest. His B-rank Support with Marianne is so cute. I like him a lot.

And Raphael is one of those gentle giant stereotypes. He's loud, he eats a lot, but he has a good heart and he's a caring big brother. Good stuff.

Finally, Claude is...well, Claude. I'm very suspicious of him and wouldn't be too shocked if he turns out to be behind the whole thing. But he's still super chill.

As for Flayn...on her B-level Support she alludes that she's like us and kinda feels familiar with us. I wonder what her deal is. Seteth is actually her father, not her brother. But she says something about Rhea too...is she the daughter of Rhea? But we saw her mother's grave. This is confusing. I do suspect we have similar origins...since we seem to be older than we look and maybe not wholly human.
---

Flayn you need to see her supports. Especially with Seteth.

Did you explore after jeralts death and found the ring. Not the plot scene, you have to actually explore.

Did you not get the dancer class?

Lorenz is my least favorite character that is playable. He does get better later but he still talks about himself too much.
---

I don't have Seteth yet, but I'll keep that in mind.

A ring? I did find a ring that apparently Jeralt used to propose to Raka's mom and then it says something like I should use it when I find someone I want to marry or something.

Oh I did get the dancer class! Flayn won very easily, her Charm was like twice the minimum number lol. And she was already a great support in the first place so yeah she's more or less full on support now (not too hot on her as an attacker anyway).
---

Other than the main character, can our units hook up together when they reach a certain support level?
---

Raka_Putra posted...

Other than the main character, can our units hook up together when they reach a certain support level?

Paired endings a la older FEs are back (so FE6-10 in your case)

so sorta but you have limited control over it because you don't really know which paired endings are romantic in nature in advance. also since you can have multiple a supports it takes the one that has the most points since it keeps track of support points even after you reach A support.
---

Ah, right. Thanks for the clarification.

In other news, a little girl entered Raka and now he's super saiyan. Right, as if our characters are not OP already.
---

yeah, just wanted to make sure you got the ring since it is missable.
---

You know what I did miss? Initiating Rhea's Support. :(

But it's becoming obvious Rhea is hiding something. Well, big churches are typically evil in JRPGs so we'll see.
---

Bump
---

Thanks for the bump! I had a production of Company (the Sondheim musical) last week so I didn't get to play much.

I just noticed that I haven't updated that I'm right at the beginning of the time skip right now. Will update later!
---

So during the holy day a bunch of thieves broke into the crypt and tried to steal the holy crests. We easily thwarted them. But surprise, surprise. The Flame Emperor is actually Edelgard and her army is already on the way to annihilate Garreg Mach.

It's interesting to see the new political dynamic with the kids. Some of their parents support Edel, others defy her (and got swiftly taken out).

That was a pretty good fight. Rhea turned into a dragon, I didn't know she was a Manakete. But then she flew somewhere (?) and I slipped down a chasm and took a nap for 5 years!

When I woke up, the war is still ongoing. The Empire has defeated large swaths of the Kingdom (and Dimitri is now an even bigger emo). The Alliance is still putting up a good fight.

Wow, Claude is kinda hot with dem sideburns. We fight off the thieves looking to ransack the monastery and EVERYONE. IS. HERE.

Assessment on the kids' new look:
- Claude: Better looking, he's a stud.
- Hilda: I don't like her new portrait's pose (a bit awkward to always lean forward) and I prefer side twintails...I'd say worse.
- Marianne: Talk about glow up! She looks much more well put together now.
- Leonie: I mean, I like it, but she looks a bit more generic now with that side braid. A hair accessory might've helped.
- Lysithea: lol she's still so smol but now she looks like a hippie/Ainu
- Flayne: ??? she didn't change? Vampire confirmed.
- Lorenz: His face looks slightly more humanoid this time around and his hair is much better and fitting for a pompous noble. Slightly better overall.
- Ignatz: He's a looker now. A haircut can do wonders.
- Raphael: Looks about the same, just with thicker hair and bod. Would've liked to see him with a beard.

More on Caspar, Cyril, Ashe, and Felix later. Didn't get to take a good look on them.

But anyway, we're rebuilding the monastery as our base of operation and that's exciting.
One question though: how does the support system work across time skip? Do they have the same dialogue but just different models and portraits?
---

Time skip Claude is hot.

Flayn has many secrets.
---

Raka_Putra posted...

One question though: how does the support system work across time skip? Do they have the same dialogue but just different models and portraits?

Different models/portraits but same dialogue (maybe some minor changes here and there, but mostly not I think, which can lead to some hilarious and out of place moments given the situation)
---

Huh, Ashe isn't here. Funky. I hope I don't have to kill him down the line. :(

Felix: Yes, he's much better looking here for some reason. Love the new hair.
Caspar: OMG hot. <3 I hope there's a lot of pictures of him online.
Cyril: He still kinda got that baby face but eh otherwise I don't have a lot to say.

I'm getting A-level supports now and Marianne got it with no less than 3 men in a row lol.

Alanna82 posted...

Time skip Claude is hot.

Flayn has many secrets.

He really is.
She really does...though from her support with Ignatz I imagine she's just Saint Cethleann (sp?) in a new body.

xp1337 posted...

Raka_Putra posted...

One question though: how does the support system work across time skip? Do they have the same dialogue but just different models and portraits?

Different models/portraits but same dialogue (maybe some minor changes here and there, but mostly not I think, which can lead to some hilarious and out of place moments given the situation)

Right, that makes sense.
---

So we're getting reinforcement from Judith by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, I can have an S-level relationship with Marianne, though I'm not sure if she's the one I want to end up with.

Truth to be told if I could I'd choose Caspar. He's so hot now as an adult. >_>

As for the girls I'd rather them end up with fellow students. Maybe I'll go for someone like Shamir since she's cool.

Also this game sure is generous with the stat-boosting items. I have only used like one or two but maybe I should get on with that.

---

So I had to look up how to recruit Ashe since we fought him in the lava level. Turns out I jut needed to kill him with Raka so I did and now he's back in my army! Yay!

We also took a bridge and killed...I want to say Ferdinand? In the process. The guy with the orange hair. It's kinda sad having to slaughter my ex students! I hope I don't have to eviscerate Mercedes or Bernadette, I'm kind of fond of them.

To bolster our forces, we got help from Judith. Cool.

I like how forthcoming Flayn gets about her identity the more we see of her supports. She just outright called Seteth Cichol and he called her Cethleann in return.

And I did the paralogue with Micuil (Caller of Wind). He just went "OH hi Ceth--" and she was like "OMG uncle you're embarrassing me!"

Hilda, meanwhile, just gets down to business in her A rank support, telling Caspar to go to her room for a booty call and telling her brother she'd love to have Lorenz as a trophy husband.

Marianne and Raphael are so adorable together but I don't ship it.

So far I'm thinking
Ignatz x Marianne
Lorenz x Hilda
Cyril x Lysithea
Hanemann x Manuela
Caspar x Ashe, perhaps

I lack women.

---

Flayn's battle conversation with Macuil is one of my favourites.
---

yeah, you saw the support that reveals who she is.

Caspar and Ashe arn't really my type.

I find Sylvain (both before and after), Claude (mostly post time skip,but he is okay before), Post time skip Dimitri, Seteth, Felix (time skip after he ditches the man bun) attractive.

Glad you didn't kill Ashe though. My first play through I just avoided him on the level because I didn't want him to die and avoided spoilers. (But I did kill Lorenz ) He may not be my type, but he is a nice guy.

---

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

I just went to battle at Gonder. Man this was such a cool set up for a battle...

I'm sad I had to kill Bernadetta. She manned the ballista and it was very annoying :(

I wasn't so sad to kill Sylvain and Ingrid since they ambushed my army.

Still, I tried to avoid killing ex students I didn't have to. Mercedes got out unscathed. Dedue survived even in battle (the guy's a tank). Petra got defeated by Dedue but thankfully she just retreated.

Now onward to ravage the Imperial capita!


---

This is why I recruit everyone. The only student I didn't mind killing was Lorenz. And that was only the first time I played the game.

Petra is NASTY in that battle if you don't recruit her, you got lucky Dedue "killed" her.

And poor Bernie gets lit on fire if you take too long to grab the Bastilla.

Now Felix has no friends left.


---

Wait, how did you recruit everyone? Everyone's got like different skills they need...unless you did crazy boss abuse grinding I guess?

Yeah Petra never even touched my army, she just skirmishes with Dedue.

Oh that's right, poor Felix. Well he's never been a very friendly guy anyway.

---