Three Hopes, one demo, lots of thoughts (Part 2) + R.I.P.

[waltzoid]

I want to share my thoughts about the rest of the Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes demo in a moment, but I just found out that Billy Kametz, the English voice artist for Ferdinand (and also Naofumi from The Rising of the Shield Hero, Josuke from JoJos' Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, and Galo from Promare, the last of which I haven't seen yet), died this week after being diagnosed with a serious case of colon cancer. I don't know of many other people who could have brought the same energy and earnestness to the Ferdinand role that Billy did. Truthfully, I think the casting and voice acting for Fire Emblem: Three Houses was fantastic all around, and his character was a big part of that. It's awful that this happened just weeks before the release of Three Hopes, which means he won't be around to hear his fans talk about one of his last big performances.

R.I.P. Mr. Kametz. We'll all miss you.

Now then...time for me to ramble on some more about the game itself...

• "Those who slither in the dark" are still at large as of Chapter 4 even after Monica and Edelgard revealed two of their agents in Scarlet Blaze (Tomas/Solon and Lord Arundel/Thales), and the third (Cornelia, whose Agarthan identity was a mystery in Three Houses, but is now known to go by the name of Cleobulus) escaped from Rufus' failed coup in Azure Gleam. With Edelgard once again pushing to delegitimize the central Church of Seiros' authority and Dimitri providing shelter to Rhea and the other Church members to defend them from the Empire's attack, the "slither" gang is likely to be a headache for both of them at some point down the line.
• Meanwhile, in Golden Wildfire, Claude's got his own issues to deal with. Not only does he have to worry about a potential clash with the Empire, but his brother Shahid also has designs for taking over Fodlan on behalf of the Almyran and to get back at him for...something. I was surprised to see Nader fighting against Claude at Fodlan's Throat (side note: his original voice actor, Brad Venable, died earlier this year, which explains why his voice sounds deeper), but it doesn't sound like he's on board with Shahid's plans.
• While all this is going on, nobody really knows what the heck Byleth and Jeralt are doing while Fodlan goes to war (again), but at least Jeralt doesn't go out by taking a cursed knife to the back this time. It's going to be a while until Shez gets their promised rematch with the notorious Ashen Demon, and I still don't know if I'm prepared to go up against them. If Byleth could do that much damage without the Sword of the Creator (this being a Warriors game notwithstanding), imagine how screwed Shez would be if Byleth got press-ganged into joining the Church of Seiros and being bequeathed the sword like in Three Houses.
• I was surprised that Edelgard chose to revive the Southern Church as part of her strategy, given her negative feelings on most things goddess-related in Three Houses. But then she decides to put Count Varley (Bernadetta's jerkass dad) as its bishop, making him a prime target for all manner of assassination plots when she moves against the Central Church, and it suddenly makes sense as a delicious punishment for him for his part in the coup against her father (not to mention less messy than simply imprisoning or killing him herself).
• Onto some of the playable characters:
  • Felix's "quick step" dodge move is very useful for getting in and out of crowds and boosting his movement and attack speed. I tend to dodge a lot more than I block in games like this, so I may find myself bringing Felix into a lot of battles (especially since right now Shez and Petra are the only characters that favor swords by default).
  • Mercedes' healing/damaging pillar of light special ability will take some time for me to get used to. Priests don't seem to have as much raw damage output as Mages, so I have to make sure there's a big enough crowd for her to attack to build enough stacks to activate it.
  • Lysithea's "curse" ability draws affected enemies to her, and with someone as notoriously squishy as she is, it might be a good idea to have a strong adjutant to swap in when those enemies get pulled to you so that she doesn't take too much damage.
  • I still don't know how best to use Ashe's tornado trap or Bernadetta's "Personal Space" specials. Ashe's can be aimed, while Bernie's has to be done in close proximity to her, but it freezes everyone in the affected area while she gets a bonus to her crit chance while inside that ring.
• The maps for Chapter 3 (the Imperial Palace on Edelgard's path, Fhirdiad on Dimitri's path, and Fodlan's Locket on Claude's path) are huge, so it's possible to get lost even if you compulsively check the map to give orders to your characters like I do.
• That said, I like that your base camp (the hub between levels) is much smaller than Garreg Mach Monastery so that you don't spend half an hour running around everywhere and talking to everyone, even with fast travel.
• While a lot of the characters who obtained their Hero's Relic weapons over the course of Three Houses' story start with them when Part I of Three Hopes kicks in (except for Edelgard, whose relic Aymr was a brand-new creation compared to the others), Sylvain doesn't get the Lance of Ruin, Annette doesn't get her Crusher, and Lorenz doesn't get his magic staff Thyrsus. Do you think they'll eventually get them down the line?
• Felix seems a lot more relaxed about being named the new Duke Fraldarius in his father Rodrigue's place than I thought he would. In fact, I think he actually called Dimitri by his name instead of "the boar" a few times (but he still gets snippy with his father when I put them together in the training grounds).

I'm still burning with anticipation for this game after spending maybe 24 total hours on it across all three campaigns, and there's still so much more I want to know:

• When and how do I get to play around with the Ashen Wolves?
• Which Church characters will be playable? I fought Seteth in a side mission in Edelgard's story, so I have to assume he'll be playable on Azure Gleam since the Kingdom is actively supporting the Central Church.
• Will we get to see special conversations between Balthus and Holst? Or Ashe and Yuri? Or Monica and Constance?
• Will I get to wreck some more Demonic Beasts? Or a Titanus? Or a Church Golem? Or those Viskam lightning cannons from Shambhala?

I guess I'll find out at least two weeks from now.

Comments

[sarajayechan]

I wonder if it's too late for them to add a "dedicated to the memory of" note to the credits for Billy. They did that with two of the VAs in Rune Factory 5. But yeah, as much as Azure Gleam has me panting with curiosity to see what happens with Dimitri, the loss of Billy is all the more reason for me to pick Scarlet Blaze first.

(That, and the support between Edelgard and Ferdinand I saw on Youtube.)

Will we get to see special conversations between Balthus and Holst? Or Ashe and Yuri? Or Monica and Constance?

ASHE AND YURI, PLEASE. Even if it contradicts my headcanons for any shared past between them or doesn't talk about the past at all, just let them talk!

[cye_of_the_torrent]

Like Sara, I'm hoping that they'll do a "dedicated to the memory of" as well for Three Hopes. That said, it is really close to time to drop the game, so IDK. I'm sure there'll be something in the next Heroes video, no matter what.

I cannot wait to recruit the Ashen Wolves. I also hope they get lots of supports.

[waltzoid]

Like Sara, I'm hoping that they'll do a "dedicated to the memory of" as well for Three Hopes. That said, it is really close to time to drop the game, so IDK.

Unfortunately, I think it's a bit too late for them to include a tribute to Billy in the game unless someone patched in a note after the end credits.

I cannot wait to recruit the Ashen Wolves. I also hope they get lots of supports.

As I said in the Discord chat, I think I'll need to expand my text file to a spreadsheet once the full game comes out, 'cuz there's no way I'll be able to keep track of all those little details in one file.

[meltherandom]

I would guess that, if they can't include a dedication to Billy Kametz in the game before release, they might include it in an update. Either way, he'll be missed. :(