The release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses marks a major milestone for the franchise. Not only is it the first console game in the series since 2007’s Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on the Wii but its also the first game in the series to take advantage of a system with high definition visuals and a modern(ish) online infrastructure. In just a few days since its release the game has garnered critical success (including a stellar score from us here at Link-Cable) and is flying off of shelves, something that just a few short years ago would of been unheard of for a game in the franchise. Now established as a surefire hit, the question is no longer whether or not Nintendo and Intelligent Systems will continue with the series – they definitely will, but what does its future look like? That’s the question we aim to answer here today.

The biggest change that Fire Emblem: Three Houses has brought to the traditional Fire Emblem formula would definitely have to be the new school-focused mechanics that introduce a whole new layer of gameplay that was never present in past games outside of a few small, interactions. This addition essentially splits the gameplay in the new game into two, allowing players to fully role-ply and interact with their character and their roster of students in a setting that is removed from the grid-based battlefield and this splitting of gameplay styles is the first thing that I think the series should focus on going forward.

Of course not every Fire Emblem game from this point on should feature a main character who is a professor guiding high student / soldiers through life and war, that would get really old, really quick. But instead let’s make this ‘dual-gameplay’ aspect something that can always be expected to show up but not exactly how it will. For example, instead of being a professor maybe your character is a member of the royalty and your party is composed of your subjects? Or maybe if you’re feeling a bit less high and might y you could be the leader of a band of mercenaries and in-between missions you return to your hideout to help your units develop? The possibilities are endless when it comes to what kind of life your character can lead and that’s really important because it helps not only build a strong bond with all of the game’s cast but also help each individual story in the franchise set itself apart, something that the series is a bit notorious for ignoring.

Changing up the story beats of traditional Fire Emblem games would be the next thing on my list of things I want the series to focus on. There’s been so many games so far that deal with an evil dragon (blah, blah) fighting against the gods and goddess (blah, blah) who’s ancestors are the children of destiny (blah, blah) that it’s starting to get a bit old. So I would really like for Fire Emblem to take a page out of the Final Fantasy series book and not just change the world in which the games takes place (which is does) but also the setting and maybe even the time period. A futuristic or present day Fire Emblem could be something cool and allow us to experience a whole different style of tactical warfare. Of course the elements that make Fire Emblem what it is would have to stay but changing up the story beats could go a long way to keeping the series fresh going forward.

Of course Nintendo has also shown a penchant for looking to the series’ past for its inspiration and that trend could definitely be something the franchise builds on going forward. We have already gotten full remakes of the first three Fire Emblem games (we never got the DS remake of Mystery of the Emblem in North America) but that still leaves three games that have never left their home systems or home country for that matter. Remaking Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776 and The Binding Blade, similar to the treatment that Shadows of Valentia got would be a great way to keep the series relevant with consumers while at the same ensuring that life long fans remain interested and loyal to the franchise, even as Nintendo decides to go in more experimental directions with it.

And that’s really what I would love to see the most from Fire Emblem going forward, risk. The series has built its name on a strong set of fundamentals that are rarely tweaked or changed and really why would you? The tactical balancing in the Fire Emblem series is rock solid, so why not tak it out of its element and try different genres? We’ve already seen some examples of this newfound spirit of risk taking with games like Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE as a standard JRPG and Fire Emblem: Warriors, a musou style action game. So what else could the series do and where could it go? Well I have a few ideas.

For one, and maybe the one gameplay style that would best translate to the series is a Zelda-style action/adventure where you take control of one of the series’ stars and go on an epic quest all over one of the many continents of whatever world the Fire Emblem franchise takes place in. This could really push the series in a new direction, not just for story and narrative but by allowing you to see these grand conflicts in a whole new, much more personal light. The standard weapons triangle could very well remain and play a part in the game’s combat (run into a pegaus knight? better bust out that bow) though paired with the gameplay found in a traditional Zelda game. I also have a thought of a Smash Bros. style game that is only Fire Emblem characters but I don’t know how many people would go for that…

I’m very happy that in this day and age I can ask the question ‘where does Fire Emblem go from here?’ and have it be a positive one. It really wasn’t that long ago that the whole franchise seemed destined to irrevelancy and maybe even outright cancelltion, but now, thanks to a series of hit games and smart moves to shake up the formula it stands as one of Nintendo’s biggest names. Still that doesn’t mean that they should be sitting on their laurels but instead trying to make it as big and diverse a series as possible, whether that means making the story more personal, changing up the setting and time piece or just throwing out the rule book and trying something brand new I’ll definitely be on board every step of the way.