To hype up Fire Emblem Three Houses, I started playing Path of Radiance today. For those Smash folks that don't play Fire Emblem, this is the game Ike was introduced in. The general consensus is that he's one of the most well written lords due to his characterization and development.
This entire playthrough will be used as a reference for what I love about Fire Emblem, what I hope from Three Houses, and maybe even getting someone interested into the series. I will be doing the hardest difficulty for the western release of this game because I know how this game works already.
As of right now, I played through Chapters 1 and 2, and I feel immediately at home. I just got finished with a playthrough of Conquest, and I'm just happy to not worry about the pair-up feature anymore. The rescue feature is available, and I treasure this more than the pair-up structure. With rescuing, units with a higher build stat can "carry" other characters. This basically pulls that unit your rescuing out of harms way at the cost of stat reductions for the carrier. It's a genuine life saver more often than not and is a very forgiving feature for if you just want to learn the game casually.
Immediately I like the writing more than Fates. We have Ike being a bumbling trainee for a band of mercenaries ran by his father, Greil. The prologue is dedicated to introducing us to Ike and his dad as they train. Ike has to land a hit on his daddy with a wooden sword and Greil just has no issue knocking his son out if he's weak. What makes this chapter funner than how Fates opened was that no one really spoils Ike in the same way they spoil Corrin. His father has no issue punishing Ike if he's out of line, his sister is more concerned about Ike than overly attached, and his friend, Boyd, tries to act like he's cooler than Ike. It's very fun and gives me an impression about the environment of this mercenary group.
Then you fight some bandits to introduce you to the combat and members of the mercenary in a calm and slow build-up before the actual war. It's fun ****. After playing Conquest where your "dad" abuses you, threatens murder and isolation if you talk back, and your siblings enable him and his psycho retainers, this is a nicer introduction that doesn't spiral my understanding of the story out of control.
Can't wait to play more. Now here's Ike getting hit with a stick.