Fire Emblem: Three Houses – When Crimson Flower Is Your First Route
[SPOILERS ahead for Fire Emblem: Three Houses]
“El, let’s just tell them about the lizard people and the mole men and I’m sure we can get this all straightened out before anyone gets hurt.”
– Byleth, after their 5th Groundhog Day loop
So Fire Emblem: Three Houses lets you play through 4 different storylines (the first half is mostly the same, but the story diverges in the second half) and on my first play through I decided to go down the path where I sided with Edelgard and the Adrestian Empire. How did I choose? I knew ahead of time that the story would lead to the various nations going to war with each other and I knew one of them would be the “villain” of the story – I was feeling especially devious at the time and wanted to go through the villain route, so I used process of elimination to determine this was obviously going to be Edelgard’s path. Pale skin and white hair? Check. Creepy teenage Snape as her sidekick? Check. The fact that she’s the heir to “The Empire?” Check. Black Eagles House it is. So imagine my surprise when I learn that Edelgard’s got pretty solid reasoning and legitimate points to make about how the Church of Seiros has bungled their 1000 years of power over the continent. I mean, yeah, she’s allied with the “real villain” mole people for most of the game, but they literally raised her and she takes care of them offscreen eventually. Just gotta play the game and reverse their own manipulations on them – that’s just politics, baby.
Anyway, I’m on my 7th playthrough of Three Houses, which is also my 2nd runthrough of Azure Wind and I’ve already completed all four paths – still gotta say I think Crimson Flower gets us the best outcome for a united Fódlan. Maybe the edgy atheist in me just deeply distrusts the theocracy of any church (even if you are the one who runs it) or hegemony of any nation that calls itself the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. And maybe I’m also a bit sore that after I had Byleth confess her love to Claude, he just fucks off to become king of Almyra and leaves her to being Pope of a war ravaged nation all by herself. Say what you will about Edelgard, but she’s got a clear vision for the future, the drive to follow through on it, and you know she’ll stay there to make sure it gets done (provided you marry her to the right person who knows how to extend her shortened lifespan).
– James
