Best Console Exclusives of 2019
Honorable Mention: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Reviews Editor Zhiqing Wan: Without a doubt, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of the strongest exclusive games in the Switch’s library right now. While the series’ status as a quality tactical RPG series has never really been called into question, Fire Emblem only really started to make a comeback in mainstream popularity with the release of Awakening on the 3DS.
Since then, the series has been on an upward trajectory. With Three Houses set to mark the series’ big debut on the Nintendo Switch, however, the stakes were high. Which is why you’ll be glad to hear that this is also one of the strongest games in the Fire Emblem series.
Three Houses features a staggering amount of content, with three different story routes to play through. Each House is fully fleshed out, packed with insanely well-developed characters that you really grow to care for across the length of the campaign. You need only take a glance at social media and reddit to see the waves and waves of fan art and content created for the individual Houses to get a true sense of how much people really care about these characters.
That’s what makes the story so compelling. Three Houses is so good at fostering a sense of loyalty and pride to the House you’ve sided with, and that feeling of camaraderie carries over into battle, as you meticulously train your units and allow them to blossom into strong fighters that can finally utilize their full hidden potential.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses feels wonderfully dense in every aspect: story, gameplay, characters, and it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.
