Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of the most popular entries the series has seen, selling nearly three million copies. Three Houses has brought many new fans into the series, and now is an excellent time to be a Fire Emblem fan.
While Three Houses brought a great deal of new mechanics to the table, the previous fifteen entries to the series each have their own appeals and distinctions, from their varied gameplay to their storylines. So today, we're going to examine the previous entries of the Fire Emblem series and discuss which would be perfect for newer fans of the series who started with Three Houses!
10 Fire Emblem Heroes
Fire Emblem Heroes is a free to play mobile game that allows players to make small armies of four units, and collect characters from across Fire Emblem's history. The game is full of references to each game in the franchise, and it can be used for players who are interested in learning about the characters from previous Fire Emblem games. While the game does not tote large battlefields, it's simplified unit-focused gameplay can be a nice change of pace.
9 Fire Emblem Warriors
Though Fire Emblem Warriors is not a main series entry in the series, this Dynasty Warriors and Fire Emblem hybrid is currently the only other Fire Emblem game available for the Nintendo Switch besides Three Houses. This means that anyone who owns Three Houses already has access to the hardware required to play heroes.
Though the core gameplay of Warriors is a far cry from a traditional fire emblem experience, the game contains familiar mechanics such as a Support system.
8 Awakening
Like Three Houses, Fire Emblem: Awakening is an entry of the series that brought countless new fans into the series. Similarly to Three Houses, Awakening presents players with a large degree of freedom in how they approach the game. Additionally, the game's support system is in the forefront of the game, allowing player's to pair up units together, causing them to get married and have children. Without giving too much of Awakening's plot away, these children are quite important to the story, and giving player's the freedom to choose their ideal pairings can be quite rewarding.
7 Shadow Dragon
Playable on the Nintendo DS, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a remake of the first game in the series, and is perfect for players interested in examining the roots and history of the franchise. Following the story of the widely popular Marth, while Shadow Dragon doesn't tote the best map design the series has to offer, and it lacks many mechanics that have become series staples such as supports, there is a degree of elegance to the game's simplicity.
6 The Blazing Blade
Released for the Gameboy Advance, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade was originally released simply as Fire Emblem in the west, and was the first Fire Emblem game to be released outside of Japan. The prequel to Roy's home game, The Binding Blade, this game contains finely tuned gameplay, map design, and one of the best tutorials the series has scene to date. Additionally, The Blazing Blade was one of the first entries in the series that allowed players to experience the story from the perspective of a character of their choice.
5 The Sacred Stones
Another Fire Emblem game released for the Gameboy Advance, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones allows players to actively choose the protagonist of their play-through between the Princess Eirika and the Prince Ephraim. Additionally, this entry also included branching promotion trees that allows players to choose from two potential options when promoting their units.
While earlier games in the Fire Emblem have a reputation for being rather difficult, The Sacred Stones has a very forgiving difficulty, giving players access to one of the strongest units in the franchise's history: Seth.
4 Fates
One element of Fire Emblem: Three Houses that resonated with players was the ability to decide which house to teach, greatly altering the trajectory of the game's story. Similarly to Three Houses, Fire Emblem Fates allows players to choose which faction they will side with within a war between nations. Depending on which side a player takes, the game changes drastically, becoming Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest if they side with Nohr, and becoming Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright if they side with Hoshido.
3 Path Of Radiance
Originally released for the Nintendo GameCube, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is the first game in the series to feature 3D graphics, and is lauded by fans for having some of the best worldbuilding in the series. In addition to its phenomenal use of setting, Path of Radiance is among the most accessible entries in the series, allowing players of every skill level to enjoy what it has to offer. While it's currently among the more difficult entries in the series for one to get their hands on, rumors have been circulating for the past few years regarding a potential Path of Radiance remake. Just watch out for the game's final boss.
2 Radiant Dawn
Released for the Wii, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn is a direct sequel to Path of Radiance and has one of the largest scopes within any entry in the series. While traditionally, a Fire Emblem story follows a single cast of characters that grows over time, Radiant Dawn features a shifting perspective that allows the player to control numerous armies within the same conflict. This allows the players to experience numerous points of view similarly to how they would with a route split like that of Three Houses, but all within the same cohesive timeline.
1 Shadows Of Valentia
Released in 2017, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is the entry in the series that had preceded Three Houses. Exclusive to the 3DS, Shadows of Valentia was a remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second entry in the series, and was the first games in the franchise to be completely voice acted. When it comes to presentation, Shadows of Valentia is some of the best the series has to offer, from its soundtrack to art direction. Fans of the Divine Pulse mechanic will feel right at home as well, as this game's "Mila's Turnwheel" was the first inclusion of such a mechanic.