Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a relatively big game, even by the standards of Intelligent Systems' tactical-RPG franchise. It introduced three main storylines based on the titular houses, branching out of an extended first half with every character at Garreg Mach Monastery's Officers Academy interacting. It's even bigger taking the "Silver Snow" Church of Seiros route into consideration, and post-launch DLC added extra content involving the secret fourth Ashen Wolves house. Despite a change in genre, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes appears poised to replicate Three Houses' scale.

The branching paths in Fire Emblem: Three Houses allowed Intelligent Systems to explore numerous aspects of its universe. Dimitri's Azure Moon route looks at how the Adrestian Empire destabilizes the continent of Fodlan, meanwhile Claude's Verdant Wind route delves deeper into an evil organization called Those Who Slither in the Dark. Three Hopes will replicate that structure with three story paths, and a recent look at the returning Blue Lions suggests the title will have a huge cast of fighters.

RELATED: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Needs to Bring Back the Best Personal Skills

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes' Blue Lions Set the Stage

Koei Tecmo and Omega Force's next Nintendo-inspired Musou game has confirmed three narrative paths: Scarlet Blaze, Azure Gleam, and Golden Wildfire; fitting the same mold as Three Houses' Crimson Flower, Azure Moon, and Verdant Wind routes. The latest trailer posted on May 13 focuses entirely on members of Fodlan's Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, led by Dimitri, and it confirms all members of the original Blue Lions house will return.

Prior advertisements for Three Hopes focus on the Lord characters and their retainers; Dedue for Dimitri, Hilda for Claude, and Hubert for Edelgard; so knowing all Blue Lions students are returning will set a precedent for the Golden Deer and Black Eagles. Dynasty Warriors spin-off games like Hyrule Warriors thrive by giving each character diverse moves befitting their prior appearances, and Three Hopes looks to do the same. Fighters with the same weapon, such as Sylvain and Ingrid, are differentiated as horse- and pegasus-riding units, respectively. Meanwhile, Annette's magic will be augmented using the Crusher axe; her Heroes Relic.

There's no guarantee that every student from Three Houses will return, as there are differences between the original JRPG and Three Hopes as a hack-and-slash game in an alternate continuity. In Three Hopes, the player character is a mercenary named Shez who faces original protagonist Byleth as their enemy, and every trailer thus far has shown units wearing new outfits. It's likely everyone will be back so that fans of Three Houses can play as their favorites, but changes like the apparent introduction of Monica in Three Hopes may shake up the classes.

RELATED: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Player Character Shez Will Have a Unique Class

Three Hopes Could Out-Scale Other Nintendo Warriors Titles

koei tecmo move sets hyrule warriors age of calamity

Assuming all three original houses remain intact, that confirms at least 25 playable units for Three Hopes - eight in each route, plus Shez as the player-insert. By contrast, Koei Tecmo's latest Nintendo-based Musou game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity had 18 playable characters before three DLC additions (though in this case Link and Zelda had multiple unique weapons). The original Hyrule Warriors only had 16 units prior to DLC, which brought its count up to 31.

Fire Emblem Warriors (2017) had about 24 characters from the jump. Nine more were added as DLC, which brings the game well above Three Hopes' minimal projection. However, this was achieved by incorporating characters from five different Fire Emblem titles, as well as a couple of original fighters. Three Hopes is drawing from one game's source material, much like Age of Calamity, and it's likely the roster won't peter out at 25.

As mentioned, characters like Monica and Holst Goneril appear to play bigger roles in Three Hopes, so it's likely they could appear as DLC. The four Ashen Wolves students are also potential DLC candidates, but more likely inclusions for the base game are members of the Church and instructors at Garreg Mach. Flayn appears briefly in the game's second trailer, who can join multiple classes in the original Three Houses. The separation of routes should keep Three Hopes' roster from getting too big to handle in this hack-and-slash format, but time will tell whether students and teachers can crosspollinate as they did in the original game. ​​​​​

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes will release on June 24, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Should Have a Demo Like Age of Calamity