Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes was a surprise title to lead off the February 2022 Nintendo Direct, but its impending release does make sense. Nintendo and Koei Tecmo have a strong relationship via Warriors crossovers, starting with Hyrule Warriors in 2014 and continuing with Fire Emblem Warriors in 2017. Koei Tecmo was also heavily involved in the development of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, so a specific hack-and-slash spin-off feels like the logical next step.

The release of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020 also shows Koei Tecmo and its Musou-focused studio Omega Force have a good grasp on how to twist pre-established canon. Age of Calamity retold the history of Breath of the Wild in a new way, giving characters like Princess Zelda and the Champions of Hyrule more of a spotlight. Three Hopes promises to do the same, and while its reveal trailer focuses on Three Houses' trio of Lords, it also suggests their retainers may get more attention.

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Retainers in Fire Emblem

Though Intelligent Systems is a Japanese studio, its flagship tactical RPG franchise has been steeped in medieval European fantasy since Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light released in 1990. Every game tells stories of might and magic, with kings and princes going to war so that they can defend their peoples against evil empires and demonic beings - usually dragons. The structures of each army also follow the kind of tropes one might expect.

Notably, the Lord characters in each title invariably wind up with companions like a stalwart and grizzled old mentor (often called the "Jagen archetype" based on the original knight serving Prince Marth in Shadow Dragon). In real-world medieval history, "retainer" was a term used to describe a servant who served noble families for long stretches of time, and while Jagen archetypes such as Seth from The Sacred Stones and Frederick from Awakening fit this definition, other times Fire Emblem retainers are more diverse.

Fire Emblem Fates really emphasized the idea of retainers, with each member of the royal family in both Nohr and Hoshido having a pair of retainers that, collectively, made up the bulk of Corrin's army. Three of the Nohrian siblings had retainers who were also returning characters from Awakening: Laslow (once Inigo), Selena (once Severa), and Odin (once Owain). In Three Houses, each of the house leaders had one chief retainer. Edelgard had the shadowy mage Hubert, Dimitri the stocky Duscur warrior Dedue, and Claude the lazy noblewoman Hilda - though her role was more akin to a right-hand commander following Three Houses' time skip.

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Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Could Give the Retainers More Time

fire emblem warriors three hopes edelgard dimitri claude

The two-minute debut trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes was relatively devoid of characters considering its world is full of students-turned-soldiers that fans have grown attached to since Three Houses released in 2019. It appears to be setting up a story where Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude have to team up against stronger forces rather than splintering into factions over control of Fodlan, and in that case it would make sense for them to be Three Hopes' main units alongside Byleth.

Yet there are sure to be a lot more playable characters given the Warriors series excels at using combat to differentiate cast members. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are the primary returning Three Houses units to get a lot of attention so far, with notable exceptions being the goddess Sothis and Edelgard's retainer, Hubert. Given how close Hubert, Dedue, and Hilda are to the trio of Lords, it would make sense for them to become playable warriors too; filling a magic, armored tank, and lithe brawler niche, respectively.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity did a good job bringing back expected representatives from Breath of the Wild alongside bizarre choices like Monk Maz Koshia, so Three Hopes will undoubtedly have a rich cast. If the Lords' retainers get their own spotlight, this could serve as a way to help build their characters further, though Hilda also appeared in the original games' Cindered Shadows DLC. It would also open opportunities for them to share experiences outside a schoolyard setting, as Three Houses put them firmly on opposing armies. That's assuming all the houses work together in Three Hopes, but fans will have to wait until June to find out how its story and character roster shape up.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes releases for Switch on June 24, 2022.

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