Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - Similarities and Differences Between Shez and Byleth

The Fire Emblem: Three Houses musou-spinoff, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, features a mix of new and unfamiliar faces. Players choose to side with one of the three house leaders (Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude), but they're not in control of Byleth this time around. Three Hopes instead follows Shez, a newcomer to the Fire Emblem world. They share several things in common with the previous Three Houses' protagonist while still managing to stand out on their own as a character.

Within the first hour of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, it's clear that Shez is supposed to be similar to Corrin and Robin, the main protagonists of FE Fates and Awakening respectively. Some Three Houses' fans have been welcoming of Shez while others preferred Byleth, who's taken a supporting role this time around. Luckily, there are three different routes in Three Hopes to show just how similar and different the two FE3H protagonists are.

Images and content contain heavy spoilers for both Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes and Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

8 Similarity: They're Mercenaries

Both Shez and Byleth start off the prologue as mercenaries for a Mercenary Company. The only differences here are their employers and the connections they have with them. Shez works for Berling's Mercenaries while Byleth works for Jeralt's Mercenaries. Right off the bat, Shez has several in-game Supports that show they were close to Berling and her band.

However, Shez doesn't have a familial connection to Berling as Byleth does with Jeralt. Regardless, the way Shez's journey starts out is an obvious parallel to Byleth's in Three Houses, and this was noticed immediately by the fanbase.

7 Difference: Byleth Is A Teacher

After helping the house leaders from Kostas and his bandits, Shez and Byleth are taken to Garreg Mach Monastery. While both characters get to choose which House to enroll in, for gameplay reasons, their position at the Monastery couldn't be more different. Shez is enrolled as a student and even gets their own uniform to boot. As for Byleth, they're given a teaching position for one of the Houses of the player's choosing.

Furthermore, their time spent at the academy is vastly different, with Shez only being there for around two months, and Byleth teaching for a year. This doesn't stop Shez and Byleth from forming a lasting bond with their House Leader and classmates, but there's a difference in how Byleth is regarded by their peers thanks to their teaching position.

6 Similarity: Can Choose Their Gender and Name

Just like Byleth, players can choose between the male or female Shez. They're also given the option of choosing their name, but Three Hopes defaults to "Shez" on a first playthrough. Whether it's the male or female Shez doesn't make an impact on the story. However, there are a few Supports and Camp dialogues that are altered to accommodate Shez's gender. Notably, Sylvain of the Blue Lions is friendlier to a female Shez than he is with a male Shez, much like he was with female Byleth and male Byleth in Three Houses.

As far as the Three Houses/Hopes canon goes, it's not stated which version of Shez (or Byleth) is "canon," but the fanbase's preferences are rather obvious, and it seems to have been reflected in Three Hopes' advertising. Three Hopes also allows players to choose between male and female Byleth. Again, this doesn't have an impact on the story since they're referred to with gender-neutral pronouns whenever they appear. However, like Shez and their Three Houses counterpart, there are a few dialogue tweaks depending on which version of Byleth is chosen.

5 Difference: Shez Lacks A Crest

One of several mysteries surrounding Byleth was their Crest, which remained unknown for a handful of chapters in Three Houses. Crests are powers that the Goddess gave to mankind long ago. Specifically, the Crests were passed down to the Four Saints and the Ten Elites, making it impossible for commoners to have a Crest of their own. This made Byleth's case particularly noteworthy since they weren't of noble blood, but had a Crest all the same.

As such, they become a point of interest to Hanneman. Eventually, he deciphers that Byleth possesses the Crest of Flames, which is the Crest of the Goddess, Sothis. By comparison, Shez does not have a Crest. Due to their lack of noble blood and not having a connection to Sothis, they're just as ordinary as any other commoner. However, this doesn't stop Shez from being a powerful unit to carry into battle, and it's proven to the House Leaders that Shez is a worthy ally.

4 Similarity: They Have A "Spiritual" Companion

Shez and Byleth can communicate with a mysterious being in their dreams and in reality. These "beings" are Sothis and Arval, who both suffer from amnesia and bestow Byleth and Shez with tremendous power. As the story unravels, so too does Sothis and Arval's true purpose, which is where the similarities end. For these two, it's eventually revealed that Byleth and Shez are their respective vessels.

However, while Sothis is a Nabatean (and the Goddess at that), Arval was created by the Argarthans as a weapon to destroy Sothis. Thus, it's only natural there would be hostility between the two. Since they're connected to the protagonists of Three Houses/Three Hopes, they can't communicate with other characters such as Edelgard or Rhea. The way Sothis and Arval interact with Byleth and Shez is mostly the same, in that both of them are quite sharp-witted and very quick to remind their vessels where they stand.

3 Difference: Byleth Is Closer To Their Allies

While it's evident that Shez's House cares for them, the relationship they have with the House Leaders is quite different than Byleth's relationship in Three Houses. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude all saw Byleth as an advisor, someone they could trust. Byleth's Supports with their students exhibited a mentor-student role before the War Phase.

With Shez, there's more distance. Shez is seen as an equal and is "below" the House Leaders. It's very clear that Shez just sees them as employers for a good chunk of the game. To push this even further, Shez can't S-Support any of their allies whereas Byleth can. Although this is likely due to there being no end of the war in sight by the last chapter of each route.

2 Similarity: The Asura/Enlightened One Class

Like the Three Lords, Byleth and Shez gain their own unique Class. They start off as Fluegel (Shez) and Silverhearted (Byleth) in Three Hopes, and can unlock the Asura (Shez) and Enlightened One (Byleth) Class as the story progresses. While the Enlightened One embodies Sothis, Asura embodies Arval and the Agarthans.

However, the stat spread of these Classes is similar, and they both allow Shez and Byleth to use swords and magic in combat. Mastering these four will give Byleth and Shez unique Abilities that can't be learned anywhere else. They also have unique weapons such as Byleth's Sword of the Creator. Shez's weapon isn't a Heroes' Relic, but it's still special in that no one else can use it and it can appear/disappear on command.

1 Difference: Byleth Was A Silent Protagonist

Perhaps the biggest difference between Shez and Byleth is how vocal they are with other characters. Byleth does speak in-game, but only during combat or when leveling up, or when learning a new Class or Ability. Players chose dialogue options to respond during Supports. Byleth wouldn't voice this but instead mime what was being said. In all fairness, characters do hear Byleth and their response is influenced by what players have Byleth "say."

However, Byleth has a stronger "self-insert protagonist" feel to them than Shez, who is very vocal with a more outgoing personality. Selecting dialogue branches with Shez has them speak in full sentences. Both Shez and Byleth have personalities, with Byleth's being more subdued thanks to their unique parentage, but Three Hopes allows Byleth to speak with everyone else, and they can even go on Expeditions at the base camp.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is available now on Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Complete Guide - Units, Classes, Paralogues, Weapons, Items, And More