barahir

Delurking here as a long-time listener and an FE fan who hasn't played this game yet. I don't have a Switch, will definitely play if/when I get one. FE's mechanics do tend to be on the simpler side as tactics games go, though from what I've heard 3H adds some new stuff there. I would say FE (at least at its best) does a lot with its basics though - chess isn't a very complex game either, or most RTSes. Permadeath and the fact that every character is preset are pretty important to the game's tactical dynamic, as it requires you to pay close attention to your character formations and enemy ranges, and each unit being an individual character makes any loss feel meaningful. And things like the rock-paper-scissors weapon triangle, limited-use weapons, double attacks with high speed, magic attacks checking resistance instead of def, archer damage bonuses against fliers - all these are simple systems, but they can layer together and combine to create interesting tactical situations greater than the sum of its parts. And one thing I appreciate about the series is that the stat numbers stay fairly small, so +1 str or speed still feels meaningful. At its best, FE's map design can do a lot of interesting things. For example, a trick they use on indoor map design, especially in harder difficulties, is to have enemy thieves show up early to get the treasure chests on a map that might otherwise look like something you want to turtle. So instead of going slowly and defensively, the game pushes you to a more aggressive and risky style and outrace the thieves (and your own thieves aren't very good combat units) if you want to be a completionist and get all the items. Or you may have an enemy character who can be recruited, but only if you talk to them with the right character which may be tricky to set up. Of course I don't know how successful Three Houses is with all this in practice. One thing I do know about Three Houses is that the hardest difficulty mode is coming as free DLC. Hopefully they're taking the time to carefully tune it and not just statstack the enemies.