By Nelson Fernandez

Originally released for the Nintendo Switch game console on July 26, 2019, Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers players the role of the protagonist, allowing them to teach characters how to fight on the battlefield through social and strategic aspects, and improve their critical thinking and leadership skills. 

 Fire Emblem: Three Houses was developed by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo, who worked on making it a unique gaming experience. 

 The three houses, called, Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer, represent kingdoms in which the different characters become students who rely on players to gain specific knowledge. For example, Edelgard, a female leader of the Black Eagles, wishes to learn how to be a good leader and fight with an axe; the player must teach her how it’s done.

As professors, players can make each of their character-students stronger by building their motivation. When not on the battlefield, gamers can explore the school and focus on making characters bond, eat together or exchange gifts and lost items found around the academy. The premise of the game almost reflects school life.

During a battle, players solve a puzzle by deciding where to move their army of soldiers in training. When a student fights and defeats an enemy, they gain experience through level-up points that increase the characters' stamina and skills. In real life, students learn and grow the more they study, and the same is true of the students in the game.  

Fire Emblem: Three Houses also helps with reflexes and reaction time. During the battle, it is suggested to watch carefully where the enemy team moves, as well as their actions. This is so that when it is a player’s turn again, he/she will know what to do to counter them.Fire Emblem: Three Houses includes a myriad of dialogue scenes with full-voice acting. 

The story builds slowly keeping players entertained through well-written lines and diverse characters. After a duration of time, the game tracks separate stories depending on which house the player chose at the start, guaranteeing plenty of replay value. 

 Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the highest-rated video game of the summer, rated 9.5/10 by ING and reviewed as a 4.5 star game by over 1,000 customers as seen on Best Buy and Game Stop's websites.

 One Lehman student who plays the game also gave it high praise.

 “I enjoy strategic role-playing games during my free time,” said Anthony Vasquez, a 23-year-old films and television senior at Lehman. “This game helped me look at problems from different angles and tackle them based on what is the best solution.”