Gamers who are looking forward to picking up a copy of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the upcoming addition to the esteemed strategy series for the Nintendo Switch, should expect to give up more than 200 hours of their life to complete the game.
French website JeuxVideo interviewed Fire Emblem: Three Houses director Toshiyuki Kusakihara at Japan Expo 2019, and one of the questions was on the expected run time for the game. Kasukihara revealed that playing through just one of the three houses will take 80 hours, without skipping the vocals and cut scenes.
With three houses to complete that lead to three different endings, gamers are looking at about 240 hours of content. The massive amount of content is normal for the Fire Emblem series, but it may be a staggering number for those who are unfamiliar with the franchise.
The more than 200 hours of gameplay only covers the main game, and there is motivation to play through each of the three scenarios as this will piece together the full story. Amazingly, the number of hours that players may spend on Fire Emblem: Three Houses will further increase with the planned four waves of downloadable content that are part of the game’s Expansion Pass.
The announcement of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, one of the highlights of a Nintendo Direct in February, generated a lot of hype as one of the biggest Nintendo Switch games of the year. It is set on the continent of Fódlan, which is split into the Adrestian Empire, Faerghus Kingdom, and Leicester Alliance.
At the center of Fódlan is the Officer’s Academy at the Garreg Mach Monastery, where students from all three nations strain. The Black Eagles from the Adrestian Empire are led by future emperor Edelgard, the Blue Lions from the Faerghus Kingdom are led by Prince Dimitri, and the Golden Deer from the Leicester Alliance are led by future leader Claude.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses brings back the grid-based tactical gameplay of the series, with characters that may advance into different classes as they level up. When not in battle, players will have different activities to accomplish at the Officer’s Academy. The game dives deep into customization and its mechanics, which is likely why it will take up such a massive amount of time to finish.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 26.