Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Teach them well — then watch them go to war.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses took a beloved tactical RPG franchise and transformed it into something deeply personal. Choosing between the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer isn't just a gameplay decision — it's an emotional commitment. By the time the war begins, you've invested so much in your students that fighting against former allies feels genuinely devastating.
The monastery is where the magic happens. Teaching classes, sharing meals, mentoring students through their personal struggles — Intelligent Systems understood that the bonds you forge in peacetime are what make the battlefield matter. Every lost unit isn't just a strategic setback, it's a student you watched grow, a story cut short.
And then there are the routes. Each path reveals a different facet of Fodlan's conflict, and none of them offer easy answers. Edelgard's conviction, Dimitri's descent, Claude's calculated idealism — every perspective has weight. Four playthroughs later, I still think about the choices I made and the ones I didn't. That's the mark of a game that understands what it means to lead.