Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave: A Return to Form

Fire Emblem: The Three Houses is, by far, one of my favorite games. I enjoyed the story, the tactical combat, forming relationships with characters, the artwork, the music — there wasn't much I didn't like about it. So of course when Fire Emblem: Engage came out, I was excited. But only until I started playing it. Let's just say that it left a lot to be desired, especially the dialogue. However, I am happy to report that Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave does not make you want to stab your eardrums when the characters talk. Fortune's Weave feels like a return to true form for the Fire Emblem series and has once again made me excited for the franchise. 

Fortune's Weave takes place in the same world as Three Houses but is a completely separate story. The majority of the game takes place during the Heroic Games, a long and arduous combat event held in the honor of the god-emperor. In an odd twist, you take on two different roles: The role of Eshmel, a savior from the future charged with ensuring the survival of the Flame Lords, and the Flame Lords themselves. The "inciting incident" that leads to the necessity of Eshmel's intervention is the revival of the Demon God Balor, who will bring destruction to the Dagdan Empire if left unchecked.

Splitting off from Three Houses, you have the option to play as only one Flame Lord if you wish, or to play any number of them, all in the same playthrough. It is up to you if you play as one after another or if you bounce between them. Each of the Flame Lords — Cai, Dietrich, Theodora and Leda — have their own backstories and motivations for entering the Heroic Games. I decided to start my playthrough with Leda, the Esmeralda-esque bard from Cydonia, who is on a quest for revenge. The Flame Lords all feel very different in their personalities, just as the three primary characters from The Three Houses did. Their stories don't feel cobbled together like Engage often did. This incentivises you to play all four of them, as well as expanding your opportunities for recruiting team members.

The combat in Fortune's Weave feels pretty much the same as The Three Houses — which is not a bad thing. There is the same kind of "rock, paper, scissors" system where some weaponry does well or badly against others. The movement around the battlefield is on grid-based maps, with terrain playing a role in the tactics. The UI is easy to understand and use. One thing that was added to the combat is "Blaze Arts" — special abilities that (some) characters use in exchange for a portion of their health. They are essentially another form of "Combat Arts", but they are only available to nine characters in the game, do not impact weapon durability, and fill the "Blaze Meter", which when completely filled, puts the character into "Overblaze", a condition that buffs them and allows the use of certain Blaze Arts (Fire Emblem Fandom, 2026). 

Like in Three Houses, you have a mechanic that allows you to rewind time when mistakes are made, such as losing a team member. This ability, Fortuna's Blessing, can be used an unlimited amount of times unless you play on Hard mode. You also have the option to play with or without permadeath, but I recommend keeping it on so that combat feels more impactful. 

Unsurprisingly, Fortune's Weave has some impressively designed and beautifully rendered characters. The colors pop vibrantly and the clothing speaks to various cultures. Many of the NPCs look alike, but any character of importance has been meticulously crafted. The environments themselves, when you are walking around them in 3rd POV, are about as interesting as they were in Three Houses — that is to say, they're OK, but nothing special. I would have like to have seen more effort put into the environments, but I'm not certain that the effort would have been worth it, considering how much attention is drawn in by the characters themselves.

The music and voiceacting is solid. Orchestral tracks make combat feel more intense, and the flamenco-inspired music brings a refreshing, unique sound in comparison with other titles in the series. The English voiceacting is full of emotion, as I assume the other languages are as well. In particular, Leda's voice actress performed splendidly, masterfully capturing the overwhelm of anger and remorse. 

Although I am greatly enjoying my time with Fortune's Weave, there is one part that did not carry over from The Three Houses that is sorely disappointing: romance. Although you can still build relationships with your team members — which you absolutely should — there is no way to go on dates and build a romantic relationship. There is still flirting and romantic interest expressed between certain characters, but no actual romance system or special romantic scenes to unlock. This may be nitpicky, but that was one of the things I really enjoyed about Three Houses, so I was disappointed to hear that Fortune's Weave had left that system behind. It's still fun to have interactions with your team members and level up the support relationships, but the charm and whimsy of the romance system is very much missed. 

All in all, Fortune's Weave is a great game and shows that if something isn't broken (like Three Houses), then there's no need to fix it. I like to consider Engage a little blip on the Fire Emblem radar — a small error amongst many successes. And Fortune's Weave can definitely be considered one of those many successes.

1. Fire Emblem Fandom,

https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Blaze_Art