Fire Emblem: Three Houses infamously launched a thousand ships. The Hogwarts-inspired school setting and emphasis on relationship building spurred tons of fans to create fan art and fiction based on their favorite potential romantic pairings, even if the content of the game itself was mostly kid-friendly. The latest installment of the series, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, takes things a step further. Though there isn’t a dedicated romance or paired ending mechanic this time around, the characters of Fortune’s Weave wear their hearts on their sleeves, openly discussing their perspectives on sex and romance in a way that feels like a refreshing step forward for the series.
I’m still early on in my playthrough, which has been exclusively confined to Leda’s route. She’s an exiled noble-turned-tavern dancer who’s hellbent on exacting revenge on the people who murdered her father. In both the main story and support conversations, she makes frequent references to the kind of sleazy, disreputable men who populate taverns, alluding to past entanglements with the wrong sorts of suitors. On numerous occasions, Leda warns other women characters, both her age and younger, of the dangers of traveling alone due to the threat of predation from men. (She would know, after all! She does work in taverns!)
At the same time, she clearly takes pride in her femininity, complimenting the beauty of others and offering advice about catching a man’s eye. At one point during a support conversation, she asks her childhood rival, Olympia, to be her girlfriend. It’s a joke, but not because Fortune’s Weave regards the concept of two women being in love as something innately humorous or unusual. Instead, in Leda’s view, romantic obsession and rivalry are merely two sides of the same coin, no matter if both parties are women. Previous Fire Emblem games likely would have portrayed Leda as a chaste innocent, and it’s a pleasant surprise that Fortune’s Weave doesn’t take this tired approach.
At least in Leda’s branch of the story, Fortune’s Weave’s accepting attitude toward Adult Situations is most evident in Sirocco, the mage and temple servant who accompanies Leda in her quest for vengeance. I had him pegged as a himbo the moment Nintendo revealed his official character bio back in July, and boy, has Fortune’s Weave proved me right. If you thought Sylvain was flirtatious in Three Houses, Sirocco ups the ante by a factor of ten. He constantly references “sharing a bed” with a succession of beautiful women, and is effusive with his compliments. But unlike Sylvain, it never feels like Sirocco is leading anyone on by giving them the faux-boyfriend treatment. Like the desert winds that inspired his name, his dalliances are fleeting, and he prefers them that way. His companions often roll their eyes and make snarky comments about his promiscuity, but he’s never offended or chastened by it in any way. He’s a proud himbo and determined to stay that way.
Another noteworthy member of Leda’s party is Mu, who we learn early on is a young woman posing as a man. Leda says it’s safer for Mu to travel this way, though Sirocco is able to clock her right away. When Mu panics that Sirocco’s about to put the moves on her, he says, “I assure you, Mu, I am not looking at you in any such way. I prefer older women.” (I have no choice but to stan this age-appropriate himbo king.) Thus far, there has been no support conversation that features a feminine makeover montage for Mu, and I pray this continues. Instead, she’s a girl who dresses as a boy and everyone’s fine with it. It’s certainly not a new trope for RPGs, but it’s been done well here — so far, anyway.
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Though I haven’t played through any of the other three routes in Fortune’s Weave yet, it seems like this plainspoken approach to affairs of the heart will carry over to other parts of the story. During my playthrough, I managed to recruit Esmeralda, who’s a main character on Deitrich’s route. In all of her support conversations with Leda, Esmeralda asks for tips about how to appeal to her “sweetie,” Deitrich. Three Houses kept most of its relationships open-ended, so any two people could theoretically be paired off. Meanwhile, there is nothing coy or subtle about Esmeralda: she’s got it bad for this guy. At a time when most games trade heavily in “will they or won’t they” ambiguity when it comes to relationships, it’s invigorating to see all these attractive anime weirdos dive headfirst into love and all its perils.
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