In the first episode of GameSpot's After Dark podcast, reviews editor Kallie Plagge, video producers Jake Dekker and Jean-Luc Seipke, and senior video producer Lucy James cover several hot button topics in the gaming industry. One of the issues the group weigh in on is the ongoing discourse surrounding romance in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Since the release of 2012's Fire Emblem: Awakening, the Fire Emblem series has repeatedly included some form romance in its mainline games. Prior to Three Houses' release, people began assuming the game would follow the same pattern, especially after early preview coverage compared it to Persona 5--another anime-like RPG where romance plays a significant role. However, as Kallie and Jake can attest (as they've both beaten Three Houses), that's not the case.
In actuality, there's very little romance in Three Houses. As what's there is so minimal, both Kallie and Jake agree that romance isn't even a core pillar of Three Houses. There's so little, in fact, the two argue that the ongoing discussion of whether queer romance is handled well in Three Houses is perhaps unwarranted.
For the rest of the Three Houses conversation, be sure to listen to the full podcast episode. Kallie, Jake, Lucy, and Jean-Luc also weigh in on Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, the Ooblets Epic Games Store limited-time exclusivity controversy, and the Twitter campaign to boycott Borderlands 3.
In GameSpot's Fire Emblem: Three Houses review, Kallie Plagge wrote, "Fire Emblem: Three Houses asks a lot of you. Every piece, from battle to friendships to training your units, must be managed both individually and as part of a whole. It can be intimidating, but when it all clicks together, it really clicks. Mastering the art of thoughtful lesson planning as a professor improves your performance on the battlefield, where success relies on calculated teamwork and deft execution. Cultivating relationships during battle in turn draws you closer to each of the characters, who you then want to invest even more time into in the classroom. Every piece feeds into the next in a rewarding, engrossing loop where you get lost in the whole experience, not just in the minutiae."