Romancing the Boar Prince
Words by Liam Horgan.
Warning: Major spoilers for Fire Emblem: Three Houses will be discussed.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a tactical RPG developed by Intelligent Systems and Koei Tecmo for the Nintendo Switch. Three Houses is set on the continent of Fódlan, divided between three nations: the Adrestian Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance. These nations converge at Garreg Mach Monastery, home of Fódlan’s church and an Officer's school for students from each nation. The player plays Byleth, a mysterious mercenary and the new professor at the school, who must choose a class to lead and guide their students throughout the game. The game features the classic Fire Emblem turn-based tactics while adding some new gameplay mechanics such as time management and social simulations. Three Houses is one of the most popular Fire Emblem games selling over 2.87 million copies and winning Best Strategy Game and the Player's Voice Award at The Game Awards 2019.
Three Houses was a monumental success for Nintendo and the developers. Fans flocked to the game and explored the new world and its colourful roster of characters. As indicated by its Player’s Voice Award, the game truly ignited fan’s passions. An element of this success is due in part to Three Houses' vast number of characters. Featuring great character designs and lively voice acting, the denizens of Fódlan shine. Three Houses sets itself apart from previous Fire Emblem games by re-developing the support systems that are a staple of the franchise. Like previous games, you have different support levels (usually ranging from C to A) which unlock various conversations and cutscenes between characters. Additionally, in Three Houses some support conversations may have strict time windows in order to be viewed, while others require a side mission to be completed first. Three Houses also includes a new time-keeping element and exploration feature. Naturally, these gameplay elements combined with the loveable roster of characters set the internet ablaze. These RPG elements are crucial to any Fire Emblem game, allowing the player to play matchmaker with characters. Each cutscene is unique, and some are genuinely great additions to the story which deepen character motivations and interactions bringing an extra narrative element to the 3-D chess gameplay.
A look at the support system in the game.
However, with all of Three Houses' success there are some drawbacks. One of the key areas where the support systems fail is in their LGBTQ+ representation. While there are some same-sex pairings for the player, they all have some issues. For starters, if playing as Female Byleth, some of the same-sex options are, well, questionable at best. Of the five same-sex options for Female Byleth, one is a childlike progenitor god, and the other is an older woman who was around when you were born. Not great options. The remainder are all around your age, though the only one that has plot significance is Edelgard, the leader of the Black Eagle House. With Male Byleth we fare even worse. Originally there were only three same sex pairings, Linhardt, Gilbert and Alois, with only Linhardt being romantic, the other two strictly platonic. Eventually the developers added two more same sex pairings, Jeritza and Yuri, to the mix but like other pairings they have little plot significance. On a side note, strangely the majority of same sex pairings for both Byleths come from the Black Eagles House. The lack of same sex pairings doesn’t make Three Houses unplayable, but it does damage the game’s narrative and support conversations, especially when some are laced with homoeroticism and romantic gestures.
Some of the biggest pairings in Three Houses amongst fans are same sex pairings. Characters like Felix and Sylvain, Ferdinand and Hubert and Petra and Dorothea (to name a few) have canonical endings with one another that can easily be interpreted as romantic. Indeed, these ships are some of the most popular in the fandom, for example Sylvix (Felix and Sylvain) has a total of 3162 dedicated fanfics on AO3. As with any fandom, it is natural that fans would take their own action into developing and embracing same sex pairings. However, out of all the characters in Three Houses there is one character who, regardless of gender, shares scenes of a romantic nature with the player and that is Dimitri, the Blue Lions’ house leader.
Byleth (left) and Dimitri (right).
Dimitri and Byleth (known as Dimileth by fans) are canonically a love story if you play as female Byleth, but Dimitri is un-romanceable as male Byleth. Yet, despite some small changes, the dialogue between Dimitri and Byleth does not change from one gender to the other. For example, in Dimitri’s third support conversation with Byleth, he will always say the line ‘You know, Professor... There is something that I only recently realized. I never knew it could be so...comforting to have someone standing by my side…’. Dimitri will say this regardless of Byleth’s gender. Indeed, the only thing that separates Male and Female Byleth is that Female Byleth can marry Dimitri. It should be noted that should the player not romance Dimitri, in many of his endings the man dies early. The homoeroticism that exists between Male Byleth and Dimitri is one which the fandom has noticed. Indeed, according to the Shipping wiki, Male Byleth and Dimitri is one of the most popular ships with Japanese fans. One of the top Fire Emblem fanfics on AO3 is godspeed by quags1re, a Male Byleth and Dimitri ship story, and fans have even modded the game to include an S support scene with Male Byleth. Additionally, Dimitri’s English voice actor Chris Hackney has commented on the ship, stating that despite their relationship being canonically non-romantic, the feelings are there.
It is truly a shame that the Three Houses developers didn’t include Dimitri as a same sex pairing. The Blue Lions route is categorically the one with the best story. Sure, Golden Deer unearths more of Fódlan’s secrets than Blue Lions but in terms of the emotion and the grief within the game’s narrative, Blue Lions is the best by far. Dimitri’s arc only adds to this. Out of all of the lords, he suffers the most and his redemption is one equal to something out of myth. By and large Dimitri’s story is a fan favourite. He consistently tops the fan polls for best character, even coming 8th in Japan’s Nintendo Dream Character poll - that’s 8th in a top ten which included Mario, Kirby and Link. Part of the effectiveness of Dimitri's story is his relationship with the player. As is the nature of Three Houses core mechanics, you get to see what becomes of Dimitri if you do not choose his house to teach. In every route, Dimitri is worse off for not having Byleth in his life. As I mentioned before, Dimitri’s dialogue with Male Byleth only has minor differences from Female Byleth’s, with the overtly romantic sentiments remaining. A great example of the romantic feelings between the pair can be seen in the final animated scene for the Blue Lions route.
Female Byleth and Dimitri.
Male Byleth and Dimitri
As you can see, both Male and Female Byleth take Dimtiri’s hand and lead him to a future together. Combined with the same shared dialogue, it’s hard to view their relationship as anything but romantic. It’s a real failing of the narrative that Dimitri is not romanceable with Male Byleth, as the story feels incomplete. As previously mentioned, except for Edelgard and Rhea for female Byleth, the other same sex pairings have little plot significance. Having Dimitri in the fold would add an extra dimension to Male Byleth’s choices, providing a love interest who is inherent to the narrative of the game. It's not just about broadening the diversity of the game, it’s also about making narrative choices that strengthen the game. I’ve spoken before about the genius of the romance system in Hades and how it provides great choices for the player, and I wish I could say the same with Three Houses. As proven by the fan content, the want for paired endings with same sex characters is there, so why not take that step. I am not foolish enough to believe a change will be made to a nearly two-year-old game, but maybe, just maybe, when the next Fire Emblem game is produced, these fan considerations will be taken into context. For now, I still have the option of playing as Female Byleth and that will have to do. As Dimtri would say ‘After all, it is all that we truly have’.
