Is Silver Snow worth playing?

[PostZordem]

My first route for Fire Emblem: Three Houses was Golden Deer/Verdant Wind (Part I & Part II Respectively). I thought it was a pretty fun route to start off with as I figured that Claude was the most rational of the three lords and the Golden Deer house had the best selection of students (imo). After clearing the GD route (and beating the best final boss in the game), I decided to go with a completely different experience and join Edelgard and the Black Eagles, then go Crimson Flower for Part II. Crimson Flower was a bit of a disappointing route, though, as it was much shorter than the other routes in the game. 

Spoiler

Being able to fight Rhea not once, but twice was pretty cool, though, and I enjoyed fighting against her, the Church of Seiros, Faerghus, and the Leicester Alliance for a change. It still doesn't completely make up for the fact that Crimson Flower is short-lived, especially compared to the other routes. 

My third and current playthrough is with Dimitri and the Blue Lions/Azure Moon (currently about midway into Part II). Definitely my favorite route and lord of the game for me. Though I have taken a bit of a hiatus from Three Houses due to fatigue and wanting to play other games, so I have yet to finish Azure Moon.

So what I'm wondering is this: after I eventually come back to Three Houses and finish off Azure Moon, should I go with a Black Eagles/Silver Snow playthrough? Or is it okay if I decide to skip it? I've heard that Silver Snow is the "canon" route, but I've also heard that Silver Snow is essentially just: "Verdant Wind minus Claude" due to how similar both routes are. I know that Azure Moon also contained a few similar maps and missions to Verdant Wind, but it wasn't too many in particular and I believe that the focus on Dimitri and whatnot differentiated the route enough from Verdant Wind. I've also heard that beating the Silver Snow route unlocks a song and/or something else in particular for the gallery on the main menu, though I can't remember how true that statement is. Lastly, there's two other things that bother me with Silver Snow: 1. Going back through Part I with the Black Eagles and having nothing change except for the last 2 chapters before the time skip. 2. Having Seteth as a "main lord" despite being able to recruit him anyways in Azure Moon and Verdant Wind. 

So with all of that in mind, I'm wondering if it's worth playing through Silver Snow for a fourth playthrough, or if I should reserve that playthrough for a second run through Crimson Flower, Azure Moon, or Verdant Wind.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

My progression through the routes is precisely the same as yours. I was thoroughly uninterested in going through the whole game again after Verdant Wind, so the next two runs were on Normal/Casual, impatiently auto battling through the game to check out the story and grind out support conversations. Silver Snow was my fourth run, and it was the most fun of my playthroughs by far. Though I think that is attributed entirely to it being my first run of Maddening Mode. Suddenly all the dull Monastery stuff felt essential to biting back against the outrageously tough enemies. My only real opinion of Silver Snow is that the final map is incredible. The hardest map of the game by far, but not in a way that restricts the player like spamming rough terrain everywhere or bogging you down with siege spells. It's great, but not great enough that I'd recommend somebody play an entire route just to witness.

If you're interested in completing the gallery though, then I think the decision is clear. Silver Snow in the Event Viewer has its own page, just like the other routes. It's got unique CG cutscenes too. I wouldn't call Seteth a "lord" character either. He's more of a Navi to make up for the fact that Byleth is a mute protagonist. You, him, and Flayn just want to rescue Rhea, and that's the gist of the plot. You're not even forced to deploy Seteth. That slot that would normally go to a Lord character is just missing outright. 

[Yexin]

imho Silver Snow is just as woth playing as Verdant Wind if not more, it think it has some very interesting parts and dialogues
most notably you get more Rhea screen time (of which admittedly you have quite a few in VW as well), and honestly she's one of the most interesting yet overlooked characters in 3H and if you don't care about her then get out of my sight

the repetitiveness factor will definitely show up a lot, but if you played every other route then i guess it's not a problem for you anymore

Edited April 27, 2022 by Yexin

[SnowFire]

If you're interested in playing 3H for a 4th time, you might as well do SS?  But it's hardly required, so peacing out after 3 playthroughs is fine too.  There really is not that much more added to SS that wasn't already in Verdant Wind, aside from a new mostly nonsensical plot excuse for a final mission.  The one exception is a plot element that is also covered in the DLC and covered better there.  If you haven't done the DLC yet, I'd certainly recommend Cindered Shadows over Silver Snow.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

It's my least-favorite route, but if you're a completionist, then it's definitely worth it. It has a unique final map with a unique theme, to boot. It throws in some lore, and is the only route where S-ranking Rhea (ew...) is possible. I'd recommend spicing it up by training units you may have ignored in prior playthroughs, or going for off-kilter class choices. Just be wary of Chapter 13 - it's arguably the hardest version, with one fewer unit (why no Flayn?) and no busted Lord battalion.

[Bylift]

SS fan here. It is every bit as fun as the other routes. I don't see why you wouldn't run it if you're going to get back into the game, and you've already done the others.

I agree with others though that you should run it to try new strategies, develop units and supports that you haven't seen, and maybe try a higher difficulty (have you beaten maddening NG yet? If not seems like a good time to try) to make the actual gameplay more interesting. Otherwise you're going to spend 50-70+ hours on a run just to see a dozen or two new cut scenes, which you could just watch on YouTube in under an hour.

One problem with SS is that your unit choices are more limited in the first half of the game, and as Shanty Pete's 1st Mat says, if you're not training the right units you can get into a jam on Ch.13, though it's nothing too serious.

On the other hand, the final map is one of my favorites in the game to rout. The music is gorgeous, and the game throws a lot of tough enemies at you without some of the things that make other final maps so frustrating like terrain and siege turrets/mages.

Good luck and let us know how it goes 🙂

[Dark Holy Elf]

Like many other people, Silver Snow's my least favourite route, but yeah it's kind of a "might as well" if you want to do a fourth run of the game. The last battle is pretty cool. I think it'd be a bit of a downer to end your 3H experience with this, I think, since it's a pretty sad ending if you liked any of the game's major players (everyone loses!). Agreed that Cindered Shadows is better if you haven't done that yet (though it costs money, of course).

[PostZordem]

After reading the replies, I figured that I'd add some input that I didn't cover in my original post, and update you guys with my decision on Silver Snow for a 4th playthrough.

Firstly, it's been almost 2 years since I finished the Verdant Wind route, so I don't think playing through Silver Snow will feel too repetitive since a decent amount of time has passed (Honestly, the only repetitive part of my playthroughs with Three Houses was Part I: White Clouds since the cutscenes play out almost exactly the same save for some minor differences depending on which house you chose). 

Secondly, for those who mentioned the Cindered Shadows DLC, I did indeed pay for it and played through it as it wasn't too particularly long. It was a pretty fun mini-route (except for that one chapter where all those statue things kept destroying my units) and I liked the additional stuff that was added, though I can't say it's better than any route in the main game due to its shortened length and (SPOILER BELOW), though I liked it for what it was. 

Spoiler

The fact that its retconned when you play through the main game again and all of the Ashen Wolves act like you just met them for the first time upon greeting them again. I suppose it was done in order to prevent some sort of paradox. Either that, or the events of Cindered Shadows happened sometime during Part I of the main game. (It was nice to finally see Byleth's mother, even if she ended up turning into a giant beast that was a bit of a pain to fight)

As for a few additional things I forgot to mention regarding Silver Snow:

13 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

It has a unique final map with a unique theme, to boot.

@Shanty Pete's 1st Mate I'm not trying to be negative when I say this, but Silver Snow's final map doesn't seem all that unique to me after giving it a brief glance (except for the music, which sounds awesome), especially compared to the other routes, because: (SPOILERS AGAIN BELOW)

Spoiler

Firstly, Rhea's the final boss for not only this route, but also Crimson Flower. Granted, the maps and locations for which you fight her are indeed different for both routes, but I'm pretty sure the map for which you fight Rhea in Silver Snow is the same one in which you fight/aid Edelgard in the final battle of Part I. Though I suppose the way the fight plays out is different, so there's that. Though compared to Verdant Wind (my favorite final battle in the game, which essentially reenacts the battle against Nemesis on the same battlefield all those years ago along with a truly God-Shattering OST that plays during the battle), and Azure Moon (which has you, Dimitri, the Blue Lions, and anyone else you recruited fight against a demonic Edelgard, which is the only time in which she's a final boss), Silver Snow doesn't really feel all that special, though that's just my take on it. 

I suppose it doesn't help considering the fact that I haven't played through the Silver Snow route yet, and have already completed Verdant Wind & Crimson Flower (and will be finishing Azure Moon sometime in the future). I feel that SnowFire puts it best when describing the final boss for Silver Snow in their last sentence here:

18 hours ago, SnowFire said:

If you're interested in playing 3H for a 4th time, you might as well do SS?  But it's hardly required, so peacing out after 3 playthroughs is fine too.  There really is not that much more added to SS that wasn't already in Verdant Wind, aside from a new mostly nonsensical plot excuse for a final mission.

Spoiler

Allow me to expand on SnowFire's point here. The reason for which you fight Rhea in Silver Snow makes less sense to me compared to fighting her in Crimson Flower. It's clear why Rhea fights you in Crimson Flower: because you joined up with Edelgard in the holy tomb instead of siding with her (which is totally justified, considering what Rhea was planning to do with Byleth). In Silver Snow, she transforms because of some disease-related thing which is only mentioned in Silver Snow if I remember right, and unless you S-ranked her, she'll end up dying despite your best efforts to try and keep her alive (though I'm pretty sure she ends up dying in most if not all routes anyways). 

Now, I know I probably sound very anti-Silver Snow despite not playing it for myself, but that's exactly why I've decided to make it my fourth Three Houses playthrough. I figured I should see the entire, full picture regardless of what I'll think of Silver Snow, that way I can properly judge every route in the game, because it wouldn't be fair otherwise. I'll probably play it on a harder difficulty like Maddening since I've played the other routes on easier difficulties. Azure Moon is the only route I did Hard mode/Classic for, so I feel an increase in difficulty will help spruce up the challenge of the game.

1 hour ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Like many other people, Silver Snow's my least favourite route, but yeah it's kind of a "might as well" if you want to do a fourth run of the game. The last battle is pretty cool. I think it'd be a bit of a downer to end your 3H experience with this, I think, since it's a pretty sad ending if you liked any of the game's major players (everyone loses!). Agreed that Cindered Shadows is better if you haven't done that yet (though it costs money, of course).

@Dark Holy Elf Don't worry too much about it, Silver Snow may be the last route that I'll be playing through for the first time, but if there's any route that I'm ending my Three Houses experience with, it'll be Azure Moon. I plan to play through it again for a second Blue Lions playthrough with Female Byleth so I can S-rank Dimitri next time. Plus, I believe Azure Moon has the fewest possible casualties and most possible recruits, and I can live with killing off one main lord if it means that I can save the other two.

Spoiler

By the way, when you say sad ending, are you referring to the deaths of Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and Rhea (unless you S-ranked her)? That's kind of depressing since Dimitri's my favorite lord of the bunch with arguably the best character arc in the game, and Claude's a good second place despite not really having as big of a role in the story as the other two (I don't hate Edelgard, in fact I think she makes for a great antagonist when you're fighting against the Adrestean Empire, and after seeing her supports, I can understand some of her reasons for starting the war in the first place. She just kind of feels like a female version of Part I Dimitri's generic prince persona but with less of the childhood trauma. That's just my opinion on them, though. If you think differently, then more power to you, because differing opinions only makes discussions like these more interesting to read). Wasn't it mentioned that Dimitri and Claude were killed off screen in Silver Snow? I thought Dimitri might've survived since he has a specific conversation with Byleth during SS, and Byleth doesn't know what he looks like post-time skip until that moment. Though that may just be Byleth's guilt over not being able to save any of the main lords in SS. I also figured that Claude would be tougher to kill, due to his great planning skills and the fact that you can't kill him in any route except for Crimson Flower, and it's an optional choice at that. Man, this is exactly why I'm making the Blue Lions/Azure Moon route my headcanon "canon" route. Not as much death and tragedy compared to the other routes. 

Anyways, this reply has gone on long enough and I feel that I've covered everything that I didn't in my original post at the top. At least playing Silver Snow will add a little extra bit of lore, new cutscenes, and give me some extra gallery content to look at once I'm done with it. Though I'll probably end up playing Azure Moon at least one more time in order to clear my guilty conscience over completely abandoning Dimitri and Claude.

[Barren]

I recently completed Silver Snow maddening myself and the final boss wasn’t as dreadful as I feared it was. Miracle didn’t activate that much on their side except for once I think when Rhea was on her last health bar. Had to use 8 divine pulses but it was overall not that bad. With that said, for me at least I’ll never have to touch this game again. At least not for a long while.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

11 hours ago, CyberZord said:

I'm not trying to be negative when I say this, but Silver Snow's final map doesn't seem all that unique to me after giving it a brief glance (except for the music, which sounds awesome), especially compared to the other routes, because: (SPOILERS AGAIN BELOW)

  Hide contents

Firstly, Rhea's the final boss for not only this route, but also Crimson Flower. Granted, the maps and locations for which you fight her are indeed different for both routes, but I'm pretty sure the map for which you fight Rhea in Silver Snow is the same one in which you fight/aid Edelgard in the final battle of Part I. Though I suppose the way the fight plays out is different, so there's that. Though compared to Verdant Wind (my favorite final battle in the game, which essentially reenacts the battle against Nemesis on the same battlefield all those years ago along with a truly God-Shattering OST that plays during the battle), and Azure Moon (which has you, Dimitri, the Blue Lions, and anyone else you recruited fight against a demonic Edelgard, which is the only time in which she's a final boss), Silver Snow doesn't really feel all that special, though that's just my take on it. 

I suppose it doesn't help considering the fact that I haven't played through the Silver Snow route yet, and have already completed Verdant Wind & Crimson Flower (and will be finishing Azure Moon sometime in the future). I feel that SnowFire puts it best when describing the final boss for Silver Snow in their last sentence here:

Sure, narratively-speaking, the final boss fight is... bad. The reason for it happening is never hinted at or explained beforehand, it just kinda... happens. On SS only, even though the same stuff happens to Rhea on VW.

As for the battle itself, while it does use the same map from chapter 12, it plays in a completely different way. Rather than being at either end of the map, you're clumped together in the middle. You can try to go directly for the Immaculate One, but if there are any White Beasts around (a unique enemy type that you only face here), then she'll be able to heal herself. So, you have to deal with the White Beasts, and "berserked" enemies of various classes, to comfortably handle the final boss. It's very different from the CF Endgame, where most of the Golems and mini-bosses can be bypassed. In that one, it's the Final Boss buffing the monsters, not the other way around. Plus, as I said before, the music track is unique to this map.

Of course, you're under no obligation to play this route. Still, a lot of what you're saying sounds like external impressions. Actually playing Silver Snow may be worthwhile, if for nothing else than testing whether your impressions are accurate or not. For my part, I ended SS more disappointed than when I started. As a big fan of Seteth, I was hoping that this route would give him more to do. Which was technically accurate, but not to the degree I was hoping for.

[PostZordem]

On 4/28/2022 at 11:41 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

The reason for it happening is never hinted at or explained beforehand, it just kinda... happens. On SS only, even though the same stuff happens to Rhea on VW.

As for the battle itself, while it does use the same map from chapter 12, it plays in a completely different way. Rather than being at either end of the map, you're clumped together in the middle. You can try to go directly for the Immaculate One, but if there are any White Beasts around (a unique enemy type that you only face here), then she'll be able to heal herself. So, you have to deal with the White Beasts, and "berserked" enemies of various classes, to comfortably handle the final boss.

Of course, you're under no obligation to play this route. Still, a lot of what you're saying sounds like external impressions. Actually playing Silver Snow may be worthwhile, if for nothing else than testing whether your impressions are accurate or not. For my part, I ended SS more disappointed than when I started. As a big fan of Seteth, I was hoping that this route would give him more to do. Which was technically accurate, but not to the degree I was hoping for.

Yeah, I remember something similar happening to Rhea in Verdant Wind, though she never ended up transforming for some reason. (Probably so we don't have to face the Immaculate One on three separate occasions) To be fair, the final boss fight in Verdant Wind kind of doesn't make much sense story-wise in regards to Claude, since (Spoilers):

Spoiler

Claude doesn't really have much of a beef with Nemesis besides the fact that Nemesis wanted to conquer Fodlan and wreak havoc in general. The fight feels more between Byleth and Nemesis since they both wield the Sword of the Creator and are fighting for different causes. Claude just feels kind of there to assist Byleth in taking down Nemesis. It would've been so cool if Rhea could've lived long enough to fight Nemesis once again. Then again, just the idea of a playable (or ally unit) Rhea sounds awesome. I always wondered why TWSITD aren't able to revive Nemesis in any other route besides Verdant Wind. Probably so that he wouldn't be a reoccurring boss? I'm not too sure. Honestly, if there was any final bosses in the game that I would swap around, it would probably be Nemesis from Verdant Wind and the Immaculate One from Silver Snow, assuming Rhea would feel well enough to fight Nemesis. I feel that might've bettered Silver Snow's route, but it also could hurt Verdant Wind, so maybe it's better that they left it the way it is? I'm probably just looking too far into it. 

You're completely correct about my impressions on Silver Snow. I've formed a bit of a bias against it after reading many opinions on the route itself, which are usually negative (though I understand why this is so). I can't speak too much for or against Silver Snow because I haven't played through that route yet, but I certainly plan to in the future so that I can form a proper opinion on it.

Well, Seteth's one of my favorite members of the Church of Seiros next to Rhea herself and Flayn (at least story-wise. I loved her and Seteth's paralogue). Perhaps his additional screen time in Silver Snow will be a nice inclusion for the route. I certainly wouldn't mind it. The biggest thing that bothers me with Silver Snow is that you're down one main lord and a magic user (for good story reasons, sure, but it still sucks to lose such valuable members of the team). Granted, I'm pretty sure you get the entire Church of Seiros in order to make up for that, but I always loved having a powerful main lord at my side, and you can recruit all of the CoS members in any route that isn't Crimson Flower anyways. I shall just have to adapt. It may even prove to be quite a good challenge. 

[drattakbowser]

Pros :

- Seteth as a Main Character

- Fight Against the Least Amount of Former Students

- Humanizes Rhea

- Learn about Byleth’s Past

- 22 Chapters

Cons :

- Lord (Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude), Lord Retrainer/Vassal (Hubert and Dedue), Gilbert and Jeritza are unavailable.

- Chapter 13 (Hunting by Daybreak) is going to be tough to clear. Specifically early.

- No good tank (Edelgard and Dedue).

- Few Frontliner (Felix and Leonie).

- Hilda, Catherine and Cyril is pretty useless in battle (Except if you use NG+).

- Final Boss can be tough and frustrated.

 

Recommended character in recruitment :

- Felix (Frontliner).

- Mercedes (Caspar paralogue).

- Lysithea (Hubert substitute and Ferdinand paralogue).

- Leonie (Frontliner and Linhardt paralogue).

- Rest of the Church (Hanneman, Manuela and Alois)

- Ashen Wolves if you have a paid DLC (Yuri, Balthus, Constance and Hapi)

[DaveCozy]

13 hours ago, drattakbowser said:

Cons :

- No good tank (Edelgard and Dedue).

If you have DLC Balthus is unquestionably the tanky character you should be going for.

Without DLC I would recommend making Alois a Fortress Knight; C armor rank is good enough to try and save scum the exam if you're up for it. Other options are to recruit Raphael, though he is not the easiest to recruit, or at worst there's Caspar, but the he has a lot of issues (his in-house stats suck and his authority bane also holds him back from reliably equipping better and tankier battalions).

I agree too that the final boss is hard, I'd say the hardest endgame out of all routes. I really recommend a good number of units that wield bows for that endgame.

Edited May 6, 2022 by DaveCozy

[NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP]

NO its basically golden deer without nemesis. So basically golden deer but pointless. Dont even bother...

[MadBoar]

9 hours ago, NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP said:

NO its basically golden deer without nemesis. So basically golden deer but pointless. Dont even bother...

Your user name checks out, you foolish child. 

The advantage with Silver Snow, in terms of story, is that it has feelings of hopelessness. I felt like I was losing the war, because I didn't have Almyra and an over powered lord to help me out. Also, the cutscene at the beginning of the time skip is much better, and the cutscene after chapter 19 (third to last chapter in silver snow) is much more emotional. Fighting against a former ally, who I actually wanted to side with, brings out so much emotion. Silver Snow was my first route. I wasn't given a choice to side with Edelgard because I didn't know that I was supposed to talk to Edelgard after chapter 10. I wanted to side with her, but the game wouldn't let me. 

However, the "canon" route is Azure Moon. 

Edited May 8, 2022 by MadBoar

[drattakbowser]

3 hours ago, MadBoar said:

Your user name checks out, you foolish child. 

The advantage with Silver Snow, in terms of story, is that it has feelings of hopelessness. I felt like I was losing the war, because I didn't have Almyra and an over powered lord to help me out. Also, the cutscene at the beginning of the time skip is much better, and the cutscene after chapter 19 (third to last chapter in silver snow) is much more emotional. Fighting against a former ally, who I actually wanted to side with, brings out so much emotion. Silver Snow was my first route. I wasn't given a choice to side with Edelgard because I didn't know that I was supposed to talk to Edelgard after chapter 10. I wanted to side with her, but the game wouldn't let me. 

However, the "canon" route is Azure Moon. 

Azure Moon. How do you know about the group of Kronya and Solon ? Do you know this guys who send you in the hole and sleep 5 year ? Do you know about Rhea situation in Azure Moon ? I don't think so.

 

Canon route required :

- More main character history and background (Byleth is a main character)

- More revelation (Know true enemy, true history and focus main character)

- Canon route is likely a hero route (Main character must strong than other characters)

 

Just watch other FE games except Fates and you know what route is canon.

Edited May 8, 2022 by drattakbowser

[drattakbowser]

Nintendo Dream interview :

 

Part I : White Clouds and the Silver Snow route were created first with the intention both would serve as the basis for worldbuilding, with Koei Tecmo's scenario team opening up later the subsequent routes and lords' stories. The main basis for the Silver Snow route was chosen to be about Byleth having to fight against Edelgard as their former house leader; during its development however, staff from Koei Tecmo voiced their desire to join Edelgard instead, which resulted in the requirements for accessing the Crimson Flower route becoming easier to grasp, as there weren't any clues hinting an exploration event could lead to a route split initially. The theme of the Crimson Flower route was chosen to be "military rule", achieving your own beliefs and values at the expense of the well-being of whoever stands in your way, even if they once used to be cherished. The theme of the Azure Moon route, by contrast, had the notion of being the "righteous" route where, after some unfortunate circumstances, Dimitri would eventually awaken and realize what is true "righteousness"; that way, the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes would work as the antithesis of each other, creating a paradoxical conflict between them. Lastly, the Verdant Wind route started with the notion of Claude learning how to oppose xenophobic worldviews for the benefit of his homeland.

[MadBoar]

13 hours ago, drattakbowser said:

Azure Moon. How do you know about the group of Kronya and Solon ? Do you know this guys who send you in the hole and sleep 5 year ? Do you know about Rhea situation in Azure Moon ? I don't think so.

 

Canon route required :

- More main character history and background (Byleth is a main character)

- More revelation (Know true enemy, true history and focus main character)

- Canon route is likely a hero route (Main character must strong than other characters)

 

Just watch other FE games except Fates and you know what route is canon.

Azure Moon is the only route in which you kill Slither's top two commanders, including the guy who sends you to the hole. The main villain appears has a few extra scenes in Blue Lions, pre time skip.  In Azure Moon, it is assumed that Rhea is either too weak to have power , or is dead. But I don't care Rhea. 

In Silver Snow, you do not fight against Cornelia/Patricia, Slither's second highest commander. 

Byleth has no interesting back story. Dimitri does. 

Azure Moon has by far the best story. It involved much more than just good vs evil. 

The main character does not have to be stronger than other characters in a canon route. Roy and Marth are very weak. By your logic,  Linde is the main character of Fire Emblem 3. Fir is the main of fe 6. Sain is the main of most of fe7, while Fiora is the main of hector hard mode. Seth is the main of fe 8 . Tiki is the main of fe 11. 

I've finished every other FE game except for Thracia, and Holy War, and some of the games that were later remade. Thracia is a work in progress, and I got bored of Holy War. In every game, the villains summon a creature. In Azure Moon, Slither accomplished that. They were the closest to winning in Azure Moon, but were thwarted at the very end. 

Edited May 8, 2022 by MadBoar

[drattakbowser]

25 minutes ago, MadBoar said:

Azure Moon is the only route in which you kill Slither's top two commanders, including the guy who sends you to the hole. The main villain appears has a few extra scenes in Blue Lions, pre time skip.  In Azure Moon, it is assumed that Rhea is either too weak to have power , or is dead. But I don't care Rhea. 

In Silver Snow, you do not fight against Cornelia/Patricia, Slither's second highest commander. 

Byleth has no interesting back story. Dimitri does. 

Azure Moon has by far the best story. It involved much more than just good vs evil. 

The main character does not have to be stronger than other characters in a canon route. Roy and Marth are very weak. By your logic,  Linde is the main character of Fire Emblem 3. Fir is the main of fe 6. Sain is the main of most of fe7, while Fiora is the main of hector hard mode. Seth is the main of fe 8 . Tiki is the main of fe 11. 

I've finished every other FE game except for Thracia, and Holy War, and some of the games that were later remade. Thracia is a work in progress, and I got bored of Holy War. In every game, the villains summon a creature. In Azure Moon, Slither accomplished that. They were the closest to winning in Azure Moon, but were thwarted at the very end. 

All rights. But let me advice you. When I play Azure Moon I was so angry with Dimitri between Chapter 13 and 17. No share a meal, no cooking, no singing, no tutoring and no tea party. And I fight against 18 former students/church that mean I was devastated, shocking and frustrated. More dreadful in Crimson Flower.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

17 hours ago, MadBoar said:

However, the "canon" route is Azure Moon. 

All routes are equally canon, because the player is equally capable of doing any of them. Just because Azure Moon is your favorite route, doesn't mean it's "more canon" than any others.

[PostZordem]

19 hours ago, MadBoar said:

However, the "canon" route is Azure Moon. 

Azure Moon's my favorite route out of them all in Three Houses, but which route is truly the "canon" one is all down to the player. For me, I'd make Blue Lions/Azure Moon my "headcanon" route. So basically, Azure Moon is the route that I consider to be the true route for Three Houses, and Verdant Wind, Crimson Flower, and Silver Snow all serve as alternative timelines that play out the events of the game differently. That doesn't mean it's absolutely the route that happened, but it's the route that I like to think actually happened. 

@Shanty Pete's 1st Mate puts it pretty well when they say:

1 hour ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

All routes are equally canon, because the player is equally capable of doing any of them. Just because Azure Moon is your favorite route, doesn't mean it's "more canon" than any others.

Silver Snow may have been the first route created, but that doesn't mean that it's the Revelation of the game. Otherwise, we wouldn't have 3 other routes that also very well could have happened. Plus, Silver Snow isn't a route where everyone just comes together and it all ends perfectly like Age of Calamity (granted, AoC isn't canon either, but that's not the point I'm getting at here). Unlike with Fates, which makes itself pretty clear on what the canon route is (or at least what it should be).

16 hours ago, drattakbowser said:

Just watch other FE games except Fates and you know what route is canon.

@drattakbowser Actually, I'm pretty sure Fates: Revelation (the third, DLC route of Fates) is the canon route of that game, since it just screams: "Perfect timeline" with everyone from both Hoshido and Nohr coming together to defeat some hidden enemy not seen in Birthright or Conquest.

I'm pretty sure other FE games besides Fates and Three Houses only had one route to go through, so the singular route is easily canon because there's no other routes to play. At least, unless I'm forgetting something.

[NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP]

20 hours ago, MadBoar said:

Your user name checks out, you foolish child. 

The advantage with Silver Snow, in terms of story, is that it has feelings of hopelessness. I felt like I was losing the war, because I didn't have Almyra and an over powered lord to help me out. Also, the cutscene at the beginning of the time skip is much better, and the cutscene after chapter 19 (third to last chapter in silver snow) is much more emotional. Fighting against a former ally, who I actually wanted to side with, brings out so much emotion. Silver Snow was my first route. I wasn't given a choice to side with Edelgard because I didn't know that I was supposed to talk to Edelgard after chapter 10. I wanted to side with her, but the game wouldn't let me. 

However, the "canon" route is Azure Moon. 

You are incorrect. Silver snow has the worst story of all the routes, it's essentially verdant wind but with a final boss that comes out of nowhere and hilariously fails at trying to make you sad. Some people say Nemesis came out of nowhere, but he really didn't. The opening cutscene of the game was literally him fighting rhea! Were there any discussions in the game about rhea's dragon disease before the battle with her? No, there weren't. However, Nemesis was indeed mentioned before his resurrection in the final chapter. He's an amazing boss to end the game with, and seeing the goofiest house leader defeat the most pure evil asshole with the power of friendship was awesome to see. Does he fit thematically? Maybe not, but he's still amazing and the final boss I definitely loved the most. And if it wasn't for his theme I wouldn't have played the game. So while he doesn't have a trillion layers of symbolism or depth like rhea or edelgard, he simply manages to work for me by being a badass final obstacle to my favorite route. 

So basically, silver snow is verdant wind but without the awesome finale. Don't bother with it. Doesn't help that the black eagles are my least favorite house too. It's basically verdant wind but with a trash final boss (that's carried by good music) and a mediocre set of characters.

Edited May 9, 2022 by NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP

[MadBoar]

1 hour ago, NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP said:

You are incorrect. Silver snow has the worst story of all the routes, it's essentially verdant wind but with a final boss that comes out of nowhere and hilariously fails at trying to make you sad. Some people say Nemesis came out of nowhere, but he really didn't. The opening cutscene of the game was literally him fighting rhea! Were there any discussions in the game about rhea's dragon disease before the battle with her? No, there weren't. However, Nemesis was indeed mentioned before his resurrection in the final chapter. He's an amazing boss to end the game with, and seeing the goofiest house leader defeat the most pure evil asshole with the power of friendship was awesome to see. Does he fit thematically? Maybe not, but he's still amazing and the final boss I definitely loved the most. And if it wasn't for his theme I wouldn't have played the game. So while he doesn't have a trillion layers of symbolism or depth like rhea or edelgard, he simply manages to work for me by being a badass final obstacle to my favorite route. 

So basically, silver snow is verdant wind but without the awesome finale. Don't bother with it. Doesn't help that the black eagles are my least favorite house too. It's basically verdant wind but with a trash final boss (that's carried by good music) and a mediocre set of characters.

Rhea's "dragon disease" did not come out of nowhere. In other fire emblem games, we learn that dying dragons go mad and crazy. Duma went mad when he was dying.  In fire emblem 3 / its remake, it was implied that Tiki was at risk of going mad at some point.  Rhea got hit by nukes, and so she started decaying and dying. That led to her going mad. Though I liked verdant's wind end game better, because it was unexpected and nemesis came out of nowhere. And I also loved nemesis's insults towards byleth and claude. But I liked silver snow's chapter 13 through 20 better. 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by MadBoar

[Dark Holy Elf]

21 minutes ago, MadBoar said:

Rhea's "dragon disease" did not come out of nowhere. In other fire emblem games, we learn that dying dragons go mad and crazy.

Other games should not be required reading to understand a major plot point in this one; Three Houses is intended as a standalone game. I don't think it's terribly unfair to complain about her sudden madness (and its fallout effect on all the high-ranking church members) not being adequately built up.

Also, I strongly second Shanty Pete re "all routes are equally canon".

[NEMESIS/GSS #1 SIMP]

55 minutes ago, MadBoar said:

Rhea's "dragon disease" did not come out of nowhere. In other fire emblem games, we learn that dying dragons go mad and crazy. 

 

Well I'm sorry that I didn't get the knowledge from playing a ton of previous fire emblem games. Three Houses was many people's first FE game. The illness thing should've been brought up before the final battle with Rhea.