Trollingwood

Paid zero attention to the pre-launch news/marketing so I had no idea what to expect going in. Not listing everyone, just whatever comes to mind as notable. My opinion of Edelgard continued to improve as I went through the routes, now she's my favorite hero in video games. Never expected her to make this big an impression on me. Honestly the game seems kinda biased in her favor but I ain't complaining lol. As I progressed, I also developed a great appreciation for the depth of Dimitri's character, although I disagree with him about a lot of things. Tied with Edelgard as the two most interesting, well-written characters in the game. I like Claude and I think he's more interesting and complex than people typically give him credit for, but overall it still feels like there's wasted potential. Started out liking Rhea but as I learned more, I began to really dislike her. Disliked Catherine at first but now I genuinely like her and I think she's an underrated character overall. Definitely not just a zealot like I hear a lot of Edelgard fans say. Was indifferent to Alois at first, but he really endeared himself to me. Same with Cyril, the kid gets too much hate, his supports with Lysithea and Shamir are both adorable. I also grew to like Gilbert and greatly enjoyed rekindling his relationship with Annette. Bernie was annoying at first but I grew to like her a lot. There's something hilariously over-the-top inspirational about her CF character arc where the traumatized hikikomori gets out of her room and changes the world. Thought Sylvain was a douche but that sort of first impression was clearly the point - in the end I grew to like him a lot. Dedue seemed boring at first but he quickly grew on me. His C support with Shamir is comedy gold.

The central conflict in Three Houses is, at its core, a conflict between Law and Chaos . Rhea/The Church represent Law and Edelgard represents Chaos. Honestly, it seems like the writers straight up used Shin Megami Tensei alignment logic, just look at the descriptions from this page Law: This alignment is associated with God, order and peace. In the game, it is represented by the Messian religion and the colors blue and white. The Law alignment promotes order and safety, but taken to an extreme, it leads to dictatorship and elitism. Chaos: This alignment is associated with Lucifer, freedom and war. In the game it is represented by the Gaean religion and the colors red and black. This alignment promotes freedom of choice, thought, and action above all else in stark contrast to the controlling nature of the Law alignment. So, let's look at the stuff I've bolded: God, order and peace: Pretty self-explanatory as to how this represents the Church. blue and white: Church. Rhea. Blue Lions. Faerghus. dictatorship and elitism: Edelgard fights to end Rhea's tyrrany and the elitist Crest system freedom and war: Self-explanatory. Edelgard starts the war, with one of its main goals to free humanity from Rhea's regime. red and black: Edelgard. Black Eagles. Adrestian Empire. Lucifer: There's your reason for the horns. Symbolism. As an added bonus, let's look at the description for the Neutral alignment, again from the alignment page linked above. Neutral: Also known as "Balance", this alignment accepts the need for laws to govern the world but not at the cost of personal freedom. It rejects the concept of relying on Lawful or Chaotic powers to focus instead on personal empowerment, refinement, individuality and the inherent strength of mankind. Although presumed to be the most idealistic alignment by many, it is also the hardest alignment to attain because of its isolationist nature, destroying everything in your way and even standing against former friends. Read that description and consider what happens in Crimson Flower. It's why I consider it the "Neutral" ending of the game.