Fire Emblem: Three Houses looks like a Harry Potter-style anime adventure

Nintendo has finally taken the wraps off of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, revealing the first concrete details for the title since it was originally announced at E3 last year, along with an actual release date: July 26th.

Three Houses will let players create their own main character, starting as a mercenary before joining the Garreg Mach Monastery to teach as a professor at the Officer’s Academy there. In a Harry Potter-esque move, the academy is split into the (titular) three houses: the Black Eagles (for families from the Ardrestian Empire, led by Edelgard) the Blue Lions, (for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, led by Dimitri), and the Golden Deer (for the Leicester Alliance, the third faction, led by Claude).

Three Houses is set in a new land called Fódlan, where players will work with the Church of Seiros and bring their students on missions to grow in strength, learning new abilities and skills along the way. Players will help guide students, growing in combat and skill at weapons.

Nintendo also hinted at the larger story for the game: the player character will periodically have visions from a mysterious figure named Sothis. Also, there’s probably an evil dragon somewhere or someone possessed by an evil dragon or something vaguely related to an evil dragon, given that it’s still a Fire Emblem game.

Additionally, while the majority of the game will still feature the grid-based, tactical combat that the franchise is famous for, Three Houses will give players the chance to freely explore 3D environments at points where you’ll be able to interact with other characters, build relationships, and gather information for your next fight.