Fire Emblem: Three Houses Best Ending - All Endings Reviewed

Edelgard holding a dagger for Fire Emblem: Three Houses Best Ending.

Updated:

31 Mar 2023

There are four possible endings in Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Verdant Wind, Silver Snow, Azure Moon, and Crimson Flow. The ending you get depends on which house you pick and the choices you make. Here is a rundown of each ending, my review, and how to get them.

4. Verdant Wind

Verdant Wind's ending cutscene featuring Claude and Byleth taking down Nemesis.

The Verdant Wind ending is a unique, lore-filled ending that will satisfy you with your view and knowledge of Fódlan. With the Golden Deer by your side, you will uncover thousand-year-old mysteries and fight those you thought were dead while also killing your old friends from school.

This ending follows Byleth and Claude as they are swept away in the war started by Edelgard. Claude, secretly from Almyra, opens the Leicester Alliance’s relations with them, making way for a more peaceful world.

Both Dimitri and Edelgard are killed, with the latter revealing the truth about Those Who Slither in the Dark (TWSITD), an ancient group that has been manipulating wars for thousands of years. Once freeing Rhea from Edelgard’s capture, she confirms their existence. Claude and Byleth set out to stop them. After finding them underground, they defeat Thales, their leader, with help from Rhea as she turns into her Immaculate One dragon form. Rhea was actually Seiros that killed Nemesis so many years ago.

Speaking of Nemesis, he was kept and awoken by TWSITD. We learn that he and his crew had stolen and killed Sothis and used their power to make what became crests. After defeating him, Claude and Byleth live under a new Leicester Alliance with open borders.

While personally, this was my least favorite ending of the four, that isn’t why I have it last. In picking Claude and the Golden Deer, I wanted them to be the focus of my playthrough. The characters seem to take more of a backseat in the Verdant Wind ending. While Claude was obviously at the forefront as leader of the Leicester Alliance, I was bothered when he kept asking me about Archbishop Rhea, and I was pushed into the role of someone devoted to Rhea and finding her and making sure she is okay.

Another thing I disliked about this ending was Dimitri’s off-screen death simply told by Hilda. An important character like Dimitri should have an actual death scene, and simply being told this information felt lackluster to me.

I do really like that this ending gives you a lot of context about the world around you and the opportunity to learn more about Those Who Slither in the Dark, who are the true antagonists in this game. Fighting Nemesis genuinely caught me by surprise! I had assumed fighting Thales would be the final boss, but Nemesis’ revival and resurgence was riveting.

This is a great ending if you only want to play this game once, as you will have your questions answered.

How to Get This Ending:

In Chapter 1, choose the Golden Deer house when prompted. This will give you the Verdant Wind ending.

3. Silver Snow

Silver Snow's ending cutscene with Rhea's support.

Silver Snow is the ending you’ll get if you side with Rhea and the Church of Seiros over Edelgard. You’re tasked with killing Edelgard to restore Fódlan to its former glory.

After siding with Rhea over Edelgard and the timeskip, Byleth reunites with their former students. You will no longer have access to Edelgard and Hubert as units. They retake Garreg Mach Monastery as their base of operations and receive help from Claude and the alliance. After learning that the Empire has captured Rhea, they head there to infiltrate the capital.

We again learn of TWSITD and Thales, which Rhea confirms. After the same battle, a wounded Rhea confesses the secrets of Byleth’s mother and their birth and why they have the Crest of Flames. Soon after, Rhea goes mad and unwillingly turns into a dragon again. Byleth is forced to take her down. Only then can Fódlan be unified again under Byleth’s rule as the new archbishop.

Even though I just told you I despised Rhea, siding with her and the church didn’t bother me as much. I knew what I was getting into when I went into my Silver Snow playthrough. I knew that I would have to deal with all this nonsense about Rhea and how important it is to get her back to safety.

I also expected Nemesis to be the final battle again, as opposed to Rhea herself. This was a genuine shock to me! Everything seemed a little too peaceful when I knew one more battle was at hand. I just knew something bad was going to happen!

Seteth steps up to become your main “lord” in this route, which is decent. Plus, you get access to all of the Knights of Seiros. Whether you use them or not is up to you, but you get some strong units like Shamir and Catherine. If you want to use the Knights, this is something to keep in mind, so maybe you don’t waste as much time on other units in the house.

While this route shares many scenes and battles with Verdant Wind, they have different purposes and reveal different backstories. Verdant Wind focuses on the world revolving around Fódlan, whereas Silver Snow reveals mysteries about the character we play as, which were set up in the beginning. I think this information is necessary to have and learn in a playthrough.

I do like that there is this hidden route in the game. It makes it more interesting than a simple three houses and three endings, but instead gives you a secret that is up to you. If you personally do not align with Edelgard’s goals, you are not forced to fight by her side if you chose Black Eagles in the first place.

One last plus of this ending is the beautiful music during the final battle. However, again, Dimitri is killed off-screen. He deserved better!

How to Get This Ending:

After the prologue, when you’re told to select the house, select the Black Eagles led by Edelgard.
Do not bother using Edelgard or Hubert in battle, as they will not be staying with you for the second half of the game.
In chapter 11, Conflict in the Holy Tomb, if given the choice, choose “(I must kill Edelgard.)”
This will set you on the path for the Silver Snow ending.

2. Azure Moon

Azure Moon's ending cutscene which contains Dimitri walking away as King.

Azure Moon follows Dimitri and the Blue Lions navigate this war. A lot has changed in the five years Byleth has been missing, and they awake to find Dimitri has changed most of all.

In the Azure Moon ending, Dimitri faces his worst internal demons of those he has lost and his external ones with his desire to find and kill Edelgard. After a battle with significant losses and Byleth’s patience, he finally gets himself back together. After saving Claude, Dimitri is given the Leicester Alliance to be part of the expanding Kingdom and then attempts to meet with Edelgard to see eye to eye. He believes that there is a chance to end this war.

Edelgard refuses, so Dimitri follows through with his plan to attack. The Blue Lions win the battle, and Dimitri again offers Edelgard kindness and doesn’t kill her, but he only does so when she tries to kill him. He leaves with Byleth and unites Fódlan as king and Byleth as the new archbishop.

Finally, a route where Dimitri lives!

I think that the Azure Moon ending is a great one, as it wraps up the story nicely. I specifically only mean the Blue Lions story presented in this route. Of course, there are a lot of questions left unanswered. For example, we don’t learn about or defeat TWSITD, causing us to wonder what they do in this ending. Do they continue to slither until they can manipulate another war? We do not know.

I also enjoy the hidden sibling-like relationship between Dimitri and Edelgard. I played Crismon Flower first, and when he called her El, I wanted to know more about their past. This ending delivers, and we learn about them as kids and their parents. It’s a remarkable aspect of the game and the narrative of all four endings.

That being said, it is nice to finally see the humanity in Dimitri after other routes kill him off-screen. Azure Moon is a story and ending that focuses on Dimitri’s grief, depression, and survivor’s guilt.

How to Get This Ending:

In Chapter 1, choose the Blue Lions house when prompted. This will give you the Azure Moon ending.

1. Crimson Flower

Crimson Flower's ending cutscene where Byleth and Edelgard accomplish the Empire's goals.

Crimson Flower is the ending that you have to work hardest to get. You must side with Edelgard and the Adrestian Empire in order to accomplish this.

After siding with Edelgard, Byleth and her take out the Alliance and then turn to dealing with the Church and the Kingdom, which have joined forces. Dimitri is fought and killed in battle with an on-screen death and last words that leave you wanting to learn more.

Rhea withdraws but then turns into her dragon form in one last attempt to stop Edelgard. Together, Byleth and Edelgard defeat Rhea. Byleth nearly dies, but the crest stone inside them dissolves and gives them life, causing their heart to beat again and their hair and eyes to returnto their state before they awakened to Sothis’ power.

Edelgard goes on to abolish the church and nobility, therefore fully accomplishing her plan, and defeats TWSITD.

While other endings, such as Azure Moon, paint Edelgard out to be a complete villain with a lack of empathy, Crimson Flower shows us Edelgard’s reasoning and motive. Along with finally getting to hear Edelgard, we can use her along with Hubert and an added unit, Jeritza. Yeah, remember the Death Knight that was so difficult to beat? We get to play as HIM!

Crimson Flower is a completely original ending. It does not share scenes with the other routes as they do. In all the other three, we fight for and with the church, while this finally has us fighting against them. I also think that Edelgard and Byleth's bond is very strong, especially since they share the Crest of Flames, and this route finally lets them be together, romantically or platonically.

I do wish that we got to fight TWSITD in the game instead of hearing Edelgard defeated them herself, especially because it is already a shorter route. However, having a shorter route shows how powerful the Empire is since they can accomplish their goals quickly and prevents the game from slowing down.

Overall, Crimson Flower is my favorite ending. While some people may say that Edelgard’s actions are morally unacceptable, in a game about war, all of the characters have committed crimes. Let’s not forget that they all kill, regardless of which ending you get. I believe in Edelgard’s mission to abolish nobility and getting to help her is a worthwhile 40 hours.

How to Get This Ending:

Out of all of the endings, Crimson Flower requires the most steps.
Before chapter 11, get your support with Edelgard up to C+. You can do this by giving gifts and inviting her to a perfect tea time. Make sure to serve her Bergamot or Hresvelg Blend. These are her favorites and will give you a few extra support points.
You MUST go with Edelgard to her coronation in chapter 11. If you don’t, you will be locked out of the Crimson Flower ending.
During the battle of chapter 11, make sure to choose “(I must protect Edelgard.)” when given the choice.
This will give you the Crimson Flower ending.