The best Fire Emblem of the last decade.
Fire Emblem Engage is both a celebration of the franchise’s history and an exciting evolution of the series’ formula, successfully offering the best of both worlds. Classic characters, maps and gameplay that bring back the best memories of your favorite Fire Emblem games. There are also bold new reworks and innovations to key mechanics that push tactical gameplay to new heights. Engage may not be everything I hoped it would be, but I think it sets the new high bar for what a modern Fire Emblem can do.
Fire Emblem Engage tells the story of a Divine Dragon, a character with a choice of names and genders, officially named Arya. After a thousand years of sleep, Alear awakens with amnesia and goes to a world on the brink of war with ancient worshipers of her Fell Dragon. Fel To stop the return of her dragons, Alear collects her 12 Emblem Rings (artifacts with substantial power that carry the spirits of heroes from other worlds), before they fall into the wrong hands. Travel the land to find them before.
The story isn’t particularly unique, and has a lot in common with Fire Emblem Awakening, which itself was pretty derivative, but it does the job well and the chance to meet a cast of characters from all corners of the world. gives you Worlds that bounce off each other in compelling and fun ways. The main story may be simple, but Fire Emblem Engage has him one of my favorite cast members in the franchise, and many of the characters are very well fleshed out with supporting dialogue.
My personal favorites include Pandorao from Party Animal. Pandorao seriously dedicates his life to leading the church his parents abandoned. Former assassin Yunaka dons her best goofball facade as she tries to leave her violent past behind her. And Anna, a child merchant who hides her fear and anxiety about being separated from her family while planning a big business. The only characters I didn’t find something I liked were those who didn’t stay active long enough to unlock the supporting dialogue.
Of course, Fire Emblem is more than just a character game. It’s also all about tactical RPG strategy, and that’s where Engage really shines. I covered the details in detail in the preview two weeks ago, so I won’t repeat them too much here, but a complete rework of the series’ main weapon triangle is a great way to encourage aggressive tactics that raises the stakes of each battle. It helps a lot. , and powerful emblem rings representing heroes from previous games add a new layer of risk and reward to combat. The map design is also great, and he often splits his army into two smaller teams so he can deal with separate obstacles simultaneously. So we put a lot of thought into which units would synergize in a coordinated strike force.
Fire Emblem Engage features throwback maps to previous game chapters, making even fan service engaging gameplay. While these maps will clearly bring back memories to longtime fans, the gameplay twists make them worthwhile even for players who may not be aware of them. , defending the crest stone in Holy Tomb in Three Houses, desperately defending the choke point in Knox Castle in Radiant Dawn, and being knocked down in one hit by a ridiculously powerful ballista, they did their best to recreate a sense of the original context. I will do my best. On the bridge over the Thracian river. While these maps are technically repurposed content, they add a whole new layer of diversity to the game and create some of the most memorable tactical issues of all engagements.
If there’s one thing that disappoints me about Fire Emblem Engage, it’s that I’m starting to get a little disillusioned with the current split between classic and casual modes. A casual mode that disables perma death and a time crystal that lets you rewind your turn and rethink your strategy are welcome features that did a lot to make Fire Emblem more accessible to more players, but as an old fan of the series It feels like the classic mode is a bit of an afterthought. None of the innovations offered a classic experience that encouraged you to keep playing and adapting to changing circumstances.
I often wish Fire Emblem implemented a “wounded” system that would only temporarily take away units, but even a simple option to adjust the number of rewind charges on higher difficulties would be available at the end of the game. Locked to maximum number. His three homes from the beginning of Engage—I feel like the classic experience was at least what the developers had in mind. Instead, after making a mistake in Classic Mode, either completely remove the character and their personal story from the game, or wind time (via a full reset or literal rewind) to erase the mistake entirely. You have to choose one of the two extreme options of reverting. from existence. It’s great that Fire Emblem has options for players who want to mitigate the consequences of their mistakes, but since the series began over 30 years ago, players who really want to deal with those consequences have made innovations to match. I am disappointed that I did not receive it.
Fire Emblem Engage may not be my dream game, but it’s still a very good Fire Emblem game. The worst part of it is simply okay and the best part of it paints a bright picture for the franchise’s future. (Don’t let this number scare you too much, every reset from playing on Hard difficulty counts. All 15 optional chapters). In the end, I didn’t feel tired or burnt out, and I had a strong desire to play longer. Fire Emblem Engage may not check every box fans have hoped for, but it’s arguably the strongest show in the series in the last decade.
