Every year, Nintendo has brought out a series of JRPG games that are worth playing. These games have been very fruitful and challenging as their content is worth playing. For the start of 2023, Nintendo has released a new FE game called Fire Emblem Engage.
Fire Emblem Engage is an all-new JRPG game made for the Nintendo Switch. The game was announced last year and has featured not only new and original characters to debut but also returning characters from the previous Fire Emblem games.
The story of the game is about 4 kingdoms that have worked together with heroes from other worlds to seal away this great evil. One-thousand years later, this seal has weakened and the Fell Dragon is about to reawaken. As a Divine Dragon, players must use strategies and customizations to meet their destiny to collect 12 Emblem Rings and bring peace back to the Continent of Elyos.
Story-wise, it is really intriguing for this game to bring back popular characters and make them play an important role. Though the way the game interpreted the story was intriguing, I felt like this game was made for Fire Emblem fans and it lacked some story details that explain certain scenarios such as how the Legacy characters came to be for the rings and more.
On the gameplay aspect, it utilizes the same style of combat as its predecessors as tactical-turn-based combat is used. The only difference it has from the rest is the use of the Engage skills and a variety of new classes to try out. Personally, I believe that the gameplay could have done better and if possible, the developers should add a bit more details and challenges in combatting enemies. At some point in the game, I find it too easy to overcome the trials that the game has shown since its release, and would love to see a bit more difficulty.
The Engage feature of the game is really unique. Players can use past FE heroes and merge their abilities with any character in the game. Some of these Engage abilities can deal tons of damage to their opponents, while some can buff and heal allies to ensure victory. This feature is really unexpected as it gave me multiple chances to ensure that I stay alive in the game.
What players including myself would want to see is the support system. In every FE game, the support system plays an important role as players can interact with characters and choose whom they want to spend their lives in the game. Engage brings out the best in it and I really glad there are more ways for players to increase their bonds and more. I also loved the fact that players can spend more time deepening their relationships not only in their sanctum but also through paralogues as well.
The designs of the characters are unique and ideally worth investing in. Their background stories are interesting and there are multiple ways to bond them with other characters aside from the protagonist. In terms of creating original story content, the freedom of whom players want their characters to want to bond with is endless.
As for the visual aspects such as BGM and animation, it really has improved but it feels like it is too child-friendly and lacks impact from its predecessor, Three Houses. I actually wanted to see more improvement in the cinematics but with what Engage has to offer, I would say that this is passable enough for those who are trying out the FE series for the 1st time.
If possible, I would love to see more returning FE characters like Robin, Chrom, Xander, Elise, and more. Also, I would love to see if there is a chance for this game to have like an extended story mission like what Three Houses had before in order to prolong the events that occur in the main game
After a continuous review of what Fire Emblem Engage has to offer, I could say in total that this game isn’t a bad game to play. The story content and gameplay will need to be more challenging if they are determined to make this series as big as their predecessor. I would recommend this game to those who are fans of the FE series including those who are new to it as well.
