Fire Emblem Engage: An Analysis of The Latest Title of the Fire Emblem Franchise

Fire Emblem series was first introduced in 1990, more than 30 years ago. Over time, the franchise saw many incidents.

The series was almost discontinued because of low sales, only prevented because of the success of Fire Emblem Awakening which was released in 2012. The franchise's most popular entry was Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The game still maintains its popularity since its initial release in 2019. The latest entry, Fire Emblem Engage was released earlier this year. It has some mixed reviews. Some love it and some hate it. Most of the criticism comes from the comparison of Fire Emblem Engage and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. So what did people expect? Was Fire Emblem Engage bad or were the expectations way too high?

Story and Recruiting Characters

Engage indeed has a more linear story than Three Houses, which allowed players to do four different playthroughs of the main story by choosing three different lords. Engage follows a single route, in which the main character travels to different countries to find all the emblem rings to aid them in the final battle. During their journey, the protagonist makes friends with different characters. This allows players to recruit units differently than some of the previous entries since there are no stat checks and strategies for most characters as they are added to the team automatically. These points make the game have a lower replayability value compared to previous titles. Yet, the story has funny and lighthearted moments and the tone is not as serious as some of the previous entries. Some people may hate this but in my opinion, it is refreshing. Old games already exist and the presence of Engage only allows players to choose according to their preferences.

Gameplay

I was honestly surprised by how smooth the gameplay was. Even on an aged switch like mine, it worked pretty well. The graphics are beautiful and the maps were pretty fun to explore. The engage mechanic was fun to explore and pairing the characters with different emblems allowed the player to have freedom. The only criticism of mine is about some characters and pairings being way too powerful. Sure, that can be prevented by playing on different modes and not using these characters but overall the game is pretty easier compared to Three Houses and seasoned players of the Fire Emblem series might find this off-putting.

Characters, Supports, and Bond Conversations

The one thing I like about this game is the characters. Characters being easy to recruit might indeed cause lower replayability but it also causes the player to be more invested in the characters, especially the ones who play a bigger part in the story. The light atmosphere allows characters to show some of their traits in a different light, which wouldn't be the case if the game was dark. The main character, Alear, is gender-selectable like in previous entries. They have their character and show much more emotions compared to some of the other main characters. They are fully voiced and while some people may prefer a more 'blank' character that they can play as themselves, for me both options are fine, especially since the writers handle both cases pretty well. The support conversations were okay in my opinion, they served their purpose of creating a deeper connection between characters. Still, I miss the paired endings. The only kind of paired ending is between Alear and their significant other (or a platonic paired ending when it comes to younger characters). I would like to see how other characters would end up according to the player's choices, whether romantically or not. On the other hand, I was disappointed with bond conversations. They were too short and I would love to see our beloved emblems more, especially them spending time with the main cast.

Engage as a Tribute to Older Titles

It should also be stated that Fire Emblem Engage is a great tribute to older titles. All of the emblems being the main characters of the previous games allow players to see their beloved friends. I think the existence of the emblems was a great idea since it made me want to play some older Fire Emblem games I didn't have any intention of playing. I think it is like that for many people. This is one of the points that need to be considered while criticizing the game. Engage is different when comes to other Fire Emblem games because of that. Instead of just being its own game, it is a bridge between Fire Emblem games. To enjoy Engage, I think it is best to not have many expectations. It is different from other games but this is not necessarily bad. It is not my favorite in the series but I still think it is a great game that is fun to play. Overall, it is a game worth playing and I think that every Fire Emblem fan should play it at least once, to see their favorite characters and experience the differences of this game from the others.

Source

All the pictures are from the Nintendo E-Shop page for Fire Emblem Engage. https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/fire-emblem-engage-switch/