I’ve always watched the Fire Emblem series from afar, worried that its strategic gameplay wouldn’t be for me or the stress of determining the best place to start and how to play through the various entries of the franchise. Commerce. Fire Emblem Three Houses was the first game I played with great success, and over 80 hours later, it’s one of my favorite games on Switch and made me a Fire Emblem fan. Since it was revealed, I’ve looked at Fire Emblem Engage as a test bed: am I really a Fire Emblem fan or do I just really like Three Houses and the fascinating Hogwarts-like school mechanics its? If the 10 hours I’ve spent on Engage so far is any indication, I’m happy to say it’s the former.
Interaction doesn’t do anything I’ve never seen before in the realm of fantasy storytelling. There was a hero who saved the world, then they fell into a long slumber, and now they have awakened to find the peaceful kingdom they saved in potential turmoil once again. They are also unable to remember anything, with memories of their past slowly creeping into the hero’s brain. That hero is the Divine Dragon and in my case he is the main character of Engage. He holds an iconic Ring that allows him to harness the power and combat intelligence of Fire Emblem’s past hero Marth. However, Marth is more than just a tool to use on the battlefield, as I talk to him and strengthen our bond, just as I do with the various allies I have recruited into the battlefield. your Dragon God team.
Since those opening intro moments, I’ve met new allies wearing Iconic Rings and have seen those past Fire Emblem heroes come into play, both as a fighter. battlefield tactics and a personality to engage outside combat. Engage’s strategic gameplay isn’t about reinventing the wheel – it’s all Fire Emblem – but the game’s name, Engage, is the mechanism that allows allies or Dragon Gods to summon their hero Emblem Ring, maybe Marth to me or Celica to me. Each character with the ring has a different looking Join form, can often move more points across the battle map and be significantly stronger or in some cases, more assistive with healing for whole team. I love turning the tide of battle with the Join mechanic, and in small skirmishes I can wipe out enemies quickly by activating three Join characters at once.
However, in the end, Engage is missing a difficulty department. Because of this Engage mechanism, I rarely feel threatened. If the enemy is closing in on an ally to kill, I can Join and quickly go there to protect the ally. If enemies overwhelm me, same thing. That said, I still enjoy every battle, be it story related or lots of smaller skirmishes. I lost an ally at one point or another – I opted for a Normal playstyle where allies defeated in battle return after I win because I wanted to learn more about the different characters I’ve met – but I haven’t lost the main objective of a quest yet. I expect the difficulty to increase here soon, and based on the direction of the story, I imagine it will.
When I’m not involved in the battle, I explore the heart of the game, Somniel. It’s the castle of the Dragon God, and where you can buy new costumes, armor and weapons, common items, etc. It’s also a place where you can play with dogs, cats, sheep and birds you’ve adopted in the world of Elyos, and you can interact with everyone on your team to create strong bonds, listen to supportive conversations, and coach. When I don’t choose my next quest on the Elyos world map, I’m in Somniel. Like I did with the monastery in Three Houses, Somniel has become a check-in stop. After finishing a chapter, I go there and go through my list of regular visits to different shops, cafeterias, training facilities, etc. I can see Somniel getting monotonous. for some, but it was scratching the itch for that checklist that allowed me to hold my Dragon God responsible.
Fire Emblem Engage doesn’t capture my every waking thought, but everything I’ve encountered has ranged from excellent to excellent so far. The story is already interesting enough, but hasn’t gone through any of the real twists, turns, or drama that I know the Fire Emblem series is known for, so it’s nothing of note at the moment. I fear (for my team) that those things are coming and I can’t wait. But even if Engage’s story stays as it is in the books, it’s shaping up to be a fun Fire Emblem game, and that’s what I’m excited about for my Switch.
