The Fire Emblem series has been a bastion of tactical role-playing action on the Switch. One that has, for the most part, delivered hit after hit for Nintendo. The last instalment Fire Emblem: Three Houses, released almost three years ago, attracted a lot of newcomers to its brand of warfare. However, follow-up Fire Emblem Engage has something different in store, as it takes its own direction in a lot of ways while also taking it all back to a more core focused game where combat is king.
New Chapter
This may jar with those who are looking for more of the series brand of ‘drama’ and social sim, as although there is a hub world called Somniel, where you can talk to party members and the like. It’s very much seen as a side activity here, with the deep relationship-building side of things having been heavily streamlined.
So, it’s up to the tale to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to meeting and befriending characters. To be fair, it does just that. We see Alear, a Divine Dragon awaking from a slumber of a thousand years to do battle with the evil Fell Dragon.sets the backdrop for a heavy anime vibe epic; full of twist, turns and surprises.
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Complete with an honestly likeable cast of heroes, as well as a rogues gallery of over the top villains to do battle with, Fire Emblem Engage builds to a truly crazy finale over its healthy 40+ hour running time.
What the game misses in terms of traditional relationship building, it makes up for with the bonds you forge with your team in battle. You will see members coming into their own over time from your healer to your ranged attacker.
Combat Pace
The game is focused on combat and even feels like its pushing you to get started at the beginning. If you are a returning fan you’ll have a good idea of what awaits you, whereas newcomers will learn the ropes in time.
Where you can plan every attack down to the final move or throw caution to the wind and send in a single unit to get the upper hand, all stealth-like. It’s a very robust combat system that gives you a wealth of options.
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Like breaking down areas of the battlefield to open up new paths, to moving units into place for the ultimate chain attack. Half of the fun of the game is taking on what looks like a battle against the odds. Then chipping away at it to carve your own plan of attack that will change the tide of things, as experimenting really does pay off.
Plus if something doesn’t go to plan, you can always rewind time a few moves to try another tactic. If you’re looking to play it hardcore, you can play it with full permadeath.
Bold Rewards
The biggest new change to combat is the ‘Engage’ system, which is based around a set of special emblem rings. You collect these special rings over your play-time with 12 scattered throughout the kingdom.
Each houses the spirit of a legendary Fire Emblem hero from across the whole series history. Equipping a ring on a party member will give them that legend’s moveset and skills to add to their own.
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And battling with them, powers up your ‘Engage’ meter, which, when filled lets you enter Engage mode. Here, your Legend Spirit gets to run riot for three moves, as well as unleash an epic attack. The more you use these Engage attacks, the more unlocks and stronger your bond will be.
There is a lot to get to grips with here and that’s before you consider the number of combat options. Fire Emblem Engage has some hidden depths that take a while to reveal themselves. But it feels balanced and doesn’t present too much too quickly, allowing you to ease yourself in.
High Fidelity Presentation
Visually, Fire Emblem Engage is very clean and crisp with a bold anime style. It features an easy-to-read hub to whizz through its menus. The UI gives you all the battle knowledge you’ll ever need or want, all quickly accessible. Soundtrack-wise, Yasuhisa smashes it out the park with a truly epic score.
Fire Emblem Engage is a true celebration of its tactical roots and signature brand of combat. And the game is based on a rock solid gameplay system. Fans that love its brand of battling will love Engage.
Though, it must be noted that the game may let down those fans that are more hooked on its relationship-building and down-time activities.
It was a brave move to change things so much from its predecessor, given the breakthrough success thatThree Houses was. But bear in mind, fortune favours the brave.