Fire Emblem Engage Reviews
Fire Emblem Engage is a tactical RPG. You follow Alear the Divine Dragon during the battle with the Fell Dragons. The tactical combat system is great and the new Engage system causes quite a stir. Even if the story falls short, Fire Emblem is still a must for fans.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
I’ve always believed that mobile games are an approachable gateway for new fans to enjoy an otherwise esoteric IP, and Engage streamlines the gameplay in all the right ways. Unfortunately, though, the story falls short of what I’ve come to expect from any Fire Emblem game, and I’m still struggling to understand why. With Fates, the poor writing could be attributed to its sheer character bloat, but Engage has a reasonably normal-sized cast. The watered-down stories felt like an intentional appeal to capture new audiences. But at some point, I want to move on from the appetizer to the main course. With its disposable conversations, shallow handling of themes, and incohesive visual design, Engage is the chicken wing, rather than a full chicken dinner.
Fire Emblem Engage explores new formulas with a splash of nostalgia. While it's full of chliché moments, its agile battle system will test in you in battle to come up with a good strategy. Fire Emblem Engage takes a risk with a new proposal that highlights his legacy.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Fire Emblem Engage's story may not impress, but its excellent gameplay more than makes up for the narrative shortcomings.
As both a celebration of the series’ past and as a Strategy RPG in general, Fire Emblem Engage is masterfully and lovingly made. Though the story left much to be desired, addictive and airtight strategy gameplay kept me easily invested the whole way through. Much-needed enhancements to the presentation and its return to more simplified and straightforward structure make this my favorite outing for the series in a long time.
Fire Emblem Engage represents a return to the more singular storytelling of past games prior to Fire Emblem Fates. Gone are the multiple stories experienced through various factions. Instead, you have one main story to go through that's more centered on the protagonist. The streamlined experience is a common theme that pervades other aspects of the game. The new Somniel hub gets rid of extracurricular activities such as teaching and serves more as a base for services, unit training and development, and PVP. Combat, meanwhile, while still rock solid, also gets a rewind mechanic so players no longer have to waste time reloading saves. Some might decry the changes as a watering down of the game as well as features from Three Houses. Others will see them as much needed quality-of life additions that strip out the fluff and allow players to concentrate on battles. As such, your mileage and enjoyment of Fire Emblem Engage depends on which side of this debate you fall under.
Although there is a distinct lack of social and side activities for you to enjoy in Fire Emblem Engage, it’s for the better. These cuts made Engage a more enjoyable experience from start to finish, with the overarching plot taking a backseat to the phenomenal strategic combat
Fire Emblem Engage' shines its charm of SRPG based on excellent combat system and character management. Even though there are some disappointments such as childish story and frequent loading screens, the game will never let down the players who focus on strategy and character growing side.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Fire Emblem Engage is a fantastic entry in the long-running strategy RPG series, offering a fun and enjoyable story with some of the best gameplay the series has to offer. New and old fans alike have a spectacular title in front of them that will be fondly looked upon for years to come. Engage is a celebration of the past and the worlds we’ve seen, while also celebrating the strong future this franchise holds.
Fire Emblem Engage brings a lot to the table to entertain fans of past games while also welcoming new fans. Not everything works, and some things do fall flat, but overall, it's a lot of fun.
Often, the game feels more like an advertisement for its characters, which occasionally feel more like idols or gacha units than soldiers (which is only reinforced by an actual, though disconnected, gacha system within the game). It feels disrespectful to deploy some of Fire Emblem's shining protagonists from weightier games in an entry this light and confused, one whose main character is an empty vessel. While Engage is perfectly serviceable and even an improvement on Three Houses in some ways, I want more for a series with such a storied history-and, I imagine, so will most of its fans.
Fire Emblem Engage is a clear step backward for a great series. While the strategy gameplay at the core of it is perhaps the series’ best, everything else here feels weaker. I still enjoyed my time with the game, ultimately thanks to its gameplay which is some of the best in the genre, but after how great Three Houses with, it’s hard not to come away from Engage disappointed.
Fire Emblem: Engage is a return to the more linear Fire Emblem style of storytelling while continuing the path that Fire Emblem: Three Houses began with the graphics and combat upgrades. The game feels fresh and new while also paying homage to Fire Emblem's storied past with the inclusion of iconic characters in the Emblem Rings such as Marth, Roy, Lyn, and more. With a collection of adorable characters you're sure to cry when you lose them and a story that has its fair share of twists and turns; new and old Fire Emblem fans can find something to enjoy about this game. It's a story of friendship, family, and doing whatever you can to save the ones you love; Fire Emblem.
It's essential to remember that just a little over 10 years ago, Fire Emblem Awakening saved the franchise and brought it to the mainstream. Now, in the present, Fire Emblem Engage represents a series that now no longer needs saving. It's a series that has blockbuster appeal, with people eagerly anticipating every announcement. Fire Emblem is Forever, and I'm overjoyed to see friends and colleagues take to it so passionately, something I didn't think would happen.
Fire Emblem Engage offers the most rewarding, fleshed out and beautifully balanced strategic combat of the series so far, and performs beautifully on the Switch. Its story, characters and social sim element, however, are not up to the standard expected of this beloved franchise. While the combat has matured beautifully, the overall tone has taken a step back. If you're only interested in the trademark Fire Emblem combat, then you'll likely have more fun than you ever have with the series. For players who want a little more from Engage's characters and story, though… you may be disappointed.
What makes Fire Emblem Engage especially frustrating is that, even for all of its glaring issues, there’s an undeniable joy in successfully conquering a difficult battalion through a mixture of skill, luck, and good timing. That, or spamming a series of well-placed special moves and calling it a day. But since the infrastructure around these battles is so lacking, this latest entry in Intelligent Systems’s long-standing series amounts to not much more than a glorified chess match, albeit one with a few more fire-spewing dragons running around to spice things up.
Fire Emblem Engage isn’t the Fire Emblem I expected, but I’ve had an absolute blast with it. The scaling down of support and the somewhat predictable main character aside, the enticing gameplay, Engage mechanic, and depth of customization makes for a more than satisfying next entry in Nintendo’s premiere tactics franchise.
Fire Emblem Engage does away with intricate relationships systems and in-depth downtime between battles, choosing to focus on a well-rounded tactical turn-based combat system that will be hard to beat this year.
Fire Emblem Engage may lack the same quality storytelling and interaction as past releases but offers some of the best tactical RPG combat and deep customization that fans could ask for.
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.