Fire Emblem Engage Reviews
Fire Emblem Engage’s story is derivative JRPG nonsense and its social elements are skippable, but the game’s battlefield heroics largely make up for its shortcomings. Classic Fire Emblem combat mechanics make their welcome return here and are nicely elevated by the new Engage system and a slate of varied, surprisingly-challenging maps. Fire Emblem Engage won’t be everybody’s favorite entry in the series, but it should be a critical hit with many seasoned generals.
As a fan of older Fire Emblem and strategy games in general, I was thrilled to see the depth of combat and the level to which you can make battling your absolute focus. That’s still true even if Engage doesn’t quite get the balance in its execution right in a way that might put a small subset of Three Houses lovers off.
Fire Emblem Engage is sadly a missed opportunity to tie together a new cast of characters with the heroes of old.
Despite a paper-thin narrative, shallow one-note characters, and a kitchen-sink approach to its many subsystems, Fire Emblem Engage is the best-looking 3D Fire Emblem title with excellent tactical gameplay.
Despite initial misgivings, Fire Emblem Engage has proved to be a solid and articulated strategy game
Review in Italian | Read full review
I have never played a game quite so ravenously, sinking over ninety hours into my first playthrough in just two weeks (though don't get too intimidated by that number, it counts all of my resets from playing on Hard difficulty, and I also played all fifteen optional chapters). At the end of it all I didn't feel exhausted or burnt out, but rather like I somehow wished that I could play for even longer. Fire Emblem Engage may not check every box that fans were hoping for, but it is easily the strongest showing for the series in the last decade.
Fire Emblem Engage balances the series' past and its future, offering a renewed focus on the tactical gameplay, an endearing cast of old and new faces, and the best visuals the franchise has ever seen.
Engage isn’t the best entry point into the series, and is rather shallow in terms of story and character development, but the combat is enjoyable enough alone to keep players engrossed until the end.
Fire Emblem Engage is one of the best games in the series. The large character roster, changes to the combat system and the exciting Engage system all help create an enjoyable time across a game that looks absolutely stunning.
Fire Emblem Engage's fantastic combat is held back by an underwhelming story that lacks the ambition of recent entries.
Fire Emblem Engage tells a great story full of heart that’s probably the best of the series. The addition of the Emblem Rings which bring heroes of the past games is a nice touch. However, the decision of removing so many great features that were in Theee House, makes Engage a weaker title in my opinion.
Review in French | Read full review
If you were overwhelmed by Three Houses, this is a great follow-up that doesn’t just follow that same formula: and in many ways, gets back to Fire Emblem basics.
"Fire Emblem Engage" turns out to be the hoped-for tactical spectacle with considerable scope. For more than two dozen chapters, you'll experience nerve-wracking battles that are at their best, especially in Classic mode with the permadeath function turned on. The new break and emblem ring mechanics fit perfectly into the proven combat system, the design of the battlefields always holds interesting surprises in store, side missions are regularly linked to the unlocking of new additional characters, and the story is also peppered with some twists that we did not always see coming. Alear's Ring Odyssey is rounded off by a staging that is absolutely worth seeing by Switch standards, a bombastic soundtrack and numerous multiplayer functions that promise a lot of long-term motivation.
Review in German | Read full review
Fire Emblem Engage is a masterpiece of tactical gameplay design, with a gorgeous look, and depth most games can only dream of.
While Engage didn’t win me over with its story, the mechanics are a different matter. I’m pleased that level grinding is being sidestepped in such a clever manner, though I still miss it. I loved how intense the battles are, every single time. Even with the Time Crystal, the stakes feel terribly high. Sure, the narrative feels more cliché than I’m used to. I wish it wasn’t a good vs evil fetch quest. But the character bonds still tell a compelling tale all on their own. And though I didn’t love the side content this time around, I’m still happy there’s so much of it available. Overall, Fire Emblem Engage is an excellent entry in the franchise. You won’t want to miss this one.
Between novelties and various refinements, Fire Emblem Engage's combat system is perfectly polished and exciting. Not all of the campaign is full of twists and turns, and the shadow of socializing at all costs might make the more grumpy digital generals nervous, but overall Fire Emblem Engage is a recommended chapter.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The latest from Intelligent Systems proves that the studio has its finger on the pulse of the genre inside out. After a groundbreaking installment, they return to the classic approach while presenting new features that spice up and make, if possible, even more interesting its great combat system. A must for fans of the genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Fire Emblem Engage is a great celebration of a more than 30 years old franchise, and also one of the best looking Switch games of the last months. We dare to say it's not one of the best episodes in the franchise, but it is, nonetheless, a great SRPG if you have at least fifty hours to invest in it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Fire Emblem Engage unfortunately fails to shine like its predecessor Three Houses. The step back to the roots of the series wasn't a bad one at all. Above all, the combat system knows how to inspire thanks to the emblems, the reunion with Marth and Co. was successful. Unfortunately, the unspectacular story, its generic characters and the lack of endgame content reduce the gaming experience a lot.
Review in German | Read full review
With Fire Emblem Engage, Nintendo Switch hosts one of the best SRPGs on the market in terms of combat. However, we see this installment as a missed opportunity to present a classic round game due to its script. The shadow of Three Houses has played against this delivery, although seeing Marth is always a cause for joy.
Review in Spanish | Read full review