It’s a new year and a new Fire Emblem game with Fire Emblem Engage the seventh game in the franchise. This newest innstallment of the franchise is given the biggest amount of content I’ve seen in an RPG since last year’s Elden Ring with many elements that would certainly overwhelm anyone who has never played an RPG before. Luckily this game is beginner friendly and offers many fun and exciting battles, weapons, characters, animals, and visuals that I haven’t seen featured on release in a triple A RPG game for years. It is time to explore the first massive RPG of 2023 with Fire Emblem Engage.
The story of Fire Emblem Engage is that the Divine Dragon, the main character whose both name and gender are customizable, awakens from a one thousand year slumber after a battle that left them gravely wounded. Once they have awakened it is discovered that their memories are gone and the only thing they can remember is who they are, how to fight, and how to use their emblem ring which can summon the spirit emblem of Marth who can assist the divine dragon in battle.
They also encounter a few of the companions the player will get to meet throughout the game as well as the characters mother Divine Dragon Lumera. However the two divine dragons aren’t given enough time to reconnect as their home is invaded by undead creatures known as the Corrupted whos return across the land of Elyos signals the return of the Fell Dragon Sombron. After a massive battle and suffering a great loss the Divine Dragon (the main character) is tasked to gather the 12 Emblem Rings that each house the spirits of Emblem Ring characters from past games and save the four kingdoms of Elyos and stop Sombron and his followers. On this journey the Divine dragon will also need to make many friends and allies in order in order to stop the great evil and save everyone.
The gameplay of Fire Emblem Engage is a bit complicated. It is a tactical turn based combat game and a social simulator. There is a lot to impact regarding the gameplay especially since not only is it a turn based combat game, but it’s also a massive RPG with some relationship building that adds benefits to the overall gameplay and a class system that each give the characters in the game different play styles and weaknesses. One way that I can describe it is that it is chess, but with different weapons and weaknesses. There are 32 characters and 26 of them are playable with 17 different classes that can be advanced through gameplay. Each class has their own strengths and weaknesses that can give them edges in battle especially against enemies that have weaknesses against the specific weapons or fighting styles they have. The objectives are simple to achieve victory: either defeat all the enemies on the field or defeat their ringleader. The most powerful abilities come from using the emblem rings which when used give the character using them a power boost for a few turns.
There are twelve emblem rings that each have the spirit of a character from past Fire Emblem titles each ring has a different ability and stat boosts that can be increased through bonding with the spirit through battle. There are multiple ways of bonding with the spirits but the best one is by using them in battle with whoever has them equipped. One of the things I’m not really a fan of is that while it is good to be able to take a breath and strategize your next move there are way too many long breaks where the player needs to move every character currently on the board across a huge battlefield in order to get to either the objective or the enemy normally this wouldn’t be a problem especially since there are hidden chests and objectives that can be completed in order to get resources or weapons, but in this case there was way to much time trying to get my characters all in a position that allows them all an opportunity to shine.
The open world of Fire Emblem Engage is largely hub world based. After completing a battle the player gets placed in the area they liberated and they get to interact with characters, pick up collectibles and even adopt animals for their base. Their base is called Somniel, a Flying Fortress with multiple areas where the divine Dragon and his companions can kick up their feet and relax. It is here where the characters can increase their bonds, train for battles, buy and improve their weapons and gear, purchase clothing that can be worn while exploring, play mini games that have small benefits and even interact with their pet. There is also a traversal map that the players use to get around the world. This open world map allows traversing to different missions both in the main campaign and side missions that help gather resources and new allies.
The visuals and sounds of the game are very anime inspired and the cutscenes alone are some of the most epic visuals I’ve seen in a game yet. The in-game graphics however are a bit too bright which usually isn’t really a problem for me, but it can be a bit distracting at times when I see a dark shaded floor with an overwhelmingly colorful character who stands out more than the background.
Overall while there was more content than some of the most recent games I have played and I had a fun time playing it there was still a bit much to be desired in terms of story and combat scenarios that go on for to long especially when it comes to moving your characters into good attacking positions.
Overall Grade: 7 out of 10
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch