Since I enjoyed this game so much, I decided to make it my last review of the year. I'm not a huge fan of tactical RPGs because they lack one of my favorite aspects in an RPG, which is exploration. What made me want to play this one? Well, truth be told, the thing that grabbed my attention was Mika Pikazo's art. It's so colorful! I wondered if it was worth buying a new game from a series I'm not particularly into, even more so considering its main gimmick of featuring past entries' characters. It didn't seem to be a big deal, though.
Even though I didn't have a history with the series, other than a few hours in Blazing Blade and Awakening (which I still intend on beating some day), I was aware of how much other non-fans enjoyed Three Houses, so I was confident this one would have tons of QoL changes to make it more tolerable for a noob like me. Turns out, this was better than I expected! I never had so much fun in a tactical RPG. In fact, I'd even say this is the best turn-based combat I've ever seen, other than D&D, I guess. Fire Emblem's combat is already solid enough, but the Engage mechanic adds so much in terms of strategy, experimentation, charm and uniqueness.
...and then we look at the internet's reception...whew, hahaha...people didn't like it very much, huh?
So the first glaring issue is the story, or rather how it compares to the previous entry. I still haven't played enough 3H to give my opinion, but it's apparently a lot more serious and complex. On the other hand, Engage takes more elements of older Fire Emblem games and, by extention, old school fantasy anime, but with a modern tone. There are also quirkier characters drawn by a designer of VTubers. If you're not liking the sound of any of that, then you're not gonna like this game.
There is one common criticism that I have to agree, though, which is how most characters don't have any development in later chapters. Since we have to take in consideration that they might be dead in somebody's playthrough, they can't have a lot of participation in the story once they enter your party for good, other than some useless pieces of dialogue here and there. This is one of the reasons why I wish they'd get rid of permadeath, if it wasn't so ingrained in the series' DNA already.
There are also other problems like the minigames and the stiff animations, but I'm just reaching by this point.
I'll probably lower the score in the future, but 5/5 feels right for now. The story isn't even that bad, it's just basic. The main villain could be better written, but the final battle was so sick that I don't care. Graphically speaking, the character models and attack animations are quite impressive. The soundtrack is also great, at least in the context of the game, since having alternate versions of each track made the album too repetitive.
Anyway, now I can't hear the game's subtitle anywhere without feeling the urge to yell ENGAGE!!!
Gameplay: S+
Level design: S
Story: B
Characters: B
Visuals: S
Music: S
Difficulty: Optional (Normal, Casual) Yeah, I'm a pussy.
Even though I didn't have a history with the series, other than a few hours in Blazing Blade and Awakening (which I still intend on beating some day), I was aware of how much other non-fans enjoyed Three Houses, so I was confident this one would have tons of QoL changes to make it more tolerable for a noob like me. Turns out, this was better than I expected! I never had so much fun in a tactical RPG. In fact, I'd even say this is the best turn-based combat I've ever seen, other than D&D, I guess. Fire Emblem's combat is already solid enough, but the Engage mechanic adds so much in terms of strategy, experimentation, charm and uniqueness.
...and then we look at the internet's reception...whew, hahaha...people didn't like it very much, huh?
So the first glaring issue is the story, or rather how it compares to the previous entry. I still haven't played enough 3H to give my opinion, but it's apparently a lot more serious and complex. On the other hand, Engage takes more elements of older Fire Emblem games and, by extention, old school fantasy anime, but with a modern tone. There are also quirkier characters drawn by a designer of VTubers. If you're not liking the sound of any of that, then you're not gonna like this game.
There is one common criticism that I have to agree, though, which is how most characters don't have any development in later chapters. Since we have to take in consideration that they might be dead in somebody's playthrough, they can't have a lot of participation in the story once they enter your party for good, other than some useless pieces of dialogue here and there. This is one of the reasons why I wish they'd get rid of permadeath, if it wasn't so ingrained in the series' DNA already.
There are also other problems like the minigames and the stiff animations, but I'm just reaching by this point.
I'll probably lower the score in the future, but 5/5 feels right for now. The story isn't even that bad, it's just basic. The main villain could be better written, but the final battle was so sick that I don't care. Graphically speaking, the character models and attack animations are quite impressive. The soundtrack is also great, at least in the context of the game, since having alternate versions of each track made the album too repetitive.
Anyway, now I can't hear the game's subtitle anywhere without feeling the urge to yell ENGAGE!!!
Gameplay: S+
Level design: S
Story: B
Characters: B
Visuals: S
Music: S
Difficulty: Optional (Normal, Casual) Yeah, I'm a pussy.