What a truly great start to 2023 we have here with Fire Emblem Engage. A stark visual improvement over it's predecessor on the switch, Engage feels like they learned a number of lessons from 3H. Having finished the game on hard/classic, I can say without a doubt it was one of the most satisfying tactical RPGs I've ever played, keeping a consistent level of difficulty all throughout with a delicate touch to balance.
The way the game is set up, main story and paralogue battles are set to a specific recommended level while the skirmishes scale to what you are currently at. Skirmishes make for decent ways to make some extra gold or experience if you are lacking in some areas, and usually offer different starting points to the maps when you first play them as part of the plot. The gains aren't crazy, it's just enough for a little bit of a boost as the game is very strict on your key resources. I wholly adore games that do not dump gold and materials on you and make you pick and choose what upgrades you think are the most worth it, and Engage handles this masterfully.
As this is a Fire Emblem game, you do also have your support conversations with a pretty substantial cast of mostly great characters, and I finished the game with having seen most of the interactions between my favourites. Your home base, The Somniel, offers many optional activities to run around and do between missions. I always made sure to do the support-up events and visit the arena between each battle, but there's lots of other minigames to choose from too if you so wish to indulge.
Unique to Engage are the Emblem Rings. Equipping an Emblem Ring will allow a unit to summon a famous character from a previous Fire Emblem game and use unique abilities for a set number of turns before having to build up the gauge again. It's a really fun mechanic and allows for a lot of creative pair-ups. Additionally, each emblem ring has a paralogue that goes along with them that lets you fight them on a themed map to increase your bond with them and hear a remix of theme from their game. I'm definitely going to grab the DLC next just to do all those maps because they were a big highlight in the base game.
As for the story, it's the only part where the game loses a bit of points with me. For the most part, it's fine. I consider it overall a bit of a step down from Three Houses, but it absolutely has a few great highs and unfortunately at least one really low point.
That being said, I think Engage absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do - it is a celebration of the franchise. I became attached enough to each of the Emblems that this is finally the game that has made me want to go back and play all the old games some day.
The way the game is set up, main story and paralogue battles are set to a specific recommended level while the skirmishes scale to what you are currently at. Skirmishes make for decent ways to make some extra gold or experience if you are lacking in some areas, and usually offer different starting points to the maps when you first play them as part of the plot. The gains aren't crazy, it's just enough for a little bit of a boost as the game is very strict on your key resources. I wholly adore games that do not dump gold and materials on you and make you pick and choose what upgrades you think are the most worth it, and Engage handles this masterfully.
As this is a Fire Emblem game, you do also have your support conversations with a pretty substantial cast of mostly great characters, and I finished the game with having seen most of the interactions between my favourites. Your home base, The Somniel, offers many optional activities to run around and do between missions. I always made sure to do the support-up events and visit the arena between each battle, but there's lots of other minigames to choose from too if you so wish to indulge.
Unique to Engage are the Emblem Rings. Equipping an Emblem Ring will allow a unit to summon a famous character from a previous Fire Emblem game and use unique abilities for a set number of turns before having to build up the gauge again. It's a really fun mechanic and allows for a lot of creative pair-ups. Additionally, each emblem ring has a paralogue that goes along with them that lets you fight them on a themed map to increase your bond with them and hear a remix of theme from their game. I'm definitely going to grab the DLC next just to do all those maps because they were a big highlight in the base game.
As for the story, it's the only part where the game loses a bit of points with me. For the most part, it's fine. I consider it overall a bit of a step down from Three Houses, but it absolutely has a few great highs and unfortunately at least one really low point.
That being said, I think Engage absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do - it is a celebration of the franchise. I became attached enough to each of the Emblems that this is finally the game that has made me want to go back and play all the old games some day.