Fire Emblem Engage is one of the greatest Tactical JRPGs I've played. The story may be its biggest slip, but the rest of the experience more than makes up for a very entertaining game.
From its opening cutscene to how well it runs, from beginning to end, it's very noticeable that this is one of the most beautiful games on the Switch. The environments are a bit empty, but it's all very colorful, charming, sometimes bleak and, overall, inviting! Character designs are great, the Somniel looks pleasant and comforting, the arenas feel grand and even the overworld map is amazing.
The cast of characters pleased me right from the start! They're definitely tropey and a bit cliche, but I loved most of them, their usefulness in battle, their backstories and little support/bond conversations. I got attached to them. From Citrine's questioning of Yunaka's past, to Goldmary and Panette's weird cooking lessons. You'll definitely find your favorite and there are A LOT of them. Maybe more than it should, I think.
But it's hard not to talk about the cast without touching upon the dialogues. And I'll be frank: it's obnoxious! The story is your basic "good vs evil" shonen, with a few predictable twists here and there. It's not great, but it's fine. There were some genuine epic moments, in fact. But when it comes to its writing? It's bad.
The presentation during conversations doesn't help either. When you have bad writing + bad character interaction scenes, you end up turning some story bits into shallow moments. There's no impact in places screaming for it! It's a major flaw, but one that I was gladly able to look past.
Especially since what holds FE Engage together is definitely its perfect combat system. It's easy to get into, never gets too complicated, it's challenging without being frustrating (fuck classic mode, tho), the arenas are stimulating, combat animations look amazing, objectives are nice and the whole loop is just super addictive. Once you're done with it, it's hard to let go!
I loved the Engage system and its celebration of the franchise. Character progression was certainly satisfying, as well. The only things that bothered me were how hard it was to acquire SP and Gold and how tiresome it became to inherit skills, having to swtch emblem rings constantly. Other than that, it was incredible. Especially boss fights on arenas with weird terrain effects. I think it will be hard to go back to past instalments after experiencing this level of refinement.
And last, but not least, the soundtrack is superb! It's thrilling, calming, ominous and quite epic. Remixes of old FE themes that played during some paralogues were fantastic. And what about Somniel's songs? Simply remarkable! I don't think there's a single song I didn't like. Just wish I could listen to it on Spotify or something.
Fire Emblem Engage is my 3rd and favorite game in the series, so far. It has almost everything you need for a good JRPG: great cast, perfect battle system, charming world and an excellent soundtrack.
It's a shame that they dropped the ball on the story. With the right writing, better dialogue presentation and an overall deeper plot, this could be one for the ages.
I understand how somethings in it can make you ignore it, but trust me, don't let it.
From its opening cutscene to how well it runs, from beginning to end, it's very noticeable that this is one of the most beautiful games on the Switch. The environments are a bit empty, but it's all very colorful, charming, sometimes bleak and, overall, inviting! Character designs are great, the Somniel looks pleasant and comforting, the arenas feel grand and even the overworld map is amazing.
The cast of characters pleased me right from the start! They're definitely tropey and a bit cliche, but I loved most of them, their usefulness in battle, their backstories and little support/bond conversations. I got attached to them. From Citrine's questioning of Yunaka's past, to Goldmary and Panette's weird cooking lessons. You'll definitely find your favorite and there are A LOT of them. Maybe more than it should, I think.
But it's hard not to talk about the cast without touching upon the dialogues. And I'll be frank: it's obnoxious! The story is your basic "good vs evil" shonen, with a few predictable twists here and there. It's not great, but it's fine. There were some genuine epic moments, in fact. But when it comes to its writing? It's bad.
The presentation during conversations doesn't help either. When you have bad writing + bad character interaction scenes, you end up turning some story bits into shallow moments. There's no impact in places screaming for it! It's a major flaw, but one that I was gladly able to look past.
Especially since what holds FE Engage together is definitely its perfect combat system. It's easy to get into, never gets too complicated, it's challenging without being frustrating (fuck classic mode, tho), the arenas are stimulating, combat animations look amazing, objectives are nice and the whole loop is just super addictive. Once you're done with it, it's hard to let go!
I loved the Engage system and its celebration of the franchise. Character progression was certainly satisfying, as well. The only things that bothered me were how hard it was to acquire SP and Gold and how tiresome it became to inherit skills, having to swtch emblem rings constantly. Other than that, it was incredible. Especially boss fights on arenas with weird terrain effects. I think it will be hard to go back to past instalments after experiencing this level of refinement.
And last, but not least, the soundtrack is superb! It's thrilling, calming, ominous and quite epic. Remixes of old FE themes that played during some paralogues were fantastic. And what about Somniel's songs? Simply remarkable! I don't think there's a single song I didn't like. Just wish I could listen to it on Spotify or something.
Fire Emblem Engage is my 3rd and favorite game in the series, so far. It has almost everything you need for a good JRPG: great cast, perfect battle system, charming world and an excellent soundtrack.
It's a shame that they dropped the ball on the story. With the right writing, better dialogue presentation and an overall deeper plot, this could be one for the ages.
I understand how somethings in it can make you ignore it, but trust me, don't let it.