this is three houses' polar opposite in that it succeeds in places 3H struggled with and vice versa. 3H's story, while by no means perfect, had a lot of ideas it wanted to explore and put in greater focus in its world building. engage's story reads more like fire emblem mad libs (probably fitting since it was an anniversary game originally) and has a very unambitious and unconvincing setting. 3H had some dull meandering sections in between some underwhelming maps while engage has fluff sections that can easily be skipped and some really fun maps and gameplay systems that make the experience both challenging and fun. you get the idea
i get why people might not find this game appealing because of its weak story, but as someone who definitely does not play for story, i really love engage. it's one of the most fun fire emblem games i've played. the emblem ring fanservice might seem strange at first, but they really are some cool macguffins that actually FEEL as valuable as they do in the story because of how much they can change the tide of battle. and plus, it's just cool to see some characters rendered in crispy HD.
the character designs can definitely be garish and bizarre (mika pikazo has a wonderful style, though it does clash with the expected Look of fe characters), and it's unfortunate that pretty much all characterization is shoved into supports (meaning, if you want to learn more about a character rather than their main gimmick, you just have to hope you encounter The Right Support). however, the presentation and animations during battle are second to none. the ways characters move when attacking or dodging (or even parrying depending on how much an attack was going to hit, which is a great detail) or doing a critical hit is super dynamic and full of personality. it reminds me of the gba battle animations everyone loves so much but done in 3d. i think that presentation, plus the uber saturated color palette, helps make the game have more staying power for me, which is something 3H's more subdued graphics and colors lacked (apologies for comparing 3H and engage when theyre so different, 3H and engage are just adjacent to each other in the game series lineup so i can't help myself).
all around, very good and fun! an fe game is something special when i feel compelled to replay it a bunch
i get why people might not find this game appealing because of its weak story, but as someone who definitely does not play for story, i really love engage. it's one of the most fun fire emblem games i've played. the emblem ring fanservice might seem strange at first, but they really are some cool macguffins that actually FEEL as valuable as they do in the story because of how much they can change the tide of battle. and plus, it's just cool to see some characters rendered in crispy HD.
the character designs can definitely be garish and bizarre (mika pikazo has a wonderful style, though it does clash with the expected Look of fe characters), and it's unfortunate that pretty much all characterization is shoved into supports (meaning, if you want to learn more about a character rather than their main gimmick, you just have to hope you encounter The Right Support). however, the presentation and animations during battle are second to none. the ways characters move when attacking or dodging (or even parrying depending on how much an attack was going to hit, which is a great detail) or doing a critical hit is super dynamic and full of personality. it reminds me of the gba battle animations everyone loves so much but done in 3d. i think that presentation, plus the uber saturated color palette, helps make the game have more staying power for me, which is something 3H's more subdued graphics and colors lacked (apologies for comparing 3H and engage when theyre so different, 3H and engage are just adjacent to each other in the game series lineup so i can't help myself).
all around, very good and fun! an fe game is something special when i feel compelled to replay it a bunch