Fire Emblem Engage Review: A Major Step Back

While Fire Emblem has been around for over thirty years, it’s only in the last decade and change that it really has gained popularity in the west. That popularity seemed to grow to new heights with 2019’s Fire Emblem: Three Houses which mixed the series’ traditional strategy RPG combat with more social elements that felt like they came right out of a Persona game. It was a surprisingly strong fit, and for many, Three Houses represents a new high point in the series.

That’s why it’s so strange that its follow-up, Fire Emblem Engage, seems to throw everything that game brought to the series away. This is a far more traditional Fire Emblem title, one that brings little new to the table and which has all new flaws of its own. Thankfully the series’ rock-solid gameplay is still here, but is that enough, especially after how great Three Houses was?

The Divine Dragon Reborn

You play as Alear, the child of the Divine Dragon Lumera. 1000 years ago, you fought off the Fell Dragon together, casting them down in defeat. In the process, though, Alear was put into a deep coma, where they’ve remained ever since. Well, until the beginning of the game, of course, where they wake up, but are soon greeted by signs that the Fell Dragon has returned as well. While Lumera is glad to have her child back, together, you have to work to stop your ancient enemy once more.

If that all sounds pretty generic, it is. The main story of Fire Emblem Engage is an absolute mess of pacing and tone. Gone are the choices and different paths that recent games in the series have provided. It is the most generic story the series has seen in many years, maybe even ever. Throughout a rather lengthy campaign, there are a number of twists and turns, events that certainly should be interesting, but they’re consistently poorly executed with terrible dialogue and characters who barely seem to react to them. It’s strange how little any of this is able to hit.

Lacking Characters

It would help if Alear or their fellow party members were interesting, but that’s also rarely the case. Alear is more of a character than some of the series’ past protagonists but only barely. After choosing their gender, you’ll follow their path through the story, but I felt no connection to them at any point. Some of your party members are better, with a few I eventually grew to like, but most of their best moments are buried in sub-stories, buried too often in confusing menus, which many players will never even see. Even the best members of this cast don’t stand among the series’ best characters, though.

Their ability to do so probably isn’t helped by Fire Emblem Engage featuring so many of the series’ best characters either. A major mechanic is that your kingdom was once entrusted with 12 emblem rings featuring the spirits of major characters from the series. They can be assigned to the members of your party and will fight alongside you in battle. While they’re portrayed as actual characters, none of them have any development, though, and they end up feeling like little more than fan service. It’s a shame, because I love some of these characters and would have liked to see more of their personalities.

A Shining Core

Once you get past the game’s lacking story, you’ll find the same great strategy RPG gameplay the series is known for. Missions are varied, with interesting win conditions and many side missions to tackle. Your party may not be interesting as people, but they give you a nice variety of options in combat, and swapping rings on characters does allow you to supplement their abilities nicely. I got to a point where I would have loved to skip everything between battles, because I just genuinely love the combat here. Even the weapon triangle from past series, which was missing in Three Houses, is back, and it gives the combat back the depth it was missing there. At its core, this might be one of the best playing games in the genre, at least once you get into combat.

Outside of combat, however, Engage is more of a mixed bag. You have a base of operations called the Somniel, where you can interact with characters, upgrade equipment, and advance character bonds, but your base ultimately feels pretty lifeless. The list of things to do is so limited compared to a game like Three Houses that I often went multiple chapters without returning there because I saw little point. Important options like how to evolve bonds between your party members, how to equip various skills, and more are buried in a poorly designed menu system which is a chore to navigate through. Even the game’s look, including character designs, is a bit of a mess.

Conclusion

Fire Emblem Engage is a clear step backward for a great series. While the strategy gameplay at the core of it is perhaps the series’ best, everything else here feels weaker. I still enjoyed my time with the game, ultimately thanks to its gameplay which is some of the best in the genre, but after how great Three Houses with, it’s hard not to come away from Engage disappointed.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Available on: Switch (Reviewed); Publisher: Nintendo; Developer: Intelligent Systems; Players: 1; Released: January 20th, 2023; ESRB: T for Teen; MSRP: $59.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a retail copy of Fire Emblem Engage.