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Nintendo’s strategy masterpiece blends combat and storytelling perfectly - Fire Emblem Engage Review

17K View2023-01-26

Fire Emblem Engage is a wonderfully made tactical RPG that captures a feeling I haven’t held since childhood. As a scrawny little kid, I loved reading stories about heroes fighting evil. I especially enjoyed it when the hero emerged from nothing but scrap and poverty, and still managed to save the world in the end. I would be glued to books like that for months on end.

Like those beloved fantasy tales, Fire Emblem Engage tells a story that is equal parts epic and empowering. It reminded me of that age-old lesson that even if I can’t be a legendary warrior or some mystical sage, I can still be brave and courageous in my day-to-day life.

Though it features plenty of traditional elements—heroes, dragons, mysteries, and so on—Fire Emblem Engage does not tell a typical, generic fantasy story. I played the child of a dragon queen seeking to save their world from impending destruction and the collapse of multiple universes. It took some time for me to settle into this tale, but once I did I discovered a true masterpiece of an RPG that’s well worth the time and effort required to experience it in full.

Fire Emblem Engage’s narrative is filled to the brim with banter, humor, and many twists and turns that left me laughing, crying, and in some cases, furious. And although it’s tied to the many Fire Emblem games that came before, I didn’t need any prior knowledge to enjoy the story being told here.

After the first two or three hours of introduction, I found myself deeply immersed in Fire Emblem Engage. Each cutscene and tidbit of dialogue between characters felt engaging and informative. The voice acting and music complement the storytelling, and every character carries their own unique personality to add diversity to the game. Altogether, these aspects build up an enchanting experience the likes of which I’ve rarely seen.

I didn’t spend all of my time in Fire Emblem Engage just talking to characters, though; I fought alongside them too. Turn-based, tile-structured combat is the primary focus for at least half of the game—and it’s bloody amazing.

Every time I was introduced to a new character, I knew that I’d later acquire them for use in Fire Emblem Engage’s tactical battles. Building up a well-rounded cast of characters was essential to overcoming the many enemies I faced in each of the game’s main chapters and side missions (aka paralogues). I had to carefully plan my strategies before each fight, picking characters that worked well together, swapping around weapons, and preparing items for use. However, the greatest challenge took form through the risky decisions I made during battle.

The first few chapters of Fire Emblem Engage didn’t cause me much trouble, but within a dozen or so hours, the game became more difficult. Each of the game’s twenty-six chapters got progressively harder, with more enemies and regular obstacles that I needed to navigate. I was flooded with an array of factors to juggle—classes, skills, weapons, rings, and counters, just to name a few. The depth of Fire Emblem Engage’s combat pushed me to calculate every move I made.

That’s not to say that I understood that lesson from the start, however. It took me a while to figure out that playing carefully and intelligently helped me progress faster than rushing mindlessly into battle. But, even when I’d make a mistake, Fire Emblem Engage’s time-reverse mechanic allowed me to return to certain moments in battle as many times as I needed, to test out new approaches and try to turn the tide of a previous unwinnable fight. Although it felt like cheating, I found myself relying on time-reverse toward the end of the game, when chapters grew in challenge to near-impossible levels.

Beyond Fire Emblem Engage’s combat and story, I was enticed to spend more time with the game through its assortment of mini-games, like fishing, time trial modes, and wyvern riding. I was also able to develop bonds with each of the characters I met along the way to uncover their backstories, preferences, and more of their personalities—which would later unlock even more dialogue between these characters. Even after smashing through the thirty-five or so hours that it took me to complete the main story, I was amazed to discover how much more I had left to do.

Coming from someone who’s never touched a Fire Emblem game before, Fire Emblem Engage has turned me into a true believer. From the complex combat system to the charming, unique characters that joined me on this journey, Fire Emblem Engage proved itself as one of the best of the best.

SCORE: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

PLAY IF YOU LIKE:

• The Fire Emblem series. If you’ve played any of the other Fire Emblem games before, you’ll likely enjoy this one too.

• Triangle Strategy. If you like Triangle Strategy for its deep combat system, you might like playing Fire Emblem Engage for the same thing.

💬 Will you play Fire Emblem Engage or are you going to pass on it? Tell us in the comments below!

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