Fire Emblem Engage Review

I want to start off by saying Fire Emblem Engage isn’t a terrible game. Many people may have varying opinions but here’s my take on it: It’s an “Ok” game. I wouldn’t say it’s awful, but I also wouldn’t say it was the best either. Here’s a spoiler-free review from your Sacramento State KSSU DJ!

The Characters:

If you’re a person who loves playing video games for their characters and doesn’t really play for the gameplay, I recommend playing Engage! This latest entry in the Fire Emblem series isn’t as limited as other titles such as Path of Radiance nor Awakening, but instead, it expands its game mechanics to enable users to “engage” with the cast and create bonds with other characters. By doing so not only do you, the player, develop an understanding of your group mates but also learn more from that specific character.

There are various facilities in the game to help your army members create bonds with each other. It feels more in-depth and interactive than it is in Three Houses if you ask me.

As you progress the story, making bonds is not only important to learn characters’ backstories but it will also give your allies stat boosts when playing the game! A win-win scenario!

Story:

In my opinion, the story is pretty weak and it’s essentially Awakening and Fates merged into one game. Granted, unlike those games, there are new mechanics and skills that make the player think when guiding their army to victory! It’s not a horrible story, however, most of the plot really is just recycled from past Fire Emblem games.

I did think it was going one way but then the game’s story decided to go another direction so I was unclear in the beginning but I’ve gotten used to it. I’m not sure if they did that on purpose to make some sort of callback to past game entries but it really didn’t stick with me as I thought it would. However, there is DLC that will hopefully expand on the story, but it seems that the downloadable content itself will take place in another realm/world.

The story isn’t solid for me, but others may disagree but that’s absolutely ok! Diverse opinions help us understand the good, the bad, and the questionable in the video game community!

Gameplay:

The gameplay is unique as its new mechanic, Engage, provides a stat boost and unique weapons upon activation. From its first-ever hero, Marth, to the newly appointed professor, Byleth, this game is guaranteed to give the player some nostalgic whiplash if they’ve played past entries of this game!

In my gameplay experience, I’ve had more critical hits despite the low chances but had little to no crits happen when my critical hit rate was above 50%. Minor rant aside, the gameplay mechanics aren’t so bad, the game provides the user with unlimited weapon stock, unlike past game titles which are very handy for those having a hard time on saving weapon stock!

Overall:

I enjoyed Engage and definitely recommend it to those wanting to start playing the Fire Emblem series and don’t want to crack the wallet open for their mobile game. Although it has its flaws, it’s not all in bad taste. The new mechanics, the characters, and the Emblem Rings will definitely keep your attention in this wild and colorful world of Fire Emblem Engage! Now all that’s left to do is wait for Diamant to get into Fire Emblem Heroes!

Harrito Andres (DJ Harrito) hosts Kingdom Beats which airs Thursdays from 11 am – 12 pm on KSSU.