![]() ![]() (Nintendo)Īlthough “Engage” fixes plenty of the issues with past games, it stumbles when it comes to an important part of “Fire Emblem” games - the narrative and characters. Alear battles the Corrupted in “Fire Emblem Engage,” which features more impressive visuals than before. The developers did an excellent job streamlining the area so that players can quickly shop for gear and do routine upkeep so that they can jump into the next chapter. The floating island plays a similar role to Garreg Mach Monastery in “Three Houses,” but it’s thankfully smaller and easier to navigate. It’s especially rote after battling in the same environment for a third or fourth time.īetween-battle time is spent in Somniel, a base where players can further build relationships, play minigames to temporarily boost stats and manage their allies’ gear. It feels like this part of the campaign is excessive and becomes more of a chore as players harvest resources. ![]() After each fight, players will have a chance to chat with teammates and important characters. While players will spend plenty of hours on the battlefield, they’ll spend just as much time assessing the aftermath and preparing their small army for the next confrontation. Players can build up relationships between characters during the off-battle moments in Somniel in “Fire Emblem Engage.” (Nintendo) If two characters have a strong bond, they’ll help each other out unheeded. They group together allies when attacking in order to build relationships among squadmates and to activate chain attacks. Over the years, the developers have added new weapons and concepts without it becoming too complicated.Įvery unit has a purpose and the best players know how to squeeze the most from each turn-based action. Bows take down flying units and those flying units are strong against magic users, who are also the Achilles heel of armored warriors. ![]() Meanwhile, those long weapons are effective against swords. Swords beat axes while axes dominate spears. When it comes to the tactical combat, series veterans will feel at home with the rock-scissor-paper nature of weapons and units. At times, playing “Engage” feels like watching an anime instead of playing a strategy game. It’s by far the best-looking “Fire Emblem” game, with characters that look hand-drawn at times and environments that appear to seamlessly melt from the overhead perspective to one on the ground that shows actual battles. ![]() “Engage” takes the core gameplay elements that worked over the past decade, and incorporates them into a campaign that’s beautifully rendered. It’s an effort that’s almost like a band’s “best of” album. The constant improvements in the formula couldn’t last forever, and that’s how fans arrive at “Fire Emblem Engage.” The latest chapter in the epic fantasy series is more of a polishing of previous ideas rather than a groundbreaking entry to the series. Intelligent Systems elegantly integrated relationship building into combat in “Awakening” and created complex storylines with distinct paths in “Fates” and shifted the whole formula to a console scale in “Three Houses.” The franchise has honed its distinct storytelling style and tactical role-playing gameplay into a fine edge. After a renaissance that led to leap in popularity, “Fire Emblem” sits at a crossroads. ![]()
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