[Review] Fire Emblem Engage — A refreshing and delightful entry that brings the fight

The Nintendo Switch has come out swinging in 2023 with the release of Fire Emblem Engage, the latest game in the acclaimed Strategy/RPG franchise. It arrives at a time when Fire Emblem is enjoying its largest audience and greatest commercial success to date, offering another round of challenging tactical combat, deep unit management, and kingdom-wide warfare. Engage is an ambitious entry that successfully tinkers with plenty of the conventions popularized by recent hits like Three Houses and Heroes on mobile devices, but also purposefully returns to Fire Emblem’s roots as it celebrates the series’ illustrious 32 year history. 

Rings to make Middle-earth jealous

Whisking players to the continent of Elyos, Engage has a familiar premise for anyone who has tackled their share of Fire Emblem games in their day. The evil Fell Dragon Sombron has reawakened and has his sights set on conquering the kingdom, with your avatar character, the Divine Dragon Alear, and your allies standing in his way. The lengthy campaign loaded with sprawling battle maps and melodrama comprises a single, definitive story this time around, rather than having branching paths that take you down radically different narrative routes. It’s your typical “good vs evil” high fantasy fare that leaves no mystery whatsoever as to who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys.

Your army will begin as a small, motley bunch, only to swell over the course of the game as more characters automatically join your ranks at regular intervals, eventually reaching a roster of more than 30 different combatants.

That’s not even where your list of allies ends. The land of Elyos has ties to all corners of the Fire Emblem cosmology in the form of Emblem Rings, which summon the spirits of the franchise’s most recognizable heroes. Marth, Ike, Lucina, Corrin, and many more were called upon thousands of years in the past to protect Elyos, and their assistance is needed once again when the Fell Dragon and his forces return. Every canon Fire Emblem game is represented by the squad of famous heroes, bringing a multiverse flair to Engage. Longtime fans may appreciate the nostalgia-filled opportunity to go to battle with all of the franchise’s protagonists in a single adventure, although just how much thrill there is from seeing those returning faces will vary from player to player. The majority of these veteran characters hail from games that predated Fire Emblem’s rise to the mainstream eye, and in some cases, from games that never even saw an international release!

The good news is that the Emblem Rings are far more than just doses of nostalgia. In addition to being divine relics that are central to the game’s story, they are also items that can be equipped to your characters for an edge in battle. Each Emblem Ring offers a slew of different skills, weapon proficiencies, and special attacks to the character holding it. The more that one of your units battles using a ring, the deeper the bond they will form with the Emblem hero within, unlocking further abilities to enhance them.

A character can only wear one ring at a time, however the opportunity is there to acquire skills from the Emblem heroes that your characters aren’t paired with by training with that particular hero in between missions. It’s an unprecedented degree of freedom for skills in a Fire Emblem game, letting you pick and choose which ones you want to assign to specific characters while only asking for a small amount of grinding on the player’s part. If a unit is a bit fragile, it’s the perfect way to add a permanent stat boost to them with Defense+ or Resistance+. Alternatively, you can make an already formidable combatant that much more effective by having them inherit offensive skills like Alacrity, Momentum, or Draconic Hex. Support units who are best suited to healing and buffing their allies have a wide array of options to choose from, as well; any and all unit types are looking at a sheer library of skill choices in Engage.

Perhaps better than the free range of skills is the class and weapon flexibility that the Emblem Rings grant. Each iconic Fire Emblem hero offers a weapon proficiency or two to be learned, creating a seamless means for characters to wield weapons they normally wouldn’t, or flat out couldn’t based on their class. Teaming up with Micaiah can make anyone capable of using staves and adding another healer to your ranks. Meanwhile, if you want one of your melee-focused units to also attack with magic for whatever reason, bonding with Celica can achieve that.

By keeping no weapon proficiency out of reach, Engage opens the door for your characters to access just about any class available in the game, provided they’re at the required level and that you have the necessary Master Seals on hand. Three Houses had the right idea by allowing you to customize your units’ weapon proficiencies and which classes they promoted into — Engage refines that concept to drastically cut down on the tedium involved. The difference in the busywork between tutoring at Garreg Mach Monastery and training with Emblem heroes is night and day.

Engage can confidently tout that it features the single best class and skill management in the whole franchise. The question for Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems is how to replicate this same accessibility and broad array of options in future games should they not bring the Emblem Rings back.

Combat that means serious business

There is no question that Fire Emblem’s tactical combat was the priority during Engage’s production. Beyond everything that the Emblem Rings offer, there are plenty of combat tricks, both new and old, to utilize in battle. The classic Weapon Triangle makes its return after a brief hiatus, but this time it comes with a wrinkle that is the Break mechanic. Should the unit who initiates combat attack with a weapon that has the advantage in the triangle, they can “break” the enemy unit, rendering them unable to counterattack until their next instance of combat. Chain Attack works as an expanded take on the Dual Systems from Awakening and Fates, only without the need for allies to pair up onto one tile, and with even more than two units being able to attack a single target under the right circumstances.

Things get really fun when you tap into the Emblem Rings eponymous Engage mechanic. After a character Engages with the Emblem hero they’re paired with, they gain temporary access to a variety of souped up abilities, weapons, and a unique special attack that’s vastly more powerful than anything else they have at their disposal normally. Of course, the one time limit on Engaging forces you to pick your spots carefully when using them, especially if you can’t get your character to one of the Engage Energy Spaces to recharge any time soon.

You might think that the litany of power-ups and buffs that are available would make Engage too easy, but instead, they’re necessary to keep pace with what is a significant jump in difficulty from recent Fire Emblem games. Even if you play on the Normal difficulty setting, Engage’s missions will keep you on your toes. If you decide to play the game on Hard (or Maddening, for the truly brave) be prepared for numerous encounters that will really test your mettle.

A key reason for the challenge is that your enemies can and will use Engage’s same combat mechanics against you. That means they’re able to gang up and Chain Attack one of your units. This also means that they can Break your characters when they hold the Weapon Triangle advantage. The tried and true tactic of sending a tank character to hold off a group of enemy troops on their own and chip away at their health before your other troops move in for mop up duty is now a little bit harder to pull off.

Engage sports superb map design, with nearly every mission in the back half of the story being a marathon that demands your best effort. Environmental hazards that must be navigated cautiously, and enemy reinforcements that make you adapt on the fly can consistently be counted on to throw a wrench into your initial plans. Bosses at the end of maps are especially formidable, requiring a group effort to wear down. What’s more, some of them will be paired with Emblem Rings and will be more than happy to hurl supercharged Engage attacks your way, too.

A home high in the sky

For those fans who now associate extensive life sim elements with Fire Emblem following what Three Houses brought to the franchise, Engage probably won’t feel quite the same. The emphasis on activity in between battles has decidedly been toned down, but that’s not to say we’re back to a base that’s strictly menus. Engage has you take up shop in a cozy little haven called the Somniel, which sits atop a floating island high among the clouds. The Somniel finds itself in a sweet spot between the My Castle feature of Fates and Garreg Mach Monastery from Three Houses. It’s compact, yet not cramped.

Still, even with ally interaction being scaled back, fans who wish to immerse themselves in the game’s deep mechanics will likely end up spending lots of time within the Somniel’s peaceful confides. The Arena hosts normal training between units, and all of the aforementioned Emblem Ring training. The nearby Ring Chamber is where you’ll choose what specific skills to inherit from said training, along with other fun diversions like polishing Emblem Rings, and forging secondary rings that pay homage to many of the supporting characters from past Fire Emblem tales. You could just as well pour hours upon hours into all of the different battle modes at the Tower of Trials.

Other activities at the Somniel are those you would come to expect: sharing meals with your units at the Cafe Terrace, shopping ‘til you drop at the various merchant stands, strengthening weapons at the smithy, and of course, a good old fashioned round of fishing at the pond. Slightly less expected are attractions like a workout yard, a Wyvern Rider railshooter, and believe it not, a petting zoo.

These activities are solitary tasks for the most part, which leaves very few opportunities for you to build support levels between characters outside of battle. Dining together and giving gifts are about all that comprise the slim list of ways to inch toward that next support conversation within the Somniel, and even the latter isn’t as easy as it may sound. Only a limited number of your units will populate on the Somniel grounds at any given time of day, so if someone is MIA, you have to run upstairs to Alear’s bedroom, sleep so that time passes, and hopefully that missing character will rotate in.

Kick back and enjoy the fun

Turn based strategy games usually aren’t the leading candidates for a video game console’s graphical showcase, but Engage has something to say about that. It’s easily one of the Nintendo Switch’s best looking titles, and far and away the most visually impressive Fire Emblem game ever. Engage is absolutely gorgeous, with vivid, crisp colors and positively sleek combat animations. When a character scores a critical hit, get ready for some real spectacle.

It’s also the most cinematic Fire Emblem game. Even though there that are still plenty of those familiar moments where the characters stand in a circle against a 2D background and chat, there are significantly more action-laden cutscenes than in previous entries, and with a big uptick in dynamic camera work. Engage’s graphics are so stunning that a lot of the cutscenes simply use the in-game character models and environments rather than the CGI animation (although those animated sequences are especially pristine).

The colorful art direction isn’t by accident, because Engage is clearly intended to be a palate cleanser following its predecessor. Where Three Houses had enough lore to fill a textbook and dealt with some incredibly heavy themes, at times being downright tragic, Engage is a relatively upbeat adventure that doesn’t leave the audience contemplating very much. The step away from narrative heft surely won’t be to every fan’s liking, and even the biggest Engage advocate couldn’t deny that there are a few very, very dumb moments throughout the game. In true Fire Emblem fashion, Engage’s plot also becomes needlessly convoluted at one point or two.

Nonetheless, Engage’s shift in tone is a refreshing pivot for the franchise. Not every Fire Emblem tale needs to be bittersweet and provocative. Not every Fire Emblem tale should be bittersweet and provocative. Even with a by the numbers plot, Engage boasts several genuinely dramatic events in the second half of the game, and its final stretch is as thrilling as any fan could ask for.

Similar sentiments can be expressed about Engage’s huge cast of characters. Most are not written to have complicated motivations, a checkered past, or to be grappling with inner conflict, and that’s a-ok for this go around. Their quirky behaviors, ample humor, and altogether unproblematic personalities make them an endearing bunch. Timerra is as vivacious a character as has ever existed in a Fire Emblem title. Fogado is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Clanne and Framme are stupidly adorable when their Divine Dragon fanclub convenes. Alcryst and Celine share wonderful heart to heart exchanges as two members of royalty with vastly different outlooks on life. If some of the C rank support conversations come across as mundane, stay the course and you’re sure to find more than enough that become compelling as they get to B and A rank.

Whether it’s a bit of character development, a major moment where the stakes are raised, a brand new game mechanic, or as often the case, a complete barnburner of a map, Fire Emblem Engage always has something exciting ready for the player at every leg of the journey. That’s an accolade for any game, let alone one as enormous as Engage. Even giving bare minimum attention to the character interactions, unit management, and array of side battles like the Paralogues and Tower of Trials challenges, this is a 35-40 hour undertaking. Anyone eager to take in all that Engage has to offer can anticipate spending much longer in the world of Elyos.

For Fire Emblem fans, that makes the Nintendo Switch home to yet another triumph in this beloved series.

Score: 9.0/10