THE Fire Emblem series remains more popular than ever and several of the games, including the latest one, Fire Emblem Engage, have made their way to the Nintendo Switch.
So, is Fire Emblem Engage worthy of your time? Let’s find out.
Like many games in the series before it, you start off as a character who has no memory of who they are, suffering from some form of amnesia. Things are no different this time around as the game starts off with an epic battle where you are victorious. Jump forward a thousand years when you suddenly awake and it has rejoiced that the Divine Dragon has awoken.
Set in the world of Lythos and in the castle of Elyos, you are introduced to a range of characters from the outset, who are more than excited to see you as they have been looking over you for many years. You’re quickly introduced to your mother and begin to slowly learn of your importance, but not all of it right away.
You’ll soon notice a ring on your finger, which is identified as one of the twelve ‘Emblem Rings’ that are of the utmost importance in protecting the realm.
Not long after the tutorial missions which teach you the basics of the game, your kingdom comes under attack and it is revealed that the Fell Dragon has also awoken and is on a mission to retrieve the rings to assert its hold on conquering the land.
Fire Emblem Engage then introduces you to your companions, all of who are interesting in their own right. Vander, the ever loyal and wise protector, along with Clanne and Framme who are cute, funny and head of the Divine Dragon fan club, are standouts at the beginning. Each has their own skill to assist you on the battlefield.
Companions are plentifule as you start out on many of the early missions in Fire Emblem Engage. Sometimes I felt like it was too many to keep track of as you are then required to choose who to take into battle and juggle their talents as you will want to share the love in hope of not letting them fall behind in the levelling up. As you find your favourites and deploy them, it’s hard to keep everyone satisfied. This can be alleviated by taking part in sidequests, known as “paralogues”, which can introduce you to more allies, as well as unique benefits.
Small scale skirmishes are probably the best area to help develop your underutilised characters to help them level up, or even training them on your safe haven, Somniel.
Somniel is a place where you can, between battles, visit to expand and deepen your bonds with allies and Emblem characters alike. As with previous Fire Emblem games, as you literally fight side by side, the affections of characters will grow, allowing you to deepen them outside of combat with conversations and learn more about them.
That’s not all you can do in Somniel, here you can also cook meals with ingredients you find, buy new gear or enhance them. Even after battle, there are small opportunities to adopt pets found in the aftermath of the battles of Fire Emblem Engage, taking them back to your own farmyard where they will graze and leave resources for you to use.
Combat in Fire Emblem Engage is familiar to returning players but with a huge change – for the better in my opinion.
Weapon durability is no longer an issue as they won’t break after too many uses. This means you don’t need to keep collecting and buying new equipment, nor find yourself in strife on the battlefield if your weapons are to break.
Along with the new ‘Engage’ mechanic where you will merge with your emblem ring companions, it allows you to develop new skills and a way to battle. This is also enhanced by forming bonds and the creation of ‘Bond Rings’
Bond rings are created by locating bond fragments during and after the battle. They will add stat bonuses to your Emblem’s so you don’t need to rely on simply levelling up throughout your 50-plus hours in the game.
As the game progresses in your quest to locate the twelve rings that were shared with the surrounding kingdoms, you will find your enemies have already obtained some of them. This keeps Fire Emblem Engage’s story fresh and keeps you guessing about what will happen in the next mission.
Those familiar with the last game in the series, Fire Emblem: Three Houses will notice that the title takes on more gameplay and less ally management this time around. You no longer spend most of your time back at your base and more time out in the field taking part in epic strategic battles which I will admit, is a lot more engaging (pun intended).
I really enjoyed my time with Fire Emblem Engage as it was a bit more of a return to form of the old Nintendo 3DS days of gameplay.
The story, graphics and voice acting is all top notch, very rarely letting me down or hindering my experience with the game. The developers definitely found the perfect blend of intriguing strategy gameplay and conversations among many interesting characters.
The game rarely outstayed its welcome and I have no issues at all recommending this to the Game on Australia community.
