Fire Emblem Fire Emblem: Engage

[twilitfalchion]

So the next mainline Fire Emblem game was just announced. Fire Emblem: Engage.

Honestly, it's not at all what I expecting for the series' direction post-Three Houses. It looks like it takes heavy inspiration from games like Fates and Heroes, which is very odd considering (mobile sales aside) Three Houses has been the most commercially successful entry in the series.

I'm hoping that it at least returns to a more traditional style through gameplay if the art direction and story don't. That said, the presence of yet another hub zone and yet another avatar aren't encouraging in that way. The weapon triangle is back though, so here's hoping other aspects of gameplay move in that direction. Too early and too little information to say for sure, of course.

Involving characters from other games as summonable stands spirits is interesting. Not sure how that'll work from a story perspective, but like the rest of the game it'll stay a "wait and see" kinda deal.

Thoughts on what little we've seen so far?

 

[Azure Sage]

I think the art style and quality are gorgeous, but some of those character designs (ESPECIALLY the MC) don't hit too well for me. It looks like Genshin Impact in some ways. Gameplay.... meh, I'm not really a big fan of FE's turn-based combat as it is. I'm glad they're carrying on a hub world, but the avatar thing.... yeah meh.

Not too excited for this one. I feel like I'm gonna skip it.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Meant to add this to the original post, but an interesting something someone made to clear up who each of the heroes in this shot are. A couple weren't clear because seems like they used or were inspired by their Heroes' designs, like for Lucina.

 

[Fraxinus]

oh yeah lucina has the bow that she had as a legendary hero in heroes

thats weird

 

[Woyogoyo]

I get the feeling that I, having only played 3H, Awakening, and a bit of Fates, am going to be very confused during some parts of this game. A bit like I was with Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

having played all but 1 (Shadow Dragon) of the western released games, I'm definitely looking forward to the character fanservice for whatever's happening
though I'm not really crazy about the look, I mean the art style is fine but it has a weird quality to it that made me question if it was even apart of the main series or a spin off game, especially the whole pulling heroes from rings thing which seems very mobile like

it's still on my radar regardless

 

[Azure Sage]

Yea... still completely disinterested in this one. I dunno what it is specifically but nothing about this game is clicking for me.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

Yea... still completely disinterested in this one. I dunno what it is specifically but nothing about this game is clicking for me.

I'll wager the premise and the artsyle? it doesn't feel like the follow up we'd want/expect after Three Houses

 

[Fraxinus]

i mean i guess i felt the same way about three houses when it was shown, teased, and even released. i only ended up getting it cuz a couple friends got it and said it was worth a look cuz the advertizements made it a lot more creepy than it actually was

altho, the characters in this look kind of uh... trash. why do anime girls talk like that

 

[Azure Sage]

Nice to see a rundown of how the jojo stands work mechanically. It seems like it could actually be a deep system. Still not really selling me on the game, though.

 

[A Link In Time]

I'm feeling more excited about this game now than when it was initially announced. It's definitely filled with fan service, but I think that's okay if the core gameplay is there, which I have no doubt will be fun.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Giving proper glow ups to characters that matter.

Engage looks to be probably the wackiest FE experience yet and I'm mostly there for it. Something for everyone, even if it's not the direction I would've expected or chosen for the series.

 

[Azure Sage]

Monastery... 2!

Half this stuff is ripped right out of Three Houses and then they added twice as many minigames that are actual minigames. Waifu Petting 2, gummi ships, Wii Fit, even mario maker... good lord.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Long as the important aspects of the game are good, i.e., story and gameplay, couldn't care less what the side content ends up being. If it's anything like Houses and Hopes, it'll be entirely optional anyway.

 

[Kirino]

I was pretty disappointed at first, since I was hoping the series would continue in the same direction as Three Houses: basically, that it would take itself more seriously and have a more complex plot and worldbuilding. Instead, the story/characters of Engage seems more whimsical and generic, and remind me more of Fates, or even Heroes. The ring feature was also a letdown at the time, since it was hard not to see it as gimmicky fanservice.

That said, it's definitely grown on me. FE gameplay almost never disappoints, and I like what we've seen of it so far. The ring feature looks like it has a lot of gameplay potential, and I can't deny that I'm looking forward to some of the fanservice, especially replaying old maps. While I don't necessarily expect the story/characters to be that well-written, they at least look like they'll be entertaining.

Basically, while it's not quite the direction I wanted the series to go in, I've come to terms with that. I'm still really looking forward to it and I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun.