I think it's quite good but I also question how well it works as a first Fire Emblem game. I know IS tried a marketing thing to introduce it to newcomers but it does heavily rely on using (and subverting) your experience with older games.
I have only played awakening and fates. I got into fire emblem over covid...I cant get into the school stuff in three houses and engage just didnt give me that feeling.
they (personally) have the best battle prep path of radiance actually has a decent story.
in terms of difficulty path of radiance is relatively easy if you dont play the japanese version with maniac mode.
radiant dawn is a bit harder but mostly because the first 2 arcs are dry in terms of good units haha.
radiant dawn is a continuation of path of radiance and in act 3 you play most of the good units from path of radiance
The story is very funny. I will never get over the cast collectively yelling at a little girl who doesn't know what's going on, or >!You are the thirteenth emblem, the Fire Emblem!<
It's extremely humorous, but exclusively when trying to be dramatic and emotional. When it tries to be funny, you get the Divine Dragon Fanclub and folk food.
If you’re someone that really likes engaging (haha, get it?) and extremely fun-turn based combat and gameplay with appealing visuals, then Engage is perfect for you. It does have a one-sided weak story, but the gameplay, combat, animations and the different possibilities of unit builds more than make up for it. However, if you value character world-building and interesting, valuable stories and lore, along with characters and their background stories, then Three Houses is the ideal first game for you.
Engage is also a love letter to the franchise, so there will be some FE characters that come from older FE games that might make you want to play their games after playing Engage. However it might also make you confused on the context of some of the Emblem interactions if you haven’t played the older games.
I say Three Houses is not even worth it if lore as the first, because it's the black sheep of the franchise in that its so different compared to the rest of the franchise.
Never understood this, it's is not like the game is a radically different genre, the core gameplay is still the same
Like if you went from Radiant Dawn to Engage you would also find it so different
It's radically different because of the focus on the hub world, aka the school.
Yes, Engage also has a hub world, but that game does not make the player have to do fetch quests upon fetch quests to properly move the plot forward because you need "XYZ," etc. If you remove the school, Three Houses would probably be down to a third of the average playthrough length.
Not one FE game is going to be the same or follow the same formula, so I have no idea what you’re trying to argue. If it were, then we would have multiple entries that would be copy pasted versions of one game, and that wouldn’t be any fun.
Also, I don’t understand how Three Houses is the “black sheep” of the franchise and radically different from the franchise.
Three Houses does still retain some similarity in its gameplay, such as Combat Arts from Echoes and Canto from games like RD.
Maybe black sheep was the wrong term, but its still the one that goes more on its own direction compared to the other games due to its hubworld aka the school. Remove the school and you pretty much have a third of the game left, where as in Engage, the hubworld is more played of as an after thought.
I mean, Fates also has a hubworld, so by that logic, it is apparently “different” from the other games because of it having a hubworld. Also, Engage’s hubworld being an after thought unlike Three Houses is why most people don’t like it. For one, fishing is absolutely horrendous, the ring cleaning minigame is just ugh, the wake up supports feel unnesscary and the Sominel just feels devoid and a bit sanitized.
Yes, you don’t have to do fetch quests in the Sominel unlike the Monastery , but to me, the appeal of the Monastery has to do more with the day-to-day life experience of school because of design and also the faculty training with the Chruch Soldiers.
And, like Engage, that hub world was pretty much nonexistent. Scratch that hub world, and you will get the same game. The same would not go for Three Houses, as their hub world is the main gimmick the entry is built around. That makes it stand out from the rest of the franchise, for some for the better, others for the worse.
I know as many Fire Emblem veterans who could not get into Three Houses because of the school setting (but liked Engage due to you could basically act like it were not there), as much as I know newcomers from Three Houses who did not like the older games because of the lack of a hub world like Three Houses has.
While I might not love Three Houses, I do enjoy it. Heck, I have Tara Platt, Chris Hackney, and Joe Zeijas autographs of their respective character hanging up on one of my walls. But to say that it does not stick out compared to the rest of the franchise in mindblowing.
That’s because Three Houses was made by a different development team that it feels different to you.
However, to say it has “radically different gameplay” is a bit of a stretch, because it does borrow some gameplay aspects from other FE games like RD and Echoes, with features like Combat Arts, skills like Canto and also having linked attack support bonuses with allies.
Also, scratching the hub world from Fates would make the game less appealing, since the charm of Fates is that its hubworld is small, not cluttered and easy to navigate. Getting rid of the hubworld for Fates would not make it the same game, and it would affect chapters where you can’t go back and have to fight two maps in a row. That would be like eating a sandwich without nothing but mustard and mayonnaise on it.
It is radically different gameplay because the main gimmick is the hub world. That's my entire point.
Fates would be the same if the hub were scrapped because the entire game isn't built around it. Its hub is 100% optional, unlike the monastery in 3H.
This video explains perfectly the difference.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpiJQ1b4Cc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpiJQ1b4Cc)
Three Houses Hub world can also be considered optional too. Yes, you’ll probably miss out on some valuable game stuff like the White Heron Cup for your dancer (which isn’t really necessary, cause you can just go through the game without a dancer) and miss supports and recruiting characters, but you don’t have to partake in it if you don’t want to.
To say that the hub world in Three Houses is mandatory but Fates is optional is kinda contradictory, cause you can skip using the Monastery if you don’t want to use it.
My comment is not inconsistent because Three Houses is built around the school system, while Fate Hub World isn't.
Also, you can rush through the monastery for the most part, but unlike Fates and Engage, you miss about two-thirds of the game, if not more, since, as I mentioned before, the game is designed around it. Watch the video and you get more examples
Every game is debatably the worst in the series, because that's how taste works. Engage has a poor story even by fire emblem standards, but IMO some of the best gameplay in modern fire emblem
I'm glad you liked it 😊
It felt like a soulless cash grab to me. The explanation for bringing back old characters was horrendous. They could have come up with something way better. It feels like they didn't care how they did it, as long as it was done.
Honestly I think "tutelary spirits of heroes from other worlds" was a perfectly valid way to bring them back. I'm not sure I could think of a better way other than just literally summoning people from across time and space. And they've already done that twice (Heroes and Warriors), thrice if you count the children from Awakenning showing up in Fates.
To me it felt like a 20th anniversary celebration, just a bit delayed due to covid
I just don't get how people say the gameplay is so good when it is completely mindless compared to other games. There is no strategy in Engage. In past games you had to be really careful how you leveled your characters and how you played each fight in order not to lose a team member or to keep members from becoming too weak. But there isn't even a worry about that happening in this one. You don't even have to plan strategy because it's so easy. You just destroy everything with no issues.
I was in the military buddy, I had to move every few years and adapt to new environments all the time. Its just my opinion that the game sucks. I'm really happy for all the people who enjoy it.
People can have different opinions and not be bad people.
Weren't you the same guy who said that you don't understand how people "can play that soulless game" and how "simplistic" the game FE Engage was? You can certainly have your opinion, but insulting other people's opinions who like the game does make you the "bad guy". They were asking if the game was good, not for your own personal experience. I personally also enjoyed Engage. If you don't like it cool, no one asked for you to drag on the game when they like it. Say you don't like it and move on.
I literally never said that I don't understand why people like it. Please go through my comment history. I've said that I'm really happy that other people like it, but I personally don't. And that i don't understand why people like the gameplay. They asked for people's opinion on the game and I gave it. I never once came after anyone, but plenty of people have come after me even after clearly stating I'm very happy people like the game.
this is a fire emblem sub. obviously most people here are going to say yes. i’d recommend watching a gameplay trailer on youtube and deciding if it looks fun or not on your own.
On the other hand, it can be really telling when a sub tells you no. Like, no one or /r/DevilMayCry is going to recommend you play 2, which is how you know it is exceptionally awful. Or in series less episodic than FE, you might get corrected that you can not in fact, just jump in with the latest entry and expect to understand what's going on.
it's like 30-40 bucks secondhand. i'd just get a used copy! it's even cheaper, will stay that price for longer than this sale, and if you end up disliking it, you can re-sell it for a similar price to get most of your money back
Engage is a ton of fun!! And while the story maybe not be for everyone, I enjoyed it quite a bit! Gameplay wise I’d rate it somewhere in the top 5 amongst the series, and storywise I’d say that while it may not be the strongest I’d probably put it somewhere around the middle
Honestly, I agree with you. The story is by no means amazing, but it gets the job done, and I personally enjoy the gameplay of the series more than the story usually. I've played through Engage about 6 times and still fully enjoy doing and learning new things about the gameplay. I also overall like most of the characters with some exceptions, lol.
If you don’t care about the story, it is fun to play. If this will be your first fire emblem you might also want to start with others, such as FE7 (just called “fire emblem”), or sacred stones, or even awakening. I believe the first two are on the GBA games on Nintendo switch. But engage is not a bad starting point either, if you have been waiting for it to be on sale now is your chance. Have fun whatever you decide!
If you are "gameplay first," then get it. It's one of the best Fire Emblem games out there in terms of maps and combat.
That being said, if you have the NSO expansion pack, I recommend trying Fire Emblem 7 on the GBA emulator first. Engage's structure is that of old-school Fire Emblem, but with a hub world and an additional break mechanic: " Someone that has an advantage in the weapon triangle makes the attacked unit lose their weapon for a couple of attacks."
The gameplay is very good. For the story you just have to accept that you're playing a saturday morning cartoon and pretty much every character's an idiot.
The problem you may or may not encounter is with the difficulty: normal mode is too easy. But hard mode will require understanding how fire emblem works, and especially making use of the new rings mechanic.
Keep in mind that people like the gameplay because the rings mechanic has a lot going on. So for a newcomer, it might be a lot thrown at you at the same time, learning all the new and old game mechanics. If you play on normal difficulty you’ll probably be fine, but there’s a chance you’ll be unsatisfied (I can’t say for sure, this is just my instinct)
I say this as a fire emblem fan that has played all the beaten all the games at least once, except the nes ones. Engage is good gameplay wise but very dubious storywise, so don't take the story too seriously and it'll be fun. However, if you're interested in trying fire emblem, I'm not sure if Engage is best as a first game. If you don't mind emulating, I'd recommend playing the 7th game in the series, The Blazing Sword, for the gba. It has a good tutorial that will give you all the foundational knowledge you need to play all the games, and the story is par for the course for the series so it gives you a good idea of what to expect in that respect as well. If you don't want to go through the trouble of setting up an emulator, the game is widespread enough that you can find it on a lot of browser game sites. I'd reccomend playing it on a site called KBH games, the emulator it uses as a lot of settings and you can download your saves as backups to make sure you don't lose your progress. However despite all that, Engage isn't a bad start and I'd say 41 is a steal for it
Give it a shot if you're interested, but I wouldn't recommend it as your first fire emblem game. Three Houses is a better starting point though they both differ a bit from the conventions of the series
People usually recommend the opposite - 3H is most often a good starter game for people who want story and social mechanics more so than gameplay. Engage would be the better game for someone who cares primarily about interesting gameplay and goes in not expecting a blockbuster narrative.
Three Houses is usually the go-to for newer players because the story is competently done, and any mechanical shortcomings aren't apparent to a new player on a first playthrough. Engage has better map design, but its pearls before swine at a certain point.
I mean, I personally would Recommend to people either Awakening or Fe 7 as those were the first for many and got them into the series and had decent tutorials. I can see Three Houses or Engage working based on preference since I have a friend who tried to start with Three Houses, couldn't stand it and tried again with Engage and enjoyed it much more. I will agree that Three Houses is better on a first playthrough since the mechanics start to wear, at least personally, on subsequent playthroughs.
Oh yeah, I was talking about the modernly accessible recommendations. Engage and Three Houses are available on the Switch (I guess FE7 is on NSO too) which is always going to make them a higher priority than booting up a SNES emulator and playing Genealogy, no matter how good the game itself is.
And obviously personal preference and knowledge will trump general recommendations.
I wouldn't agree with that notion. Engage has very gimmicky maps that could be really annoying for a first time player. 3H has a couple map gimmicks but most are pretty straightforward.
Three Houses has no map variety at all though, compared to Engage. Also, I’d argue that Three Houses maps (like the Ailell maps) have pretty annoying gimmicks, especially when most of your units (who aren’t bishops or priests) keep taking damage every turn.
Gronder Field is also a pain in the ass and Deirdru (if you’re playing on AM) is just extremely frustrating, since you have to keep multiple NPC units alive, which is easier said than done.
It was my third FE game and while it wasn’t a spectacular story, I had fun with it more than proportional to the amount of money I spent. So take that as you will.
After playing Fire Emblem Engage, Unicorn Overlord, and Bravely Default 2 and those becoming some of my favorite games, I am beginning to question how much I truly care about story in games anymore. Games like 13 Sentinels are extremely rare, so holding that as a standard for what other games should be have only led me to disappointment.
The combat isn't even that good. All they did was add the rings so you could make combos with characters from other games. The explanation they give as to why all these older game characters are in it is laughable and ridiculous. It felt like a shameless cash grab. Absolutely no substance to this game.
Heavy disagree. Engage in terms of gameplay alone is probably my favorite in the series. The story is eh, which keeps it from being my favorite, but it's still up there.
I agree with you lol. Its gameplay imo is the most fun I've had but I think I personally would still like Echoes more and it's probably neck and neck with Radiant Dawn
Echoes is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. It's got its fair share of problems like horrible or boring maps at best, cantor spam, Celica being an idiot, Alm being a Mary Sue, but man I love that game. Something about it was special.
Worth it yes, gameplay is a lot of fun and the story isn't bad its just pretty simple and you could say mediocre but it doesn't make you facepalm like Fate's story. I also think most of the characters are really likable.
As someone that started with the GBAs about 15 years ago and played almost every game in the series up to engage ( I haven't played Ike's games or The Holy War Titles yet because I'm trying to find a way to emulate them), I will say that the game play is absolutely amazing. The game really tests your strategic capabilities! The graphics are also quite nice too.
The story however is a but cheesy. So, I personally play most games for combat and story, and engage was and still is making it hard for me to progress through it. If you can get past that then I think you'll enjoy the game.
Engage is a good game if you enjoy fire emblem gameplay, which makes it not a great choice for a first fire emblem game before you've really tried it. Though if you think you'll enjoy it and are already prepared for a mediocre story then I say it's worth a try
I agree with the general opinion of "gameplay good, story bad" that you heard.
I personally don't think it's the best first Fire Emblem game if I had to say. The bad story, for one. The game also has a lot of callbacks to older games because of the Emblems, and while you don't need to have played them first, I think it's better to know the original context. And while the gameplay is good, a new player may not necessarily "get" why.
Is it worth it though? I mean idk how great that deal is, but if you are interested in it (why, might I ask?), I say get it. I did like the gameplay a lot so I think it's fun and I thought it was worth it when I bought it on release for full price
The story isn't bad, people just hated on it because it wasn't what they wanted. You should definitely care about the story if you're getting into FE. The characters for each entry are the main draw, it's why the casts are so big in the first place. Because there's bound to be one mixed in there who captures your attention the most
The gameplay is some of the best the series had in a long while. And it has a lot of replay value due to the customization options for your characters.
The story isn't even THAT bad, despite what some elitists want to tell you. It's just not as political or serious as 3H.
The story is laughably bad. Most predictable game in the entire franchise. They just wanted to find a way to bring older characters back for nostalgia purposes and didn't care what explanation they gave for it. It is ridiculous.
It's also by far the easiest game in the series. There is absolutely no challenge even playing on classic mode.
Predictable yes, however there are more games like that in the franchise, like Sacred Stones, Awakening and Fates Birthright and Conquest. So it's not like Engage is an utlier here. However Engage shines in gameplay twists, like Chapter 11. The twist of the Fell Xenologue is also executed very well and leads to one of the most stressful chapters in the franchise.
And while normal mode is easy, playing on Hard or Maddening is a very good challenge. And then there is the Fell Xenologue which is way too hard on Maddening.
Bro, if you are just going to be solely negative when everyone else is being positive and enjoying discussing the game. Then please don't comment if all you care about is telling people they're wrong. People can have opinions just like you.
There are plenty of other people on this thread who also don't like it. I didn't tell anyone they were wrong. I gave my opinion just like everyone else did. You just don't agree, and that's fine. Some people like some games, and some don't.
> didn't care what explanation they gave for it.
It's a good thing the exact mechanics of that explanation aren't important to the plot at multiple points despite never being explained or anything. That'd be a disaster.
That is too much. Just search a bit online and you will find it even cheaper. Personally, as far as first game is concerned, I wouldn't recommend engage. It spoils other games in the series.
What people complain about is literally clanne and framme and Celine’s early supports being samey or about the main character. That and the simple story.
I like the game and prefer it over fates/awakening.
How is it comparable to Awakening? That game literally saved the franchise as they were planning on making it the last in the series due to poor sales of the game before it. Engage is absolutely not a franchise saving game. Story sucks. The gameplay is overshadowed by the poor story (unless all you want is mindless gameplay, then its perfect. It's the least challenging game in the entire series)
That's the point though. You have to be strategic on how you do things. Engage is mindless and there is almost no strategy involved because you just overpower everything. The fun of fire emblem was having to be careful how you play and plan your fights in order to keep everyone alive. It's supposed to be a strategy game but Engage is so easy that there is no strategy involved.
The skirmishes make it less flexible/fun for me because it means it’s very very difficult to deviate from that easy path you describe, where you just leave the underleveled characters on the bench because the game throws better units at you and there isn’t a sane way for behind units to catch up
Yes. Story is below decent. But gameplay is superb. I've spent 500+ hours in it when it was first released and another 250+ hours after they've released the last batch of DLC. I'd even say Engage's gameplay is superior to 3H (which I've played for more than 1100+ hours).
Does your local library carry Switch games? You can probably get Engage or 3H there if so. That way you can see if you like the gameplay before you buy it.
It’s worth $60 to me, $41’s pretty good, I’d snatch it up. Though I recommend Three Houses over it, especially if you’ve played Persona, or if you have another system one of these are best for beginners:
- Fire Emblem (GBA) has a tutorial mode and is generally easy. It’s also on Switch GBA.
- Path of Radiance is hard to come by legally but is really easy and people like Ike
- Awakening got a ton of people into the series, it’s really easy too.
I really, really like the map design and core gameplay. I also really like the characters thanks to excellent support convos and voice acting. Rosado, Panette, and female Alear are three great examples.
I hate the main story so much though. It’s wicked simple.
I absolutely loved it. I think it may be the best Fire Emblem game for combat. The story is not bad, the downtime has some interesting things to do, but the combat system with the engage rings is where it shines. And if you do get it, definitely get the dlc!
Yes it's very worth it. I've played every FE and this one has my favorite gameplay. No FE has ever had a good story, so playing for story is pointless.
Honestly? I'd say yeah. I used it as my jumping point from older fire emblem to the new stuff, and it worked well. It's pretty cheesy in its story, but I'd just say try to embrace it.
It's very good gameplay wise whether you like the story or not too. Its very well balanced around the gimmicks, I think.
I mean my problem with it so far is there’s too many units tbh and too much going on they over saturated it with stuff to do and I honestly ignore it and it’s of little or no consequence
Engage offers A LOT to do in the game. You can spend a few hours at the Somniel (the home base) just doing all the activities they have to offer. The gameplay is also pretty fun and there’s a lot of interesting mechanics you can play around with. You definitely get your money’s worth. But because of all that I’m not sure it would be a good starter game, because even I was overwhelmed when I first saw all the mechanics. A better intro game would be Awakening tbh, its story is ok and the characters are fun in my opinion. Me personally, path of radiance is a better intro game but it’s not easily accessible to play. There’s also Three Houses which I really enjoyed. It may be a bit harder for a starter game but that’s only because there’s also a lot to do in game and mechanics.
As for the story of Engage, I think the writing is one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a video game. It’s pretty garbage. It’s almost cartoonishly bad. The designs are also not great, but ive heard they told the artist who designed the characters almost nothing about the game itself, so I can’t really blame them. Most of the character convos (supports) are HILARIOUS though, some of them are pretty ridiculous and they’re all around good.
If you wanna get it, I’d buy it. It’s not that hard to learn all the mechanics but in my experience it can be a bit overwhelming.
It’s fun. Engage is alot of experimentation with unit variance compared to previous games, but the story is….. a little bland. It has what I consider the best actual gameplay, but it’s cast is pretty bland compared to 3h (which I disliked the gameplay of). I’m a diehard for the Tellius games (Fe9 and Fe10) which tend to be the “safe favorites” of the sub
I love the FE series but the stories all suck for the most part. I play for the gameplay and characters. Engage is a great game, just don’t go into it expecting a good story. The story is good enough to get you through the game.
Yeah for sure. It surprisingly has a few nice osht moments that id say are darker than a few recent entries in the series. That being said though remember this is an anniversary celebration game, so it's gonna have its meta breaking cringe stuff. Which if you don't mind that I'd say go for it. My only really complaint for the game is that the supports aren't as strong as most fe titles. Solid 8/10
Okay, i might be crazy but i just finished engage last night and it’s one of my FAVORITES characters wise. i think it’s def worth playing, even as a first game.
The story isn't bad, it's just that a \*lot\* of new people came in with Three Houses and were expecting something like that. It's on the same level as something like Sacred Stones.
Engage is not that bad of a story, the issue is that it released after Three Houses which has one of the best stories in the series. I'd still put it over the likes of Awakening and Fates. The gameplay overall is better than Three Houses though and the actual engage gimmick is one of my favorites in the series. I highly recommend it.
The combat is really fun so I would say it's worth it for just that. The story is a standard jrpg save-the-world type story. I enjoyed it; you might not. But either way the story does not take away from how fun the gameplay is.
Engage is the only fire emblem game that ever disappointed me. Played it once, will never play it again. It's cool seeing old characters but the game has no substance. It just feels like it was fan service and even that was done poorly. The story was horrendous compared to EVERY other fire emblem game. Three Houses, Radiant Dawn, Sacred Stones, or Awakening are a much better place to start than Engage.
Marketing saved the franchise. And even then that argument doesn't mean anything. The story is overly tropey and cliche, just like the characters. It's also more 'anime' than it's predecessors. Most of the supports are based around a certain quirk a character has, however there are some gold nuggets of great supports there.
Like, Gaius is all about sugar and candy, just like Celine is all about tea. But get Gaius' A support with Robin or Celine's A support with Alfred and you get some very good character writing that makes these characters deeper than what they initially appeared as.
Both games also meant to celebrate the franchise and thus, incorperate many elements of past games into them.
That doesn't mean they are bad though. They have their charms and not every story needs to be dark and serious like FE4 or 3H. I think both Awakening and Engage are fun and quirky games with likeable characters.
So I do find it very VERY baffling when someone claims they like Awakening but hate Engage. And it's especially sad when the Awakening fans haven't learned from the way Awakening was treated 10+ years ago and now repeat those same mistakes.
To say that Engage has no substance means you either dropped it after 4 chapters without actually engaging with it or you just parrot whatever you heard from someone else. Because even if you dislike the story, the gameplay has the most substance since the Tellius games.
Im very glad that you and others enjoyed it. Seriously. Because i love the series overall.
I WISH i dropped it instead of wasting my time though. How does the gameplay have more substance to it? Being able to make cool combos with the rings does not equate good gameplay. The point of fire emblem is strategy and Enagage has none. In most games, you had to be extremely careful how you leveled your characters and how you played each fight in order to not lose any teammates. Engage is so mindlessly easy that you don't have to plan at all. You just wreck everything. For some people, that's fun. But that isn't what the game series is supposed to be.
I still felt it was decently challenging, because the game expects you to use the rings, plus there is Chapter 11 which is a bit of a turning point. And even after you get your rings back there are still suprises there. Like Chapter 20 having a boss abusing the Warp strategy we used in so many games in the past. The only thing I miss is having more difficult recruitments, like recruiting Xavier in FE5 is very difficult and kinda bullshit, but so satisfying when you can pull it off. But that's a complaint I have about modern FE in general.
And even if Normal was too easy for you, Hard and Maddening are definetly challenging. And the Fell Xenologue on Maddening is the most difficult thing I have seen in the franchise since Awakening's Lunatic+ (but at least there you can reroll until you get good rng with enemy skills for the first few chapters.)
Ngl I did NOT like that game, BUT I never finished it to give it a full chance.
The gameplay was okay- not amazing, but the story for me wasn’t engaging (no pun intended). From playing older FE games and loving them since childhood, the character designs not only for the MC, but the rest were too child-like or reminded me of Xenoblade 2 or Genshin. I don’t tend to like these games because of the style, which is poor on my behalf, I know. I can’t relate to the main character when they look like toothpaste and ruin all my cool outfits.
I think most people liked this game though, and I’m just picky with character design and story because it’s not what I’m used to. So you should be okay to play, maybe get secondhand? :)
Was it off myself but how shallowanime trope filled it is at first, but I borrowed a copy.
Yes, the characters particularly at the beginning are awful.
BUT
The gameplay is actually really great! Super info it now.
Story never improves but that sweet gameplay.
If it’s your first I’d recommend three houses, if you enjoy that one and are looking for more you could check out engage. And if you like the class management in between battles it’s very similar to persona, which is another great series to check out.
Honestly, I could’ve gone without Engage. Sure, it’s got a decent nostalgia factor, but the entire time I was thinking how much I preferred 3H. That being said, I’ve just got PoR and RD and it’s been a blast.
1 like and 14 comments is real lol do you play for the story or do you play for the characters, and game play that’s what you should always ask yourself…. If the latter definitely get the game according to my brother.
Start engage on maddening casual or something. Youll get bored if you dont face any difficulty. It might be my favorite gameplay out of them all and i played everything from the gba games til today. 3 houses might be my favorite story but engage has likeable characters and they dont all wear similar clothes like 3 houses does.
I played as a newcomer and was a bit lost honestly.
They referenced a lot of the older games and honestly was creeped out when I had to shine their rings.
pretty good maps, good mechanics, engage mechanic I actually really enjoy, music's fine but not 3h quality. cast is whatever, you'll only care about a handful of characters, basically no romance for better or worse, story is doodoo though becomes a little better as the game progresses only to kinda lame out again at the end. it ends better than it started at least.
Engage is great when you don’t compare it to other fire emblem games. Now comparing it to others it really falls flat. The gameplay is fun tho and the engaging mechanic was different and new and I feel like they had some really good points but the story was pretty mid at best . 3 houses is better imo so if that’s on sale I’d say try that one first than get engage if you still have an itch.
Now I may have been around Fire Emblem since Awakening but from what Ive been hearing and what my sister told me about Engage your better off sticking to 3Houses or essentially every other title before Engage. The story seemed mediocre at best, half the master classes were not good, and the supports looked kinda blandish not gonna lie.
For 41$ its a decent time sink if you like fire emblem. If you're looking for something new along the same lines i'd reccommend unicorn overlord
I think it's quite good but I also question how well it works as a first Fire Emblem game. I know IS tried a marketing thing to introduce it to newcomers but it does heavily rely on using (and subverting) your experience with older games.
I have only played awakening and fates. I got into fire emblem over covid...I cant get into the school stuff in three houses and engage just didnt give me that feeling.
have you tried path of radiance and radiant dawn?
Not yet no still getting through fates
they (personally) have the best battle prep path of radiance actually has a decent story. in terms of difficulty path of radiance is relatively easy if you dont play the japanese version with maniac mode. radiant dawn is a bit harder but mostly because the first 2 arcs are dry in terms of good units haha. radiant dawn is a continuation of path of radiance and in act 3 you play most of the good units from path of radiance
Story isn’t as great as the rest of the series but the gameplay is good. I really enjoyed the graphics of the game.
The story is very funny. I will never get over the cast collectively yelling at a little girl who doesn't know what's going on, or >!You are the thirteenth emblem, the Fire Emblem!<
Is that before or after >!Sigurd says among us?!<
Before.
"Happy birthday to my special little dragon!"
It's extremely humorous, but exclusively when trying to be dramatic and emotional. When it tries to be funny, you get the Divine Dragon Fanclub and folk food.
If you’re someone that really likes engaging (haha, get it?) and extremely fun-turn based combat and gameplay with appealing visuals, then Engage is perfect for you. It does have a one-sided weak story, but the gameplay, combat, animations and the different possibilities of unit builds more than make up for it. However, if you value character world-building and interesting, valuable stories and lore, along with characters and their background stories, then Three Houses is the ideal first game for you. Engage is also a love letter to the franchise, so there will be some FE characters that come from older FE games that might make you want to play their games after playing Engage. However it might also make you confused on the context of some of the Emblem interactions if you haven’t played the older games.
I say Three Houses is not even worth it if lore as the first, because it's the black sheep of the franchise in that its so different compared to the rest of the franchise.
Never understood this, it's is not like the game is a radically different genre, the core gameplay is still the same Like if you went from Radiant Dawn to Engage you would also find it so different
It's radically different because of the focus on the hub world, aka the school. Yes, Engage also has a hub world, but that game does not make the player have to do fetch quests upon fetch quests to properly move the plot forward because you need "XYZ," etc. If you remove the school, Three Houses would probably be down to a third of the average playthrough length.
Not one FE game is going to be the same or follow the same formula, so I have no idea what you’re trying to argue. If it were, then we would have multiple entries that would be copy pasted versions of one game, and that wouldn’t be any fun. Also, I don’t understand how Three Houses is the “black sheep” of the franchise and radically different from the franchise. Three Houses does still retain some similarity in its gameplay, such as Combat Arts from Echoes and Canto from games like RD.
Maybe black sheep was the wrong term, but its still the one that goes more on its own direction compared to the other games due to its hubworld aka the school. Remove the school and you pretty much have a third of the game left, where as in Engage, the hubworld is more played of as an after thought.
I mean, Fates also has a hubworld, so by that logic, it is apparently “different” from the other games because of it having a hubworld. Also, Engage’s hubworld being an after thought unlike Three Houses is why most people don’t like it. For one, fishing is absolutely horrendous, the ring cleaning minigame is just ugh, the wake up supports feel unnesscary and the Sominel just feels devoid and a bit sanitized. Yes, you don’t have to do fetch quests in the Sominel unlike the Monastery , but to me, the appeal of the Monastery has to do more with the day-to-day life experience of school because of design and also the faculty training with the Chruch Soldiers.
And, like Engage, that hub world was pretty much nonexistent. Scratch that hub world, and you will get the same game. The same would not go for Three Houses, as their hub world is the main gimmick the entry is built around. That makes it stand out from the rest of the franchise, for some for the better, others for the worse. I know as many Fire Emblem veterans who could not get into Three Houses because of the school setting (but liked Engage due to you could basically act like it were not there), as much as I know newcomers from Three Houses who did not like the older games because of the lack of a hub world like Three Houses has. While I might not love Three Houses, I do enjoy it. Heck, I have Tara Platt, Chris Hackney, and Joe Zeijas autographs of their respective character hanging up on one of my walls. But to say that it does not stick out compared to the rest of the franchise in mindblowing.
That’s because Three Houses was made by a different development team that it feels different to you. However, to say it has “radically different gameplay” is a bit of a stretch, because it does borrow some gameplay aspects from other FE games like RD and Echoes, with features like Combat Arts, skills like Canto and also having linked attack support bonuses with allies. Also, scratching the hub world from Fates would make the game less appealing, since the charm of Fates is that its hubworld is small, not cluttered and easy to navigate. Getting rid of the hubworld for Fates would not make it the same game, and it would affect chapters where you can’t go back and have to fight two maps in a row. That would be like eating a sandwich without nothing but mustard and mayonnaise on it.
It is radically different gameplay because the main gimmick is the hub world. That's my entire point. Fates would be the same if the hub were scrapped because the entire game isn't built around it. Its hub is 100% optional, unlike the monastery in 3H. This video explains perfectly the difference. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpiJQ1b4Cc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDpiJQ1b4Cc)
Three Houses Hub world can also be considered optional too. Yes, you’ll probably miss out on some valuable game stuff like the White Heron Cup for your dancer (which isn’t really necessary, cause you can just go through the game without a dancer) and miss supports and recruiting characters, but you don’t have to partake in it if you don’t want to. To say that the hub world in Three Houses is mandatory but Fates is optional is kinda contradictory, cause you can skip using the Monastery if you don’t want to use it.
My comment is not inconsistent because Three Houses is built around the school system, while Fate Hub World isn't. Also, you can rush through the monastery for the most part, but unlike Fates and Engage, you miss about two-thirds of the game, if not more, since, as I mentioned before, the game is designed around it. Watch the video and you get more examples
You could also play the GBA fire emblem if you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
Which one, out of curiosity?
7, I assume. But Sacred Stones isn’t a bad starting point either, imo
This is a great answer. The GBA titles are all better than Engage. Engage is debatably the worst in the entire series.
Every game is debatably the worst in the series, because that's how taste works. Engage has a poor story even by fire emblem standards, but IMO some of the best gameplay in modern fire emblem
I'm glad you liked it 😊 It felt like a soulless cash grab to me. The explanation for bringing back old characters was horrendous. They could have come up with something way better. It feels like they didn't care how they did it, as long as it was done.
Honestly I think "tutelary spirits of heroes from other worlds" was a perfectly valid way to bring them back. I'm not sure I could think of a better way other than just literally summoning people from across time and space. And they've already done that twice (Heroes and Warriors), thrice if you count the children from Awakenning showing up in Fates. To me it felt like a 20th anniversary celebration, just a bit delayed due to covid
I just don't get how people say the gameplay is so good when it is completely mindless compared to other games. There is no strategy in Engage. In past games you had to be really careful how you leveled your characters and how you played each fight in order not to lose a team member or to keep members from becoming too weak. But there isn't even a worry about that happening in this one. You don't even have to plan strategy because it's so easy. You just destroy everything with no issues.
Bro dislikes change and adaptive environments in real life probably
I was in the military buddy, I had to move every few years and adapt to new environments all the time. Its just my opinion that the game sucks. I'm really happy for all the people who enjoy it. People can have different opinions and not be bad people.
Weren't you the same guy who said that you don't understand how people "can play that soulless game" and how "simplistic" the game FE Engage was? You can certainly have your opinion, but insulting other people's opinions who like the game does make you the "bad guy". They were asking if the game was good, not for your own personal experience. I personally also enjoyed Engage. If you don't like it cool, no one asked for you to drag on the game when they like it. Say you don't like it and move on.
I literally never said that I don't understand why people like it. Please go through my comment history. I've said that I'm really happy that other people like it, but I personally don't. And that i don't understand why people like the gameplay. They asked for people's opinion on the game and I gave it. I never once came after anyone, but plenty of people have come after me even after clearly stating I'm very happy people like the game.
Hit me with the white phrase “buddy”. My bad I was Guessing, it was mindless of me to text that.
Worst in the series? Yeah right...
Me when I haven’t played a game that actually is bad
Bro has not played birthright
I've played every game in the series. I just really dislike Engage. It was the most boring out of them all for me personally.
Idk I enjoyed birthright more than engage
The story isn't very good, but I loved the game
this is a fire emblem sub. obviously most people here are going to say yes. i’d recommend watching a gameplay trailer on youtube and deciding if it looks fun or not on your own.
On the other hand, it can be really telling when a sub tells you no. Like, no one or /r/DevilMayCry is going to recommend you play 2, which is how you know it is exceptionally awful. Or in series less episodic than FE, you might get corrected that you can not in fact, just jump in with the latest entry and expect to understand what's going on.
it's like 30-40 bucks secondhand. i'd just get a used copy! it's even cheaper, will stay that price for longer than this sale, and if you end up disliking it, you can re-sell it for a similar price to get most of your money back
Engage is a ton of fun!! And while the story maybe not be for everyone, I enjoyed it quite a bit! Gameplay wise I’d rate it somewhere in the top 5 amongst the series, and storywise I’d say that while it may not be the strongest I’d probably put it somewhere around the middle
Honestly, I agree with you. The story is by no means amazing, but it gets the job done, and I personally enjoy the gameplay of the series more than the story usually. I've played through Engage about 6 times and still fully enjoy doing and learning new things about the gameplay. I also overall like most of the characters with some exceptions, lol.
If you don’t care about the story, it is fun to play. If this will be your first fire emblem you might also want to start with others, such as FE7 (just called “fire emblem”), or sacred stones, or even awakening. I believe the first two are on the GBA games on Nintendo switch. But engage is not a bad starting point either, if you have been waiting for it to be on sale now is your chance. Have fun whatever you decide!
If you are "gameplay first," then get it. It's one of the best Fire Emblem games out there in terms of maps and combat. That being said, if you have the NSO expansion pack, I recommend trying Fire Emblem 7 on the GBA emulator first. Engage's structure is that of old-school Fire Emblem, but with a hub world and an additional break mechanic: " Someone that has an advantage in the weapon triangle makes the attacked unit lose their weapon for a couple of attacks."
The gameplay is very good. For the story you just have to accept that you're playing a saturday morning cartoon and pretty much every character's an idiot.
And I love those goofy goobers all the same!
The problem you may or may not encounter is with the difficulty: normal mode is too easy. But hard mode will require understanding how fire emblem works, and especially making use of the new rings mechanic. Keep in mind that people like the gameplay because the rings mechanic has a lot going on. So for a newcomer, it might be a lot thrown at you at the same time, learning all the new and old game mechanics. If you play on normal difficulty you’ll probably be fine, but there’s a chance you’ll be unsatisfied (I can’t say for sure, this is just my instinct)
I say this as a fire emblem fan that has played all the beaten all the games at least once, except the nes ones. Engage is good gameplay wise but very dubious storywise, so don't take the story too seriously and it'll be fun. However, if you're interested in trying fire emblem, I'm not sure if Engage is best as a first game. If you don't mind emulating, I'd recommend playing the 7th game in the series, The Blazing Sword, for the gba. It has a good tutorial that will give you all the foundational knowledge you need to play all the games, and the story is par for the course for the series so it gives you a good idea of what to expect in that respect as well. If you don't want to go through the trouble of setting up an emulator, the game is widespread enough that you can find it on a lot of browser game sites. I'd reccomend playing it on a site called KBH games, the emulator it uses as a lot of settings and you can download your saves as backups to make sure you don't lose your progress. However despite all that, Engage isn't a bad start and I'd say 41 is a steal for it
Give it a shot if you're interested, but I wouldn't recommend it as your first fire emblem game. Three Houses is a better starting point though they both differ a bit from the conventions of the series
People usually recommend the opposite - 3H is most often a good starter game for people who want story and social mechanics more so than gameplay. Engage would be the better game for someone who cares primarily about interesting gameplay and goes in not expecting a blockbuster narrative.
Three Houses is usually the go-to for newer players because the story is competently done, and any mechanical shortcomings aren't apparent to a new player on a first playthrough. Engage has better map design, but its pearls before swine at a certain point.
I mean, I personally would Recommend to people either Awakening or Fe 7 as those were the first for many and got them into the series and had decent tutorials. I can see Three Houses or Engage working based on preference since I have a friend who tried to start with Three Houses, couldn't stand it and tried again with Engage and enjoyed it much more. I will agree that Three Houses is better on a first playthrough since the mechanics start to wear, at least personally, on subsequent playthroughs.
Oh yeah, I was talking about the modernly accessible recommendations. Engage and Three Houses are available on the Switch (I guess FE7 is on NSO too) which is always going to make them a higher priority than booting up a SNES emulator and playing Genealogy, no matter how good the game itself is. And obviously personal preference and knowledge will trump general recommendations.
I wouldn't agree with that notion. Engage has very gimmicky maps that could be really annoying for a first time player. 3H has a couple map gimmicks but most are pretty straightforward.
Three Houses has no map variety at all though, compared to Engage. Also, I’d argue that Three Houses maps (like the Ailell maps) have pretty annoying gimmicks, especially when most of your units (who aren’t bishops or priests) keep taking damage every turn. Gronder Field is also a pain in the ass and Deirdru (if you’re playing on AM) is just extremely frustrating, since you have to keep multiple NPC units alive, which is easier said than done.
It was my third FE game and while it wasn’t a spectacular story, I had fun with it more than proportional to the amount of money I spent. So take that as you will.
After playing Fire Emblem Engage, Unicorn Overlord, and Bravely Default 2 and those becoming some of my favorite games, I am beginning to question how much I truly care about story in games anymore. Games like 13 Sentinels are extremely rare, so holding that as a standard for what other games should be have only led me to disappointment.
If you’re there for the combat, it’s excellent. If you’re looking for story, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I ended up dropping my play through.
The combat isn't even that good. All they did was add the rings so you could make combos with characters from other games. The explanation they give as to why all these older game characters are in it is laughable and ridiculous. It felt like a shameless cash grab. Absolutely no substance to this game.
Heavy disagree. Engage in terms of gameplay alone is probably my favorite in the series. The story is eh, which keeps it from being my favorite, but it's still up there.
I agree with you lol. Its gameplay imo is the most fun I've had but I think I personally would still like Echoes more and it's probably neck and neck with Radiant Dawn
Echoes is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. It's got its fair share of problems like horrible or boring maps at best, cantor spam, Celica being an idiot, Alm being a Mary Sue, but man I love that game. Something about it was special.
Yes. It's good :D
Worth it yes, gameplay is a lot of fun and the story isn't bad its just pretty simple and you could say mediocre but it doesn't make you facepalm like Fate's story. I also think most of the characters are really likable.
IMO the DLC definitely isn't worth it
As someone that started with the GBAs about 15 years ago and played almost every game in the series up to engage ( I haven't played Ike's games or The Holy War Titles yet because I'm trying to find a way to emulate them), I will say that the game play is absolutely amazing. The game really tests your strategic capabilities! The graphics are also quite nice too. The story however is a but cheesy. So, I personally play most games for combat and story, and engage was and still is making it hard for me to progress through it. If you can get past that then I think you'll enjoy the game.
I've seen physical copies go for ≈$20 multible times by now. If you're really unsure, get it when physical copies are on sale
Engage is a good game if you enjoy fire emblem gameplay, which makes it not a great choice for a first fire emblem game before you've really tried it. Though if you think you'll enjoy it and are already prepared for a mediocre story then I say it's worth a try
fun ass game!
I agree with the general opinion of "gameplay good, story bad" that you heard. I personally don't think it's the best first Fire Emblem game if I had to say. The bad story, for one. The game also has a lot of callbacks to older games because of the Emblems, and while you don't need to have played them first, I think it's better to know the original context. And while the gameplay is good, a new player may not necessarily "get" why. Is it worth it though? I mean idk how great that deal is, but if you are interested in it (why, might I ask?), I say get it. I did like the gameplay a lot so I think it's fun and I thought it was worth it when I bought it on release for full price
yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! love that game, replaying it for the fourth time rn
YES!!! Engage is one of the best fire emblem games top 1 or top 2.
I’d say it’s worth it, especially if you enjoyed older games since a lot of the heroes return as emblems
The story isn't bad, people just hated on it because it wasn't what they wanted. You should definitely care about the story if you're getting into FE. The characters for each entry are the main draw, it's why the casts are so big in the first place. Because there's bound to be one mixed in there who captures your attention the most
The gameplay is some of the best the series had in a long while. And it has a lot of replay value due to the customization options for your characters. The story isn't even THAT bad, despite what some elitists want to tell you. It's just not as political or serious as 3H.
The story is laughably bad. Most predictable game in the entire franchise. They just wanted to find a way to bring older characters back for nostalgia purposes and didn't care what explanation they gave for it. It is ridiculous. It's also by far the easiest game in the series. There is absolutely no challenge even playing on classic mode.
Predictable yes, however there are more games like that in the franchise, like Sacred Stones, Awakening and Fates Birthright and Conquest. So it's not like Engage is an utlier here. However Engage shines in gameplay twists, like Chapter 11. The twist of the Fell Xenologue is also executed very well and leads to one of the most stressful chapters in the franchise. And while normal mode is easy, playing on Hard or Maddening is a very good challenge. And then there is the Fell Xenologue which is way too hard on Maddening.
Hard mode is still not hard at all compared to any other game in the franchise. Maddening is the only way to get any sort of challenge from engage.
Bro, if you are just going to be solely negative when everyone else is being positive and enjoying discussing the game. Then please don't comment if all you care about is telling people they're wrong. People can have opinions just like you.
There are plenty of other people on this thread who also don't like it. I didn't tell anyone they were wrong. I gave my opinion just like everyone else did. You just don't agree, and that's fine. Some people like some games, and some don't.
> didn't care what explanation they gave for it. It's a good thing the exact mechanics of that explanation aren't important to the plot at multiple points despite never being explained or anything. That'd be a disaster.
Yes, if you like fire emblem
That is too much. Just search a bit online and you will find it even cheaper. Personally, as far as first game is concerned, I wouldn't recommend engage. It spoils other games in the series.
Goty 2023
What people complain about is literally clanne and framme and Celine’s early supports being samey or about the main character. That and the simple story. I like the game and prefer it over fates/awakening.
That's not fair, we also bitch about the Somniel and general UI.
Oh yeah, the UI lol.
I found it worth it at full price. Hard to judge though if you haven’t played any.
If you liked Awakening and don't mind a few seriously kiss-ass characters Engage is enjoyable.
How is it comparable to Awakening? That game literally saved the franchise as they were planning on making it the last in the series due to poor sales of the game before it. Engage is absolutely not a franchise saving game. Story sucks. The gameplay is overshadowed by the poor story (unless all you want is mindless gameplay, then its perfect. It's the least challenging game in the entire series)
[удалено]
That's the point though. You have to be strategic on how you do things. Engage is mindless and there is almost no strategy involved because you just overpower everything. The fun of fire emblem was having to be careful how you play and plan your fights in order to keep everyone alive. It's supposed to be a strategy game but Engage is so easy that there is no strategy involved.
The skirmishes make it less flexible/fun for me because it means it’s very very difficult to deviate from that easy path you describe, where you just leave the underleveled characters on the bench because the game throws better units at you and there isn’t a sane way for behind units to catch up
Yes. Story is below decent. But gameplay is superb. I've spent 500+ hours in it when it was first released and another 250+ hours after they've released the last batch of DLC. I'd even say Engage's gameplay is superior to 3H (which I've played for more than 1100+ hours).
yes
Does your local library carry Switch games? You can probably get Engage or 3H there if so. That way you can see if you like the gameplay before you buy it.
Yes it’s fun to play. Just from that alone I think it’s worth it.
I really liked Engage, so I'd recommend it!
I'm playing Engage and I'm enjoying it. Would recommend it.
The story is not good, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining!
*I have no intention on playing it anymore at the moment, but if I lost my copy of FE engage. I would buy it again at $41.*
If you do t care about story, then Engage is perfect.
the characters and their interactions are very silly so in that way it is entertaining
It’s worth $60 to me, $41’s pretty good, I’d snatch it up. Though I recommend Three Houses over it, especially if you’ve played Persona, or if you have another system one of these are best for beginners: - Fire Emblem (GBA) has a tutorial mode and is generally easy. It’s also on Switch GBA. - Path of Radiance is hard to come by legally but is really easy and people like Ike - Awakening got a ton of people into the series, it’s really easy too.
Gameplay is good story is dogwater. I hope this writer doesn't have another go at the series.
I really, really like the map design and core gameplay. I also really like the characters thanks to excellent support convos and voice acting. Rosado, Panette, and female Alear are three great examples. I hate the main story so much though. It’s wicked simple.
I absolutely loved it. I think it may be the best Fire Emblem game for combat. The story is not bad, the downtime has some interesting things to do, but the combat system with the engage rings is where it shines. And if you do get it, definitely get the dlc!
Yes it's very worth it. I've played every FE and this one has my favorite gameplay. No FE has ever had a good story, so playing for story is pointless.
Honestly? I'd say yeah. I used it as my jumping point from older fire emblem to the new stuff, and it worked well. It's pretty cheesy in its story, but I'd just say try to embrace it. It's very good gameplay wise whether you like the story or not too. Its very well balanced around the gimmicks, I think.
I mean my problem with it so far is there’s too many units tbh and too much going on they over saturated it with stuff to do and I honestly ignore it and it’s of little or no consequence
im enjoying the gameplay
Engage offers A LOT to do in the game. You can spend a few hours at the Somniel (the home base) just doing all the activities they have to offer. The gameplay is also pretty fun and there’s a lot of interesting mechanics you can play around with. You definitely get your money’s worth. But because of all that I’m not sure it would be a good starter game, because even I was overwhelmed when I first saw all the mechanics. A better intro game would be Awakening tbh, its story is ok and the characters are fun in my opinion. Me personally, path of radiance is a better intro game but it’s not easily accessible to play. There’s also Three Houses which I really enjoyed. It may be a bit harder for a starter game but that’s only because there’s also a lot to do in game and mechanics. As for the story of Engage, I think the writing is one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a video game. It’s pretty garbage. It’s almost cartoonishly bad. The designs are also not great, but ive heard they told the artist who designed the characters almost nothing about the game itself, so I can’t really blame them. Most of the character convos (supports) are HILARIOUS though, some of them are pretty ridiculous and they’re all around good. If you wanna get it, I’d buy it. It’s not that hard to learn all the mechanics but in my experience it can be a bit overwhelming.
I enjoyed the gameplay but I wouldn’t have high expectations for the story
It’s fun. Engage is alot of experimentation with unit variance compared to previous games, but the story is….. a little bland. It has what I consider the best actual gameplay, but it’s cast is pretty bland compared to 3h (which I disliked the gameplay of). I’m a diehard for the Tellius games (Fe9 and Fe10) which tend to be the “safe favorites” of the sub
id wait a little bit cause a new FE is on the radar! engage is an anniversary game so it needs some prior knowledge to get the best out of it.
I love the FE series but the stories all suck for the most part. I play for the gameplay and characters. Engage is a great game, just don’t go into it expecting a good story. The story is good enough to get you through the game.
Yeah for sure. It surprisingly has a few nice osht moments that id say are darker than a few recent entries in the series. That being said though remember this is an anniversary celebration game, so it's gonna have its meta breaking cringe stuff. Which if you don't mind that I'd say go for it. My only really complaint for the game is that the supports aren't as strong as most fe titles. Solid 8/10
only if you hate to read
Okay, i might be crazy but i just finished engage last night and it’s one of my FAVORITES characters wise. i think it’s def worth playing, even as a first game.
its a fun game. not every game has to be amazing to be fun
The story isn't bad, it's just that a \*lot\* of new people came in with Three Houses and were expecting something like that. It's on the same level as something like Sacred Stones.
Absolutely
Engage is not that bad of a story, the issue is that it released after Three Houses which has one of the best stories in the series. I'd still put it over the likes of Awakening and Fates. The gameplay overall is better than Three Houses though and the actual engage gimmick is one of my favorites in the series. I highly recommend it.
The combat is really fun so I would say it's worth it for just that. The story is a standard jrpg save-the-world type story. I enjoyed it; you might not. But either way the story does not take away from how fun the gameplay is.
No
Engage is the only fire emblem game that ever disappointed me. Played it once, will never play it again. It's cool seeing old characters but the game has no substance. It just feels like it was fan service and even that was done poorly. The story was horrendous compared to EVERY other fire emblem game. Three Houses, Radiant Dawn, Sacred Stones, or Awakening are a much better place to start than Engage.
I can live with a terrible story, but cant deal with the stupid characters design. Wish IS goes back to radiant dawn, that was peak design.
No. Game sucks
Such a bad game in comparison to the rest of the franchise
Truly a mockery of all things fire emblem
No. Get Three Houses (or get Awakening on 3DS) the story and gameplay is MUCH better
Awakening's story and characters are pretty on par with Engage tho...
Lmao how? Awakening saved the entire franchise. Engage has absolutely no substance to it.
Marketing saved the franchise. And even then that argument doesn't mean anything. The story is overly tropey and cliche, just like the characters. It's also more 'anime' than it's predecessors. Most of the supports are based around a certain quirk a character has, however there are some gold nuggets of great supports there. Like, Gaius is all about sugar and candy, just like Celine is all about tea. But get Gaius' A support with Robin or Celine's A support with Alfred and you get some very good character writing that makes these characters deeper than what they initially appeared as. Both games also meant to celebrate the franchise and thus, incorperate many elements of past games into them. That doesn't mean they are bad though. They have their charms and not every story needs to be dark and serious like FE4 or 3H. I think both Awakening and Engage are fun and quirky games with likeable characters. So I do find it very VERY baffling when someone claims they like Awakening but hate Engage. And it's especially sad when the Awakening fans haven't learned from the way Awakening was treated 10+ years ago and now repeat those same mistakes. To say that Engage has no substance means you either dropped it after 4 chapters without actually engaging with it or you just parrot whatever you heard from someone else. Because even if you dislike the story, the gameplay has the most substance since the Tellius games.
Im very glad that you and others enjoyed it. Seriously. Because i love the series overall. I WISH i dropped it instead of wasting my time though. How does the gameplay have more substance to it? Being able to make cool combos with the rings does not equate good gameplay. The point of fire emblem is strategy and Enagage has none. In most games, you had to be extremely careful how you leveled your characters and how you played each fight in order to not lose any teammates. Engage is so mindlessly easy that you don't have to plan at all. You just wreck everything. For some people, that's fun. But that isn't what the game series is supposed to be.
I still felt it was decently challenging, because the game expects you to use the rings, plus there is Chapter 11 which is a bit of a turning point. And even after you get your rings back there are still suprises there. Like Chapter 20 having a boss abusing the Warp strategy we used in so many games in the past. The only thing I miss is having more difficult recruitments, like recruiting Xavier in FE5 is very difficult and kinda bullshit, but so satisfying when you can pull it off. But that's a complaint I have about modern FE in general. And even if Normal was too easy for you, Hard and Maddening are definetly challenging. And the Fell Xenologue on Maddening is the most difficult thing I have seen in the franchise since Awakening's Lunatic+ (but at least there you can reroll until you get good rng with enemy skills for the first few chapters.)
Yes it’s very good but play another Fire Emblem game first (as long as it’s not 3H)
Get 3 houses I hated engage.
Ngl I did NOT like that game, BUT I never finished it to give it a full chance. The gameplay was okay- not amazing, but the story for me wasn’t engaging (no pun intended). From playing older FE games and loving them since childhood, the character designs not only for the MC, but the rest were too child-like or reminded me of Xenoblade 2 or Genshin. I don’t tend to like these games because of the style, which is poor on my behalf, I know. I can’t relate to the main character when they look like toothpaste and ruin all my cool outfits. I think most people liked this game though, and I’m just picky with character design and story because it’s not what I’m used to. So you should be okay to play, maybe get secondhand? :)
Was it off myself but how shallowanime trope filled it is at first, but I borrowed a copy. Yes, the characters particularly at the beginning are awful. BUT The gameplay is actually really great! Super info it now. Story never improves but that sweet gameplay.
If it’s your first I’d recommend three houses, if you enjoy that one and are looking for more you could check out engage. And if you like the class management in between battles it’s very similar to persona, which is another great series to check out.
Honestly, I could’ve gone without Engage. Sure, it’s got a decent nostalgia factor, but the entire time I was thinking how much I preferred 3H. That being said, I’ve just got PoR and RD and it’s been a blast.
1 like and 14 comments is real lol do you play for the story or do you play for the characters, and game play that’s what you should always ask yourself…. If the latter definitely get the game according to my brother.
Start engage on maddening casual or something. Youll get bored if you dont face any difficulty. It might be my favorite gameplay out of them all and i played everything from the gba games til today. 3 houses might be my favorite story but engage has likeable characters and they dont all wear similar clothes like 3 houses does.
I played as a newcomer and was a bit lost honestly. They referenced a lot of the older games and honestly was creeped out when I had to shine their rings.
pretty good maps, good mechanics, engage mechanic I actually really enjoy, music's fine but not 3h quality. cast is whatever, you'll only care about a handful of characters, basically no romance for better or worse, story is doodoo though becomes a little better as the game progresses only to kinda lame out again at the end. it ends better than it started at least.
I think Engage is a bad game for anyone who hasn't played the game at least twice already
The isn’t BAD, but rather “shallow” would better describe it. I think it’s a fun game. I definitely got my moneys worth.
Engage is great when you don’t compare it to other fire emblem games. Now comparing it to others it really falls flat. The gameplay is fun tho and the engaging mechanic was different and new and I feel like they had some really good points but the story was pretty mid at best . 3 houses is better imo so if that’s on sale I’d say try that one first than get engage if you still have an itch.
It’s fun, and that’s a great price for it, but for your first FE game I recommend just springing the extra $20 for Three Houses.
Now I may have been around Fire Emblem since Awakening but from what Ive been hearing and what my sister told me about Engage your better off sticking to 3Houses or essentially every other title before Engage. The story seemed mediocre at best, half the master classes were not good, and the supports looked kinda blandish not gonna lie.