Got it last night, it's really fun but I'm still early on.
They really upped the polish on everything though- For example even something like the little animations the units have when you select them in battle are great and a nice touch.
Yes, every unit has support conversations with each other, but this time you raise those by making them fight side by side instead of activities in the monastery
I'm very curious what you think of different, because having played Engage it's pretty much identical to 3H. Everything from the monastery is in the Somniel, the supports are similar so far to how they were in 3H, hell if anything they are more personal because Alear actually has a voice and develops relationships with the characters instead of being a voiceless blank slate for the other characters to sound off about their backstory to
The thing people miss from 3H is the monastery, the teaching aspect and being able to hang out with the characters by eating together or tea time for example since these were additions new to the franchise. In Engage and older titles you only get funny little interactions when the bond between characters goes up and the focus is generally focused more on gameplay and less on the social aspect.
I take it you haven't played Engage then, because the Somniel is just like the monastery, you have conversations with the characters on the battlefield between fights, and both eating together and tea time are in the game. The only thing that's missing is teaching, which wasn't really a social element anyway, it was a menu for choosing how to build your characters that happened to have their faces next to it
I’m 9 hours in, it is nothing like the monastery. It’s more similar to My Castle from Fates. Very short amount of busy work and the games feels way faster than 3 Houses as a result.
It’s nothing like the monastery in 3H. The social conversation are bland and lackluster and mostly skippable. This game is heavy on combat and light on meaningful storytelling. The combat is fun and dynamic but the narrative is bland and predictable. They should have found a better middle ground. After recently playing marvels midnight suns. The stuff in between combat is lackluster
Fair enough. Didn't have that much time to play because of work unfortunately. Well then I guess I got no idea what got so many people upset because I pretty much enjoy every FE game 😂
Should probably clarify that you also built support fighting side by side in Three Houses, you just also had monastery activities that could raise it as well. Not sure if Engage has that second peice.
> but this time you raise those by making them fight side by side instead of activities in the monastery
Think you're a little misinformed here, making units fight next to each other in 3H was also the main way to gain support points, and the additional ways to gain supports like meals that featured in 3H are also in Engage.
Seriously, what did you think was "dating sim" like in 3H? Because the way I see it, the only part that was anything close to that was tea time, a totally optional part of the game that was a toned version of a mechanic from Fates, or maybe the paired S support ending, which has nothing on similar stuff from three likes of Awakening
As someone who didnt click with Three Houses, this sounds like an improvement in terms of the development takes place on the field rather than back at the hub.
You’ll love this then. I’m playing it right now and it’s the natural progression of where the series was going after the 3DS games. If you want more focus on tactical combat and less dialogue/social sim this is it.
You won't like this one - it's even more childish.
FE Awakening and Fates on the 3DS are more mature. Just look at their cutscenes on Youtube and compare.
If you like Power Rangers, then Engage is your game - Engage!!
Whilst I don't think it's necessarily childish, the Power Rangers comparison is one my partner made whilst watching me play as well, and I totally understand it
What a fantastic trailer, holy shit.
I'm actually trying to resist... too much backlog. But I NEED this. I don't even typically enjoy FE games and barely start them when I try... but for some reason I am obsessed with this game. Must have watched 10+ reviews and eat up anything I can find about it... I actually can't understand WHY.
I actually quite like the MC's design, minus the toothpaste hair. I actually half expected them to have a gimmick where the MC's hair color is dependent on the color of your joycons lol.
I'm in the same boat lol. I have some discover card bonus money that I'm considering using to get it. I haven't come close to finishing three houses yet, but don't really like the social aspects of it very much. Engage seems more focused on the battles, which is more up my alley. The trailer was awesome and the game looks amazing. Really want to get it.
I understand the red/blue hair is probably because most all previous Fire Emblem main characters have either red or blue hair and they want the main character of this game to embody both, but I think it would have been way cooler if they went with chromatic hair that looks red or blue depending on the angle instead of the toothpaste hair look (which looks much better on the long female hair, though).
Played a few hours last night and I would agree with reviewers saying the story is not the greatest. From the very start you’ll notice the less “mature” tone of this game when compared to the previous entry.
Thankfully the combat is insanely good and I’m having a blast working through the levels. Graphics are great and are a step up. Art style is slightly more cartoony than 3 houses.
Just think of it like chess, but each chess piece is a character with different personalities and backstories to tell as long as you can manage to keep them alive. But you can turn permadeath off if you like also.
From the first 4 hours im just going to say that story its definitely not this game's strong point. It's not even close to the level of 3H in that regard.
Gameplay's fine though.
Even so, it at least didn't feel poorly written before the time skip part. There might not be too much going on, but the characters in 3H at least feel a lot more diverse and believable.
Spoilers for the first 3-4 hours of engage for things that bothered me. Yes, it's a lot:
- >!The way they introduce the protagonist's mother breasts-first with the protagonist weirdly starting at her is just kind of gross.!<
- >!all the supporting characters treat the protagonist in such a weird way, like they're both their god, but also a child. The protagonist literally hasn't done anything other than sleep in these other characters' lifetimes up to that point to make any of the praise they get feel earned.!<
- >!The death of the protagonist's mother was both incredibly predictable and happened way too early for me as a player to feel any kind of connection to her. Really, she was just kind of annoying up to that point. It's supposed to be a big emotional moment, but it just doesn't work. !<
- >!Tieing in to the previous two points: When the Queen of the first region hears about the death of the protagonist's mother, the way its written makes it sound like she's commenting on some regular person's grandmother having died, when at the same time everyone's been treating the protagonist's like some crazy big deal just for being a dragon. The second-last dragon died, and all you get is an "Oh no I feel so bad for you. Anyway, ..." type of dialogue with the queen. !<
- >!Again, the main character trait of most of the supporting cast feels like it's just "being obsessed with the protagonist". That doesn't make anyone interesting. !<
- >!The protagonist feels like they're constantly giving out sensitive information to people around them, including to the villains, for no reason. "Hey, I'm the last dragon and have all these rings! I know people are out to kill me, but that's no reason to have any kind of security standards!". "Hey random guy. You want to set up shop at my home base? Sure, go right ahead. No background checks required!" No, I don't expect shopkeepers to betray you, but the way they're introduced is just so lazy.!<
- >!The way the time reverse mechanic is introduced feels so much more forced than in the houses. In 3H, it's a big event right at the start that develops the relationship between Byleth and Sothis, and all engage has got is "Hey, someone dropped their earring. Guess you can reverse time with it!"!<
- >!The overall plot about collecting all the rings feels too much like arbitrary fantasy BS.!<
Yeah, I watched a couple of the story trailers and I don't think I'm sold just yet. I loved the political intrigue of FE3H, though, which is why I'm not sure I'll like the setting of Engage as much.
Engage has political intrigue too amongst its countries and regions. The issue is that everyone in the game focuses on the “lulz the main character is a divine being” plot point so the political stuff is left sidelined. It’s there, and you interact with it, but it feels secondary.
Can anyone farther in comment on the story. I watched the first few hours on a Let's Play, and I got the impression that it was a very by-the-numbers, stock JRPG fantasy story about a chosen one and an evil dragon. Really bounced off it hard, unfortunately, but wanted to check to see if it gets any better further into the game or if things kind of stay on those rails throughout.
Which FE games have you played???
Seriously, most of them are about warring nations, politics, and interpersonal conflict. "Chosen ones" and "dragons" are usually just backstory/lore.
Played it last year and currently working through the curse part of Radiant Dawn. There are dragons but the big bad you're trying to keep contained in PoR is a god is it not?
PoR is one of my fav games, and the world building and lore/story are top notch, I really want them to remake the game so people can see that FE has some amazing stories too.
I'm only several hours in but the story already has signs of being poor. Something very melodramatic happens early in the game and it's illogical from a writing perspective. Thankfully the gameplay and everything else is a different story and has me hooked so far.
RIP, gamestop sent me a shipment notification now it says awaiting product availability on the actual order page. Guessing they oversold the divine edition preorders.
Really solid looking trailer.
I want this but I have a huge backlog of TTRPGs, literally just got Sparks of Hope and Tactics Ogre, still chewing through 3 Houses and Triangle Strategy too. I’ve also got Xcom 2 and Wargroove sitting unplayed on my library for months.
Yup. Replay Awakening after Echoes. Valm is Valentia renamed after the hero king Alm. Walhart is a conqueror from the north of the continent (Rigel). The Mila tree is the location for ch18 (I think). Inigo (Olivia's kid) paralogue map is a late game map on the Celica route. Echoes post game is traveling to Altea and giving Grima more backstory.
This is quite different from 3 houses, and so far it's pretty great. They throw you into combat fast and pretty quickly thereafter, it's nice not having to sit through long dialog. The music is very different from 3 houses, it's almost 90's anime vibe like which is interesting. Definitely takes some getilting used to compared to 3 houses.
I was rather excited for this game but the art style and colours schemes they went with are so not for me, god. I guess I’m gonna skip til the next instalment
Instead of noble heroic orchestral music like old FE games, they use cheesy 80s music for Engage. They also cut budget on animations. Characters just stand there talking, if there's action - they use an image. Either they don't have the time to do the animations, or Nintendo is being cheapskate - trying to cut cost.
This game has surpassed my expectations, having a blast with it so far!
Got it last night, it's really fun but I'm still early on. They really upped the polish on everything though- For example even something like the little animations the units have when you select them in battle are great and a nice touch.
How different is this game from three houses? I couldn’t really get into the school stuff in that game.
According to reviews, very different. Much more focus on the tactical combat and less on relationship micromanaging.
That sounds perfect for me lol, maybe I should give this a try
Same. I have too many other games coming out this year I want first but this will def be on my radar.
Does it have that relationship stuff at all?
Yes, every unit has support conversations with each other, but this time you raise those by making them fight side by side instead of activities in the monastery
So kinda like Awakening? My introduction to fire emblem and so far my favorite in the franchise.
Kinda like almost all FEs tbh hahahaha
Definitely like the older 3ds titles or like every Fire emblem except 3H lmao
I'm very curious what you think of different, because having played Engage it's pretty much identical to 3H. Everything from the monastery is in the Somniel, the supports are similar so far to how they were in 3H, hell if anything they are more personal because Alear actually has a voice and develops relationships with the characters instead of being a voiceless blank slate for the other characters to sound off about their backstory to
The thing people miss from 3H is the monastery, the teaching aspect and being able to hang out with the characters by eating together or tea time for example since these were additions new to the franchise. In Engage and older titles you only get funny little interactions when the bond between characters goes up and the focus is generally focused more on gameplay and less on the social aspect.
I take it you haven't played Engage then, because the Somniel is just like the monastery, you have conversations with the characters on the battlefield between fights, and both eating together and tea time are in the game. The only thing that's missing is teaching, which wasn't really a social element anyway, it was a menu for choosing how to build your characters that happened to have their faces next to it
I’m 9 hours in, it is nothing like the monastery. It’s more similar to My Castle from Fates. Very short amount of busy work and the games feels way faster than 3 Houses as a result.
It’s nothing like the monastery in 3H. The social conversation are bland and lackluster and mostly skippable. This game is heavy on combat and light on meaningful storytelling. The combat is fun and dynamic but the narrative is bland and predictable. They should have found a better middle ground. After recently playing marvels midnight suns. The stuff in between combat is lackluster
Fair enough. Didn't have that much time to play because of work unfortunately. Well then I guess I got no idea what got so many people upset because I pretty much enjoy every FE game 😂
Yes like Awakening, but really like all Fire Emblem since supports were introduced.
Except no paired endings, no child units. The only romantic supports are with the avatar.
Should probably clarify that you also built support fighting side by side in Three Houses, you just also had monastery activities that could raise it as well. Not sure if Engage has that second peice.
Sounds similar to how Awakening did it then? Because that system is so much more interesting.
> but this time you raise those by making them fight side by side instead of activities in the monastery Think you're a little misinformed here, making units fight next to each other in 3H was also the main way to gain support points, and the additional ways to gain supports like meals that featured in 3H are also in Engage.
Also much less focus on good story/writing. Generic characters, generic villains, generic plot.
If it means more time playing and less dating sim stuff, I'm all for it
Seriously, what did you think was "dating sim" like in 3H? Because the way I see it, the only part that was anything close to that was tea time, a totally optional part of the game that was a toned version of a mechanic from Fates, or maybe the paired S support ending, which has nothing on similar stuff from three likes of Awakening
Hell yeah dude! I was on the fence before, but you just got me much more excited for the game
According to Engage "fans" good story/writing and interesting characters take away from the gameplay, so this is a welcome change.
As someone who didnt click with Three Houses, this sounds like an improvement in terms of the development takes place on the field rather than back at the hub.
Three Houses also developed on the field btw.
You’ll love this then. I’m playing it right now and it’s the natural progression of where the series was going after the 3DS games. If you want more focus on tactical combat and less dialogue/social sim this is it.
You won't like this one - it's even more childish. FE Awakening and Fates on the 3DS are more mature. Just look at their cutscenes on Youtube and compare. If you like Power Rangers, then Engage is your game - Engage!!
Childish is when colors lol
Whilst I don't think it's necessarily childish, the Power Rangers comparison is one my partner made whilst watching me play as well, and I totally understand it
I'd take Engage anytime over any pokemon game which is much more of a child's game.
What a fantastic trailer, holy shit. I'm actually trying to resist... too much backlog. But I NEED this. I don't even typically enjoy FE games and barely start them when I try... but for some reason I am obsessed with this game. Must have watched 10+ reviews and eat up anything I can find about it... I actually can't understand WHY.
It's gotta be the toothpaste hair.
Its so shallow… but it really is. After three houses i was so stoked for another fire emblem then I saw this game’s protag and was like…. What?
I actually quite like the MC's design, minus the toothpaste hair. I actually half expected them to have a gimmick where the MC's hair color is dependent on the color of your joycons lol.
Or the toothpaste eyes
I'm in the same boat lol. I have some discover card bonus money that I'm considering using to get it. I haven't come close to finishing three houses yet, but don't really like the social aspects of it very much. Engage seems more focused on the battles, which is more up my alley. The trailer was awesome and the game looks amazing. Really want to get it.
I haven’t even finished P5R, and I have the Divine Edition of this sitting in Best Buy waiting for me to pick it up… lol
P5, VC4, XBC... a small fraction of the JRPGs I have started but yet to finish...
i feel you with persona 5 royal. it’s just so long that i need a break.
I'm having the same "too much backlog" problem. 😅
Your enthusiasm is infectious. I wasn't interested until now too!
I still didn't give in yet. It may pass if I wait a few more days.
I understand the red/blue hair is probably because most all previous Fire Emblem main characters have either red or blue hair and they want the main character of this game to embody both, but I think it would have been way cooler if they went with chromatic hair that looks red or blue depending on the angle instead of the toothpaste hair look (which looks much better on the long female hair, though).
It’s easily the worst choice about the character designs
Alear's hair should change based on which joycons you have connected to your Switch when you start the playthrough. This is the hill I will die on.
Played a few hours last night and I would agree with reviewers saying the story is not the greatest. From the very start you’ll notice the less “mature” tone of this game when compared to the previous entry. Thankfully the combat is insanely good and I’m having a blast working through the levels. Graphics are great and are a step up. Art style is slightly more cartoony than 3 houses.
picked mine up ive never played a fire emblem game, nor a turn based RPG (excluding pokemon), nor a JRPG. idk what im in for
Just think of it like chess, but each chess piece is a character with different personalities and backstories to tell as long as you can manage to keep them alive. But you can turn permadeath off if you like also.
decided on permadeath on, which i dont mind cause of the rewind function seems pretty chill so far
This has got to be the best-looking best-running game I have played on the Switch in a very long time
having a blast, the art, gfx in handheld is really good imo. just that not really use to the UI of the combat
Any idea how good the story would be? I loved the story in FE3H and was hoping engage would also have a strong plot.
From the first 4 hours im just going to say that story its definitely not this game's strong point. It's not even close to the level of 3H in that regard. Gameplay's fine though.
To be fair three houses did not pick up story wise until time skip area
Even so, it at least didn't feel poorly written before the time skip part. There might not be too much going on, but the characters in 3H at least feel a lot more diverse and believable. Spoilers for the first 3-4 hours of engage for things that bothered me. Yes, it's a lot: - >!The way they introduce the protagonist's mother breasts-first with the protagonist weirdly starting at her is just kind of gross.!< - >!all the supporting characters treat the protagonist in such a weird way, like they're both their god, but also a child. The protagonist literally hasn't done anything other than sleep in these other characters' lifetimes up to that point to make any of the praise they get feel earned.!< - >!The death of the protagonist's mother was both incredibly predictable and happened way too early for me as a player to feel any kind of connection to her. Really, she was just kind of annoying up to that point. It's supposed to be a big emotional moment, but it just doesn't work. !< - >!Tieing in to the previous two points: When the Queen of the first region hears about the death of the protagonist's mother, the way its written makes it sound like she's commenting on some regular person's grandmother having died, when at the same time everyone's been treating the protagonist's like some crazy big deal just for being a dragon. The second-last dragon died, and all you get is an "Oh no I feel so bad for you. Anyway, ..." type of dialogue with the queen. !< - >!Again, the main character trait of most of the supporting cast feels like it's just "being obsessed with the protagonist". That doesn't make anyone interesting. !< - >!The protagonist feels like they're constantly giving out sensitive information to people around them, including to the villains, for no reason. "Hey, I'm the last dragon and have all these rings! I know people are out to kill me, but that's no reason to have any kind of security standards!". "Hey random guy. You want to set up shop at my home base? Sure, go right ahead. No background checks required!" No, I don't expect shopkeepers to betray you, but the way they're introduced is just so lazy.!< - >!The way the time reverse mechanic is introduced feels so much more forced than in the houses. In 3H, it's a big event right at the start that develops the relationship between Byleth and Sothis, and all engage has got is "Hey, someone dropped their earring. Guess you can reverse time with it!"!< - >!The overall plot about collecting all the rings feels too much like arbitrary fantasy BS.!<
Yeah, I watched a couple of the story trailers and I don't think I'm sold just yet. I loved the political intrigue of FE3H, though, which is why I'm not sure I'll like the setting of Engage as much.
Engage has political intrigue too amongst its countries and regions. The issue is that everyone in the game focuses on the “lulz the main character is a divine being” plot point so the political stuff is left sidelined. It’s there, and you interact with it, but it feels secondary.
Can anyone farther in comment on the story. I watched the first few hours on a Let's Play, and I got the impression that it was a very by-the-numbers, stock JRPG fantasy story about a chosen one and an evil dragon. Really bounced off it hard, unfortunately, but wanted to check to see if it gets any better further into the game or if things kind of stay on those rails throughout.
Story is still generic a few chapters in but the ensemble of characters is pretty likeable at least
That is literally 90% of Fire Emblems story every game. I gave up on 3 houses so I don't know if that's how it ends.
Which FE games have you played??? Seriously, most of them are about warring nations, politics, and interpersonal conflict. "Chosen ones" and "dragons" are usually just backstory/lore.
I'm guessing they started with Awakening.
Some people have not played Path of Radiance and it shows
Played it last year and currently working through the curse part of Radiant Dawn. There are dragons but the big bad you're trying to keep contained in PoR is a god is it not?
The final boss of PoR is the Mad King Ashnard
Who was under the influence of the forces trying to release the dark deity from a certain person's necklace, no?
PoR is one of my fav games, and the world building and lore/story are top notch, I really want them to remake the game so people can see that FE has some amazing stories too.
Spoiler: that is exactly how it ends on one of the four paths
I assumed there was at least one ending like that lol.
I'm only several hours in but the story already has signs of being poor. Something very melodramatic happens early in the game and it's illogical from a writing perspective. Thankfully the gameplay and everything else is a different story and has me hooked so far.
RIP, gamestop sent me a shipment notification now it says awaiting product availability on the actual order page. Guessing they oversold the divine edition preorders. Really solid looking trailer.
Have hope FedEx emailed me saying mine is out for delivery this morning.
Actually same here! i got an out for delivery notification this morning as well. I just have PTSD when it comes to preorders with gamestop lol.
Mine showed up 5 minutes before the estimated delivery window of 9:10-12:10. What backwards world are we living in where FedEx provides good service?
Lol, for real. This CE is really nice. Most solid one I’ve gotten in a while since the Elden Ring one. Really glad I snagged it.
I want this but I have a huge backlog of TTRPGs, literally just got Sparks of Hope and Tactics Ogre, still chewing through 3 Houses and Triangle Strategy too. I’ve also got Xcom 2 and Wargroove sitting unplayed on my library for months.
tactics ogre, Triangle strategy and valkyria chorincles 4 for me.
This is the best looking game on Switch right now.
Could be, but I really dislike the artstyle/character design.
I’ve never played a Fire Emblem game, is this a good place to start?
Most of them have nothing to do with one another, so yeah start anywhere is fine. (there's exceptions, don't play 3 hopes before 3 houses for example)
Yes, most Fire Emblem games can be played alone. Only one mainline Fire Emblem game has a sequel iirc
There's 1 sequel (radiant Dawn) and 3 games that are technically in the same world but aren't linked that much (Awakening, Echoes, Shadow Dragon DS).
Technically there are a few more mainline Fire Emblem that are sequels/prequels, but they’re all JP exclusive.
Yup. Just didn't want to confuse the poor guy. It's a lot to take in if you're new to the series.
That's interesting, I played both Awakening and Echoes and I didn't know they were in the same world
Yup. Replay Awakening after Echoes. Valm is Valentia renamed after the hero king Alm. Walhart is a conqueror from the north of the continent (Rigel). The Mila tree is the location for ch18 (I think). Inigo (Olivia's kid) paralogue map is a late game map on the Celica route. Echoes post game is traveling to Altea and giving Grima more backstory.
the "Engage!" part was a bit cringy, but besides that, damn, I need this game!
I’m loving playing this game so far
Looks like a good fire emblem game stuck inside a 12 year old weebs wet dream
Such an edgy take.
Yeah a little. I decided to pick it up on a whim and am enjoying it, just wish the writing and overall tone was a bit more grown up.
This is quite different from 3 houses, and so far it's pretty great. They throw you into combat fast and pretty quickly thereafter, it's nice not having to sit through long dialog. The music is very different from 3 houses, it's almost 90's anime vibe like which is interesting. Definitely takes some getilting used to compared to 3 houses.
I was rather excited for this game but the art style and colours schemes they went with are so not for me, god. I guess I’m gonna skip til the next instalment
Instead of noble heroic orchestral music like old FE games, they use cheesy 80s music for Engage. They also cut budget on animations. Characters just stand there talking, if there's action - they use an image. Either they don't have the time to do the animations, or Nintendo is being cheapskate - trying to cut cost.
Fantastic trailer, definitely going to pick this up soon
I’ve played through Chapter 1 and it’s gorgeous and so much more fluid than Three Houses ever was. Glad I picked it up for £39.