Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

My brother is a lucky git.

Wins money on a scratch card.

"Hmm. I was going to wait for a sale, but I guess I'll buy Fire Emblem Engage with this"

Buys the standard edition.

Big box turns up.

"Da fark is this?"

Opens box. Someone has made a mistake. It's the Divine Edition. Yknow, the one no one can find cause it's sold out.

Git. Lucky lucky git.

After a blistering weekend of almost non-stop embleming I'm about 50% through. I can kinda get behind what a lot of the reviews are saying. Gameplay is an absolute blast, I think the emblem system is one of the most fun and dynamic mixups to the Fire Emblem combat in a long time. The ability to turn a unit effectively into a drastically different one on a dime just busts the strategy potential wide open, and thanks to cool visual flair and great crit animations units look great as you destroy them all. Unfortunately that's where the majority of praise lies as the story and characters aren't really doing it for me. Design-wise its a mixed bag; some characters like Merrin and Louis look great, while others like Hortensia and Timerra feel like they come from completely different games or even franchises. The character writing is more consistent, just consistently mid. Most characters have one defining trope that colors every conversation. In games like Awakening or the GBA titles this one trope would be used to springboard conversations into eventually a deeper part of their character, but in this case the trope usually ends up being the whole package. It still has its charms occasionally and I've found a handful or two that I like, but none that I love. The narrative is so by the numbers its actually kind of hilarious. You the good shiny dragon gotta go stop big evil dragon who likes bad. Sure hope nobodies parental figures show up as boy will they suffer tragic, totally unexpected fates.

Basically if you really like Fire Emblem for strong character writing, the interpersonal narratives, and relationship building this is not gonna do it for you, but if you just like tactical strategy games that coincidentally feature anime guys and gals then it may be exactly what you're looking for. As someone who likes both parts I would say I'm having a good time, just not in love with it.

This was my entire weekend, and I'm beginning to see how some people can finish games within days.

Things outside battle has gotten repetitive. Doing the same activities for bond crystals is getting tiring. I'm having trouble selecting units to use because I don't have any strong preference for any of them. Reviews I've read talked about extensive customizability but customization costs a lot of resources, which I barely have. Finally, I don't get the class system here, and it just made me miss the simplicity of Triangle Strategy's class system. The game is kind of a let down but is still a fine distraction.