Fire Emblem Engage Review: Is It Worth It?

This is our review for Fire Emblem Engage, the latest entry in the long-running Fire Emblem series. Read on to hear our thoughts after finishing the game, its highs and lows, and if it is worth picking up!

Fire Emblem Engage Rating and Review Score

Overall Score
30/40
Gameplay	Story	Game Length	Enjoyability
9/10	6/10	7/10	8/10

Who Should Play Fire Emblem Engage

• All Fire Emblem Fans, new and old
• Players looking for a challenging strategy RPG
• Newcomers looking to get into the Fire Emblem series

What Did You Think of Fire Emblem Engage

Tell us how you felt about the game in the comments section below!

Comments Section

Fire Emblem Engage Review

Pros	Cons
Top Notch Gameplay Plenty of Throwbacks Colorful Character Designs	Less Focus on Story Extra Content Feels Lacking UI Needs Some Adjustment

Pro: Top Notch Gameplay

Fire Emblem has a reputation for delivering fun, challenging gameplay, and Engage certainly fits the bill.

Great Map Design

In contrast to the open and often reused maps of Three Houses, Engage returns to form with maps that reward more thought and planning to get through. The gimmicks are fair and balanced, encouraging you to use all the tools the game offers. There's little reason to have a unit solo the whole map when all your characters are out there doing something. Players who enjoyed Fates: Conquest and its Player Phase-centric combat will surely appreciate this game too.

▶︎ Tips and Tricks: A Beginner's Guide

Emblems Keep Things Interesting

The heroes from past games, known as Emblems, are central both to the plot and the gameplay. Syncing gives your characters stat boosts and bonus skills, while Engaging powers them up for three turns and enables them to use special Engage Attacks.

Using Emblems Effectively Needs Careful Strategy

These are incredibly powerful, but they also require strategizing to use effectively. Getting more Emblems later opens up more tactics, and trying them all out is part of the fun. Of course, at some point in the game, this mechanic will also be used against you, requiring you to stay on your toes to avoid losing anybody.

▶︎ List of All Emblems

Pro: Plenty of Throwbacks

Engage feels like a celebration of the series as a whole. The Emblems all get their own paralogues based on maps from their origins, complete with memorable music that brings a sense of nostalgia. Their skills are reminiscent of their gameplay and history as well, showing how Intelligent Systems loves to change things up for every new installment.

▶︎ List of All Paralogues

Integrates Nostalgia Into Main Story Well

They also get unique interactions with every playable character, and while they are short, they give a look into who they are to players unfamiliar with them. Overall, this is truly a game made for Fire Emblem fans while doing a good job of not alienating newcomers to the series.

▶︎ Bond Effects for Every Emblem

Pro: Colorful Character Designs

The Fire Emblem series always makes it a point to make every playable character unique, so having good character design should naturally be a priority. Thanks to the talents of Mika Pikazo, Engage brings in the most colorful cast to date, blending in her gorgeous style with the game's graphics. While some may find her designs too bold or extravagant, it works with the lighter direction Engage is after.

Animations are also some of the best for the 3D Fire Emblem games. They look pretty amazing, even if they are unrealistic. It's almost like a callback to the 2D games where the sprite work can let them go wild.

▶︎ All Characters and Playable Units

Con: Less Focus on Story and Characters

Writing Takes a Backseat

Engage doesn't put much focus on the story. It's rather simple and sometimes predictable, forgoing deep worldbuilding and gray morality, but it works to keep you playing. While it's not horrible, this game isn't for anyone looking for a story to rival the depths of Three Houses.

▶︎ Story Walkthroughs

Building Support Isn't Rewarding

The support system returns in Engage, but players looking to pair their units together will miss out on paired endings between characters that aren't Alear. The supports themselves aren't too bad, giving us a look into the characters' personalities and motivations like in past games. However, some characters feel one-dimensional and don't develop much over their supports.

Support System Needs Some Work

Gameplay-wise, supports are actually harder to build up in Engage compared to recent titles. It's more restrictive, only increasing during Player Phase and when support partners finish attacks beside each other. The activities at the Somniel also don't help much for anyone besides Alear.

▶︎ How to Get S Rank Support

Con: Extra Content Feels Lacking

Modern Fire Emblem is known for adding content beyond its core gameplay. Engage brings back features like grinding and adds in the Tower of Trials, but these almost seem like afterthoughts.

Skirmishes Don't Feel Worthwhile

Engage is balanced around no grinding, which is certainly a good thing for most players. However, for more casual players looking to grind like in Awakening or Birthright, the game might disappoint.

Systems like skill inheritance and donations require large amounts of resources that need some grinding if you want to complete them. However, skirmishes don't give out much, making it feel like it's not worth the time to actively invest in these. Skirmishes also get harder later, so having weaker units catch up isn't exactly encouraged.

▶︎ How to Reroll Skirmishes for Gold Corrupted and Silver Corrupted Skirmishes

Limited Postgame

There really isn't much to do after clearing the game besides the Tower of Trials or simply starting over. The Trials themselves are problematic for the same reason as skirmishes—the rewards feel lacking for the effort.

Compounded with the fact that there's no New Game+ to carry over progress, it makes these additional systems feel unnecessary and not well thought out.

▶︎ Post Game Content: What To Do in the Post Game

Con: User Interface Needs Some Adjustment

Engage tries to make the user interface cleaner by condensing information on the bottom as in-use stats. However, the game doesn't make it easy to see weapon performance alone, especially if you're making plans around them.

Menus Not Intuitively Designed

Many menu options are also not intuitive, such as Supports and Bonds being placed under Reference or Class Change under Inventory. Bond Rings are another easy-to-miss feature and are especially important for gaining SP without Emblems. These take some getting used to, but shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

▶︎ Every Stat Explained

Is Fire Emblem Engage Worth It?

Worth it for Fun Gameplay Mechanics

For the gameplay alone, Fire Emblem Engage is indeed worth considering. Even with a less-than-stellar story, the fun lies in its mechanics and presentation. Both longtime fans and new players will surely find something to enjoy with this game.

Fire Emblem Engage Software Information

Release Date	January 20, 2023
Price	$59.99 (Standard Edition) $99.99 (Divine Edition)
Release Versions	Physical / Digital
Game File Size	13.3 GB
No. of Players	1
Genre	Strategy, Role-Playing

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