Fire Emblem: Awakening’s Lucina, Ike from Path of Radiance, and even Three Houses’ Byleth are all represented. Each of the dozen Emblem Rings contains the spirit and personality of an otherworld hero hailing from a previous Fire Emblem title. The crux of Engage’s narrative involves Alear’s attempts to seek out and acquire these rings from the various kingdoms of Elyos to help defeat the Fell Dragon. However, proficiencies (as well as stat buffs and other bonuses) can also be acquired using the new Emblem Rings. Backup units can add a chain attack to an adjacent ally’s assault, while Qi adepts (hand-to-hand fighters) can employ a chain guard to help protect units around them.Ĭlasses can be changed easily-using a Master Seal to unlock advanced classes at level 10 or a Second Seal to change within the unit’s current class tier-to increase or unlock additional weapon proficiencies. Armored units are immune to the break effect, which temporarily disarms the fighter at a weapon disadvantage, but take massive damage from magical attacks. Flying units can travel a map while ignoring terrain effects but are particularly vulnerable to bows. Engage’s battle system also provides each unit a designation tied to their character class. image: NOAĭistance weapons like arrows and knives, as well as magic attacks, help round out combat, each acting in a system of checks and balances that serves to benefit a robust and varied fighting force. The Fell Dragon is appropriately brooding. Returning elements include Fire Emblem’s weapon triangle swords are powerful against axes, axes against lances, and lances against swords. This is done primarily on gridded battlefields where friends and enemies are moved around each turn, positioning themselves tactically to unleash a variety of attacks. While initially aided only by his retainers, stewards set to watch over the sleeping dragon-man by his ageless mother, Alear at once begins his requisite journey throughout the continent, gathering allies and uncovering powerful new foes along the way. Alear’s awakening belies a darker but no less certain fact the forces of the Fell Dragon are again marshaling themselves to make war against the nations of Elyos. In this case, players are put into the (ultra-fancy) boots of the Divine Dragon Alear, a long-slumbering spiritual avatar to the good and true inhabitants of Elyos.Įlyos-again, in classic Fire Emblem fashion-is a vast and varied continent where, one thousand years prior, its four great kingdoms joined forces to drive away the evil of the Fell Dragon, the Yang to the benevolent Divine Dragon’s Yin. I say all that to say this: Fire Emblem Engage is not Three Houses, and that’s ok.Įngage begins, as have so many previous chapters of Fire Emblem lore, with an ancient battle, an unexpected awakening, and a dash of amnesia for good measure. All that changed in 2019 with the arrival of Fire Emblem: Three Houses.Īided in no small part by the mass adoption of the Nintendo Switch, Three Houses’ well-paced combat, heavy focus on relationship-building, and its weighty, emotionally resonant branching storyline made it the Fire Emblem game that even fans not sold on its traditional strategy RPG trappings felt comfortable taking on. While the game’s themselves were generally well received, it began to seem as if the franchise would never make the same big jump into the pop culture consciousness as other fantasy RPGs like Final Fantasy or even Monster Hunter. Melee) made their way to American shores.Īs could likely be expected with a niche genre like turn-based strategy, Fire Emblem’s relationship with American audiences was good but seldom great. It was the early 2000s before the series proper (in the form of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade) and its iconic characters (Roy and Marth cameoed two years earlier in the GameCube standout Super Smash Bros. Its migration to the States, however, took some time. With a history that stretches all the way back to 1990-and the release of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on the Nintendo Famicom- Fire Emblem is a property with a seriously lengthy legacy.
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