Fire Emblem Engage: Why the strategy battle inspires me even as a series newcomer – column

Two weeks have passed since the release of Fire Emblem Engage passed and I’m stuck knee deep with both legs and almost 60 hours in the morass of the battlefield.

Every evening after work, the tactics title captivates me in front of the screen and even more than its predecessor Fire Emblem: Three Houses – with whom I started the series in the first place. There are several reasons why Engage inspires me so much, although it greatly reduces many elements from its predecessor and, with the emblem characters from old games, appeals to the nostalgia of long-time fans.

Curious, Not Nostalgic: Returning Heroes

Anyone who has been romping around in the series’ theaters of war since the Gameboy Advance era should have been very pleased to hear the announcement that old characters are making their way into the game with the emblem system: finally going back into battle with Marth, Lyns Admire marksmanship or unleash Corrin’s dragon powers! On the other hand, the feature left me absolutely cold.

Ike, Lucina, Roy and Co. have only crossed my path in Super Smash Bros. because I simply had no contact with Fire Emblem before. I couldn’t get to know Leif and Sigurd better even if I wanted to: their two games, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, have not made it to the West to this day.

But the baiting with nostalgia doesn’t bother me at all, on the contrary: the old heroes are not in the limelight, but allow the new characters to stand on their own two feet. They’re also fresh to me as a newbie, the allusions to their stories and destinies make me rather curious and make me want to revisit the old Fire Emblem games once I’m done with Engage.

No nostalgia, just curiosity: Who are these characters? What adversities have they faced, what choices have they made? To start answering these questions somewhere, I spontaneously decided Fire Emblem: Awakening Bought it on Ebay and then rummaged around in my Nintendo 3DS shortly afterwards. Could that have been Nintendo’s true marketing intention?

Pepsi Pop and Anime Eyes: The Character Design

The fact that the old characters don’t bother me is of course also due to the new ones: the brightly colored designs caught my eye right from the first trailer. Colgate-Chan, as the protagonist Alear, with her hairstyle reminiscent of two-tone toothpaste, was nicknamed more or less affectionately by the fans, totally picked me up.

Wacky, crazy, different: A bold design that doesn’t seem to fit into the down-to-earth world of Fire Emblem at all, but for me as a newcomer it offers a successful contrast to the otherwise classic fantasy identity. Responsible for that is Japanese artist Mika Pikazowho was hired as lead character designer by development studio Intelligent Systems and lovingly transported her poppy, playful style into the fantastical world of Fire Emblem.

Not everyone likes it: Few elements of Engage have been as controversial in the community as the design of the characters. Pikazo, whose work I admired even before the game, really caught my taste and definitely picks me up more than the umpteenth dead serious swordsman.

This isn’t meant to be a dig at Ike or Marth, after all I got to know and love them in Fire Emblem Engage and I’d like to learn more about the heroes from earlier parts of the series. Nevertheless, I much prefer the current direction of Fire Emblem in terms of design than the reserved squad of classic fantasy characters with their muted (hair) colors.

Slimmed-down hooking up

Since I got into the series with Fire Emblem Three Houses, however, one aspect from previews and reviews initially worried me: The reduced social interactions. No tea time, no lessons, less focus on the characters and humorous or romantic togetherness away from the cold-blooded everyday life of war. Especially as a hardcore fan of persona 5 I love the social and dialogic balance to the intense combat and couldn’t imagine doing without it in Fire Emblem Engage.

In fact, the reduction in these elements bothered me less than I expected: Support conversations between the characters, while a little less rich and complex than in the predecessor, are still an integral part of the game. Anyway, the base Somniel is a good compromise that gives you the freedom to do as much or as little as you want outside of the strategy battles.

Even though I still visit the flying fortress after every fight and play muscle-building mini-games with my royal buddy Alfred or fish for sparkling fish with Prince Diamond, I always had the option of ignoring all of these things. And the slimmed-down social sim has sharpened my focus on the essentials: The combat system.

Tactics with depth

Not that that wasn’t a tactical treat in Fire Emblem Three Houses. But with the reduced character interactions, the complete Return of the Arms Triangle and other small tricks, the combat system in Engage is running at full speed and – if fans and experts are to believe – to its old size. In addition to the classic rock-paper-scissors, this is also due to the simple but effective menu design.

Along with lots of interesting maps, clearly communicated enemy intentions and the playfully exciting emblem options, Engage offers a lot of depth without overwhelming me as a newcomer. While I already enjoyed the strategic battles with Three Houses, but didn’t feel the need to catch up on the entire Fire Emblem series afterwards, Engage is now taking the money out of my pocket for used games.

Infected with the Fire Emblem virus

So Fire Emblem Engage has gotten me hungry: an all-consuming appetite that sends me to eBay looking for reasonable prices for Fates: Legacy, Fates: Domination, and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia search. This is mainly due to the new characters, whose overloaded and almost dazzling design fascinated me from the very first trailer.

Of course, I don’t get the exuberant anime characters in the previous games, but I do get the sophisticated tactical finesse that I really learned to love in Engage. And fortunately, Ike, Marth and the other heroes of yesteryear also made me more than curious about their stories.

If it were up to me, Mika Pikazo or comparable trendy artists would be allowed to let off steam again with the next part of the series. A Warriors spin-off with the motley crew of Fire Emblem Engage, for example, I’d take a kiss, just to see Alear, Yunaka, and the other charming war companions dancing around the battlefield again.

How do you like Fire Emblem Engage and are you like me more of a beginner or a die-hard veteran? Write your opinion in the comments!