Summary
Fire Emblem Engagewas released shortly after the thirtieth anniversary of theFire Emblemseries. Heroes from every previous game united under one cause, and age-old mechanics were sharpened to perfection. Despite mixed reception in some areas,Fire Emblem Engagewas a wonderful celebration of the series' history, so much so that it’s time for the nextFire Emblemgame to move on from the past.
Fire Emblem Engagetruly brought the best out of many staples of the series. However, the game is most defined by the newly introduced Emblem mechanic, which allows players to wield the power of previous protagonists from the distant past. This mechanic is strictly tied to the context of the game, and very unlikely to reappear. With that in mind, the general lack of innovation inEngageis striking.
The Next Fire Emblem Game Should Revolutionize the Series After Engage
Fire Emblem: Three Houses Raised the Bar
Fire Emblem’s resounding success on the Nintendo Switchis incredible.Fire Emblem: Three Housesbrought the series to new heights both critically and commercially. More importantly, it heavily experimented with several core aspects ofFire Emblem, and introduced brand-new dimensions to the game that may have otherwise been unheard of.
First and foremost,Fire Emblem: Three Housesis characterized by its branching story. While this may have been done inFire Emblem Fatesthrough the sale of multiple versions of the game,Three Housesdid this on a much larger scale.Fire Emblemhas always featured a dynamic blend of personal and political drama, butThree Housesshowed the way the series may go about this in the future.
Between its school setting and calendar system,Three Housessometimes appears to borrow moreinspiration fromPersonathan it does from any givenFire Emblemgame. This is the logical extent ofFire Emblemleaning further into social mechanics, such as an increased emphasis on romance. More importantly, it shows the potential next steps for the series, steps that its successor largely overlooked.
Fire Emblem Engage is the Perfect End of an Era
Fire Emblem EngageandFire Emblem: Three Housesare very different games.Engage’s main purpose is to reflect on how far the series has come already, and this is on full display in nearly every aspect of its design. Previous protagonists return as Emblems, and may not contribute much to the story beyond their MacGuffin status, but their homage is by no means empty.
Perhaps the maincriticism leveled againstFire Emblem Engageis its relatively shallow story. However, others have embraced it for what it is: a campy celebration of the best this series has to offer. While many have come to expectFire Emblemgames to feature themes more mature than the power of friendship,Engagerarely flaunts such an ambition. However,Fire Emblem 18is the time to shoot for the stars.
The Next Fire Emblem Game Needs to Stop Looking Back
Fire Emblem Engageisn’t even the first time the series has leveraged its legacy to make up for lost time.Fire Emblem Awakeningrevived the series on a very similar principle, with both games sharing reverence for previous protagonists and other time-honored traditions. While they may have had their reasons for tapping so heavily into nostalgia,the nextFire Emblemgameneeds to leave this trend behind.
Fire Emblemhas already entered a new era, plain and simple. While the series' legacy is certainly worth embracing,Fire Emblemremakesleave more than enough room for that. As much asEngageand evenAwakeningwere celebrating the series in its entirety, they’d both be nearly unrecognizable when compared to the first dozen games in the series. This goes doubly so forThree Houses, which clearly indicated the direction the series would like to take next.
Fire Emblemis now a household name, with more mass appeal than it has ever had. Many fans who have come to love the series were introduced to it byFire Emblem: Three Houses, and some may have reverence for that game’s unique approach to the series' formula. Likewise, it’s hard to imagine a brand-new fan having a lot of nostalgia towards a character as distant as Sigurd. With all this in mind,Fire Emblem 18should boldly blaze a trail towards the future, and leave the past in the tender care ofFire Emblem Engage.
Fire Emblem Engage
WHERE TO PLAY
The Divine Dragon awakens: In a war against the Fell Dragon, four kingdoms worked together with heroes from other worlds to seal away this great evil. One-thousand years later, this seal has weakened and the Fell Dragon is about to reawaken. As a Divine Dragon, use rich strategies and robust customization to meet your destiny—to collect 12 Emblem Rings and bring peace back to the Continent of ElyosTeam up with iconic heroes from past Fire Emblem games: Summon valiant heroes like Marth and Celica with the power of Emblem Rings and add their power to yours in this brand-new Fire Emblem story.Engage in a new style of combat: Aside from merging appearances, Engaging lets you use weapons, skills, and more from these legends during battle. The turn-based, tactical battle is back with the brand-new Engage system to add more layers to the strategy.Welcome to Somniel: Explore the paradise of Somniel, your base of operations, located in the sky above the continent of Elyos. It hosts a variety of facilities and activities for the player to prepare for upcoming battles and strengthen bonds.
