The Fire Emblem series is in the middle of an identity crisis, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the latest entry, “Fire Emblem Engage.” Tough-as-nails tactics and permadeath defined the series’s earlier games, but in the last decade, the overwhelming success of its more role-play-heavy and approachable entries has seen its focus pivot accordingly. “Engage” feels like a compromise that fails both tactics and RPG fans, in a way, but it also nails exactly what’s been keeping me playing the series all these years.
More recent Fire Emblem games still have you building a powerful army to emerge victorious in top-down, turn-based battles, but also playing matchmaker for your units or relaxing by having tea and fishing at your home base. In melding those two genres, modern Fire Emblem games — “Engage” included — can feel like whiplash between two radically different tones; when you’re dressing up your army like dolls, it’s hard to capture the emotional toll of war. “Engage” lacks the character depth and nuance RPG fans are looking for, but still retains the lighthearted side content and minigames that feel tonally at odds with its overall themes. But in its combat, the riveting (and oftentimes infuriating) challenge makes each battle a puzzle where the goal is to keep all your units alive. In my eagerness to build an unstoppable army, to master “Engage’s” dense web of abilities, unit classes and weaponry, I easily sunk more than 80 hours into the game, and will likely sink a few dozen more.
Read the full review here.