Summary
TheFire Emblemseries has become one of Nintendo’s more popular franchises over the past decade, growing to earn several different character representatives inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateand consistently releasing new mainline and spin-off titles.Fire Emblem Engagehas now been out for a year, and while it brought a lot of great new ideas to the series, many players felt like it was a step back fromFire Emblem: Three Houses. As such,Fire Emblem Engagestill seems to live in the shadow of its predecessor, never reaching the same levels of popularity asThree Houses.
One of the best comeback stories in gaming is the way theFire Emblemseries went from being nearly canceled to one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises after the success of theNintendo 3DS’Fire Emblem Awakening. Now, over a decade later, the franchise is still going strong, but there is a clear division in the fan base between those who prefer the classic style ofFire Emblemtitles and those who prefer the series' modern entries. For many players,Fire Emblem Engagewas seen as a return to the pre-Awakeningera of the franchise, which made the game divisive among fans of the recent entries.
Fire Emblem Engage Never Quite Achieved the Same Success as Three Houses
Fire Emblem Engage’s Missing Social Elements Were Controversial
While theFire Emblemseries has always been a tactical RPG at its core, part of what made the post-Awakeningera of the series so popular was the social elements added to subsequent entries.Fire Emblem AwakeningandFire Emblem Fatesboth included a mechanic that allowed players to marry two units together if they achieved S-Rank support with each other, resulting in the ability to recruit their child as a unit later down the line.Fire Emblem: Three Housesdialed back this mechanic, but introduced an entirePersona-like calendar systemalong with various activities players could participate in around the hub world of Garreg Mach Monastery.
InFire Emblem Engage, the calendar system ofThree Houseswas removed and, although there was still theSomniel that acted as a hub world, the social activities players could participate in were far more limited. Instead,Fire Emblem Engagereturned to the classic design of having chapters unlock one after another, becoming accessible via the world map and making returning to the Somniel optional. While this streamlined the gameplay ofFire Emblem Engage, many players felt that it wasn’t as robust of an experience asThree Housesand that the addition of some optional social elements felt like they were shoehorned in as an afterthought.
Three Houses' Multiple Story Routes Made Engage Feel Barren by Comparison
Another popular aspect ofFire Emblem: Three Houseswas the multiple story routesplayers could choose to follow based on their choice of house to lead. There were four total routes players could follow and each presented a very different view of the game’s conflict, essentially allowingFire Emblem: Three Housesto tell four stories within one game. Not only was the number of narrative routes impressive, but the character development and plot twists contained in each route made for an emotional experience regardless of which route the player chose.
Compared toThree Houses,Fire Emblem Engage’s linear narrative felt a lot more by the numbers for theFire Emblemseries. The game’s characters also were much more one-note and didn’t have as much growth, nor as personal connection to the game’s central conflict asThree Houses' characters. While there were some exceptions, such as the strugglecharacters like Diamant and Alcrysthad to endure after losing their father, the overall narrative complexity ofFire Emblem Engagewasn’t on the same level asThree Houses, leading many fans who enjoy the series for its stories to be disappointed.
Fire Emblem Engage’s Gameplay Wasn’t Enough to Elevate it Past Three Houses
WhereFire Emblem Engagereally shined was in its core gameplay, boasting some of the most interesting tactical combat the series has ever seen. The big focus of this entry is the Engage mechanic that allowsunits to synchronize with an Emblem Ringand gain new powers granted by that ring’s Emblem. This mechanic allowed several popular characters from the series' past, like Marth, Ike, and Celica to return in the form of Emblem Heroes, who could grant their unique skills to the character equipped with their Emblem Ring, opening the door for even more complex strategies than past entries.
Fire Emblem Engagealso brought back aclassic mechanic of the franchise in the weapon triangle, which created a rock-paper-scissor-style system of giving certain weapon types an advantage over others. Along with the return of the weapon triangle was the new Break mechanic which allows units with the weapon type advantage to disarm their opponent after attacking, preventing them from counterattacking. The combination of these new mechanics madeFire Emblem Engagea dream for fans wanting to dig into deep, strategic gameplay, and helped the game stand out from the rest of the series.
The weapon triangle was first introduced inFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the fourth installment of the series, and had been present in some form in every subsequent entry up untilFire Emblem: Three Houses. Strangely, this mechanic was removed fromThree Housesonly to return inFire Emblem Engage.
However, as satisfying as these new gameplay mechanics were, they weren’t enough to make up for the rest of the game’s shortcomings. Fans of the classic entries in the series who preferred the challenging tactical gameplay of older titles welcomed these new mechanics, but fans of modern entries who enjoyed the franchise for its characters and story weren’t as impressed by their addition. Overall, a lot of the risksFire Emblem Engagetook with its combatreally paid off, but they were overshadowed by the game’s shallow characters, lukewarm story, and half-hearted social elements.
