This review contains spoilers
Much like the Fire Emblem community, This game has me feeling very polarized and divided.
On one hand, the gameplay contained within Engage has been a taste of a sleeker, crisper and classic take on the Fire Emblem formula that I have been craving for a while. The Engage mechanic is tons of fun, even if it trivializes a lot of the games combat, sometimes it is fun to annihilate things in different ways. Thats kinda how Fire Emblem operates: use your units in any way that makes big numbers happen to enemies health bars. Bigger numbers = BIGGEST FUN
And on the other hand though, I quite frankly am insulted by the pure pathetic writing and dialogue, and it makes me want to bash my head through a wall. Cringe is an understatement to some of these writing decisions and interactions. Like, I literally caught up on my house chores in the time it took Lumera to finish her death dialogue.
The gameplay of this title is really the only thing keeping me invested in this game whatsoever. Sadly though, it gives the atmosphere of the game a empty almost robotic feeling when playing it. Previous Fire Emblem titles have kept me immersed through all mediums; the music, characters, dialogue, story and the intersection of all these themes into the gameplay in a way that the game feels atmospheric and alive. This game in contrast is so dead that it may as well be fossilized, and it only came out last week. That is how disappointing it is to me that this story got approved for sale on store shelves.
Is it asking too much to want both amazing gameplay and story in a game celebrating its anniversary for the Franchise? The answer must be yes, because this game incorporates only half of what makes Fire Emblem good: its core gameplay. Its hard to connect with nostalgia towards old characters returning when the medium they are presented in is so lack luster. They forgot half of what makes Fire Emblem great, it’s stories and the interactions between characters.
I want to see this franchise hit that Magnum Opus, that masterpiece game that will have all corners of the fanbase say “Yeah this shit is great”. This game, this “celebration”, is really a celebration that they suckered your money into this game. When they take all the elements that made their previous titles successful and stand out and competently craft a game using these experiences throughout the years into one project, is when we can truly celebrate how far this franchise will have come.
On one hand, the gameplay contained within Engage has been a taste of a sleeker, crisper and classic take on the Fire Emblem formula that I have been craving for a while. The Engage mechanic is tons of fun, even if it trivializes a lot of the games combat, sometimes it is fun to annihilate things in different ways. Thats kinda how Fire Emblem operates: use your units in any way that makes big numbers happen to enemies health bars. Bigger numbers = BIGGEST FUN
And on the other hand though, I quite frankly am insulted by the pure pathetic writing and dialogue, and it makes me want to bash my head through a wall. Cringe is an understatement to some of these writing decisions and interactions. Like, I literally caught up on my house chores in the time it took Lumera to finish her death dialogue.
The gameplay of this title is really the only thing keeping me invested in this game whatsoever. Sadly though, it gives the atmosphere of the game a empty almost robotic feeling when playing it. Previous Fire Emblem titles have kept me immersed through all mediums; the music, characters, dialogue, story and the intersection of all these themes into the gameplay in a way that the game feels atmospheric and alive. This game in contrast is so dead that it may as well be fossilized, and it only came out last week. That is how disappointing it is to me that this story got approved for sale on store shelves.
Is it asking too much to want both amazing gameplay and story in a game celebrating its anniversary for the Franchise? The answer must be yes, because this game incorporates only half of what makes Fire Emblem good: its core gameplay. Its hard to connect with nostalgia towards old characters returning when the medium they are presented in is so lack luster. They forgot half of what makes Fire Emblem great, it’s stories and the interactions between characters.
I want to see this franchise hit that Magnum Opus, that masterpiece game that will have all corners of the fanbase say “Yeah this shit is great”. This game, this “celebration”, is really a celebration that they suckered your money into this game. When they take all the elements that made their previous titles successful and stand out and competently craft a game using these experiences throughout the years into one project, is when we can truly celebrate how far this franchise will have come.