Fire Emblem: Engage Review

Fire Emblem: Engage is the latest installment in the beloved anime chess simulator franchise, and it’s shaping up to be a real treat for fans. From the moment I started playing, I was struck by the visual upgrade in the overall presentation of the game. It looks super clean and polished, with a level of attention to detail that feels new for the series. The animation when your units prepare for battle is especially nice, adding an extra touch of anime flair to the combat.

But the gameplay is where Fire Emblem: Engage really shines. The 12 emblem rings, which allow you to summon Lords from the series’ past to help in battle, add an interesting new layer to the gameplay. It’s reminiscent of the pair up mechanic introduced in Fire Emblem: Awakening, but feels different enough to be a welcome change to the core combat. And seeing the design mashups that result from equipping different rings had me wanting to try out every combination possible.

One thing that’s worth noting is that the emblem rings feature main characters from earlier games in the series, which may not be familiar to everyone. While Fire Emblem has been popular in the West for a while now, the first game to be released outside of Japan was only the seventh one, Blazing Blade. So for many players, characters like Sigurd and Leaf might be unfamiliar. But as a fan of the series, I enjoyed the concept and found it to be a fun way to delve into the history of Fire Emblem.

Overall, my time playing Fire Emblem: Engage has left me excited for the full release on January 20th. The gameplay is fun and innovative, and the presentation is top-notch. It’s shaping up to be one of the best playing modern Fire Emblem games. As for the story, we’ll have to wait and see how that pans out. But in the meantime, I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of the game and dive back into the world of Fire Emblem.