Fire Emblem Engage

 Switch
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 822 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 451 out of 822
  2. Mixed: 154 out of 822
  3. Negative: 217 out of 822
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  1. Morio86
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Incredibly Engaging combat and map design, some of the absolute best in the series, maybe the story is not as good but it's still good, and the characters are very nice as always.
    No reason to not try this out if you like strategy games, unless you are heavily interested in story. Almost better than Three Houses in every aspect except that one.
  2. Ozmozz
    Jan 22, 2023
    5
    I try really hard to like it, with is all colorful but empty cast, and it's bland story without any taste. Yes the gameplay is really good, but the lack of love that was given to the story, the lack of emotion and depth is very overwelming for me. Heck, even Fates manage to give us three better stories than this title. A huge step back, for better gameplay... To bad.
  3. Dernn
    Jan 22, 2023
    5
    Massive step backwards from Three House's. Very mediocre predictable plot with extremely cringe dialogue and boring supports.
  4. FreshyPrince
    Jan 22, 2023
    0
    Usually it's 1 step forward, and 2 steps back with this company. With Engage, it's 10 steps back as it throws out everything 3Houses did correctly.
  5. miyulyn
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    It's better than the three houses, the battle and the characters are impressive.
  6. Mammospring
    Jan 22, 2023
    0
    Extremely soulless game with baby tier writing. Characters and story are awful. It's a downgrade from 3H in everyway. Sick of every game pandering to Vtubers. All it does is go for meme value rather than creating things with actual substance.
  7. theprotagonist
    Jan 22, 2023
    0
    Unfortunately, the supports for many of the characters, as well as many story elements were censored during localization. There are many other reviews complaining about the bland story and writing. However, please do not blame the original Japanese team. It is the English localizers' (Nintendo Treehouse's) fault in this case.
  8. Zalabar22
    Jan 22, 2023
    9
    Fire Emblem Engage is a colorful, fun, and beautiful game. There are so many characters to deploy and interact with, plus the Emblem Heroes bring a unique and strategic flair to each battle. I'm constantly swapping units and Emblems to maximize my armies battle capabilities and obtain victory on every map. Engage offers tons of replayability with a long campaign, random skirmishes, onlineFire Emblem Engage is a colorful, fun, and beautiful game. There are so many characters to deploy and interact with, plus the Emblem Heroes bring a unique and strategic flair to each battle. I'm constantly swapping units and Emblems to maximize my armies battle capabilities and obtain victory on every map. Engage offers tons of replayability with a long campaign, random skirmishes, online play, different characters to strategize with, and player made challenge maps to overcome. I'm glad the focus is back on the gameplay, and while there are less social options than Three Houses, I'm also enjoying the interactions you can have with your army and I'm interested and eager to have another interaction with the colorful and diverse cast of characters. Engage has a unique visual style that often makes it feel like a full blown anime; it might also be one of the best looking Nintendo Switch games that I've ever played! I haven't had any bugs or crashes in over 12 hours of play, and it runs smoothly in handheld and docked on my OLED Nintendo Switch. All in all, this is a game that's going to keep me "engaged" for some time to come.… Expand
  9. Battlecorg
    Jan 22, 2023
    0
    The writing is so bad it makes the game unplayable. Even the support conversations feel like they were written by a 5 year old. No character has any shred of personality and its so cringe I can't even get through it. There's no excuse for it to be this bad. They've beefed up the fighting mechanics but it's clear as day that they did it by cutting all funding from the writing department.The writing is so bad it makes the game unplayable. Even the support conversations feel like they were written by a 5 year old. No character has any shred of personality and its so cringe I can't even get through it. There's no excuse for it to be this bad. They've beefed up the fighting mechanics but it's clear as day that they did it by cutting all funding from the writing department. I'd return it if the switch allowed that. Please learn from my mistake and do not buy this game.… Expand
  10. aaa1313
    Jan 22, 2023
    1
    bad comedy. Everything but the battle was ruined.
    Seriously, what did they do during that long development period?
  11. dndb301
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    The battle of this game is the best in the history of the series.
    The story is a bit disappointing, but I strongly recommend the battle because it's really fun.
  12. The_Darkest
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Better than Fire Emblem Three Houses!

    Music and Combat is very great!

    And the Character Designs is not very bad!
  13. Plumbo2000
    Jan 22, 2023
    3
    People are overhyping the gameplay. It doesn't suck but it's nowhere near good enough to make up for how bad the story, characters, music, worldbuilding and dialogue are. Also it has a major flaw in that the units are badly balanced and tend to be either amazing or immediately benched, if you get any satisfaction from raising your units up this is not the Fire Emblem game for you.
    It's    People are overhyping the gameplay. It doesn't suck but it's nowhere near good enough to make up for how bad the story, characters, music, worldbuilding and dialogue are. Also it has a major flaw in that the units are badly balanced and tend to be either amazing or immediately benched, if you get any satisfaction from raising your units up this is not the Fire Emblem game for you.
    It's just a thoroughly boring experience that tries to posit itself as the new mainline entry whilst giving you nothing but shallow garbage and leaning on nostalgia for older, better games as a crutch.
    They should take the Break mechanic and put it into a real FE game, because this half-assed garbage is going to be forgotten in a month. Engage is going the same way as Fates where people are blinded during the honeymoon period and then realise shortly afterwards that the game was thoroughly disappointing. Intelligent System seriously need to get their act together and show that 3H wasn't an outlier and that they can make Fire Emblem games that take themselves seriously and stand on their own merits rather than leaning on self-references and parodying itself.

    You're better off buying Conquest, 3H, the GBA era or the Tellius games.
    The one thing Engage does right is shoving old characters in your face and reminding you that there are better Fire Emblem games you could be playing.    … Expand
  14. Tailed-Raven
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    .Most likely my favorite combat system and characters are fun so big ups from me. Dont listen to 0/10 reviews this game is super fun.
  15. Emanyueru
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    El juego es muy bueno y divertido si bien su historia no es tan buena como Three Houses pero en cuanto jugabilidad lo supera. Haber que sorpresa seran los proximos DLC
  16. LeaveMeAlone-
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Colourful, fun, and ENAGEing! (I am not sorry for that terrible pun!)

    Easily a good recommendation for someone's first FE.
  17. redsaltedegg
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    A return to form. Performance is surprising considering how 3H did on release. Less social aspects which makes multiple playthroughs actually fun. Maddening is hard, yet somewhat balanced and not a turtle fest like on 3H so that's a plus as well.

    A must buy and must play for FE fans.
  18. cq0
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    This is my second FE after awakening. I like it all. The story is ok but the combat is great.
  19. LIN1993
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    I extremely love the design of the characters in this game,moreover it is so clean that the IS wants return the traditional style of the fight aspect.
  20. GaleForceWinds
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Just a good, tactical FE. The map design is much more thought out than Three Houses where.
  21. SAKI2020
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Better than three houses…especially the fight aspect. the characters are all fine as far as i concerned.
  22. ComandanteGe
    Jan 22, 2023
    8
    Хорошее продолжение известной серии игр.
  23. SylvaConnect
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Bunch of shills acting like FE games EVER had a fantastic story to begin with lol.
    FE games have always been about the gameplay and engage is definitely moving in the right direction.
    3H emphasis on story and boring town quests made the game a chore and the story was lackluster to begin with. It was a great game but lets not pretend these B level stories should be invested into. Most    Bunch of shills acting like FE games EVER had a fantastic story to begin with lol.
    FE games have always been about the gameplay and engage is definitely moving in the right direction.

    3H emphasis on story and boring town quests made the game a chore and the story was lackluster to begin with. It was a great game but lets not pretend these B level stories should be invested into. Most people are going to skip them. Same as in FFXIV where a minority of very, loud clowns cry about stories. This game is awesome, and ignoring the story for gameplay is EXACTLY what it should be doing.    … Expand
  24. WorstFE
    Jan 22, 2023
    0
    This game should not exist. It insults past games and past lords. Be angry.
  25. QueDuBonheur
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    Absolutely loving it so far. Just don't expect Three Houses 2.0, it's a more classical Fire Emblem approach with anime. It's a bit cheesy but nothing unexpected it you played some of past entries, it's still enjoyable. Gameplay is stellar, maps are ok, visual and performance is a huge improvement compared to the previous title. It's rare to see a big Nintendo Switch game running this well.Absolutely loving it so far. Just don't expect Three Houses 2.0, it's a more classical Fire Emblem approach with anime. It's a bit cheesy but nothing unexpected it you played some of past entries, it's still enjoyable. Gameplay is stellar, maps are ok, visual and performance is a huge improvement compared to the previous title. It's rare to see a big Nintendo Switch game running this well.

    Overall it's a pretty good tactical game, I recommend you git it a try !    … Expand
  26. ShiftingSands
    Jan 22, 2023
    10
    A wonderful and colourful tribute to Fire Emblem's past, with some of the deepest gameplay of any FE game to boot!
  27. iwillbe
    Jan 21, 2023
    4
    I felt like the game was a step back from previous games. The characters are forgettable. I also found the plot to be predictable. The heroes of the past felt underdeveloped. Just no replay value like three houses had. I think the combat was probably the best part but truth to be told i was never a fan of the weapon triangle system. I'd avoid this game if you are expecting it to be as goodI felt like the game was a step back from previous games. The characters are forgettable. I also found the plot to be predictable. The heroes of the past felt underdeveloped. Just no replay value like three houses had. I think the combat was probably the best part but truth to be told i was never a fan of the weapon triangle system. I'd avoid this game if you are expecting it to be as good as previous titles.… Expand
  28. cheezychz
    Jan 21, 2023
    10
    I really like the game, the character designs are refreshing and different. They each have their own personality and quirkiness, some humor as well. The story is criticized for being bland and boring but I enjoyed it and had a great time. Gameplay 10/10 flashy! And combat looks great, the environment can also be destroyed. It’s not for everyone, I don’t get the hate for this game and itI really like the game, the character designs are refreshing and different. They each have their own personality and quirkiness, some humor as well. The story is criticized for being bland and boring but I enjoyed it and had a great time. Gameplay 10/10 flashy! And combat looks great, the environment can also be destroyed. It’s not for everyone, I don’t get the hate for this game and it seems unfair for it being called a anime game. It’s refreshing and yes the story is predictable but that shouldn’t hinder the fun. I hated how the characters looked like genshin but they grew on me, and the voice actors did an amazing job. Again it’s not for everyone so I recommend you try it, I don’t regret my time with it, and don’t trust what people say as they just bash it for the “weebo characters and cringe story.”… Expand
  29. mathor
    Jan 21, 2023
    0
    bad story, but good system. The plot looks like a child playing house. The characters are also designed to look like children, which I think is bad
  30. katieelizabeth
    Jan 21, 2023
    9
    I have finished about half the game and I'm really annoyed at some of the reviews because Engage game is oozing with quality and polish. I think these reviews were unfair, placing expectations onto a game unfairly and not giving credit to many of the great things Engage does.

    The combat just feels so amazing. This is probably the best combat in Fire Emblem. The enemy phase is so snappy    I have finished about half the game and I'm really annoyed at some of the reviews because Engage game is oozing with quality and polish. I think these reviews were unfair, placing expectations onto a game unfairly and not giving credit to many of the great things Engage does.

    The combat just feels so amazing. This is probably the best combat in Fire Emblem. The enemy phase is so snappy and fluid - I really like how it's presented. It really does ooze with polish and I can tell they spent a lot of time rethinking things to make getting information easier. The UI is fantastic! I really love it so far.

    The map design and enemy placement is also extremely well done. You can tell the people designing the levels understood Fire Emblem well. They are a pleasure to play through.

    I really like the class design in Engage - each unit type is unique and has real pros/cons. A lot of units like thieves, armors and archers all seem like they got a bit of a buff in Engage - armors especially.

    One change I noticed almost immediately was something no review even bothered to mention - moving the character around gives battle forecasts by just putting your character near them. I know this is a small change, but it makes sense and it's better than the past games.

    I was not sure about the art style and samey faces, but I gotta admit it looks pretty great on a 4k television - the sharpness and color really pops. I actually like the art style for the most part, apart from the sillier outfits (Hortensia is an example of a pretty awful outfit, but that's just me I guess).

    I was worried about spending a ton of time on exploring maps after a battle looking for items and stuff, but once I realized there was a mini-map that indicated where everything is, I realized the developers really wanted to respect your time in these sections so you could do them quickly. Also, all the Bond Fragments are automatically collected if you don't talk to people, which really helps with replayability to get through these sections faster. Again, no review mentioned any of this, and it was a concern of mine going into Engage. The developers handled it correctly.

    The difficulty on Hard seems stiff but fair and feels really good. I definitely fear losing units and must position them correctly to make sure units don't die. Engage feels a bit harder than Three Houses did - more in line with Conquest or Radiant Dawn on Hard.

    And while I don't think I will ever like the avatar character in these games, I actually don't mind this one that much. At least Alear is not a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, although the avatar worship is still a bit cringy. The twins are kind of annoying and there are a couple of other annoying characters, but there are many characters that are likable too.

    Also the combat animations finally remind me of the gba games. They are probably the best in any Fire Emblem game, which says a lot because it took them awhile to create stellar animations in most of the 3D entries.

    The technicals in Engage are fantastic too. The frame rates just feel so much better than Three Houses all around, especially in the Somniel or exploring the maps after battles. The game runs really well on Switch.

    I really like how the Somniel is very optional. Much of the stuff on the ground is for food items and extra Bond Fragment, but none of it seems necessary and you'll be rolling in Bond Fragments by just playing through the game anyway. The mini-games and social activities also aren't that impactful to the long-term, so I feel it's okay to skip them. This is a huge upgrade from the Monastery, which outstayed its welcome in Three Houses when you replayed the game through all 4 routes. The monastery was very tedious, repetitive and took up a lot of time over a 40-50 hour playthrough. The worst part about the Monastery was that it was not optional and took so much time to optimize. The Somniel is nothing like that.

    I think the one thing I miss from Three Houses and the Tellius games is the deep world building that could immerse you into the game's world - it's not really there. The Story is also pretty familiar too - likely intentional. It's good enough just to get you from map to map and does the job. It's fine.

    Overall, I'm really impressed. This is a really fantastic Fire Emblem game and one that I will be coming back to multiple times after I beat it.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best Switch Game of 2023
2
#2 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 129 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 129
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 129
  3. Negative: 0 out of 129
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    80
    Hogwarts Legacy is definitely a beautiful-looking game that doesn't have a groundbreaking story, but does have a beautiful world, a fun combat system, broomstick flying, and of course an incredible amount of side quests and missions. [Issue#325]
  2. Gamereactor Spain
    Oct 16, 2023
    80
    It’s a title where difficulty isn’t just about advancing mission after mission but doing so with as few casualties as possible. This makes Engage the perfect gateway to the series, as well as a handful of good memories for those already familiar with it. A game which perfectly balances periods of action with quiet, enjoyable interludes in which to chat with other characters, play minigames and try out new weapons.
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  3. Pocket-lint
    Jun 23, 2023
    90
    Fire Emblem Engage is a superb strategy game that has taken a major technical leap forward, graphically superior to its predecessor in every meaningful way.It tells a well-meaning story that still manages to pack in a few surprisng twists, and while its social features are a little extraneous this time, it's still super relaxing to fall into its world.Multiplayer expands things even further, leaving us confident that the future is very, very bright for this excellent series.
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