Fire Emblem is a series that has taken a long and strange path to popularity in the west, with most people’s first introduction to the characters being the inclusion of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Since then, interest in this tactical game slowly grew until it basically exploded with the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This mix of tactical combat – alongside well-written characters, deep relationship systems, and tons of replay value – has made this a major franchise for Western audiences.
Although we’ve gotten smaller derivative titles since then, such as Fire Emblem: Three Hopes, most were waiting for the next true entry in the Fire Emblem series. Nintendo delivered during its September 2022 Live with the announcement of Fire Emblem Engage. It will be the next mainline entry in the series, which means there are a lot of expectations for it. If you’re ready to dive back into the world of intense combat and charming characters, here’s everything we know about Fire Emblem Engage.
Further reading
Release date
In what has become a welcome trend with Nintendo Directs, the reveal of Fire Emblem Engage not only came with a firm release date, but also close. This title will arrive at the very beginning of the year on January 20, 2023.
Platforms
As with all the main games in the series, Fire Emblem Engage will be exclusive to Nintendo Switch. Unlike PlayStation or Xbox, both of which have started allowing their exclusives to at least migrate to PC eventually, if not right away, Nintendo has yet to move to keep its biggest franchises locked to their hardware.
Trailers
The only trailer given so far for Fire Emblem Engage was the Nintendo Direct trailer.
In it, we are introduced to the setting of Elyos, which includes four regions surrounding a sacred area in the middle. These lands survived a vicious war against the Fell Dragon 1,000 years before, but were able to overcome by summoning heroes, aka Emblems. Now, however, it looks like the Fell Dragon is about to return.
We get a flashy, very cinematic look at the main cast of characters unleashing their moves and abilities before the main hero, Alear, uses his ring to summon Marth.
It turns out that Alear has been asleep for 1,000 years and is actually a god dragon. They are members of a royal family of dragons from the past.
After more gameplay, we get a plot hint. Alear refers to someone asking him to bring all the rings and use them to bring peace to Elyos. We know the rings allow him to summon emblems, but that implies there may be more to their power than that.
It’s also worth noting that, despite not appearing in the trailer, Alear can be male or female, depending on your preference.
Gameplay
Along with the cinematic moments, the trailer also showed off a good chunk of what the actual gameplay will look like in Fire Emblem Engage.
Right off the bat, the grid-based aerial system will feel instantly familiar to those who’ve played the previous games. You and your team will appear on the map with colored squares indicating where you can move and attack. Each unit has its own stats, weapons, and abilities to manage and plan. The classic weapon triangle also seems to be returning.
New is the Engage mechanic which allows units to summon emblems of heroes from previous games, such as Marth, Roy, Byleth and many others mentioned earlier. When summoned, the unit will merge somewhat with the emblem, almost acting like a stand of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure which grants that unit new skills, stat boosts, weapons, and more. Each character will need to equip a specific ring associated with an emblem to summon them, which can be swapped.
We don’t know if there’s a cost or limit to summoning emblems, but there’s probably something in place to balance the mechanic.
We are also witnessing an exploration of the central zone. Although it doesn’t feel as sturdy or deep as what we had in three hopes, at least so far there seems to be a big city and a castle that will serve as a base. Here we have a few shop previews and even an area where you can customize your characters’ outfits. These seem to be limited to changing tops and glasses or accessories.
What’s not shown, but presumably included somehow, is Alear’s ability to use his God Dragon ability to transform into a dragon. This was possible when Divine Dragons was featured in previous games, so should make a return here.
While we know you can interact with your team and even Emblem heroes in this hub, it remains to be seen if there will be an in-depth relationship system in Fire Emblem Engage.
Multiplayer
Fire Emblem Engage will not feature any multiplayer component. This should come as no surprise, as the series has never properly featured any form of multiplayer support.
Pre-order
You can jump on your pre-order for Fire Emblem Engage right now! The game is available through Nintendo in two editions: the $60 Digital Game or the $100 Divine Edition. The latter will get you not only the game but also the following physical goods:
- steel book
- Artistic cards
- art book
- Attach
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