@@gilpauloabracia long time FE fan - gameplay is amazing and best we’ve had in recent entries but the story and characters are actually completely dogshit
On the point of the Story, it's good for the game. It's not some conveluded story with all these twists and turns to be confused by. It moves the story forward and gets me ready for the next objective which is always the combat. I have been playing on Hard/Classic and so far haven't used any rewinds(chapter 7 atm) and still I'm sitting pre-battle to end taking a very long time per map to make sure all units live. I live in constant fear of FOMO so losing a unit means no more story for them and I just can't have that lol. TL:DR, Story is fine for the game, but the Combat is where it's at and I'm in love. Graphics are a big improvement over Three Houses as far as polish.
@@plastikman7788 No the story, the story could be serviceable with a little more effort, not much a little, the pacing is wonky the allied side is slo bloated, 8 princes and princeses... That could be fine, but the antagonists are basically 4 people you fight again and again and you have a close range chat before and after the battle, its so disappointing. Like the bandit brothers were better writeen not going to lie. Also disappointed you never turn into a dragon let alone zephia never does. I dunno if its a rush or something, like you get those corrupted drakes and they are never explained and there is no other 'beasts' in the story, its such a let down, I am msotly comparing to path of radiance (not radiant dawn as that would be 2v1) so big overall disappontment in that aspect. But the core gameplay outside the bloated engage system I admit is pretty much the best in any FE series, the only 'missing' thing is a rescue-esque mechanic or even better shove.
@@regalgiant1597 Valid points on the story, honestly. Personally, not since Awakening have I been all that invested in FE stories. Awakening and before had some really great stories to go along with the game, but after that it got a little campy and convoluted. I'm in the camp that didn't think FE Three Houses was all that amazing story wise and all the bloated waifu hunting and dating sim bs really hurt that for me... personally. So with that said, I don't mind a less is more strategy with having Engage having a meh story because I play these games for the core gameplay loop now. Until they get some better writers I'll just maintain the notion that the stories are gonna be meh. But I'll say what is absolutely worse than the story by miles is the f'ing mini-game workouts... should never be implemented in that fashion ever again.
@@plastikman7788 yeah totally agreed, after one go I never did the wyvern thing again and only did the strength thing twice, just cannot be bothered, I like the somniel and find it a good balance, to an extent, between a mobile base and a interaction hub. I missed awakening but got it recently and playing through it, its really good, I honestly did not know such a good FE was out post path of radiance/radiant dawn. I got the season pass so i hope the dlc picks up some of the slack, the story is a right off at this point for me, but I still somehow hope more antagonists are added to motivate you in a sense, though thats not something dlc can do.
I use reviews as a barometer but not the only deciding factor for a game. There are definitely some games that people have crapped on over the years that I thought were great and others that were reviewed well that I didn't like. It comes to preference for sure. For me, if the game is fun, doesn't have breaking bugs, and runs at a stable rate, I will usually be happy with my purchase.
I have a particular issue with Fire Emblem reviews. Reviewers will say stuff like, "The supports are bad." OK, well, you rushed through the game to get it done and read only a handful. Or, because they only had time to play through the game on casual normal, the game was "too easy." It's one of those series that you just can't rush through to get the full experience.
@@MinkDaddy I'd also bet many reviewers only read through the C supports, which are usually a little bland and surface-level. The B and A supports are much more interesting and enjoyable
My personal take on Fire Emblem Engage is this: It's a quintessential example of how you Don't Always Need to Reinvent the Wheel when making a Sequel to find Success. Sometimes you just need to make a similar wheel to last time but make it Better. More Efficient. More Streamlined. Which is Exactly What Engage is. It's not trying to be Three Houses 2. It's not trying to tell four different overarching plotlines at once. Engage set out to be a good *Fire Emblem* Game, and it nails it because it wasn't trying to be anything more than that. It's giving you a familiar plot (a classic Fire Emblem Plot of "Find the Macguffins"), with easy to understand character archetypes so that you don't have to spend forever trying to understand every single facet of every character, many of them still do have depth (like Yunaka, as pointed out in the video), but there's enough surface level stuff that you don't have to spend the whole playthrough trying to learn about a character to understand their motivations, while also having a hearty dose of nostalgia for long-time fans, mixed with some extremely brutal, but fair and rewarding, difficulty for players seeking a really challenging Turn-based Strategy RPG (including new mechanics that prevent older "1 man army" strats that normally become prevalent in older Fire Emblem titles from being anywhere near as effective. Teamwork is pretty much a must above Normal Difficulty). Not to mention they actually incorporated the "rewind mechanic" into the story in a tense and interesting way instead of just having it be a thing that exists and that's it. Also, can we just talk about how well this game actually runs compared to other major releases on the switch? I've yet to notice any major framerate issues during my playthrough, personally speaking, which is impressive considering this is a Switch game, which lets face it, the Switch does usually struggle with keeping that little fps count up. I love the little system, but it cannot be understated that it does struggle at times. But Engage is definitely not one of those times. (At least not that I've personally noticed. Your mileage may vary etc. etc.)
I just wish inheriting bond skills was streamlined. Going back and forth between the ring chamber and the arena (not including the inconsequential bond fights) is a bit cumbersome the more I've been playing. Even worse for future playthroughs I imagine. Sure you can plan out what skills you want to limit multiple visits, but it was definitely a miss to these two mechanics physically separate from each other.
Did someone seriously just say "there is DEPTH in the story"? This is one of the most generic lazy and surface level stories for kids 5-8 years old. In comparison to three houses (which wasn't perfect either) it feels just like DLC or Addon. "Those journos must have played on Normal" - if your game uncovers only in Hard mode, it means your gamedesign skills suck A LOT.
This game is amazing. Especially on Maddening. It takes everything to beat some of the maps but it's fun all the way and extremely rewarding when you take like 70-100+ turns and you get through it with 0 casualties lol. There are so many different characters with different class possibilities. I already wanna take a different approach in my subsequent playthroughs
@@vivil2533 I've been rotating between Fire Emblem Engage and SIFU right now. It's been good because Sifu activates a different part of my brain. By the time a play Sifu for a while I'm ready to go back to Fire Emblem.
I completely agree with all the points in this video. I was skeptical about the reviews. It didnt stop me from picking it up. The side missions with the emblem rings is probably a huge plus for me learning about older fire emblem games and seeing some iconic places from games i did play. Reviewers on something cause this game is amazing and should be in the 90s fr fr
My comment is very late but this shouldn't matter because I want also talk about this game. Here's my opinion. I absolutely love this game. I never played a Fire Emblem game before and only a few strategy games (also Sparks of Hope). I always need more time in strategy times but it's still okay. Fire Emblem Engage was a game where I didn't expect much of it first but the first time I tried this game my mind was absolutely blown away. I love the character in this game. I love them so much that some characters are my favorite FE characters and some also my favorite in general. I also like Alcryst and Fogado a lot, but also Timerra. I also like Celica a lot and want to play Echoes only because of her. I generally want to see and play all previous FE games not only because of the Emblems. I also like the conversations where my favorite one is the last conversation between Celica and Pandreo but there are also other great conservations. The gameplay is also awesome with the Emblem Engaging. There are so many possibilities and I also tried a lot of them. The story is really great and I was sometimes shocked what happened in this game. But my favorite thing in this game (which wasn't even mentioned at all) is the voice acting. The voice acting in this game is perfect and I mean that seriously really perfect. I felt every situation because the voice was perfectly spoken especially when someone is happy, someone is sad or someone dies and say some last words. Every VA did an amazing job and deserves probs as well as the voice director. Fire Emblem Engage is my absolutely favorite game 2023 and I also want to to do other Fire Emblem games. Thank you for your attention and don't let them take your fun even if they say that this is bad. Have a great day.
I completely agree with everything you mentioned in the vid. Given the pre-release impressions & reviews, I was expecting a shallow but flashy FE All-Stars game, but got so much more. I am 50hrs+ into it and having an absolute blast.
This is pretty much what I’ve been thinking as I’ve played though (48 hours, just beat Chapter 16, normal classic). Could the game dive deeper into things like FE3H? Sure, and that wouldn’t be bad. But they aren’t as one-note as some people make it out to be. I could be biased from playing since FE7, it genuinely feels like older games with giving enough story to flesh out characters while leaving room to speculate or theorize (which I’m about tbh)
The game is a diamond in the rough, sold to us as a pure one. Its still an enjoyable story, but a lot of polish could have made the story and characters a little more flesh out. As a Fire Emblem the story does come as generic as a lot of the early and latter games have done, but as the same as those games, they have the little twist and characterization that in hindsight are predictable AF, but still enjoyable. I do blame the MC for being too generic xD, he is probably the reason why the reviewers criticized hard the story. What i do think is a missed opportunity is to make the game have more on board story elements, like what happens in the chapter called "Retreat". *------------------------------------- Minor Spoiler-----------------------------------------------* Though i do appreciate the jumpscare Ike gave me in his bond ring map.
As a gameboy FE players since childhood, this game is giving me NOSTALGIC. It make me appreciate more especially seeing the prev past lords in high quality graphic! *cries*
A lot of critics aren’t here and haven’t been here for the franchise, so I enjoy that it’s growing in popularity and I consider opinions from people who jumped on since the 3ds very valid. If you come from the gba or fan translations prior, I’ll listen even more (because that’s where I’m from)
I see where you are coming from. Well, if it means anything, I have played all the 3ds titles (plan to play Shadow Dragon and Radiant Dawn as well) and I think Engage is definitely a solid entry to the series.
Been enjoying your FE Engage coverage! I agree with you on its review scores being too low. This game is at least a 9/10. I hope you continue to enjoy it - we’re about at the same place in the story and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
There is literally no difference in tones or presentation of these two games. Three houses was also cheesy, corny, campy, and badly written but was absolutely NOT heavy in any way
@@Karaamjeet I mean, to someone Who only had time to play one route It may seem that way, since the story is Split between the routes, meaning if you play just one, you are missing half the picture
Glad to finally find a review that really dives into the game itself and not just the art style and how different it is. Fire emblem games are always changing and I personally love how different every new game is. So excited to play this!
OJ, I love a lot of your content, but nitpicking reviewers and Metacritic scores just makes me roll my eyes my dude. Acting like there’s some grand conspiracy of bias or unskilled/unqualified reviewers and as if there are objective criteria to subjectively liking or disliking a game (in this case it’s more of a case of loving or liking a game, people are still being overly positive on the game). Much prefer your news videos, your own personal opinions on games, and your industry analysis/predictions. I get you’re just voicing your opinion on others’ opinions but yeah. And I’m saying this as someone who would agree with your opinions 95% of the time or more, I very often love the games you love
Some of these arguments are so disingenuous. No one is comparing the story to Mario vs Rabbids. We are comparing the story to other Fire Emblem games. I personally think the characters are ok. The story is very blade to the point of me personally not caring about it. The game play and map design are great. The game is overall really good, but the story is easily the weakest part of it.
I think Engage has taught us that newer Fire Emblem fans (ie. 3H fans) aren't able to care about any of their characters without heaps of lore dumping, which I personally don't need to get invested, and the addition of which seems to have lead to less time/resources on gameplay/combat development time, making it more watered down imo in those 3H compared to Engage (and a lot of previous entries).
@@mmaxdragon exactly the same for me the characters are so badly written like they all believe alear instantly they all start dickriding alear. Lapis is a great example of that. first time you meet her she’s giving Alear sass and then the next conversation she’s doting her. the supports are nice length but they lack depth, difference or development. the antagonists never die they always run away. Veyle reveal was predictable imo, i called it the first time you meet you. Somniel is underwhelming and it’s kind of disappointing that 80% of the activities are redundant. 3H my castle was tedious but this is almost in the complete over direction. The one saving grace for Engage is that the combat and gameplay is phenomenal
I think a real FE veteran would skip all the dialogues and go straight to battle. It was so hard to just keep my dudes alive that we all had little to say to each other. Nowadays, it’s all about the story and dialogues. Or was it just me lol
My problem with skirmishes is that it's scaling. I always used skirmishes to level up my other characters and they became too weak to kill anything because my alear and diamont killed too much. They become way harder than the story. When I just want to level up other members to play with.
If you have a character that can cheese the skirmishes what you can do is solo one with that unit, which resets the arena, then use the arena to grind the weaker ones.
@@werb--- I am next run. I just wanted to figure out the mechanics and what was different. There is no way I would beat maddening my first run made way too many mistakes
People give stuff like metacritic waaaay to much power on how the percieve games, theres alot of games that never scored a 90+ but they are masterpieces
I’m on chapter 19. And yes, Engage is by far one of the WORST stories and collection of characters of the Fire Emblems. But in terms of gameplay, it’s still 10/10 top notch.
There's a lot of things I figured reviewers skipped. Like supports betwen units. Especially not named Alear. And the side things you can do. Side quests are also very important. I'm not super deep into it. Chapter 8. But I think a lot of reviewers skipped a lot of dialogue. You can skip just about everything in this game
First off, I love turn base games. I enjoy the strategy of them. I was waiting a new Final Fantasy Tactics. With that said, this game is a no brainer for me. Character building and the endless options you have in this game is insane. It’s awesome there will be more content through 2023.
I feel like ppl ragging on the story haven't played other FE games. Granted, I haven't played engage yet (plan to tonight!), but they always have just good enough stories to me, enough to keep you interested and wanting to go through the next battle. But the intricacies of the combat and team building are always where it shines!
In term of story, is the zero/light coke to a normal one. You can feel the generic vibes, while the other did better at hiding that. Other than that is fine, honestly, serviceable, good enough to keep you going.
My issues with this game comes down to the Story pacing feeling really odd and rushed a lot of times. The support interactions feeling kinda lackluster for most characters. And the crazy amount of SP required. Still enjoyed the hell out of it and it's an easy 8/10 for me.
Some of these comments are why I don't worry about when games constantly get compared or hated on. Also I feel bad for the game team that put months and months into a game for fans to dislike every single thing like really??....anyways I can't wait until I can get the game cause am going to put hours and hours and hours until to what I've seen so far it's WAY up my ally
Some people gave up the game too early just because of the characters and story It gets much better as you go I think some people aren’t really into fire emblem so they find it easy to pick on it. It’s generally easy to hate fire emblem with all the drama surrounding it. Engage is amazing imo
I don't like the characters, I don't like the story, I don't like the art style, but I love the gameplay. Which the gameplay is exactly what I play fire emblem for. That's all my opinion of course.
Yeah, I gotta agree, Engage is definetely better than what reviews make it out to be, although, I will admit, the story is nothing to write home about, is not bad, but is not amazing either, is serviceable, and it fulfills it's purpose. The characters are probably gonna be a hit or miss with people, especially depending of what supports/dialogues you get, because most of them have both goofy and serious dialogues depending on who they speak to or if you even get to those dialogues. Alcryst is a great example, he can have super silly dialogues of how he is so self deprecating, to a point it's ridiculous, but also you can have things like his support with Celine, where they both share their nightmares of their older siblings dying, or when (spoilers ahead) Alcryst is willing to carry the burden of killing his own father just cuz he knows Diamant would not be able to live with himself if he were the one to do so.
Speaking as an FE fan who started with Awakening and has since played every game in the series, even putting aside that I actually really enjoyed the story, cast, and Alear as a main character, after being hot or cold on Three Houses due to how hard it swung towards social sim mechanics and micromanaging every little bit of your units, Engage was exactly the game I thought it was going to be and what I was hoping it to be. Definitely has become one of my favorites in the series. I think that comparing the characters and world of Three Houses to Engage and citing that as the deciding factor for why it's the lesser game is not only unfair, it's missing the point that others might prefer Engage for. That being that it's a lot more traditional in how it's designed and I think that makes it a lot more enjoyable and easy to pick up and play, while Emblems also being a really great gameplay mechanic. As well, as a long time fan, the amount of references that are rampant in this game are all so fun. Always brings a smile to my face. I feel sort of validated as a fan.
I hated the story and the lack of enemy charcters really really really pissed me off, the recycle of the Hounds in like 4+ battles was so irksome and the lack of support romances for companions was practically criminal for the series. I did like the gameplay, I gripe and moan, rightfully so about the story and I am not really a fan of the engage mechanic, mostly as its so bloated systems wise, but the gameplay otherwise is pretty slick and enjoyable, rescue and sove would have been great. But for me this is a 7.5/10 mostly because of how good the gameplay is, but the story and lack of antagonist characters and the actions taken being mostly nonsensical really harmed it.
I agree with you 100%. I already beat the game and I'm a casual player. Love the gamplay the most. The characters and the story are good. I'm already replaying it. So many things to do in this game.
Yeah you can see the clear bias towards Three Houses with those reviewers. Engage actually does good things better than that instalment where it counts most in the gameplay, but those critics seem far too focused on social aspects as that's all they talk and complain about. The story and whatever is nowhere near as bad as many are making it out and characters are good, which can't be said of many games nowadays I could mention *cough* Forspoken :-)
Fire emblem the series made a really big impact in the SRPG and even the RPG sort of genre in general. Starting even before awakening but especially with awakening it added SOO many elements and I remember the crazy hype around it and it was a lot of peoples first ever fire emblem game and dates Carried that legacy but further enhanced it especially story wise and gameplay. After playing awakening and going into fates the fans were hooked. Then when three houses came out on switch it appealed to a huge player base because of the branching story lines again and how what you decide and do makes an impact, but even individually each of those stories intertwine to an overarching narrative. Engage is of more like awakening imo and I love it so much, its more classic fire emblem but that isn’t to say it is generic or anything at all. The game presents itself in such a unique way with how the story plays out but especially the gameplay and how more enticing the battles are. Even on hard mode you can’t just breeze through super easily there are a lot of moments where you need to utilize your party properly. It helps tie in the characters and overarching story in such a elegant way to honor more classic fire emblem while still having its unique identity.
I was just thinking the same thing while I was playing today. When I heard the reviews, I was expecting a lot less depth to the characters and was expecting to not really care as much if a character dies in combat. However, the characters are very fleshed out and the game still has pretty much all the stuff that Three Houses had. The only thing it doesn't have, as far as I know, is the ability to romance a character, but that was just a tea drinking mini game and a two second scene at the end of the game if you dated a character. Not much of a loss in my opinion. Overall, I think the story fell a little bit more lighthearted compared to three houses, but it's kind of a breathe of fresh air for me. I loved what three houses achieved, but I love engage too. I'm not sure which I love more yet, but it might be engage. I think Fire Emblem has a bright future!
Don’t count on game journalists to be able to fairly review a game’s difficulty. This game on maddening is no joke. According to Excelblem, Engage on Maddening difficulty is one of the hardest fire emblem games ever made.
Professional reviews are not to be trusted, especially in more niche genres. Their job stands firmly with the mainstream, and that's fine. Engage is the best Fire Emblem has ever been on the strategy side of things. The story is simple, but so what? It isn't the focus of the game, and it doesn't have to be. Why are people pretending that Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre have an incredible story? This isn't what makes them great. The characters are awesome in Engage, not any worse than previous Fire Emblem games. In fact, design wise they stand out more to me.
First fire emblem game I replay just after finishing it in a higher difficulty. Perfect FE experience for me. I can finally forget that bitter taste 3 houses left in my mouth and enjoy FE again.
Outside of reviewers who might not be Fire Emblem fans reviewing the game and not really covering everything or trying to get through it quick, I think it also has to maybe do with bias. I’ve noticed Three Houses fans more than anyone has been more negative on the game, probably because of how different Engage is from Three Houses and maybe only playing Three Houses before
that's the devs problem for not taking into account how their last game will effect sales and perception. this game is entirely too weird and wacky to be taken seriously. It's the same problem Super Sentai and Power Rangers has been having for a good decade.
This FE is a blast. Cant understand the bombing, I wasnt confident at first but the tactical approach, emblems mechanics and crazy map design are on point. Maddening player here, best FE experience I got since Conquest.
Yes this is all opinion based no one is wrong this is just all feelings from there experience Also the weird thing is FE 3H was more mature which is weird because it took place at a school. This one gives off more of a childish vibe.
I follow some of the voice cast on Twitter. There are so many amazing talents that bring these characters to life. I may not have played Three Houses, or Engage. But knowing how passionate its cast is, gives it so much depth even more.
This was a great video as usual :) I love this game so much, the story, the characters, the gameplay, love how funny some lines are, died laughing several time, this might be my favorite FE game since I started with Awakening, like I love Three Houses, but this game has really captivated me, some of my favorite characters and interactions between them...time to go play again, love the video!
I’m over 50 hours in and I’ve enjoyed it but I do feel like this a mid tier FE, I personally wasn’t into the story this time and pretty vastly missed a lot of the mechanics from 3 houses. Felt like one step forward two steps back.
I started with 3Houses And adored it I went into this with medium expectations on account of Three Hopes being just such a disappointment I’ve played almost all of the English translationed FE Games (Not the Radiant duology) And genuinely Engage is one of the BEST GAMES IVE PLAYED It hits so differently to every other modern game, story, characters, ACTORS, all are fantastic They could have done more with the emblems but genuinely It’s phenomenal It’s not as good as three houses to me But it’s phenomenal
The game is good on tactics and graphical. Feels rushed when it comes to dialogue recordings, story elements and side content. I also feel the rings idea with past heroes is gimmicky.
The story isn't terrible, it's just... underwhelming. I mean, FE3H was far from perfect, but the story is really what gets me going. FE Engage carried me through the game only with the gameplay, and I gotta say, even if the story is not to my liking, in my opinion it's the best FE I played to date. The characters though... I love them, Veyle is the best btw.
This is why i don’t really consider reviews at all when looking at a game. I am sure i will get some hate for what insay next, but when a garbage story like TLOU2 gets so much praise i know that the only opinion that matters is my own when it comes to my enjoyment of a game.
Let me put in my perspective; I’ve never played a fire emblem game properly before. The furthest I had played was through fire emblem (7?), the first localised US one, and in that all I had done was finished Lyn’s Story; and this was 4 weeks ago. So I am a newbie pretty much. But fire emblem engage feels incredibly streamlined and welcoming to a newbie like myself. Everything feels connected and I don’t feel like I have been left behind due to the lack of series knowledge, emblems are nice fan service but don’t do anything for me; obviously…
I just yesterday finished the game, here is my opinion (without spoiling, don't worry): Pros: the game is very good and I enjoyed my time with it. The combat is superb and gameplay wise the game gives you thousand of options be it bonds, creating rings (what later doesn't matter because you get the 12 rings and you don't need the platinum, gold, silver created rings) still the gacha system is cool at the beginning, then you have inheriting skills, small mini games... The main characters are all well written and unique in they own right. Cons: the games story although isn't bad how you said in the video, is in my opinion a little bit too predictable. If you pay good attention you can pretty much call every single twist in the game, I don't want talk about them here for spoiler reasons. The characters although I praised them in my pros, I also don't like how over the top they can be. Your typical anime style story and characters with many clichés thrown in. End conclusion: great game, loved the gameplay, the visuals are decent and the overall game is very good. My only problem is that I personally would choose a different more darker, mature and complex story what has plot twists you can't see coming what would blow your mind, so less anime and less predictable and this comes from someone who actually loves anime and manga.
I can respect opinion about not having better story as good as 3H, they back to the formula which bad guys vs good guys, which I also enjy too as a long fe fan. But throwing it out just bcs doesnt meet their only one preferences is stupid especially as professionall reviewer. Just like Fate Conquest, this game has the best mechanic out there, and big replaybility with the gameplay alone. The story itself when I like how the dialogue can be funny but also ehh or meh but can still make you engaged to care about the end of the story. It is signaficantly better toward to the end. If u already passed the chapter 10 I thought Alear was overreacted with what happen but later I just realized damn those "things" really precious. LMAO. Also maybe ppl who only played 3H and come from persona might hate this game but for veteran and like challenging game this is feels like a gift. I love to see slight reference from the emblems. Their skills also remind me their respectable roles before.
@@sobbleissad7061 I don't hate the good guy bad guy story telling if you read my comment you would know I don't like predictable. How I said if you pay good attention with certain eye colors, people's reactions, faces, hair colors, the dream of Alear, the red stone of the other sister... You can IMMEDIATELY see where the story is going, I even called out who will guard the 3rd Fall Dragon Shard in chapter 25 because if you count which characters are alive and dead and your sisters reaction you know exactly who will guard the last Cristal... How I said before and I will say it again, too predictable for my taste.
RIGHT?! I was so disappointed when I read the reviews, so I came into it with the most cynical view possible. I was expecting cardboard cutouts for characters and a trash story, but I'm about 30 hours in and strongly disagree. Yes, you have a few one-dimensional characters, and no, I don't think it's shaping up to be a three houses level story. But as a whole, you have a lot of really great characters and the story is pretty freaking good ngl. The strategy aspect is absolutely top-tier fire emblem from my perspective. I'm doing a hard classic run, and they nailed it in terms of difficulty, depth, and map complexity. The fact that this game isn't at least a 90 on Metacritic is mind-blowing to me.
I completely agree with what you're saying. I'm currently on chapter 20 and I been really enjoying it and enjoying the characters and story. Without giving away spoilers one of my favourite characters so far is Veyle. Some things in this game I've been liking more than three houses even though I do really enjoy three houses and have sunk in 100-200 hours into that game.
I think this Fire Emblem is in my 4 most liked FE. My Top 3 is 3 houses, FE4 and Awakening. I love RPGs and my Problem with engage is how bad the lore and worldbuilding is. In 3 houses we learn Everything about the World and politics in in. In engage the lore and worldbuilding is just not enough to make me care. Older Fire Emblem had much more conflict between nations before the evil Dragon was revealed. But in engage it is the only real enemy from the beginning. Elusia is Dealt with way to fast and easy. It feels like all these countries have no armies at all. They all her totally invaded in 2 Chapter.
Also I've seen a lot of peopel complain about replay value but i'm 150+ hours in and still want to do so much stuff in the game Sure the game doesn't have a replay value from story perspective but has a fk ton of play time available without replaying the story
I never played a Fire Emblem game before this one and still gave it a 9 out of 10. I played this game non stop for weeks, not even kidding. And the crazy thing is I still did not get to see everything this game has to offer. This game is in my top 10 favorite games of all time and I played thousands of games.
I 100% agree with this. The story and gameplay is "generic" up to Chapter 10. With that being said though, the story was still fun and took its own spin on things up to that point. After that, it was incredible. I loved the stories, the characters, the world map, the throw backs to old games, etc. It is definitely an anniversary game but I think that just added more to it. New players get a great game while veterans of the series get all these little references that make it even sweeter. The fact that even the emblems have hidden interactions with each other is incredible. There are a couple things I would've loved to see that the game didn't have but they were mechanics that I just loved in older games (i.e. capturing enemy generic units and getting to use them). Now for the failures of the game. The multiplayer is actually really bad. They tried to use a pvp aspect from the mobile game that just doesn't work well. On top of that, the "co-op" is easily the worst aspect of the game. I like what they were going for but it was horribly executed. It feels weird, it gives you very little to communicate, and it just isn't flushed out. I am not a reviewer (yet?) but I would definitely give this a solid 9/10. The gameplay is fun, the mechanics are great, and the units all bring something fun and unique to the game.
I'm New To Fire Emblem But No Stranger To Strategy RPG I Started FE At 3Houses And Was Hooked On That I Think This Game Is Brillant From Story To Combat To Classes And Even Music Huge Fab Music In Video Games...I'm Still Learning The Ins And Outs Of The Classes And Skills And How To Build The Characters But I'm Completely Dived Into This Game Brillant IMO 9/10
Too many people are comparing it to 3 houses. Like yes they are both fire emblem games but this is its whole own game and honestly I love it. I might like it more than 3 houses. It reminds me a lot of awakening and fates even which I absolutely loved
Well, yes they are going to compare it a game after 3houses. People be comparing awakening to path of radiance. Itcokay to since they in the same series. It like you'll be compared to your siblings.
Edit)I’m currently 72 hours in and closing in on chapter 20. I truly believe that anybody that said these Engage characters are (all?) bland and forgettable ARE STRAIGHT UP LYING!!!!!!! I just got my first A-rank support convo and that shite got heavier than I thought it would get. Not to mention something happened in the story just now that sure, was something that you’d think would happen (but that’s just in a retrospective way, I mean come on it’s not like something you can think of will immediately turn out negatively) but I definitely didn’t imagine the way they would execute the scene. People shouldn’t act like 3Houses was a fine wine and Engage is some warm water in a shot glass by comparison. I still only found minor annoyances throughout my currently 72 hours of game time.
I never pay attention to reviewer scores. Ive always been the type to try it for myself vs what everyone else says. Everyone is different so ppl shouldn't go based off of what someone thinks because they may view something different than you. Especially for this game because i notice this seems to be most ppls 1st fire emblem game. Also, ppl are biased towards mario. They will rate anything mario a 10 just because its mario.
After seeing the reviews, I expected the characters to be boring or annoying. After playing and beating the game, I have to say so many of the characters really grew on me. Same with the character designs.
@@paintfatpurple7394 like the vast majority of fe games? XD fe6, fe7, fe8, radiant dawn, shadow dragon, Fates, awakening, echoes. Seriously, only a handful of characters outside of the main cast are ever seen outside of their introductions lol. 3H had the literally edge of getting 5 playthroughs
@crystalblade13 "Learning about characters" can be done in more ways that just a lore dump. That's a fine method, but not the only method. You can also make characters endearing through charm, humor and observing their personality. Which is how Awakening did it. Not every game has to lore dump each character
I just got this game yesterday, and its so amazing, im glad i picked it up, i was a bit wondering about reviews because they said three houses is better, as I played 3 houses in a friends switch, Im glad i picked this one (of course i will eventually buy three houses too, both are too good)
Fire emblem is held to a higher standard than Mario+ Rabbids and Three houses set a bar engage doesn't reach. It's that simple. Also as a fan, I'm not surprised as engage was probably supposed to be a thirtieth anniversary game but I don't like it when fire emblem falls back on shadow dragon nostalgia.
For me, as a Fire Emblem veteran, those games lives and dies by the core gameplay and how easily u can skip through fluff to get to the next battle preparations. 3H really dropped the ball there with worse non existent map design and too much character customisation resulting in 12 wyverns, with the callendar and monasteryh intruducing endless non skipable terrible grind which killed replayability for me. Sure story, supports and side activities are cool for the first playthrough but those games have eternally enjoyable gameplay, I mean I have like 3k hours in GBA FE games and FE rom hacks because all you need is to press start couple of times and you are back in battle prep, at the end of a day that is the most important bit. I started Engage recently and it have MUCH greater focus on gameplay which I really like, 3H felt almost like the strategy was tackled on as an afterthough instead of being the focus. Engage feels more interested in providing cool strats opportunities, it seems it can be LTC and Iron Manned easily with how many units we get. Once I play more I will see how much of the fluff I can easily skip without losing anything important. If I can go from chapter to chapter in less than 5 minutes then that will make wonders for replayibility. Again I'm not antagonising players playing for story and not strategic gameplay, just I rather play Trails In The Sky for that and keep my FE strategic and some would call it 'elitist' lol
Now that I have beaten the game, I can confidently say the story has many surprises that I don't think were predictable without leaks that make it stand out from a "general, simple story". SPOILERS BELOW: - The rings are taken from you. All of them. The turnwheel is taken from you too. This is one of the most terrifying and surprising chapters in the entire game. This was one of the most intense intersections of story and gameplay in Fire Emblem ever. - People might have predicted that Vayle was Alear's sister, but I doubt they predicted how Vayle was being controlled and her whole backstory - I highly doubt that anyone could predict that Alear would become an emblem or that she would become corrupted. - I doubt anyone could predict the motivations for Sombron, and why he as just trying to reunite with his emblem after he was banished from his world. - While it was obvious that Alear's backstory was hinted at not being what it seems, I doubt most people predicted the backstory of Alear, how she met Lumera, how she turned good, and what the war of 1000 years ago was really about. Ultimately, Engage's theme is about family - a theme I doubt anyone knew going in as it is not a focus in any of the past games. Zephia's motivations were to have a child. Marni was abandonned by her parents before she became a hound. Mauvier was family to Vayle and protected her as a Knight. Greiss wanted to be Zephia's son or lover - not clear. Vayle was looking for her long lost sister. Sombron was looking for his emblem. Alear found new adopted mother with Lumera that was more important than blood. And then you form those familial relationships with your roster (especially among the royals) and the emblems themselves. I never heard anyone talk about such themes at all. No predictions there. For such a "simple" story, there is a lot of surprising elements to it that makes it stand above. When the story is grounded and serious, it honestly does a really good job.
The story is great when it's about adventure and meeting new people, but it drops the ball with critical parts of the story. The gameplay is phenomenal though, I loved the unit customization.
Gameplay really is incredible! The story is prob the worst FE Story yet imo, but its sad how many players drop the game or dont even try it just because of the story. They are missing a masterpiece of a tactical game.
This right here. This game is definitely worth playing for the gameplay. I'm having a blast. But to pretend that the story and characters aren't awful for the most part is deluding oneself.
I think functionally the reviews did their job though. Anyone who is a Fire Emblem fan was on twitter celebrating the reviews, and others who started with Three Houses had their expectations checked. I think if I had gone into this game expecting Three Houses I would have been disappointed. As it is, I'm really into this game and I'm not waiting for it to be something it wasn't trying to be. Expectations can play a big part in enjoying a game, which is probably why Mario Rabbids rated higher- the experience they got was in line with what they wanted from the game. I do think there is a void in the video game space where we don't have critics that rate games based on artistic merit like they do in other mediums.
To be fair, they are comparing it to three houses which, lets face it, for all its flaws it was still a masterpiece in world building, writing, and presentation. I think what people wanted was this games graphics and combat (which outshines 3 houses except for the missing battalions, which should have become a mainstay) combined with the deep lore, branching paths, longevity, and replay ability of 3 houses. I mean really...Engage doesnt even have a NG plus and is by far the shortest fire emblem, and I have played almost all of them....Another problem is this- In 3 houses, characters all had different arcs depending on who they were talking to. In engage, one character only talks about cooking, and another only talks about cuteness blah blah blah. It doesnt have the depth three houses did. Not even close. That's not to say ALL supports are lame....I really liked a few of them (dont want to spoil character recruits by naming them) and Franne and Alear had one that was kind of sad at first with a happy ending. But most supports are pointless repeats of the same tropes for each character. Don't get me wrong, I like the game. I like ALL fire emblem games. But this really was a step down from what they had done in 3 houses in many ways. All hope isnt lost though, as many of the problems engage has COULD be fixed with updates or even a full on expansion to the story and a NG plus. But as it is, its just a bit inferior to its recent predecessors, 3 houses and echo's were much better written games. I have already played through it one and 1/2 times. It took me weeks just to finish one branch of 3 houses. And the branching paths/time skips are a missed opportunity here, with a dragon that slumbers for years? They could have done something special with that and a cool time skip.... So many missed opportunities.
ive been playing fire emblem since fire emblem 7 on gba, engage is everything i wanted and more, im having such a good time with this. i like this much more than 3 houses, which i couldnt really get into
The story is a nothing burger so far but I’m hoping it gets better. Half of the characters feel bland, and some of these poor support sure doesn’t help. Luckily the gameplay is solid so I can just tune out when story stuff happens. Not surprised some people knocking points for that, especially with how well 3H handles those categories. It is unfortunate when certain genre of games tend to get hit harder than others but that’s just how the media views strategy games
just seems like it got reviewed fairly in a world where everything popular like COD and EA sports gets a 10. They obviously get paid off to review the game perfect.
Yes and no - Engage definitely deserves better reviews (which would've happened on Hard/Classic, like you said); but the story? Honestly, it's a paper-thin plot; however, the characters are INCREDIBLY endearing. And while I believe that the story is a bit throwaway; the reviewers SERIOUSLY did Engage dirty
Yeah it might be the wrong people reviewing the game which happens alot. I’m on chapter 14 and it’s pretty dope and tons of fun. The little things they put so much emphasis on that it just feels good. I have my criticisms but this game is a 9 or 10. My favorite in the series is still Path or Radiance and Radiant dawn, a remake for both would be epic. Ike is the coolest protagonist and has a dope voice in this game. And wish Diamant was the main character in this game, very cool character.
3 houses had much better writing structure and characters. Fodlan was great and pretty well fleshed out. The game play here is GREAT. I LOVE it. I just gotta say it seems like everyone is lowering their here standards kinda? This feels like the same kind of praise that triangle strategy got and I hated triangle strategy. 3 houses is the standard for story, writing, concept, and characters. Engage is the standard for game play. Also garreg mach>somniel.
I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but my god, some of these reviews bashing on the story saying that they don't get a single ounce of enjoyment from the story absolutely are exaggerated. Three House has the best story but Engage dropped that aspect for a waaaay better experience in almost every other aspect. Even then, the story in Engage isn't as bad as many of these reviews are making it out. It initially saddens me a little reading all these reviews bashing Engage over the story when Engage is soooo much more than just the story, but at this point I'm just numb and have given up reading them. I'm just happy that I am playing the game and having so much fun. Engage is easily a 10/10 Fire Emblem game for a veteran like myself (cleared Engage on maddening/classic, including all paralogues, 80+ hours). Can't recall the last time I had so much thrill, satisfaction and fun with a Fire Emblem game since Fates Conquest. Three House maddening was a disappointment with how easily you can juggernaut through the entirety of the supposedly hardest difficulty the game has to offer. With Engage, the series has gotten back to its roots and they polished it SO well. Okay story, AMAZING gameplay, and overall a must have for any tactical fanatics.
I got it but I haven't got around to playing it but to me it seems more bandwagon than anything. Regardless, I liked what I saw on a reviewer I trust and all the trailers and previews seemed great so I'm excited to get around to it. I don't mind a more straightforward story of good vs bad with a lighthearted tone and a freaking love strategy games that go the extra mile gameplay wise. I'm hopeful
i'm at ch 18, and i can easily give it a 9/10 maybe 9.5/10. the music is great , the new mechanic are perfect and ez to understand. the only thing i dont like about the game is the mini game. i dont see the point of them but for the rest, feel nice to have no durability on weapon ( but i dont know why the base healing staff have durability)
@@Karaamjeet well, you know that if you heal a low level character with a healing staff you get 1 exp. so you cant really exp farm from it. and it is way faster to get exp from killing something. or use the arena
I've been a huge JRPG fan for a long time, about 25 years or so. One thing i've learned over the years, is at least in the USA, reception of the genre and any game close to it just doesn't get the love it deserves. Sadly, the difficulty is what I liked the most in these games. Some requiring hard core grinding, others requiring solid strategy and the level advantage isn't needed. Sadly, most critiques in JRPG genre and games close to it have to do with difficulty. Monster hunter for instance, a brutally hard game when you first start out, even 200 hours in and you're still learning, probably still the first of 14 weapon classes you chose. Now we have monster hunter coming to the west designed with a lesser difficulty in mind. I'm starting to notice this in other RPG's as well. Final fantasy, pokemon, and now fire emblem are all taking hits in the difficulty department. The one criticism I have for engage is that; enemy AI is super simple, not hesitating to attack into a monster unit with a 0% chance to hit and a 100% chance to die from counter hits. I still give the game a 9/10 because while that is true, you don't just get to a 0% chance to hit without strategy involved, so adding artificial limitations to your own game is a fun way to bump the difficulty up. That's the great thing about JRPG's especially SRPG like fire emblem, is the developer giving you total control over your character's strength. Hoping for a harder difficulty still through DLC, as I would love to have just a brutal time playing through the game like one can be had on Lunatic + difficulty on Fire Emblem Awakening.
Game is incredible. Ppl couldn't see past their own bias. And absolutely there was exaggeration
100% agree, most of those peeps are just 3 houses fans who played only that game, lol.
@@gilpauloabracia long time FE fan - gameplay is amazing and best we’ve had in recent entries but the story and characters are actually completely dogshit
@@Karaamjeet Nah. The characters have a lot going for them especially after reading their support conversations.
I don't like this game at all Awakening is still my favorite
I wish the supports were as long as three houses, I really like some of the character interactions but they feel really short for most of them.
On the point of the Story, it's good for the game. It's not some conveluded story with all these twists and turns to be confused by. It moves the story forward and gets me ready for the next objective which is always the combat. I have been playing on Hard/Classic and so far haven't used any rewinds(chapter 7 atm) and still I'm sitting pre-battle to end taking a very long time per map to make sure all units live. I live in constant fear of FOMO so losing a unit means no more story for them and I just can't have that lol.
TL:DR, Story is fine for the game, but the Combat is where it's at and I'm in love. Graphics are a big improvement over Three Houses as far as polish.
Its not even fine for the game, it should have been reviewed, its so bad its detrimental to the overal gameplay.
@@regalgiant1597 You talking about the mini-games? lol
@@plastikman7788 No the story, the story could be serviceable with a little more effort, not much a little, the pacing is wonky the allied side is slo bloated, 8 princes and princeses...
That could be fine, but the antagonists are basically 4 people you fight again and again and you have a close range chat before and after the battle, its so disappointing.
Like the bandit brothers were better writeen not going to lie.
Also disappointed you never turn into a dragon let alone zephia never does. I dunno if its a rush or something, like you get those corrupted drakes and they are never explained and there is no other 'beasts' in the story, its such a let down, I am msotly comparing to path of radiance (not radiant dawn as that would be 2v1) so big overall disappontment in that aspect.
But the core gameplay outside the bloated engage system I admit is pretty much the best in any FE series, the only 'missing' thing is a rescue-esque mechanic or even better shove.
@@regalgiant1597 Valid points on the story, honestly.
Personally, not since Awakening have I been all that invested in FE stories. Awakening and before had some really great stories to go along with the game, but after that it got a little campy and convoluted. I'm in the camp that didn't think FE Three Houses was all that amazing story wise and all the bloated waifu hunting and dating sim bs really hurt that for me... personally. So with that said, I don't mind a less is more strategy with having Engage having a meh story because I play these games for the core gameplay loop now. Until they get some better writers I'll just maintain the notion that the stories are gonna be meh.
But I'll say what is absolutely worse than the story by miles is the f'ing mini-game workouts... should never be implemented in that fashion ever again.
@@plastikman7788 yeah totally agreed, after one go I never did the wyvern thing again and only did the strength thing twice, just cannot be bothered, I like the somniel and find it a good balance, to an extent, between a mobile base and a interaction hub.
I missed awakening but got it recently and playing through it, its really good, I honestly did not know such a good FE was out post path of radiance/radiant dawn.
I got the season pass so i hope the dlc picks up some of the slack, the story is a right off at this point for me, but I still somehow hope more antagonists are added to motivate you in a sense, though thats not something dlc can do.
With 37h, Normal - Classic (1st FE), i'd give it a 92~95 score. Amazing game
Same, the game is amazing
Ooh, new to the franchise. Hope you enjoy it. I definitely recommend playing awakening if you get the chance. Lol
@@Robin_hood27 I have a 3ds, i started the awakening a few days ago, but stop to play the engage 1st, but i'll come back in later
this is why i am glad i dont play games based on reviews i loved this game
I use reviews as a barometer but not the only deciding factor for a game. There are definitely some games that people have crapped on over the years that I thought were great and others that were reviewed well that I didn't like. It comes to preference for sure. For me, if the game is fun, doesn't have breaking bugs, and runs at a stable rate, I will usually be happy with my purchase.
I have a particular issue with Fire Emblem reviews. Reviewers will say stuff like, "The supports are bad." OK, well, you rushed through the game to get it done and read only a handful. Or, because they only had time to play through the game on casual normal, the game was "too easy." It's one of those series that you just can't rush through to get the full experience.
The reviews were all positive they just had a side note that said, the story and characters are bad. Which so far is pretty damn true.
@@uberculex i saw some negative ones before the game even came out
@@MinkDaddy I'd also bet many reviewers only read through the C supports, which are usually a little bland and surface-level. The B and A supports are much more interesting and enjoyable
My personal take on Fire Emblem Engage is this: It's a quintessential example of how you Don't Always Need to Reinvent the Wheel when making a Sequel to find Success. Sometimes you just need to make a similar wheel to last time but make it Better. More Efficient. More Streamlined. Which is Exactly What Engage is. It's not trying to be Three Houses 2. It's not trying to tell four different overarching plotlines at once. Engage set out to be a good *Fire Emblem* Game, and it nails it because it wasn't trying to be anything more than that.
It's giving you a familiar plot (a classic Fire Emblem Plot of "Find the Macguffins"), with easy to understand character archetypes so that you don't have to spend forever trying to understand every single facet of every character, many of them still do have depth (like Yunaka, as pointed out in the video), but there's enough surface level stuff that you don't have to spend the whole playthrough trying to learn about a character to understand their motivations, while also having a hearty dose of nostalgia for long-time fans, mixed with some extremely brutal, but fair and rewarding, difficulty for players seeking a really challenging Turn-based Strategy RPG (including new mechanics that prevent older "1 man army" strats that normally become prevalent in older Fire Emblem titles from being anywhere near as effective. Teamwork is pretty much a must above Normal Difficulty). Not to mention they actually incorporated the "rewind mechanic" into the story in a tense and interesting way instead of just having it be a thing that exists and that's it.
Also, can we just talk about how well this game actually runs compared to other major releases on the switch? I've yet to notice any major framerate issues during my playthrough, personally speaking, which is impressive considering this is a Switch game, which lets face it, the Switch does usually struggle with keeping that little fps count up. I love the little system, but it cannot be understated that it does struggle at times. But Engage is definitely not one of those times. (At least not that I've personally noticed. Your mileage may vary etc. etc.)
I just wish inheriting bond skills was streamlined. Going back and forth between the ring chamber and the arena (not including the inconsequential bond fights) is a bit cumbersome the more I've been playing. Even worse for future playthroughs I imagine. Sure you can plan out what skills you want to limit multiple visits, but it was definitely a miss to these two mechanics physically separate from each other.
Did someone seriously just say "there is DEPTH in the story"?
This is one of the most generic lazy and surface level stories for kids 5-8 years old. In comparison to three houses (which wasn't perfect either) it feels just like DLC or Addon.
"Those journos must have played on Normal" - if your game uncovers only in Hard mode, it means your gamedesign skills suck A LOT.
Dude always seems to pull the "play on hard" card.
Absolute cringe.
This game is amazing. Especially on Maddening. It takes everything to beat some of the maps but it's fun all the way and extremely rewarding when you take like 70-100+ turns and you get through it with 0 casualties lol. There are so many different characters with different class possibilities. I already wanna take a different approach in my subsequent playthroughs
I literally just spent 2 real life hours to beat one map! It felt good, but now my brain is fried...
@@vivil2533 I've been rotating between Fire Emblem Engage and SIFU right now. It's been good because Sifu activates a different part of my brain. By the time a play Sifu for a while I'm ready to go back to Fire Emblem.
I completely agree with all the points in this video. I was skeptical about the reviews. It didnt stop me from picking it up. The side missions with the emblem rings is probably a huge plus for me learning about older fire emblem games and seeing some iconic places from games i did play. Reviewers on something cause this game is amazing and should be in the 90s fr fr
My comment is very late but this shouldn't matter because I want also talk about this game. Here's my opinion.
I absolutely love this game. I never played a Fire Emblem game before and only a few strategy games (also Sparks of Hope). I always need more time in strategy times but it's still okay. Fire Emblem Engage was a game where I didn't expect much of it first but the first time I tried this game my mind was absolutely blown away. I love the character in this game. I love them so much that some characters are my favorite FE characters and some also my favorite in general. I also like Alcryst and Fogado a lot, but also Timerra. I also like Celica a lot and want to play Echoes only because of her. I generally want to see and play all previous FE games not only because of the Emblems. I also like the conversations where my favorite one is the last conversation between Celica and Pandreo but there are also other great conservations. The gameplay is also awesome with the Emblem Engaging. There are so many possibilities and I also tried a lot of them. The story is really great and I was sometimes shocked what happened in this game. But my favorite thing in this game (which wasn't even mentioned at all) is the voice acting. The voice acting in this game is perfect and I mean that seriously really perfect. I felt every situation because the voice was perfectly spoken especially when someone is happy, someone is sad or someone dies and say some last words. Every VA did an amazing job and deserves probs as well as the voice director. Fire Emblem Engage is my absolutely favorite game 2023 and I also want to to do other Fire Emblem games.
Thank you for your attention and don't let them take your fun even if they say that this is bad. Have a great day.
I completely agree with everything you mentioned in the vid. Given the pre-release impressions & reviews, I was expecting a shallow but flashy FE All-Stars game, but got so much more. I am 50hrs+ into it and having an absolute blast.
This is pretty much what I’ve been thinking as I’ve played though (48 hours, just beat Chapter 16, normal classic). Could the game dive deeper into things like FE3H? Sure, and that wouldn’t be bad. But they aren’t as one-note as some people make it out to be. I could be biased from playing since FE7, it genuinely feels like older games with giving enough story to flesh out characters while leaving room to speculate or theorize (which I’m about tbh)
The game is a diamond in the rough, sold to us as a pure one. Its still an enjoyable story, but a lot of polish could have made the story and characters a little more flesh out.
As a Fire Emblem the story does come as generic as a lot of the early and latter games have done, but as the same as those games, they have the little twist and characterization that in hindsight are predictable AF, but still enjoyable. I do blame the MC for being too generic xD, he is probably the reason why the reviewers criticized hard the story.
What i do think is a missed opportunity is to make the game have more on board story elements, like what happens in the chapter called "Retreat".
*------------------------------------- Minor Spoiler-----------------------------------------------*
Though i do appreciate the jumpscare Ike gave me in his bond ring map.
As a gameboy FE players since childhood, this game is giving me NOSTALGIC. It make me appreciate more especially seeing the prev past lords in high quality graphic! *cries*
that’s interesting because for me it’s the complete opposite - this feels more like Fates and Awakening for me
A lot of critics aren’t here and haven’t been here for the franchise, so I enjoy that it’s growing in popularity and I consider opinions from people who jumped on since the 3ds very valid. If you come from the gba or fan translations prior, I’ll listen even more (because that’s where I’m from)
I see where you are coming from. Well, if it means anything, I have played all the 3ds titles (plan to play Shadow Dragon and Radiant Dawn as well) and I think Engage is definitely a solid entry to the series.
@@randomvideos786 glad to hear it! You came into it at a great time!
Awakened was my first game on my 3ds. I stick around ever since. Played every entry that came out after that.
Been enjoying your FE Engage coverage! I agree with you on its review scores being too low. This game is at least a 9/10. I hope you continue to enjoy it - we’re about at the same place in the story and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
It depends on what your priorities are. If you like gameplay over story for sure. I can understand why someone would not like it though
@@noriantiri9310 I prefer the gameplay, but I like the story too
After 3 Houses a light hearted game like this is a nice change of pace
There is literally no difference in tones or presentation of these two games. Three houses was also cheesy, corny, campy, and badly written but was absolutely NOT heavy in any way
@@momsaid it was not cheesy and corny in any way. It was a serious game especially the second half. Really dark
@@momsaid 3H was not corny or campy in how you’re describing and saying 3H had a bad story when the amount of lore 3H had is incredibly dense
@@Karaamjeet I mean, to someone Who only had time to play one route It may seem that way, since the story is Split between the routes, meaning if you play just one, you are missing half the picture
"Light hearted"? But it has Evil Purple Flame Man!
Beware EPFM. Relax your guard at your own risk.
Glad to finally find a review that really dives into the game itself and not just the art style and how different it is. Fire emblem games are always changing and I personally love how different every new game is. So excited to play this!
OJ, I love a lot of your content, but nitpicking reviewers and Metacritic scores just makes me roll my eyes my dude. Acting like there’s some grand conspiracy of bias or unskilled/unqualified reviewers and as if there are objective criteria to subjectively liking or disliking a game (in this case it’s more of a case of loving or liking a game, people are still being overly positive on the game). Much prefer your news videos, your own personal opinions on games, and your industry analysis/predictions. I get you’re just voicing your opinion on others’ opinions but yeah. And I’m saying this as someone who would agree with your opinions 95% of the time or more, I very often love the games you love
Some of these arguments are so disingenuous. No one is comparing the story to Mario vs Rabbids. We are comparing the story to other Fire Emblem games. I personally think the characters are ok. The story is very blade to the point of me personally not caring about it. The game play and map design are great. The game is overall really good, but the story is easily the weakest part of it.
I think Engage has taught us that newer Fire Emblem fans (ie. 3H fans) aren't able to care about any of their characters without heaps of lore dumping, which I personally don't need to get invested, and the addition of which seems to have lead to less time/resources on gameplay/combat development time, making it more watered down imo in those 3H compared to Engage (and a lot of previous entries).
I have been playing since the gba but conversations were so meh or everyone fawning over the MC once they found out they were the divine dragon.
@@mmaxdragon exactly the same for me the characters are so badly written like they all believe alear instantly they all start dickriding alear. Lapis is a great example of that. first time you meet her she’s giving Alear sass and then the next conversation she’s doting her. the supports are nice length but they lack depth, difference or development.
the antagonists never die they always run away. Veyle reveal was predictable imo, i called it the first time you meet you.
Somniel is underwhelming and it’s kind of disappointing that 80% of the activities are redundant. 3H my castle was tedious but this is almost in the complete over direction.
The one saving grace for Engage is that the combat and gameplay is phenomenal
I think a real FE veteran would skip all the dialogues and go straight to battle. It was so hard to just keep my dudes alive that we all had little to say to each other. Nowadays, it’s all about the story and dialogues. Or was it just me lol
@@smellybearc7411 gaming standards have story > gameplay
My problem with skirmishes is that it's scaling. I always used skirmishes to level up my other characters and they became too weak to kill anything because my alear and diamont killed too much. They become way harder than the story. When I just want to level up other members to play with.
Play maddening. Problem solved.
If you have a character that can cheese the skirmishes what you can do is solo one with that unit, which resets the arena, then use the arena to grind the weaker ones.
@BDH I don't really understand what you mean. I assume Yunaka in the woods or something, but how does it reset it?
@@werb--- I am next run. I just wanted to figure out the mechanics and what was different. There is no way I would beat maddening my first run made way too many mistakes
Ah, true, I was wondering about that, I was playing a skirmish and it surprised me how it was just about as intense as a story mission could be.
People give stuff like metacritic waaaay to much power on how the percieve games, theres alot of games that never scored a 90+ but they are masterpieces
I’m on chapter 19. And yes, Engage is by far one of the WORST stories and collection of characters of the Fire Emblems. But in terms of gameplay, it’s still 10/10 top notch.
There's a lot of things I figured reviewers skipped. Like supports betwen units. Especially not named Alear. And the side things you can do. Side quests are also very important. I'm not super deep into it. Chapter 8. But I think a lot of reviewers skipped a lot of dialogue. You can skip just about everything in this game
First off, I love turn base games. I enjoy the strategy of them. I was waiting a new Final Fantasy Tactics. With that said, this game is a no brainer for me. Character building and the endless options you have in this game is insane. It’s awesome there will be more content through 2023.
Im already hopeful for a season 2 of this game? At least we know for a fact that they will update the Hub area with new stuff.
I feel like ppl ragging on the story haven't played other FE games. Granted, I haven't played engage yet (plan to tonight!), but they always have just good enough stories to me, enough to keep you interested and wanting to go through the next battle. But the intricacies of the combat and team building are always where it shines!
In term of story, is the zero/light coke to a normal one. You can feel the generic vibes, while the other did better at hiding that. Other than that is fine, honestly, serviceable, good enough to keep you going.
Just like how people never played Megaten games after playing persona
My issues with this game comes down to the Story pacing feeling really odd and rushed a lot of times.
The support interactions feeling kinda lackluster for most characters.
And the crazy amount of SP required.
Still enjoyed the hell out of it and it's an easy 8/10 for me.
Ok Oj I see you with the slick editing at 12:37. So clean! Good video as well. These review scores can be all over the place for games.
I think that was the trailers of the game.
But you right, the video is good.
@@luk3to Oh the trailers swapped from male to female Alear like that? Let me see if I can find it.
@@Jaycan
I remember some trailers (or just one) with that transition...
I just finished the game it doesn’t really have any replay value
Some of these comments are why I don't worry about when games constantly get compared or hated on. Also I feel bad for the game team that put months and months into a game for fans to dislike every single thing like really??....anyways I can't wait until I can get the game cause am going to put hours and hours and hours until to what I've seen so far it's WAY up my ally
Dude what everthing we judge human or any animal do it all the time that just life. You can be the most nicest person and someone will judge you.
Some people gave up the game too early just because of the characters and story
It gets much better as you go
I think some people aren’t really into fire emblem so they find it easy to pick on it.
It’s generally easy to hate fire emblem with all the drama surrounding it.
Engage is amazing imo
Just like Megaten
I don't like the characters, I don't like the story, I don't like the art style, but I love the gameplay. Which the gameplay is exactly what I play fire emblem for.
That's all my opinion of course.
Yeah, I gotta agree, Engage is definetely better than what reviews make it out to be, although, I will admit, the story is nothing to write home about, is not bad, but is not amazing either, is serviceable, and it fulfills it's purpose. The characters are probably gonna be a hit or miss with people, especially depending of what supports/dialogues you get, because most of them have both goofy and serious dialogues depending on who they speak to or if you even get to those dialogues. Alcryst is a great example, he can have super silly dialogues of how he is so self deprecating, to a point it's ridiculous, but also you can have things like his support with Celine, where they both share their nightmares of their older siblings dying, or when (spoilers ahead) Alcryst is willing to carry the burden of killing his own father just cuz he knows Diamant would not be able to live with himself if he were the one to do so.
Speaking as an FE fan who started with Awakening and has since played every game in the series, even putting aside that I actually really enjoyed the story, cast, and Alear as a main character, after being hot or cold on Three Houses due to how hard it swung towards social sim mechanics and micromanaging every little bit of your units, Engage was exactly the game I thought it was going to be and what I was hoping it to be. Definitely has become one of my favorites in the series. I think that comparing the characters and world of Three Houses to Engage and citing that as the deciding factor for why it's the lesser game is not only unfair, it's missing the point that others might prefer Engage for. That being that it's a lot more traditional in how it's designed and I think that makes it a lot more enjoyable and easy to pick up and play, while Emblems also being a really great gameplay mechanic.
As well, as a long time fan, the amount of references that are rampant in this game are all so fun. Always brings a smile to my face. I feel sort of validated as a fan.
I hated the story and the lack of enemy charcters really really really pissed me off, the recycle of the Hounds in like 4+ battles was so irksome and the lack of support romances for companions was practically criminal for the series.
I did like the gameplay, I gripe and moan, rightfully so about the story and I am not really a fan of the engage mechanic, mostly as its so bloated systems wise, but the gameplay otherwise is pretty slick and enjoyable, rescue and sove would have been great.
But for me this is a 7.5/10 mostly because of how good the gameplay is, but the story and lack of antagonist characters and the actions taken being mostly nonsensical really harmed it.
I agree with you 100%. I already beat the game and I'm a casual player. Love the gamplay the most. The characters and the story are good. I'm already replaying it. So many things to do in this game.
Yeah you can see the clear bias towards Three Houses with those reviewers. Engage actually does good things better than that instalment where it counts most in the gameplay, but those critics seem far too focused on social aspects as that's all they talk and complain about. The story and whatever is nowhere near as bad as many are making it out and characters are good, which can't be said of many games nowadays I could mention *cough* Forspoken :-)
Bro really mad that it got low reviews like it doesn't even matter what score a game gets says metacritic doesn't matter but keeps bringing them up
Thank you!! 100% agree. Very, very good point about the review score comparison between FE Engage and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope!
Fire emblem the series made a really big impact in the SRPG and even the RPG sort of genre in general. Starting even before awakening but especially with awakening it added SOO many elements and I remember the crazy hype around it and it was a lot of peoples first ever fire emblem game and dates Carried that legacy but further enhanced it especially story wise and gameplay. After playing awakening and going into fates the fans were hooked. Then when three houses came out on switch it appealed to a huge player base because of the branching story lines again and how what you decide and do makes an impact, but even individually each of those stories intertwine to an overarching narrative. Engage is of more like awakening imo and I love it so much, its more classic fire emblem but that isn’t to say it is generic or anything at all. The game presents itself in such a unique way with how the story plays out but especially the gameplay and how more enticing the battles are. Even on hard mode you can’t just breeze through super easily there are a lot of moments where you need to utilize your party properly. It helps tie in the characters and overarching story in such a elegant way to honor more classic fire emblem while still having its unique identity.
I was just thinking the same thing while I was playing today. When I heard the reviews, I was expecting a lot less depth to the characters and was expecting to not really care as much if a character dies in combat. However, the characters are very fleshed out and the game still has pretty much all the stuff that Three Houses had. The only thing it doesn't have, as far as I know, is the ability to romance a character, but that was just a tea drinking mini game and a two second scene at the end of the game if you dated a character. Not much of a loss in my opinion. Overall, I think the story fell a little bit more lighthearted compared to three houses, but it's kind of a breathe of fresh air for me. I loved what three houses achieved, but I love engage too. I'm not sure which I love more yet, but it might be engage. I think Fire Emblem has a bright future!
Don’t count on game journalists to be able to fairly review a game’s difficulty. This game on maddening is no joke. According to Excelblem, Engage on Maddening difficulty is one of the hardest fire emblem games ever made.
Professional reviews are not to be trusted, especially in more niche genres. Their job stands firmly with the mainstream, and that's fine. Engage is the best Fire Emblem has ever been on the strategy side of things. The story is simple, but so what? It isn't the focus of the game, and it doesn't have to be. Why are people pretending that Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre have an incredible story? This isn't what makes them great. The characters are awesome in Engage, not any worse than previous Fire Emblem games. In fact, design wise they stand out more to me.
First fire emblem game I replay just after finishing it in a higher difficulty. Perfect FE experience for me. I can finally forget that bitter taste 3 houses left in my mouth and enjoy FE again.
Outside of reviewers who might not be Fire Emblem fans reviewing the game and not really covering everything or trying to get through it quick, I think it also has to maybe do with bias. I’ve noticed Three Houses fans more than anyone has been more negative on the game, probably because of how different Engage is from Three Houses and maybe only playing Three Houses before
that's the devs problem for not taking into account how their last game will effect sales and perception. this game is entirely too weird and wacky to be taken seriously. It's the same problem Super Sentai and Power Rangers has been having for a good decade.
This FE is a blast. Cant understand the bombing, I wasnt confident at first but the tactical approach, emblems mechanics and crazy map design are on point. Maddening player here, best FE experience I got since Conquest.
well part of the bombing is because ppl dont want to buy censored games
Yes this is all opinion based no one is wrong this is just all feelings from there experience
Also the weird thing is FE 3H was more mature which is weird because it took place at a school. This one gives off more of a childish vibe.
I love Fire Emblem Engage I think they did an amazing job. You can’t trust reviewers lol.
I follow some of the voice cast on Twitter. There are so many amazing talents that bring these characters to life.
I may not have played Three Houses, or Engage. But knowing how passionate its cast is, gives it so much depth even more.
I honestly been having a lot of better time playing engaged than 3 houses
This was a great video as usual :) I love this game so much, the story, the characters, the gameplay, love how funny some lines are, died laughing several time, this might be my favorite FE game since I started with Awakening, like I love Three Houses, but this game has really captivated me, some of my favorite characters and interactions between them...time to go play again, love the video!
What were they (reviewers) cooking??
I’m over 50 hours in and I’ve enjoyed it but I do feel like this a mid tier FE, I personally wasn’t into the story this time and pretty vastly missed a lot of the mechanics from 3 houses. Felt like one step forward two steps back.
I started with 3Houses
And adored it
I went into this with medium expectations on account of Three Hopes being just such a disappointment
I’ve played almost all of the English translationed FE Games
(Not the Radiant duology)
And genuinely Engage is one of the BEST GAMES IVE PLAYED
It hits so differently to every other modern game, story, characters, ACTORS, all are fantastic
They could have done more with the emblems but genuinely
It’s phenomenal
It’s not as good as three houses to me
But it’s phenomenal
The game is good on tactics and graphical. Feels rushed when it comes to dialogue recordings, story elements and side content. I also feel the rings idea with past heroes is gimmicky.
That’s why i listen to people who ACTUALLY play games like player essence
The story isn't terrible, it's just... underwhelming. I mean, FE3H was far from perfect, but the story is really what gets me going. FE Engage carried me through the game only with the gameplay, and I gotta say, even if the story is not to my liking, in my opinion it's the best FE I played to date.
The characters though... I love them, Veyle is the best btw.
This is why i don’t really consider reviews at all when looking at a game. I am sure i will get some hate for what insay next, but when a garbage story like TLOU2 gets so much praise i know that the only opinion that matters is my own when it comes to my enjoyment of a game.
Man you need an uncut version that does do spoilers and talk about specifics!
He went into specifics several times. No need to spoil anything to make a point
Let me put in my perspective; I’ve never played a fire emblem game properly before. The furthest I had played was through fire emblem (7?), the first localised US one, and in that all I had done was finished Lyn’s Story; and this was 4 weeks ago. So I am a newbie pretty much. But fire emblem engage feels incredibly streamlined and welcoming to a newbie like myself. Everything feels connected and I don’t feel like I have been left behind due to the lack of series knowledge, emblems are nice fan service but don’t do anything for me; obviously…
Also, I am playing on normal, classic. It’s challenging but not unfair.
I just yesterday finished the game, here is my opinion (without spoiling, don't worry):
Pros: the game is very good and I enjoyed my time with it. The combat is superb and gameplay wise the game gives you thousand of options be it bonds, creating rings (what later doesn't matter because you get the 12 rings and you don't need the platinum, gold, silver created rings) still the gacha system is cool at the beginning, then you have inheriting skills, small mini games... The main characters are all well written and unique in they own right.
Cons: the games story although isn't bad how you said in the video, is in my opinion a little bit too predictable. If you pay good attention you can pretty much call every single twist in the game, I don't want talk about them here for spoiler reasons. The characters although I praised them in my pros, I also don't like how over the top they can be. Your typical anime style story and characters with many clichés thrown in.
End conclusion: great game, loved the gameplay, the visuals are decent and the overall game is very good. My only problem is that I personally would choose a different more darker, mature and complex story what has plot twists you can't see coming what would blow your mind, so less anime and less predictable and this comes from someone who actually loves anime and manga.
I can respect opinion about not having better story as good as 3H, they back to the formula which bad guys vs good guys, which I also enjy too as a long fe fan. But throwing it out just bcs doesnt meet their only one preferences is stupid especially as professionall reviewer. Just like Fate Conquest, this game has the best mechanic out there, and big replaybility with the gameplay alone. The story itself when I like how the dialogue can be funny but also ehh or meh but can still make you engaged to care about the end of the story. It is signaficantly better toward to the end. If u already passed the chapter 10 I thought Alear was overreacted with what happen but later I just realized damn those "things" really precious. LMAO.
Also maybe ppl who only played 3H and come from persona might hate this game but for veteran and like challenging game this is feels like a gift. I love to see slight reference from the emblems. Their skills also remind me their respectable roles before.
@@sobbleissad7061 I don't hate the good guy bad guy story telling if you read my comment you would know I don't like predictable. How I said if you pay good attention with certain eye colors, people's reactions, faces, hair colors, the dream of Alear, the red stone of the other sister... You can IMMEDIATELY see where the story is going, I even called out who will guard the 3rd Fall Dragon Shard in chapter 25 because if you count which characters are alive and dead and your sisters reaction you know exactly who will guard the last Cristal... How I said before and I will say it again, too predictable for my taste.
RIGHT?! I was so disappointed when I read the reviews, so I came into it with the most cynical view possible. I was expecting cardboard cutouts for characters and a trash story, but I'm about 30 hours in and strongly disagree. Yes, you have a few one-dimensional characters, and no, I don't think it's shaping up to be a three houses level story. But as a whole, you have a lot of really great characters and the story is pretty freaking good ngl. The strategy aspect is absolutely top-tier fire emblem from my perspective. I'm doing a hard classic run, and they nailed it in terms of difficulty, depth, and map complexity. The fact that this game isn't at least a 90 on Metacritic is mind-blowing to me.
I completely agree with what you're saying. I'm currently on chapter 20 and I been really enjoying it and enjoying the characters and story. Without giving away spoilers one of my favourite characters so far is Veyle. Some things in this game I've been liking more than three houses even though I do really enjoy three houses and have sunk in 100-200 hours into that game.
My take on the game is that it’s very good. 8/10 I feel is a fair rating.
The game is amazing and the relationship system from three houses is still there. They just removed the calendar system and thank god for that.
I think this Fire Emblem is in my 4 most liked FE. My Top 3 is 3 houses, FE4 and Awakening.
I love RPGs and my Problem with engage is how bad the lore and worldbuilding is. In 3 houses we learn Everything about the World and politics in in. In engage the lore and worldbuilding is just not enough to make me care. Older Fire Emblem had much more conflict between nations before the evil Dragon was revealed. But in engage it is the only real enemy from the beginning. Elusia is Dealt with way to fast and easy. It feels like all these countries have no armies at all. They all her totally invaded in 2 Chapter.
Also I've seen a lot of peopel complain about replay value but i'm 150+ hours in and still want to do so much stuff in the game
Sure the game doesn't have a replay value from story perspective but has a fk ton of play time available without replaying the story
I never played a Fire Emblem game before this one and still gave it a 9 out of 10. I played this game non stop for weeks, not even kidding. And the crazy thing is I still did not get to see everything this game has to offer. This game is in my top 10 favorite games of all time and I played thousands of games.
I 100% agree with this. The story and gameplay is "generic" up to Chapter 10. With that being said though, the story was still fun and took its own spin on things up to that point. After that, it was incredible. I loved the stories, the characters, the world map, the throw backs to old games, etc. It is definitely an anniversary game but I think that just added more to it. New players get a great game while veterans of the series get all these little references that make it even sweeter. The fact that even the emblems have hidden interactions with each other is incredible. There are a couple things I would've loved to see that the game didn't have but they were mechanics that I just loved in older games (i.e. capturing enemy generic units and getting to use them).
Now for the failures of the game. The multiplayer is actually really bad. They tried to use a pvp aspect from the mobile game that just doesn't work well. On top of that, the "co-op" is easily the worst aspect of the game. I like what they were going for but it was horribly executed. It feels weird, it gives you very little to communicate, and it just isn't flushed out.
I am not a reviewer (yet?) but I would definitely give this a solid 9/10. The gameplay is fun, the mechanics are great, and the units all bring something fun and unique to the game.
That's basically the beat with "professional" game reviewers and journalists. They are not us. They do it for a paycheck.
My Etie is a warrior with max Lynn engage. My 2 favorites paired together to make for a major speedy AF nuke
I'm New To Fire Emblem But No Stranger To Strategy RPG I Started FE At 3Houses And Was Hooked On That I Think This Game Is Brillant From Story To Combat To Classes And Even Music Huge Fab Music In Video Games...I'm Still Learning The Ins And Outs Of The Classes And Skills And How To Build The Characters But I'm Completely Dived Into This Game Brillant IMO 9/10
Too many people are comparing it to 3 houses. Like yes they are both fire emblem games but this is its whole own game and honestly I love it. I might like it more than 3 houses. It reminds me a lot of awakening and fates even which I absolutely loved
Just like how SMTV was being compared to P5
Well, yes they are going to compare it a game after 3houses. People be comparing awakening to path of radiance. Itcokay to since they in the same series. It like you'll be compared to your siblings.
@@therealjaystone2344 except Smt and P5 are different series/franchises. 3H and engage aren't
@@Megajmaster1000 SMT and persona are related, no matter what
Edit)I’m currently 72 hours in and closing in on chapter 20.
I truly believe that anybody that said these Engage characters are (all?) bland and forgettable ARE STRAIGHT UP LYING!!!!!!! I just got my first A-rank support convo and that shite got heavier than I thought it would get.
Not to mention something happened in the story just now that sure, was something that you’d think would happen (but that’s just in a retrospective way, I mean come on it’s not like something you can think of will immediately turn out negatively) but I definitely didn’t imagine the way they would execute the scene.
People shouldn’t act like 3Houses was a fine wine and Engage is some warm water in a shot glass by comparison. I still only found minor annoyances throughout my currently 72 hours of game time.
I never pay attention to reviewer scores. Ive always been the type to try it for myself vs what everyone else says. Everyone is different so ppl shouldn't go based off of what someone thinks because they may view something different than you. Especially for this game because i notice this seems to be most ppls 1st fire emblem game. Also, ppl are biased towards mario. They will rate anything mario a 10 just because its mario.
And some of these people are the ones who usually high praise the crap pokemon violet and scarlet, lol
@@gilpauloabracia yea that just goes back to ppl praising it because of the name.
@gilpauloabracia8557 I loved Scarlet/Violet and I'm very much enjoying Engage.
After seeing the reviews, I expected the characters to be boring or annoying. After playing and beating the game, I have to say so many of the characters really grew on me. Same with the character designs.
True I like most characters but they are super shallow and all fluff. No depth to they’re backgrounds. Very disappointed.
@@paintfatpurple7394 like the vast majority of fe games? XD fe6, fe7, fe8, radiant dawn, shadow dragon, Fates, awakening, echoes. Seriously, only a handful of characters outside of the main cast are ever seen outside of their introductions lol. 3H had the literally edge of getting 5 playthroughs
@crystalblade13 "Learning about characters" can be done in more ways that just a lore dump. That's a fine method, but not the only method. You can also make characters endearing through charm, humor and observing their personality. Which is how Awakening did it. Not every game has to lore dump each character
@crystalblade13 this must be nostalgia, because it's really not that accurate, having played older games more recently.
@@ActionJaxonH sure. It’s a good game. I agree with 82 I guess. Most of my favorite games are 75 to 80.
The story isn't the absolute best we've ever gotten, that's for sure, but it has some of the best gameplay in the series.
I just got this game yesterday, and its so amazing, im glad i picked it up, i was a bit wondering about reviews because they said three houses is better, as I played 3 houses in a friends switch, Im glad i picked this one (of course i will eventually buy three houses too, both are too good)
Fire emblem is held to a higher standard than Mario+ Rabbids and Three houses set a bar engage doesn't reach. It's that simple. Also as a fan, I'm not surprised as engage was probably supposed to be a thirtieth anniversary game but I don't like it when fire emblem falls back on shadow dragon nostalgia.
For me, as a Fire Emblem veteran, those games lives and dies by the core gameplay and how easily u can skip through fluff to get to the next battle preparations. 3H really dropped the ball there with worse non existent map design and too much character customisation resulting in 12 wyverns, with the callendar and monasteryh intruducing endless non skipable terrible grind which killed replayability for me. Sure story, supports and side activities are cool for the first playthrough but those games have eternally enjoyable gameplay, I mean I have like 3k hours in GBA FE games and FE rom hacks because all you need is to press start couple of times and you are back in battle prep, at the end of a day that is the most important bit. I started Engage recently and it have MUCH greater focus on gameplay which I really like, 3H felt almost like the strategy was tackled on as an afterthough instead of being the focus. Engage feels more interested in providing cool strats opportunities, it seems it can be LTC and Iron Manned easily with how many units we get. Once I play more I will see how much of the fluff I can easily skip without losing anything important. If I can go from chapter to chapter in less than 5 minutes then that will make wonders for replayibility.
Again I'm not antagonising players playing for story and not strategic gameplay, just I rather play Trails In The Sky for that and keep my FE strategic and some would call it 'elitist' lol
I love fire emblem engage. I liked Alears design at the beginning and i love dragons.
Dragons are cool.
Those reviewers review games as their work. There is no gamers passion. For them its all about being first & generate clicks for easy money.
You should probably read up on what those reviewers have to say
Now that I have beaten the game, I can confidently say the story has many surprises that I don't think were predictable without leaks that make it stand out from a "general, simple story".
SPOILERS BELOW:
- The rings are taken from you. All of them. The turnwheel is taken from you too. This is one of the most terrifying and surprising chapters in the entire game. This was one of the most intense intersections of story and gameplay in Fire Emblem ever.
- People might have predicted that Vayle was Alear's sister, but I doubt they predicted how Vayle was being controlled and her whole backstory
- I highly doubt that anyone could predict that Alear would become an emblem or that she would become corrupted.
- I doubt anyone could predict the motivations for Sombron, and why he as just trying to reunite with his emblem after he was banished from his world.
- While it was obvious that Alear's backstory was hinted at not being what it seems, I doubt most people predicted the backstory of Alear, how she met Lumera, how she turned good, and what the war of 1000 years ago was really about.
Ultimately, Engage's theme is about family - a theme I doubt anyone knew going in as it is not a focus in any of the past games. Zephia's motivations were to have a child. Marni was abandonned by her parents before she became a hound. Mauvier was family to Vayle and protected her as a Knight. Greiss wanted to be Zephia's son or lover - not clear. Vayle was looking for her long lost sister. Sombron was looking for his emblem. Alear found new adopted mother with Lumera that was more important than blood. And then you form those familial relationships with your roster (especially among the royals) and the emblems themselves. I never heard anyone talk about such themes at all. No predictions there.
For such a "simple" story, there is a lot of surprising elements to it that makes it stand above. When the story is grounded and serious, it honestly does a really good job.
The story is great when it's about adventure and meeting new people, but it drops the ball with critical parts of the story. The gameplay is phenomenal though, I loved the unit customization.
A lot of people didn’t review this game
Gameplay really is incredible!
The story is prob the worst FE Story yet imo, but its sad how many players drop the game or dont even try it just because of the story. They are missing a masterpiece of a tactical game.
This right here. This game is definitely worth playing for the gameplay. I'm having a blast. But to pretend that the story and characters aren't awful for the most part is deluding oneself.
@@MarkerInTheSand and i hate when people make excuses for it as well because Engage isn’t a “serious” game
I think functionally the reviews did their job though. Anyone who is a Fire Emblem fan was on twitter celebrating the reviews, and others who started with Three Houses had their expectations checked. I think if I had gone into this game expecting Three Houses I would have been disappointed. As it is, I'm really into this game and I'm not waiting for it to be something it wasn't trying to be. Expectations can play a big part in enjoying a game, which is probably why Mario Rabbids rated higher- the experience they got was in line with what they wanted from the game. I do think there is a void in the video game space where we don't have critics that rate games based on artistic merit like they do in other mediums.
To be fair, they are comparing it to three houses which, lets face it, for all its flaws it was still a masterpiece in world building, writing, and presentation. I think what people wanted was this games graphics and combat (which outshines 3 houses except for the missing battalions, which should have become a mainstay) combined with the deep lore, branching paths, longevity, and replay ability of 3 houses. I mean really...Engage doesnt even have a NG plus and is by far the shortest fire emblem, and I have played almost all of them....Another problem is this- In 3 houses, characters all had different arcs depending on who they were talking to. In engage, one character only talks about cooking, and another only talks about cuteness blah blah blah. It doesnt have the depth three houses did. Not even close. That's not to say ALL supports are lame....I really liked a few of them (dont want to spoil character recruits by naming them) and Franne and Alear had one that was kind of sad at first with a happy ending. But most supports are pointless repeats of the same tropes for each character.
Don't get me wrong, I like the game. I like ALL fire emblem games. But this really was a step down from what they had done in 3 houses in many ways.
All hope isnt lost though, as many of the problems engage has COULD be fixed with updates or even a full on expansion to the story and a NG plus. But as it is, its just a bit inferior to its recent predecessors, 3 houses and echo's were much better written games. I have already played through it one and 1/2 times. It took me weeks just to finish one branch of 3 houses. And the branching paths/time skips are a missed opportunity here, with a dragon that slumbers for years? They could have done something special with that and a cool time skip.... So many missed opportunities.
ive been playing fire emblem since fire emblem 7 on gba, engage is everything i wanted and more, im having such a good time with this. i like this much more than 3 houses, which i couldnt really get into
Glad to hear this. I love FE7, and suspected Engage was going to go at least a little more in that direction.
The characters are better than the reviews say for sure. The story is clichéd and just not that interesting though
The story is a nothing burger so far but I’m hoping it gets better. Half of the characters feel bland, and some of these poor support sure doesn’t help. Luckily the gameplay is solid so I can just tune out when story stuff happens. Not surprised some people knocking points for that, especially with how well 3H handles those categories. It is unfortunate when certain genre of games tend to get hit harder than others but that’s just how the media views strategy games
just seems like it got reviewed fairly in a world where everything popular like COD and EA sports gets a 10. They obviously get paid off to review the game perfect.
I'd give it a solid 9 at the least.
Yes and no - Engage definitely deserves better reviews (which would've happened on Hard/Classic, like you said); but the story? Honestly, it's a paper-thin plot; however, the characters are INCREDIBLY endearing.
And while I believe that the story is a bit throwaway; the reviewers SERIOUSLY did Engage dirty
Yeah it might be the wrong people reviewing the game which happens alot. I’m on chapter 14 and it’s pretty dope and tons of fun. The little things they put so much emphasis on that it just feels good. I have my criticisms but this game is a 9 or 10. My favorite in the series is still Path or Radiance and Radiant dawn, a remake for both would be epic. Ike is the coolest protagonist and has a dope voice in this game. And wish Diamant was the main character in this game, very cool character.
Thank you!!! The reviewer were viewing from a limited scope.
3 houses had much better writing structure and characters. Fodlan was great and pretty well fleshed out. The game play here is GREAT. I LOVE it. I just gotta say it seems like everyone is lowering their here standards kinda? This feels like the same kind of praise that triangle strategy got and I hated triangle strategy. 3 houses is the standard for story, writing, concept, and characters. Engage is the standard for game play. Also garreg mach>somniel.
The red and blue color scheme is literally what’s repelling me from playing this 🤢
I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but my god, some of these reviews bashing on the story saying that they don't get a single ounce of enjoyment from the story absolutely are exaggerated. Three House has the best story but Engage dropped that aspect for a waaaay better experience in almost every other aspect. Even then, the story in Engage isn't as bad as many of these reviews are making it out.
It initially saddens me a little reading all these reviews bashing Engage over the story when Engage is soooo much more than just the story, but at this point I'm just numb and have given up reading them. I'm just happy that I am playing the game and having so much fun.
Engage is easily a 10/10 Fire Emblem game for a veteran like myself (cleared Engage on maddening/classic, including all paralogues, 80+ hours). Can't recall the last time I had so much thrill, satisfaction and fun with a Fire Emblem game since Fates Conquest. Three House maddening was a disappointment with how easily you can juggernaut through the entirety of the supposedly hardest difficulty the game has to offer. With Engage, the series has gotten back to its roots and they polished it SO well. Okay story, AMAZING gameplay, and overall a must have for any tactical fanatics.
I got it but I haven't got around to playing it but to me it seems more bandwagon than anything. Regardless, I liked what I saw on a reviewer I trust and all the trailers and previews seemed great so I'm excited to get around to it. I don't mind a more straightforward story of good vs bad with a lighthearted tone and a freaking love strategy games that go the extra mile gameplay wise. I'm hopeful
i'm at ch 18, and i can easily give it a 9/10 maybe 9.5/10. the music is great , the new mechanic are perfect and ez to understand. the only thing i dont like about the game is the mini game. i dont see the point of them but for the rest, feel nice to have no durability on weapon ( but i dont know why the base healing staff have durability)
healing staffs have durability to avoid the healer xp farm
@@Karaamjeet well, you know that if you heal a low level character with a healing staff you get 1 exp. so you cant really exp farm from it. and it is way faster to get exp from killing something. or use the arena
I've been a huge JRPG fan for a long time, about 25 years or so. One thing i've learned over the years, is at least in the USA, reception of the genre and any game close to it just doesn't get the love it deserves. Sadly, the difficulty is what I liked the most in these games. Some requiring hard core grinding, others requiring solid strategy and the level advantage isn't needed. Sadly, most critiques in JRPG genre and games close to it have to do with difficulty. Monster hunter for instance, a brutally hard game when you first start out, even 200 hours in and you're still learning, probably still the first of 14 weapon classes you chose. Now we have monster hunter coming to the west designed with a lesser difficulty in mind. I'm starting to notice this in other RPG's as well. Final fantasy, pokemon, and now fire emblem are all taking hits in the difficulty department. The one criticism I have for engage is that; enemy AI is super simple, not hesitating to attack into a monster unit with a 0% chance to hit and a 100% chance to die from counter hits. I still give the game a 9/10 because while that is true, you don't just get to a 0% chance to hit without strategy involved, so adding artificial limitations to your own game is a fun way to bump the difficulty up. That's the great thing about JRPG's especially SRPG like fire emblem, is the developer giving you total control over your character's strength. Hoping for a harder difficulty still through DLC, as I would love to have just a brutal time playing through the game like one can be had on Lunatic + difficulty on Fire Emblem Awakening.