Fire Emblem Engage
One of the core parts of both the setting and the gameplay are twelve magic rings that contain phantasmal copies of characters from previous Fire Emblem games.Both Alear and Sombron seek to gain control of the rings; possession of all twelve will allow a feat of immense magic to be performed.As with previous Fire Emblem entries, the turn-based gameplay consists of maneuvering characters within an army across grid-based maps, who then battle foes.[3] The battles feature a grid map, similar to a large chessboard, where both the characters under player control and enemy units are laid out.[2] For example, an armored class might have low movement and slow speed, but have a high defense stat allowing them to take little damage from enemy physical attacks.Magical staves allow characters who can use them to perform other utility actions such as creating temporary obstructions on the map or warping units across long distances.[11] On the Somniel, the player can shop for new equipment, forge their weapons to be stronger, play minigames, have Alear talk with both human allies and Emblems, and interact with social simulation elements.[12] Other minigames include working out, fishing, polishing Emblem Rings, riding a flying wyvern through an obstacle course, battling in an arena, and more.They have amnesia, and only vague memories of fighting against Sombron one thousand years ago with the aid of Emblem Marth, and are told they were wounded in the struggle.It quickly becomes apparent that Sombron is recovering, too, as his allies enter Lythos to capture its Emblem Rings: undead known as Corrupted and an army from the Kingdom of Elusia.Defeated, Alear and their allies flee from an army of Corrupted, Veyle, and a team of Sombron's most trusted generals called the Four Hounds.The heroes gain renewed hope when Ivy, Hyacinth's daughter, and her personal retainers come to Alear's aid, bringing two of the Emblem Rings that Elusia had controlled.Nil, driven insane by a corrupted dragonstone of Sombron's, demands Alear use their power to break the seal on the final bracelet by threatening Nel's life.With no one left in their ruined version of Elyos, the Four Winds agree to accompany Alear back to their world, and are eventually followed by a revived Nel and the repentant Rafal.One of the goals behind Engage was to do something different from Three Houses, which has a more epic and adult war story, and to hearken back to Awakening as a work with appeal to a broad audience.This manifested in placing Alear very prominently in the artwork and making their personal growth and development as they grew into their heroic role a core part of the game.[22] It was felt that significantly changing the art style from Three Houses with a new illustrator would implicitly communicate that the world and mechanics would be a fresh new experience.The graphics programmers set a goal for themselves to adapt Pikazo's detailed designs in full in the 3D models, which allowed them to avoid use of 2D artwork in-game almost entirely.Character models were created using Maya, with Adobe Substance 3D for texturing; ZBrush for normal baking; and Shuriken, an internal Unity particle system, for effects.[19][16] For the DLC "Fell Xenologue" chapter, the developers wanted to give a different atmosphere from the main story and explore a reality where usually friendly allies were hostile, leading to the creation of such an inverted parallel world.Completion of the "Fell Xenologue" allows five new characters to be recruited: three of them alternate heroic versions of the Four Hounds in the main game, and two new dragons named Nel and Nil.[10] A manga adaptation of Engage was created by Kazurō Kyō and published in Shueisha's Saikyō Jump magazine and Shōnen Jump+ website.[4] PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life wrote that the gameplay was not merely the best in the series, but was of the finest quality of turn-based tactical RPGs in general.[1][6][43] Reviewers generally thought that the graphics and soundtrack were outstanding, with impressive cutscenes, exciting combat animations, and fitting music for each region.[40] Melanie Zawodniak of Nintendo World Report, while acknowledging the plot was thinner than previous entries, had a more positive view of the characters of Engage and considered them one of her favorite casts in the franchise.[5] Reviewers frequently compared the game with previous series entry Fire Emblem: Three Houses, in particular the change from a heartbreaking conflict between former friends to a more classic good vs. evil plotline.[52] Jordan Middler of Video Games Chronicle lamented that Engage threw away so many of the strengths of Three Houses that made it such a huge hit, and called it a missed opportunity.[53] Fire Emblem Engage was the best-selling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, selling around 145,000 physical copies across the country.
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