2023 video game
Fire Emblem Engage is a 2023 tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the seventeenth installment in the Fire Emblem series and follows Alear, a dragon in human form, who awakens from a thousand-year slumber and quickly becomes embroiled in a conflict with the forces of the Fell Dragon Sombron. Alear travels the land of Elyos gaining allies while fighting against the armies of the rival Kingdom of Elusia and Sombron's resurrected undead forces; the player controls and maneuvers Alear's army in these battles. 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. Characters wearing these "Emblem Rings" can "Engage" to gain vast power from summoning and merging with these phantoms. 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.
Intelligent Systems designed the game to have a fresh new art style, with colorful characters and 3D animation models, in comparison to earlier games in the series that would often show 2D still portraits for dialogue and other scenes. It was intended to be a heroic fantasy quest that followed a protagonist growing and maturing into a heroic role to save the world. 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.
Fire Emblem Engage received generally positive reviews from critics. However, it was not as well-received as its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Reviewers had positive sentiment toward the main gameplay of Engage, considering it both strategically deep and enjoyable. While its gameplay innovations, music, and visuals were praised, critics felt that the story, characters, and worldbuilding were lackluster and unmemorable. The game received a downloadable content (DLC) season pass, including a full new side story. The game sold over 1.6 million copies in the three months after its release.
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