Fire Emblem Engage is a 2023 tactical role-playing game created by Intelligent Systems and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the seventeenth game in the Fire Emblem series. The story follows Alear, a dragon who takes human form, who wakes up after sleeping for a thousand years and becomes involved in a conflict with the forces of the Fell Dragon Sombron. Alear travels across the land of Elyos, gathering allies and fighting against the armies of the rival Kingdom of Elusia and Sombron’s undead forces. Players control and direct Alear’s army during these battles. A key part of the game’s story and gameplay involves twelve magic rings that hold copies of characters from earlier Fire Emblem games. When characters wear these "Emblem Rings," they can "Engage" by combining with the copies inside the rings to gain powerful abilities. Both Alear and Sombron aim to collect all twelve rings, as controlling them allows the performance of a powerful magical act.
Intelligent Systems designed the game with a new art style, featuring colorful characters and 3D models. This is different from earlier games in the series, which often used 2D portraits for dialogue and scenes. The game was intended to be a heroic fantasy story about a protagonist who grows and becomes a hero to save the world. Like previous Fire Emblem games, the gameplay involves moving characters on a grid-based map in a turn-based system to battle enemies.
Fire Emblem Engage received mostly positive reviews from critics. However, it was not as well-received as its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Reviewers praised the game’s main gameplay, calling it both strategic and enjoyable. They also appreciated the game’s innovations, music, and visuals. However, some critics found the story, characters, and world details to be weak and hard to remember. The game included a downloadable content (DLC) season pass with a new side story. It sold over 1.6 million copies within three months of its release.
Gameplay
Fire Emblem Engage is a tactical role-playing game. Players control the main character, whose name and gender can be chosen at the start of the game. By default, the main character is named Alear. As the story progresses, players guide Alear and their allies through battles. Additional battles, called "skirmishes," and side missions, called "Paralogues," are available for players who want to strengthen their team. Between battles, characters can relax and interact socially. New characters join Alear's team as the game continues. Each character has starting statistics, growth rates for their stats, and a unique skill. Characters can form "support levels" with specific other characters. As support levels increase, units unlock special conversations and battle bonuses.
Battles take place on a grid map, similar to a chessboard, where players and enemies are placed. The game is turn-based, with players taking their turn first, followed by the enemy's turn. Maps include different paths and obstacles. For example, rivers cannot be crossed by ground units but can be traveled by flying units. Some terrain, like fortresses, gives units extra defense and restores health at the start of each turn.
Each unit has a class that affects their weapon choices, movement, and stat growth. For example, armored units may move slowly but have high defense. Players assign weapons, magic items, and other tools to characters for attacking or healing. Magical staves allow characters to create barriers or move units across long distances. When units attack, their stats determine the strength and accuracy of the attack. A "weapon triangle" system is used, where swords beat axes, lances beat swords, and axes beat lances. Brawling attacks also beat bows, daggers, and magic. If a unit attacks with an advantage, the enemy is temporarily unable to counterattack. New mechanics include "Chain Attacks," where certain classes help allies attack enemies, and "Chain Guards," where support classes block attacks on nearby allies. The game has three difficulty levels and two modes: "Classic" and "Casual." In Classic mode, defeated characters are permanently lost. In Casual mode, defeated characters are only unavailable for the current map but return later.
A unique feature is "Emblem Rings," which let characters fight alongside heroes from previous Fire Emblem games. These rings allow characters to learn new weapons and skills, even if the ring is moved. While equipped, characters gain stat boosts and new abilities. Characters can also "Engage" with their Emblem, temporarily combining with it for powerful attacks. After engaging, characters earn points to use the ability again. "Bond Rings" are weaker versions of Emblem Rings for characters without access to them. Emblems featured include characters from earlier Fire Emblem games, such as Marth, Celica, Sigurd, and Byleth. Characters and Emblems can build bonds, unlocking conversations and battle bonuses.
After battles, characters return to the Somniel, a floating hub. It functions like a central location in other games. Players can buy items, upgrade weapons, play games, interact with characters, and manage social activities. For example, players can cook meals using collected ingredients and share them with units. Other games include working out, fishing, polishing rings, riding wyverns, and arena battles.
The main game is single-player, but two optional modes are available with a Nintendo Switch Online account: "Relay Trials" for teamwork and "Outrealm Trials" for competition. In both, the computer controls enemies, not other players.
Plot
The game Engage takes place on the continent of Elyos, which is divided into five regions: Lythos, Firene, Brodia, Elusia, and Solm. Lythos is a central holy land reserved for the Divine Dragon and their attendants. The realms of Firene, Brodia, and Solm largely work together, while Brodia and Elusia are enemies, often fighting battles over their borders. Most people in Firene, Brodia, and Solm worship the Divine Dragon as their god, while most Elusians worship the Fell Dragon. Dragons mostly live in human form for most of their long lives, with only a few able to change into a classic dragon form, and even then, they do so rarely, similar to other games in the Fire Emblem series.
One thousand years before the story begins, a great war was fought between Lumera, the Divine Dragon, and Sombron, the Fell Dragon. Sombron was seriously injured, and the country he ruled, Gradlon, sank beneath the ocean. The most important weapons of the ancient war were the Emblem Rings, twelve magical rings that gave their users great power. To stop anyone from gathering all the rings and using their power for harm, the rings were scattered across Elyos. Six rings were given to human countries, and the other six were kept by Lythos, under the direct care of Lumera and her advisors.
Alear, a dragon, wakes up from a one-thousand-year sleep. They have no memory of the past and only faint recollections of fighting against Sombron a thousand years ago with the help of Emblem Marth. They are told they were wounded in that battle. Soon, it becomes clear that Sombron is also recovering, as his allies attack Lythos to take its Emblem Rings. These allies include undead creatures called Corrupted and an army from Elusia. A young woman working with the invasion force kills Lumera, leaving only her child, Alear, to take on the role of Divine Dragon. Though others are surprised to learn that Lumera had a child, followers quickly accept Alear as the new Divine Dragon.
Alear and their allies decide to search for the scattered Emblem Rings to defeat Sombron. Meanwhile, Corrupted undead cause chaos, and Elusian armies fight Alear for control of the rings. Alear visits Firene and Brodia, collects rings, and gathers allies. They also meet and befriend Veyle, a young woman searching for her missing sibling. Alear attacks Elusia to stop Sombron’s revival but arrives too late. King Hyacinth of Elusia has already completed a ritual to bring Sombron back to life. Sombron consumes Hyacinth for more power and takes control of Elusia. It is later revealed that Veyle and the unknown enemy commander who killed Lumera are the same person. Veyle, claiming to be Sombron’s daughter, steals the six rings Alear has collected, giving their power to Sombron. Defeated, Alear and their allies escape from Corrupted undead, Veyle, and Sombron’s generals, the Four Hounds.
Hope returns when Ivy, Hyacinth’s daughter, and her retainers help Alear, bringing two rings that Elusia had controlled. Alear begins a new quest to collect rings and challenges Elusia’s armies. They travel to Solm, return to Firene, and invade Elusia again, fighting Veyle and the Hounds. It becomes clear that Veyle has two sides: one kind and trusting, and another cruel and loyal to Sombron. The Hounds and Alear discover that Alear is also a child of Sombron and the missing sibling Veyle was searching for. Lumera had adopted Alear after they left Sombron’s forces during the ancient war.
In a final battle at the ruined castle of Lythos, the evil side of Veyle is defeated, freeing the innocent Veyle from magical control. However, Sombron kills Alear, who dies protecting Veyle, and takes all twelve rings. Sombron uses the rings’ power to raise the fallen land of Gradlon and open a gateway to the multiverse. Veyle temporarily revives Alear as a Corrupted being, and they recover the rings discarded by Sombron. However, Corrupted Alear begins to fade. The rings unlock a hidden power to revive Alear, making them the new thirteenth Emblem, the Fire Emblem. After defeating Sombron’s forces and breaking a magical barrier, Alear and their allies chase Sombron to the multiverse gateway. There, they learn that Sombron was originally from another universe and was exiled to Elyos with an Emblem called the Emblem of Foundations. After being abandoned by this "Zero Emblem," Sombron sought power to escape his exile. Alear refuses to let him escape and kills Sombron in a final battle. Alear becomes the new Divine Dragon Monarch, and Veyle rules Gradlon. The rings seem lost forever with the closing of the multiverse gate, but a post-credits scene suggests they may still be active.
"Fell Xenologue" is a downloadable content (DLC) side-story that runs alongside Engage’s main story. In this story, Alear visits a different version of Elyos where roles are reversed: the rulers of the four nations have opposite personalities from the main game and are enemies to defeat, while the parallel versions of the Four Hounds are heroic allies called the Four Winds. In this world, Alear and Sombron are both dead, having killed each other in a previous battle. Seven Emblem Bracelets containing new Emblems are the focus of the story.
Dragon twins Nel and Nil seek help to reclaim the seven bracelets. With the aid of the Four Winds, the group defeats armies from parallel versions of Firene, Brodia, Elusia, and Solm, taking their bracelets. Nel reveals that all the armies and rulers they faced were actually Corrupted, their living selves long dead. Nil suddenly turns hostile and takes the collected bracelets. The group follows Nil to a fallen version of Somniel. Nil, driven mad by a corrupted dragonstone of Sombron’s, forces Alear to break the seal on the final bracelet by threatening Nel’s life. Alear complies, and Nil gains the power of the seven
Development
Engage was created by Intelligent Systems, the company behind many major Fire Emblem games. Intelligent Systems has worked closely with Nintendo for many years, and most of their games are only available on Nintendo consoles. Engage was developed together by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo EPD Group No. 2. Both Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Engage started development at the same time, with work on both games happening simultaneously. Three Houses was mostly made by a team from Koei Tecmo working with Intelligent Systems. A goal for Engage was to be different from Three Houses, which tells a more mature and large-scale war story, and to return to the style of earlier games like Awakening, which appealed to a wide audience.
Kenta Nakanishi, a director from Nintendo EPD Group No. 2, said a goal was for players to see Engage as a traditional heroic fantasy game. This was shown by placing Alear in the artwork and making their growth into a hero a central part of the game. Tsutomu Tei, the director from Intelligent Systems, said that earlier games like Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games were heroic stories that connected with players. Tei also said that the decision to have a single story path in Engage, instead of the branching paths in Three Houses and Fates, was made early in development. Genki Yokota, a producer from Nintendo, explained that some players felt overwhelmed by too many choices and might think they had to play all paths. Tei believed a simpler story would let players focus more on the strategy gameplay.
The idea for the Emblem system came from discussions about the marriage system in earlier games like Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Awakening, and Fates. Those games allowed players to create children with traits based on their parents, but changing combinations required restarting the game. Swappable Emblem Rings let players customize characters by giving them rings that changed their fighting styles in a flexible way. Developers wanted the rings to have different effects based on the character’s class and for players to understand them easily. The team divided classes into eight types, and each Emblem had effects tied to the class. A key moment in the game is when the Emblem Rings are taken from heroes, giving players a chance to decide who should use which ring instead of keeping them fixed.
The art style of the game was led by Mika Pikazo, an illustrator new to the Fire Emblem series. Intelligent Systems was impressed by her bright, colorful artwork, which matched their goal of reaching a wide audience, including younger players. Pikazo was already a fan of the franchise and was chosen as the main character designer. Changing the art style with a new illustrator helped show that the game’s world and mechanics would be a fresh experience. Pikazo’s designs were created to work well as 3D models. Programmers aimed to fully recreate her detailed artwork in 3D, reducing the use of 2D images in the game. Pikazo said her favorite character to design was Alear, the first character she worked on.
For Engage, Intelligent Systems used the Unity framework instead of their own custom game engines. Character models were made with Maya, and textures were created using Adobe Substance 3D. ZBrush was used for normal baking, and Shuriken, an internal Unity particle system, was used for effects.
Multiple composers worked on the soundtrack for Engage. Each major region in the game was assigned to a different composer to give each area its own musical style and feel. Tei also gave each region a unique color: white and black for the lands of the Divine and Fell Dragon, blue for Firene, red for Brodia, green for Elusia, and yellow for Solm.
For the DLC "Fell Xenologue" chapter, the developers wanted to create a different atmosphere from the main story. They explored a world where friendly allies were instead hostile, leading to the creation of an inverted parallel world.
Release
The game was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation in September 2022. On November 16, a story trailer was released, showing Alear’s promise to their dying mother and an evil version of Marth. The next week, Nintendo shared a gameplay trailer featuring new characters and returning heroes from the series.
The game was released on January 20, 2023, only for the Nintendo Switch. A special "Divine Edition" of the game was also released alongside the basic version. This edition included an artbook, poster, steelbook case, and art cards showing characters from earlier Fire Emblem games. The game was released with an Expansion Pass, which provided access to downloadable content (DLC) released in four waves. The first wave was available at launch and included two new Emblem Bracelets (similar to Emblem Rings): one combining Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and another featuring Tiki from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and its sequels. The second wave was released on February 8, 2023, after a Nintendo Direct. It included three new Emblem Bracelets: Hector from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, Soren from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and Camilla from Fire Emblem Fates. The third wave was released on March 8 and included a combination of Chrom and Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening and Veronica from Fire Emblem Heroes. Most DLC Emblems also included a "Divine Paralogue" chapter, where Alear’s team faces a special challenge map before obtaining the Emblem Bracelet. The fourth wave was released on April 4 and included a new "Fell Xenologue" side story. Completing this story allows players to recruit five new characters: three alternate heroic versions of the Four Hounds from the main game and two new dragons named Nel and Nil. Two new character classes were also added.
Updates to the base game, especially for the Somniel, were included with the DLC patches. These updates made it easier to access a skill inheritance menu, added new recreation activities to improve unit relationships, and introduced a wishing well where players could trade unused items for random new ones.
Like other Fire Emblem games, Engage has had promotional events and characters featured in the crossover mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes.
A manga adaptation of Engage was created by Kazurō Kyō and published in Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine and Shōnen Jump+ website. The prologue was released in February 2023, and the first main chapter was released on March 3.
An official CD/DVD version of the game’s soundtrack was released in March 2024.
Reception
Fire Emblem Engage received "generally favorable" reviews from Metacritic, a review website, where it has an average score of 80 out of 100 based on 127 reviews. Another review site, OpenCritic, reported that 83% of critics recommended the game, showing strong approval. Most reviewers praised the gameplay as very good. PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life said the gameplay was the best in the Fire Emblem series and among the best in the genre. Even critics who did not like the game often agreed that the gameplay was engaging. For example, Hirun Cryer of GamesRadar+ called the game a missed opportunity but still said the gameplay was one of the most interesting turn-based games in recent years. Some critics had concerns about the optional minigames in the Somniel area, which they found repetitive and uninteresting, though they could be skipped. The optional multiplayer modes were also criticized as not very exciting by reviewers like Will Greenwald of PCMag. Most reviewers praised the graphics and soundtrack as very good, with well-designed cutscenes, exciting battle animations, and music that matched each region’s setting.
Opinions about the story and characters were mixed. Most reviewers said the plot was not very strong, though they disagreed on how much this affected the game. Mike Mahardy of Polygon called the story "terrible," but he liked the fast pacing and focus on gameplay. Chris Carter of Destructoid said the story had energy and moved quickly. Melanie Zawodniak of Nintendo World Report thought the story was weaker than previous games but liked the characters, calling them one of her favorites in the series. Other critics disliked the characters, saying the conversations between them were boring and the writing was poor.
The game’s references to past Fire Emblem heroes, called Emblems, also received mixed reactions. Brendan Graeber of IGN appreciated how the game honored previous characters, but others said the Emblems took attention away from the main characters. Ash Parrish of The Verge criticized the conversations between characters and Emblems, saying they were short and uninteresting. The Emblems rarely interacted with each other, either. However, the design of the "Paralogue" missions was praised. These late-game missions are themed around specific Emblems and include battles inspired by chapters from their original games.
Reviewers often compared Fire Emblem Engage to Fire Emblem: Three Houses, a previous game in the series. Jordan Middler of Video Games Chronicle said Engage lost many of the strengths that made Three Houses successful, calling it a missed opportunity. Sisi Jiang of Kotaku wrote that Engage "took ten steps back" in storytelling compared to Three Houses. Renata Price of Waypoint said Engage failed to match the strengths of Three Houses, such as its characters and setting, but praised its well-designed missions and deep gameplay.
Fire Emblem Engage sold about 145,000 physical copies in Japan during its first week of release. By March 31, 2023, the game had sold 1.61 million copies worldwide. According to Nintendo, Fire Emblem Engage had the second-highest digital sales in Japan during the first half of 2023, after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It also ranked tenth in digital sales for all of 2023.
Fire Emblem Engage was nominated for "Nintendo Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards and "Best Sim/Strategy Game" at The Game Awards 2023. It lost both awards to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 4, respectively.