This focus is unique for Fire Emblem and makes the main cast feel more human and sympathetic. Even the seemingly ideal family, along with abandonment and impossible-to-please parents. These run the gamut from almost losing a child to grappling with the legacy your forebears left. Engage goes out of its way to present the four kingdoms as case studies in family experiences. The same is true for its other major theme – family bonds and, specifically, sibling bonds. This subtle undercurrent of tension between what we’re told to believe and what the truth actually is runs through the entire game, though Engage does little with it until much later. They’re told Alear is the Divine Dragon, so they believe it. The fact that Alear can’t turn into a dragon and is barely even an Inspiring Lizard at this point, let alone a Divine Dragon, doesn’t dampen their enthusiasm. Everyone they meet is only too happy to help Alear, in no small part because they think Alear is the Divine Dragon. While the Emblem Rings are meant to offer advice, Alear turns to their newfound friends for a sense of family and for knowledge of this strange world they awake in instead. However, unlike the series’ usual MacGuffins, these do actually have a role in the story – albeit a slightly shallow one – and help radically transform Fire Emblem’s tactics on the battlefield. Engage is technically no different, since you spend the first half of your journey trying to find 12 Emblem Rings before supporters of the Fell Dragon do. Whether it’s a quest for Sacred Stones, gemstones, or the weapons of ancient heroes, Fire Emblem loves its MacGuffins. The reunion is short-lived, though.Īfter Alear’s only blood tie dies attempting to protect them from the Fell Dragon’s minions, it’s time to set off on a trip to recover the rings. They’re the Divine Dragon, a beneficent ruler, the hero of an ancient war against the Fell Dragon, and owner of the Emblem Rings, which house the spirits of heroes from Fire Emblems past. A family affairĮngage starts with Alear, the hero of the tale, waking up to find a mother they forgot existed and a legacy they didn’t know they had. However, a deep class system, flexible progression, exquisite battles, and small, but important advancements in storytelling style make this one of the best Fire Emblems in years. The story is uneven and only really finds itself in the last 10 chapters. Unlike a fever dream, though Fire Emblem Engage is something that’s actually worth experiencing, and more than once. All of this unfolds on a map you could swear you’ve seen before, and the entire setup feels like something out of a Fire Emblem fan’s fever dream. In any given moment in Fire Emblem Engage, you’re likely to see the ghostly shape of a long-gone hero fly into battle, as walls of ice spring forth from the ground, and nearby allies join together for an impossibly flashy – and deadly – sequence of attacks on an enemy general.
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