Nintendo Fire Emblem thread - Fire Emblem Engage releases 1/20/22

Stargazer

Well-known member
Nintendo revealed FE17, "Fire Emblem Engage", in their latest Nintendo Direct.



I consider myself a decent fan of Fire Emblem. Got into the series with Awakening, love that game. I was excited for Fates but that ended up as a severe disappointment, never got more than halfway through because I just didn't care about the story and characters. Echoes was great though, and Three Houses was super fun, I completed every route in the game. The one classic game I've put significant time into was Path of Radiance - I really enjoyed the story and characters (Titania for best girl), but got bogged down towards the end because too haaaaaard.

Anyways, so this next game - I'm not so excited about. It's the whole crossover aspect with lords from previous games acting as summons that kind of puts me off. I never liked the Outrealm nonsense in FE13 and FE14, and never bothered with Heroes. Crossovers like that should be saved for Smash Bros. It just feels fanservice-y, rather than crafting a story and characters that stand on their own. Now, that may be entirely intentional, as apparently this game was supposed to be released to celebrate Fire Emblem's 30th anniversary, but got delayed due to the cov. But as it is, I'm not too excited.

What I am hoping for, though, is an FE4 Geneology of the Holy War remake. Sigurd is notably featured in this trailer. Also, there were rumors and images leading up to this reveal that turned out to be true. The same source of those rumors say there's an FE4 remake in development. Here's hoping!

One last thing people are a little annoyed at is the player character's hair, dubbing him Toothpaste-chan. I don't know, doesn't really bother me all that much. Fire Emblem characters have always had wacky hair colors. I'm more annoyed by the name. "Engage" just sounds dumb to me.
 

Val the Moofia Boss

Well-known member
I think FE4 is overrated. Story wise, it's passable. The character designs aren't outlandish, and the story comes off as serious enough so it doesn't feel silly. The first half of the story is unusual in that you don't start off as an underdog rebel fighting against the evil empire, but as a high ranking Cecil-esque officer who is an agent of morally dubious governmen is helping carry out their invasions against good people. It makes for good drama as you want Sigurd to defect, and you want the good antagonists who are being ruined by Sigurd to survive.

TV6HSV6.png


But then you reach the second half of the game, and then story turns into your generic story of underdog rebels fighting against an evil empire, and the mastermind was a dragon the whole time. There is nothing to write home about, and if you're into story then I'd imagine you will be really disappointed after how much it has been hyped up by the FE fandoms. Also, there just isn't that much meat to the story. The maps are 2 hours long and there is barely 5 minute of cutscene per chapter and most of the chapters are spent fighting filler bad guys of the week.

The actual gameplay of FE4 is a tedious chore. The maps are far too big. It's overtuned. You have to constantly reload because if you moved your guy one tile too far then 7 enemy units shoot and kill him on their turn even though you thought only 5 would be able to hit him and he'd survive with enough health to be healed. As bad a rap as Fates gets, at least its gameplay is somewhat fun.

Overall, I think FE only keeps being brought up not because it's actually good, but because it was Nintendo's only first party RPG until Xenoblade came along (which frankly also isn't that good either and only gets attention because of a lack of competition).
 

Terthna

Professional Lurker
Though I don't remember finishing it, I rather enjoyed the one Fire Emblem game I played; the first one released in the US, for the GBA. Then again, I had always been a sucker for tactical JRPGs; thanks to playing Shining Force 2, one of my favorite games for the Sega Genesis (alongside Phantasy Star 4), as a kid.
 

Stargazer

Well-known member
I think FE4 is overrated. Story wise, it's passable. The character designs aren't outlandish, and the story comes off as serious enough so it doesn't feel silly. The first half of the story is unusual in that you don't start off as an underdog rebel fighting against the evil empire, but as a high ranking Cecil-esque officer who is an agent of morally dubious governmen is helping carry out their invasions against good people. It makes for good drama as you want Sigurd to defect, and you want the good antagonists who are being ruined by Sigurd to survive.

TV6HSV6.png


But then you reach the second half of the game, and then story turns into your generic story of underdog rebels fighting against an evil empire, and the mastermind was a dragon the whole time. There is nothing to write home about, and if you're into story then I'd imagine you will be really disappointed after how much it has been hyped up by the FE fandoms. Also, there just isn't that much meat to the story. The maps are 2 hours long and there is barely 5 minute of cutscene per chapter and most of the chapters are spent fighting filler bad guys of the week.

The actual gameplay of FE4 is a tedious chore. The maps are far too big. It's overtuned. You have to constantly reload because if you moved your guy one tile too far then 7 enemy units shoot and kill him on their turn even though you thought only 5 would be able to hit him and he'd survive with enough health to be healed. As bad a rap as Fates gets, at least its gameplay is somewhat fun.

Overall, I think FE only keeps being brought up not because it's actually good, but because it was Nintendo's only first party RPG until Xenoblade came along (which frankly also isn't that good either and only gets attention because of a lack of competition).

FE15 was similarly criticized for overly large maps and outdated design that it carried over from FE2, but I still found it enjoyable. Quality-of-life changes and mechanics from recent FEs, like displaying specific enemy attack ranges and the turnwheel, would alleviate some of the frustration you mention.

And I much preferred FE15 over FE14 for its story and characters. I can't say for sure if FE4's story and characters are any good, since I haven't played it. But I certainly would like the chance to experience the story and make up my own mind, without resorting to a fan translation. And it's possible that an FE4 remake would expand on the story and characters, like FE15 did with FE2's characters and story. I also hear that FE4 was the first use of the generational mechanics which I enjoyed quite a lot in FE13, so there's that.

And if you're going to trash FE as not being a very good series in general, well. I've pretty extensively enjoyed FE13, 15, 9, and 16. So I gotta disagree with you there. :p
 

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