![]() I should note that I am both favorably biased towards piano music (I played piano in college) as well as very critical, so you can expect a fair revi- wait a second, “Lost in Thoughts All Alone” is on this album? Never mind folks, this is the best piano arranged album of 2017! Well, since we happen to need that and more Fire Emblem album reviews, it would only make sense I would follow up my if ~Hitori Omou~ / Renka review with Fire Emblem Music Collection: Piano ~Faith & Engagement~. If you need the backdrop of a believable, intriguing fantasy world in order to get invested in the rest of what the game has to offer, then probably not.I’ve stated in one of my previous reviews that the world needs more piano music. Is “Fire Emblem Engage” worth it for $60? If you are a hardcore fan of strategy role-playing games who cares about gameplay over everything, then absolutely. In short, there is very little enjoyment to be had from the main storyline, even in a so-bad-it’s-funny sort of way. ![]() Time travel, always a risky plot device, is used so poorly and inconsistently as to seem almost parodic. Random lore with huge story implications is introduced in the final level of the game as an afterthought. Characters sometimes have completely different personalities between cutscenes. Not content with simply being boring, the writers seemingly attempted to sabotage the game’s plot at every turn. “Engage’s” biggest flaw, though, is its impressively bad story. ![]() This fact, in combination with the conspicuous lack of worldbuilding, removes a lot of the motivation for the player to connect with these characters. Characters show up in the Somniel, but they will very rarely have anything relevant to say pertaining to the events of the game. All of the Somniel content is essentially optional, which is a double-edged sword: The voluntarism lets the player choose how to play, but it also gives the developers an excuse to give up on creating an experience that players would actually want to choose. The Somniel, a floating island which serves as the player’s home base, is an underwhelming hub world. However, the way that “Engage” handles its characters is unfortunately one of its flaws.Īlthough “Engage” has passable characters, it does not offer enough opportunities for the player to get to know them. Some characters get more focus than others, but they are all likable enough and reasonably well-written. These support conversations tend to start off trivial, but as the game progresses, they become deeper and more compelling. When the player has raised the bond between two characters high enough, they are able to watch a cutscene where those two characters have a conversation, revealing more about their personality and backstory to each other. Support conversations are “Engage’s” way to learn more about the characters. This is a pretty shallow mechanic, but it adds a touch of immersion to a game that is sorely lacking it otherwise. In order to show off the environment art, the player now has the option to run around the battlefield after a level is complete. The battle animations are all quite dynamic, and the 2D character portraits that were previously a staple of the series are barely missed in “Engage” thanks to the improved 3D character models. In the four years that have passed since their last FE game, developers Intelligent Systems figured out how to make full use of the Switch’s hardware. The graphics, which lend themselves to the more colorful anime artstyle that Art Director Mika Pikazo is known for, are another highlight. With an abundance of weapons, stat-boosting items and power-enhancing Emblem Rings, I never got bored of a level halfway through. The return of the Weapon Triangle, a system where different weapons are strong or weak to each other in a rock-paper-scissors configuration, adds a lot of depth to the game even though it seems like a limiting mechanic on the surface. The strategy gameplay is the most fun that I have ever had in a “Fire Emblem” game. “Fire Emblem Engage” treats these two ideas - as well as all its tertiary ideas - with varying levels of seriousness, and the result is a highly polarized experience. The primary goal of a modern, Switch-era “Fire Emblem” (FE) game is to find a balance between strategy gameplay, where units clash in turn-based combat on a grid-like battlefield, and socialization, where the player spends time bonding with the members of their ragtag army.
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