Fire Emblem Engage, the newest installation in the series, has just been revealed. It follows the recent release of another Fire Emblem spin-off, and fans are eager to know more. The latest Nintendo Direct uncovered long-awaited information on the next mainline title to come out. Here’s what you need to know about Fire Emblem Engage, including the release date, trailers, gameplay speculation and more.
Fire Emblem Engage: Release Date
Both announced and confirmed for a release date via the latest September Nintendo Direct, Fire Emblem Engage is due to hit the Switch on Friday, January 20, 2023.
This comes quite soon after the latest spin-off title, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, which was just released in June of this summer, leaving only 6 months between each release. Nintendo hasn’t hinted at a demo being dropped to keep players busy in these next short months, which leaves fans to speculate on what’s in store.
Fire Emblem Engage: Trailers
The announcement trailer that fans were treated to revealed much in the way of story setting, some gameplay teaser footage, along with the new main character Alear’s male and female gender designs.
Engage is set in the world of Elyos, where the player protagonist, known as the Divine Dragon, awakens after 1000 years to help thwart the return of an imprisoned evil, the Fell Dragon. The Divine Dragon is said to have joined forces with heroes from other realms to dispel the threat in the past, and we look set to do so again in this story.
Currently, the Nintendo of America trailer provides the only trailer information available in English online, fans will have to wait and see if there’s more to come. Thankfully, the Fire Emblem Japan Twitter account has posted multiple videos surrounding gameplay elements, some further story details, and more. A quick snippet posted shows units on the field, and our main character engaging in combat, scoring a very flashy critical hit.
Fire Emblem Engage: Characters And Setting
Similar to past Fire Emblem mainline titles, such as Three Houses, Fates and Awakening, the player must choose the protagonist Alear’s preferred gender in Engage. Both character designs have been revealed in promotional material, while the male protagonist has had more display time in the announcement trailer.
Heroes from other worlds, known as Emblems (a bit on the nose, eh?) are said to assist you, the Divine Dragon, in your efforts. Well-loved heroes and fan favourites from past titles look set to join forces with you, including Super Smash Bros’ regular, Marth, the series’ first main character. Could it be safe to say that Everyone is Here? We’re looking forward to finding out.
Fire Emblem Engage takes place on the Elyos Continent which consists of four kingdoms surrounding one central and sacred land. This sacred land of Lithos is where Alear awakens, and where the story looks to begin. Perhaps Lithos will act as our base of operations just as the charming Garreg Mach Monastery did in Three Houses.
Fire Emblem Engage: Gameplay
A number of new mechanics have been introduced, including the rings that the Emblem Warriors – our otherworldly heroes- reside in. Alear can use these rings to summon the heroes to their side in battle, which offers enhanced abilities and attacks. In-game, while Alear attacks, the summoned hero looks to also attack at the same time, possibly allowing for lots of combo opportunities.
Another brand new gameplay feature to be revealed was the aptly named ‘Engage’ mechanic, which sees Alear merge with a hero summoned and seemingly change forms. This will allow for an increase in combined stats, and some devastating signature attacks. This could potentially allow for some seriously fun throwbacks to hype moments in the past titles while allowing new players to create their own.
Also confirmed via Fire Emblem’s JP Twitter account here, the protagonist or other characters can equip rings, which offer them the power of the Emblems within. This will allow players to curate their units a little bit more aside from the usual class levelling and promotion by upping their stats further and unlocking stronger abilities. This seems to be the next evolution of the pairing mechanic in past titles, where units could be paired together to help increase their strength in battle and their affinity both on and off the field. We can only hope that our wildest romantic Fire Emblem ships could become a reality in this expansive new title.
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