(Previous Fire Emblem thread here)
More like Disengage amirite?
Good to see the community reacted the same way I felt watching the trailer to this new style used for the characters. I can’t think of something more devoid of personality than this Genshin Impact one.
That's gotta be some of the worst MC hair I've ever seen.
If you get dunked on in the dream, you get dunked on in real life
Um . . . isn't this just like a fancier version of FE: Heroes?
When I first saw the trailer I thought it was gonna be an app game or something.
.....I liked the trailer. 
ugly as hell but if it's evolving on 3 houses gameplay I will still like it.
Based Toothpaste-Chan. At least that's what gamefaqs calls the protagonii.
The game looks gorgeous when compared to Three Houses imo.
Yeah, the graphical improvement is really noticeable, complaints about the art style aside the game actually looked good. I think one of the big signs of 3H's quality is that you could fully enjoy it without being bothered by the fact the game looked like garbage (I have nearly 400 hours between all 4 routes and not a single time I was bothered by the graphics).
Now that I know I am skipping the next FE - I know it's very stupid to skip a game because of its art style, but they are using one that even as a teenager would keep me away from any anime/game that had it - I might as well buy Three Hopes (aka FE Warriors 2).
I am not a fan of Musou games but I tried the demo and it was pretty fun. For those who missed it, it is a "what if" scenario where Byleth doesn't meet the House Leaders and because of that doesn't join the Academy.
I was expecting worse after that indictment. Wasn’t really that bad. Now the cliche different colored eyes….
It'd be kind of cliché after having a "villain" protagonist in Awakening but I kind of hope this new MC is a Fire Emblem Lord chimera grown in a lab. Lampshade how generically anime he looks.
Why not Owain got shit as I recall for his chuunibiyo weirdness.
Though you’d have to shit on everybody else to make stuff fair.
I ended up forking the thread since a 4-second load on the general thread was... kinda crappy. (Hmm, how to make things faster around here!?)
Marth may be the poster boy but I'm going to be real torn once they announce characters from Awakening.
@Cinder Seems like they are bringing one lord from each game and it's already confirmed to be Lucina.
It's so hard for me to get excited about this one.
Five chapters in and the game is fine so far. The story feels really phoned in and they continue to appeal to casual players, but it's still good ol' Fire Emblem fun and there are some nice QOL improvements. Plus, I just like that the lead of this game has a voice actor since I'm not big on the silent protagonist schtick.
Chrom DLC was just announced, so as per agreement (with who again?) I will pick up the game LOL.
I finished the game last week-end. The story was far better than I expected (I feared a more childish story because of the engage mechanic that looks like a Level 5 thing).
Only annoying thing is the post battle maps having to run around to collect things. That got repetitive very quick.
Best thing for me was that leveling units is so much easier. At least the class aspect of it. Pick your class (with some minor spending for proficiency and you're done).
Also, I didn't bother with skill inheritance and weapon engraving in my run. I left it for later initially and forgot about them.
I might try later along the dlc.
@fana is the story better or worse than echoes, awakening and three houses?
does the bond/souls thing goes anywhere beyond shallow lines and superficial development?
I want to give this a try, but I absolutely abhor the character design and art style.
I wish they made a demo available, so I could test if my love for the franchise would be enough to make me overlook the visual aspects I dislike, but unfortunately there isn’t one and I will not pay $60 to find out.
You’d think this is exactly the kind of game a demo would be advisable, since the first impression is likely to alienate old fans and the actual game could bring them back.
Also, call me a prude, but it doesn’t sit well with the that IS is finally comfortable to cross the line between their usual (and already condemnable) “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child because she is actually a very old person who just looks like a child” approach to “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child”.
@access-timeco said in Fire Emblem Engage:
Also, call me a prude, but it doesn’t sit well with the that IS is finally comfortable to cross the line between their usual (and already condemnable) “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child because she is actually a very old person who just looks like a child” approach to “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child”.
I don't think that's a thing? From what I've read, all of the child characters (and a few of the adults) have completely platonic endings if you S-support them.
@Foolio said in Fire Emblem Engage:
@access-timeco said in Fire Emblem Engage:
Also, call me a prude, but it doesn’t sit well with the that IS is finally comfortable to cross the line between their usual (and already condemnable) “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child because she is actually a very old person who just looks like a child” approach to “it’s ok to be romantically involved with this child”.
I don't think that's a thing? From what I've read, all of the child characters (and a few of the adults) have completely platonic endings if you S-support them.
I don't know if there are multiple instances, the only I know is the Anna (who is a child in this version) S-Support that was heavily and thankfully toned down by the localization.
The support line is basically the avatar helping Anna to come out with a new product to sell on their equivalent of the Valentine's Day. On the final dialogue, Anna gives the best product she produced to the avatar and the avatar gives her back the wedding ring.
On the localized version it is played as merely them exchanging gifts to mark a successful business partnership. But on the original japanese version both acknowledge the romantic tone of the exchange while mentioning it is still too soon for them to be lovers (恋人にはまだ早くても。。。). The ending line also has a heavy romantic tone on the original.
I saw some fans trying to say "they were just kidding, the lines aren't supposed to be taken seriously", but it just seems like fans trying to hide something under rug.
Well that's definitely hella questionable. I didn't know that. Honestly I find Anna kind of annoying in this game, doesn't help that her English voice is whiny as hell, and she also never pulled her weight in battle so.
Still haven't finished the game though, so I'm reserving my overall thoughts. So far I'd say the story is really boring and generic.
My OCD demands that I complete every mini-game on the Somniel every time I finish a mission so I can get much shit as I can. And, yeah, that gets kinda tiresome.
The push-up mini-game is fucking awful and impossible for me to get a perfect score on.
[And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon]
Again, I just can't get excited about an FE game that is basically a fancier version of their app game.
@Nobodyman said in Fire Emblem Engage:
My OCD demands that I complete every mini-game on the Somniel every time I finish a mission so I can get much shit as I can. And, yeah, that gets kinda tiresome.
The push-up mini-game is fucking awful and impossible for me to get a perfect score on.
lol the push-up minigame is indeed awful. I just wish they were a little more varied/interesting and that the harder difficulties didn't unlock at a glacial pace. Or that they put even a little effort in. Like somehow they made fishing simultaneously easier, more boring, and more pointless than 3H.
Honestly overall I've seen people praise the Somniel for being a lot more optional than activities in Garreg Mach, which may be true, but that was also one of the best parts of 3H. You felt in control of progression. I feel like there is a LOT more RNG in the Somniel, and sure you can ignore some things, but I mean not really, if you want to properly upgrade your gear and skills and such. It also feels rather poorly balanced in that they expect you to grind skirmishes for resources in order to interact with a lot of the systems; particularly upgrades and donation levels. Which isn't even viable on higher difficulties.
@Satsuki said in Fire Emblem Engage:
Again, I just can't get excited about an FE game that is basically a fancier version of their app game.
Well, thanks for reiterating an uninformed opinion that adds nothing to the discussion.
This is my favorite FE game since Echoes and it really isn’t close. I definitely understand the muted response to it thus far as it’s basically the polar opposite of Three Houses, which was one of the most popular modern FE games. Three Houses went all in on hub activities, social links, the class system and the story whereas Engage halfassed at best most of that stuff. But as someone who got so sick of the Monastery halfway through my first playthrough of a game that wants you to replay it three more times, I did not care about the dropoff in quality with the Somniel.
What Engage does get right is what I care most about in these games and that’s the combat. The break mechanic is a brilliant update to the weapon triangle and the Emblems are such a cool way to make you feel incredibly powerful. You basically get to go Super Saiyan for three turns and break the game; it’s a feeling I’ve never had before playing FE.
And the game pushes back on you still with very inventive maps and unique bosses. Outside of a few exceptions, “boss fights” in FE are basically just the victory cigar you get to smoke after clearing a map. In this game, especially in the Emblem Paralagoues, you are challenged to Beautiful Mind your way into one-turning bosses with three health bars and skills as broken as the ones you have.
I’ve always hated the addition of the rewind mechanic in modern FE games but it’s a must in this game and I have no issue using it given how challenging some of these levels can get. In Three Houses it felt like a get out of jail free card cause you really never needed it unless you made a dumb mistake.
One thing that threw me off initially was the steady stream of incredibly strong units you get throughout the game; I’m so used to the mid- and late-game units coming in as weaker versions of whoever you started out with as a fallback just in case you let them die. But in Engage they’re almost all cracked out of their mind and are wholly unique. I always have a hard time letting go of my OG squad so I’m pumped to go back on a replay and try out a lot more of the new units.
It’s unfortunate the story is so incredibly dumb (so far at least, I’m on Chapter 20 but I’m not expecting much from thie finale) and the characters feel really flat, a trend that’s gotten worse and worse with every new installment. And for that reason, I think Engage still falls short of some of my favs (the GBA games and PoR) but to me it’s the best the series has ever been from just a gameplay perspective.
I think the characters are mostly fine in terms of their personalities, it's just a shame that most of them fall into the same repetitive occupations of prince(ss) and their two retainers. A little more variety there would've been nice.
I personally thought the story got better as it went along, but the chapter that really got me was
I don't really think the story got better but Alear got some partial redemption eventually as an actual character and not only a one-dimensional player avatar.
For me most of the early-game characters were pretty uninteresting, though apparently some of them have some good support conversations, but by around the halfway point I thought most of the new additions were pretty cool/interesting/funny/etc. Though with a heavy bias toward Solm. Overall Three Houses might have had a stronger overall cast but I wasn't disappointed on that front personally.
Sneaking in some glances. No I didn't buy yet, I still will though.
Just thought it was funny to see Robin looking evil happy to mess someone up.
I do like the Path of Radiance-style choosing of weapons upon promotion. I hope they keep that for future games.
I didn't realize this was a legit Fire Emblem console game until it was out for a bit because the name sounds like some kind of mobile gacha game to me. I know some people like those, but they aren't for me.
So I finally finished the game and will admit the story did do a decent job of injecting some pathos into the whole thing by the end. Still think it was likely too little too late but at least an effort was made. It's interesting to juxtapose this story -- and basically any of the more modern FE stories -- with FE4, which I am currently playing for the first time. The gameplay in Geneology is like laughably laborious and is only interesting if you're a hardcore FE fan that likes being surprised by something that feels really unique for the series. But the story is great -- reminds me of Game of Thrones or Legend of the Galactic Heroes .. takes itself seriously and isn't afraid to take risks with its characters. It's extremely economical with the amount of dialogue and info you get before, during and after each chapter.
I feel like the real lesson is less is more. Yes, the cut scenes in Engage are nice but when you don't shoot them in an interesting way they still end up feeling incredibly static. There's a ton of dialogue but the vast majority of it is fluff. You'd be better served letting the player's imagination do most of the work.
Now that all waves of the DLC is out, how was the Fell Xenologue? Did anyone here get it?
NO I still haven't bought this yet. I promise I will.
@Cinder Bought all the DLC in advance, so yes, I played Fell Xenologue.
Pretty clever how they did it in that it places your units at a set level so you can theoretically play and beat it no matter where you are in the game. Still, probably best to do it later since bond bonuses and inherited skills (I think) still apply. And yes, it is legitimately challenging, especially in the later chapters.
I've done pretty much everything there is to do in the game, so right now I'm just doing skirmishes and trying to get all the support convos. I was also considering getting bond convos for all emblems for all units, but after doing the math on it...yeah, that would take forever.
It's a shame the story for the Fell Xenologue was just pure garbage.
