waltzoid: Justin (Grandia) (Default)
waltzoid ([personal profile] waltzoid) wrote2023-01-23 05:48 pm

The ring's the thing (FE Engage first impressions)

I started just a day behind the rest of the world, but I still managed to get through a 12-hour blitz of Fire Emblem Engage in just three days and work my way up to Chapter 7.

All jokes about Alear's character design aside (and I think even a few of them are made in the game itself), I don't really mind them (I started out with the male version since the female one arrived first in Heroes). Robin's still my favorite "Avatar"-type character, though. As for the others: Yunaka's in the lead so far, with no clear second-place candidate. I'm still barely out of the first part of the game, so I'm sure I'll find others to fawn over as the game progresses.

I also like that the newer Fire Emblem games are allowing for greater flexibility with combat options - first with Three Houses and Three Hopes' "any character can have almost any job and switch freely between them" system, and this game allowing any character to equip any Emblem ring - so you could stick with the expected option of having cavalry units like Alfred or Vander fuse with Sigurd for double-digit mobility, or go crazy and, say, make armored knight Louis a secondary healer with Micaiah's ring (which allows its wielder to use staves while Engaged when they normally can't).

As someone who's only been playing the series since 2003 with the release of Blazing Blade (oddly only titled "Fire Emblem" here in the U.S.), I still put Three Houses as my personal "gold standard" for the series, but so far, Engage is solidly in the "polished silver" tier alongside Awakening. I did take a bunch of screenshots, but I'll only be able to post the best ones on my recently-revived Tumblr blog (unless there's another hassle-free image host anyone else can recommend).
sarajayechan: Yunaka with a demure smile as she does her best Goldmary impression ([FE Engage] Yunaka)

[personal profile] sarajayechan 2023-01-24 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Louis as a healer? Well, that could be interesting... :3 A healer who can also tank enemies. I've also been making Bond Rings and experimenting with their stat boosts.
cye_of_the_torrent: Yuri from Fire Emblem smirks while taking off his hat (Yuri bird)

[personal profile] cye_of_the_torrent 2023-01-27 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
I'm enjoying the game so far! I have Pandreo engaged with Byleth and it's working pretty well so far. :D