#I like male Corrin though so most FE fans already think I'm stupid (:

[elysianstars]

So I was really on the fence about Fire Emblem: Engage, but then thought hey, I’ve played six other FE games and enjoyed them all, odds are good I’d enjoy another. This was the CORRECT CHOICE.

Gameplay was great. I spent several days just messing around in regular skirmishes, got carried away, then ended up overlevelled for the main story maps. Story was by turns ridiculously cheesy, predictable, and then punching me square in the heart. Characters are a bunch of fun anime blorbos. Sommie now leads an army of about fifty stray cats and dogs, RIP to anyone with allergies who hopes for an audience with the Divine Dragon.

No, I don’t mind that there’s less deep worldbuilding and grey morality compared to Three Houses, because sometimes I just want to enjoy a colourful fairytale where Good curbstomps Evil and then everyone lives happily ever after. Y’know, to balance out the cynical capitalist hellscape that is real actual life.

Spoilers abound under the cut, also tl;dr, apparently I have a lot to say about this game.

I chose male Alear, because his design bothers me less than the female one (she looks simultaneously more childlike and more sexualised, which uh, is not my cup of tea). He ended up reminding me a lot of Corrin in some ways - sweet and kind, a bit naive, amnesiac getting gaslighted due to past childhood trauma and having a giant evil dragon god as a father, y’know, little things like that.

Honestly, the Chapter 11 battle was less painful than watching his give them back please give them back routine over the Emblem Rings. Honey, they’re the villains, they’re not gonna do that just because you keep asking. But he got it together as the game progressed, and I was incredibly relieved when he said no to being blackmailed over the Queen of Solm’s life. And then we got his double death, which was silly on the part of the writers, but did showcase him being brave and sweet, AND THEN CHAPTER 24. His voice actor did a great job there. My heart was in pieces when he started chanting ‘defect, defect’, like no excuse me you are actually perfect. Even your hairstyle, which we now know is actually plot relevant and not just an Interesting Choice on the designer’s part. And even if you can’t turn into a proper dragon (though it would have been fun if he did that in the early chapters, wouldn’t it? All his allies expect a shining white Lumera clone, and what they get is either a mini Sombron or some type of messed up hybrid, and Alear himself doesn’t know why either. There’s a dramatic start to an AU fic). 

I didn’t care about the Emblems, they were just a game mechanic that gave me flashy magical girl transformations, and even the ones I recognised like Corrin and Byleth didn’t stir anything (I actually prefer male Corrin and female Byleth). But I understood why Alear in particular cared about them, at least. The Four Hounds...well, I liked their theme tune, and I’m sure some people are delighted with Griss, that wacky little masochist. They certainly had admirable escape skills, the number of different times they turned up for battle. Or maybe nobody ever explained the concept of taking prisoners to Alear.

Loved Alfred, loved Ivy and both her weirdo retainers. The weapon triangle meant nothing by the end of the game, I could charge Alear or Kagetsu towards a pack of blue enemies or Alfred towards greens, and it didn’t matter because they’d just dodge and laugh. Flower crown boy got the pact ring, because I heard what happens to him otherwise and that is Not Allowed. They’re so sweet and stupid together.

I bought the DLC after completing the main story, because I wanted more maps to play, and then eventually the Xenologue. Congratulations Nintendo, you have wheedled another chunk of money from me and it was well spent.