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Fire Emblem Engage
- Engage redirects here. For the command and its relevant mechanics, seeEmblem Rings § Engaging.
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Fire Emblem Engage (Japanese:ファイアーエムブレム エンゲージFire Emblem Engage) is a turn-based strategy role-playing game for theNintendo Switch. It is the seventeenth main installment in theFire Emblem series, the second for theNintendo Switch console followingFire Emblem: Three Houses, and it was released on January 20, 2023 in all regions.
The game is set on the continent ofElyos, one thousand years after a great war resulted in four kingdoms summoning and collaborating withEmblems—heroes from other worlds—to seal away a fell dragon. The player followsAlear, adivine dragon, and their allies as they work to prevent the seal on the fell dragon from breaking and unleashing the great evil upon the continent. The game features anEmblem Rings system where characters are able to equip and bond with characters from previous games in the franchise.
Story
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Prologue
The game begins with a scene where the protagonist,Alear, fights their way through a group of unidentified soldiers. They are joined by theEmblem version ofMarth. Through the scene, they are also joined by four additional fighters wielding the power of the Emblems, allowing them to reach the gate at the end of the room. Alear and Marth have a short conversation before opening the gate. They are then faced by a mysterious figure asking them the surrender. During the battle, Marth asks Alear to use his power, triggering a cutscene in which Alear and Marth combine their strength, allowing them to defeat the mysterious figure. After their victory, Marth asks Alear to never forget him and all the others who fought by their side.
Main story
Alear awakens and is greated byClanne,Framme, andVander. They learn that they have been asleep for the past 1,000 years, and that their mother,Queen Lumera, has awaited their awakening. They depart forLythos Castle, where Queen Lumera is located. On their way, they are attacked by a group ofCorrupted. During the battle, Alear remembers an incantation and manages to summon Marth. After the battle, they meet Lumera and accompany her to Lythos Castle. That evening, Lythos Castle is attacked by theElusian army. Alear rushes for the castle's ring vault, aided byAlfred, the prince ofFirene. The intruders manage to overtake and almost kill Alear, but Lumera takes the blow for them. The intruders run away, but lose theDraconic Time Crystal. However, Lumera's wounds are too severe. With her last words, she tasks Alear to gather all twelve Emblem rings beforeSombron can collect them.
Alear and Alfred decide to get Firene's Emblem first. On their way, they run into PrincessCéline who warns them of an invasion by the Elusian army on the royal palace. She also brought Firene's emblem ring, allowing Alear to summon EmblemCelica. Alear and their allies rush for the royal palace, and eventually manage to fend off the invaders. QueenÈve is shocked at the news of Lumera's death, but understands Alear's mission to collect all the Emblem rings. She reveals to them that Firene was given a second Emblem ring, which is kept away in a chapel. Alear and their allies make for the chapel and run intoYunaka, a thief, who has stolenMicaiah's Emblem ring. Along with Yunaka and Micaiah, they leave for the neighboring kingdom ofBrodia to collect another Emblem ring.
At Brodia's border, Alear and their allies run into the Brodian princeAlcryst and his retainers who were tasked to accompany Alear to the castle. On their way, they are intercepted by princessHortensia of Elusia. During the battle, Hortensia reveals to Alear that she has an Emblem ring of her own, granted power by Sombron. Alear recalls the ring to be one of the ones stolen from Lythos Castle. While they defeat Hortensia's army, Hortensia manages to get away with the ring, and mentions that her older sisterIvy is preparing for an invasion of the castle. Alear and their allies manage to reach the castle before Ivy's attack and meet up with Brodia's crown prince,Diamant.
Gameplay
The central new feature ofEngage is theEmblem Ring mechanic. Taking the form of relevant characters from past installments in the series, Emblems can be equipped by any unit to grant that unit additional stats orskills. Additionally, every unit that has an Emblem Ring equipped also has an engage meter. A unit's engage meter starts maxed out, though after using an engage, it has to be refilled by participating in combat or using specific items to fill it up again. If a unit's engage meter is full, they can opt toengage with that Emblem, granting them even more skills as well as weapons based on theEmblem character's source game. Additionally, each Emblem grants access to a unique, powerfulengage attack that can only be used once per engage. A unit's engage status will initially last for three turns, though the duration can be increased by leveling the unit's bond with the Emblem character.
Characters
- Main article:
List of characters in Fire Emblem Engage
There are a total of 36 playable units and 12Emblem Rings. Outside of these, there are 5 playable characters and 7Emblem Bracelets available via the Expansion Pass DLC.
Chapters
- Main article:
List of chapters in Fire Emblem Engage
There are 27 chapters and 15 paralogues. When taking the Expansion Pass into account, there are also 6 divine paralogues, and a short mini-episode—Fell Xenologue—comprised of 6 chapters.
Development
History
Engage is the firstFire Emblem series game directed by Tsutomu Tei.[2] The game's characters were designed byMika Pikazo,[3] who was chosen for her appeal to a broader and younger audience as well as character variety.[4]
Engage began development around the same time asFire Emblem: Three Houses,[5] giving it one of the longest development cycles of recentFire Emblem titles.[6] Leaked screenshots of a fairly polished looking build (with noticeably missing UI flourishes) of the game existed as as far back as January 2022.[7] Additionally, Engage was submitted to the USK game ratings board in August of 2021, suggesting the game was content-complete enough for ratings submissions at that point.[8]
Contrasting the more complex narrative and split routes ofThree Houses, the vision forEngage was that of a simpler and more broadly appealing game and story to entice players new to the Fire Emblem Series[9] In particular, the developers wished to capture a new audience for theFire Emblem series in a similar vein to howFire Emblem Awakening did in 2012.[10]
TheEngage mechanic was inspired by the marriage systems present in several previous games, but with the twist of being easily reversible, so that the player would not have to start the game over to try different combinations.[11]
The game's stylish and flashy animations were inspired by theGBAFire Emblem titles.[12]
Pre-release
- Main article:
Fire Emblem Engage pre-release information
Fire Emblem Engage was first officially revealed in the September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct with a reveal trailer. Before the official reveal, the game was the subject of three leaks that revealed info on the game ahead of time. Following the initial reveal, theofficialFire Emblem Twitter account was updated with new additional info onEngage.
Release
Fire Emblem Engage was released on January 20, 2023. In addition, a special edition of the game, subtitled theDivine Edition, was released alongside the regular edition. TheDivine Edition came with the game and its case, a SteelBook, an artbook for the game, art cards of the legacy characters, and a poster.
Reception
This section has been marked as astub. Please help improve the page by adding information.
Sales
As of March 31st of 2023,Engage has sold 1.61 million copies worldwide, with 430,000 copies coming from Japan.[13]
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| Japanese | ファイアーエムブレム エンゲージ | Fire Emblem Engage |
| Spanish | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| French | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| German | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| Italian | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| Korean | 파이어 엠블렘 Engage | Fire Emblem Engage. Also spelled파이어 엠블렘 인게이지. |
| Simplified Chinese | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
| Traditional Chinese | Fire Emblem Engage | -- |
Gallery
Key art
North American box art forEngage.
Japanese box art forEngage.
Promotional image of the North AmericanDivine Edition of the game.
Promotional image of the JapaneseElyos Collection version of the game.
Dark variant of the game's English logo.
Light variant of the game's English logo.
Dark variant of the game's Japanese logo.
Dark variant of the game's Korean logo.
Key art forEngage.
Key art forEngage.
Artwork used for theDivine Edition ofEngage.
Group artwork created forEngage.
English Home Menu icon.
Japanese Home Menu icon.
Korean Home Menu icon.
Screenshots
Trailers
Screenshot from the reveal trailer, featuring the variouslords of the series.
Screenshot from the reveal trailer, revealingMarth.
Screenshot from the reveal trailer, showcasingSigurd and theEmblem Rings mechanic.
September 13, 2022 press release
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot, showcasingCelica.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot, showcasingMarth.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot, showcasingMarth and theEmblem Rings mechanic.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot, showcasing theEmblem Rings.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
Pre-release screenshot.
December 8, 2022 press release
Screenshot featuring Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude.
Screenshot featuringTiki.
References
- ↑1.01.11.2Ask the Developer Vol. 8, Fire Emblem Engage—Part 1, Nintendo Official Site,Published: January 17, 2023,Retrieved: January 17, 2023
- ↑"Interviewer: I understand that this is the first time that Tei-san has served as a director on the series.
Tei: Yes, that’s right! I was nervous at the start of development because I felt a great responsibility for the series with such a long history that's spanned over 30 years. But I am glad that we've finally completed the development and all our hard work has paid off.Thank you very much for having me today." — Nintendo,[1], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025 - ↑"I designed the characters for the Nintendo's new FE title "Fire Emblem Engage". Please look forward to the game!" — @MikaPikaZo,[2], Twitter,Published: September 13, 2022,Retrieved: September 14, 2022
- ↑"Tsutomu Tei: We had several candidates. We were looking for an artist whose design style would appeal to a broad audience – including younger players – as well as the ability to portray a variety of characters. Among the candidates, Mika Pikazo-san's drawings were colourful, vivid, and really popped! They were a perfect fit for the flashy direction we wanted for this title. It was a unanimous vote with the entire development team agreeing, “She’s the one!”." — Nintendo,[3], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025
- ↑"This is a completely new title following Three Houses, and the second game on the Switch.
Yokota: Indeed. The two games began development at similar times, so one of the themes was to do things differently from Three Houses." — NintendoEverything,[4], nintendoeverything.com,Published: May 27, 2023,Retrieved: Feb 1, 2026 - ↑"Higuchi:It was very challenging. It's been a while since we spent this much time on developing one title. Since there were many new challenges, we repeated a cycle of brainstorming ideas, testing them, and throwing out any ideas that didn't work. And then, just when we thought we had finally come up with a good one, another hurdle appeared. It always felt like we were going three steps forward and two steps back." — Nintendo,[5], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025
- ↑ u/miasmadelta,Fire Emblem Leak Pics, Imgur,Published: June 14, 2022,Retrieved: September 14, 2022
- ↑"Classification date 23.08.2021" — USK,USK Altersfreigabe für Fire Emblem Engage, usk.de,Published: Unknown,Retrieved: September 15, 2025
- ↑"Tsutomu Tei: The previous game was set in the Officer’s Academy and had an epic historical-drama-like story with a structure in which players could enjoy different story paths for each house.But in this title, we wanted to simplify the story structure by having one major goal, so that players can put their full focus into enjoying the tactical gameplay. So, we decided to develop a game that can be played with an RPG-like feel, where players walk around the world map to progress through the story and raise the skills of different characters who join as allies.This time, we wanted to create a game that appeals to a broader audience so that even players who are not yet aware of the fun of turn-based tactical RPG games would find it interesting just by looking at its visuals." — Nintendo,[6], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025
- ↑"Higuchi: The last game, Three Houses, was planned with the idea of making an adult war chronicle. On the other hand, Engage was made with the idea of broadening our audience, such that even people who have never tried FE would want to pick it up. It’s been over 10 years since Awakening, so we also thought of making another FE that would appeal to a wide audience." — NintendoEverything,[7], nintendoeverything.com,Published: May 27, 2023,Retrieved: Feb 1, 2026
- ↑"Nakanishi:The idea of the Emblems came up when we were discussing the core gameplay of this title. During those discussions, the marriage systems in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Fire Emblem Fates were brought up. In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, the marriage system allows the characters to get married and have children who inherit the abilities of the parent characters. Players can come up with their own pairs and develop those child characters. However, you had to play through the game to a certain point first before you could get married and have children, so it took a very long time until players could see the outcome of the pair they chose.
Yokota: Even if you think later, “Actually, pairing these two together instead might be better”, you pretty much have to go back to the beginning and start over.
Nakanishi:So, to let players enjoy this "pairing" gameplay more casually, we came up with this idea of "Emblems". We mentioned earlier that the player would travel in search of 12 Emblem Rings. Characters equipped with the Emblem Rings can make the Emblems – the heroes from other worlds – appear and synchronise with them to fight together.On top of that, characters synchronised with Emblems can also "Engage" (5) – or merge – with them to use special weapons and abilities, as well as powerful attacks. Rings are interchangable, so players can enjoy more casually trying out different character pairings." — Nintendo,[8], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025 - ↑"Higuchi:In particular, Teraoka-san (8), the art director for this title, is very talented at creating motion design and he put a lot of focus on the characters' movements. The Fire Emblem titles released on the Game Boy Advance were also characterised by their flashy battle animation despite the pixel art. While paying homage to those past works, Teraoka-san created a motion design that is as cool as those works." — Nintendo,[9], Nintendo.com,Published: Jan 18, 2023,Retrieved: Jan 16, 2025
- ↑ Nintendo Co., Ltd,Financial Results Explanatory Material. Fiscal Year Ended March 2023, Nintendo.com.jp,Published: May 9, 2023,Retrieved: May 10, 2023
External links
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