Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED users are divided over whether their fellow Nintendo fans should check out a major 2023 exclusive. 2023 was a huge year for the Nintendo Switch between the releases of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, two games almost any Nintendo Switch user would recommend. 2023 had more than just these two mega releases though. There was the Super Mario RPG remake and Pikmin 4 as well, which again most Nintendo fans are positive on. There was also Fire Emblem Engage, a more contentious game within the Nintendo community.
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Released on January 20 by series developer Intelligent Systems, Fire Emblem Engage garnered an 80 on Metacritic when it was released, a very solid score, but several points off its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which released in 2019 to an 89 on Metacritic. When Fire Emblem: Three Houses was released, it was championed by many as one of the best games of that year because of it narrative, characters, and romance/social system. And in these departments Fire Emblem Engage comes up short, so it’s been shunned by many Nintendo fans. However, its gameplay makes up for this according to some, which is why some still recommend it.
“Give Engage a chance,” reads a post over on the Nintendo Switch Reddit page. “Pretty crazy reading the Fire Emblem Engage thread and seeing so many not like it. I agree that the story isn’t the best but it’s servicable, and since I’ve bought it I’ve been hooked… the strategy is miles ahead other Fire Emblem games I’ve played.”
As alluded to, not everyone agrees with this take. While some of the comments have echoed this sentiment, many disagree with it. And these comments not only disagree, but seemingly strongly disagree.
“You need to remember that Fire Emblem experienced a huge surge in popularity with Fire Emblem Awakening, and it was primarily due to the characters and the story and the dating mechanics, etc,” reads the top comment of the post. “These are all narrative strengths. Yes, they were also quality strategy games, too, but the popularity came from the story aspect. So it makes perfect sense why many think Engage isn’t worth the time, because they don’t want to play a soulless strategy game, regardless of how well tuned it is.”
“Engage truly has the best combat and graphics to date,” adds a second popular comment The problem is as often said…the awful character designs and weeb anime story.”
As always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. Where do you come down on the Fire Emblem Engage debate?
