Every time a new game comes out, the big question is, “Will it be good?” That simple question is often one of the most complicated to answer because everyone has a different opinion. However, when a title is good, people tend to praise it, leading to consistently good review scores. For Fire Emblem Engage, the title from Intelligent Systems doesn’t come out for another month, so we’re not going to see any reviews for a little while longer. However, websites like IGN have gotten their hands on the game, and they release previews to showcase their thoughts.
IGN released one such preview, revealing many positive feelings about the game and one big question about intent. In the “final preview” that you can watch below, the narrator noted that this was definitely one of the most polished and visually exciting games in the series history. They loved how the characters have pictures and animations when you select them, get ready for a fight, and then have a deliberately elaborate animation for the fights.
Another thing they pointed out is how great it is to see the stats of the characters on the bottom of the screen so that you always know how good a character is compared to the enemies you’ll be fighting. Also, it helps streamline the process, as before, you had to go through multiple screens to see how everyone compared.
They also talked about the “gimmick” of the game via the Emblem Rings. These summon characters from past titles to help you out in combat. They loved the idea and noted how they felt compelled to try out the rings on all the main characters to see how each combination might affect the battle.
However, they did note how some of these characters would only be known to long-time players of the franchise or ones who have played a certain mobile game over the past five years. The narrator wondered if the team behind the game was relying on nostalgia to help get extra game sales. It is a fair question, given some of the Emblem Ring spirits in the title.
All that being said, the preview ended with the narrator stating how Fire Emblem Engage could be the best in the franchise if certain things hold up. Unfortunately, he only got to play one chapter, but he felt it was a lot of fun. The game comes out on January 20th on the Nintendo Switch.
Source: IGN
