Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Fire Emblem Engage?

7 chapters in, I'd say it's an 8/10 so far. The combat feels excellent and the graphics look nice, but the story and characters feel like a massive downgrade from Three Houses. I don't feel nearly as invested in the world as I was in that game as a result. Engage is still a great game on its own, though.

@StarPoint keep playing and get past chapter 10 and see how you feel.

@gizmo998 ooh, now I’m interested! I’ll definitely see this game through to the end so I’m excited to see where the story goes from here.

Chapter 13 here and a solid 9/10 from me, but I think it may have to do with the context of this game was played in. I've been in a bit of a game slump for a while where no games had really hit the spot for me, but this, this got me so good. I like it when a game draws me in and I have to give it 100% of my attention and this is that game for me now.

It's my first FE despite having 3 houses in my backlog, and It's left a strong impression on me I have to say. The combat just feels so good and although it may annoy some who are purists, as someone who isn't generally that great at challenging games, I really appreciate the rewind feature (I know it was in the previous game) but I just feel like it respects your time if you have made one silly mistake that cost you the battle.

It's definitely got Triangle Strategy beat on my favourite SRPG game, though the story/interactions in Triangle is far superior in my opinion.
It feels a bit cringy at times, and that's coming from an unashamed weeb, but other than that it's fantastic.

I'm really loving this game way more than Three Houses. I liked Three Houses but always thought the game as a whole was messy and suffers from too much fluff and boring hub world.

I love a streamlined experience. It's a different approach from Fates or 3 Houses. But honestly the gameplay is amazing, the best since Blazing Blade years and years ago.

I'm thinking a 7.5 so far, the story and characters currently isn't as interesting as Awakening or Three Houses but the battle system is very good

9/10. Good story, less focus on support, good graphics, weapon triangle, fun characters, overall a very good game.

Only downside: no customisation for the player character.

I've griped about it in other threads but honestly, probably a 6/10 so far. Battles are okay, a bit on the easier side, but I've found the writing to be horrific, relationships between the characters to be surface-level, the Somnium a mostly empty dud and the story to be forgettable. It still has the Fire Emblem sheen and that's nice, and it's far from an outright bad game, but I feel that it's a massive step down from 3H and that's not even necessarily related to the relationship sim side of things that some disliked. I'm pretty let down with this one.

9/10 so far. I like it a lot more than other recent FE games. Less fluff and more gameplay.

None because I haven't played it, and that wouldn't be fair for the game or me.
But I have no plans of playing it anytime soon so it'll stay that way.

It’s an awesome game really, story is solid so far but it’s definitely not amazing or anything. Other than that this game does well on so many aspects. It’s also very comedic at times more surprisingly.

I think a 9/10 is about right

I agree with 9/10. Think your review was a great one this time!

I chose 9/10 which is a bit early for me to fully tell. I'm only 6 or so hrs in, so alot to go. I love the gameplay, but somewhat miss the school setting/social aspect of 3H. I also really loved the story in 3h, including the characters. I'm excited to see how this story unfolds though. The games been great so far.

I’d honestly give it a 5 or 6/10. I find it average at best. While the combat is great, everything else is not. I have not been even remotely invested in any of the characters or story. After each battle, exploring and talking to teammates doesn’t provide much growth either. It also doesn’t help that I just find the character design models and overall art style a little too cheap. The Somniel simply feels empty and tacked on. And the writing is very poor, in my opinion of course.

I really wanted to like this game, but I just couldn’t. I got to chapter 8 and I couldn’t stomach it anymore. This is a shame considering my love for Awakening and 3H. I’m glad many people are enjoying it, though!

I haven't played it yet but based on what you all are scoring this game I'm very tempted to buy the game asap to try this game myself this weekend too.

Looks like it has a great user score!

It's got to be an age thing/advanced career thing - I just can't get into relationship games, no time, too impatient. Sure, Mass Effect/Bioware romancing I can do, but Three Houses had me bored to tears, I just don't have the time for that BS. Side note - same for crappy writing featured in interminable cutscenes - I'm looking at you Midnight Suns. Eliminating the relationship workload is fantastic, I'm really looking forward to Engage.

BTW, is the rise of relationship games a symptom of pandemic isolation/loneliness? Food for thought...

I've made it up to Chapter 8 now, how highly I rate in entirely hinges on whether or not the game does end up being beatable in the way I am playing, without utilizing the rings and the engage mechanic on Hard/Classic without using the Somliel Base.

If I make it through and the map design does stay as solid as it has for the most part been so far (post the first few tutorial maps) then I'd say we're looking at 7 or 8 and it would earn a place in my list of "good" Fire Emblem games, if not then it's a 1. I really just cannot stand the engage mechanic and hate everything it stands for and I'd rather just sell the game than play with it. Without the rings the main gameplay has been a blast, decent level of challenge, maps could use some more depth to them but it's not too bad, I like that there's no freaking pair up or forced time wasting chores to do, I like that there's a Jeigan unit in the game once again and I like that the units have actual pre-determined classes and bases again and aren't just blank slates. Break mechanic is surprisingly smart, removing some of the value from the enemy phase and making the player phase more important.

The characters, story and dialogue are embarrasingly bad and the kind of overtly wacky kiddy anime style and wibe is a big turn off, but the skip button exists so I can deal with it, music has been pretty weak for the series standard.

So far it's a 9 from me. I was disappointed to hear that it was different from three houses but now I'm playing it, I'm glad it is. It feels like a completely different game despite the battle system being essentially the same and although the hub area in engage is a lot smaller than the monastery, it feels more focussed and acta as a great are to prepare for the next battle.

Not to say I think it's a better game it's just a very different game and I'm glad it wasn't iterative of Three Houses

The combat is fine. The story is incredibly lackluster and I despise the main character design. It's perfectly serviceable, but is by no means one of the "best" FE games. I give it a solid 6. I'm enjoying it, but it's a one and done. Not a game I'd revisit again.

I give Fire Emblem for the N-Gage a solid thumbs up or thumbs down; basically a Schrödinger's severed hand in a box. It arrived in the post today, I've updated it, bought the season pass & sometime when I have the willpower to play something other than Wordle or Plants vs Zombies, I will let you know.

10/10 gameplay on maddening, 6.5/10 plot and 4/10 characters

Man, who are the sad souls who voted 1/10? Oh that's right, people who haven't played the game.

A hard 6 so far. As others have said, the combat is solid, but the dialogue is absolutely atrocious and the story is pretty "meh". But it's the Somniel that really kills the pacing for me personally in the same way that Three Houses' Monastery did. I know that you can skip much of it if you want, but as a completist it is necessary to spend way too much time there. It's too spread out and the activities, such as polishing rings or seeing which party member comes to wake you up (seriously, that feels wrong on multiple levels) are sometimes bizarre, often feel like chores, and all of them are really just padding I could do without. I said it elsewhere, but as SRPGs go, Fire Emblem has become a cringe-inducing relationship simulator, cooking sim, or whatever else Nintendo can cram in to pad some extra hours to try to appeal to gamers who aren't into SRPGs. In short, it's lost sight of what made me fall in love with the franchise and with the genre as a whole.

8/10

+combat has improved
+performance is good
+game looks much cleaner

-Story presentation is back to linear fashion which isn’t a problem on its own, but the story also felt worse compared to 3H in general despite that game not being linear so this game has less replay-ability on top of a less “engaging” storyline/cast to follow.
-Heavily nerfed social features. While some people might celebrate about this [you DID know you can skip that all entirely if you hated it in 3H?] it is objectively a step back to what was offered in the previous game
-Game is still way too easy.

In comparison I would rate 3H a 9/10 because the better story with more paths + much better social features edges the game out for me.

I rate it a zzz... out of zzz... Not my type of game.

Won't vote, as do not own, nor have played, so wouldn't be fair to judge at all. The only thing I can go off is the first 40 minutes or so I have seen of the game. The dialogue is stupidly goofy. "I am known as Marth; Emblem Marth to be clear", the heck what? If you going to rely on old characters to prop up these new characters, at least make them the actual characters. It feels like a retread of Awakening's opening with Alear having memory loss and essentially starting with a seemingly final battle, with the difference of instead having Frederick's healthy scepticism to a nobody, you have this old knight grandad and his twin grandkids who overly worship you. And of course as soon as you wake up, you get attacked.

With all of the above said, gameplay looks fine, the technical side of it looks great from the animations etc. I don't like the character designs, but they are far from offensive. I just can't get past the seemingly nerfed story. I have seen comments say it picks up after 10 or so chapters, but is it really worth the slog to finally get invested?

I am up to Chapter 14, teetering between a 6 and a 7.

I'm only about 7 or 8 chapters in but I'm thinking 7/10. Combat is fine but everything else feels like a massive downgrade compared with Three Houses.

ill give it 100/100

@Ryu_Niiyama Why are we being drama queens if our bar is higher than technically sound? Of course it'll be technically sound given the pedigree of the people making and the game not being all that resource intensive, doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to everything else that makes up the game, right?

@bozz read NL’s scoring guide. There are folks giving the game a 1. I don’t like souls games but I wouldn’t give Elden Ring a 6 or lower because I recognize that the game is well made just not for me. A review is not “I don’t like it/I like it”, it is an assessment of a technical product in its entirety with the intent of being as objective as possible.

So again, drama kings.

Whilst everyone is entitled to their own opinion, my opinion is that anyone who voted for 4 or less needs to grow up. I don't like certain genres but it doesn't mean that they are bad games.

@Ryu_Niiyama That's just trolling, not being a drama queen. But given the many concerns reasonable people on here have pointed out, it's not like a 5-6 is all that dramatic. Technically this game is fine, good even!, but it's far from perfect.

@bozz never said it was perfect nor would I (not sure how anyone drew that conclusion from what I said). You call it whatever you want, I shall do the same by pointing you to my previous comments. Have a nice day.

So far, 7/10. On chapter 8, enjoying the gameplay a lot, but am not compelled by a single character. Just very generic. I also don’t care for the Somniel base function of the game, it feels like Fates (which I didn’t like) and TH where you’re doing and gathering the same things before the next chapter starts.

The story can obviously change and surprise me, but I’m not seeing some of the quality from past games in this one, especially when it comes to Somniel and the game’s characters.

@Joker1234 Thank you for putting the correct description to how I felt for about 3 houses. Too much filler and not nearly enough substance. Engage feels, aside from the ugly protagonist design choices, like a return to form. Best one since Awakening, for me. I also like the upgraded battle system look and feel.

@Ryu_Niiyama Fair enough, though I still have no idea how a score of 6/10 makes someone a drama queen. That's not hyperbole whatsoever.

I'm not as invested in the story as I was in Three Houses, but the actual nitty-gritty of the game itself is SO much better. Fire Emblem can be so many things, it's hard to give it a score when you compare one entry to its predecessors.

I'd give it an 8. Gameplay is fantastic and the map design is leagues better than Three Houses. But there are a lot of systems to keep track of, I miss the simplicity of the earlier titles. I am very happy about the pared down support system, it's non-obtrusive and like the GBA games. Can't stand waifu emblem. The story and characters are lol but if you're playing modern FE for the story, you're doing it wrong. Supports from Awakening onward are such a slog, and with them sucking here, I don't feel as bad just mashing past them to get back to the gameplay.

@Unit_DTH My biggest issue with Three Houses is that I just want to get to the second half of the game which is the more interesting part but yet you have to keep going through part 1 which is nothing but filler and side quest. The first playthrough is fine but afterwards it pretty brutal.

Best FE game I've ever played so far!

@bozz How far into the game are you? Are you planning to finish it?

Edit: nevermind.

Look don’t like my comment? There is an ignore and block button (as well as a scroll bar on your browser) but tagging me is not going to make me change my mind. If you are gonna tag me though, actually read the comment first. I stand by what I feel a review score should objectively be. And yeah I feel that that a hyperbolic reaction is being a drama king. Never said that no one can feel that way.

@fromjtov I'm about 10-11 hours in? Something like that and yep, I'll finish it for sure.

I'm at chapter 10 and for the time being I think I'm leaning about a 7? It's definitely good but I'm really not at all in love with it. Really I kind of even liked Fates more than it.

Gameplay is quite solid but just finding it really hard to care about the surrounding story. Everything just feels so basic and one note, I think I'd be hardpressed to tell you an actual character trait of more than a couple of characters.

I'm just let down with the story. It's probably the least interesting in almost 20 years.

But as for the moment to moment gameplay? Phenomenal. Some of the best we've had, even if the Engage forms look a little silly at times.

Just passed 16 hours and I'm on Chapter 8. I think it's an 8/10. Could have easily been higher if the story was worth anything at all

I just finished chapter 7 I think? I unlocked the first thief. I'm adoring the gameplay and ring system and I appreciate the added depth while removing annoyances like weapon durability. However, support conversations are really bad, I just cannot bring myself to care about any of these characters except for Jean because he's just adorable and I want him to fufill his dream. I just wish they had more substance to them, I don't need all the waifu and life sim stuff, I just want to get to know these guys

@Atticus-XI FE:3H was developed and released before the pandemic and FE: Engage was developed during, so if anything it's the opposite, at least as far as Fire Emblem goes

It's an 8 for me, Chapter 15 so far, gameplay is real solid.

@Ryu_Niiyama It's not that I would want to change your position, just try to be nice about it

Making an assumption about the general reader-base has nothing to do with your position on what a review (opinion) score should or should not be.

You might want to start thinking about the differences between a professional review score, which absolutely should include technical aspects as well as impressions, vs. a user-review score, which has no obligation past "like/dislike."

It's pretty good so far, up to chapter 7 I believe. The gameplay is addictively fun, the presentation is lovely, I like the character designs a lot more now that I have context for them (same thing happened with Three Houses)...
Oh and the dialogue makes me cringe into the stratosphere.

I don't understand, doesn't this game have a user score and and its own page with comments section like every other game on this site? also a full review article that features said user score and also has its own comments section as well?

edit - just noticed this "Please note voting will score the game in your games collection" which at least means that this article isn't starving engagement with that feature 👍 really looking forward to playing this game!

@SonOfDracula in the interest of not derailing this thread further I will again point you to my previous comments. And given your initial rude comment to me, you are in no position to tell me how I should comment nor how I should view the purpose of reviews. Trying to backtrack since your comment is removed is not going to make me forget what you said. If you want to view a review as like vs dislike (user or otherwise) go right ahead. I am not suggesting that you might want to think otherwise.

I feel a review should be as objective as possible and function as a product assessment. That is a review because it is being used to assess a product’s worth of purchase. A random person’s Like/dislike be they paid or not isn’t useful to me in determining purchase value of a product so I will keep my criteria as is.

People really that mad people are rating this a 6? I don't think that is a wildly off base score to land on, like I said above, I feel very close to dropping to that score myself. And I can assure you I am not trolling, I actually like Engage overall and have put stupid time into it since it came out, but it has some really massive shortcomings for me, which become more aggravating the longer I play.

My copy is arriving this afternoon. I haven't played it yet, so I won't vote. I am excited for it. There's just so many games out right now. I like that the reception has been positive, and how it's purported to be more straight-forward and combat-based.

@Jiggies It's the same pathetic losers who gave Persona 3 and Persona 4 a 1 point yesterday. They gave 1 point just for digital. They also probably gave Fire Emblem 1 point for other ridiculous reasons.

@JokerCK
Hands Flame Shield here, you are gonna need this. They’ll be coming for you next.

I just started it this morning. I muted it in the scene where the kids started talking about our hero waking up and haven’t turned the sound back on. The characters are idiots, the story is meaningless, I don’t care about the music, the art style is drek, combat is everything it needs to be though. Playing hard/classic.

Personally I found Three Houses way to chatty. Am half to get back to a combat focused fe game. It might be my age, but the anime tropes are cringe inducing. Thank god the core gameplay is so good!

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika let’s move on. No need to talk bad about him especially since he can’t respond (I request that you edit out that part of your post. I get what you are trying to say. But it’s over now). All this back and forth is making me want to write a detailed review of the game however.

@Jiggies hah I was thinking the same thing.

@Bret O right! But I would suggest that there have been a slew of pandemic-era relationship style games, or games that incorporate that mechanic as a requirement for most successful play. It’s an interesting issue, and I’m not looking to “yuck” anyone’s “yum”, just not my cup of tea.

@Pizzamorg It's not just mad, it's pejoratively generalizing about those people and then having the guts to claim the moral high ground by blocking them even when you receive calm and rational constructive feedback about why that group rated this game a 6 or whatever. I didn't know this game was so off-limits to criticism.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika @JokerCK

Ok I think I may have somehow accidentally started this misunderstanding. As I am the only person (that I can see) that tagged you JokerCK. I simply made a joke because if my comment rilled up a bunch of people looking for a fight, you would need protection as well. Hence the flame shield. At no time did Eagly (I’m not typing all that out sorry) say anything about you. Eagly was talking about the person that kept tagging me earlier whom I have since blocked. So please shake hands and I am sorry for the misunderstanding.

The game will be divisive but I'm loving it so far. Playing it really reminds me of old FE titles like Awakening and Sacred Stones. It really does feel like an anniversary type game similar to Sonic Generations. The story is more simple but that doesn't bother me. The Engage mechanic is so fun to use. It might not be better than Three Houses but this is a solid 9 or 8 for me.

I've been playing the series loyally since Path of Radiance. I decided to skip the last one, Three Houses, because I just wasn't as interested. With the new game coming out, I've struggled with the question of "Do I go back and play Three Houses first, or do I just buy Engage?". On a whim, I pulled the trigger last night at Target. I only had time to do the update and I can't wait to get home from work today!

@Joker1234 I'm pretty sure I put over 20 hours in that game and finally got fed up with the repetition, tea parties, fishing and all the other boring filler. Too many meaningless conversations and boring generic characters talking about their homework et. al.
It just died for me and I never went back to it.

I went with 8/10 here. Got in a few good hours with it. The whole Emblem ring thing is ok. I can do with or without it. I am enjoying it like any other FE game I have played.

I would give it 9.5/10 and anyone giving this less than a 8 isn't a serious Fire Emblem Fan.. Let's keep it real.. This game is way better than most games and I personally liked it better than Three House! Three Houses was boring for me.

@gq_foine is someone who gives BOTW less than a 8/10 not a real Zelda fan? Is someone who gives Ragnarok less than 8/10 not a real God Of War fan? Your opinion is your own, that’s fine, but there’s no need to dismiss other perspectives when they may have good reasons for rating a game differently. Also, many reviewers did give the game less than 8/10, so it’s not a wild opinion to have for Fire Emblem Engage.

Im too early to drop a final score for sure but it really feels like a return to what i love about fire emblem and also, the characters are super cute

@bozz I’m with you. I consider myself a somewhat hardcore fan and am absolutely struggling with this one. I’m also an eternal optimist loving new Pokémon releases and all things Nintendo so I’m really torn here.

Jeez,I barely had enough time to play. Maybe I'm just old but, rushing through the entirety of a game in a weekend is like vacuuming your desert. Sure you beat it but, did you really enjoy it and take it in? Or maybe I'm just a stupid idiot who should stop commenting on the internet...

@Enriesto Yes, if a REAL Zelda Fan and REAL God of War fan game the BOTW below an 8 is NOT real fan<< that to me seems disingenuous for a fan to give that kind of score! I NEVER said to dismiss what they said. But what I SAID is they are real TRUE fans of the game or series! Since God of War was FREAKEN amazing and BOTW was an absolute Masterpiece so I would say yes considering I am fan of BOTH Games. Those were a terrible example of what you were trying to suggest.. But Both of the Games were Masterpieces and to give a score below an 8 seems ridiculous to me as a FAN! That is just my "Personal Opinion".. I never said it was factual or correct.. Yes, I am standing by any real Fan of Zelda series gave BOTW below an 8 is ridiculous! And anything below an 8 on God of War PS4/PS5 games are NOT True fans!

@gq_foine This is bait right? An arbitrary score for a singular title does not mean they are any more or less a fan of something, even if that one instance is viewed negatively. Are you seriously saying you don't have any series where you have at least one entry that doesn't do things wrong? If not, then why bother looking forward to what comes next, why not just stick with the one entry and play that endlessly? Are all the people who commented here who disliked Three Houses (assume score of 7 or lower) but love Engage not real fans? Is there even such a thing as a true fan? I don't know.

On an unrelated note, has been interesting reading through the comments. Engage certainly seems divisive, but at least people are talking about it. Nothing worse for anything than to be forgotten.

Somewhere between a 4 and a 6 for me. Combat is fine — adequate. Story, characters and setting do nothing for me at the best of times, and are actively annoying at the worst of times. Music is pretty decent.

I'd rank it below Fates overall, but above Fates Conquest, specifically.

@MS7000 While I very much disliked Three Houses it doesn't deserve a score below an 8 for the series.. Just because I didn't enjoy doesn't mean it's not a great game!

It's not great in my opinion, but to give the Three houses like a 7 or below seems a bit much considering how expansive, detail, and relationship building is.. I am not going to score a game bad just because I don't enjoy it.. That would have meant when I first played Bloodborne and couldn't get past the 1st level I would have said it's a 1/10.. But in actuality the game mechanics, story, design, and music is a MASTERPIECE.. Similar to Three Houses as a fan of the series I didn't enjoy it but doesn't make it less of a game.. Review scores and Game reviews are OPINIONS i prefer that we kept it that way.. I give Three Houses and 8/10 and Engage 9.5/10.

@MS7000 Also 71% voted this to be 8/10 or higher, which tells me that vast majority agree that this game rating below 8/10 is ridiculous, but not saying they aren't right to their opinions but staunchly disagree with their assessment! And to be frank how the world could people sincerely give this game below that seems sincerely disingenuous considering they are a fan of the franchise?? I would score this 9.5/10 missing two slight things - better story and character development and environmental factors added to the battle mechanics would be really nice!

20 hours in I have to say it’s one of the best Fire Emblem I’ve played. I just couldn’t stop playing, the story and characters are not so interesting in the first hours but once you reach the second region it’s so much better. The emphasis on combat this time is also a big plus compared to Three Houses.

I also really love the Emblem system, it adds something to the combat and connects it to prior games.

Definitely has that Awakening vibe and im actually finding the story quite fun unlike some commenters here. The strategy side is the best part of the game and very slick. That gets you way more invested in it all...overall maybe my fave FE since Awakening!

@SabreLevant I guess you missed the entire premise of what a "STRATEGIC" turnbase RPG means.. The FIRST WORD in this is called "S"RPG<< The primary and main focus of the game is "STRATEGY"<< they aren't calling RPGS<< Do you understand how SRPG games operate? If you do then the Strategy comes first then RPG.. What you think about the story is fine but none the less takes away from the Strategy part of it away. If you don't like the characters or story that is personal taste and opinion.. While it's not the best, but it's NOT "abysmal".. You are in the minority seems clear to me that your opinion is very little. But you think so poorly why don't you have a crack at developing a better story and let me know what you come up with chap?

Then develop a better story and send it to Nintendo! You all talk like the story is the worst thing ever and while it's not the best.. It's not "Abysmal" per your hyperbolic statement that you made.

If you have any context of what the Awakening 3DS game did for the Fire Emblem series you might understand as a fire emblem fan! It appears to me you have very little taste in what a good "S" RPG games are, but if you did then you would acknowledge the S before the RPG part? But you must have missed the most important letter in what a SRPG are! "S"..

I'd give it a 10/10. I never cared for the relationship stuff and just like to play the battles.

Much happier without the time consuming relationships.

I talk to people all day at work so the last thing I wanna do in a game is talk to people, especially when it’s the other half of the gameplay. That being said, can’t wait to give this game a go finally! I think I’m going to love it.

Loving every second of it. I love it as much as three houses but as different type of game. I don't get the hate for one or the other. They are just different styles of games (ish). Loved the Persona 5 esk from three house. But I love the streamline of Engage too. But I digress, Engage is awesome as long as you know what type of game you're getting into.

@gq_foine I appreciate your consistency. Really, always refreshing on a gaming forum, I’d like to see it more.

I don’t think the examples I used were bad, given that both games are still held divisively among players. That’s why I chose them, they (BOTW and GOW 2018/Ragnarok) were departures from their respective franchise foundations. As a result, both series lost long-time fans because a number of new elements didn’t connect with them as they were playing. I’ve seen endless complaints online about BOTW not being a real Zelda game or how GOW needs to go back to what it was. Seriously, check Reddit threads if you don’t believe me - you’ll find no shortage of comments like that. Does that make these people not real fans? My opinion, it’s not up to us to decide. I don’t think someone who rated, say, Batman Arkham Asylum a 7/10 isn’t a real Batman fan. They rated it lower than I would, and I’d disagree over some points as to why. Are they a real fan though? No idea.

As for FE Engage, I think what matters most is how YOU are experiencing the game. Yes, cheesy… but true! And you’ve given it 9.5 so far, that’s awesome. Keep enjoying it, I am too, just not the same way you are. Experiences differ.

And for the record, I love both BOTW and GOW, just to be clear 😎

Enjoy Engage

I'm enjoying it, but there's definitely some tonal things that annoy me. I played the early FE games and skipped out that one time they wanted me to buy more than one game and dlc.
I never heard the early games in my head as Saturday morning cartoon shows, but that is what Engage is. I've resigned to the anime delivery. I did not play the musuo game because musuo games are awful.
I'm only a few hours in, but I love this stupid game. I'm more of a Tactics Ogre/FFT fan (FFT being one of my favorites of all time), but this is great.
Just dumb. Really dumb tone for a smart game.

I don't know but somethings wrong here. The critics liked it but this game is getting review bombed. I'll play it when February starts but, I'm keeping my expectations even.

8/10 - Not hit chapter 10 quite yet so maybe that'll change.

It honestly feels to me like a fan remake of Shining Force for all the good and bad that entails. It plays brilliantly, it looks decent and though I initially thought I'd hate the samefacey character designs, I've steadily come round to them. The music has been solid as well.

However also like Shining Force, the characters don't have anything like the depth of 3H's cast, some simply feel tacky and unnecessary. The writing is similarly tacky (Again, at least up to where I am).

It's without a doubt a great game, however as someone who also really enjoyed Three Houses but only played it through once, I can also see why some fans of the grittier and deeper direction that game went in might be unhappy with the reversal that Engage has done. I genuinely wonder that if things might have been better received if 3H had Engage's character designs and visa versa.

Okay, I got a chance to play it yesterday but I'm only 4 chapters in. I'm really enjoying it so far. I happen to like the art style and I wouldn't call myself a fan of anime. The combat is Fire Emblem with slight improvements. The emblems/rings are cool. I'm not ready to give it a score.

HEY ...not too good,honestly for me at least,i have played FE ,since gba aand ...compared with 3 houses i feel ,lost a lot :
Not so original story and not so generic,the supports,were so much downgraded ,and i liked a lot the design from 3h
so for me 4/10 ,it could be a lot better,but i dont even feel like i wanted to continue playing... really sad for me see like this a FE game... :/

8/10 saved by the gameplay thus far.
Barely any effort put into character development, endless support conversations about how much they love to drink tea/work out/shoot rainbows out of their nether regions.

I actually dont mind the character designs but they could and should have done a heck of a lot more with the story.
3 Houses got the story volume right, just took too much time with the academy stages. Engage has gone polar opposite and its abit of a shock. They seem to be haing trouble getting the balance right.

Anyway, its not a disastor... hopefully they roll out a Gen Holy Wars remake soon and put some meaty story back on those bones.

Would rank it:
1. Awakening
2. HolyWar/Thracia
3. Radiance series
4. Three Houses
5. Fates
5. GBA trilogy
6. Engage
7. SoValentia

Better than 3H/10.

I'm absolutely loving FE Engage. The combat system hasn't felt this immersive since Fates Conquest. Brought back the weapon triangle and very immersive strategic gameplay. Love the weapon refining system. Also Sommie is adorable af...

Probably objectively a 9/10, but it's my opinion so a personal 10/10 cos I'm really enjoying it.

I didn't stick with Three Houses for some reason, and I think it had to do with the amount of time spent outside of battles. My favorite Fire Emblem games are Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, which I think had the most streamlined skills system and very good stories. Engage seems a bit more like those games than Three Houses (which I will revisit someday), but it's just on the cusp of having a bit too much of a convoluted skill system for me. The story is... okay, but not stellar, but everything else top notch for me.