Topic: Fire Emblem Engage for Nintendo Switch

Localization is not good. Again. I’m trying not to switch to Japanese text because that will slow my play time to a crawl (I hear better than I speak better than I read/write in Japanese and am reverse in English) but it’s starting to annoy me.

I’m really trying to find a way to grind for money. I can’t keep everyone adequately equipped. 3H taught me to value the entire roster instead of benching but this game plays like a sequel to the 3DS FE games so I feel like we are back to having a go to squad. And keeping Anna alive long enough to become useful is frustrating.

@JaxonH Interesting. Is there any value in sleeping, or is it purely a cosmetic thing?

I'll have to try it at least once with headphones. Only have cheap-ish ones, but I've never had an issue with the sound quality to date.

@Ryu_Niiyama LOL It really is back into the 3DS era, isn't it? Questionable localization work, censorship controversies, and the newest game continues to split the online fanbase. Almost makes me nostalgic for Fates, in a way.

@Ralizah It changes time of day, which affects fish in the pond. They're just cute animations though.

Btw I have no issues with localization. They revised some suggestive dialog with a child. Like... good? I'm ok with that. As long as they're not blurring cleavage like TMS, I'm happy.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Yes, you're not meant to level them all up. It's designed like older entries where new units are optional replacements for fallen units. Pick your faves and roll out. You can keep them all leveled- there's infinite skirmishes to do so. But with 3 dozen characters in the game, you're gonna have your work cut out for you.

I benched Anna as her stats were awful and EXP gain was slow. If I want supports I'll just eat meals with her. As for all my other units, I've managed to keep all of them within 2 levels of each other, and only did 1 divine paralog and 2 skirmishes thus far. It may prove more difficult as more characters join the roster, but so far so good.

edit
It also just occurred to me that because there are so many characters in the game (similar to Awakening, for example) and by extension so many supports, it actually encourages multiple playthroughs using different units each time. You could play the game 3 times with 3 separate groups of 12 for maps. Granted, you may need a little overlap until some characters join, but immediately swap out for them when they do.

Given there's only 1 route this time, that's actually good for repeat playthroughs feeling fresh.

@JaxonH Well, the localization affects all dialogue in the game, not just the S-rank stuff at the end. It's probably really annoying if you can understand the spoken Japanese, but the text isn't reflecting the meaning of what's being said.

As for the controversy, as I understand it, it's not just that they altered dialogue related to someone clearly really young like Anna. Apparently they also wildly altered dialogue for the S-ranks of characters who are around the same developmental age as Alear. But left in the romantic dialogue with certain older characters? I guess it'd be kinda like leaving the teacher romance element in Persona 5, but disallowing the player to date Ann or Makoto. I'm not terribly invested in this particular controversy (it's not like an entire game mode was removed like in Fates), though. It just struck me how we had a brief respite from these familiar issues when Koei-Tecmo's Three Houses came out. It's the one time I can recall since the 3DS era when the fandom wasn't eating itself alive.

@Ralizah
I see. Well, if that bothers some I can respect it. But as you said, I don't feel invested any which way. That's such a teeny, tiny, insignificant aspect of the game- it would be one thing if it was an Awakening/Fates where pair-up is a core mechanic of the combat. But if we're just talking a little cutscene at the end of the game... they could remove that entirely and I don't think I'd even notice. But, no judgement if that bothers some. That is, at the very least, not the same as the Anna situation.

Also btw, I genuinely can't stand the FE fandom at large. There's cool people amongst it (this forum is one of the few places I feel people are reasonable) but, every time I go on the FE subreddit, for example, all I see is endless criticism, about everything. Even if it's valid (and I'd argue while some is, a lot of it is bandwagoning and hyper-exaggeration of whatever consensus the hive mind has settled on, with each person trying to one-up the last person, claiming whatever they're referring to is even worse than the last person said it was), there comes a point where it's just exhausting. Paper Mario Fandom was the same way, and Pokemon. Though there are many things those fans have to rightfully take issue with, it becomes the fandom's entire identity.

I can't believe Ch. 5 of Engage was tougher for me than any map in Three Houses, lol. Just beat it earlier after several attempts and a ton of swearing. I think my biggest issue is that it's taking me a while to adjust to the game-changing Chain Guard ability. It does open up some cool tactical possibilities, though.

@Ralizah
Chapter 5 was tough for me too. I lost units on chapters 2-6, then finally started improving as I became more familiar with the game's mechanics.

Chain Guard is absolutely crucial.

I was just playing a skirmish after Chapter 9, and it was brutal. I legitimately thought there was no way I could beat it without losing a character or starting over from scratch. As I got rushed from both sides at the same time, I somehow figured out a way to chain guard 2 people at once blocking the corridor to the right (they were kitty corner to each other so Framme could guard them both), and I used my Obstruct staff to save Etie on the left hand side who only had 1 HP and couldn't move (Jean couldn't reach Etie to chain guard as someone was behind Etie).

The ice from Obstruct staff funneled the enemy to the adjacent unit, Bucheron, who was able to survive the high damage attack from the cavalier (barely). Like, it was such an intense moment for me. It probably doesn't sound like it as I describe it, but that chain guard saved my butt. As did the Obstruct staff.

Don't sleep on the staves. Obstruct, Rewarp, Warp and Rescue. They can be a gamechanger in the right scenario. And chain guard? I can't imagine beating Hard Mode without it. Just be wary of the fact enemies can and will use chain guard to their advantage also. I didnt realize it but in that same battle I did an Engage move on an armored unit who had a chain guard. Thankfully a chain-attack I just so happened to have hit first and used up their chain guard so the actual attack landed.

Chapter 5 isn't as bad as the first paralogue map for me. That map is the worst anytime I have a skirmish available. The units are too spread out and there's too much rubber nicking to make anything feel meaningful.

That being said, I'm on Chapter 16, and it's definitely a lot different than what I was expecting. I didn't think I'd be getting units as fast as I am, and it makes my core group of around 12-14 really difficult to shrink when I have an 8 or 10 person map.

Holy cow, that first chapter 10 battle on Hard Mode was BRUTAL. I lost the first time and just barely scraped by with two units remaining on the second try. It was super challenging but extremely rewarding. I’m glad I’m not playing on Classic mode, though, otherwise all my units would be looong gone.

The story’s starting to get a bit more interesting, at least. It’s still not good, far from it, and I’ve already called a plot twist that’s gonna happen in a couple chapters probably. Most of the characters are still extremely boring and two-dimensional as well. But I’m hopeful that at least the narrative will pick up more overtime.

However, the gameplay is just amazing. It feels so strategic, contemplative, and rewarding when you finally manage to break through enemy lines. Three Houses absolutely has this game beaten in terms of story and characters, but Engage’s combat is just so good.

@ElRoberico
Yes, picking units is tough as it's usually 9 or so, and it's like ok, I need Alear, I need a mage, I need a Qi Adept healer, I need Louis, I need an archer, I need an axe user, toss in Chloe as a griffin knight, Celine as another mage and oops! All slots full! But I need another sword user! But I need another axe user! But I need a 2nd healer!

It's a love/hate thing though because while I always feel I need to bring more than I can, I understand that's part of the strategy- forcing the player to make hard choices. Same thing applies with gold and bond fragments in this game. There's never enough, so the player is constantly having to choose and prioritize what they want most.

Its a noticeable difference from past games where, not only could you bring 12-14 units on many maps, gold was also not an issue. Awakening, Fates and Echoes had gold DLC maps to farm that were extremely generous on top of gold not being too hard to come by in the first place, and Three Houses had multiple ways to get rich (though early game resources are definitely more scarce). Balancing the gold economy is actually really important, because if the player can afford whatever they want whenever they want, gold kind of loses its purpose.

@JaxonH Yeah, several of my Ch. 5 character loses happened because the enemy made effective use of chain-guarding in chokepoints. The enemy AI actually seems really intelligent in this game. I'm very satisfied with the difficulty balancing. Hard mode is actually hard, but not, like, stupid hard. The map design and return of the weapon triangle, along with stuff like chain-guarding has a lot to do with it. Also, the one boss I've faced so far actually chased my units around the map instead of just sitting in one place the entire time.

I've never been wowed by the AI pulling off some grand strategy or whatever here, but I will say the game is absolutely brutal when it comes to punishing bad decisions. The AI will often realise you made a mistake long before you could if they weren't punishing it. Especially during those early turns on unfamiliar maps, if you put a unit out of position the AI will make sure that Unit can't make it to the next turn. Likewise, the AI will focus on your weakest, or lowest level, Unit and target them over and over again, until that Unit falls or their turn ends. It can feel like playing another person at times because of this focus on exploiting your weakness, but at others the aggressive nature of the AI exposes it's general lack of intelligence because it's clear it's never thinking ahead, it'll put Units in really bad positions or make mistakes of its own, in a single minded pursuit of punishing yours on that specific turn, regardless of whether it'll cost them 10 units that following turn.

This is great if you want to truly master the game I think, but it's also somewhat open to exploitation, because you can just treat the enemy like a massive meat grinder on Casual. Deliberately toss a couple of Bait Units to the wolves while your real Units go on to the objective relatively unchallenged.

@JaxonH I am not talking censorship as honestly I don’t care and usually agree with it. Japan has a lower age of consent than most countries in the west which while I will go “their culture their rules” doesn’t mean I agree with it or wanna see that displayed (just because something is a law, doesn’t make it just). After all we are all human it’s not like the Japanese become fully formed adults at 14 while the rest of us are elves that take longer. I’m always against anything that takes away a girl’s chance to just be that: a girl, a child with no sexual expectations beyond what her own body tells her. But that isn’t what I am talking about.

When I say localization I am talking about translation choices made to “add flavor” to a game. To keep spoilers from happening a few characters are less creepy in their original dialogue (there is are a few that are moreso but one in a schoolgirl crush sorta way) and Alear is while still a vulnerable hero is a little less of a chicken. Like I get it when things are cultural or historical quotes or something that doesn’t have a real parallel (like Anna wanting to be called Anna-san makes sense to be localized as “Lady Anna”) and again I agree with anything that that ages up characters and keeps girls (not women) out of sexual situations.

The foreshadowing is also really obvious in the OG script. I’m way less annoyed with Alear’s design now that I know it’s an intentional plot point even if I only have an inkling as to what it is ( only on chapter 12. Mostly grinding for cash and exp) But sometimes a script is perfectly fine to just…translate and the team goes ham. Imo it isn’t needed. I know the easy answer is switch to the English script but I want the JPN script because of the cast. My favorite seiyuu of all time is in this, so yeah I wanna listen to JPN voices but it doesn’t change my annoyance. I’m just commenting on my experience as I am playing. I usually don’t play when everyone else is playing so I am just adding to the thread/convo.

As to the units part. Bummer but I am getting the hang of it. I need Anna because I need money so I finally got her to useful and less swiss cheese or glass canon. But I found the discount card so that helps. (Just bought the expansion pack. Was playing without it initially)

Also this game reminded me why Lyn is still my favorite Lord. Had to reboot 3 times (don’t remember how many times I turned back time) and did one suicide run. She beat us up like Nergal was in the team. I finally got out with no losses but dang if she fought like that in the main story I would have let the bad guys have the world(sorry y’all).

Chloe is a QUEEN.

I had one shot to stop this thief and nab the steel dagger and dracoshield. And Chloe says "it's all I need"

@Ryu_Niiyama
I saw that skill Anna has, but it's based on Luck Stat and her luck was like, 3 lol

Took one look and said yup, not gonna bother with that grind 😀

The silver card is a huge help though. Not game-breaking, but enough that it makes a difference. I typically just rely on military funds, and any time I see Gold Corrupted I pounce on it.

@Ralizah
Oh my gosh. I'm so used to baiting enemies. In Chapter 9, I tried baiting 2 of the retainer calvary away from the boss to thin out their numbers... bad idea. The boss decides to just up and follow one of them, catching me unprepared with a small assassination team off to the side of the map. Thankfully they all had Engage meter so I was able to barely squeak by just focusing on the boss instead.

Engage will catch you off guard if you don't anticipate the unexpected.

I don't get it. The skirmishes are supposedly for levelling up but they're...the hardest part of the game?

Anyone else having this much trouble with them?

Both the paralogues and skirmishes are brutal in my experience so far, I've basically given up on trying to level up anyone who has fallen behind. I dunno whether there is something I am missing, but the design intent seems baffling to me. Especially as the AI is seemingly programmed to go after your weakest link, so you can't even jump into these Skirmishes and hide a low level Unit in a corner or whatever.

@Pizzamorg yeah this is precisely my problem.

Add to that, when you have 10 enemies on you at once it's kinda difficult to justify using anyone that's not able to one-shot the opponent.

I think skirmishes wouldn't be so difficult if the entire enemy force doesn't rush you from turn one. I don't think I've been able to clear a skirmish outside Firene so far.
Is the skirmish level affected by donation level too? I may regret spending most of my money donating to the different realms, but I didn't foresee money being so difficult to come by.
But if it had the added effect of buffing the enemies, then that's even worse!

I honestly kinda hate the map design in Engage in general, if I am being honest. Units are often too far away to engage on your first turn, and the CPU often won't push forwards unless you send out a bait unit, so you sorta have to send your Units into no mans land during those early turns and then just kinda hope the CPU doesn't pounce on you in the process.

The absolute best maps are the maps which function as like a series of interconnected small zones, where you can match up Units and send them off in different directions, those are really fun. But most of the Engage maps just seem to be a friendly Unit meat grinder you funnel everyone into because otherwise the mission will just never move forwards.

And especially in Skirmishes, paralogues and later missions, the game will absolutely flood the map with Units who have similar health pools as your Units and can do the same damage, so it is super easy to have Units in ten against one match ups, and they may have a truly heroic performance of dodges and retaliation hits, but it is unlikely they'll survive the entire flood.

I think being able to move your Units around should remain, but just put the Units closer together so you don't have these frustrating dead turns at the beginning.

Ah screw it I’m starting over. I don’t think i used the skill/ring system effectively so gonna try again. Not that far in the story anyway.

@JaxonH I just feed her luck items and assign luck rings. Has worked so far. Restarting my game though.

@Buizel Tank and bait works for me. I find a bottle neck/easy defense point equip my crap units with ranged weapons and put the worst weapons on my tanks. Tanks damage sponge while not stealing kills and weak units mop up. I will also take less units and focus on leveling one unit and tank and bait. Same with farming SP. The grinding kinda sucks in this game though. If you are trying to do is quickly and not die I mean.

Is there a new game plus? I may storm through this play through and try a better run next time if there is. Ima get beat up for this but I feel like 3 houses respects your time better. I will likely get to chapter 9 or 10 and freeze and grind/wait on dlc.