Fire Emblem Engage Nintendo Switch Review 

Apologies in advance for any potential mispronunciations of names/places in the review. Having a separate writer and narrator can lead to this sometimes (hopefully not here though!) A big thank you to Azdin for writing this one. Check out his channel, Grinning Wolf Games, here: - www.youtube.com/@GrinningWolfGames Looking for eshop credit? Get OFFICIAL Nintendo Eshop Cards and other bits and bobs, at our new website and online store here - switchup.gg/ - Save 10% using code 'SWITCHUP' until the end of January 2023 If you are a physical collector you can use code "SWITCHUP23" to save 5% at PlayAsia www.play-asia.com Happy gaming! Glen

Will this game keep you engaged, or should you put this fire out? Let’s find out!

Glen, I agree with you 100%. I don't need all the social sim interactive story stuff in my games, I need gameplay. Sorry for the 3 houses fan club, but I am so happy with this one and the fact it decided to focus on gameplay as opposed to dialogue trees.

I'm only 7 chapters in so far, but I'm absolutely loving the game. As much as I enjoyed the character interactions in Three Houses, it felt like I spent half my time in the monastery, so I really like that Engage is more combat focused. Currently playing on hard to get familiar with the mechanics and classes, etc, and I'm looking forwarding to trying maddening after! hopefully they've not just slapped a huge multiplier on the enemy stats like in Three Houses though!

Looks a lot better than the last one technologically. Three Houses wasn't without it's charm but looked like a HD remake of a 3DS or PS2 title. Will throw it on the back burner till a less busy time of the year.

Think it’s about time I dive into this series, Engage and Three Houses have definitely caught my attention! A good switch up score is always a solid endorsement too!

Been looking forward to your thoughts on this game, thank you guys. Also, congrats on 300k subs! Very much deserved!

I bought this game at launch and I’m having an absolute blast!

Great review as always! I just picked up a copy from Target this past weekend, only costed me $8 after cashing in some Circle rewards and gift cards I had been saving up. My problem now is it's going into my immense physical backlog. lol

I should add to gameplay that it rewards much more aggressive plays with the break and engage mechanics since you have to have the initiative. It makes the game more fun, and it does incitivise players to try more challenging modes. I do love Three Houses for its character interactions and being able to manage unit builds. But the return to form is something I've been wanting since I played Fates. I've been playing Fire Emblem games since Blazing Blade came out in US and Engage is making me a very happy Fire Emblem fan.

Im glad the social sim stuff is toned down, I fell in love with the old games on the GBA/DS and this really calls back to it.

I totally agree about the Persona mechanics in three houses. I quit my second playthrough because it got too tedious.

I’m just 10 chapters in, but so far I’d give it: Gameplay 8/10 Art style and graphics 8/10 Story 4/10 Voice acting: 6/10 I’m finding the voice acting very uneven. Some are very good, expressing emotions beyond what I’d expect in a game. Most however are typical game actors, and bring down the score. Especially the English language actors. The main story itself is decent at best so far, but the hunt for bonding conversations feels 1/10 and brings down the overall story experience. I’d still give it a 8/10 in total, as it feels like a very enjoyable game so far.

Strategy RPGs are almost never my cup of tea. But Engage actually looks like something I would like

Glad for the return to form, I loved the dating thing but Awakening did it best with the children born from it. The fire of romance has blown out, but the raging fire of dropping bad guys and tactical genius is on and I’m here for it 🔥🔥🔥🗡️🗡️🗡️

Have been a long time western fire emblem fan and have played since there first started coming over as a wee high schooler. Am quite glad to hear they pulled back a smidge on the base activities a bit. I know it's what made 3 houses so popular but am quite happy they pulled it back a bit. I tried playing a second playthrough with a different house and the base activities completely burnt me out on playing. I'm not sure the balance is quite there to appease both sides but personally am happy to see a focus being back on combat personally.

I’m sorry. As much as I want to play this immediately, I’m knee deep in Elden Ring and Persona 4 Golden. I can’t afford another gargantuan game like this lol. Bought Terror of Helmadino-thing from that previous video though. Those types of games are all I can spare at the moment lol.

I got my copy this weekend, and I've really enjoyed what I've played so far. I'm very happy with my purchase ☺️

Chapter 8 now & I'm loving the heck out of that game! It looks so nice & casual from the outside, but it's a real complexity monster! 💪 92% is amazing!

I'm just not sure. It's a lot of money for a game I feel like I should enjoy, but when I tried to play Fire Emblem on the 3ds I struggled to get into it and I don't see why this game would be different. Good review, but I'm still stuck in my own indecision.

Disappointed with the lack of character depth and activities. But 3H felt like it was made especially for me (I played through it five times) so it makes sense if this game is more for classic fans

Solid review guys and congrats on the big 300k milestone again 👍. I feel like it was just recently you guys talked about getting to 200k haha. Much love for the channel ❤️

The social games in 3 houses was the part I hated. Looking forward to this one!

I totally agree with you guys. Three houses was just so much micromanaging that it really felt like a chore after the umpteenth month to run around the monastery for fishing and like 6 meals. Thanks for the great review guys!

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it- I'm loving this game. For me it's incredibly nostalgic and I second Azdin's thoughts on just how good that main combat gameplay is at keeping you coming back. I didn't play Three Houses and haven't played since away so I don't miss (or am interested) in the social aspects but I really hope people don't skip this because they really would be missing out!

At first I wasn’t sure about the toothpaste hairstyles, but seeing it all in action I have to say graphically and stylistically this game looks fantastic. I bet it really pops on the OLED screen.

So far I'm about 16 hours into it and I feel like it just keeps getting better. Especially story wise :)

Thrilled to see Fire Emblem embracing its own history. As someone who hopped onboard with the first Fire Emblem released here in the West, I've followed and enjoyed the series ever since while wondering about its past. Let's hope they can bring the Super Famicom games to a global audience in some fashion.

I'm getting this physical as soon as I have the funds. I couldn't wait and watched some early chapter let's plays. Looks like so much fun and has so much customization.

Had to check this one out! Lately I haven't been keeping up with you guys, busy studying and playing on that shiny switch oled😂!

Looking good. I hated the Monastery section in the last game.

I enjoyed the social aspects of Three Houses, but i felt those sections would drag too long between battles. This one seems to strike a good medium.

Fast forwarded to the end just to see the score. I was waiting for you guys to purchase it 😂 will look at the rest of the vid now. Great work as ever!

I bought this last saturday and just finished up Three houses last night (was my first Fire Emblem game), really looking forward getting into this.

I have too little time for all these great games! I still have yet to play Sparks of Hope. I'll likely play that one first, and then I'll pick this one up later in the year. This is assuming TotK and Silksong don't take up the rest of my year haha

This really does look good! I've never played a Fire Emblem game - got to start somewhere I guess

Haven’t enjoyed the story this much since Path of Radiance in 2005, when we all used to leave our front doors open and you get a loaf of bread for 30p. Those were the days. Some ppl can’t help themselves.

The changes from Three Houses had me hesitant but after hearing your take on them, I actually think I’ll be okay with the changes. I’ll be picking this up! Thanks, y’all!

I am having a ton of fun with this game so far. As a long time fan of the series, I really like the game. I do worry that it may turn off people who got started in the series with Three Houses. I feel like I have had a rough time feeling a lot of connection to the characters in the game. I would argue this is the best looking Fire Emblem game and the combat is also among the best in the series.

I feel the biggest downgrade in quality compared to three houses is not the lack of social sim stuff but the characters themselves The characters in three houses are so much more interesting

1st things 1st. Congratulations again for 300k subs! 🤗 I've been waiting for this review. Come on guys! Convince me to buy this game! Lets go! 😆

Should be worried that I can’t decide whether or not to buy a game unless i see the review on switchup?? 😅

Good to see you can get around permadeath. I've been traumatized by it on one of the GBA ones (with my planning abilities close to a rock). Might give this one a go

What an amazing review!!! I do love when games change up their gameplay, but it’s important to keep to the root of what made them so popular to begin with. Engage seems to understand that completely and I can’t wait to pick it up for myself!

Adding this to wishlist for now.

Excellent review. I’m on chapter 6 and really enjoying it.

A huge congrats on the 300k subs my dudes!! Thanks for another awesome review 🤙🏼

i recently bought mario sparks of hope and tactics ogre so i'm good on the tactical/ strategy rpgs for now. However, i've been watching a streamer playthrough on maddening and boy some of those battles are quite the brain tease. Story is nothing out of this world but solid enough; some character dinamics do manage to shine through and it's also nice to see some old faces again, might give it a go down the road. Anyway, congratz again on 300K subscribers guys!

I ve never tried a fire emblem but I think I should try it at least once and see if I like the genre and the gameplay. Nice review

I've always avoided tactical RPGs but decided to give this a try and I don't regret it at all. Great game so far.

The first FE I played was 3H and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. My daughter always played the games and I watched from afar or knew of the characters from SSB and the Warrior series. As an entry into the series though 3H was welcoming and the in-game stuff at the monastery to me gave it balance. Seeing this is more battle heavy however has me chopping at the bit to play it, and after this review, I can't wait. Thx as always.

Can't wait to get my Divine Edition tomorrow. I'm going to play the heck out of it.

I got into FE w/ Awakening, so tho I enjoyed 3H, if this game is like Awakening, as it seems to, then sounds like a good pickup after persona

you know, there has never been a bad fire emblem game. Good review Doodes

Your toon moving around on the map instead of a drop arrow felt really good.

Not really a fan of TRPGs, tried the FF Tactics a few times and never finished, but Fire Emblem is, for some reason, extremely interesting for me.

Playing Three Houses right now and, while I'm cool with the sim aspects, it's just okay overall. Fire Emblem is at it's best on the battlefield.

Hmm, I've never really clicked with the FE games. Do you think this is a good game to start with? Might give it a try, but I'm not sure

I was looking forward to this this video and I agree with pretty much everything that was said, I'm about 60-70% into the game and I have mixed opinions so far. I love the tweaks to combat with the break system and the small weapons triangle diagram on the bottom right corner on the in battle menu, I have no issues with the combat, my issue with the game is with the character interactions and the story. For the most part the story is pretty decent, if you played Fire Emblem before then it's pretty much par for course but some times it feels way to predictable, there is however an extremely well made plot twist about a specific character that surely grabbed my attention for the rest of the game but, as that revelation happens, the games just throws some plot armour into the story to give the upper hand to the villain, the revelation is awesome and the hook they use to make the plot twist is very good but the execution felt rushed, just a quick "oh yhea, we just took all your progress away" voice line in the middle of the cutscene. Regarding the character interactions it just feels empty like it was mentioned in the video, even without the social aspects from three houses (wich I don't mind they took away) it just doesn't feel rewarding enough to explore the small stories you get from the support dialogues and on top of that, thanks to localisation, the romance dialogues were changed a lot because apparently, even tho Alear slept for 1000 years, he is still 17 somehow and so you just get some empty dialogue in some cases. That used to be my favourite part about the previous games (I play since Awakening), the main reason why I replayed the previous games multiple times was to see the different little stories between the characters and how their lives would turn out depending on who they end up with and here, once again, it feels a bit empty and is really helping my ADHD lose interest in the game. TLDR: Has its flaws regarding character interactions but it's still a great game, I highly recommend, specially to newer players to the franchise since its easy to pick up, you don't have to get too deep into the ring mechanics and the skill inheritance to finish the story

Another great review keeping you at the top of my Switch channels. Always get a balanced look at things and a cosy vibe. Suspect this would be too far into the deep end for me as have little to no experience in tactical RPGs but loving reading the community's experiences. Always keeping an open mind

Path of Radiance was and still is my all time favorite. The story was more personal and nuanced to the characters, the maps, interesting and story relevant, and the supports meaningful and revealing of more than just a character trait.

Currently on chapter 7 and the game looks and plays fantastic. I love when you’re in battle it actually reflects where you at on the map.

Played Fire Emblem 3 houses and fucking loved it, so I'm really debating whether or not I want this.

Love this series. I picked up the Divine Edition and I have to say, it's a lot of value if you consider how expensive games are getting nowadays.

Thanks for the review. I am glad to here it is more like the games of old, not saying I didn’t like Three houses, it’s just sometimes I want to command a bunch of cool characters and make them do cool things with out some of the fluff. The cinematic fighting looked cool too. This will probably be added to the library in the near future for me.

I’m personally enjoying this game more than 3 houses so far. I think the characters are better, the story is engaging (no pun intended), and the repetitive daily social stuff is gone which I like

Good to know there's less social mechanics in this one, i totally skipped 3 houses because of that

I usually wait for your reviews to buy things……but I was always going to buy this one :)

With so many great games out there, I am always hesitant to pay full for new games but i don't regret this buy at all. Best switch game I have played in a while. 10/10 would recommend

I am not picking this up only because I have other games in the genre that I need to finish. However, all the footage of Engage I see seems very appealing to me and reignited my tRPG itch that I need to scratch so once I finish my playthrough of Chained Echoes I'm definitely going back to *Three Houses* to finish other routes (I have done only one) 😄. Quite a high score on Engage though so it feels like a safe purchase for sRPG fan!

Looks like they’ve done a great job again. Love how they’ve cut out most the social aspect as that killed Three Houses for me personally due to repetitiveness within the game.

This will be my very first fire emblem game!

Great review. I've decided to buy fire emblem engage for the nintendo switch later on. The game really looks great. I'm happy that the social sim/school stuff is gone in fire emblem engage and focuses more on combat. I really wasn't a fan of three houses to be honest. I think that i'm going to enjoy playing fire emblem engage way more than three houses too.

Congrats on 300k subs guys, you deserve it. This is such an amazing channel!! 👏

Although 3 houses was awesome, a watered down version of all the monastery portion is welcomed

I've never played this series but wow does this look good. I think I should finish Ni no kuni before I start something else lengthy

I'm loving this game. I couldn't get into Three House as it was too over the top. Engage feels like older entries where the battle mechanics are primary and the lore is secondary. Great review and I agree. Cheers. G

I only recently got into the series by playing the mobile game to earn platinum coins 😅 Ended up getting Three Houses and enjoyed it a lot, so this release has been on my mind. Have to say this game looks exquisite, really easy on the eye. Think I'm going to have to find some space on the old memory card...

I wish they would bring back the zoom in battle camera from the 3DS.

A bit sad that there is no story choices like you had in three houses. It made replaying the game really fun. And with triangle strategy also having a lot of story choices to make, I feel like I should do a new playthrought on triangle strategy or three houses rather then buying engage.

I was never able to play much Fire Emblem growing up, should I start with Three Houses or is this a better starting point? I love RPGs so I'd like to get into these

I've been really loving this game. Congrats on the 300k! Well deserved! Here's to another 300k!

Very happy to see some back to the roots in fire emblem.. I started to play this series back in the good old days of Blazing blade.. Never really got into the newest release, three houses and all.. I'm highly considering giving this one a chance!! Thanks for the review Glen and Azdin.. going to check your channel now :)

So excited to hear the SwitchUp take on this game!

Congratulations on 300k subscribers. I am having fun with Engaged, and believe it is a good purchase.

Absolutely loving this game. Fantastic strategic combat and honestly prefer the style and pacing of this game more than Triangle Strategy (which I also really enjoyed).

I haven't played these games since the gba. If this really is a return to the older style I'll have to watch it for a sale.

Looks gorgeous! Another 1st party title that will stay in the 60 € price range forever 🤣 I've never played a FE game, but I am getting more and more interested in the franchise. Thanks for the great review!

Already picked it up but I love your insights. Thanks SwitchUp Crew!

Fire Emblem is certainly one of Nintendo's greatest franchises, and frankly the man reason why I buy Nintendo consoles. Bringing back characters from the past is a big yikes though, so before I grab this title, I really want to know if you can play the game through without equipping the emblem rings - can you or Azdin answer this?

I’m the same way with names 😂. Thanks for another video!

Stunning looking game but all the systems are a bit overwhelming for this old gamer. Enjoying it regardless.

6h in and really loving it. But one thing I LOVED in Three Houses was that you could play it 3 different times with 3 completely different gameplay and story experiences, once with each House. I am afraid we won't have that in this version.

FE is on of those series that I used to love, then stopped following. And I feel like jumping back in would be too daunting. This game looks amazing though. Maybe later this year I'll get it

Thanks for the review. Not getting this game now. Still undecided yet.

Still has that FE signature, I just don't vibe with the MC's color palette 😅

I've started to really enjoy strategy games but I think I'll wait for a sale before buying

Looks gorgeous! I am still angry because they took the first appearance of Roy and not the new one from Super Smash Bros, I mean, he made his debut in Super Smash Bros before Fire Emblem

yes been waiting for your guys opinion on the game

Cheers guys! Just what I wanted to know about the game - might pop out to pick it up this afternoon 😉