Announced during the September 13 Nintendo Direct event, Fire Emblem Engage is the latest entry in the popular tactical strategy series developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Fans had been expecting a new main series game, given that the last entry, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, debuted in 2019 – but what fans didn’t expect was that the new title would feature some familiar faces.
Fire Emblem Engage is set in the new realm of Elyos, which is being menaced by the evil Fell Dragon after one thousand years of peace. Alear, a member of the royal Divine Dragons, is awakened from a thousand-year sleep to once again save the continent from an encroaching threat. Using a series of rings, Alear and his allies are capable of performing a mechanic called Engage, which summons legendary heroes from previous Fire Emblem titles to fight alongside them. The characters are then able to use attacks based on that character and their weapons and signature fighting style. They can also use Engage to take on a special, extra-strong form in which they borrow power from the chosen hero.
Become the Divine Dragon and save the continent of Elyos!
Summon valiant heroes like Marth & Celica alongside a new cast of characters and engage in turn-based, tactical combat against a great evil in this new Fire Emblem story. #FireEmblem Engage launches on 1/20/23! pic.twitter.com/qQ8MMAH8Od
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 13, 2022
Some of the returning characters who can be summoned as Emblems include Marth from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Sigurd from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, and Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Art shown off during the trailer indicated that characters from many other Fire Emblem games, including the recent Three Houses, will also appear. New units featured in the trailer included the mounted soldier Vander, the lance-wielding Alfred, the pegasus knight Chloe, and many others. The trailer also shows that some sort of hub level, similar to Garreg Mach Monastery from Three Houses, will appear in Engage. There, Alear can interact with allies, explore, purchase weapons, and perform other tasks between battles.
Fire Emblem Engage will release for the Nintendo Switch on January 20, 2023. Fans who are eager to experience more Fire Emblem prior to the release of Engage can try out the musou-style spinoff Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, which released earlier this year.
