In this midst of dueling identities come creative decisions that serve no one. The leering shots on female characters would put this squarely into a teenage-level audience, yet its obnoxious earworm of an opening theme echoes early 00’s anime dubbing, meant to sell toys and franchises for children rather than express any coherent message. The focus on legacy would imply it’d be a beginner-friendly introductory game like Awakening, yet the hard-as-nails maps are direct responses to criticisms of Three Houses’ lack of difficulty, making Engage a game aimed directly at experienced players. It’s not hard to feel like there are two separate games here, one striving to overcome the other. There’s little of the makeshift bonds that bound players into Awakening’s world as Robin and their found family, let alone the tragic, all-too-human divisions that made Three Houses so compelling. Consequently, we’re left with a menagerie of unearned heart-to-hearts and maudlin tragedies acted out by a grab bag of check-boxed archetypes rather than living, breathing characters acting upon the laws, boundaries, and customs constituting their world. ![]() Meanwhile, Alcryst’s crippling self-doubt in the shadow of his larger-than-life royal family might speak to how the Brodia kingdom’s climate of conquests and brawlers are innately unable to provide a nurturing environment, yet the narrative’s prioritization of his strait-laced, total bore of a brother in Diamant feels like a missed opportunity. The fear of mortality may drive Prince Alfred’s personal relationships, yet its absence in the main plot leaves him unable to do anything but flail around uselessly and emote cliché affirmations. Unfortunately, when it comes to forging relevant camaraderie, Engage mostly falls short. Thankfully, Engage continues taking accessible cues from recent entries to balance its difficulty: Casual Mode only temporarily benches defeated units, rather than killing them off, and you can wind back time to revise mistakes (albeit with limited uses). ![]() Tightly-knit maps and enemy boss Revive Stones – Engage’s terminology for “multiple health bars” – ensure that even the optional world map skirmishes can put any tactician through the ringer. Emblem Byleth’s dancing arts can rejuvenate multiple units at a time, but don’t think you can just waltz into enemy range and unleash your Emblem’s special attack. Fist-to-fist units like Framme might seem useless outside their primary purpose (healing), but the right Emblem, like Leif with his multi-hit prowess, can give her a real punch. For example, Emblem Corrin’s numerous field conditions – from dodgy fog to health-sapping and movement-slowing field conflagration – are an absolute must. I cannot attest enough to Engage’s depth when it comes to the Emblem Ring mechanic.
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