The RPG Files: Fire Emblem Engage Review

mmorpg.com:

After the major success that was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, whichever entry became the next in the franchise would have a tall task ahead of it. How do you improve on a game that so effortlessly blended the turn-based strategy of FE with the relationship-building mechanics and branching story beats of what some consider to be the franchise's magnum opus? The answer, it seems, is Fire Emblem Engage, which eschews a lot of that extra relationship stuff in favor of a more streamlined, «traditional» FE experience. Is it better? Is it worse? Honestly, it's somewhere in the middle. 

Engage follows the story of Alear, the child of the «Divine Dragon» that saved the world from ruin one thousand years prior to the start of the game. Alear awakens from a deep slumber, but just as they are getting their bearings and adjusting to the new world around them, nefarious forces attack and the adventure progresses from there. 

Without diving into deep spoiler territory, the story is rife with twists and turns, most of which fall into predictable territory. That said, there is only one prevalent storyline to follow – as opposed to Three Houses and its branching, multiple story beats – so keeping up with the twists isn't as daunting as it sounds. I personally appreciate the more streamlined main story approach here in Engage, though I wish that story made more sense in some areas. 

Combat is classic Fire Emblem: all characters in a battle appear on a grid, and you can move each of your fighters a certain amount of spaces before attacking, using an item, or wait for the next turn. The rock-paper-scissors approach to weaponry returns, as do long-range outliers like bows and magic spells. Everything that makes the core Fire Emblem experience