Game completed: Fire Emblem Engage

I started this game a few days after release, but then Hogwarts Legacy came and stole all my attention and I only returned to the game after I had finished HL. This is the fourth main series Fire Emblem game I've played, the sixth if you count the two recent spin-offs (Awakening, Fates, Three Houses, Warriors, Heroes)

The way I play these games is that I do as many extra battles as possible because I want to increase support between all the characters as much as possible before the game ends. Because every support interaction gives you more background for every character, which creates more of a lasting impression and adds more to their personalities. As much as I loved Diamant, Alcryst, Alfred, Jade, Ivy, Rosado, Veyle, Panette and Yunaka, my heart eventually ended up with Zelkov. Is anyone really surprised? 

It did break my heart however to read the post-game character sheets and find out that Alfred died young. His childhood frailty caught up with him T_T

Because I've never played the old Fire Emblem games I've mostly only heard about most of the Emblem characters via other games. Marth especially keeps popping up everywhere. The only Emblem characters I properly knew were Lucina, Corrin and Byleth. If you count the DLC Emblems then ofc I knew Edelgard/Dimitri/Claude and Camilla as well. 

As far as the story goes it's a pretty standard Fire Emblem story. There's a dragon at the end of it all whose evil generals and evil armies invade the countries of the world and it's up to our hero and their friends to save the world and defeat the dragon. Funnily enough I ended up feeling really sorry for Zephia, wishing Griss would just join me already, and Sombron's story made me sad. 

The death at the very beginning was a bit overplayed, though. I've known this character for ten minutes and I'm supposed to care about their death? Alear, the MC, doesn't even remember this character, why is she grieving so hard? The correlating battle towards the end hits deeper, because then you've gotten to know the character via word-of-mouth and Alear has regained her memories. 

They did overplay the death card a bit in this game. Alear dies like three times lol.

Overall I really enjoyed this game, but it wasn't as good as Three Houses, which just ticked all the boxes. Better than Awakening and Fates, though, by a long shot. 

I might play through it again at some point after the last DLC Emblem pack has released.

After the trailer dropped everybody complained about Alear's annoying bangs, but did you see Pandreo?!?!?!