After the rousing success of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, it's exciting to hear that yet another Fire Emblem game is coming to Nintendo Switch. This time, the game looks a whole lot different with a far more vibrant color palette. There is a completely new cast of characters as well as the return of classic warriors from the franchise. The strategic combat style the series is known for also makes a return, but with some interesting new mechanics.
Fire Emblem Engage: Plot
Engage takes place on the land of Elyos, which was once under attack by the powerful Fell Dragon. However, this enemy was defeated and sealed away by warriors who used the powers of heroes from the past.
Now, the Fell Dragon once again threatens peace on Elyos and it's up to a mysterious character who has been asleep for one thousand years to band together with current-day fighters to stop this menace. Along the way, this hero will use special Emblem Rings to take on powers from historic warriors.
Fire Emblem Engage: Protagonist
The main hero of Fire Emblem Engage is hard to miss as they sport a mixture of blue and red hair. This character's name is Alear and players choose if they are either male or female.
In a somewhat Breath of the Wild-like beginning, Engage starts with Alear learning that they have been asleep for one thousand years. It turns out they are also a Divine Dragon, which in past Fire Emblem games is a class that can transform into a dragon in order to attack foes.
Fire Emblem Engage: Emblem Rings
During the course of the Engage, Alear will collect Emblem Rings, which allows the protagonist to join his power with an iconic hero from a past Fire Emblem game. This is similar to a mechanic found in the vastly popular mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes.
Fire Emblem Engage: Characters
There are a number of new characters in Fire Emblem Engage as well as returning characters. We'll continue to add to this list as we learn more. Characters are listed in alphabetical order. Emblems are indicated with an (*) asterisk.
| Character | Header Cell - Column 1 |
|---|---|
| Alcryst | Younger brother of Prince Diamant of Brodia. He has low self esteem and is a sword wielder. |
| Alear | Main protagonist, known as the Divine Dragon, who has split red and blue hair. They can either be male or female. |
| Alfred | A kind young man who checked on Alear while they were sleeping. |
| Amber | A Lance Knight from Brodia who often finds himself in trouble. |
| Anna | A recurring character in the FE franchise who has red hair. In Engage, she serves as an aspiring merchant and axe wielder who's on the lookout for treasure. |
| Boucheron | A courteous and polite knight of Firene who wields an axe and is also a childhood friend of Alfred. |
| Bunet | He is a Great Knight from Solm who also loves being a chef. |
| Byleth* (male) | The main protagonist from Three Houses who is adept with the sword. |
| Celica* | A Priestess who was one of two protagonists in Gaiden and its remake Shadows of Valentia. |
| Céline | The First Princess of Firene who specializes in magic and is the younger sibling of Alfred. |
| Chloé | This noble lady is also a Pegasus Knight of Firene who loves fairy tales and wields a lance. |
| Citrinne | A mage from Brodia who cares about her friends. She is also cousin to the princes. |
| Clanne | A young mage who is twin brother to Framme and 33rd generation protector of the Divine Dragon. |
| Corrin* (female) | A Nohr Princess who fights with a sword and first appeared in Fates. |
| Diamant | Crown Prince of Brodia who wields a sword and is the brother of Alcryst. |
| Eirika* | The main character from The Sacred Stones who wields a sword and made an appearance in Awakening DLC. |
| Etie | A noble young lady and friend of Céline who focuses her time on archer training. |
| Fogado | First Prince of Solm and a Sentinel class like his sister Timerra. |
| Framme | She is a starting Monk class and joins the main protagonist along with her twin brother, Clan. |
| Goldmary | A shy royal knight from Elusia who is a Hortensia's friend and a Hero class. |
| Hortensia | Elusia's second princess and younger half-sister of Ivy. She is a Wing Tamer class. |
| Ike* | A gifted swordsman who has been in several FE games starting with Path of Radiance. |
| Ivy | This Crown Princess is a mysterious Wing Tamer from Elusia and the older half-sister of Hortensia. |
| Jade | An axe wielder from Brodia who wears heavy armor and takes her job seriously. |
| Kagetsu | He is a royal knight and Swordmaster from Elusia. |
| Lapis | A Sword Fighter from Brodia. She has low self confidence but is very strong. |
| Leif* | A Prince and sword wielder that first appeared as a protagonist in Genealogy of the Holy War. |
| Lucina* | Yet another powerful sword wielder who first appeared in Awakening. She has been in several FE games since. |
| Lyn* | She and her sword first appeared in The Blazing Blade as the main protagonist and have since been in several other entries. |
| Louis | A knight from Firene who wears heavy armor and wields a lance. |
| Marth* | A blue-haired sword fighter who was the protagonist in the very first FE game. |
| Merrin | She is a Wolf Knight from Solm who loves animals. |
| Micaiah* | A powerful mage who first appeared in as one of two protagonists in Radiant Dawn. |
| Pandreo | A High Priest from Solm who is Panette's older brother. |
| Panette | She is a Berserker class and royal knight from Solm who is also Pandreo's little sister. |
| Rosado | A Wyvern Knight from Elusia who is also Princess Hortensia's friend. |
| Roy* | Roy was the presumptive heir and main protagonist in The Binding Blade. He has since appeared in several FE games. |
| Seadall | He is a famous Dancer from Solm with fortune-telling capabilities. |
| Sigurd* | A spear-wielder and horse rider who first appeared as the protagonist in Genealogy of the Holy War. |
| Timerra | Crown Princess of Solm and a Sentinal class. She is very outgoing and is brother to Fogado. |
| Vander | An older Paladin and Dragon Guardian who took care of Alear while the protagonist slept. |
| Yunaka | A red-haired Thief class. |
| Zelkov | A royal knight of Elusia who is also a Thief class. |
Fire Emblem Engage: Gameplay
The latest installment in the series uses the turn-based strategic combat that the franchise is known for. Players can move their characters around on a map to fight with enemies. Once enemies are close enough, their stats help determine the outcome of the battle. You'll need to decide where best to place your troops and take advantage of any fighting or supporting perks they might have.
The main character, Alear, is a Divine Dragon. In past games, Divine Dragons could change into their dragon forms on the battlefield and attack. This is likely the case in Engage as well, which will provide come interesting combat opportunities.
With how vibrant the game is and the rich colors it uses, it will really look good when played on Switch OLED.
Fire Emblem Engage: Is there romance?
It's unclear at this time if a romance mechanic is in Engage. However, it's very likely given that the last few Fire Emblem games, including Fire Emblem: Three Houses, allowed the player to get involved in a relationship.
If nothing else, we're sure there will be plenty of jokes about the lead character collecting rings and the title of the game being called Engage. It's too easy to miss.
Fire Emblem Engage: Divine Edition
In addition to the standard edition of Engage, the Divine Edition has also been revealed. This collector's set includes a copy of the game, a steelbook case, some art cards, an art book, and a poster. It sells for $99.99, but hasn't become available in the U.S. as of the time of this writing.
Fire Emblem Engage: Release date
Fire Emblem Engage is set to release on January 20, 2023. Preorders are currently available for the standard edition.
Engaging battles
Engage looks like it's going to be very different from Three Houses, which was the best-selling Fire Emblem game of all time and one of the best Nintendo Switch games to come out so far. The vibrant coloring and exciting hair of the main protagonist already give this entry a very different feel from its predecessors.
We'll keep our eyes out and will update this page with everything you need to know about this upcoming game. It will be exciting to see if any other Emblems make their way onto the list of characters.
