Fire Emblem Engage - Everything We Know

Fire Emblem spent years in relative obscurity in the West, known mostly for the appearance of some swordfighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee. That changed in 2013 with the release of Fire Emblem: Awakening, the series' first big breakout hit in North America. Since then the tactical RPG has become one of Nintendo's most popular and critically-acclaimed series. The latest entry in the series, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, was named one of our Best Games of 2019. So needless to say, a new Fire Emblem is enough to get us very excited.

Fire Emblem Engage is that new game, a fresh entry in the long-running series that pays special homage to its own history. This game centers a major story and gameplay mechanic around summoning characters from past Fire Emblem games, letting us see some of our favorites or learn about characters from games that passed us by. Here's everything we know about Fire Emblem Engage.

Story

Like many anthology RPG series, Fire Emblem doesn't necessarily have one continuous narrative from game to game, but each game does share some common traits. In Fire Emblem Engage, 1000 years have passed since four kingdoms cooperated with each other and with heroes from other worlds to seal away the Fell Dragon on the continent of Elyos. As the evil prepares to reawaken, you emerge as Alear the Divine Dragon, a chosen hero who can bring back the heroes from other realms and seal the chaos dragon again.

Like other Fire Emblem protagonists, Alear can be male or female, with a similar red-and-blue hairstyle in both instances. And as you may guess, these heroes from other worlds are in fact heroes from other Fire Emblem games. You can summon heroes like Marth and Celica using an Emblem Ring, letting you inherit their weapons and skills, as well as merging your appearance with them.

Gameplay

Like other Fire Emblem games, Engage will be a turn-based tactical combat game with a wide array of original characters that you can upgrade and customize to your liking. It brings back the Weapon Triangle, a rock-paper-scissors mechanic of weapon advantages that was altered in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Fire Emblem is class-based, so different classes will specialize in certain weapon types, and as you upgrade your classes, you'll gain new specializations. In combat scenarios, you'll do battle on a grid, so positioning your units is key. Fire Emblem also tends to give bonuses for units battling side by side if they've developed special bonds of friendship in the non-combat portions.

Those non-combat segments will take place at your home base, which this time is called Somniel. That's where you'll talk with characters (including characters from past games), visit shops, and most likely handle any other party management like weapons or class loadouts. Three Houses also featured social systems like romance options, but it has yet to be seen if that element will be present in Fire Emblem Engage. But who knows; maybe you can get engaged. Eh? Yes?

Notable cameos

With a story and game mechanics that revolve so heavily around bringing back renowned characters from past games, Nintendo has plenty of opportunity to tease familiar faces in the lead up to launch. So far, though, we've only seen the two who debuted in the announcement trailer: Marth from the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Marth has made cameo appearances in lots of other Fire Emblem games previously, and served as a major story element in Fire Emblem Awakening.

Release date

Fire Emblem Engage will be one of the earliest big releases of the year, as it's slated to hit shelves on January 20, 2023.

Preorder

Preorders for Fire Emblem Engage are now available at physical retailers and on theNintendo eShop. The standard physical and digital edition costs $60, while a special physical-only Divine Edition is available to preorder for $100. That version comes with a steelbook, art cards, art book, and poster. Read ourFire Emblem Engage preorder guidefor more details.