The Other Side of the Fourth Wall

  This blog entry contains spoilers for Fire Emblem Engage's Fell Xenologue DLC Welcome back to the review of the Fell Xenologue DLC. To recap the story thus far, Alear is traveling around an alternate Elyos with two Fell Dragon siblings and the Four Winds who serve them. Their goal is to prevent the Emblem bracelets from falling into enemy hands, and so they seek out the bracelets held by the Kingdom of Elusia and the other is in the hands of the Queendom of Solm. Nel has a flashback to happier times, back when her Alear was still alive, but bitterly notes that sentiment like this "no longer becomes" her. As the group discusses how suspicious it is that they got into Elusia so easily, Nel is rather distracted. Alear notes that Nel came back late, an observation that might have helped to foreshadow Nel's killing the royals had it been delivered earlier. Nel curtly replies that Alear should only be concerned with how Nel does in battle, and Nil chalks Nel's bad moo...

This blog entry contains spoilers for Fire Emblem Engage's Fell Xenologue DLC  Welcome back to the review of the Fell Xenologue DLC. As a brief recap of last time, Alear was summoned to an alternate Elyos and set out to gather the bracelets and safeguard them from an unknown malefactor. Alear's first destination was Firene, where they reclaimed Hector's bracelet from Alfred and Celine. Alear then sets out for Brodia. The group heads to Brodia by foot, sneaking in due to the country's hatred of war resulting in tight border security. The logic seems rather odd, as a warlike country would be no less willing to defend its borders. Nel remarks that they're already in Brodia, and when Alear complains, she snarkily replies that she hopes they can reschedule the parade. Gregory, who's the counterpart of Griss, arrives. Zelestia reveals that she and Gregory are part of a small band of knights known as the Four Winds, which are counterparts to the Four Hounds, and exist ...

This blog entry contains spoilers for Fire Emblem Engage's Fell Xenologue DLC Here's part 2 of the Fell Xenologue. For a brief recap, Alear found herself in an alternate Elyos in which her counterpart died defeating Sombron and an unknown Fell Dragon is threatening the world. Two Fell Dragon twins, Nel and Nil, have enlisted Alear's help in recovering the Emblem Bracelets and ensuring that they cannot be used for evil. They have recovered one, two are in the hands of the enemy and the remaining four are held by the four nations, so they go out to each nation. Firene is Alear and company''s first destination, since their goal is to acquire the Bracelet of the Brash General before the enemy can. Unfortunately, the Firenese are violent and vengeful, the polar opposite of their usual state. Queen Eve died at the start of the last war, and her successor, King Alfred, cut ties with the siblings. Nel greets her contact in Firene, a woman named Zelestia, Unlike the cruel an...

 It's been some time since I last posted. For the moment, I've shelved my plans to do a full review of Fire Emblem Engage, but may do shorter blog posts about it. I'll start with a review of the DLC known as the Fell Xenologue, a special was released in the fourth and final wave of DLC. The basics of the Fell Xenologue is that it takes place in an alternate Elyos, which has seven Emblem bracelets (released earlier in the DLC) rather than twelve Emblem Rings. The bracelets are as follows. Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude : The protagonists of Three Houses, they share the Emblem of Rivals. Tiki , a manakete who debuts in the first game and returns in Awakening, is the Emblem of Dragons. Hector , the second of three protagonists of Blazing Blade, is the Emblem of  Strength. Soren , Ike's best friend and advisor from Tellius(Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn), is the Emblem of Acumen. Camilla , Corrin's adoptive sister from Nohr in Fates, is the Emblem of Revelation. Chrom ...

This blog entry contains spoilers for Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Engage I have two announcements before I begin this blog entry. First, while I've tried to post regularly in the past, I will now do so only when I have something to write about. Second, the Engage review is postponed for now. Instead, I will compare how Fire Emblem Engage Three Houses: Jeralt's Ring In Chapter 5, during a relative lull in the story, Seteth notes that Byleth's adoptive father is looking for them. After speaking to Jeralt's disciple Leonie and Catherine, Byleth will learn that Jeralt is visiting a grave. Byleth then learns that their mother is buried there, and Jeralt shows them his wedding ring, asking Byleth to give it to someone they hold dear. Seteth gives the player a small reward for completing the quest but is surprised to learn that Jeralt knew someone who was buried in the monastery. There's a reason for that- Jeralt keeps his wife's death a closely guarded s...

Here is the final part of my playthrough of Fire Emblem Engage. Beware of spoilers, including for the ending! More Paralogues Before we begin, I'll discuss the Paralogues, so those who have stumbled here won't inadvertently read spoilers. Byleth's Paralogue was the first one I did, and takes place inside the Holy Tomb. Like Chapter 11 of Three Houses, you must advance to the south to defeat the boss- Byleth, in this case- while protecting the Crystals, which are stand-ins for Crest Stones. The good news is that they're destroyable objects and it takes the enemy a few attacks to bring them down. The bad news is that once they're down, they're gone forever; in Three Houses, you could recover the Crest Stones by defeating the enemies carrying them before they could flee. Byleth is the boss of the chapter, and primarily uses his Goddess Dance to refresh units. Somewhat annoyingly, the staff users near him use Warp to send enemies to where you're most vulnerable...

We're now on the sixth part of my chronicling Fire Emblem Engage. This time, the entry will cover Chapter 16-20, and it's obviosu that the game's entering the home stretch, although there's still a ways to go before the end. Be warned- there will be major spoilers in this entry, especially toward the end. As a note before we begin, I'll point out that I'll probably put the rest of the game into one last entry, which won't be uploaded for a few days. Chapter 16 The mission is on the border of Solm and Firene, bringing the adventure full circle, literally and figuratively. It's similar to how, in Awakening, the last few chapters were near places you'd already been. Alear and the royals discuss their next move, noting that they have five rings, but the bad guys have seven- the six that were stolen from Alear at the cathedral and Eirika and Ephraim's ring. They realize they're in a tight situation- they need to get some rings back but taking the ...

Once again, I'm resuming my playthrough of Fire Emblem Engage, in which I cover what could be called the Solm arc of the game- Chapters 13-15, as well as Chapter 12, which I covered last time. Beware of spoilers if you have not already played the game. Chapter 13 Fogado introduces the heroes to his mother Queen Seforia, who is remarkably laid-back for a queen, answering to "Mom" rather than "Mother." She informs the heroes that her daughter Timerra has Ike's ring, and demonstrates that she lets her children- including Timerra, the successor to the throne- mostly do as they please. At night, Timera is camping with her retainers, eating meat and doing some awful singing when some bandits attack. Fogado and the heroes arrive and have to help out. The map is another "fog of war" map (i.e. night in thi scase). These maps seem more common than in Three Houses, in which Chapter 3 was the only story map with fog (and it disappears after the mage's deat...

Welcome to the fourth part of my blog entry series chronicling my playthrough of Fire Emblem Engage. This entry will deal with what could be considered the "Elusia arc" of the game- Chapters 9-11.  Be warned- this blog entry, and all subsequent ones in the series, will include significant plot spoilers, so do not view it if you do not want to be spoiled . Without further ado, let us resume the series. Chapter 9 This chapter takes place on the border of Brodia and Elusia. King Morion heads out to fight King Hyacinth without the help of a ring, and it goes about as poorly as one might expect. While Hyacinth almost loses to Morion, he pulls out Lyn's ring and defeats Morion, abducting him. He orders Ivy to stay behind and hold off their pursuers without her ring, as punishment for losing a ring that Sombron gifted her. The goal is simple- get to the east end of the map and defeat Ivy- and while the goal is to save Morion, there isn't any pressure to defeat Ivy quickly. I...

 I pick up where I left off on my first impressions of Engage. Again, there shouldn't be too many major spoilers at this point, but this review will discuss plot points, so be advised if you want to go in blind. After starting the game, I saw that skirmishes were available- like in Awakening, they tend to become available upon startup or after completing a map. I took part in my first skirmish, against Firenese knights. It was a good opportunity to gain experience points and support with my units. Speaking of supports, I notice that they're rather short, often totaling between 10-20 lines between the characters. That isn't necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but perhaps it could contribute to the lack of in-depth Jean's Paralogue I decided to start with the first Paralogue. Paralogues in Awakening and Fates tend to involve unit recruitment (usually a second-generation unit), while Three Houses grants special battalions, Heroes' Relics and other rewards. Engage...

This is the second part of my ongoing coverage of my playthrough of Fire Emblem Engage. This time, we will cover Chapter 4 and 5, and while there won't be too many spoilers, that will eventually change. Another thing to keep in mind is that these are my first impressions, and not only can they be revised over time, but I'm also writing based off of memory, and may not recall all details(for example, the names of minor characters). Chapter 4 Continued I tried the chapter again, having learned from my mistakes the previous time. It was a bit challenging getting my forces to Chloe and Louis in time, but I was able to manage it in the end; maps in which you have to reach a single allied unit surrounded by enemies can often be frustrating. The boss is an armored unit that is immune to being broken under most circumstances, and doesn't appear to be any slower than a standard infantry unit. I know armored units have a bad reputation for not being very useful, but this is overcompe...