#lumera is like. an actually good mom!

[rubywolf0201]

General headcanons about the main Elyos cast

- Alear and Sommie can be quite a troublesome duo esp if the Divine Dragon plans to prank everyone in the Somniel. Their plan usually involves Sommie distracting the person and Alear setting up a prank in whatever location they’re at. They never get caught once and most people who experienced it just chalked it up to superstitions.

- Vander owns several copies of the monocle he wears in his Somniel getup just in case the one he’s wearing gets broken.

- Céline used to have a lot of trouble with her swordplay. While using magic and staff was no problem, swinging a sword proved to be troubling for her at first but when Alfred stepped in to help along with the instructors Queen Evé hired, she has gotten a little better at it though she insisted that Alfred is the one who’s better at swordplay.

- Back when Alcryst was born, Diamant (who was 8 years old when Alcryst is born) often worried if he could be a good brother to his newborn baby brother but Morion and his wife would reassure the redhead prince that he can be the best big bro. Diamant kinda felt relieved hearing it and soon enough, he begin to learn tips and tricks from his mother on how he could care for Alcryst and even till this day, he’s still looking out for his baby bro all the while Alcryst is the one looking out for him.

- Back when she was still living within castle, Ivy often wondered what the outside world is like within the borders of Elusia. A part of Ivy longs to hop on to her wyvern and see what the world is like within the sky and such but as the Crown Princess, she’s not allowed to neglect her responsibility so Ivy is often seen on the castle porch daydreaming about seeing the outside borders.

- Hortensia wasn’t always the plucky confident girl that she is now in the present. Back when her mother is alive and is still living in the castle, Hortensia (who is 5-6 years old at the time) would always cling to her mother’s dress or hold her hand pretty tightly whenever she felt shy to meet strangers and whatnot. She grew out of it when her mother passed away but she at least found a healthy coping mechanism for dealing with her problem: writing in a diary.

- When Timerra first met Alfred, Diamant and Ivy in person, she was a little surprised to see what they look like. Granted, she only heard a thing or two about them from her mom whenever the latter attended a royal council meeting that Lumera tends to hold time to time (except for Hyancith since he and the rest of the Elusian worshipped Sombron back then so Timerra never really heard about Ivy) but meeting the Crown Princes of Firene and Brodia and the Crown Princess of Elusia physically for the first time just made Timerra be elated to see them up front.

- Fogado actually once organized a shopping trip with Céline, Alcryst and Hortensia. To his surprise, he is actually surprised that between the four of them, he actually spent the most money on his shopping.

- Veyle likes to take care of the stray cats Alear tends to bring in because of how easy it is to take care of them. Though, she has to be careful not to let them out of the farm cuz it was a lot of trouble finding them.

- Mauvier tried to replicate the meat pie recipe that his mom used to make but it didn’t exactly worked out because of how long it has been, thankfully with the help of Bunet, he is able to successfully replicate it and added in a bit of spice for Veyle to enjoy.

BONUS:

- Jean likes to read a good book about different medicinal herbs before going to bed.

- Yunaka likes to collect different star accessories to wear on her hair in case the ones she’s currently wearing got blown away during battle or they just get lost somewhere.

[enbyleighlines]

Initial Thoughts on Fire Emblem Engage

I’m like 6 chapters in now and I just wanted to share some of my first impressions.

Warning! This post contains spoilers!

- The opening is so unapologetically anime that it kind of hurt to watch

- They killed off Alear’s mom super quickly. I think this is the earliest in the game they’ve ever killed off one of the protag’s parents. Usually they wait for the player to grow attached to the character, but this time they said “this is Lumera. And now this is Lumera again, but dead”

- I also love how in Lumera’s death scene, we spend a good chunk of time where her gigantic boobs take up a solid third of the screen

- Alear speaks for himself! So far I have not had to make a single decision for him. And like, he’s not really driving the plot so much as stumbling his way through it, but still! This is a huge improvement from Byleth

- Alear’s personality is mostly generic fantasy protagonist, but I do like that, when facing enemies for the first time, his immediate reaction was to scream “run away!” It seems that his arc will be about facing his fears

- Framme and Clanne can be annoying with their obsessive hero worship of Alear but despite that I actually care for them a lot. They’re just… so cute. Especially in their oversized sweaters with their matching braids. So far they are the non-Emblem characters that I care for the most

- A lot of the new characters are depressingly bland and one-note, but I do find it hilarious that Etie, a character designed to look like she would be super into fashion and other traditionally feminine things, is a body builder with chiseled abs and a deep, almost husky voice

- The gameplay is really fun. I like the new additions to how various classes work. The break mechanic makes paying attention to the enemy’s weapons much more important

- The chain attack mechanic is also super fun. Tho I nearly lost Clanne at one point because I forgot that the enemy can use chain attacks, too. Thank fuck Clanne is a dodge tank

- This has been talked about to death already but some of the outfits these characters wear is just mind-baffling. Céline we are going to war not performing at the opera

- I’m mad that Queen Ève looks like an adult woman because it means they could have made Lumera look like an adult woman instead of a teenager but they decided not to

- From the neck up, Zephia’s character design is S tier. The pointed ears? The undercut?? The asymmetrical horns that look like a crescent moon??? It’s too bad that the rest of her is so terrible to look at. There’s a certain point where an outfit is so revealing that it stops being titillating and instead just looks ridiculous. Zephia’s outfit fits solidly in that category

- What’s the point of adopting animals if I can’t interact with them? Hello?? Let me pet or feed my cats, IS

- The fact that Ike’s Emblem Ring is (presumably) located in the queendom of freedom, rather than the kingdom of might, gives me hope that maybe this game doesn’t completely butcher Ike’s personality

[raxistaicho]

Are we not engaged?

What, did you think I wouldn’t buy Engage just ‘cause I had ill hopes for it? You’d be wrong, bucko. Raxis from the past took notes while he was playing :)

Spoilers under the tags, I guess.

-Raxis from the past here

-Fuckin’ Timerra gets no real estate space on the cover because Marth has to have cover to leer at us.

-The game opens with a still image of the cover art why?

-Title screen is pretty at least.

-Skip power rangers intro.

-“Select a form” instead of “gender” again, that’ll piss off the shitbags on twitter who complain about this.

-Casual’s the default setting now, is that how it’s been for a while? Not sure. Still neat.

-Invisible Ties-like intro, I see.

-Timerra’s voice is young.

-Marth says the thing.

-Wait this flash-forward has no bad end? Boring. It’s like “hey here’s Marth” and a basic gameplay intro. Was I supposed to be tricked that this is a flashback instead of forward? But that wouldn’t work because Alfred, Ivy, Timerra, and Diamant are here, unless they inexplicably had duplicates in the past. Did we time travel or something?

-Why the fuck were the kids standing over Alear.

-”No way,” “no way.” Riveting dialogue.

-Game indofumps on me about how cool Alear is right away.

-The game wastes no time kissing Alear’s ass.

-Alfred and Celine coming to worship Alear while she was asleep is super creepy.

-ENEMY JUMP SCARE WTF LOL. Just BAM! Suddenly an enemy in front of you!

-”Let run!” okay Alear’s actually fine lol.

-So Vander is supposed to be a veteran knight but he’s all “your courage is legendary, Divine One, let us fite!” Dude, your charge just woke up and has no memory and you have no idea how good she is at fighting, are you TRYING to risk her life?

-And then Clanne and Framme decide to give tanking a try, who the fuck trained these clowns? They’ve got no discipline between the three of them and they’re making a mockery of the supposed sanctity of their position and the Divine Dragon by extension.

-”Remember Fire Emblem?” asked Marth.

Chapter one was just another basic tutorial, I don’t see anyone struggling, even though it’s made to look tense at first with Clanne and Framme appearing to be in danger.

-Lumera is introduced tits first okay.

-Lumera’s infodumping us again.

-Does this war have a name?

-Nobody knows where Sombrom came from. What, was my guess about time travel right?

-What does Lumera DO? Does anyone live in this holy land?

-Lumera was gonna gather the rings herself but she didn’t get around to it. Fucking incompetent protector.

-The game’s rushing into fights.

-Lumera’s defeat quote doesn’t sound appropriate for a training battle, so whatever happens to her after this I’ll see her again after this chapter.

-I didn’t get a chance to fight the two sword cavs because Lumera rushed wtf ahead to lay the smackdown on Vander lol.

Chapter two you just gotta mind archer range and Lumera’s mobility with Sigurd.

-Lumera’s spike clips through her shawl thingy. I can’t unsee it.

-This game’s pacing is unreal, it’s just blitzing through everything to get to the next fight.

-Red Alear dream. Marth’s cadgy about Alear’s past.

-Alfred’s a fucking goofball. Can’t take flower country seriously after seeing its prince and his retainers.

-At least Etie’s abs aren’t spray-painted like Rinkah’s, what with her rocking 10 base strength.

-First human boss is a generic woman, that’s actually pretty cool.

-Why didn’t Lumera pick Alear up and fly her away instead of just tank the dark magic.

-”Divine Dragon” keeps being used like a noun. My “Divine Dragon” energy. Really clunky.

-I don’t think Lumera is Alear’s real mom, she said she was happy to “become” Alear’s mother.

-Lumera dies way too early for me to care. It lacks both the time spent getting to know her that Greil and Jeralt had and also it drags out way too long to have the cruel suddenness Mikoto had.

-Alear’s voice actress is doing her damndest to save the scene though.

-Lol pinky promise.

-Lumera says she’ll talk with Alear again? So I doubt she’s dead for good.

-Lumera has enough life in her for an extended infodump while DYING. Is she operating under Practical Guide to Evil rules?

Chapter Three is getting better, you have to carefully be aggressive so you don’t have to fight too many of them at once. This game’s pretty well playtested mostly, Etie exactly one-shots these pegasi. That said, Framme does dick-all for damage so it’s healbotting for her.

-So Corrupted have been attacking Freline long enough for Alfred to sail to the holy land seeking help. Alear just woke up this same day so what the fuck has Lumera been DOING? Isn’t she supposed to be protecting the land?

-The Somniel can only be reached by Divine Dragons, so WHY NOT KEEP THE RINGS THERE? Why doesn’t Lumera just live there, she didn’t appear to be doing any actual protecting from the holy land!

-Vander Alear C: Vander is devoted, Alear is awkward about it. Nothing new learned.

-Framme Alear C: “Four three two one, who’s our favorite dragon?” Fucking kill me. Framme’s a fangirl but that was obvious during her literal first moment.

-Framme Clanne C: Framme and Clanne are the same fucking character, jesus christ.

-Framme Vander C: Vander is devoted, Framme is kinda lazy. Scene feels like it ends before it’s supposed to, like one of those Three Houses cutscenes with multiple scenes but it stops at the first.

-Bam! Jump cut to Firene!

-Alfred infodumps us on the land. Apparently Firene is a land of plenty, next to a shitty canyon and a shitty desert, and yet nobody attacks them because Solm is chill and Brodia is busy attacking Elucia.

-Brodia is trying to expand their territory yet they’re on the good guy side. Imperialism okay then?

-Celine’s retainers aren’t as annoying as Alfred’s. Also Celine herself seems to be more mature than Alfred, which is... not remotely what I expected, to be honest.

-I feel like the game’s trying to trick me into warping Celine into danger to save Chloe and Louis.

-”Village pillage” fml.

That’s all for now.

[couldbebetterforsure]

Still haven’t been able to start chapter 10 of Engage yet 😔 Life just doesn’t want me playing this game. Well, screw you too life!

Anyways until I get the time to continue I can at least give you my thoughts from the chapters I did play!

The opening is so entertaining! It plays like a Saturday morning cartoon opening and that is NOT a complaint! While I have said many times male Alear is the one I’m more fond of I chose female Alear because whenever I do first runs/main runs of games that allow gender choice for the player I always go with the female option. I also named Alear after my real life name, which I typically only do once I do my main/true run of a game. But this time around I decided I’m gonna have my true run Alear stay named Alear. But my true run won’t be until all the DLC is released. Right now we’re talking about my first run!

Prologue: What is this music so unsettling for????? Seriously, the song that plays on this map is so creepy! The little cutscenes within the chapter itself were pretty, I especially liked the first engage moment with Marth! Straightforward map against creepy purple dragon guy.

Chapter 1: Clanne, Framme, and Vander: “Oh noble and wonderful Divine One, we’re so glad you’re awake!” Alear, dragon who just woke up: ???????? Alear has the appropriate response to sudden zombies, we run from those suckers! But no worry folks, I’ve got years of zombie ass kicking experience from a land called Ylisse, this won’t be any sweat! But then I learned it would be some sweat because Engage has a somewhat different way of handling battle stuff. It was a bit hard to get it started but it’s fun! And Vander was here to do his job and keep my low level self alive. And we get officially introduced to my man Mar Mar! The chapter ends with us meeting Lumera (MOM!!!!!!!!)

Chapter 2: What better way to get used to all the new mechanics than by fighting our dragon mom? When she engaged with Sigurd she hit like a TRUCK! Vander was hanging on by a thread after blocking attacks for me. Framme, sweetie, you’re adorable but you hit like a marshmallow! Clanne, my little dude, meanwhile was out here getting a dozen crits. It really is adorable how much Lumera wants to be with Alear again. I can’t imagine how it must feel like, waiting for 1000 years for your beloved child to wake up so you can talk and eat and spend time together again. I’m so weak to family stuff….

Chapter 3: We start the chapter with interest dream/flashback(?) of red Alear. Ooooh creepy grin there. MOTHER NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! It’s too soon!!!!! I know I know people will say we’ve only had her for one chapter but like I said I’m super weak to family stuff. I also was plenty attached to Mikoto back in Fates too. Also it was Alear’s voice acting that really sold it. Like WOW that was some incredible work to sell me on Alear’s grief. I actually looked up male Alear’s version of this scene and that destroyed me! Getting a bit ahead of myself, first off battle! And we got three new friends in Etie, Boucheron, and ALFRED 😍😍😍😍 As I said in another post, I really did think Diamant would be my man but Alfred showed up and said “remember how much you love the earnest sweethearts”? Boucheron is sweet and was a decent tank, I really like the whole backup mechanic. Etie is out here testing my notorious luck with archer units but she’s cool so I’ll try my best with her! And Alfred my main man!!! I actually didn’t get to use him that much this map 😂 But I already fell in love with the bits of his personality he showcased. Anyways, hello there mysterious murderous hooded girl!

Chapter 4: The Somniel is a gorgeous place! I love that it’s so pretty and bright to look at but also not as annoyingly big to explore like the monastery was in 3H. Firene’s battle map music is so pretty I love just taking my time through this map as I listen to it. We get more pals in this newest chapter in the form of Celine, Chloe, and Louis. Celine is so good and she was terrifying when I engaged her with Celica. I love Pegasus units and Chloe was a great addition to that group, especially with her dodging. And Louis was SUCH a good tank, I love that armored units have the special gimmick of being immune to break! Also the Alfred-Sigurd combo was amazing, my man is just galloping across the map! We end the chapter getting our item and weapon shops, AND we our time rewind mechanic! Heck yeah! And we meet the mysterious little Veyle who saved our ass! I really love her swan look it’s cute!

Chapter 5: Gasp! A wild living Fire Emblem mother! With a name and face too!!! And we meet mystery evil lady Zephia! I really appreciate the change up to the way chests/locked doors work in this game. Anyone can open a chest without needing a key or ability and similarly if you can just break down locked doors. As someone who hated using keys because I consider them a waste of inventory slot, I love the change! And while I love the units with special lock picking abilities I’m glad this game made it so that you’re not forced to make/use one. We got ourselves a clothing shop and blacksmith to join us on the Somniel! A shame the outfits are only for the Somniel. Speaking of the Somniel I got to play around with the features in the ring chamber and the polishing mechanic is funny. The bond ring gacha is a fun little thing and I am glad it strictly only uses in game currency. Plus, SOMMIE!!!!!!!! Tiny adorable puppy looking baby!!!! That I can feed and pet and dress up!!!!! I named it Benji for this run but when I get to my main run I’ll stick with Sommie as the name.

Paralogue 1: FUCK YEAH!!! New villager unit!!! Listen I know villager units tend to be a pain in the ass to level up and use but I adore them to death! And not a single one of them has failed me yet! Jean is so adorable, a tiny little doctor in training who is ready to punch! I like that they make him ready and able to heal from the start so it’s not as bad to train him as it would typically be with his unit type. And bless, when I saw this map was a “keep the villagers safe” one I was already getting ready for the headache. But Jean and his dad did a good job keeping the villagers healed on my behalf, leaving me free to kick ass and take names. Also why did Firene abandon all the British people on this one island? 😂

Chapter 6: Yunaka is so funny! I love her energy, her voice mimicking thing, the way she’s blatantly hiding being a killer, her silly quotes and puns. And she’s a thief unit too! I really like the whole “thieves’ daggers have poison” thing. Pain in the ass to get hit by but really nice when dishing it out myself! Also we get Micaiah this time and holy shit does she provide a healing boon! Our very first fog of war map of the game and I didn’t make too many dumb mistakes! Heck yeah! Nothing much to say for this chapter, a straightforward map and funny story content. Ooh and we meet again Veyle! Why are you randomly here? Oh and after the map went back to the Somniel and got the Three Houses bracelet! Dimitri my gentle hearted baby boy, so good to see you, I missed you!!!!!🥹🥹🥹🥹 And Claude, hi there!!!😄 Oh and I guess you’re here too Edel 😒

Paralogue 2: Ahh here’s our latest Anna! And unlike the last game she actually gets to take part in supports! Interesting that they made her a little kiddo this time around. Also I looked up her growths, why the heck is she an axe user if her magic growth is that good???? Welp I mean she’s been doing pretty okay with her axe regardless for me since she’s actually been coming through on getting strength for level ups. But I had to restart this map a couple times because I couldn’t keep this girl alive. She takes hits like tissue paper…But I like how spunky she is!

Chapter 7: We hop on over into Brodia and Alear nearly gets shot in the head along the way. And we get to meet Alcryst! The way his whole apology is so completely at odds with the pretty cool way he’s introduced was hilarious! Also his retainers are so pretty!!! Alcryst is another bow user but he’s also a crit machine for me. Alcryst: “I’m sorry I am such a pathetic failure 😞 *massacres a dozen enemies* Why am I so useless?” Lapis is really good at dodging and pretty speedy too! Citrinne is so pretty looking and magic wise she’s fine but my Clanne is honestly more solid, but my gosh she can NOT take a hit! I mean yeah she’s a mage but even by mage standards my girl can’t be hit. Looks like we get to meet the circus crew for this battle! Hortensia seems interesting so far, kinda bratty from the looks of it. Goldmary’s personality was not what I expected like she seems soft spoken but she’s also sounding kinda rude too? Everything about Rosado is great from his pretty hair to his adorable wyvern to his utter confidence in his cuteness. And ooh Hortensia has an evil version of an Emblem? I wonder what-*sees that it’s Lucina* FREE MY DAUGHTER YOU CIRCUS FREAKS!!!!!! Luci, baby, don’t you worry mama’s gonna save you!!!!! Taking a peek at Lucina’s abilities and geez that shit’s terrifying. I was so careful with how my units were advancing because I did NOT wanna get hit by everybody and their mother with Lucina’s special ability. We didn’t get to free my baby girl in the end 😡😡😡😡 I’ll save you Lucina I swear!!!!!!

Chapter 8: Oh so Veyle is looking for a missing sibling huh? Okay I already can tell where that little plot point is going! We get to meet Diamant, a handsome lad for sure! Sorry Diamant I really was gonna make you my main beau but Alfred has stolen my heart! But since I’m saving Alfred for my main run I’ll still S support you for this run! You know assuming none of the other fellas catch my eye more. We also get to meet Diamant and Alcryst’s dad, Morion, who was definitely NOT what I was expecting. I do like that despite Alcryst being so self deprecating and all that it doesn’t look like it comes from a lack of love/parental favoritism. We also obtain our boy Roy along the way! And he’s got some nice goodies for us as an Emblem! I love how hard they’re leaning into the fire stuff. And geez this is the chapter of introductions huh, now we’re meeting Ivy and her squad. Ivy looks super pretty and super spiky too! I like how she rides her wyvern side saddle. And she’s got a red version of my son Leif, so you know I’m gonna kick her ass to save him! Kagetsu looks adorably out of place compared to how goth Ivy and Zelkov look but I love how cheerful he seems! Speaking of what an *interesting* gimmick Zelkov has going on. And shit here we go with another intro from Amber, one of Diamant’s retainers! What a….goof. Seriously he’s such a weird little goof from the introduction onwards. Diamant himself hits hard, and I do love me some swords. Gotta say of the three Kagetsu was the scariest. A promoted unit and that stupid crit level of his!!! But we managed to get my boy Leif back and I am sooo eager to use him I love Leif so much! And from the sneak peek I saw of his abilities he looks like fun! I really like how the ending scene shows Diamant is just as nervous as Alcryst but in a different way. But yeah, Morion is TOTALLY getting his ass killed. Also yeah, why can’t I become a dragon Intsys?!?!?!?!??!?!!!!!?!?!?!

Chapter 9: Yup what did I say about Morion? Well he might not be DEAD dead just yet but I have little hope for him. Also wow was NOT expecting Hyacinth to be a punchy dude. And WOW dick move making Ivy have to get herself killed to buy you time to escape…We get Diamant’s other retainer in this chapter in the form of Jade, and she looks and sounds super cool! And she also was stealing a bunch of experience from my squad until I could reach her and recruit her 😞 Kagetsu was once again the scariest fucker of this map but my boy Alfred crit his ass to oblivion! That’s my sweet flower prince!!! Nice of Alear to let Ivy and her squad escape with their lives. Just as it was nice of Ivy to tell us where to go!

And so that’s where I am, waiting for the chance to continue with chapter 10 onward. Haven’t been able to set aside the time to play, which I am so annoyed about because I am really having fun playing Engage and want to continue. All I’ve been able to do since finishing chapter 9 was getting the update and just working on some supports, leveling up, bond ranks…That stuff.

Anyways that’s all I have for now! Hopefully will get to update with my thoughts for the next chapters soon!

[ladysolwind]

This post might be incoherent. I’m very tired but I love media analyzing and my brain is all FE all the time right now.

So, instead of restarting Silver Snow again, I decided to pop Engage back in. Mechanically, there are things I really like about Engage. The Ring system and inheriting skills is nice, chain guarding is a good feature, and I like the addition of daggers, arts, and chain attacks. I have been missing combat arts, but I feel like mechanically it balances out because of the rings.

THERE BE SPOILERS FOR 3H AND ENGAGE BELOW

My preference of Three Houses really stems from the story. Surprisingly, I don’t mean the heaviness of Three Houses vs the cheesy anime nature of Engage, but in the breathing room you get in 3H. Like, Alear doesn’t get a second to really breathe and have any real bonding time with Lumera, while you really get a chance to understand Jeralt and Byleth’s relationship. You get to see Jeralt’s lies begin to catch up to him, how despite his misgivings with Rhea, he’s happy to see Byleth actually enjoying new life as a professor. Meanwhile Engage is really hamfisted with “wow I can’t wait to spend time with my mom! We have so much to do togethe-- aaaand she’s dead D:” like... right away. Despite the VAs really going in with Lumera’s death scene, it’s not nearly as impactful as Jeralt’s because we barely know Lumera. Is her quick death intentional in order for the reveal that she isn’t even Alear’s mom be more surprising? Probably.

Also the plot thickens so fast in Engage. We’re balls deep in the war right away. The corrupted are right there immediately after waking up. Alear has no breathing room. Meanwhile Byleth really gets a chance to settle in and become close with the other units before shit hits the fan. Like after the tutorials, everything is a sprinkle of information in 3H that builds up on new information bit by bit, or sets up something to parallel after the time skip. Meanwhile the story of Engage feels hollow, the antagonists lack concrete motivation, and each chapter moreso feels like a vessel to introduce a new ring and provide fanservice. Yet I think that’s the point. Engage isn’t about the story, it’s about loving the series as a whole and, even though a lot of the new characters look neat and are plenty likable, it’s not so much about them. It’s about the nostalgia and providing likable foils to old characters.

I mean, I like Shadow Dragon more than most fans do, and that has less story than Engage to dissect, so who am I to fault Engage on this front?

Okay, this is where I admit I’m a bad fan. I have never played 4-10. Shadow Dragon was my first game, since my gateway into the series was being a Marth main in Melee as a kid. From there I did play 1-3, then New Mystery, and Awakening. After that I played every game more or less upon release. Love seeing Celica and Tiki. I’m good with Corrin, but I don’t like Camilla. She icks me. I like seeing Lucina, and I get a real kick out of Chrom and Robin being in the same bracelet. The house leaders sharing a bracelet doesn’t thrill me as much, and I have no attachment to M!Byleth. Now that I’ve seen more bond conversations, I’m more okay with Marth being how he is. He’s so complimentary of everyone and thinks every character is deserving of all the support and praise, and yeah, that checks.

Point being, my connection to all the other characters isn’t as established. Not to say I dislike them, in fact I really want to go back and play the other games because I really find myself liking Lyn and Soren quite a bit. It’s just that the fanservice feels more hollow, and that’s what Engage is. It sacrifices plot and unit character development because the game serves as a vessel for platforming old favorites. It’s a sampler platter of elements from the whole series.

I guess my conclusion is that it’s really hard to fully compare Engage and Three Houses because they were made to accomplish two very different things despite being from the same franchise, and both succeed on what they’re trying to do. Engage is happy friendship unity and good triumphing over evil. Three Houses, well, who is evil? Who is good? Do right and wrong choices even exist in this game? Not really. There’s a good reason to do every route but decisions in every route that are flawed.

I’m just happy neither game has child units and having to pair every character together. It worked in Awakening, but man was it a drag in Fates.