Fire Emblem Engage, the latest title in Nintendo and Intelligent Systems' long-running tactical role-playing series, deviates from previous titles in a major way. While it introduces new characters on a brand-new continent fighting a war against powerful enemies, these characters will be granted the power to summon previous Fire Emblem protagonists using magical rings. Trailers and teaser images for the game show new characters interacting with their summoned Emblems, but Fire Emblem Engage would also benefit from including conversations and interactions between the legacy characters.
Previous Fire Emblem titles have utilized a Support system, in which characters can build points by fighting alongside each other or performing out-of-battle activities together such as meals or chores. The characters can then unlock special Support Conversations which reveal more about their personalities, cover important lore and backstory information, and even lead to romance. It is likely that Engage will feature the return of the Support system, given its popularity in prior titles. If it does, Supports between the Emblems should be included - and, if they are not, the Emblems should still be able to converse with one another and interact outside the battlefield. This would add more depth to the Emblems' inclusion and provide fun interactions for longtime fans of the series to enjoy.
Fire Emblem Warriors Proved Cross-Game Conversations Work
Previously, there has been one title in the Fire Emblem series which featured characters from other games interacting with one another: Fire Emblem Warriors, a musou-style spinoff developed by Koei Tecmo. The game also featured original characters summoning past Fire Emblem protagonists, and included multiple summonable characters from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Fire Emblem Fates as well as Lyn from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentina. Warriors featured a modified version of the Support system, in which characters could have a single conversation upon reaching Rank A.
While reception to Fire Emblem Warriors was generally mixed, these opportunities for characters from different games to interact received praise. Many were humorous, such as characters from Fates meeting the parents of their retainers, who originated from Awakening or Awakening's Chrom and Fates' Ryoma - both voiced in English by Matthew Mercer - discussing their similarities. Others added to the lore of the series, such as Shadow Dragon's Caeda - the series' first ever Pegasus Knight - meeting other flying knights and learning how pegasus training and combat had evolved. These conversations made a well-liked addition to a game with an otherwise lacking story and character building.
Many of Engage's Emblems Are Connected
Current trailers for Fire Emblem Engage seem to indicate that, unlike Warriors, only one character from each previous main series title can be summoned. However, despite each Emblem presumably coming from a different game, they still have connections and reasons why they might interact with one another. Most notably, Marth from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is the ancestor of Lucina from Awakening, and the latter disguises herself as the former due to her admiration of the legendary figure. Celica and Sigurd, from Echoes and Genealogy of the Holy War respectively, also come from the same continent - albeit in the far distant past - as Marth and Lucina. Other characters have personality or backstory connections, such as Path of Radiance's Ike and Three Houses' Byleth both working as mercenaries or Roy from Blazing Blade and Leif from Thracia 776 both following in the footsteps of their legendary fathers.
Whether the Emblems can interact with one another may be revealed in an upcoming trailer, or may be kept secret until Fire Emblem Engage launches in 2023. Until then, fans continue to theorize about both the Emblems and the new characters - including protagonist Alear, one of the series' first Divine Dragon main characters - and how they will interact with one another.
Fire Emblem Engage will release for the Nintendo Switch on January 20, 2023.
