Nintendo Switch #5

[Gecklund]

Been watching and reading about Fire Emblem Engage which releases soon. Been a huge Fire Emblem fan since the GBA days so I'm getting excited.

So far everything I'm reading about the game seems positive. It seems this will be a much more challenging game even with the ability to summon past heroes for strong on field effects. Sounds like the "academy" stuff is way streamlined, and while this isn't going to go down as the most graphically stunning game of all time, it does look like a visually better game than Three Houses, even if the environment textures still look rough in places.

The only early gripe I have is that the character design leaks were real. I don't know who green lit the art style for the character designs but it wasn't a good call. Three Houses had such unique, expressive, and memorable looking characters...probably the best in the whole series. The new characters have such samey faces that it's hard to imagine myself particularly caring about any of them from a design perspective. That can change a bit with characterization, but I feel a little let down here. I don't think character designs have been this uninspired since the Genealogy of the Holy War/16-bit era.

I took the 20th off work to play this on the release date. I know it sounds a bit weird but I have 6.5 weeks of vacation this year because I wasn’t able to take any last year so I was like huh FIRE EMBLEM! I put in well over 300 hours into Three Houses. I’m pretty excited about the more challenging aspect and getting out of the bland (after a few chapters) academy. I’m really hoping they find a way to make it less repetitive.

I’m also really interested to see how they fit the rings in story wise. I always kind of figured these games were all independent of each other apart from a few exceptions. Interesting that they are bringing them all back and sort of having them all in the same universe.

I’m still hoping they remake Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn into a Switch game like has been rumored since the switch came out.

 

[HanSolo]

I took the 20th off work to play this on the release date. I know it sounds a bit weird but I have 6.5 weeks of vacation this year because I wasn’t able to take any last year so I was like huh FIRE EMBLEM! I put in well over 300 hours into Three Houses. I’m pretty excited about the more challenging aspect and getting out of the bland (after a few chapters) academy. I’m really hoping they find a way to make it less repetitive.

I’m also really interested to see how they fit the rings in story wise. I always kind of figured these games were all independent of each other apart from a few exceptions. Interesting that they are bringing them all back and sort of having them all in the same universe.

I’m still hoping they remake Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn into a Switch game like has been rumored since the switch came out.

I'm not up on the overarching lore but I think I read that the Fire Emblem games are part of the same timeline. Couldn't tell you exactly how but the idea isn't that weird. Fire Emblem Heroes justifies collecting past and present characters under the premise that the main characters of that game belong to some different dimension and can magically summon people out of the Fire Emblem timeline to assist in the adventure.

Kinda like the fantasy of bringing the founding fathers to the present.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Three Houses was my first Fire Emblem game and I played it to absolute death. Okay, full confession, I still haven't finished my Golden Deer run but still...absolute death!

The main character in Engage looking like an complete clown really shouldn't be weighing this negatively on my interest level, but if I'm being honest.....it really is.

 

[Shareefruck]

The main character in Engage looking like an complete clown really shouldn't be weighing this negatively on my interest level, but if I'm being honest.....it really is.

Nonsense. Something like that very reasonably can ruin a game, IMO.

 

[Gecklund]

Three Houses was my first Fire Emblem game and I played it to absolute death. Okay, full confession, I still haven't finished my Golden Deer run but still...absolute death!

The main character in Engage looking like a complete clown really shouldn't be weighing this negatively on my interest level, but if I'm being honest.....it really is.

I actually don’t mind the way the main character looks. Maybe it’s because I saw early leaks where the hair colors looked much more like highlighters than it does now but I don’t think it’s that bad and the rest of the characters look good.

Just reading up on it, this really seems much more like a traditional FE game in terms of character recruitment. I don’t think it will have the same sort of replayability that Three Houses had with the different routes and story lines but I mean Path of Radiance (GameCube) I thought the same thing in terms of replayability and I probably beat that game 50 times over the years spending 40 hours or so each play through.

 

[robertmac43]

I'm looking to get some joycons that are better and more comfortable for portable play. Anyone have suggestions?

 

[Gecklund]

I'm looking to get some joycons that are better and more comfortable for portable play. Anyone have suggestions?

Just for a better idea of what you’re looking for, what do you not like about the Nintendo brand joy cons?

 

[robertmac43]

Just for a better idea of what you’re looking for, what do you not like about the Nintendo brand joy cons?

They are fine in most cases. I just want something that is more comfortable and easier to hold for longer portable sessions and travel. My hands are likely too big for the originals as well.

 

[Gecklund]

They are fine in most cases. I just want something that is more comfortable and easier to hold for longer portable sessions and travel. My hands are likely too big for the originals as well.

Hori Nintendo Switch Split Pad Pro (Black) Ergonomic Controller for Handheld Mode - Officially Licensed By Nintendo - Nintendo Switch https://a.co/d/8J87ZYF

Ive personally never used these but I know a few people that have and they like them and reviews look fine. There are a few features that you’d miss out on from normal joy cons like rumble and motion control. For me that’s no biggie whatsoever but I know some people like that.

 

[robertmac43]

Hori Nintendo Switch Split Pad Pro (Black) Ergonomic Controller for Handheld Mode - Officially Licensed By Nintendo - Nintendo Switch Amazon.com

Ive personally never used these but I know a few people that have and they like them and reviews look fine. There are a few features that you’d miss out on from normal joy cons like rumble and motion control. For me that’s no biggie whatsoever but I know some people like that.

That looks like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!

 

[Byron Bitz]

lately I’ve been losing connection very frequently while playing Mario kart 8 online. My internet seems to be working great on other devices. Is there something wrong with my Switch or is it just that the servers are bad these days?

 

[HanSolo]

Fire Emblem Engage critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.

www.metacritic.com

Pretty universal praise for the game's visuals, mechanics and gameplay but anyone hoping for a better story and characters than Three Houses will be disappointed. So I'm a bit disappointed while still being excited to get started.

 

[Jovavic]

I liked Three Houses, but not enough to finish a character's storyline. I'll probably get this when it goes on sale and knowing Nintendo, that'll be Black Friday 2023.

 

[Gecklund]

Fire Emblem Engage critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.

www.metacritic.com

Pretty universal praise for the game's visuals, mechanics and gameplay but anyone hoping for a better story and characters than Three Houses will be disappointed. So I'm a bit disappointed while still being excited to get started.

I’m actually excited it’s moving away from the same mechanics of Three Houses. While I understand why it was necessary, having all characters available from the start took away from the challenge and feel of the game. I liked the character stories and interactions but it got old real quick. The academy got super repetitive very quick. Honestly the whole game felt like moving between cutscene to cutscene to get more of the character story. I’m excited to get back to not seeing everyone right away.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I liked Three Houses, but not enough to finish a character's storyline. I'll probably get this when it goes on sale and knowing Nintendo, that'll be Black Friday 2023.

Nintendo has sales!?

 

[HanSolo]

I’m actually excited it’s moving away from the same mechanics of Three Houses. While I understand why it was necessary, having all characters available from the start took away from the challenge and feel of the game. I liked the character stories and interactions but it got old real quick. The academy got super repetitive very quick. Honestly the whole game felt like moving between cutscene to cutscene to get more of the character story. I’m excited to get back to not seeing everyone right away.

It definitely wears out its welcome by the time you get to the third path but I appreciated the investment in their characters. Not all of them were hits but for the most part I loved the characters. I'm okay with scaling that back and focusing more on the adventure and the gameplay but I hope it's not rendered irrelevant either. I think a happy medium would've been making social interactions/character support-back story work completely optional without in game combat incentives but still there if you wanted to take it in.

Then again if the gameplay is significantly better, I don't mind the sacrifice too much.

 

[Gecklund]

It definitely wears out its welcome by the time you get to the third path but I appreciated the investment in their characters. Not all of them were hits but for the most part I loved the characters. I'm okay with scaling that back and focusing more on the adventure and the gameplay but I hope it's not rendered irrelevant either. I think a happy medium would've been making social interactions/character support-back story work completely optional without in game combat incentives but still there if you wanted to take it in.

Then again if the gameplay is significantly better, I don't mind the sacrifice too much.

I think most of the past games played it well with the “support” system so you can see a bit of the interaction/backstory. I will say I do like the Paralog missions but I don’t think those will transfer.

 

[HanSolo]

I think most of the past games played it well with the “support” system so you can see a bit of the interaction/backstory. I will say I do like the Paralog missions but I don’t think those will transfer.

I think the big difference for me was fully voice acted support conversations and chapter cutscenes. It made the characters feel more alive. Like I said, I can take scaling back but not too much.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Hori Nintendo Switch Split Pad Pro (Black) Ergonomic Controller for Handheld Mode - Officially Licensed By Nintendo - Nintendo Switch Amazon.com

Ive personally never used these but I know a few people that have and they like them and reviews look fine. There are a few features that you’d miss out on from normal joy cons like rumble and motion control. For me that’s no biggie whatsoever but I know some people like that.

That looks like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks!

I don't have big hands but I also needed a bigger grip for the handheld mode. I went with the Hori Split Pad that SJS suggested and I'm happy with it.

 

[HanSolo]

Irrationally hyped to play Engage tonight.

I don't have big hands but I also needed a bigger grip for the handheld mode. I went with the Hori Split Pad that SJS suggested and I'm happy with it.

Cool to see a Hori mention. My two wired switch controllers are by Hori because after three official Nintendo controllers broke down with drift and who knows, maybe 4 or 5 sets of f***ed joycons those two Hori controllers were godsends. Two-three years later they still work like new.

Thankfully my most recent set of joycons have lasted a long time with no issues so no need for the linked controllers but I've definitely bookmarked them in case my joycons crap out.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Irrationally hyped to play Engage tonight.


Cool to see a Hori mention. My two wired switch controllers are by Hori because after three official Nintendo controllers broke down with drift and who knows, maybe 4 or 5 sets of f***ed joycons those two Hori controllers were godsends. Two-three years later they still work like new.

Thankfully my most recent set of joycons have lasted a long time with no issues so no need for the linked controllers but I've definitely bookmarked them in case my joycons crap out.

Just so you're aware, the Hori Split Pad only works when they're connected to the Switch itself. I think I phrased that correctly. Snapped to the screen? Whatever, I think people will know what I'm talking about.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Nintendo has sales!?

Yeah! $5 off your favorite game that came out in 2017

 

[93LEAFS]

Nintendo has sales!?

A first party nintendo game? You might see it go down from $80 to $55 CAD once inawhile. I'm on PC, PS5 and Switch. I don't care too much about specific Steam or PS sales, as I know I'll likely see them again. Nintendo, you jump on that if it is a first-party game you want.

 

[HanSolo]

Only made it through about five chapters last night. Everything seems solid so far. The story isn't overly compelling but it's not bad either. It's shaping up like a standard Fire Emblem plot but what I liked about Three Houses was that while the story wasn't exactly War and Peace, there was a lot more at play. Geo-political intrigue and tension over a dominant religion, etc. This feels way more scaled back in scope.

Spoiler

Like there *are* multiple kingdoms here but it feels like they're going to mostly serve as backdrops for battles for Alear to obtain new emblem rings with just a smattering of location relevant backstories, but the main plot driving is the villain waking up and incurring war and strife. That's just not as compelling.

And I'm definitely seeing what the reviewers were talking about regarding deemphasizing character writing. Everyone has unique personalities but there doesn't seem to be as much emphasis on dedicating effort to fleshing these characters out five chapters in.

Have to echo the reviewers again though because the visuals are super crisp compared to Three Houses and the maps have been great so far. I made the choice to start on normal difficulty to be able to play through the content quicker but I'm definitely going to give it a hard difficulty playthrough and maybe even maddening if the game shapes up to be strong throughout.

So far it's a very solid entry in the series but some of the things I really liked about Three Houses just isn't here.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

Only made it through about five chapters last night. Everything seems solid so far. The story isn't overly compelling but it's not bad either. It's shaping up like a standard Fire Emblem plot but what I liked about Three Houses was that while the story wasn't exactly War and Peace, there was a lot more at play. Geo-political intrigue and tension over a dominant religion, etc. This feels way more scaled back in scope.

Spoiler

Like there *are* multiple kingdoms here but it feels like they're going to mostly serve as backdrops for battles for Alear to obtain new emblem rings with just a smattering of location relevant backstories, but the main plot driving is the villain waking up and incurring war and strife. That's just not as compelling.

And I'm definitely seeing what the reviewers were talking about regarding deemphasizing character writing. Everyone has unique personalities but there doesn't seem to be as much emphasis on dedicating effort to fleshing these characters out five chapters in.

Have to echo the reviewers again though because the visuals are super crisp compared to Three Houses and the maps have been great so far. I made the choice to start on normal difficulty to be able to play through the content quicker but I'm definitely going to give it a hard difficulty playthrough and maybe even maddening if the game shapes up to be strong throughout.

So far it's a very solid entry in the series but some of the things I really liked about Three Houses just isn't here.

Okay but the more important question here is who is the best waifu?