How Fire Emblem Engage Fell Short of Fans' Hopes

Fire Emblem has grown a lot in the last ten years, but with that comes the occasional growing pains. Following up the success of Three Houses wasn’t going to be an easy task, but Fire Emblem Engage has…stumbled in that regard, with critical reception and sales numbers a step back from its predecessor. While not a failure by any means, something about Engage just hasn’t resonated as well with Fire Emblem’s newfound audience.

So…what went wrong?

Let’s look at the potential reasons why Engage has struggled to carry the series’ momentum. Between its on the series’ fanbase, its rushed marketing cycle, and other missteps, there’s a lot to go over and it’s not as simple as so many knee-jerk reactions have made it seem.

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Support via Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/Delzethin
Graphic design by Voyager: https://twitter.com/Fire_Voyager
Post-production assistance by Neoxon: https://twitter.com/Neoxon619

Additional Sources:
Evidence of Fire Emblem Engage Delay, via Daniel Vuckovic – https://twitter.com/VOOK64/status/1617867735945605120
FE4 Remake Box Art Mockup, by Daniel Alba – https://twitter.com/EvernightStudio/status/1478063609649504260
Fire Emblem Engage Donation Costs (Serenes Forest) – https://serenesforest.net/engage/somniel/donations/
Fire Emblem Engage Unit Base SP (Serenes Forest) – https://serenesforest.net/engage/characters/other-data/
Fire Emblem Series Total Sales (VG Sales Wiki) – https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Fire_Emblem
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Fire Emblem Awakening – Opening Cinematic (Shadowofchaos725): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v3U7T-G38olo
Fire Emblem Engage – Alear & Diamant Support Conversations (PlayerWes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vB5vOAWsBvi8
Fire Emblem Engage – Alfred & Céline Support Conversations (Justonegamr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vPELr2WxKe4w
Fire Emblem Engage – Announcement Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v3ExaJIB5Phk
Fire Emblem Engage – Chapter 18 Gameplay (Omegaevolution): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vUmw5FJ39SBk
Fire Emblem Engage – Diamant vs. Corrupted Morion (Faz Faz): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vjSy7YEa3TBo
Fire Emblem Engage – DLC Wave 4 Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vE_oeDuN3i6M
Fire Emblem Engage – Emblem Celica Paralogue (Omegaevolution): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v6sraAPwAk0I
Fire Emblem Engage – Fell Xenologue, Part 1 (Linkmstr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vfnDkAi7i8b8
Fire Emblem Engage – Final Boss & Ending (BuffMeister): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vVwhx2f-iu94
Fire Emblem Engage – Lumera Finds Past Alear (Segiri): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v7qB8Dxd3x6c
Fire Emblem Engage – Tower of Trials Guide (Iced Coffee Gaming): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vs3jAfW1zaSI
Fire Emblem Fates – All Cutscenes (PheonixMaster1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?voIfYKm_vSfQ
Fire Emblem Fates – My Castle Address Guide (Lucky Crit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v4AlCe3llNZA
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Announcement Tailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vrkux5h0PeXo
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – DLC Wave 4 Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vI5USF9-BtoY
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – E3 2019 Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vADaRsEhTB70
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – New Game Plus Features (The Sacred Spear): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vJmb7hBW7ZyQ
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Playthrough, Part 1 (Linkmstr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vY9oK9EP7-Wo
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Playthrough, Part 2 (Linkmstr): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vCCEi46G7Qfk
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – Announcement Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vuDMWRRAEogs
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Official Trailer #3 (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vuHGShqcAHlQ
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Announcement Trailer (Nintendo of America): https://www.youtube.com/watch?vt-iNpDKuYb8

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