History VideoGame / FireEmblemEngage

*** Thieves once again revert back to not having any class change options, even though in ''Three Houses'', it is possible for anyone with this class can class change into similar thief-like classes. The game compensates this by making them function as a special class, giving them a maximum level of 40 to prevent them from [[CantCatchUp falling behind]].

** Just like Roy in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', Alear is the only character who can have a paired ending. Everyone else is stuck with just a solo ending if they aren't chosen as Alear's Ring Support.

* LivingGhost: [[spoiler:[[TheHero Alear]] is an odd case; they died and were revived as an [[FightingSpirit Emblem]], yet they still have their living body. Instead, Alear's Emblem form essentially functions as a SuperMode. They have some of the same abilities as normal Emblems, like glowing and flying, as well as being able to [[FusionDance engage]] with another party member to give them perks (which is like possession, except that the host can still control their body). However, they also have differences, like how they can still fight independently from the one they're engaged to, and still act as a separate unit. Alear is still able to eat, and their ring doesn't need to be polished. Furthermore, they're the only Emblem to not be affected by dimension destablization, which broke down the bodies of the natural Emblems (At least with the rings) in the process.]]

* LivingGhost: [[spoiler:[[TheHero Alear]] is an odd case; they died and were revived as an [[FightingSpirit Emblem]], yet they still have their living body. Instead, Alear's Emblem form essentially functions as a SuperMode. They have some of the same abilities as normal Emblems, like glowing and flying, as well as being able to [[FusionDance engage]] with another party member to give them perks (which is like possession, except that the host can still control their body). However, they also have differences, like how they can still fight independently from the one they're engaged to, and still act as a separate unit. Alear is still able to eat, and their ring doesn't need to be polished.]]

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: In the manga adaptation, almost the entire playable cast[[note]]The only ones absent are Jean, Lindon, and Saphir[[/note]], alongside the Emblems, Four Hounds, and Lumera, appear in the prologue chapter, many of who don't show up until much later in the original game.

* NintendoHard: For a game that ramps up its goofiness, it is on par with ''Thracia 776'' and ''The Binding Blade'' as among one of the hardest games in the franchise released thus far. Hordes of enemies can be really difficult to take out in enemy phase without a very tanky unit, and the protagonist Alear requires a lot of assistance from Emblem Rings, since they are otherwise fairly weak without them. Also, the hitrates here have a chance at screwing your units up, and that isn't mentioning how easy it is for both you and the enemy to attack each other, only to receive a bunch of misses instead. This game also has the most difficult iterations of boss units yet, as they tend to have multiple health bars that you have to break through, and if they happen to have (or be, in the Paralogues) an Emblem? They can ''also'' use those same special abilities that you're able to all game.

** Pandreo (the [[MagicKnight High Priest]]) and Fogado (the ''unpromoted'' mounted Archer) have higher base stat bonuses than Bunet (the Great Knight), probably to account for the latter's mobile and tough-to-kill class. Pandreo's starting class in particular is a MasterOfNone compared to that of Ivy, a Flying Tome-and-Staff-user who joins in the previous chapter, while Fogado [[PoorPredictableRock can't hit people at melee range]] in his joining chapter.

* CuttingOffTheBranches: {{Downplayed}} and PlayedWith. While many Emblems reference either optional content or [[StoryBranching certain story choices]] from previous games, "Fire Emblem"'s multiverse means there is no one true "canon" version of any game, and in any case the Emblems themselves are explicitly ''copies'' of the originals and not ''actually'' [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo said characters returned]].

** Emblem Roy mentions during his paralogue having fought Idunn, the TrueFinalBoss of ''Binding Blade''; however, he declines to tell Alear whether he killed or saved her, the latter being that game's GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:However, his boss conversation with Emblem Idunn in the final battle implies he saved her as he states he has “no quarrel... with her and wants to free her soul again.]]

** Emblem Byleth frequently mentions having been a professor at the Officers Academy and the Emblems of the house leaders recognize him as such, which only rules out variations from the ''Warriors: Three Hopes'' spin-off. However, he never mentions having to choose a specific class to teach or even the fact that ''they all literally went to war against each other before the school year was even finished'', nor which side he fought for in that conflict. There is evidence to that suggest that he taught each individual class, which is an impossibility in ''Three Houses''; ultimately, however, determining which route the ''Three Houses'' Emblems come from, if any, is fundamentally unclear.

* CuttingOffTheBranches: {{Downplayed}} and PlayedWith. While many Emblems reference either optional content or [[StoryBranching certain story choices]] from previous games, Fire Emblem's multiverse means there is no one true “canon... version of any game, and in any case the Emblems themselves are explicitly ''copies'' of the originals and not ''actually'' [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo said characters returned]].

** Seadall, fitting the series' Dancer archetype, has very limited offensive capability. However, his ability to Dance allowing another party member to take another action is incredibly useful. It can even be stacked with Byleth's Goddess Dance ability, with Seadall using Dance, another party member engagin with Byleth to use Goddess Dance on up to four others including Seadall, then Seadall dancing ''again'' to grant up to ''six extra actions'' in a single turn. His personal ability, Curious Dance, also passively heals nearby party members for added support.

* AlternateTimeline: The Fell Xenologue story in the upcoming Expansion Pass Wave 4 DLC takes place in one. [[spoiler:It's a MirrorUniverse where the traits of all named characters are flipped around and where the Emblem Bracelets from the Divine Paralogues originated. Not only are Firene, Brodia, Elusia, and Solm in the middle of a pissing match to claim ownership of all seven Bracelets, but the Divine Dragons are said to have died out, including Alear, who performed a MutualKill with Sombron when he broke free from his seal.]]

** Many bond supports from the DLC Emblem Bracelets allude they were gifted to an alternate version of Elyos where [[BizarroUniverse everyone's likes and dislikes is inverted compared to the main universe]]. Said universe is an AlternateTimeline [[spoiler:where the Divine Dragons died out, including Alear, and the four nations of Elyos are in the midst of a cold war over the Emblem Bracelets]].

** [[spoiler:Veyle]] is the only playable character who has access to the only dark magic tome in the game and even [[spoiler:has the ability to create Corrupted in-universe]]. Despite this, she's also one of the most nicest members of the cast[[spoiler:, specially once she's freed from her magical evil personality]].

* BaitAndSwitch: Early into Chapter 7, it appears Alear and Alfred are gonna need to fight Alcryst and his retainers due to a misunderstanding as they make their way to Brodia. [[spoiler:Then, out of nowhere, Alcryst ''starts running towards Alear and performs a massive jump in the air before begging for forgiveness after reaching ground'' in a pose heavy reminiscing of [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Dr. Wily]], much to the Divine Dragon and the Prince of Firene's confusion]].
* BareFistedMonk: Hand-to-hand combat returns from ''Three Houses'', though instead of [[PowerFist gauntlets]], the "Weapon" for this type of combat is Body Arts, represented by a scroll. Classes that can use Body Arts by default are the Martial Monk and its [[PrestigeClass promotions]] High Priest[[note]]Albeit specializing more in staves and tomes than Body Arts[[/note]] and Martial Master, as well as this game's incarnation of the Dancer class. Alear will also gain access to Body Arts in their default promotion class (Divine Dragon).

** The ''Season Pass'' paid DLC gives the player some extra resources and, more importantly, allows them to acquire several extra Emblem Bracelets via Paralogue missions. While some of the DLC Emblems are pretty powerful to begin with, at first it may seem they only provide some extra variety for the player to choose from. But later in the game [[spoiler:the bad guys steal all the Emblem Rings the player had gathered thus far, forcing them to slowly acquire new Emblems and try to regain the stolen ones. They do not steal any of the Bracelets though]], which makes the DLC Emblems invaluable at this point.

* DarkIsNotEvil: Zelestia--Zephia's counterpart from the Alternate Elyos--is this. In spite of her dark and gray outfit and her unique class' steed being similarly stated to be evil, Zelestia herself is a big sweetheart and lacks the malice and cruelty of her parallel self.

** The third wave added as Emblem Bracelets Veronica from ''Heroes'', and Chrom & Robin from ''Awakening'' as paid content. Meanwhile, the update turned for free Somniel's well into the Ancient Well, which can be used to obtain 2 rare A-rank weapons, as well to drop items into it in exchange for random rewards like [[JokeWeapon joke weapons]], rare Staves, and even SP books.

* {{Dracolich}}: Corrupted Wyrms are this. They're bulky undead dragons several times as big as normal units whose breath has a long range and can bypass the defense stat entirely.
* DragonsAreDivine: Elyos as a world is heavily defined by this, with every nation worshiping to one degree or another either Divine or Fell dragons as deities (albeit the isolated Pale Sands region worships Eastern Dragons of some sort). Notably the role of "god" for the people seems to be something of a title as much as the role of an individual, with Alear [[spoiler:inheriting their adoptive mother's title of Divine Dragon Monarch at the end of the game. Notably the dragons themselves embrace being treated as deities to some degree, and unlike in some other ''Fire Emblem'' worlds (where ruling dragons have a tendency to go insane or abuse their power) this arrangement has worked out pretty well for the people of Elyos (with the exception of Elusia's worship of the Fell dragon). Further, the people's definition of a god does not seem to be the same as in some other worlds, where dragons like Naga clarify they cannot be truly called gods because they lack the power of creation. The people have no issue with continuing to call Alear a god even when it becomes clear they have many human limitations.]]

** All of [[spoiler: Elyos to Sombron. He sees it as a means to an end to get back to the Zero Emblem]].
** [[spoiler: The Alternate Elyos]] seen in the Fell Xenologue somehow one ups this. [[spoiler: Everyone, literally every single person that isn't the Four Winds or the Fell Siblings is a Corrupted. No wonder they all leave for the main world when the Xenologue is over]].

* GameFavoredGender: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] compared to past titles. In terms of non-exclusive classes, gender locks are mostly removed, with every unit in the game having access to almost every class in the game, provided they have obtained the weapon proficiencies to class change into them. The only classes that are gender locked are the Sword[=/=]Axe[=/=]Lance Fliers (which ride on pegasi[[note]]Traditionally, the ''Fire Emblem'' series actively avoid putting men on pegasi due to lore reasons, justifying the gender lock[[/note]]), and they are a Base class. Rosado and Goldmary, who are faced twice as enemies, have skills that give them advantages against male units in the player's army.

** This trope is also in play for the royal siblings from the four kingdoms in Elyos. We've got an older brother and a younger sister (Alfred and Céline), an older brother and a younger brother (Diamant and Alcryst), an older sister and a younger brother (Timerra and Fogado), and an older sister and a younger sister (Ivy and Hortensia). Of the royals, four have male and female retainers (Alfred, Céline, Diamant, Hortensia), two have female retainers (Alcryst, Timerra), and the other two have male retainers (Ivy, Fogado).

** Cavalry and Flying Units now have only a +1 movement edge over their Infantry peers, and they don't get the [[PowerCreep special subclass effects introduced in this game]] for infantry. In previous entries, the edge was +2. They also lost innate Canto in this game, no longer having the ability to reposition after an action without help from Emblem Sigurd. They've also lost the ability to wield [[WhiteMagic Staves]] and [[BlackMagic Tomes]] at the same time, with the exception of the unique classes of two important characters. Further, they can no longer dismount to get get rid of their weapon weaknesses and take advantage of terrain effects. Fliers have a few other Nerfs added, including that flying class can wield bows while their own weakness to bows has been increased.

** Cavalry and Flying Units now have only a +1 movement edge over their Infantry peers, and they don't get the [[PowerCreep special subclass effects introduced in this game]] for infantry. In previous entries, the edge was +2. They've also lost the ability to wield [[WhiteMagic Staves]] and [[BlackMagic Tomes]] at the same time, with the exception of two important characters. They also lost innate Canto in this game, no longer having the ability to reposition after an action without help from Sigurd. Lastly, they can no longer dismount to get get rid of their weapon weaknesses and take advantage of terrain effects.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: And the time-honored tradition of the barefooted MysteriousWaif that began in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' continues in ''Engage'' with Veyle, who like [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Sothis]] before her only wears a pair of ankle ornaments, specifically golden chains and belts.

** After every battle during the exploration of the area, you get Bond Fragments from the units you used during it. If you leave the area without having talked to everyone, you will automatically be given all the Fragments you haven't collected yet, meaning you don't have to run around and talk to everyone to get them.

* MookChivalry: Heavily downplayed unlike ''Three Houses'' where, outside of a few maps where enemies are explicitly defending certain areas, they ''will'' send their forces at you en masse from all over the map save for, usually, the enemy commander. This makes for larger and often more chaotic engagements, but can be used to the player's advantage by posting up in a defensible spot and letting them come to you.

** ''Three Houses'' has been disparagingly refered to as "Flier Emblem" for the sheer power conferred by flying units. Nominally FragileSpeedster or GlassCannon units, their large movement range, ability to ignore terrain, allowed use of ranged attacks like bows and magic, and the "true hit" calculation leading to lots of enemy missed attacks, they could quickly become {{Lightning Bruiser}}s and there was little downside to turning most of your units into fliers. Here, they received several additional nerfs even beyond the lessened movement range and loss of innate Canto. No flying classes here can use bows, further limiting their attack range compared to ''3H''. The only generic flying class that can use staves is the Advanced Class Griffin Knight (still one of the better classes), while only the Base Class Wing Tamer (and Ivy/Hortensia's unique Special classes) can use Tomes, further restricting fliers ability to attack at range. Finally, their weakness to bows has been significantly enhanced. Even lower-leveled bow units can put a serious hurting on your fliers, while Advanced bow-using enemies like Bow Knights can dish out a painful OneHitKO if you're not careful to employ certain defensive strategies for them. Certain fliers, including the above mentioned Ivy and Hortensia, are still among the stronger classes in the game, but overall, they're no longer the force they were in ''3H''.

** ''Three Houses'' has been disparagingly refered to as "Flier Emblem" for the sheer power conferred by flying units. Nominally FragileSpeedster or GlassCannon units, their large movement range, ability to ignore terrain, allowed use of ranged attacks like bows and magic, and the "true hit" calculation leading to lots of enemy missed attacks, they could quickly become {{Lightning Bruiser}}s and there was little downside to turning most of your units into fliers. Here, they received several additional nerfs even beyond the lessened movement range and loss of innate Canto. No flying classes here can use bows, further limiting their attack range. The only generic flying class that can use staves is the Advanced Class Griffin Knight, while only the Base Class Wing Tamer (and Ivy/Hortensia's unique Special classes) can use Tomes, further restricting fliers ability to attack at range. Finally, their weakness to bows has been significantly enhanced. Even lower-leveled bow units can put a serious hurting on your fliers, while Advanced bow-using enemies like Bow Knights can dish out a painful OneHitKO if you're not careful.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', it was possible to tell which enemies would attack a given unit on the next Enemy Phase, along with their damage and chance to hit. In ''Engage'', the feature returns, but it only shows all the units that ''can'' attack a player unit(for example, if two player units are both in the range of three enemies, it will show that any of the three enemy units could attack either of the two player units) and doesn't show any information on how combat will go.