As a unit: most
Fire Emblem avatars and other leads are all-rounders--or well-rounded in their exceptionalities-- and
Engage's is no different. Whatever you make of them they will do well at, and the personal classes in Dragon Child and Divine Dragon, in addition with the prominent pairing with Marth's Emblem, suggest their natural niche and as an evasive frontline swordswinger with great Engage benefits to be utilized. They eventually could not be touched at all by most enemies.
As a character: would I have fielded the protagonist if given a choice by the game by merit of their characterization or any other factor? Surprisingly, probably. As one of the earliest images that surfaced showcasing the game's stylistic approach, it was their visual design that sold me on Mika Pikazo's design emphases from the start, something that I never really had to second-guess from that point forward. Earlier I detailed how much better the player avatar reads as an object of literal worship within the game's fiction, and allowing them to also vocally participate in the narrative does much to justify the story centering on them, as they are an individual presence within it despite embodying so many generic traits of the all-purpose vehicle for player interaction. The late-game successive twists and turns, especially facing off against their past self in a time travel episode, allow further definition of the psyche and personality that is buried under all the chaff, and whether you read them as a syncretic figure representing all past
Fire Emblem leads or as a true individual, enough of a personal identity is established along the way to enjoy either facet of their presentation. We'll always have the hair, at any rate--the plot-relevant, narratively significant lustrous locks.
As a unit: Etie's speed isn't too great, which limits her offensively, but she also has uncommonly great strength growth for an archer unit to compensate--the gains at work.
Engage is a game where archers are one of the best unit types due to the common presence of flying enemy units, the way chain attacks work for the units that can participate in them according to range, and the absence of weapon durability, making precious resources like Longbows infinitely applicable. Etie can become a Sniper for increased criticals or branch into Warrior, gaining increased melee diversity with axes and losing little in trade; if anything, her strength will further shoot up as a result. I actually benched her for a time, because the unit archetype was doing so much on its own and taking leveling opportunities away from others... but then the same thing happened with the unit that replaced her, and back came Etie, merrily onboard for the end-game.
As a character: see earlier for my overall Etie thoughts, which really didn't change much over the course of the game. I like this kind of silly and straightforward (but also allowing of a more nuanced gender theory lens) character for this kind of game, far more than I thought her class compatriot in Bernadetta functioned in
Three Houses with its dominant tone and writing style. The body diversity in the game is still very much fantasy-idealized and homogeneous, so within that framework Etie's abs-conscious presentation made her stand out from the rest. "Build" as a character stat usually informs a kind of sexual dimorphism in what kind of physical stature different characters are allowed to have, but in Etie's case I think it's actually an effective bit of characterization: her starting build value is on the low end, because she isn't physically enormous, but it's just a function of the body she has, and her own efforts in constant training can be read as reflecting her great strength potential, overcoming and compensating for those limits of her physical frame.
As a unit: if you want to style on the game, use Yunaka. Thieves will double attack most anything thanks to their speed advantage, and daggers are among the best weapon types in the game, for having two-tile range and scaling exceptionally well in refinement and engraving processes--a few of those applied and Yunaka will become the best evasive unit in the game and hit back with a 50%+ critical rate every turn. The covert unit type Thief belongs to doubles the +30 to avoidance associated with terrain tiles, and Yunaka's personal skill adds a +15% to her already astounding critical rate when she's under those effects. Daggers also poison foes, a status that does not sap health over time but acts as a defensive debuff, making her many, many counters that much more devastating for herself or her allies. Yunaka can realistically sweep entire maps by herself, and it doesn't take all that much specific set-up.
As a character: Yunaka's archetype, if you can call it that, is funny to me because I've seen it in at least in three places in the recent past, within this shared milieu of RPGs.
Persona 5 Royal,
The Caligula Effect 2 and this game all feature outwardly cheerful, nimble redheads who are presenting a front as someone they're really not--two of them are even voiced by Laura Post. Speaking of, what a performance: Post is able to embody the manufactured peppy disposition Yunaka cultivates equally as well as her lapses into the killer instinct and habit beneath the guise, or affecting both at once. The literal layers of character fundamental to Yunaka are the things many find lacking in
Engage's cast, in that she is defined fundamentally by more than one aspect or quirk about herself as she's a social pretender to the core, and makes for some of the best support fodder in the game in how she navigates other characters and through which aspect of herself. Love the pizzazz of her design, with the catsuit and star stickers arranged seemingly at abandon in her hair and on her face--perhaps it's more of her social camouflage, or just for the heck of it.
As a unit: I eventually settled on/ended up with only two staff and tome users, and Ivy was one. Wyvern flight allows her to reach anywhere she needs to, and her better-than-usual defensive stats also allow her to stay in if she chooses to. Not particularly great speed but an S-proficiency in tomes allows her to wield the weightier, most powerful magic and not care about the speed penalty that much, giving her options to fry people from three tiles away with Thoron or the like--even better if her personal skill activates. About as versatile and resilient as you could ask for.
As a character: Ivy is a main character as one of the four prominent Lords as series tradition would dictate it, and she lives up to her designated stature and prominence in every way. This is a woman of grand, imposing personage, both communicated through Pikazo's stylish and sensual attire choices for her and though Reba Buhr's dignified, reserved but vulnerable vocal expressions; a standout performance among others. There's an overarching parental theme in
Engage and how its primary cast navigate those relationships and situations, with Ivy's family in particular receiving much focus in the primary narrative and the support material that spins out of it. Her personal faith in the Divine Dragon, in opposition to her nation's dominant worship of the Fell Dragon, is utilized as an effective character beat that benefits both parties, especially as the protagonist-centered character supports tend to involve comparatively weaker material on the whole. Ivy is always interesting in any relationship she develops among the cast through her sheer force of personality and gravitas, and for the inherent nuance that often needs to be unearthed from the rest of the cast if it's there at all.
As a unit: as his personal spin on a mounted archer, Fogado was rarely out of reach of anything he needed to get to, and is able to supplement the range with a sword for up-close encounters. One of the speed demons of the group while also being no slouch defensively, and having decent magic growth for an archer leaves Fogado with a lot of niches he can patch up at will wherever he's needed. Given a Radiant Bow, he can clean house as well as anyone, and rarely be at risk himself.
As a character: Fogado is a genre archetype that in many or most instances falls completely flat in execution, in the nominally charming and suave smoothtalker verging on a Lothario.
Engage proves the exception to the rule because there's nothing untoward about Fogado's bearing, his interactions with women or the flirty asides he's prone to affecting as his social default--no personal space is crossed and no consent is violated, so we're simply left with a genuinely charming and interesting person who chooses to be affectionate with people because he actually means it without ulterior motives. It's not a treatment exclusive to women either, as he exudes what is simply himself in anyone's presence he spends time with, and is comfortable extending sincere and casual affirmation toward folks like Rosado who are gender non-conforming in presentation. You can do a "flirty" character composed of stock genre material, you just have to adhere to radical principles like "doesn't creep on women" in the execution.
As a unit: there is an actual designated lance tank in this game, but I disliked them and did not use them, so Timerra occupied the functional spot as the highest-defense unit I had. Everything broke against her shores, and she had the speed to retaliate with doubles often enough, while also activating her personal skill that further amplifies her offense. For straightforward melee units who can take a hit without solely being defined by that niche, it's difficult to pick better.
As a character: the royal siblings of Solm are individually fun characters, but both are elevated by their aural portrayal. They and their queen mother are all black characters within the game (though they could do with black hairstyles and texture) which is reflected in the casting, all being played by black actors, which is always commendable when it happens, as it is still sadly exceptional in the medium. Zeno Robinson and Dani Chambers instill an exceptional warmth and wit to their respective portrayals and sell these characters as fully realized in their personalities, especially so when they get to interact between one another and emphasize the family connection between the two. Timerra isn't that multifaceted a figure, but she doesn't need to be: she's the upbeat anchor that stabilizes the rest of the group around her, unfazed by any adversities that befall her.
As a unit: Wolf Knights like Merrin have the mobility advantage of cavalry combined with the ability to rely on knives like Thieves, making them exceedingly adaptable in utility and general enemy harassment. They don't get the specialized avoidance bonuses from terrain, but that's not so great an issue as Merrin's speed is astronomical and most of the advantages that Yunaka enjoys can be applied to her almost as effectively. Usually one is enough to shut down enemy forces, and two of them at once is just mean.
As a character: Merrin is another personal bait archetype for me, as we're talking about a genuine sword lesbian with her. She's got all the tells, from the soft butch appearance, knightly and performatively cool demeanor, and a personal skill that buffs her and other women the more of them are in close proximity to her. Of course, it is very pointedly "bait" as an operative word, as typical gal pal writing where many suggestions toward romantic affection are made on a teasing and subtextual basis but plausible deniability is always maintained--Merrin is not the sole instance of it in the game but it forms the default of her interactions with others. I found the convention particularly amusing when paired with Chloé, if only because the two combined visually echo the famous queers of the sword, in
Sailor Moon's Haruka and Michiru. Given this game's noted and seeming influences, perhaps the invocation is deliberate.
As a unit: Panette will axe you a question you don't have an answer for. She was the unit I most had to "hold back" in not sweeping maps by herself, and it's not that she's immortal as Yunaka might be--she just hits exceedingly hard, with by far the greatest strength of anyone in the roster. The single-minded focus as a Berserker plays a part in that in addition to her personal growths that prioritize strength, and the results are staggering to witness, as she'll simply demolish any heavy armour unit in her way through sheer brute force alone. Hand her a high-crit weapon and things get truly out of hand.
As a character: Timerra is introduced at once with her retainers in Merrin and Panette, and if it hadn't happened by then, that was the point at which the game completely won me over at the latest with its character designs and concepts. Panette's Halloween goth aesthetic is simply the best I've seen for a berserker bruiser type in the medium, totally upending conventions and allowing the character to occupy whatever superficially conflicting niche they're slotted into with confidence. Those qualities are present in the character herself as she affects a noble-born pretense to hide her differing origins and dubiously violent personal history, and so has complementary reflections in characters like Yunaka and Etie who also walk the lines between personal and public selves and presentation in some way--a fact the game recognizes in having those supports exist, something I took great joy in witnessing.
As a unit: one of the fastest units and by far the with the best resistance would leave Hortensia unscathed in most circumstances, but add her pegasus flight to the equation and it leaves me unsure about whether she was ever even subjected to damage throughout the game. As the game's best staff user (in her personal skill sometimes negating a spent charge) with the most mobility, Hortensia would patch up all who needed it and grew grossly powerful in the process, something which was expedited even further by me assigning Byleth's Emblem to her, as its Goddess Dance turn refresh skill was most aptly utilized by her in being able to reach the center of formations to perk up adjacent units, granting her masses of EXP as a result.
As a character: it's not particularly surprising to me at this point, but Hortensia seems to be the most vocally reviled character in the game from following various chatter about it. The things that put people off about her are partly visual design--which I don't gel with as a criticism at large in this game's case--and also good old sexist bluster; what's this chirpy teen with the impetuous bearing doing in my serious wargame? How dare she have a "bratty", high-register voice instead of a "cool" masculine one? All those qualities make her a standout in my estimation, as Amber Connor plays her to just as great but completely tonally opposite effect to her older sister Ivy, making for another sibling pair that's a joy to witness interact for those contrasts. Beyond the kneejerk dismissals and assumptions of what and who this character is, there actually exists a solid core of personal shading and nuance both in the mandatory story scenes Hortensia's part of and in the optional interactions to discover, again coming back to the recurring theme of how much of her disposition is cultivated and maintained affect in service of the role she feels she must play, and some genuinely striking pathos in her close relations that are shed light into through additional exposure.
As a unit: Seadall dances. That's it! It's all he needs to do, as the dancer archetype in utility is, as much of
Fire Emblem as I've seen, always one of its most enjoyable and strategy-expanding options. Seadall is a master of his craft in letting me push a button and see him perform his routine; he sure has never whiffed a step or a twirl.
As a character: it's not like I've actively followed
Fire Emblem for most of its existence, but even as a casual mostly outside observer, Seadall is relief embodied. Finally there's a sexy man who dances, who contorts to the boob and butt pose, who flaunts his prominent sideboob. The gendered division of women for dancing and men for barding needed to be broken down, and let Seadall upturn the first stone in the foundation and hope it actually sticks. In terms of personal experience, Griffin Puatu's voice at this point just makes me happy through positive association, as he voiced one of my favourite characters of 2022 in
Soul Hackers 2's Saizo, and the performance quality maintains here.
As a unit: try as I might, I could not identify a particular niche for Rosado, and maybe that's by design. Him and his counterpart and companion bust in on the scene covering all bases on the weapon triangle between one another and then some, leaving them safe to integrate into any configuration at the relatively late point they arrive at. Rosado was never the best unit at any individual stat or function on the battlefield for me, but he may well have been the most consistently second or third in most of them across the board. There aren't many situations and dynamics he doesn't do well in.
As a character: Rosado is instantly identifiable at a glance as signaling something very deliberate with his trans flag coloured hair, so the question to me was how the character was treated in detail. As a licensed arbitrator of Good Representation, Rosado is actually pretty positive in my eyes: there's no queer panic about him and his non-conforming identity is part of his values in ways that inform his interactions with others, whether leaning comedic or serious. Diversity is not just allegorically brought up but acknowledged as a stated goal and extant facet of the world the characters live in and how they parse it and something they might strive toward. Rosado is not the local freakshow gawked at for standing out, but addressed and interacted with as himself, his identity--whatever it may or may not be--not reducing him to just those bullet points but informing the whole. He's a cute character who values everything cute, and Brian Timothy Anderson's voice acting does not have him pitch higher to that end; he has a "masculine" voice that I presume is the actor's own standard pitch. All these things don't result in "
Fire Emblem said trans rights" but they do paint a picture that is more legible of sincere intent on both the source material and localization end of the process than the series has previously been. It's not really fair that Rosado be singled out as "the queer character" as others definitely allow that reading, but in the ways that interpretation is rendered textual in his case it's as much as inevitable, and the attention is practically all of a positive nature.
As a unit: Goldmary is a Hero, leaving her excellent at swords and good with lances. She's something of a defensive beast, with good speed and high defense, often tanking or evading whoever might directly challenge her. In a game where chain attacks and breaks are prominent ancillary mechanics, she was probably my most frequent utilizer of said effects, thanks to her general adaptability to any situation, much as a landborne Rosado as his counterpart.
As a character: Goldmary is better than you and that's the character. Such conceptual brevity might conjure up doubt as to whether the concept can hold, but let me reassure: Goldmary is perfect and it's actually hilarious. She's the embodiment of the "I'm a genius"
Gundam meme but with the punchline omitted; no comeuppance will ever come her way and she'll suffer no pratfalls for her flawlessness. There's something really refreshing about a character completely unaffected by self-doubt who can bestow her perfect graces on anyone she interacts with, even when she's acting a complete egomaniac, because it's never in ill will and the humour is found in Goldmary being able to back up all her boasts, not as a blowhard but as the Ms. Perfect of her personal and worldwide wrestling ring. No one does it better and it's her solemn duty to let everyone know so, and all we can do is receive the bestowed wisdom.
