Fire Emblem Engage First Playthrough (Hard/Classic) ~ Part 1

[@avocado1845]

About Shadows of Valentia, it is probably the most fantastic remaster of a game I have ever played. It is absolutely fantastic and I definitely recommend it.

[@adamkampen]

Huge vouch that game is so good!

[@TheophrastusMNoir]

Actually my literal favorite FE just fullstop, I second that recommendation.

[@orangejuice3235]

god it's so good

[@eternalchamp3882]

except shadows of valentia is a remake not a remaster

[@DoesRocksFloat]

Game’s great. Except for the units that endlessly summon gargoyles or some shit. That made each level a grind.

[@Sacrelicious]

Hi. I recently started watching you because I was obsessed with P5. And it's been fun discovering the rest of the series and playing P4 on Switch alongside watching you. Engage is another game I've wanted to watch you play because Three Houses was my first FE last year and I put hundreds and hundreds of hours in, I was wild for it. I'm so glad all this content is here, only wish I could have found your channel sooner!

[@nepd3stiny]

As someone newer to the series it was really cool to hear your opinions as someone who’s played the series for a long time! My first game was Three Houses and I loved the story but the gameplay didn’t sell me on the series, but engages gameplay really made me want to try the older games, so I went back and played all the 3DS games and Echos is now one of my fav games ever. I just ordered a copy of Sacred Stones and I can’t wait to play it!

[@finalechance7756]

I find it funny how one of the most common ways to make fun of Fire Emblem was being confused as to which character was who, and then nearly everyone lost their sh*t the moment Alear's design was leaked.

[@googleit1131]

While I agree, using the Joycons as inspiration for hair seems... odd... The hair has grown on me since I started playing (at least with the female version), it's still a weird look

[@364-unbirthdays8]

@@googleit1131 I haven't finished the game so I might be completely off, but from where I'm at right now, it seems like there might be a lore reason for the hair, which is pretty cool. Also, I'm a massive Mika Pikazo fan and toothpaste is her defining aesthetic so I dig it

[@googleit1131]

@@364-unbirthdays8 that's fair. I haven't finished either and there does seem to be lore reasons. To me it's still an odd design (you can do multi-colored hair in other ways), but it's not nearly as annoying to see all the times as I thought it would be. In fact, I don't mind it at all at this point (although I still think it's an odd design choice personally lol).

[@364-unbirthdays8]

@@googleit1131 some of the other characters have multi-colored hair as well (a certified Mika Pikazo classic, I love it) so I imagine the straight half-half style hair was to set the MC apart from all the others. Plus it comes with the implication that the MC is "half-half" in terms of maybe ancestry...? Or like Good/Evil sides? Looking at the opening of FE Engage, it seems to support this theory. (Again, haven't reached the part where everything is confirmed, but thats what I get from it, and you wouldn't be able to really achieve that effect from any other hairstyle. It might be goofy, but at least it's effective, and imo at least it looks distinct! Definitely very different from what we've got before though, so I get why it takes time getting used to)

[@galonski64]

It funny it the hair. I played Heroes and saw many odd designs for different characters, that of hair color where the line was drawn

[@oscelios2703]

Emblems may look OP, but if you ever do a maddening run, trust me, you'll need to exploit the shit out of them to make It through alive

[@RexZShadow]

Oh I just started my first run on maddening, even just first few chapters give me run of my money and had to properly use emblem to get through. I chose maddening coz I heard it's static growth so the difficulty it actually kinda proper instead of growth rng.

[@projectmessiah]

Ive been loving this game so far (Chapter 17) and it has both exceeded and gone below my expectations in many ways

[@Claavin]

I know right, like some parts are sick and others are such a step down from Three Houses imo

[@projectmessiah]

​@@Claavin Well its definently a step down from Three Houses story and character wise but I honestly like it more in all other aspects give or take a few smaller things like the skill system. The map design for 1 is a lot better but I went into it pretty stoked about the maps for some reason and would say its like slightly above average Fe map design.

[@Claavin]

@@projectmessiah totally

[@kueyteow6288]

​@@ClaavinI think the "step down" from Three Houses is slightly unfair. Since Three Houses is really different from the other Fire Emblem games, it kinda gives the wrong expectations for Engage, but that's what I think

[@Claavin]

@@kueyteow6288 you’re right, I hadn’t thought of that. That’s a really good way of thinking, thanks for the insight

[@BorsPepsi]

I know you've played way more past this but i just wanted to say this anyway but the Somnial is honestly not that bad, it acts more of a main hub area and really isn't required to use unlike the monastery in Three Houses. It actually kinda reminds me a little of the Castle hub world in Fire Emblem Fates.

[@projectmessiah]

Actually Fe4 had the option to save at the start of every turn and Shadow Dragon has the save points

[@lukesi2389]

Thank you for having this on youtube! I'm looking forward to watching everything

[@vinsmokeray4230]

Damn this Fire Emblem Divorce is so good.

[@Claavin]

That’s the dlc

[@IamHattman]

'Clanne seems like he'll be a good mage.' Me crying cause I got m'boy killed. 😭

[@longsocks7798]

The only FE she hasn’t played is the best one

[@andrewofaiur]

I'm bummed I missed the party. You love this game for all of the exact same reasons I do. I relate to everything you said about this franchise, awakening, mechanics, etc. Literally going to watch the entire playthrough. Thanks for uploading these.

[@Rex13013]

I started with Fates then Awakening then played every game since including Engage now and I love FE, I do love certain things like that most hardcore FE fans don't like like marriage and the 2nd gen but I also loved echoes and till this day Alm is my favorite lord, and I really have been clamoring for a remake Genealogy and the Tellius games because I can't get into the older games but from all the things I know and have heard from everyone (I somewhat know about all the lords and their stories so I recognized them here) those 3 games interest me the most and are the ones I really want to see remade.

[@isakwolff5491]

I find it funny that Clanne shares the same English VA as the super fanboy Dekku from My Hero Academia xD

[@redblue151]

My first fire emblem was sacred stones. Looking back, it really is the best first fire emblem for people interested in the series.

[@lukesi2389]

Same! Sacred stones is my first fire emblem and I have been hooked since ❤

[@Drewtendo]

48:49 The simultaneous facepalm! Haha! 🤣

[@RexZShadow]

Ya I agree the older games story light and lack of VA make it hard to care about the supports, that and lvl support really annoying to level. But my God I love the game play so much. I started on Fire Emblem 7, pick it up randomly at Fry's for my birthday because it's looked cool. Best decision ever, follow by amazing sacred stone. Lot easier but so much fun too. Started my Engage run a week late because I order the divine edition on release date. Doing maddening difficulty and boy even first few chapter pushing me which been great.

[@Rex13013]

4:10:28 Aside from the stories of the Tellius games and beast units since beast and manaketes are my favorite classes in FE followed by magic classes, Nephenee is one of the character from there I really wanna get to know more about since her design is just beautiful and her FEH rendition is still one of my favorite designs from that game, her design is that beautiful to me

[@ForsythtobeReckonedWith]

Is there a world where you could stream other FE games like Shadows of Valentia, or maybe even the Tellius games? I'm such a huge FE fan. I didn't even know that you've had such a history with this series. If we don't get more no worries. It's just great to know one of my favorite streamers likes Fire Emblem too. I'm listening to the stream while I work on my masters degree, so far it's a great parring 🤣🤣.

[@crystaahhlstreams]

I'm going to try to play Shadows of Valentia soon yes! I'm interested in how they remade Gaiden, and since there has been such positive reception with me streaming FE games for the first time then, yeah I'll definitely continue to do so!

[@lukesi2389]

@@crystaahhlstreams looking forward to it! I love Shadows of Valentia ❤

[@PhantomShadow224]

I like that we don’t have a silent protag.

[@TheCrusadesWereAVibeLowkey]

I watched your deltarune play through sometime ago, glad to see you pop up again now for FE: Cringage!!

[@dylanpeddle6859]

Currently playing through Engage for the second time. Louis with the Three Houses Ring has been such an extremely powerful unit.

[@imprudentdev1503]

2:50:00 the Blue Haired Lords are: Marth, Sigurd, Hector, Ike, Kris, Lucina, Chrom, Byleth and Alear (kinda) the non-blue haired lords are: Alm, Celica, Leif, Roy, Eliwood, Lyn, Ephraim, Eirika, Micaiah, Robin, Corrin and Alear (kinda) Kinda funny that half of the Lords have blue hair

[@LuriQeciri]

Props to your editor, the thumbnail looks awesome

[@satellaadjustis9368]

HELL YEA we finally can see chrystaahhl play FEE!

[@kueyteow6288]

I'm happy to see your reactions to Fire Emblem Engage, I'm playing through it as well, I can't wait to see your thoughts!

[@wildbard4112]

I plan of watching these streams eventually, but I want to play the game first myself

[@kylegriffin2451]

Hi. New to your channel. Just wanted to say you stole my heart when you said Path of Radiance is your favorite.

[@august...4847]

The Legendary Holy Knight 🥹🙏

[@miswiredkenya7320]

So something I did with pegasus knights in Awakening (my first FE game), was turned Lissia into a flying healer, then all the other fliers that could pass on Galeforce to their children would get it. As you can guess, I played female Robin a lot. Also, I noticed that Sumia and Robin did the most damage as fliers since they had good magic growth and could utilize tomes pretty well

[@icyknight1733]

Aw man I should play more FE games, the only FE game I played is on the gba emulator, where Lyn is the main protagonist along with some other prince I think? I haven't really finished that either, plus I'm poor af ;-;. As usual thank you for these stream vods they're fun to watch or play in the background :DDD

[@firefoyx]

I feel like with Sigurd's presence in this game that a remake of genealogy is coming. Now the question is should they combine Thracia and genealogy into one game?

[@forseti5774]

Thracia and genealogy should not be combined into a single game in my opinion. For starters the game mechanics are vastly different, but then Thracia also messes with fe4's story . Thracia takes place during genealogy so the pacing would be horrendous. The only funny thing would be Masterknight Leif in thracia.

[@ArynBacklogDragon]

I was kinda getting the same feeling. He was one of the first emblems announced and that did strike me as odd seeing how he doesn't have the same notoriety as the likes of Marth, Lyn, or any of the lords in Smash.

[@ArynBacklogDragon]

@@forseti5774 they could do something like what was done with Torna in Xenoblde 2. Having Tracia as an extra DLC campaign.

[@forseti5774]

@@ArynBacklogDragon They could but since the mechanics are different, the game would have to be rebuild maybe not drop scratch but that might be a lot of work. Also people who prefer physical games might not buy Thracia as a DLC. Thracia is not a short game and a remake would be full price. In my opinion if people want to transfer some data between a genealogy remake and a Thracia remake, the games should still be separate. You could transfer data from Path of Radiance to Radiant dawn for example.

[@bumblebeeyellowdragon]

No they included all the mains/lords from the other games because this was an anniversary release game.

[@flameflyer42]

I guess I'm kinda surprised that there's such a considerable number of people who don't like Three Houses, since as far as I know, like Awakening, it's one of the more/most popular entries, and it brought a lot of new fans to the series. Is it at least partially that, like Fates, it was too different from the games that came before, such as featuring branching paths?

[@drbeeant]

I think it's that the very old fire emblem fans are more focused on the gameplay than anything else, and maps in Awakening and post-Awakening games have had somewhat compromised map design? Then they go and focus on the 'social sim' aspect for Three Houses, and a lot of old fans were upset. I think. Not super certain. I started with Three Houses.

[@flameflyer42]

I guess I can see that, I've seen at least one video where the units pre-Awakening are just that, units, barely characters, so some might find them "boring", per se, while Awakening onwards actually starting giving the units actual character, which was both a blessing and a curse, they stopped being "boring", but in return, if they happened to die before the end, the player may feel like they missed out on whatever else the character could have offered.

[@Drewtendo]

It was such a departure from the series. I learned to enjoy it for what it did. I've been curious about how newcomers from Three Houses will feel about this game of they haven't played any of the older games.

[@LuriQeciri]

9:47 I think you right Because when I saw the emblems I got more curious about their games

[@AvelineMelena]

3:34:27 I mean, Rhajat literally IS Tharja, it's largely implied during her S support with the avatar (Japanese and female exclusive i believe ?)

[@pino680]

all those people complaining about features they dont need to use lmfao. Glad that the streamer addressed that fact.

[@MaxHP1]

Rise up, fellow Tellius enjoyers 😤✊

[@bumblebeeyellowdragon]

Lumera is a Dragon not a regular human and she was dying from her essence fading that's why she could last that long.

[@dollblossom_]

This is gonna be a lame comment- but this makes me so happy! Something about this stream setup makes me feel like im hanging out with an old friend to fawn (faun?) Over a game we played so long ago. Anyways, just got this game last week and I already adore it. It's my first fe game and I'm trying to touch the earlier games to try them out! I have Three Houses ready to go but after hearing that it is very different I'm extremely hesitant to try it lol

[@LuxLoser]

OK so I don’t know if I’ve heard an FE take I disagree with more than Crystahl’s. The best FE games always have great characters and damn good stories, and 3H’s linear but limited POV story structure was phenomenal for conveying the message of how grey and messy war is. I don’t know if there was a character in 3H I didn’t like (other than Cyril), and I loved most in games like Awakening and Genealogy. Also… did she not know about recruitment in 3H? Each route has enemy units you can recruit to, like Lysithea in Edelgard’s path if you didn’t recruit her early. FE has always had characters and simple but serious stories as a strength. Which is why I really, really can’t seem to get into Engage. The Supports are ass and the story feels very Saturday Morning 4Kids Anime. So I just spam through to play a level, only to wonder why I’m going through the effort. I don’t care to keep most of these characters alive, I don’t care about saving the day. This game didn’t even do anything big with the Emblems either. The Bond convos are generic, and the paralogues do very little for understanding the Emblems if you didn’t play the game. Like… I can understand enjoying the gameplay. But I just can’t wrap my head around how anyone puts Engage over Three Houses. Hell, I wouldn’t put Engage over Awakening or Geneaology either.

[@jtalkalot19]

I love 3H but I enjoy engage more. This is inspite of engage's many many nitpicks on story and characters and that Xenologue DLC is..... something..... They really dropped the ball on that. Engage's is more corny and generic, the characters aren't anywhere as complex as they are in 3H missed opportunities are everywhere. WHERE'S MY NEW GAME PLUS!? However I enjoyed the simple "We good. They bad. They must be stopped" kinda SatAM story. The Characters are pretty basic but I found myself attached to them more quickly than most of the 3H. I enjoyed the antagonists because they were actual bad guys instead of playable characters on the other side. The gameplay I find is so much better than 3H, reminds me when I was playing Conquest, it was just fun, unless I'm playing the Xenologue. The emblem rings were so much more fun that I initially thought. I love messing around with different combinations of them. The maps were prolly my favorite in the series shotouts go the country castle maps, 10, 11 and 17. That Lyn map can go burn in hell. Yes I'm gonna be in the minority on this but as I said earlier, Engage offers me so much more as a game than what 3H offers.

[@LuxLoser]

@@jtalkalot19 If I wanted SatAM fantasy rpg, I'd go play Dragon Quest. Fire Emblem has almost always had complex characters in stories that explore darker themes. Not always when, but that's its thing. I find it funny how your explicit reasons for liking Engage are my reasons for disliking it. Cheesy, generic writing for characters with little to no depth, in a story I found predictable with villains who were cartoonish. I powered through hours and still couldn't find any compelling reason to give a single shit about any of my companions or the story objectives. Made it easier to play I guess. I just let units die and never cared enough to waste my time rewinding the clock to save them, nor did I care about wasting moves saving townsfolk in their homes.

[@jtalkalot19]

@@LuxLoser It is what it is I guess. I didn't get into Fire Emblem because of its plots of the various games, it's the gameplay and I honestly wish that more games had plots that I actually cared to follow. I love me some Crimson Flower and all the complexity behind it. I love that the other characters get mad at Byleth and other characters you recruit for joining the Empire. I really wish Conquest had a good story though, I love everything else about it though.

[@LuxLoser]

@@jtalkalot19 See I got into Fire Emblem for the story and the characters. I was never super into SRPGs or Tactics games. Liked them fine, never loved it. Then I played Fire Emblem:3H and fell in love with the story and characters, they hooked me and encouraged me to get into the series in full. So while Engage's gameplay is great, the story and characters not being a strength just kills my desire to play.

[@LuriQeciri]

9:25 i would be so stoked if they remade old FE games I have never played the gba or wii titles

[@lucifergaming8193]

Is it just me or is marth voice acting is that of Sasuke Uchiha and clanne is the same voice actor as deku from MHA

[@AmericaFuckYeah4]

It is

[@DoesRocksFloat]

Im only 13 chapters in and them drip feeding you units starts to feel overwhelming when you can’t keep up with the experience points needed to keep people leveled. Forcing you to drop them after investing in them or go grinding. I prefer the 3H approach in that they show you all your units at once and you can plan from there. You can recruit but it’s different from the classic way if doing it.

[@WillKazeOh]

I grow too attached to my characters to risk their permadeath. I play casual as a result, even with the time crystal mitigating the risk.

[@MasterPig11]

Is there anything you like about Three Houses? It's my favourite game in the series, but ive only been playing since Awakening and im a sucker for a good story

[@crystaahhlstreams]

I do enjoy a lot of the characters in 3 Houses and the story is good on an overall scale! Just dislike how the story is very incomplete no matter which route you go, and the gameplay itself is really not that great to warrant so many playthroughs to get that story D,x The gameplay is very weak for normal FE standards.

[@MasterPig11]

@@crystaahhlstreams in hindsight i could see how the gameplay is weaker than other games, but i didn't notice anything obvious at the time of playing that would have ruined it for me. I also played the Golden Deer first which I would argue is the best for getting most of the story. It was very obvious early in Engage that the story was so cheesy compared to Three Houses, but I eventually took it for what it was and enjoyed it; a very fun game.

[@devonmarcus101]

I'm going to watch your playthrough because I have to see how someone else does it. I'm frustrated with the training and skirmish scaling and unable to level characters I'd like to. The game, it seems at my early stage in this first playthrough, forces you to play the tactically best characters over and over. So at some point, due to scaling, you have to continue to play what was your best option in early game. I can't actually play the variety available (there's 35+ characters!!!). This isn't my first FE rodeo either. And though I wouldn't claim to be a FE expert (casual), I have played each one since Awakening and always on Hard and permadeath. Never been more frustrated as I am with this game.

[@Aikrehn]

I'm still early on, but pleasantly surprised by Engage. Some stuff isn't my cup of tea, but the gameplay, music, and visuals have been excellent so far.

[@imprudentdev1503]

its funny. Crystaahhl wants to use Eirika, yet Eirika is the last new emblem ring you get

[@Vinylmelody1517]

Don't know where better to ask but has she played Tokyo mirage sessions? I tried checking and didn't find anything. If she hasn't has she ever brought up the idea of playing it for her streams?

[@Trikzilla]

These 3H takes sure are something. 😂

[@domeniquebates7470]

I was wondering if this game might be a good starting point for someone who has never played a fire emblem game before?

[@xXResidentEvilrulzXx]

mechanically and gameplay wise it definetly is an good starting point and is very polished and pretty compared to older games eg the character models are really good, only little hitch is you might miss context or nostalgia for some of the emblems as they are all characters from older games. otherwise def an great starting point imo.

[@Shalakor]

I'd say GBA Fire Emblems are a good starting point. FE7 is kinda made to be a series tutorial, although Sacred Stones probably has the better flow for newbies with fairly balanced difficulty depending on which route you go and map objectives not being too repetitive but also not too complicated. Branching promotions are good for people that want a bit of choice or replayability without the wide open customization of newer games, with the few trainee units letting people really play around if they want. Although, L’Arachel must always go Valkyrie, can't not do that.

[@Drewtendo]

Pegasus/Falcon knights in 3 houses were busted for me. Nothing could touch Petra, Byleth, Shamir, or Ingrid once I made them pegasus knights.

[@imprudentdev1503]

I would say that Awakening, FE7 (western version with the tutorial) and FE6 are good entry points

[@ridleyroid9060]

Ahm... I am that guy that HAS played multiple Fire Emblem games and...ahm...didn't know who Marth was...🙈

[@chadenright]

31:50, gameplay begins.

[@LuriQeciri]

15:12 the stories are like mid tier appetizers

[@ladyholiday3863]

Lowkey wish Alear’s hair was more like Crystal’s in the thumbnail. Saw NicoB’s stream the other day and the hair/character design was the one thing he couldn’t get past. Like bull-with-a-red-cape mad. He did say he knew it was irrational, but that’s just how personal tastes can be sometimes. Anyway, glad you’re enjoying the gameplay a lot!

[@godzilla4189]

He said the same thing about Pyra and Rex's Designs in Xenoblade 2, so....

[@adamkampen]

I've been waiting to see you play FE on stream after you keep talking about the series during other games

[@Sekainoowaride]

Yeah, Cosplay Etie, you're gonna need to get yourself some Abs tho lol

[@pabloabadgonzalvez3798]

About game dificulty, yeah, early maps are easy enough. But just wait for chapter 10...

[@DoesRocksFloat]

Idk how she could tolerate joy con drift for that long. Shit’s so maddening.

[@galonski64]

I really don't understand what she mean by cheesy, or her chat, lol. I thought the story seem fun

[@arcanerite7428]

Am I the only one that realized she unselected Vander in the battle around 3:25:00 and just…never noticed 😐

[@crystaahhlstreams]

Lol it's very purposeful, not unnoticed. I don't take promoted units in any FE game in the beginning if I have the option. Don't want to waste exp and I know I don't need them there unless its the hardest difficulty for an FE game.

[@jona6079]

i love all the designs in this game they are mostly pretty good to goofy but the game isnt too serious so i dont take the goofy clothes that seriously

[@Rex13013]

2:55:14 I do love long hair on women, I just think it looks beautiful, so I do like the hair length of some of the characters here as ridiculous as they're practically, but yeah I imagine it must be a pain in bųtt to maintain and take care of so I don't blame you lol. Your hair still looks perfect at that length imo

[@LuriQeciri]

7:03 my first Fire Emblem was Fates,

[@xxhopexx2002]

Get ready for that Nintendo online ban hammer 🔨

[@LuriQeciri]

1:00:51 reminded me of the ffxiv lalafell victory pose

[@lukesi2389]

Engage!

[@tidus94]

4:35:35 I ducking love Blues Clues

[@wolfranger5526]

Ok, I am gonna give a huge hot take that a lot of OG Fire Emblem people are not gonna like. Three Houses is the best FE game hands down IMO for one simple reason that comes down to my personal preferences if a game has great gameplay and mediocre everything else it's a mid-game. It was one of the many reasons I had never really gotten into fire emblem before three houses. When characters died in classic mode in other games, I was not tempted to restart at all; I just did not care about them that much. In Three Houses if anyone (Except Lorenz) fell I was like "nope restart". This game is definitely more of a return to form in the story department which has renewed my apathy a bit for the characters. Also, Three Houses at least let the parent breathe a bit before axing them off I felt something when Geralt died, here not so much, without the great VA performance for the main character I would feel absolutely nothing. I still want to give this game a chance all the way to the end, but so far this is an indicator of where they are taking the series in the future, I might fall out of it again.

[@RexZShadow]

I agree, before there hours fire emblem was definitely game play over everything else. The story we're all very standard and super light on the gba games. Three house definitely had the best supports and made me care so much about my team.

[@xRagingDragon04x]

Flying units are weak to bow units

[@Jai_dinn]

w

[@christiandelcarmen1278]

Will she be playing Hogwarts Mystery?

[@LuriQeciri]

IMO, 3h for me is my least favorite fire emblem

[@LuriQeciri]

17:04 I agree 3h maps were bland