'Fire Emblem Engage' a fever dream of tactical battles, political intrigue

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A compelling hybrid of anime-style storytelling and strategic battles, "Fire Emblem Engage" goes back to the roots of Nintendo's sprawling franchise and delivers a fresh, vibrant take on the material.

Your hero — you start by choosing between a man or woman — awakens after a thousand-year slumber and gets reacquainted with a kingdom in distress.

Your party heads off on a quest to take on the Fell Dragon, which is also awakening from centuries of dormancy.

Iconic characters from the past, such as Marth, join the fray. You guide your party into sprawling battles that unfold over wide ranges of terrain, which add wrinkles, advantages and pitfalls to the combat.

After last year's "Dynasty Warriors"-style action breakaway "Fire Emblem: Three Hopes," the traditional tactical combat is back.

There's a rock-paper-scissors dynamic to the combat, with swords taking the advantage over axes, axes being one-up on archers and archers getting the best of sword-wielders.

Movement, advantageous position and especially momentum can turn the tide of any battle, with the titular team-up "engage" system helping you execute hyper powered attacks that shatter the enemies' defenses.

Less interesting is the soap opera-style writing, which is laden with eye-rolling moments and cliches. You lose little by skipping the cut scenes and jumping toward the next battle scenario. Some of the battle animations, while impressive at first glimpse, become tiresome and long-winded when executed repeatedly.

Bulging with fan service and bolstered with cut-throat tactics, "Fire Emblem" gives fans just what they want, and is accessible enough to allow newcomers entry without having played a past game. It's a promising start to a year of first-party Switch exclusives.