iced coffee edited video! you did great with this, I love it. engage is a pretty good game, but the best part is the memes and the community that came along with it. keep up the good work ICG :)
Why? Can't enjoy a game for the gameplay does Mario need to have story? Do games like into the breach, battle brothers, or XCOM 2 I need a narrative? Can't have tactically challenges that test your critical thinking to overcome?
@@DonkeyAndy if you play a game like mario you know the story does not mean anything the story does not matter if you play fire emblem three houses where all the characters and story are really good and you get this… playing with characters with no build up it does matter
I know theres a jokes, gaffs, laughs, and yucks in this review, but 1:25 “engage actually cares about it’s mechanics and difficulty” is a really good way to describe the this game I think. It really feels like they put a lot of thought and care into the various system mechanics, and how they interact with the units and emblems you receive, and the maps you use them on. I agree that positioning is also extremely important in enagage and what makes it so fun. You really have to think ahead about what youre gonna do
There is definitely a level of intentionality around the balance. For example often times you are reaching exact lethal on maddening with solid setups ( for example if you immediately make Kagetsu a wyvern he one rounds several enemies on the next map exactly with a steel sword)
COFFE MAN COOKED The one thing I disagree with is about how stories don't matter, though. However, I understand that it's simply because we simply don't play video games the same way. FE has the potential of having good story telling, in my opinion. Many narrative driven are fan favorites simply because of its story, (XC3, FF9, P3R, etc), meaning that gaming is a great medium for story telling. There's simply no other medium that you get to be as close to the characters as video games, because you get to struggle and actually be one of them through gameplay. Agreed with other points. FE Engage is a great game. No other game has had me replayed as many times as Engage.
hard mode on engage is so satisfying when you clutch those stage because your strategy. yeah engage has peak fe gameplay alongside conquest, something that 3h messed up were its difficulty
Fellow cutscene skipper here. I agree with you about having low expectations for video game stories. My two exceptions I would suggest you check out are The Last of Us and The Witcher 3. They legit raise the bar.
Hey! I gave Etie a ton of favoritism in my current maddening playthrough and with Lyn she can double SOME enemies! She's good... (Just kidding she is terrible. Cute though).
I always give the cutscenes a chance but I get bored about a minute in and skip them😅. Great review ICG. I fell in love with engage. It’s one of the best FE gameplay experiences ever.
It feels good to hear someone acknowledge that game reviewers do a bad job of giving a summary of game mechanics. Good point about the concept of skill floor and ceiling. I think Fire Emblem does an excellent job of having both a low floor and a low ceiling (vs. something like a SaGa game which has both a high floor and a high ceiling). But people can sometimes waste too much time on the Monastery or the Somniel when they don't need them anymore and just waste time.
I have not played a single game without skipping at least most of the cutscenes but I do think there are games that have stories that can rival some books and shows. like I’d much rather watch the plot to xenoblade 3 play out than sit through toy story 4
You should try dipping your toes in fire emblem rom hacks if you want to try out something new, Bells of Bylene is especially one I reccomend. If you dont like any of the roms after a few maps, you can make a video of how the rom fell short in terms of gameplay mechanics, difficulty, and challenge. If you do like it, you can make a vid on how it was an enjoyable experience. Either way its a win win with no risk of wasting money since it's a free download.
Anything else less than 10/10 Masterpiece is unacceptable! Fire Emblem Engage is the best strategy game, Fire Emblem game, and one of the best games ever made. Next month we get Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door [Full Remaster] which is also a 10/10 Masterpiece.
The Mass Effect Trilogy. Could've easily have been that generation's Star Trek TNG if it was a show. I'm glad it wasn't though. I loved playing as Shepard.
>Most video games have bad stories I mean the common denominator of any medium is average or subpar >Especially Compared to Movies TV shows and Books See the above comment. I think the narrative heights of video game storytelling are up there with some of the best movies and offer a distinctly different experience due to the interactivity of gaming. I couldn't get into engage properly because of this at the end of the day If I don't care about the characters I'm playing around with and the world I'm in the game has no flavor. Triangle Strategy isn't the greatest story ever written but its captivating and as a result I find myself doing challenge runs and just replaying it again and again same with FE 4 and 5. By comparison Engage or even like Unicorn Overlord don't have anything to keep me engaging with the world.
Unicorn ain't all that bad, it's just the game is TOO EASY even on Expert and TZ where mid-game it's just 1-2 squads steamrolls everything with braindead OP combos and almost zero counters. Engage however still makes me rethink my movements, units, resources even when entering mid-late game where you have every tools at your disposal.
3:31 You should try Yasumi Matsuno games. Particularly Tactics Ogre, FFT, and Vagrant Story. He is one of the best writers in all of videogames. Tactics Ogre is particularly impressive for its extremely ambitious plot and political themes for a 1995 game. It's still arguably the best SRPG story all these years later.
I don’t agree with saying that Engage without rings is the best way to play it, since the emblem rings are such an intrinsic part of the game. They allow you to do so many cool and fun strats (see reploids 0% growth run for example) that you just can’t do in other games. It would be like saying fates without pair-up is the best way to play the game. But hey, I’ve never done a ring-less run, only a no sommniel ironman so what do I know.
I really don't mind if a game has literally no story, I am there for gameplay 100%. If it has a good story that's neat but I will still skip the cutscenes
@IcedCoffeeGaming yea at the end of the day if it's what you like that's all that matters. Good videos man I've watched like half of them since starting FE with this game (I don't count a few hours of fates before quitting)
This feels more like a “retrospective” kind of video. It probably doesn’t help people who are thinking about buying the game. Good for veterans to listen on the side though.
Commenting for the ENGAGEment 😅 I’ve been following you since Engage first released so I’m always happy to see you still making videos on the game! Of course I’m into Unicorn Overlord atm and watching those too! Keep it up my fellow iced coffee gamer!
“only development I need to see is that people finally acknowledge that TIMERRA is objectively stronger than Goldmary-“ Me: you know what, that’s a valid point. I’ve undervalued little Timmy in the past and maybe I should give her a chance. After all, sandstorm is a good skill and I might enjoy using her. “-who is a bad u-“ NURRRRRRRR
I actually think Berserker Etie is her best class (Smash+ is a bait, don't use Smash weapons unless you cannot take damage through broken target, Chrom, bows, etc.). Etie might be B tier, but you can make her a really strong damage carry quite easily WITHOUT stat boosters or tonics.
I reference ringless no somniel a few times throughout the video but the main focus is on the actual mechanics of the game. Not sure if you are trying to strawman me intentionally or just haven't recovered from when I dunked on you over this game's bad pvp game mode no one plays.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Wth recover? from a dunking... that never happened? what are you talking about? Ig I expected more from a 2000 hour review, but perhaps you hadn't meant for this to be a more comprehensive review of the game. Say I got clickbaited by the thumbnail and this is all a misunderstanding
@@AstraProc Sure, in theory, until the story/writing/characters/music is so insufferably bad it makes you put down the controller because of how un-engaged you are with it. Engage’s gameplay is objectively one of the best we’ve seen, but even still 3 houses is a better game for it’s characters / story / world building alone and i’d far recommend it over Engage.
@@creamshiplive4625 well that never happened with me and I don’t see that happening with other hardcore fans of fire emblem gameplay. Although, I do actually think the gameplay gets overrated. It has quite a few issues such as the Somniel existing, an uninspired class system, uninteresting and unbalanced classes, bad unit balance in a way that punishes investment in early game units, bad personal skills, just to name a few. It’s because of this that I think fates is still more relevant in the community, especially RUclips, than engage is, even though fates has a story just as bad What I can say is that bad story and characters definitely shorten the public relevance of a game, especially if said game comes directly after an entry with one of the best stories and straight up the best characters. That definitely matters for sales, meaning that story & characters do matter for sales at least lol.
@@AstraProc so story matters for… sales. and 3 houses being the most relevant / highest selling game of them all is because of…. characters. very roundabout way of saying that story and characters matter. Also acting like you don’t see other “hardcore fans” becoming uninterested in Engage is just cope / braindeadism
I was promised a 2000 hour review but this review is only 11 minutes. What gives?
Only 2,000 hours? What a casual.
This might be the best video on your channel ngl
TBH, I still Fire Emblem Engage. And I’m loving it more after did my analysis on the game.
Iced Coffee Editing? Lets goo
iced coffee edited video! you did great with this, I love it. engage is a pretty good game, but the best part is the memes and the community that came along with it. keep up the good work ICG :)
story doesnt matter..... yeah it kinda does?
Why? Can't enjoy a game for the gameplay does Mario need to have story? Do games like into the breach, battle brothers, or XCOM 2 I need a narrative? Can't have tactically challenges that test your critical thinking to overcome?
@@DonkeyAndy if you play a game like mario you know the story does not mean anything the story does not matter if you play fire emblem three houses where all the characters and story are really good and you get this… playing with characters with no build up it does matter
@@larsstavenuiter424 FE3H fan detected opinion discarded
Do it 5 more times and you will achieve the 10,000 hour skill mastery
Still no Maddening+ balanced around DLC, gaem frickin sux
I know theres a jokes, gaffs, laughs, and yucks in this review, but 1:25 “engage actually cares about it’s mechanics and difficulty” is a really good way to describe the this game I think. It really feels like they put a lot of thought and care into the various system mechanics, and how they interact with the units and emblems you receive, and the maps you use them on. I agree that positioning is also extremely important in enagage and what makes it so fun. You really have to think ahead about what youre gonna do
There is definitely a level of intentionality around the balance. For example often times you are reaching exact lethal on maddening with solid setups ( for example if you immediately make Kagetsu a wyvern he one rounds several enemies on the next map exactly with a steel sword)
let's gooooooooo this was really good!
Thanks : )
FE: Engage- its alright, i guess.
2000 hours, no time for cutscenes or story.
A man after my heart ❤️
COFFE MAN COOKED
The one thing I disagree with is about how stories don't matter, though. However, I understand that it's simply because we simply don't play video games the same way.
FE has the potential of having good story telling, in my opinion.
Many narrative driven are fan favorites simply because of its story, (XC3, FF9, P3R, etc), meaning that gaming is a great medium for story telling. There's simply no other medium that you get to be as close to the characters as video games, because you get to struggle and actually be one of them through gameplay.
Agreed with other points. FE Engage is a great game. No other game has had me replayed as many times as Engage.
hard mode on engage is so satisfying when you clutch those stage because your strategy. yeah engage has peak fe gameplay alongside conquest, something that 3h messed up were its difficulty
There is no point to mention pre-well game anymore since everyone that gets Engage now will experience hero weapons, update items, and Ancient Well.
Right but the OG day-1 FE fans will always member 😢
Fellow cutscene skipper here. I agree with you about having low expectations for video game stories. My two exceptions I would suggest you check out are The Last of Us and The Witcher 3. They legit raise the bar.
I think the lowered movement was my favorite change to the formula. I kinda hope they keep that
Hey! I gave Etie a ton of favoritism in my current maddening playthrough and with Lyn she can double SOME enemies! She's good...
(Just kidding she is terrible. Cute though).
TWO- TWO THOUSAND. HOW DO YOU DO THAT
The Timerra part literally made me lol 😂 and also it’s not an Etie bashing with out Or_ange. Great video. I would definitely like to see more.
I always give the cutscenes a chance but I get bored about a minute in and skip them😅.
Great review ICG. I fell in love with engage. It’s one of the best FE gameplay experiences ever.
It feels good to hear someone acknowledge that game reviewers do a bad job of giving a summary of game mechanics. Good point about the concept of skill floor and ceiling. I think Fire Emblem does an excellent job of having both a low floor and a low ceiling (vs. something like a SaGa game which has both a high floor and a high ceiling). But people can sometimes waste too much time on the Monastery or the Somniel when they don't need them anymore and just waste time.
A rousing success for your first heavily edited video ICG! Well done!
I have not played a single game without skipping at least most of the cutscenes but I do think there are games that have stories that can rival some books and shows. like I’d much rather watch the plot to xenoblade 3 play out than sit through toy story 4
4:17 “not having enough time to watch cutscenes” but enough time to play 2000 hours of fire emblem?😅 /j
I'd have less actual playtime if I watched those cutscenes though. I may not be an LTCer but I try to be efficient
You should try dipping your toes in fire emblem rom hacks if you want to try out something new, Bells of Bylene is especially one I reccomend. If you dont like any of the roms after a few maps, you can make a video of how the rom fell short in terms of gameplay mechanics, difficulty, and challenge. If you do like it, you can make a vid on how it was an enjoyable experience. Either way its a win win with no risk of wasting money since it's a free download.
Anything else less than 10/10 Masterpiece is unacceptable! Fire Emblem Engage is the best strategy game, Fire Emblem game, and one of the best games ever made.
Next month we get Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door [Full Remaster] which is also a 10/10 Masterpiece.
Nothing like a take on Engage's story while executing Operation Teacup onscreen
Engage is my favorite game gameplay-wise, but a lot of people hate it simply because of the art style.
Last time I checked, the art style wasn't the only thing people disliked about the game, nor was it the thing most people disliked.
Umm mm but what about [once-in-a-lifetime masterfully-written game on par with many prestige TV show or movie]????
Such as?
@@IcedCoffeeGaming 😰😰😰
I haven't played any myself but I'm sure someone can think of an exception
The Mass Effect Trilogy. Could've easily have been that generation's Star Trek TNG if it was a show. I'm glad it wasn't though. I loved playing as Shepard.
We already have Etie cope in the comments, I can't 🤣
Choopi always chooping everything
>Most video games have bad stories
I mean the common denominator of any medium is average or subpar
>Especially Compared to Movies TV shows and Books
See the above comment. I think the narrative heights of video game storytelling are up there with some of the best movies and offer a distinctly different experience due to the interactivity of gaming.
I couldn't get into engage properly because of this at the end of the day If I don't care about the characters I'm playing around with and the world I'm in the game has no flavor. Triangle Strategy isn't the greatest story ever written but its captivating and as a result I find myself doing challenge runs and just replaying it again and again same with FE 4 and 5. By comparison Engage or even like Unicorn Overlord don't have anything to keep me engaging with the world.
funny how i hated triangle strategy and loved engage and UO
The short version… it’s dope.
The long version:
It's very dope
I can't tell if you like it or not
The editing is great! Nice job. Interested to hear the other parts :)
Unicorn Overlord SUCKS!!!
Unicorn ain't all that bad, it's just the game is TOO EASY even on Expert and TZ where mid-game it's just 1-2 squads steamrolls everything with braindead OP combos and almost zero counters.
Engage however still makes me rethink my movements, units, resources even when entering mid-late game where you have every tools at your disposal.
FINALLY. Another Timerra truther. Sandstorm ftw
3:31 You should try Yasumi Matsuno games. Particularly Tactics Ogre, FFT, and Vagrant Story. He is one of the best writers in all of videogames. Tactics Ogre is particularly impressive for its extremely ambitious plot and political themes for a 1995 game. It's still arguably the best SRPG story all these years later.
I don’t agree with saying that Engage without rings is the best way to play it, since the emblem rings are such an intrinsic part of the game. They allow you to do so many cool and fun strats (see reploids 0% growth run for example) that you just can’t do in other games. It would be like saying fates without pair-up is the best way to play the game. But hey, I’ve never done a ring-less run, only a no sommniel ironman so what do I know.
Poor man has never had a good story in a game. Agree with most of everything else but that one was almost sad to hear.
Gameplay > Story.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming you don't have to choose one or the other for games that can do both. FE just sucks at story
I really don't mind if a game has literally no story, I am there for gameplay 100%. If it has a good story that's neat but I will still skip the cutscenes
@IcedCoffeeGaming yea at the end of the day if it's what you like that's all that matters. Good videos man I've watched like half of them since starting FE with this game (I don't count a few hours of fates before quitting)
This feels more like a “retrospective” kind of video. It probably doesn’t help people who are thinking about buying the game. Good for veterans to listen on the side though.
Hmm would you recommend it??
Yes
Huh, where is the 2000 hour Fallout 4 review? (Also, just noticed the editing lol dude)
Don’t mean to be negative I think your points are all valid and logical and I also really enjoyed the video.
Commenting for the ENGAGEment 😅 I’ve been following you since Engage first released so I’m always happy to see you still making videos on the game! Of course I’m into Unicorn Overlord atm and watching those too! Keep it up my fellow iced coffee gamer!
“only development I need to see is that people finally acknowledge that TIMERRA is objectively stronger than Goldmary-“
Me: you know what, that’s a valid point. I’ve undervalued little Timmy in the past and maybe I should give her a chance. After all, sandstorm is a good skill and I might enjoy using her.
“-who is a bad u-“
NURRRRRRRR
*scratches head*
i cant tell if this is a good game or if your completely trolling...
i am so confused on if i should get this now O_o
You should get it.
Bro has more ours in this game than I do in me esports game.
I actually think Berserker Etie is her best class (Smash+ is a bait, don't use Smash weapons unless you cannot take damage through broken target, Chrom, bows, etc.). Etie might be B tier, but you can make her a really strong damage carry quite easily WITHOUT stat boosters or tonics.
Why not warrior at that point?
@@readtherules7101 Berserker has more strength, they can just one shot their target easier. Warrior good if you want bows too.
I want my 10 mins back, this vid is some weird ass rant about playing engage with no rings and no somniel.... what the hell is even that
I reference ringless no somniel a few times throughout the video but the main focus is on the actual mechanics of the game.
Not sure if you are trying to strawman me intentionally or just haven't recovered from when I dunked on you over this game's bad pvp game mode no one plays.
@@IcedCoffeeGaming Wth recover? from a dunking... that never happened? what are you talking about?
Ig I expected more from a 2000 hour review, but perhaps you hadn't meant for this to be a more comprehensive review of the game. Say I got clickbaited by the thumbnail and this is all a misunderstanding
@@unhingedmanchildyour name checks out
@@unhingedmanchild you should probably actually pay attention to what you watch before commenting
Do you know much about the ocean? Lol
More of these kind of videos plz.
This whole review is a yikes
Oh noooooo
Hi Iced Coffee Gaming
timerra at 0:00
Lol
Fear the chloe
Respect ✊
Algoritm comment
i liked this video style! would watch again. also, fuck the etie stans
Imagine having to limit your style of play to enjoy the game, clearly the game is bad. Jokes aside I felt like this review was very satire.
Tell me you don’t watch his content without telling me you don’t watch his content.
@@inspectorvoid it’s either a stream joke or an actually draft of a review but like the semi depth analysis had me puzzled.
😮
1:16🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
1:38 loll bro flying canto units with curve shot is crazyzy☠☠☠☠☠☠
6:57 least rigged rng in engage moment😭😭😭😭
Hortensia is the best waifu from fire emblem engage in my opinion!
story / characters do not matter is the worst take i’ve ever heard
Yep that part was just yikes.
It’s gameplay that will get one to play a game 3 times in a row. Story will never have that power because gameplay is core to the experience.
@@AstraProc Sure, in theory, until the story/writing/characters/music is so insufferably bad it makes you put down the controller because of how un-engaged you are with it.
Engage’s gameplay is objectively one of the best we’ve seen, but even still 3 houses is a better game for it’s characters / story / world building alone and i’d far recommend it over Engage.
@@creamshiplive4625 well that never happened with me and I don’t see that happening with other hardcore fans of fire emblem gameplay. Although, I do actually think the gameplay gets overrated. It has quite a few issues such as the Somniel existing, an uninspired class system, uninteresting and unbalanced classes, bad unit balance in a way that punishes investment in early game units, bad personal skills, just to name a few. It’s because of this that I think fates is still more relevant in the community, especially RUclips, than engage is, even though fates has a story just as bad
What I can say is that bad story and characters definitely shorten the public relevance of a game, especially if said game comes directly after an entry with one of the best stories and straight up the best characters. That definitely matters for sales, meaning that story & characters do matter for sales at least lol.
@@AstraProc so story matters for… sales. and 3 houses being the most relevant / highest selling game of them all is because of…. characters.
very roundabout way of saying that story and characters matter.
Also acting like you don’t see other “hardcore fans” becoming uninterested in Engage is just cope / braindeadism
Great Video
Thanks m8 :)
MORE MORE MORE (etie hate)
BuT stoRy bAd
Did I hear that correctly? 40 speed General Chloe?
Man you're the Ron Swanson of Fire emblem. No BS, straight to the point.