The human element aside, the line began to move, with staff letting people in in groups of ten. I was starting to get excited, I couldn’t wait to see what the store had in store for Fire Emblem Engage’s red and blue character design that separates us a bit. And so, as I casually scrolled towards the entrance to enter the store, I was somewhat dismayed by the complete lack of a fire crest on display.
After years of being flogged by Fire Emblem character DLC in Smash Bros., you’d think the launch of Engage would warrant a banner or a stand, but Friday’s launch was disappointingly bare. Of course all of the Pokémon Scarlet/Violet brands cost a pretty penny, so there’s no need to ditch them, but there was no screen for Engage anywhere, save for a lone kiosk showing the game which, when the game is idle on the battleground map, isn’t a particularly watchable watch. likes it. Moreover, unlike the past six events, there were no posters, stickers or magnets on offer for early adopters.
So without Engage merchandise or promotional materials to entertain us, we talked to some Fire Emblem fans in line about what made them get out of bed on a Friday morning in the New York winter to line up for Fire Emblem.
NL: Hi, what’s your name?
“Winston.”
What made you want to go out and get in line for Fire Emblem Engage this morning?
“I’ve been a fan of Fire Emblem since Awakening. I am visiting New York—I lived here—for the first time since [Nintendo NYC] was Nintendo World, so I figured it was a good time to launch Fire Emblem Engage and I’ve heard exciting things about this game.”
Are you getting the regular edition or the Divine Edition?
“I’m getting the Divine Edition.”
As a Fire Emblem fan, are you happy about the amount of support the franchise has been getting lately?
“I am. Especially since I heard that [at the time] The awakening could be his last hurray. I think he’s intelligent [Systems] I didn’t expect it to blow up after Awakening — that’s what got me going — so I’m glad it got the exposure it did, even if [Smash Bros. fans] you might think it’s too much. That’s what I’m here for.”
NL: Good morning. Can you tell us your name?
“Eli.”
What made you want to get out of bed at 8:00am to stand in line for Nintendo NYC?
“Since pre-orders are sold out at retail, this is the only option — first come first served — to get the special Divine Edition. Of course, new amiibos [holds up a Marth amiibo].”
[points at Eli’s Amiibo] Isn’t that a reissue?
“It’s actually the first Fire Emblem amiibo.”
What do you think about how Fire Emblem became a major Nintendo franchise?
“I think [the franchise] it kind of dropped when it came to Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn is Ikeom, but I think more players and new players to the franchise came because of Awakening, then Fates, Echoes and Three Houses. Now Fire Emblem has become more popular, like Mario and Pokémon. Obviously Pokémon is more popular, but Fire Emblem on the other hand gets that level of popularity because of the Smash Bros DLC.”
So whether or not Nintendo NYC rolls out the red carpet equally for every launch, fans still really love Nintendo’s strategy game. If only Intelligent Systems and Nintendo could put the same amount of energy into their other strategy franchise, Advance Wars, fans of strategy games would be spoiled for choice.
