The latest Fire Emblem game has just released, and its story is already set to receive a manga adaptation--the first for the series in nearly two decades.

On Friday, with the official release of Fire Emblem Engage, Nintendo announced that a new Fire Emblem manga adapting the game would begin serialization. The series, currently just titled Fire Emblem Engage, is set to debut in the magazine Saikyo Jump and on Shonen Jump+ with a prologue chapter on February 3, with the first proper chapter set for release on March 3.

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A Perfect Adaptation for Fire Emblem Fans and Newbies Alike

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The manga will be adapting the plot of the game, which focuses on a world known as Elyos, where the spirits of heroes from previous Fire Emblem titles are kept as "Engage Rings," allowing people to harness their power in battle. The game follows the character of Alear, a Divine Dragon who has awoken for the first time in 1,000 years; while in the game, Alear can be male or female, the manga will be following the male version. The series will be written and drawn by Kazuro Kyou, best known for the series Hime Doll! and Afterschool Idol. Nintendo's announcement made it clear that readers will need no previous knowledge of the Fire Emblem series to enjoy the manga.

The Fire Emblem series has had many manga before, although almost all of them were released in the 90s and early 2000s. One of the most prominent was Fire Emblem: Hasha no Tsurugi (The Champion's Sword), a side-story/adaptation of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, a GameBoy Advance title that was the sixth game in total. Even the wildly popular Three Houses didn't receive a manga adaptation, and it likely would have benefited from one the most.

Fire Emblem Engage Has Proven Divisive

fire emblem engage close up of main character face looking serious

While reviews of Fire Emblem Engage have been mostly positive, many of the criticisms have centered on the game's story and characters, especially in comparison to Fire Emblem Three Houses. The manga may offer a chance to fill in some of the gaps when it comes to Engage's story and characterization, since one area Fire Emblem games often struggle with is incorporating its smaller characters into the plot. Much characterization in Fire Emblem is handled via one-on-one support conversations, which are hidden from the player until the characters have spent a certain amount of time together. A manga obviously won't have that particular means of characterization available, so side characters will need to be better involved in the plot if they're to be included at all.

The announcement did include a few preview pages, offering a glimpse at what the characters will look like in manga form. The style seems both fun and fitting for the title's marketing. There is not yet any news of a localization for the Fire Emblem Engage manga; while previous Fire Emblem manga were rarely translated, the series is much higher profile in the West than it once was, so fans can still hold out hope for a translation.

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Source: Siliconera, Nintendo (Japanese)