Fire Emblem: Engage Divine Edition (Nintendo Switch, 2023)
The size of the box is quite large, but no larger than the Xenoblade game collectibles I reviewed earlier in the original Japanese versions. But what is inside?
- Game box
- Steelbook
- Cards depicting the characters of the game
- A1 size paper poster
- Artbook
Collector’s Edition Box
The box from the front looks great. The printing is saturated with colors, and the design of the front art itself is satisfying. Back side is basically a lot of text that no one reads and thumbnails of the contents.
Game box
The box with the cartridge was located under the stellbook on the first layer of the inner cardboard. The inside lacks any label about the game itself, not to mention some nice booklet.
The stellbook itself, seen on the front of the inner cardboard box when removed from its packaging, looks as follows.
Cards with images of the game’s characters
The cards depicting the characters have their own packaging located on the right side of the inner cardboard box. Each card is coated with foil, and the printing shimmers like a hologram in the light. All illustrations give the impression of an exclusive, high-quality product.
A1 size paper poster
I’ll honestly admit that the idea of putting a poster in this collectible appealed to me. I would love to hang it somewhere for myself. The A1 size is impressive. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone figured out that printing the poster on paper and folding it into several pieces will produce a terrible outcome. The visible folding lines cannot be straightened so that the whole thing looks aesthetically pleasing. I can’t imagine someone hanging something like this on the wall, because it just looks ugly. It’s a shame, because the graphic is really nice. It would have been enough to print it on fabric. Not only would it have raised the value of the collectible itself, but at least it would have made the poster suitable for wall hanging. However, in such format? Failed concept in my opinion.
Artbook
Moving on to the final piece of Fire Emblem: Engage Divine Edition. I had high hopes for this artbook. Unfortunately, I’ll be honest – its contents disappointed me a lot. Especially if I compared it to the one included in the Three Houses collector’s edition. It doesn’t even have a hardcover (although, I must admit, the quality of printing and the paper itself used in the cover gives the impression of a premium product).
Unfortunately, the issue worsens if we look inside. At the beginning we are greeted by a beautiful graphic for a full two pages. Then another and another. You can see that some effort was put into the first few pages. After that, unfortunately, most of the graphics are 3D renders and lots of colored sketches of characters with almost no details. It looks like the creators didn’t seem to have any concept for this publication. Some of the more interesting pages in the photos below.
Fire Emblem: Engage Divine Edition (Nintendo Switch, 2023) – summary
I was not particularly pleased with the contents of this collector’s edition. My impression would be much more positive if the artbook contained more interesting content and the poster was printed on fabric. Then the price tag would be, in my opinion, very attractive in relation to the content and quality of the included extras. Is it worth getting this collectible? In my opinion, there are many other interesting collector’s releases and this particular one is rather something for die-hard fans of the series ( which, by the way, I count myself among).
A full review of the game will come when I finish the game.