Fire Emblem Engage shows off the Somniel, the operational base used between battles

Fire Emblem is all about tactical battles, but we can’t live our lives on the battlefield. And Fire Emblem Engage is showing that in full with Somniel, the floating base of operations where Alear and company will rest up when not charging onto the field. While Somniel’s features were detailed recently in Japanese, we finally have an English video look at them:

 

 

Here’s a quick breakdown:

 

• The Somniel had three different kinds of activities: those related to battle preparation, those related to your allies, and other miscellaneous tasks.
• There’s an armory and vendor to stock up on items with. 
• In the Ring Chamber, you can have units inherit skills from the game’s Emblems (past FE protagonists), as well as create Bond Rings – special statboosting rings based on other FE characters of yore. You can also meld similar Bond Rings together to make them stronger. Finally, you can polish the Emblems to make them shiny and clean while boosting your affection with the spirit inside (it seems slightly sensual, actually).
• In the Arena, your units can battle for experience and “other benefits.”
• At the far edge of Somniel lies the Tower of Trials, where you can either take on a series of battles for rewards (called “Tempest Trials” – hey that sounds familiar) or other challenges, such as the ability to make your own maps and share them with the world (à la Aether Raids?)
• You can chat with your allies as they hang out around Somniel. Supports are hinted at, though it’s unclear if you obtain them by just walking and talking or in typical conversational format.
• In the Café Terrace, you can have whoever’s on meal duty prepare food to boost stats and support points.
• You can find items on sparkly spots around Somniel, which you can then gift to allies to boost your bonds. 
• In the farmyard, you can collect and care for animals you find in the world, from cats to donkeys to camels and more. There’s also a special pupper named Sommie, a mysterious creature tied to Somniel. You can feed and pet Sommie to gain goodies.
• You can purchase clothes and accessories at the boutique to dress up your favorite units as they go about Somniel. 
• You can work out with Strength Training to temporarily boost your stats. Get those gains!
• Other activities include the beloved fishing, fortune telling (with what appears to be an original tarot deck), and a shmup style “Wyvern Ride.”
• Tap compatible amiibo at the amiibo gazebo to get useful items. Tap FE series amiibo to get costumes and music tracks from the original games they hail from!
• You can also lie down in My Room, where sometimes an army member might wake you up with a special line or two.

 

Quite a bit of info to chew through! Fire Emblem Engage releases January 20th. Looking to secure your copy? Check out the list of retailers you can buy the game from in our pre-order guide!

 

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