Can you be gay in Fire Emblem Engage?

Can you be gay in Fire Emblem Engage? With dozens of characters calling the Somniel home in Nintendo's latest strategy RPG, it's a big question that needs answering before you try too hard to impress your favourite.

Down below, we'll go over what to expect from the game's romance system and dream about any specific scenarios. The game features plenty of paralogue missions, but they might not be quite what you've come to expect from the series built off its diverse lineup of heroes and villains. Though it shared similarities to both Awakening and Three Houses, Engage is a little between the two when it comes to romance trees.

For a little more context, be sure to check out the Fire Emblem Engage character list. And if how they all sound is important to you, our matching FE Engage voice actors list is worth a look.

Can you be gay in Fire Emblem Engage?

Fire Emblem Engage focuses on Alear, a protagonist you can choose to be either male or female at the very beginning. You can choose whichever you prefer, or side for whichever you think makes for a more fitting version of the story for you. But can your Divine Dragon court a partner of the same sex or gender? It depends on how you view the text.

Late in the game, you'll have the opportunity to advance any A-rank support level to the next by giving a character a Pact Ring. You can learn more about this in our guide to the Memento Drawer, but the basic idea is that you can use the single-use item to forge a "pact" between the Divine Dragon and another character.

• Check out: Tips for starting Fire Emblem Engage

It's never called marriage, there's no wedding, and you won't get a paralogue mission where you can recruit your future offspring as a soldier like in Awakening. Instead, you'll get a nice conversation where the two characters say some mushy (but not directly romantic) stuff, a photo of them wearing the ring, and a couple other battle-specific boons.

You can do this to anyone, regardless of their gender, but that's presumably because it isn't a romantic offering. It's more a symbol of a long-lasting friendship.

click to enlarge

Beyond simply not being able to dictate for yourself whether Alear is straight, gay, bi, or anywhere in between, you can't assume that of the game's cast, either. You can't just hook up with anyone, thinking they'll swing that way. You won't find any character who'll outright tell you their sexuality, either.

• Check out: How to use the piano in Fire Emblem Engage

In fact, despite some of them giving off massive signals one way or the other, the cast of Fire Emblem Engage are practically all ace. It's like they're all just very good friends and happy to chill at the pool, grab lunch, and go fishing.

So, to answer the question of whether or not Alear, the woman, can date Jade, the impressively imposing retainer - that's a negative. And can Alear, the man, admire Seadall's belly and evocative dance routine? Yes. Just at a distance. You can't hook up at one of Pandreo's church parties.

For more disappointment - or not, that depends on your own opinion - check out our Fire Emblem Engage preview of the first eight chapters, and our final review of the whole game. We might have changed our tune as we played more.