I think Engage is going to have a difficult time genuinely matching the complex political setup with 3H and other games. The way the world map is structured to me a dead giveaway; it being literally shaped as a ring with different climates instead of an actually interesting continent and geopolitical features, which was seen with the centralization of the church in 3H.
I do think the rings are going to matter a lot more than just usable mcguffins, and to me it seems to be the main point of the game (alongside Alear's past). Regardless, the game looks incredibly pretty and it seems like they're putting a level of emphasis on new characters alongside the crossover ones from the rings. I'm just not too hopeful about the potential direction of the story, and I really hope i'm wrong.