Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

"Path of Radiance is a great game."

Boasting a strong story and solid gameplay, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a welcome addition to the Gamecube library. It does have some limitations and weaknesses, but overall this SRPG is worth picking up and playing through at least once.

The story focuses on a small group of mercenaries caught up in a large war between Daein and Crimea, as well as the alliances formed and broken along the way. The tactics used in this war drive much of the story, and the interpersonal relationships among characters become intriguing and complex. The weak point here is the main character, Ike. He's a strong figure who isn't exactly a poor character, but he's devoid of much personality. In a game rich with bold characters and personalities, it's a shame to see the main character so simple.

Even though Ike is sorely lacking in personality, his situation is one that is easy to root for. There is one battle he faces that is truly one of the more satisfying battles in gaming history, should things go Ike's way. His friends and partners range from the dutiful, to the goofy, the complex, the greedy, the loyal, the charming, the heroic, etc. You may find yourself favoring a character because you like his personality more than a statistically superior one.

War strategies, politics and personal conflicts not enough? Path of Radiance also deals with racism, with the half-animal race of laguz having an uneasy alliance with the Crimean beorc (human) race. Some characters are open minded, others are hateful and call the laguz "half-breeds". The game doesn't even push the prejudiced characters to the ground and force them to see the light of happy acceptance, though they find a way to be civil. Soren, a magic user and Ike's chief strategic adviser, seems overly pragmatic and analytic until it comes to the laguz, which jar him into constant derision towards the race. The unapologetic manner in which the game tries to pursue racial tensions - balancing honest emotions, strategic needs and idealism - is something rarely seen and definitely appreciated.

Beyond all this, there is the story regarding the Fire Emblem itself, a powerful magical artifact, is unveiled and reveals how it affects the world and has led to the conflicts at hand. Many games seem to dump this type of storyline onto the end of games, seeming to blindside the player with a bait and switch of who the player thinks is the final villain. Not Path of Radiance.

The cast of characters is full of different personalities and types of units. Throughout the game, the player will recruit new units for the mercenary group. Unit development and management is probably the most important and enjoyable part of any SRPG, and Fire Emblem does not disappoint. For the casual RPG fan, there are some obvious choices but you can build up most any character and balance your army in various ways without crippling yourself. For the devoted Fire Emblem fan, there are plenty of optional characters to pick up, and there is plenty of room to analyze the characters and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of them.

The battles themselves are mostly well designed. As an SRPG, Path of Radiance has the user, the enemies, and the allies taking turns moving units and performing battle-related actions. Fire Emblem features the permanent death mechanic, which can be argued to lead to realism, but instead really just leads to hitting the reset button a lot, as well as conservative battle tactics. This is a bad thing. Battles don't typically rely on an overall challenge so much as a series of micromanaged movements and attention to details. The game tries to make up for this by having a series of different winning conditions, but it falls short. It's a shame, as the game's battle system and weapon triangle (think rock/paper/scissors except it's sword/spear/axe) lays the groundwork for some major potential, but having to watch for the same specific dangers in a painstaking manner washes away much of that potential. There's a reason most people talk about the characters as opposed to the battles when it comes to Fire Emblem. The penalty for failure isn't having to rethink your strategy - it's having to reset, replay 20 minutes and move the one guy that died a square or two away from where you moved him last time. There are also the unfortunate mid-battle reinforcements that the enemy gains in some battles which you can't prepare for unless you follow a guide, and if you don't play a conservative manner, there's little chance to defend against such tactics the first time you encounter them.

After the battles, you usually head back to the caravan (once you get it). Here the game allows you to peruse Info segments which have characters interacting with each other, sometimes just to forward small side-stories, and other times to reward the user with items or even new recruits. It's a nice feature that allows you to sit back for a few minutes reading dialog when you want to, instead of forcing it on you. There's also a shop and a forge. The forge allows the player to create and name weapons, and I found this small addition to add a lot of enjoyment to the game. Here is where the character management takes place, as well as the assigning of bonus experience earned during battles.

Graphically, Path of Radiance does the job. Character designs look good, and the 2D scenes between battles work pretty well. The few 3D cutscenes look good, too. Path of Radiance has it's own style of presenting itself and it works very well, no complaints here. In fact, I think the simple manner in which most of the cutscenes are presented is really beneficial to the game, given the lack of voice-acting.

That's right, no real voice acting, except in the 3D scenes and narration. It's not much of a problem, especially when the 3D models aren't doing the talking. As for battle sounds, they're fine. I didn't find the music to be anything special or memorable, but always seem to suit the mood of the game.

As for replay, you can always pick up a guide or a walkthrough and pick up characters you've missed and/or make a different army than you had last time. The battles are a bit limited in how you can conquer them, so you're probably not going to experience anything new on that front. Again, people talk characters far more than battles in Fire Emblem. There's also some limited GBA connectivity. There's a lot of people that enjoy discussing the characters, so if you find yourself really involved with the power levels of various characters, there's always that. While it doesn't necessarily affect this game's replay value, there is a sequel on the Wii, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn that continues the story of this conflict, and features the characters in Path of Radiance that you've grown to enjoy.

Overall, Path of Radiance is a great game. The story is satisfying, the characters are colorful and you certainly won't run out of units you'll want to put into your army. The main protagonist is a bit dull and the battles could benefit by a more forgiving gameplay scheme, but it's an enjoyable experience every Gamecube owner should have. 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/08

Game Release: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (US, 10/17/05)