Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

"Ever wondered if you should pick up a Fire Emblem game?"

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is my first FE game, so this review will primarily be geared towards those who have never touched this series before. I cannot compare how this game holds up to the rest of the series, but before playing I know I wasn't the only person who has a giant ass list of 50 ****ing games (one of which is FE) they are considering to play but can cannnot pick one because they are all equally bleh! This game, however, will help renew some faith in games, for it brings this new battlefield concept to an RPG. People need not only different but revitalizing ideas in a world where games are starting to give people the feeling that we've played this before, and developers only care about reproducing the same games just to keep making the big bucks.

I don't like games that start slow, but early on I knew something was definitely different here.

There are several things that set off alarms in my head when I first started this game. The first battles were super easy. The generic plot sets the main character against an evil empire. The typical, unrealistic RPG dialogue that pisses me off when characters show emotion by saying the name of the person they are talking to followed by three dots. I kept playing anyway because a friend of mine told me the battles would get very complicated very soon; he was right.

I started the game only controlling 4 or 5 characters, but pretty soon I was given control of 6 then 7 then 8 then 9 and then eventually 19 characters. My opinion gradually changed as I saw the potential here. What the hell do you ****ing do with 19 characters on a giant ****ing battlefield? Overwhelmed with the chaos, I had to keep playing to learn how to win with such a massive team.

How well is this concept executed?

To control your ragtag alliance players must learn how to safely advance your army on a battlefield and defeat enemies. The game encourages the player to play safely because if a person dies in a battle, then they are lost forever. Learning how to play the game is what compelled me to keep playing till the end because the style is different from any other game I can think of. Most strategy RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics make the player think out their attack plan twice, but the battlefields in FE create a whole new style of gameplay where players win by positioning their army wisely, taking advantage of the triangular weapon system, and playing defensively rather than offensively. Unlike other RPGs I have played, any character taking damage is much more serious issue because characters will be overwhelmed by enemies who will gang up on them if they have low defense or are injured.

But is the game challenging?

Yes, but the challenge makes using caster characters an anal experience; there were moments where I was kicking asses left and right when all of a sudden a big sweaty barbarian charges at my priest and kills her with a single blow. I have to immediately restart the battle and thus lose the 15-20 minutes I invested in that battle. Of course it was my fault that I let my priest be exposed to an enemy attack, but nonetheless the game grants the player no slack for making the slightest position mistake.

Constantly checking to see if my casters are out of enemy attack range is anal and tiring. It makes sense the player should protect those who don't wear 500 pounds of armor or have the ability to leap over a house in order to avoid an arrow, but throughout the course of the game, the player is given over at least 700 enemies to kill and hundreds of opportunities come up where one can make the slightest error that most likely will get a caster killed. This wouldn't be such a problem if most enemy soldiers weren't so stupid and incredibly weak. If opponents posed a real threat to melee characters, then casters would not feel like such a heavy burden that dulls an already slow-paced game.

Leeerrrooooooy Jenkins!!!!!

Most enemies in FE can only be described as drunk Dagorhir players who forget they're weapons are made of foam and not metal. When characters in a player's party enter or go near an enemy's attack range, opposing units will charge towards the character regardless if the player's character has a redundant amount of support to crush that foe. Enemies will even attack characters they have a 0 percent chance to hit hoping somehow the player's characters suddenly decide to pick their noses during a fight.

Conclusion

Despite the challenge issues, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a game that can redeem one's belief that they're are new and compelling ideas out there in the world of conformable games. For those who have ever considered trying out an FE game there is great potential here in the battlefield concept along with the encouraged defensive style of play.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/08

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