Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

"One of the best (and only) strategy titles for the Gamecube"

Have you ever played a game, passed it off as just OK, then played a different game and realize the first game you played wasn't all that bad? I had this revelation after playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I finished it and concluded it was just alright, certainly not good and not worthy of another playthrough. It was after I played a bit of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn that made me realize I may have jumped to an unfair conclusion. Because Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a good game if you are here for some excellent gameplay. There are flaws, sure; the graphics and sound don't win any awards. Stick with it though and you may find something you like.

--Story/Characters-- 7/10

The story here certainly takes it's time. The peaceful Crimera is attacked suddenly by the evil Daein empire, and....wait, we're jumping ahead a bit. Even before that, we're introduced to the Greil Mercenaries. The game introduces us to our hero, the young and quiet Ike, his sister Mist, and his father Greil, and the whole ragtag group. The first few chapters get us introduced to our cliched but ultimately likeable cast. THEN, the cliched takeover begins, a hidden princess to Crimera appears that Ike and the gang must protect. We've heard all this before, but the refreshing twist is that characters often do things in their best interests. Being that Ike and crew are mercenaries, they consider doing what's right and what pays more.

For example, Daein finds our heroes with the princess. Rather than boldly stand and defend themselves like every other game, Greil considers everyone's opinion on the best course of action, and we learn how each member rationalizes the situation. It adds a necessary human element to the game, which makes the entire plot and story work. People have goals and some have morals, which add gravity and weight to their actions...and consequences. Again, without this element the story would fall apart, and it's the glue that holds the whole thing together, because our characters THINK, instead of just doing the right thing since it's the right thing. These characters feel like people, and the character development present here makes us really care.

There are a couple of elements that keep the experience from being really great though. While our heroes are all a diverse and interesting bunch that's likeable (and I can forgive them for being a little cliche), the main enemy, the king of Daein, is as common as they come. He's the regular head honcho big mean guy. And it's really weird when he's the boring person and all of his henchmen around him tend to have more character and interesting personalities than him. My other big complaint is that the game really doesn't get too interesting until the late halfway point. While I can admire the designers for taking their time and building up the plot, characters and back story (of which all is explained in due time), there is simply not enough interesting material to keep things fresh for a good portion of the story. It's when Ike and crew start their assault on Daein that things really pick up. Until then, some points can be somewhat slow.

So, to summarize, the story and plot get mostly thumbs up here. A really slow plot kinda drags the game down though, especially when it's half of the game.

--Gameplay-- 9/10

Man, is this addicting or what?

The gameplay really hooks it's claws into me and doesn't let go. There is a lot of thinking and strategy here.

And part of that comes from the series most well-known feature, permadeath. If someone dies in battle, they're gone. No phoenix downs or Life spells here. Either you restart the whole mission again or move on without them. And while some say this is too harsh, I actually understand why the developers continue using this mechanic. In other games you can make mistakes, and easily remedy them. But in a strategy game you have to think and use your head. So you better make some smart choices, otherwise it's back to the beginning of that mission. You are forced to think and not make careless decisions.

And with the move to Gamecube, the game adds a home base, where you can talk to characters to learn more about individual back stories, buy supplies, upgrade weapons, earn and spend bonus experience to even out the party levels, and assign skills to better fight. This adds a lot to the game, and wasn't available in other iterations, so this is a very welcome feature that makes the game fun.

And there's not much else to say. Fire Emblem is a tough but rewarding and addictive game. If one of your characters die during battle, most of the time it's your fault, and not the fault of the game, which should alleviate some stress. The only minor problem I have is that it can get really aggravating when you die consistently. Restarting a mission because one mistake at the end cost you someone is never fun.

Otherwise, the game is a blast.

--Graphics-- 7/10

Despite being run on some stronger hardware, we're still given some barebones presentation here. There are only about six different FMV and the game looks pretty sparse in the detail department. Not to say all is bad; while the game tells the story with 2d skits, they do look good. And close up encounters with battling is pretty good looking as well. The basic battlefield, however, is pretty cut and dry. Although I imagine this is for another reason; framerate and loading, which have no problems here. This is a very good thing, since the game constantly loads new battles every time you attack and back again, and I'm very thankful for this.

Here is a trade off- boring graphics in exchange for lightning fast loads and framerate. I feel this trade off is suitable.

--Sound-- 6/10

And again, we get a limited selection of music to listen to. It has it's range of good and bad. There aren't a lot of battle themes, so it's good they sound alright. The music sounds a little too old-school for my liking, however. The sound effects are all good, and the menu noises are great, which is necessary for a game with a lot of them. Whatever little voice acting is presented here is of good quality.

To summarize, the music could be better while the sound effects are great.

--Final Comments--

Fire Emblem is definitely one of the more hardcore, difficult titles on the Gamecube, and that's somewhat of a blessing on the starved Gamecube library. It does have it's faults, what with slow pacing and some sketchy graphics and sound. But the character development is excellent, and the gameplay can be a lot of fun. If you think you can look past some of Fire Emblem's more annoying issues, I would recommend you give it a try. Just remember to press Start, B and X altogether if you need to restart. I can assure you it'll become your favorite button combo while you play this. You may need to use it often just as I did.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/08

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