"Radiant Indeed."

You're probably one of three people: 1) the kind of FE fan that has played every one of the series nine games and has greatly anticipated this game; 2) a person that has played the two games that have come stateside for GBA and is interested in what the Gamecube offering has in store; or 3) a person that has not played any game in the series, but is interested in this game mainly because Gamecube's new release list is slim. This review is to help sway person type 3 the most, and give person 2 a lowdown on why I think this game is better than the other two games thus far. No need to review for person 1, they've most likely of gotten it already.

Graphics
This is, by far, Path of Radiance's main drawback, and I only say this because it will sway people away from this game. Though the visuals are serviceable, they are by no means excellent. Map sprites takes me back to the days of the N64 (though there is some charm to that), the colors are bland, many will miss the zany animations of the GBA games due to the more stiff and even boring battle animations this game offers.

However, it's not all bad with the game's graphics. Fully animated CG cutscenes are featured, and are visual eye-candy. Many 2D drawings and backgrounds are featured, and though one could make the argument that CG cutscenes could've easily replaced many of the 2D scenes in the game, the many artworks you come across work well and are of no consequence. Lastly, the battle sprites aren't as bad as some make them out to be, though you'll most likely switch battle animations off after awhile to quicken gameplay.

Audio
I'm glad there are only a few cutscenes in the game. Why? In the few cutscenes that have voices, the voice actors are average at best, and are often inaudible (Greil and Dark Knight require Ulki-like hearing to understand on first run through).

Musically, the orchestrated pieces this game uses are superb, and work well with the game. I was somewhat disappointed that the Fire Emblem theme makes it's first appearance in the game's credits, but that's trivial at best. Fire Emblem vets will be sure to appreciate 'Vow' which has been used in FE's 1, 3, and 7, and the 10th Chapter Player Theme from FE4 appears as map music in this game as well.

Sounds in this game are by no means extraordinary, and that's a good thing. Swords and axes whack, lances and bows make a piercing noise, and listen to mounted units ride through the plains is by no means annoying.

Gameplay
Those of you familiar with only the two GBA games will notice a few things that FE vets are welcoming the return of. The Trinity of Magic, which most of you would recall as Light > Dark > Anima > Light, returns to FE4 and FE5 with Fire > Wind > Thunder > Fire; Light being left out of the triangle and Dark magic left out of the game altogether. Skills return in full force unlike the shoved-in efforts of Sacred Stones; there are multitudes of skills in this game, some of which you'll only see in enemies, some of which are only available to promoted classes, and some that lots of units will have. Promoting units is much simpler; no longer do you need to remember that Heroes Crests promote those guys and Orion Bolts promote those gals. Now, Master Seals promote all units that aren't 'Ranger' or 'Thief', and for those of you that really know how to play, you can also promote characters once they reach Level 21. Many tutorials covering most gameplay aspects are available in game, and unlike the GBA efforts where tutorials were forced into the main game, you can view these at your pleasure in the map menu without it affecting your game in anyway.

Other than that, the other large change lays in that of the Laguz units, these half-human, half-animal units are easy pickins as humans, but become a dangerous enemy once their animal forms come after you. Many other classes have been modified, added, or removed, and work well within the context of this game. There is also a base that you'll have access to after a certain point, where you can mess around with a units equipment, skill set, supports, and even give bonus EXP gained for completing objectives to help underleveled units or strengthen your main units.

Story
...I'm going to keep this short to avoid the spoilers and the like. For those of you who have only played the two GBA games that have come stateside: Path of Radiance's story is better than both of those. There is a LOT of text, though. But hey, reading is good for the brain, or something. Better to read than to try to listen to that horrid voice acting, right?

Ending
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance makes it's triumphant return to the console realm, and though it'll turn some away with it's visuals, it should draw many more in thanks to it's excellent audio and superb gameplay that has defined the series for 15 years now.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/05