Fire Emblem Path of Radiance Review

Welcome to Tellius

For as long as anyone could recall, the land of Tellius has been home to a racial cold war of sorts between mankind and the laguz, a race of beast-like creatures. The tense peace is about to be tested, however, as an evil empire has begun to launch campaigns against each faction, threatening to plunge the entire landscape into a violent war. It is from this scenario that a small band of mercenaries and a blue-haired warrior named Ike will rise up as the only home to overcome the evil empire of Daein.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for the GameCube is the latest entry in the long-running strategy RPG series, but it is only the third game to make an appearance stateside and the first to ever appear on a U.S. console. It places the gamer in the role of Ike as he and his comrades attempt to unite the humans and the laguz against the forces of darkness, slay villainous foes and mystical creatures such as dragons, restore peace to Tellius, and - oh, yeah - survive the whole ordeal, if possible. Survival, of course, depends largely upon your strategic planning and tactical prowess.

A Fight to the Finish

As the game is set against the backdrop of a massive war, it should come as little surprise that the majority of your play time will be spent either preparing for or participating in combat. Fights play out in typical Fire Emblem fashion, which for those of you new to the series, means that they are turn based and take place on a fixed battlefield map. You first select one of your individual units and move him or her around the map, choosing either to visit a house and obtain some advice, currency or useful items, or lock horns with an opponent.

When you do choose to square off against the enemy, the scene changes to a close-up of the two combatants, reminiscent of a one-on-one fighting game. Each takes one (or, on occasion, two) turns attacking the other, after which the damage is tallied up and the action returns to the map screen. Be cautious when choosing to enter combat, however, as certain types of weapons and certain types of magics have advantages and disadvantages over other types. It may not seem like a big deal, but in Path of Radiance (as in all Fire Emblem games) if any of your characters die, they die. As in dead, permanently, forever. Thankfully, difficultly level is selectable, meaning that the challenge should never become overwhelming.

Seeing Is Believing

Graphically, Path of Radiance is an improvement over the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games, but RPG and strategy fans used to games like Final Fantasy X or Warcraft III may be disappointed. The in-battle visuals are clean and attractive, but not ground-breaking. There are a few cinematic scenes, and they are of good quality, but most of the storytelling is done through text and anime-style stills. Of course, Fire Emblem fans are used to such methods, but it is a little disappointing that Intelligent Systems couldn't have done more with the switch to the GameCube.

An Epic Worth Experiencing

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance isn't a graphical masterpiece, but it is a wonderful strategy title that will keep fans of the genre satisfied for hours upon hours. Replay value is moderate, and comes mostly from choosing different difficulty levels or attempting to secure all of the hidden characters scattered throughout the various stages. The plot is a little on the basic side but entertaining enough, and the gameplay is absolutely top notch. If you are a fan of strategy/RPG games, you should definitely give Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance a chance.