While not a graphically impressive game, it is one that is fantastically fun to play!

User Rating: 9.1 | Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki GC
By futagoza | Review Date:
I have a confession to make: This is my first strategy role playing game (or SRPG for short)... ever! That being said, I've always been interested in the genre. From the SNES days there's always been some titles that have intrigued me, but they have just been too hard to come by, and the interest among my friends has been very little. Recently though I figured it was about time to take the leap and so I thought: "What better place to pick up a genre than with one of Nintendo's own franchises?" And from what I could make out, that was a great idea. Right now I'm just a bit bummed out that this is the first Fire Emblem game that has reached a non-portable console here in Sweden. Hopefully by now most people are familiar with the SRPG genre as such. If somebody isn't and reads this, it can most easily be described as a mix between regular strategy games and RPGs). The story and feel of the game is similar to that of an RPG, as is the use of the the character level system. The combat however is that of a turn based strategy game. Each character can move a specific number of squares (the maps are divided into a grid) and after that attack (with weapons or magic), use items, heal, and a variety of other actions. When all your characters have taken their turns, it is the enemy's turn to move all their units.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a very linear game. The name is almost something of a joke, you really do follow a set path. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but there is a certain number of mission and you have to do all of them. The actual fighting in these missions is where the game really shines. The strategic decisions that are constantly thrown at you are very well designed and a single slip up is all that is required for everything to go very wrong. On top of that, if you do slip up, and one of your characters dies, he or she stays dead. More on that follows...

The scripting in the game is incredible. There are very many characters in the game, and a big deal of them are optional. Between each mission, if you fulfill certain criteria, these characters will interact with each other, which can yield insights as to what keeps them motivated and also to boost their statistics if they fight next to each other. With all this time that has been spent to develop conversations that through and through is of very high quality, it is amazing that the creators of this game are prepared to let even one of your characters die permanently. This does lead to something of a problem though. If you take the time to develop your own favorite characters for so many missions, chances are that you will not be willing to let him die. The only option that leaves you with is to reset your Gamecube and start the mission all over again. Since some of the missions are lengthy as well, so that opens up for many tragedies, and many resets.

Arguably the biggest problem with this game is the graphics. The fighting is done in a blocky kind of 3D which few can call state of the art. It does fill it's purpose, but it would probably have been a better idea to either develop it further, or just stick to 2D graphics. Between missions, when all characters interact, the game sticks to 2D. The problem with this is that the characters are not really animated in any way, it is just their portraits and text. This is not a disaster thanks to the fantastic character design in combination with the the good conversations. In both the case of battles and conversations, this game barely feels like a Gamecube game, even less one from late 2005.

In the end 'Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance' is a great game, not because it does everything right, but because of the fantastic strategy it offers and characters that really get to you. Also it is one of few games that has come along lately that really begs to be replayed. Not only is it hard to find all characters the first time through, but you probably want to change which ones you use on your second time through. I can heartily recommend this game to anyone who can appreciate a game even if the graphics are not the best. This is is truly a game that gives back more enjoyment the more you commit to it.

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