Review Detail

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance released for Nintendo GameCube in 2005, toward the end of the GameCube era. It was the series first console entry since the Japan exclusive Thracia 776 on Super Famicom and as stated in the summary, was the first to feature voice acting. For what it was, the game was overall a solid entry in the series. Set in the fictional land of Tellius, the game tells the story of Ike(the first FE protagonist to not be royal or nobility of any kind) and the Greil Mercenaries as they encounter Elincia, the Princess of Crimea and get drawn into a war with the nation Daein. Highlighting in particular the strained relations between the beast-like Laguz tribes and the regular folk(Known as Beorc), the story handles itself and the themes which it presents quite well. Its one of the better fleshed out worlds and stories in the series in fact. As far as gameplay is concerned, the series signature strategy based gameplay shines here. Players can recruit different units over the course of the game with different strengths and weaknesses. The new laguz units are especially potent, Lethe for instance is pretty quick and hits fairly hard while Reyson who joins much later, functions similarly to dancers of previous games, giving another unit an extra turn. Path of Radiance also implemented a newer form of the skill system for the time and also brought back the support system from the GBA titles. One of the more unique gameplay quirks is the ability for units to advance to a second tier class simply by leveling over 20. In previous and titles following Radiant Dawn, an item, typically a master seal, is required for this. That, along with the bonus experience system also not seen in any other games except for Radiant Dawn lends itself toward creating a different experience than what one might get from other Fire Emblem titles. Path of Radiance hasn't aged well in some respects, and it lacks some of the bells and whistles of the modern entries in the franchise. But its still worth checking out if you're looking for a more classic Fire Emblem experience