For my Review on Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, click
here!
Another successful Fire Emblem Play-through? Madness! I feel like compared to Path of Radiance, both were somewhat equal in difficulty (it being on the Easy setting) with PoR being a bit more challenging. I wasn't able to transfer save data from PoR into this due to the first slot in our Wii being busted for some odd reason. Anyways, Radiant Dawn picks up 3 years later after the events of Path of Radiance. The game is broken up into 4 parts with a varying amount of chapters. Each part has you take the control of a different cast of characters. You start off with Michaiah, a young sage with the strange power of healing others through the touch of her hands and Sothe, the little thief you might have recruited in the former game.
Sooner or later you're in command of the new Queen of Crimea, and of course Ike and his mercenaries make a stellar return. Some changes were made for this addition to the franchise, for example your characters can upgrade 2 times to a 3rd and final class change. Ike's party starts off with everyone being at the second class you upgrade too. Classified as a Strategy RPG, you have each unit move a certain amount of spaces and take down enemy forces. A variety of objectives can be given such as Routing the enemy (clearing all enemy units on the map), defeat the Boss, or defend/survive for an amount of turns.
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| A look at the story recap before each chapter starts |
Taking also into account the weapon triangle that governs both physical weapons and magic, you have to draft the right people and plan out your moves carefully. Viewing the battle predictions shown before you engage could save you the loss of a character. In classic fashion, if someone dies, then they're gone for good. With the exception of some that don't die but do remain unplayable for the remainder of the game. Every item you gather has a durability which should also be monitored every now and then.
Before every match, you have the opportunity to visit your base which is honestly one of my favorite parts in all of the FE games. I enjoy taking a breather and planning out my team for the upcoming trials ahead. Managing everyone and giving those close enough a free level up is so satisfying. You can also form support relationships between characters and gather info. This can lead to units being added and items to be found! I noticed that this game didn't have the option to recruit people in the game directly on the field unless I missed opportunities. To be quite honest, I mainly enjoyed playing with the former cast of the game. Just seeing them so over powered was a blast. I think Edward the sword fighter was the only new character I took an interest in, along with Leonardo and his bow.
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| How a typical battle looks |
It was definitely awkward to see characters that I had killed on accident in Path of Radiance alive and well here. The end game parts truly are where you get to shine in picking out the strongest army possible in fighting the big bad. Without spoiling anything, my only tip during those parts would be to pick all the royalty. You'll be shocked at your selection options :). Cutscenes are also scattered throughout the game at key points and don't drag the game down in any way. Plus you can hear the voices more clearly than Path of Radiance had.
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| Ike and Gatrie back to back! |
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| Moving your units around the board! |
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| A look at selecting weapons before an encounter |
That's pretty much all I have to say on Radiant Dawn. Several improvements were made from the previous game but it's more or less the same. The story is great and most of the characters were developed well. If anything, for me clearing this game has made me more confident in playing the upcoming 3DS entry!
Should you Play this Game?
I'd say it's totally up to you. If you managed to play through Path of Radiance and want a story continuation, go for it. You could do so without playing the former game but it may cause a bit confusion. Never the less, it's a fun challenging game for those that want to reflex their brain muscles!
