reviews

I know this game has been out for quite some time now, but I think that Fire Emblem deserves more attention.

I wrote this review a few months ago, and it happens to be my favorite thing I've ever written. No kidding.

Originally, a had a rant that went along with this game, and I will provide a link at the end that will redirect to a different post. It doesn't belong in a review.

Now get ready for one heck of a wall of text. 

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Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language

I know it came out way back in November of 2007, but at the time, I couldn't afford too many games, and had chosen Super Mario Galaxy, which came out a week later. And it's a damn shame, too. Why, you ask? Because in retrospect, I think I should have picked up Radiant Dawn and waited for Mario instead. I am in love with this game.

As many other gamers, I learned of Fire Emblem through Super Smash Brothers Melee, which introduced Marth and Roy to the American and European continents. Soon thereafter, Fire Emblem 7 (known simply as Fire Emblem in the Americas) was released on the Gameboy Advance. It apparently sold well enough for Nintendo to continue to localise the series, and I am thankful for that.
I first tried out Fire Emblem on... an alternate source, let's say. It is then that I decided that I wanted to buy the cartridge and encourage its marvelous developper, especially when I learned that it was from the same studio that made Advance Wars. After failing to find a copy of FE7 (and FE8, for that matter - it seems they're quite rare) in the city where I live, I stumbled upon the Gamecube iteration and decided to go with it instead. I did not regret my purchase at all. It was a new kind of game for me. The difficulty was good, although a tad on the easy side, had sweet cinematics and featured deep character interactions. I wanted to play the sequel.
A friend of mine got his Wii about a month ago and the first game he bought was RD. He's a very big fan of the series; went out of his way to find a translated ROM of FE6, the hardest FE, apparently. Anyway, he wouldn't stop talking about it and practically giving away spoilers, so I remembered the good times I had with the prequel and bought RD on an impulse.
At the time I got about half-way through, Brawl came out, and I sort of forgot about Fire Emblem. Knowing that the game was still unfinished, I put Brawl aside a while, and I don't think it'll go back into my Wii before I complete RD. It has that kind of lasting appeal on me.
Now that you know my history with the series - and made my bias obvious - on with the review!

A short review would be saying that Radiant Dawn is like Path of Radiance, only bigger and better. Because that's what it is.
Richer setting - Intelligent Systems is known for its above-average dialogues and narrative, and this game is no exception. PoR had you control the Greil Mercenaries as they escorted Princess Elincia Crimea in her quest to restore their country, which was invaded by Mad King Ashnard of Daein. RD is set three years later, Crimea and Daein are rebuilding and Queen Elincia relinquished control of the defeated Daein to the Begnion Empire. The latter's military is opressing the people of the former, but there is a small group of resistance fighters, known as the Dawn Brigade. The first part of the game is played as them and has you fighting against the oppressors. The whole story and plot is filled with themes such as politics, patriotism, mysticism and even racism. The game is a compelling one to read and play, as it is much more grandiose than the prequel. Not only does the game add onto its predecessor, but it builds around its base. The plot is filled with references to PoR, and feels like more than an add-on. Although no official statement seems to have been made by the developper, it very well seems that this game was meant to be another chapter in PoR, as if both games were meant to be one. Haven't played PoR? Although I would recommend playing it first, the game includes a database of all major characters and locations that are of significance in RD. The developpers have even added a "Character Chart", which shows portraits of the characters and the ties between each other, be it by blood or allegiance, as well as where they are native from and if they belong to a specific group, such as the Dawn Brigade.

Larger cast - The first thing that those who played PoR will notice is that one of the lead characters is a much more mature and combat-ready Sothe, who is joined by about 6-8 new characters, and many returners from PoR. But that's not all. In later stages, you get to play as Ike and his gang. As a matter of fact, everybody that was in PoR makes a comeback in the sequel. There are also new classes, new weapons - which have been rebalanced - and new abilities as well. With all that said and done, you're sure that you have enough choice to make the best out of any situation.

More candy - 16:9 widescreen and progressive scanning do quite a bit to make the game look better, even though the game uses slightly enhanced graphics than what was done on the Gamecube. The animation, however, has been improved, and cel-shading on the characters gives the colours more vibrance. Speaking of cel-shading, the cutscene videos are much more numerous this time around. I remember being disappointed at the few videos there were in PoR, and I'm glad they added many more in RD. Why is this important? Well, for one, as great as it is to read the well-written dialogue, you can get tired of just reading while the character that is speaking has a brighter cut-out than those listening - not to mention that their only animation is blinking. It sort of detracts from the experience a bit. Considering that the whole story unfolds on a larger scale, it's nice to have some animation and voice to appreciate it that much more. Second, the artwork in the game is nothing short of jaw-dropping. The character cut-outs are beautifully drawn and the cutscenes are just as masterfully orchestrated and animated. My girlfriend has stopped whatever she was doing just to look at the game. Just check out the website to see what I mean. Just keep in mind though that the real thing isn't as blurry, of course. The music fits the game very well, and there's something for every situation. Even though it is much better than PoR in my opinion, it unfortunately doesn't really stand out all that much in the game overall, and it's all MIDI. Regardless, there might be a tune or two in there that'll stay stuck in your head for a few hours when you're done.

(Much) Harder difficulty - "Just how hard can it be for such an awesome strategist as you?", you might ask yourself. Four words for you: I failed the prologue. And that was at "normal" diffculty. Those who got through PoR expecting another cakewalk will be surprised. Out of all FEs that have been released in the US, this is definitely the hardest one. Of course, the series' staple "when your character dies, he's dead forever" approach is punishing to those who fail to plan correctly. No Revives or Phoenix Downs. Of course, most players will have casualties, but you can live with it usually, as the larger cast sort of compensates for your losses. Add on top of that many, many more enemies to face. Some of the last maps will have you outnumbered five-to-one, and that's before enemy reinforcements arrive (you have a party of about twelve fighters, by the way). You'll need to make sure that you have a good weapon supply then, as your weapons will run out of durability rather quickly. For those who think hardcore games don't exist on the Wii, Radiant Dawn is most decidedly one, and there's no other conclusion than that. I'm tired of seeing the "Game Over" screen. At least they added mid-battle saving, as some missions can last you about two hours, if you're really meticulous.

If you haven't found out yet, I'm in love with it. You might get the feeling you're playing just another Fire Emblem, and I can't blame you. The series started on the Famicom and hasn't drastically changed since. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Don't fix what isn't broken, but it might be time for some tweaking.

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Now I know it ends abruptly, but you can read the rest here.

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