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Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn
Platform: Wii
Wii owners who are into Strategy-RPGs shouldn’t hesitate to pick up Radiant Dawn
Review by Sirus
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn is the latest game in a long running series that has been around for many years. Don’t feel like you have to play all the other games to make sense of it though. The story is directly related to Fire Emblem Path of Radiance on the Gamecube but, even without playing that, the story will still generally make sense. Even so, I would suggest that, if at all possible, anyone who hasn’t played Path of Radiance should play it before playing Radiant Dawn. Doing so will give a better understanding of the events in Radiant Dawn and allow you to start Radiant Dawn with bonuses carried over from a clear save in Path of Radiance although as of the writing of this review, using a clear save on easy mode does not work.
The story starts out in the country of Daein. The country is still trying to rebuild after being defeated in the previous war but progress is slowed by military units from neighboring Begnion who still consider Daein’s people below them. In the face of such barbaric tactics, a group known as the Dawn Brigade has formed to fight back and protect the people from harm. They are led by a maiden with silver hair who is said to be able to work miracles. The game follows the Dawn Brigade as they work to re-establish a government within Daein. The game is split into four parts, each drastically different from the others, and each adding their own perspective to the story of the politics of the continent of Tellius. The game takes a drastic twist at the end of part 3 from what appears to be a simple and predictable plot.
The story is presented largely through static 2D images of characters and beeping text without voice acting. After most major battles, there is a narrator to recap major events. The narrator works great to reinforce what just happened and make it so you can save it right after completing a battle and still get an idea of what happened last when you come back. The story introduces you to numerous characters, each with their own personality and unique look. Dialogue in the game is well written and easy to read. There are also a few beautifully rendered anime-style cutscenes through which major story events are presented. The story is always good enough to motivate players through frustrating stages and ends with a satisfying note that made me feel like I got a good reward for playing.
When you start the game you get to choose to play on Easy or Normal difficulty. Clearing the game on Normal will allow access to Hard mode although even Normal is considerably more difficult than the average RPG. Unless you enjoy challenge for the sake of it, I would advise playing through the game on Easy especially if you are playing it for the story. I still found myself resetting the game numerous times upon losing characters I put in harms way unnecessarily. This brings me to something that makes the Fire Emblem series unique. Any time a character falls in battle, they are gone for good and can not be revived. You can continue on without that character if you wish although replaying the level upon character death forces you to learn to be more tactical in your approach to battles, overall making the game more fun.
The game progresses through a series of battles with story sequences in between along with base menus where you are able to access shops and manage your characters for the upcoming battle. Most battles net you bonus experience above and beyond the normal experience gained from simply defeating enemies. This bonus experience can be distributed among your characters how you see fit although it generally works better to help the weaker units keep up with the rest of the group. Some battles have secondary objectives that net you extra bonus experience when completed successfully.
Battles switch between player, enemy, and other phases. Each character has a move range within which they can move during their turn. Most units can attack enemies on an adjacent square or one square away depending on the type of weapon they have equipped. Weapon damage is determined by a number of factors but most importantly, there is a weapon triangle so characters with axes that attack characters with spears are going to deal more damage and have a greater chance of hitting than if they attacked characters with swords. The simple weapon triangle mechanic governs all battles and gives them a strategic edge that would otherwise be missing. A similar triangle affects magic, although mages don’t get to attack other mages enough to worry about it.
Most characters are only able to wield one type of weapon that corresponds with their class. As they use that type of weapon more, their proficiency raises, allowing them to equip stronger weapons of the same type. Characters can also equip skills with their limited number of skill points that can trigger in combat occasionally. Certain classes have skills that can not be removed to go along with the class. Mounted units have the skill canto, which allows them to move again after attacking, making hit and run tactics possible. Battles can last anywhere from 15 minutes to over 1 hour depending on the number of enemy units required to dispatch. You can save mid battle at any point, although you have to be careful that you don’t save after moving a unit into a position of vulnerability. Overall, battles are a blast and I only encountered one or two battles I had to replay more than once or twice. Battles are simple while at the same time complex enough that they don’t get boring.
Graphically, Radiant Dawn is only a slight jump from the graphics in Path of Radiance but the game was never about graphics to begin with. There are more cutscenes now thanks to the larger amount of space on regular size DVDs the Wii uses instead of the mini DVDS the Gamecube used. The animations for attacking are a little better but most players are going to turn them off anyway. The music in game is, regrettably, still midi format. That isn’t to say that the music is horrible, because it serves its purpose well. With Mario Galaxy finally going orchestrated with its soundtrack, it would have been nice to hear the wonderful Fire Emblem melodies in full orchestration. Still the music is good enough that most players won’t complain.
I beat Radiant Dawn in 42 hours for my first time through on Easy mode and I would suspect that playing through the game in one of the harder difficulties would make it considerably longer. The game feels like it was just the right length, spanning enough varying locales that it truly feels like you went on an epic journey. Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn lives up to its predecessor’s level of quality and beyond with compelling characters and interesting storyline that complement addicting, well-paced gameplay. Wii owners who are into Strategy-RPGs shouldn’t hesitate to pick up Radiant Dawn. It is the hardcore targeted RPG the system needed and is a welcome part of any RPGamer’s collection.
Platform: Wii
Wii owners who are into Strategy-RPGs shouldn’t hesitate to pick up Radiant Dawn
Review by Sirus
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn is the latest game in a long running series that has been around for many years. Don’t feel like you have to play all the other games to make sense of it though. The story is directly related to Fire Emblem Path of Radiance on the Gamecube but, even without playing that, the story will still generally make sense. Even so, I would suggest that, if at all possible, anyone who hasn’t played Path of Radiance should play it before playing Radiant Dawn. Doing so will give a better understanding of the events in Radiant Dawn and allow you to start Radiant Dawn with bonuses carried over from a clear save in Path of Radiance although as of the writing of this review, using a clear save on easy mode does not work.
The story starts out in the country of Daein. The country is still trying to rebuild after being defeated in the previous war but progress is slowed by military units from neighboring Begnion who still consider Daein’s people below them. In the face of such barbaric tactics, a group known as the Dawn Brigade has formed to fight back and protect the people from harm. They are led by a maiden with silver hair who is said to be able to work miracles. The game follows the Dawn Brigade as they work to re-establish a government within Daein. The game is split into four parts, each drastically different from the others, and each adding their own perspective to the story of the politics of the continent of Tellius. The game takes a drastic twist at the end of part 3 from what appears to be a simple and predictable plot.
The story is presented largely through static 2D images of characters and beeping text without voice acting. After most major battles, there is a narrator to recap major events. The narrator works great to reinforce what just happened and make it so you can save it right after completing a battle and still get an idea of what happened last when you come back. The story introduces you to numerous characters, each with their own personality and unique look. Dialogue in the game is well written and easy to read. There are also a few beautifully rendered anime-style cutscenes through which major story events are presented. The story is always good enough to motivate players through frustrating stages and ends with a satisfying note that made me feel like I got a good reward for playing.
When you start the game you get to choose to play on Easy or Normal difficulty. Clearing the game on Normal will allow access to Hard mode although even Normal is considerably more difficult than the average RPG. Unless you enjoy challenge for the sake of it, I would advise playing through the game on Easy especially if you are playing it for the story. I still found myself resetting the game numerous times upon losing characters I put in harms way unnecessarily. This brings me to something that makes the Fire Emblem series unique. Any time a character falls in battle, they are gone for good and can not be revived. You can continue on without that character if you wish although replaying the level upon character death forces you to learn to be more tactical in your approach to battles, overall making the game more fun.
The game progresses through a series of battles with story sequences in between along with base menus where you are able to access shops and manage your characters for the upcoming battle. Most battles net you bonus experience above and beyond the normal experience gained from simply defeating enemies. This bonus experience can be distributed among your characters how you see fit although it generally works better to help the weaker units keep up with the rest of the group. Some battles have secondary objectives that net you extra bonus experience when completed successfully.
Battles switch between player, enemy, and other phases. Each character has a move range within which they can move during their turn. Most units can attack enemies on an adjacent square or one square away depending on the type of weapon they have equipped. Weapon damage is determined by a number of factors but most importantly, there is a weapon triangle so characters with axes that attack characters with spears are going to deal more damage and have a greater chance of hitting than if they attacked characters with swords. The simple weapon triangle mechanic governs all battles and gives them a strategic edge that would otherwise be missing. A similar triangle affects magic, although mages don’t get to attack other mages enough to worry about it.
Most characters are only able to wield one type of weapon that corresponds with their class. As they use that type of weapon more, their proficiency raises, allowing them to equip stronger weapons of the same type. Characters can also equip skills with their limited number of skill points that can trigger in combat occasionally. Certain classes have skills that can not be removed to go along with the class. Mounted units have the skill canto, which allows them to move again after attacking, making hit and run tactics possible. Battles can last anywhere from 15 minutes to over 1 hour depending on the number of enemy units required to dispatch. You can save mid battle at any point, although you have to be careful that you don’t save after moving a unit into a position of vulnerability. Overall, battles are a blast and I only encountered one or two battles I had to replay more than once or twice. Battles are simple while at the same time complex enough that they don’t get boring.
Graphically, Radiant Dawn is only a slight jump from the graphics in Path of Radiance but the game was never about graphics to begin with. There are more cutscenes now thanks to the larger amount of space on regular size DVDs the Wii uses instead of the mini DVDS the Gamecube used. The animations for attacking are a little better but most players are going to turn them off anyway. The music in game is, regrettably, still midi format. That isn’t to say that the music is horrible, because it serves its purpose well. With Mario Galaxy finally going orchestrated with its soundtrack, it would have been nice to hear the wonderful Fire Emblem melodies in full orchestration. Still the music is good enough that most players won’t complain.
I beat Radiant Dawn in 42 hours for my first time through on Easy mode and I would suspect that playing through the game in one of the harder difficulties would make it considerably longer. The game feels like it was just the right length, spanning enough varying locales that it truly feels like you went on an epic journey. Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn lives up to its predecessor’s level of quality and beyond with compelling characters and interesting storyline that complement addicting, well-paced gameplay. Wii owners who are into Strategy-RPGs shouldn’t hesitate to pick up Radiant Dawn. It is the hardcore targeted RPG the system needed and is a welcome part of any RPGamer’s collection.
| 10/10 - The same perfectly balanced gameplay fans love. | ||||||
| 7/10 - Graphics look great, even though not technically impressive. | ||||||
| 8/10 - Midi-music that sounds great and very little voice acting. | ||||||
| 9/10 - Epic well written story that rivals its predecessors. | ||||||
| 9/10 -42 hours w/ multiple difficulties and replay incentives. | ||||||
| 8.6/10 (Great) | ||||||
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