Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Genre: Strategy
Developer: Intelligent Systems, Nintendo
Platform: Gamecube
Release: 2005
Rating: T

- Graphics -

Unfortunately, most of the graphics were actually sub-par for the system. The 5-6 full cinematic scenes were beautiful; however, the in-game 3D models on the "board" were hardly even N64-worthy, and the battle scene models were fairly dull, especially when compared to the 2D sprites in the earlier games. The 2D images of characters showed during dialogue sequences were about equal to the 2D games.

Graphics: 4/10


- Story -

The story of Path of Radiance was easily very different from anything we've seen so far in the series. Unlike most games, in which a royal character seems to be looking for a missing family member, the game involves a simple mercenary group escorting a de-throned princess around the continent to gain support for her rebellion against the king of the neighboring country who invaded and killed her parents. Throughout the game, real-world problems are identified and overcome, such as racism and genocide.

Story: 10/10


- Gameplay -

A vast improvement from earlier games in the series is the inclusion of a merchant group that travels with the player after a certain point in the game. This group provides storage of items, the ability to buy weapons and items before every battle, and even the ability to forge weapons. While this takes away from some of the earlier urgency to preserve weapons, it does allow for more freedom in strategies. Another huge difference is the addition of Laguz, or beings that appear to be part animal. These units have a transformation gauge, that, when full, allows them to transform into a beast, bird, or dragon, depending on the unit. However, they cannot attack or counter-attack at all in their humanoid states. The third huge difference is the fact that all units have special abilities, or the potential to have them. These abilities are gained in the form of "scrolls" which are given to characters during the "base" phase before battle.
Other than these significant changes, the gameplay remains roughly true to the classic Fire Emblem formula, and in general all of the new aspects are improvements.

Gameplay: 10/10


- Music -

Not the most amazing music in the series, unfortunately, but there are definitely several jewels in the soundtrack. It's certainly not a bad soundtrack by any means, either.

Music: 8/10

Total Score: 8/10

Not available for other systems.