Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

THE BAD:
-When your Character Dies, they're gone forever

SUMMARY:
Fire Emblem is a great series of games. They've been out for a while. Several on the Gameboy Advance, and then Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance came to Gamecube. That game was similar to this one, but if you played it, you'll understand Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn better. You can also import stats from your old game, so if you cap any stats, characters gain a +2 to that stat, or +5 if it's HP. Very Useful. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is set 3 years after the Mad King's War in Tellius during Path of Radiance. Daein is under control of Begnion Imperial Forces and is fighting for a free Daein against the Corrupt Senate.

Gameplay 10/10

Wow. Gameplay is fantastic. If you're an SRPG fan or really any type of RPG, you should like Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Actually, even if you're not an RPG fan, this game is still great. First off, in Radiant Dawn, there are 4 Parts to it. Each part controls a different Leader, and sometimes your leaders cross paths and you actually have to fight the team you are using in a different Chapter.

Ok, so there's the Weapon Triangle. This doesn't exist in hard mode, but for Normal and Easy players, here's the deal. Sword has more power against Axes. Axes beat Lances. And Lances have the edge on Swords. This makes minor stat changes to your attack, usually.

As for the characters, you'll get several characters during the course of the game and end up with 50+. Some characters have to be taken into the End Game, like Micaiah and Sothe. Also, each character gets a certain amount of moves on the grid based bored per turn. These moves are based on the class. Each character can have a class, although this is pre-determined and is always the same. Soren, for instance, is a Mage. Mages have low Defense and HP, but their Magic Power is good. They also move the least out of the units. Warriors are Strong Attackers. They usually excel in HP, Strength, and have better defense than Mages. Mages can attack from more than one square away, though.

Different weapons have different ranges, and different amounts of power. You usually have characters join you automatically, but sometimes you have to recruit them, usually by the leader talking to them. Each Character has at least One Skill. Skills can be locked down, but others can be taken off. Skill are abilities that have a chance of being used in battle, based on your Skill stat. Some are really strong, like Aether, which attacks your enemy for more than the normal damage and then heals you as well. Other skills are useful such as Vantage, which allow you to strike first, even if the enemy initiates combat. Other skill like Miracle cut Critical Damage by 1/2. Critical Damage does 3 times the damage of a normal attack. Use skills wisely and strip ones off the characters you don't use.

Now there are 3 Tiers in each Beorc (Human) Class. When you reach level 20 and level up, you get a class change and become level 1 of the next Class. A Lance Knight becomes a Paladin, and then a Gold Knight. When reaching a 3rd Tier, you are also presented with a 3rd Tier Skill that is extremely strong. Laguz (Animal) only have one class, but it levels up to level 40. Laguz are Humans that can transform into Animals and when they do, most of their stats are doubled. However, they are useless when not transformed.

Certain Units can also rescue other units if they are in danger, but this cuts their Skill and Speed by half for as long as they are carrying the ally. You can only carry an ally if you have at least 2 more Weight than them. Mounted Units and Flying Units are good Rescuers.

Another action you can perform is the Shove Command, which moves a unit (Ally or Foe) one space in the direction you Shove them. It can be handy on rare occasions. You also have to have at least 2 More Weight than the person you are shoving.

Weapons also have a certain number of times you can use them before they wear down and break. Make sure to keep a steady supply of weapons on hand for each character. Each character can hold 8 items, healing items and weapons combined. Make sure your character keeps plenty of Healing items on hand as well, you never know when they might need it.

And most of all, it's really important, because, if your character dies in Fire Emblem, they're gone for the rest of the game. There's also the Support System. Characters gain hidden "Support Points" by performing actions near each other or by being in the same battle. Eventually, you can level up your Support, and make it stronger. A support increases the 2 character's stats who are supporting each other any time they are within 3 spaces of one another. Supports are a great things to have in tight places.

As for actually initiating battle, you just go up to an enemy and press Attack. Be careful. A box will show up before you attack and show you how much damage both you and your opponent will do. It also shows the accuracy of your hit. Make sure to keep an eye on all of this before simply attacking. Now would be a time to change weapons or just turn back and try a different approach. Also, there are some ledges in certain levels of the game. The characters can climb these ledges, and if a character is higher than an enemy, he will have much higher accuracy and attack than the enemy.

Mounted Units must take stairs or ramps. However, only characters capable of ranged attacks can attack from above or below a ledge. Such as anyone capable of using a Spell, Ranged Spear, Bow, etc. Watch your positioning on the map and plan your strategy carefully. Being able to battle save is a big help for new comers. You can save after every successful turn, even. Just make sure you dont save over and lock yourself into a corner where you end up losing and can't possibly get out. If you're going to save after every turn, make sure to have a duplicate file ready.

Also, another important thing you'll be using often is the Convoy. After the first few Chapters, you'll get the Convoy where you can buy and sell items equipment. You can also distribute Bonus Experience to characters of your choosing. You'll want to manage your skill as well, and make sure everyone has the ones you want them to have. Here you can also look at conversations, which sometimes are pointless, but oftentimes have useful items that you receive from them. Be sure to check them every time you're at the base (Between each Chapter) as to not miss anything. You can also distribute Weapons and items to the people of your choosing. It's way easier than trying to do it in game.

There is so much involved with Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and anyone who likes this kind of thing should jump at this game. Even if you're not an SRPG fan, I suggest you give it a try, unless you are just no good at thinking, because trust me, you will think. Here is a video on the Gameplay in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.



Graphics 10/10

The Graphics are good for Wii's 480p. Nothing really above what you would expect, but still nicely done. In fact, you might say that during the actual levels, the characters lack a slight bit of detail. But when you see Cutscenes, you'll be impressed. Nintendo squeezed all the graphics into the Cutscenes. They're pretty impressive for 480p. Here is a video of one of the many Cutscenes from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Turn your Speakers up high to get good quality sound. The Video is kind of soft but it was the only English one I could find.



Music 10/10

The Music in this game is Great. As you can hear just from the other video. It has several different soundtracks. The music at the intro before you even start playing is excellent as well. You'll find yourself enjoying the background music as you fight in your many battles as well as during the Convoy screen. Here is a video of some of the Music you will be hearing in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. (Don't forget to turn your speakers back down).



Story 10/10

Starting out in Part I, you control Micaiah, the Silver Haired Maiden. She is said to be able to perform Miracles, and this is because of her Ability "Sacrifice" which allows her to Sacrifice some of her HP to recover an Ally. The Story takes place 3 Years after Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance's Mad King's War. Ike, from the Greil Mercenaries, fought the Corrupted King Ashnard in a battle to free Daein. Now, Crimea (Ike's Country) and Daein are rebuilding, and while Crimea has Queen Elincia to Rule over it, Daein is under the rule Begnion's oppression. Now the Dawn Brigade, a group of chivalrous thieves, are fighting to Liberate Daein. Micaiah is the leader of this band of rebels, and with her brother Sothe, hopes to put an end to Begnion's corrupted Senate.

As the game progresses. in the other parts of the game, you will meet the Royal Knights, who fight on behalf of Queen Elincia of Crimea. You'll also meet Ike and his band of Mercenaries. You'll alternate between the 3 groups for a while, and oftentimes you'll be pitted against the very characters you were just using. You fight the War from all sides this time, and it's not going to be an easy task. On top of all this, the War is affecting Lehran's Medallion again. Too much War can cause the Dark God to Awaken, so there's also the struggle to prevent that from happening. It's truly a great Story. Here's a video of one of the Cutscenes.



Overall 40/40

Wow. Perfect Score. This Game Really Deserves It. There's really nothing wrong with it at all. Sure it could use a little improvement here and there, but what game doesn't? So, if you're looking for an RPG, here it is. And even if you're just looking for a good game, or something that will pass your time, you've found it. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for the Nintendo Wii is definitely worth the Money. I'd gladly pay double, even triple the normal price to get my hands on a copy if I had to. You should too. The catch? You only have to pay normal price. So seriously consider getting this game as soon as possible. I guarantee you'll love it!