While not a strong successor to Path of Radiance, plot-wise, it was a huge step up gameplay-wise. Better maps, more varied mission objectives, and an overall difficulty spike in the early game really defines Radiant Dawn. The change in the support system (making the conversations generic, but allowing supports between anyone) has its definite pros and cons. The Black Knight reveal was very disappointing.
Takes it's predecessor's flaws and amplifies them seemingly as much as it could. 1-2 is not only the name of the game here but possibly the name of the universe the game takes place in. There isn't much to just throwing a juggernaut unit with 8 hand axes in front of an entire crowd of enemies but that is a good amount of the gameplay.
i will always wish we had gotten a game that built more on micaiah and the new characters introduced in this game (ideally with no returning characters being playable besides sothe), but what we got was a very ambitious and daring game. it's funny, i used to hate this game greatly, and now, as an adult, all i can think about is how much i respect it.
one of the most disapointing sequels ever
If the Dawn Brigade didn't suck so bad, this would probably be my favorite FE game, but they do exist, so fuck the Dawn Brigade
i was invested the whole way through, the scope of it is unreal.
wish it had some more development time to really become amazing.
tellius games are still the best in the series.
the final boss was really good but it made me want to die.
wish it had some more development time to really become amazing.
tellius games are still the best in the series.
the final boss was really good but it made me want to die.
Imagine Path of Radiance but more annoying map designs, most of the Dawn Brigade characters blowing and a really obnoxious structure overall. Nearly everything after part 3 chapter 6 felt like a really bad joke and I still can't believe the game dropped not only in quality of plot but also map quality.
Still, it retains a lot of the cool mechanics from PoR, adds forging, gives you more time with OP units like the royal laguz and some of the lore diving is neat. But a good chunk of this game could have been removed entirely with little consequence.
Nephenee is still cool though
Still, it retains a lot of the cool mechanics from PoR, adds forging, gives you more time with OP units like the royal laguz and some of the lore diving is neat. But a good chunk of this game could have been removed entirely with little consequence.
Nephenee is still cool though
Who knew that the last Fire Emblem game i'd end up playing before i could say that i've played every Fire Emblem would turn out to be the best one in the series.
For a long time, i've always argued that Conquest had the best gameplay out of any Fire Emblem game and it is a very solid game in that department. However, after playing Radiant Dawn, i realized that the true chad king of best gameplay belonged to Radiant Dawn, although Conquest is still a very close second. I really liked the height mechanic, as it not only gives ranged attackers an extra niche but also served to make certain defense maps more interesting. 2-E and 3-13 rank among the best defense maps in the series for me. I also liked that Wyverns exchanged their flying weakness for thunder weakness, as an attempt to make them not just better Pegasus Knights. I mean, they still are, but it's a good distinction that helps them stand out more.
The highlight was Part 3, i felt that it had some of the maps there had interesting design or objectives. Like in 3-P where you take control of ballistas to somewhat clear a path on the other side for the Laguz allies. Or in 3-3 where you have to burn all the supplies in a set number of turns. Or once again, 3-13, a unique take on the defense map where instead of just protecting a certain tile(s), you have to defend a perimeter. If an enemy unit crosses the line at the map's halfway point, you lose. These are just some examples, i found the maps to be pretty interesting in other Parts too. 3-E probably has the best gameplay/story integration in the series imo.
Story-wise, this is definitely Fire Emblem's most ambitious title. Of course, it's still a Fire Emblem game, so it does fall into some of the pitfalls that plagues the series. Such as how most of the villains are poorly-written, the worldbuilding and whatnot is pretty much exclusively telling, not showing. The Blood Pact plot device is dumb (although it's not this horrendous can of worms that some people made it out to be imo) and the whole thing about the Branded is kinda just shoved in. The game makes it a point about how Branded have to hide their brand, lest they be turned into outcasts but Soren is a Branded and he was walking around with the Brand on his forehead in plain sight, not giving a damn. And he still doesn't. Nobody seemed to care, yet being a Branded is considered a bad thing in this universe.
Despite all that though, this is probably Fire Emblem's best plot in my opinion. I really liked the different perspectives throughout the game and the fact that two of the factions were not on the same side (even if they join forces eventually) is something that i'd like to see in future games. And not in a branching path style like in Fates or Three Houses. Micaiah is one of the series' better Lords in my opinion, even if she suffers from Ike stealing her spotlight. Although, now that i have full context, it could've turned out a lot worst.
The biggest problem with this game is the lack of Support Convos. Now, most of the cast are returning characters from Path of Radiance so the lack of Supports really only hurts the brand new characters (especially Nailah and Volug, we know jack shit about Hatari and Supports would've helped there) but having Supports would've still meant only good things. As such, Fire Emblem is a rare case where my favorite game in a franchise does not have the best cast in that franchise. I'd still argue that Echoes and Three Houses have the best cast of characters in the series.
Honestly though, a lot of Radiant Dawn's faults don't bother me as much because playing through this game reminded me of a time when i considered Fire Emblem to be my favorite video game series of all time. I would never say that i lost interest in Fire Emblem but the series' flaws have made itself more appearent to me over the years and while i still like it a lot, i don't hold it in as high regard anymore. But Radiant Dawn reminded me of the time i did.
For a long time, i've always argued that Conquest had the best gameplay out of any Fire Emblem game and it is a very solid game in that department. However, after playing Radiant Dawn, i realized that the true chad king of best gameplay belonged to Radiant Dawn, although Conquest is still a very close second. I really liked the height mechanic, as it not only gives ranged attackers an extra niche but also served to make certain defense maps more interesting. 2-E and 3-13 rank among the best defense maps in the series for me. I also liked that Wyverns exchanged their flying weakness for thunder weakness, as an attempt to make them not just better Pegasus Knights. I mean, they still are, but it's a good distinction that helps them stand out more.
The highlight was Part 3, i felt that it had some of the maps there had interesting design or objectives. Like in 3-P where you take control of ballistas to somewhat clear a path on the other side for the Laguz allies. Or in 3-3 where you have to burn all the supplies in a set number of turns. Or once again, 3-13, a unique take on the defense map where instead of just protecting a certain tile(s), you have to defend a perimeter. If an enemy unit crosses the line at the map's halfway point, you lose. These are just some examples, i found the maps to be pretty interesting in other Parts too. 3-E probably has the best gameplay/story integration in the series imo.
Story-wise, this is definitely Fire Emblem's most ambitious title. Of course, it's still a Fire Emblem game, so it does fall into some of the pitfalls that plagues the series. Such as how most of the villains are poorly-written, the worldbuilding and whatnot is pretty much exclusively telling, not showing. The Blood Pact plot device is dumb (although it's not this horrendous can of worms that some people made it out to be imo) and the whole thing about the Branded is kinda just shoved in. The game makes it a point about how Branded have to hide their brand, lest they be turned into outcasts but Soren is a Branded and he was walking around with the Brand on his forehead in plain sight, not giving a damn. And he still doesn't. Nobody seemed to care, yet being a Branded is considered a bad thing in this universe.
Despite all that though, this is probably Fire Emblem's best plot in my opinion. I really liked the different perspectives throughout the game and the fact that two of the factions were not on the same side (even if they join forces eventually) is something that i'd like to see in future games. And not in a branching path style like in Fates or Three Houses. Micaiah is one of the series' better Lords in my opinion, even if she suffers from Ike stealing her spotlight. Although, now that i have full context, it could've turned out a lot worst.
The biggest problem with this game is the lack of Support Convos. Now, most of the cast are returning characters from Path of Radiance so the lack of Supports really only hurts the brand new characters (especially Nailah and Volug, we know jack shit about Hatari and Supports would've helped there) but having Supports would've still meant only good things. As such, Fire Emblem is a rare case where my favorite game in a franchise does not have the best cast in that franchise. I'd still argue that Echoes and Three Houses have the best cast of characters in the series.
Honestly though, a lot of Radiant Dawn's faults don't bother me as much because playing through this game reminded me of a time when i considered Fire Emblem to be my favorite video game series of all time. I would never say that i lost interest in Fire Emblem but the series' flaws have made itself more appearent to me over the years and while i still like it a lot, i don't hold it in as high regard anymore. But Radiant Dawn reminded me of the time i did.
This takes the solid foundation of FE9 and builds upon it to create one of the most diverse and interesting FEs to date.
Gameplay wise there's a handful of additions and changes. Unit's now have 3 tiers of promotion to match the longer campaign. Any character can now support any character. This unfortunately comes at the cost of unique and interesting conversations but the base conversations do soften that blow a little bit for me. We've still got bonus exp, promotions at level 20 and all that other good stuff from FE9 so it's all very well built upon. The biggest new thing though has to be the addition of ledges on some maps. Ledges add an aspect of elevation to the series for the first time, allowing this game to stand out from the series with it's excellent map design. Being able to gain the high ground on enemies and pick them off is so much fun and you have to be more alert than ever for where enemies can reach you from. Elincia's Gambit and Blood Contract are two of my favourite maps ever and part of that is the dynamic ledges can bring to your strategy on a defence map.
With the story this time round, the game is divided into 4 distinct parts, each following a different group of characters and their perspectives. Part 1 focuses on Daein after Crimea chose to abandon it after winning the war. Begnion has an occupation force ruling it that are rogue and corrupt, so the Dawn Brigade take it upon themselves to find a way to free their nation from shackles and rebuild it after war. Part 2 focuses on Crimea and Elincia's new position of Queen as a rebellion against her rule begins to break out. The other parts follow on from these but Radiant Dawn offers a unique perspective in exploring the aftermath of a war and the damage it does to each nation while they try to rebuild. There are a lot of interesting politics at play in FE10 and it's fantastic to see how those ideals are explored. Unfortunately there are a few stumbles along the way in its storytelling, with some parts possibly coming across as contrived for most people but it is one of my favourite stories in FE, especially in its scope.
Now the other area FE10 stumbles in is how it's units are handled across each Part. This is mostly with the Dawn Brigade who show up in Part 1 as unpromoted units and don't return until midway through Part 3 where they become easily outclassed as other characters start looking at tier 3 promotions. I think bonus exp does alleviate the issue a bit but the Dawn Brigade can feel exetremly frustrating to use when they are very underleveled.
Aside from those flaws though, FE10's highs boost this up to being my personal favourite FE. I love it's maps, characters, story, and music. The scope of its conflict make it an epic adventure full of memorable moments and it is truly a special game for me
Gameplay wise there's a handful of additions and changes. Unit's now have 3 tiers of promotion to match the longer campaign. Any character can now support any character. This unfortunately comes at the cost of unique and interesting conversations but the base conversations do soften that blow a little bit for me. We've still got bonus exp, promotions at level 20 and all that other good stuff from FE9 so it's all very well built upon. The biggest new thing though has to be the addition of ledges on some maps. Ledges add an aspect of elevation to the series for the first time, allowing this game to stand out from the series with it's excellent map design. Being able to gain the high ground on enemies and pick them off is so much fun and you have to be more alert than ever for where enemies can reach you from. Elincia's Gambit and Blood Contract are two of my favourite maps ever and part of that is the dynamic ledges can bring to your strategy on a defence map.
With the story this time round, the game is divided into 4 distinct parts, each following a different group of characters and their perspectives. Part 1 focuses on Daein after Crimea chose to abandon it after winning the war. Begnion has an occupation force ruling it that are rogue and corrupt, so the Dawn Brigade take it upon themselves to find a way to free their nation from shackles and rebuild it after war. Part 2 focuses on Crimea and Elincia's new position of Queen as a rebellion against her rule begins to break out. The other parts follow on from these but Radiant Dawn offers a unique perspective in exploring the aftermath of a war and the damage it does to each nation while they try to rebuild. There are a lot of interesting politics at play in FE10 and it's fantastic to see how those ideals are explored. Unfortunately there are a few stumbles along the way in its storytelling, with some parts possibly coming across as contrived for most people but it is one of my favourite stories in FE, especially in its scope.
Now the other area FE10 stumbles in is how it's units are handled across each Part. This is mostly with the Dawn Brigade who show up in Part 1 as unpromoted units and don't return until midway through Part 3 where they become easily outclassed as other characters start looking at tier 3 promotions. I think bonus exp does alleviate the issue a bit but the Dawn Brigade can feel exetremly frustrating to use when they are very underleveled.
Aside from those flaws though, FE10's highs boost this up to being my personal favourite FE. I love it's maps, characters, story, and music. The scope of its conflict make it an epic adventure full of memorable moments and it is truly a special game for me
would be higher if the map design didn't have so many brutal terrain effects in endgame, and if micaiah actually made sense
i have to play as micaiah
Mechanically pretty fun on normal mode hard mode seems like the designers are just being spiteful to the player by removing QOL features like checking enemy range.
Some interesting maps and the skill system in this is the most fun in the series in my opinion. Master skills are really over the top and kinda pointless, they may as well all be silencer for what they're worth. I'd rank it about as good as FE9 however the story really drops off the longer the game goes on.
A quick note on the English version: skill descriptions sometimes lie and the forge system was simplified. Kinda strange but not a deal breaker.
Some interesting maps and the skill system in this is the most fun in the series in my opinion. Master skills are really over the top and kinda pointless, they may as well all be silencer for what they're worth. I'd rank it about as good as FE9 however the story really drops off the longer the game goes on.
A quick note on the English version: skill descriptions sometimes lie and the forge system was simplified. Kinda strange but not a deal breaker.
These god damn requirements for the good ending
I have a few gripes with the story but its mostly a great game with fantastic maps and intense battles. Long too, and I enjoy the different perspectives
Decent sequel to Ike's game but I felt like it needed to focus more on 1 lord over 2. Pretty ambitious at the time to constantly switch entire armies and had a very enjoyable endgame.
Janaff boy pussy
definitely a step down in terms of story but theres a solid game to be had here, fuck micaiah
Laura best healbot 2007 - beyond time
love it but i wish it was actually finished
El cambio constante de personajes mata la experiencia (sobre todo en el grupo de micaiah) pero la historia eta buena
yeh i know what a cosine is-- wish they kept that mechanic
Good story, barring a few elements like pelleas' stuff. I like micaiah, but she gets overruled in part 4. Gameplay, is mostly fun. Unit quality is ridiculous in this game. Go from absolute garbage to the most broken units to have ever existed. Some weird gameplay choices like screwing over healers. Map design, ooh boy. Endgame has was too many reinforcements to the point of being annoying. And some other quirky maps are annoying, but overall isn't terrible. Just not good. Characters are pretty great. Love Zelgius.
God tier Fire Emblem, nice sequel to the masterpiece game that was Path of Radiance. Pieces every unfinished narrative together from its prequel in a wonderful way.
This game is so fucking weird. Fire Emblem Path of Radiance is one of my favorite games ever and I struggle to bring myself to care even a little bit about this game. I never even beat it. Micaiah sucked.
Update, I'm playing it again and am much further. This game is still extremely weird, and Micaiah doesn't doesn't suck, but she definitely is not a favorite. It has a really weird issue that basically no other Fire Emblem game has where you end up having these absolutely massive enemy and allies/other phases which take forever. In some of the longer maps with a ton of ally units, I would get frustrated seeing them make completely idiotic decisions and would end up just going to do laundry while that and enemy phase went through.
They really were desperate to try and make a follow up to a game which was, for all intents and purposes, an absolute failure. I wouldn't go so far to say that they failed, but they definitely didn't achieve what they were attempting to.
Fire Emblem has no shortages of evolutionary dead ends for the franchise, but those dead ends usually end up informing the macro mechanics of the series (see: Gaiden and Genealogy). I think, for decent reason, Radiant Dawn has not been something Intelligent Systems has been wanting to return to because a lot of what it was trying to do end up just making a weird experience.
I don't even think I necessarily have any sort of unique opinions on this game. I'm echoing its other detractors who make valid criticisms against it. I just feel that that it all comes together to make this exceptionally strange experience which never quite lives up to the potential of a return to Tellius.
Ike's new design sucks, and I don't especially love his characterization. Tragic.
Update, I'm playing it again and am much further. This game is still extremely weird, and Micaiah doesn't doesn't suck, but she definitely is not a favorite. It has a really weird issue that basically no other Fire Emblem game has where you end up having these absolutely massive enemy and allies/other phases which take forever. In some of the longer maps with a ton of ally units, I would get frustrated seeing them make completely idiotic decisions and would end up just going to do laundry while that and enemy phase went through.
They really were desperate to try and make a follow up to a game which was, for all intents and purposes, an absolute failure. I wouldn't go so far to say that they failed, but they definitely didn't achieve what they were attempting to.
Fire Emblem has no shortages of evolutionary dead ends for the franchise, but those dead ends usually end up informing the macro mechanics of the series (see: Gaiden and Genealogy). I think, for decent reason, Radiant Dawn has not been something Intelligent Systems has been wanting to return to because a lot of what it was trying to do end up just making a weird experience.
I don't even think I necessarily have any sort of unique opinions on this game. I'm echoing its other detractors who make valid criticisms against it. I just feel that that it all comes together to make this exceptionally strange experience which never quite lives up to the potential of a return to Tellius.
Ike's new design sucks, and I don't especially love his characterization. Tragic.
A very... Okay game. In regards to story it's still good, but characters were massively compromised by the awful support mechanics. Unit balance is all over the place and the game is surprisingly tough on Normal and above.
At times Radiant Dawn can provide to be too big of a mess of sorts, with its odd sense of difficulty, support system, and choosing which characters to exactly use throughout the game. But given time and dedication, Radiant Dawn becomes a thrilling experience watching your units grow from weak and helpless to being able to over throw a Goddess.
disregard anything bad anyone tells you abt this game
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn is perhaps one of the best experiences that the Intelligent Systems team have composed. The story is a direct sequel to Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, that takes the world, characters, and politics set up in that game and expands upon it all greatly in a grandiose and exciting adventure. It almost feels like Path of Radiance acts as an extended prologue to this game's story which is impressive considering that PoR is it's own epic story. The story in this game takes ton of characters and concepts from the previous entry and takes them in crazy an unique directions I never expected them too. The gameplay on the other hand is relatively the same as PoR's while tweaking a couple minor things and mechanics such as the UI and Award EXP which was fine by me considering that the gameplay loop of PoR was pretty addicting and fun. Of course there could always be little quality of life things they could've fixed here and there but it was nothing that took away from the experience. Unlike the previous game however, the story is broken up into 4 acts with 3 separate playable teams of units each with their strengths and weaknesses. Personally I would have preferred if we had stuck with Ike and his comrades for the length of this game, but playing as Team Micaiah, and Team Elencia wasn't the end of the world. It's just that Ike's chapters felt more engaging and interesting to me personally, but I can see how people would prefer Micaiah's story. I can say with complete certainty though that this game handles the multiple teams concept better than how Fire Emblem Echoes did, as I found every team in this game were comprised interesting and fun primary characters, unlike Echoes where I found Celica a complete bore as a character (Alm was awesome however.) All in all I think the Radiant duology are some of the best Fire Emblem games you can play, it's just a shame that games are an absurd amount of money on the secondary market. Hopefully one day Nintendo will see fit to re-release both games in a collection or perhaps give them the Echoes treatment so more people get to enjoy these great games.
i'd give this a 5/5 if the plot wasn't so awful. still a better story than any of the nu-FE games.
Outside the mediocre support system, basically did everything all games before and after tried to do but better. Cool development for characters like Elincia, multiple viewpoint characters/stories, much bigger maps, over the top but fair difficulty, mid-map saving, 3rd promotion etc.