There's something to say about quality vs enjoyment. There are pieces of media everyone around you thinks is fantastic but you don't seem to get, or you can find guilty pleasure in something maligned by the public. Earthbound Beginnings is the latter.

The mechanics of this game have aged like an ice cream cone in the heat, with barely stapled together "balancing" consisting of enemies who consistently take negative damage while posing as massive threats to your party. The world is rather barren and labyrinthian, and key objectives are obtuse to find with little to guide you on your way. Yet, despite all this, there lies this nostalgic charm in the game's presentation that drives me to think about it more than I should.

Similarly to Persona 5, I would say that the best thing this game has to offer is the general aesthetic. Simple and cute westernized characters fighting enemies ranging from everyday birds and bullies to more bizarre zombies and alien robots lends itself to a sense of escapism. This is a game that I often imagined me and my friends partaking in when I was younger, being psychics and exploring the world while dealing with weird threats. While Earthbound fulfills this escapism fantasy arguably better, with more varied locations and set pieces, Earthbound Beginnings takes pride in it's simplicity, feeling more homely as a result. And that humble, nostalgic feel also ties into this game's underground narrative.



SPOILERS START HERE



While this game is now more formally called Earthbound Beginnings due to the original translation officially being published, I am more keen on calling this game as it was initially pitched in japan, MOTHER. MOTHER, for how narratively shallow it seems on the surface, actually has more underneath the plot than is shown, all relating back to its namesake. Giygas is genuinely a sympathetic being, raised as a child by a young couple and growing conflicting feelings as the love of his mother Maria is constantly swept away by his hatred for his father George for treating his psychic powers like a toy. This is even shown in the final battle, where Giygas offers Ninten, the great grandchild of George and Maria to be spared while the rest of humanity is conquered. I like to believe that he sees the same spark of hope that Maria instilled him with. However, so filled with hate, it's hard to accept the love in your life, especially when it stems from something that hurt you. Like anyone dealing with trauma, his conflicting feelings end up causing him to escape in the end when confronted with the side of his family that loved him, wrought with his emotions until he eventually collapses and becomes the embodiment of misery we see in the sequel. For how little this game actually says, the deep emotional core of the MOTHER series still manages to shine in what is still by far the lightest in tone of the series.



SPOILERS END HERE



So, that's it right? Bad game is saved by a good story? Well, you've seen my review score, and all that I just said in that last paragraph is my own interpretation of what happens. MOTHER is a series built on implication, with barely anything of its deeper themes being explicitly stated to the player. This is most evident here, where the game plays more of like a comedy (not that it's a bad thing. I think this game is very charming) than an emotional gut punch like its grandchild. When you're playing this game, instead of dealing with a gripping story, you're dealing with tedious to bullshit encounters and getting lost in large areas that barely look distinct from each other. There are literally two factories you do back to back in the middle of the game, with the second one just being a longer, more annoying version of the first one, and it's just one example of this games many frustrating areas.

MOTHER is not a good game, and honestly I would advise to NOT play it. But, that does not mean this game doesn't have any merits. This is a game I love discussing and thinking about more than actually playing, with a whimsical OST, escapist nostalgia, and a story deeper than what is presented. It's a prime example that shows that while flaws may be prevalent, you can still find enjoyment in other aspects of a piece of art, and that's exactly what I do with this game.

TL;DR Pollyanna is the best overworld theme of all time and Teddy is a gigachad.

This game goes unbelievably hard. It has everything, the best FE rep in smash, great music, solid gameplay, interesting characters, and actually really well written themes. While I can go over all of that, this is going to be a more focused review on two characters that provoke my thoughts more than any other, but before I reveal who they are, let me set the stage for you.

Tellius is a land where two major factions reside. The beorc are typical humans, while laguz are animal-like and can transform fully into the beast they represent (in this game specifically, there are cat, bird, and dragon laguz). The game's center conflict delves into how the beorc have oppressed the laguz, with a team of laguz allies manned by your protagonist Ike, a fledgling mercenary who musters up an eventual army with beorc and laguz alike set on their path to stop the kingdom of Daein from continuing their oppression. It's a really great story with some iconic scenes, memorable villains, and this certain realness to it. I love that Ike is the only main character in Fire Emblem who isn't of a noble house, and eventually declines a lord title after his deed is done. Considering that often these types of political battles are started and run by those from the bottom making an issue with the blue bloods on top, such as real life racial and LGBT protests. Considering that Ike is also gay, I find that really cool and helps make it even more believable.

There's so many characters in this game who lend their hands to the cause, from Ike's fellow mercenaries to those wanting to end the war personally, all of which have several optional cutscenes that dig deeper in their brain. While most Fire Emblem games have this, I feel Path of Radiance handles it to go far more than just two characters comedically interacting with each other. To show what I mean, I want to talk about Jill and Shinon, two characters who I think aren't talked about enough in regards to this game and Fire Emblem as a whole.

I want to start with Jill first, as to explain why Shinon is great would require some leverage to support itself. Jill is a young knight of Daein, who when she sees Ike escape with a bunch of laguz from a town mobbing up against them, decides to chase after on her own accord alone. When she realizes she is now stuck on a boat with the Greil Mercenaries, she decides to stay with them to...study the laguz they have along with them. Within the Greil Mercenaries she mainly interacts with two people: Mist, the younger sister of Ike, and Lethe, a proud laguz warrior who has a hatred of beorc as Jill does for laguz, and it is within these two supports I think Jill truly shines as a character. As Lethe is more important to her arc, I will go over her first.

Lethe and Jill's first impressions go as poorly as one would think. Both even start equipped with accessories that make them fight better versus beorc and laguz respectively. Jill wants to ask Lethe about how laguz are, but her mind is so filled with internalized racism that she constantly says stuff to aggravate the already temperamental cat woman who has nearly killed another one of Ike's companions for being racist towards her.

When the second conversation rolls around she reveals that Beorc and Laguz used to live together, until Beorc decided that only they can rule, and started to look down about the laguz and enslave them, calling them sub-human as a slur to demean them. This has led to human also being a taboo word to beorc allies, as it denotes that they are the ones who are normal, the default. After the laguz fought tirelessly to get their own land and lick their wounds, they stayed secluded from beorc society, with only very few beorc actually forming bonds with them, including Ike's father, Greil, who lived in the kingdom of Gallia, where Lethe is from. Upon realization of how none of this was told to her by her Daein leaders, Jill starts to fully contemplate if what she was taught was actually in the right.

By the time their third conversation arrives Jill has spent enough time in the Greil Mercenaries to realize the error of her ways. She and Lethe form a tight bond, with Jill dropping the term sub human, and Lethe referring to her as a beorc instead of a human (which is a really good way for her to show she doesn't have respect for her oppressors btw). The two end up becoming the best of friends and eventually help Ike and everyone else end the war of the mad king on good terms.

While Lethe taught Jill how to accept others, Mist teaches Jill how to grow and respect herself. She talks about how she doesn't feel accepted due to being a Daein soldier, but Mist constantly reassures her that she is welcome and eventually slaps her out of her funk when Jill's self deprecation starts to wear on her. The two remain loyal confidants throughout their first few interactions, but everything changes when chapter 20 rolls around.

In chapter 20, the main boss is Shiharam, Jill's father. Jill is distraught at the thought of having her face him, and everyone in the army suggests that she stay away during this battle. However, due to how Fire Emblem games typically allow you to recruit seemingly notable enemies and other characters like this, one would assume that you can have Jill talk to Shiharam and recruit him on your side.

*DO.
NOT.
DO.
THIS.*

If you have Jill talk with Shiharam and her bonds with Mist or Lethe are not at B level by this point SHE WILL LEAVE YOUR ARMY PERMANENTLY AND JOIN AS AN ENEMY.

This is it, this is Jill's make or break moment. Such as Zuko's crossroads of destiny, this is the defining moment that will completely alter her character trajectory, and I absolutely love that. As a teenager, it can be incredibly hard to seperate what you love and know to what you know is right. When I was her age, I had a lot of internal struggle dealing with issues such as transphobia, racism, etc, just because these issues were not properly taught to me and were always portrayed in a very "whoever isn't me is bad" philosophy. It hurts even harder considering the fact there is no way to save Shiharam, and he dies either at his daughter's side or against her own hand.

After this, Jill is absolutely devastated, seeing that her father and country lied to her about laguz and filled her with unjust hate. Mist, who had also lost her parents, comforts her and tells her that while Daein may have instilled these problematic views into her, her father deeply cared about her and wouldn't want to see her like this, that he would be happy she had the luxury to take a road he couldn't. After a cry session between both as they mourn the loss of their fathers, their support ends with Jill finally feeling accepted with her new found family.

After the events of Path of Radiance, Jill eventually helps rebuild Daein and becomes a freedom fighter when they are now the oppressed nation under the foot of Begnion. A freedom fighter through and through, she helps the Dawn Brigade and later the Greil Mercenaries to help take down the racist senate.

Jill is by my opinion the best written character in the Fire Emblem series, and she is just a snippet of what makes Path of Radiance excellent. She perfectly portrays what it's like to grow out of toxic beliefs, from imposter syndrome to learning about revisionist history and overcoming her bigotry directly and decisively. I also love that this she and other non allies refer to themselves as human to show their lack of respect for the laguz, thinking they are not on the same level. She's a character I think about often, but there's also someone I should mention as well to finally hit home what I think makes this game's tackling of racism hit all the way home.

Shinon is a fucking nonce. This man from the very second protrudes this assholish dick energy. He is the one who introduced Ike (and the player) to the idea of laguz, using slurs and fear mongering, equating them to savages. He stays like this throughout the entire game, eventually leaving Ike's team temporarily due to laguz allies joining.

When you can eventually recruit him again, it's incredibly obtuse. You have to take Rolf, his student (and the worst unit in the game), halfway into a dangerous map, have him talk to Shinon, and then have Ike defeat him. Any other way causes Shinon to die where he stands as a pathetic poor and freezing man. Considering most people don't use Rolf, it can be rather difficult to get this requirement without someone dying, and when you do obtain Shinon, he suffers a massive life threatening wound at the hands of Ike for being such a hardass. It's always fun to see bigots get what they deserve. :)

After this, he remains an asshole with unimpressive stats for the remainder of the game. He constantly makes an ass of himself, including getting drunk and saying to Ike's face that he (now a noble leading a massive army) sucks and that he's a big poo poo idiot, and his one support conversation with Janaff, a bird laguz, where he constantly picks fights with him and calls him slurs, even at A rank.

Shinon is meant to be an unlikable asshole who doesn't grow, and I think that staticness when put into contrast with others such as Jill make him an excellent foil. He shows how not everyone in real life can change for the better and there will always be assholes, even ones working under a certain cause. My only complaint is that in the 3 years between this game and Radiant Dawn that he didn't get mauled off screen and die. Considering Largo is a character who is playable in PoR but not in RD due to losing his arm, I think this would've been a great end to his arc!

That was fucking long, lol.

But like, this game definitely sparks my brain neurons a lot, and I definitely enjoy thinking about, discussing, and playing it. While Fire Emblem isn't a series I can recommend much, Path of Radiance is a game I can recommend to anyone, especially those who want to dip their toes in the series. Too bad this game costs FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS WHAT THE SCALLOP!?