I remember being so excited by the prospect of Path of Radiance in the lead up to its release—I was so obsessed with FE7 and Sacred Stones that I must have cleared them at least couple times each already, and was just chomping for more Fire Emblem—but bounced off of it so quickly. The switch to 3D textures and character models was so clunky in a way that seemed antithetical to the beautiful spritework and expressive animations of the GBA titles, and I just couldn't square it. I put it down probably around chapter 10 and forgot about it for a long time.
Picking it up again 15 years later, I'm shocked that the story and characters weren't at least enough to carry me through back then. This thing starts with a bang and handily maintains its momentum for a while, and for some time I was convinced that Path of Radiance is one very best games the series has to offer. The story is exciting, the tactical gameplay is satisfying as ever, and it has a great roster of characters and support conversations. Beyond these elements, which you can typically expect from most quality Fire Emblem games, it also has what is perhaps the best world building of the bunch—the nations, history and inhabitants of Tellius are drawn with such delicacy, and the developers masterfully drip feed the details behind its sociopolitical climate over much of the game. It sets the perfect backdrop to be easily swept up into the story of Ike and his company of mercenaries (a nice deviation from the nobles who typically lead these games as well).
I can't help but think that all this momentum and intrigue dies off considerably in the last third of the game though, when most motivations become known and the focus shifts away from uncovering the history and truths of the world in favor of becoming an all-out offensive against enemy nation of Daein. In fairness, all roads were leading there from the beginning, but there's an abrupt flatness in the execution of this portion that can be so deeply felt considering how great the material that comes before it is. This switch translates to the gameplay as well; despite being one of the easier titles in the series, I found Hard difficulty a satisfying mode until at this point, when my group began to feel so powerful that most deaths could be chalked up to careless mistakes as opposed to poor strategy, and the map design and enemy placement became consistently less interesting as well.
Still, the goodwill it had built up until that point made Path of Radiance compelling enough for me see it through to the end, and I'm glad that I finally did after all these years. While it falls short of being one of the series' best, it is still a very, very good entry that deserves the love it has received over the years.
Picking it up again 15 years later, I'm shocked that the story and characters weren't at least enough to carry me through back then. This thing starts with a bang and handily maintains its momentum for a while, and for some time I was convinced that Path of Radiance is one very best games the series has to offer. The story is exciting, the tactical gameplay is satisfying as ever, and it has a great roster of characters and support conversations. Beyond these elements, which you can typically expect from most quality Fire Emblem games, it also has what is perhaps the best world building of the bunch—the nations, history and inhabitants of Tellius are drawn with such delicacy, and the developers masterfully drip feed the details behind its sociopolitical climate over much of the game. It sets the perfect backdrop to be easily swept up into the story of Ike and his company of mercenaries (a nice deviation from the nobles who typically lead these games as well).
I can't help but think that all this momentum and intrigue dies off considerably in the last third of the game though, when most motivations become known and the focus shifts away from uncovering the history and truths of the world in favor of becoming an all-out offensive against enemy nation of Daein. In fairness, all roads were leading there from the beginning, but there's an abrupt flatness in the execution of this portion that can be so deeply felt considering how great the material that comes before it is. This switch translates to the gameplay as well; despite being one of the easier titles in the series, I found Hard difficulty a satisfying mode until at this point, when my group began to feel so powerful that most deaths could be chalked up to careless mistakes as opposed to poor strategy, and the map design and enemy placement became consistently less interesting as well.
Still, the goodwill it had built up until that point made Path of Radiance compelling enough for me see it through to the end, and I'm glad that I finally did after all these years. While it falls short of being one of the series' best, it is still a very, very good entry that deserves the love it has received over the years.