Three Houses was my introduction to the FE series, and I thought the writing was incredibly deep and well-written with fun gameplay for the most part. Over time I found myself getting super attached to the wide cast of characters with deep and riveting writing. I thought the rest of the series would pale in comparison to it and Three Hopes, but I was wrong when I played PoR. Quickly this has become one of my top 5 games of all time, especially on my second playthrough. The gameplay is fairly standard for FE standards, but the overall map design and skills/base system made PoR very fun to play through. PoR's biggest highlight is the story and Ike. The narrative is entirely Ike's journey from a wandering mercenary to a continent-renowned hero; a coming-of-age story told and presented exceptionally well. The lore and worldbuilding of Tellius easily rivals the levels of depth and quantity of the Fodlan game. Each nation is fleshed out and has a lot to offer in terms of the overarching narrative and Ike's storyline. Lastly I wanna mention the cast of characters in the game. While a lot of them come off as pretty one-note and gimmicky, there are some legitimately fantastic characters in PoR on the same levels as my other favourites in the FE series such as Zihark, Jill, Soren, Shinon, Reyson, Ashnard, Tibarn, Naesala, and the Black Knight.

This is undoubtedly the definitive best Fire Emblem game; almost every aspect of this game is done right from the narrative, characters, gameplay loop, core combat, and music.

The Tellius Saga is a brace of excellent games, but Path of Radiance's compact yet fulfilling length, solid and unique maps as well as fun, memorable characters make it stand out even compared to its almost-as-good sequel. It is not a game that overreaches into overbearing mechanics or overly trope-reliant writing, such as its successors have a hand for, sticking to what is simple and what works--and what it sticks to, it utterly excels at. Design and sound are also among the best the series has to offer, from the thunderous critical hit setting loose a shower of blue sparks and endorphins to Kita Senri's timeless work on designing the world and characters of Tellius.

Though the animations and general pace of the game can be slow at times, Path of Radiance hits every note just right to make for something that, while not groundbreaking, remains in my opinion the pinnacle of the series' history together with its sequel, Radiant Dawn.