Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Its the best Fire Emblem i have played so far, just perfection from beginning to end. For those that aren't aware, Fire Emblem is a turn based tactical RPG, with a focus on story with a lot of likable characters and permadeath.

The story of Ike and his brand of mercenaries is really gripping and kept me glued to the game way more than i should. He starts of as a naive child, but he grows throughout the campaign, and his interactions with the rest of the crew are always enjoyable. The game is also surprisingly comedic at times. The story is a true epic journey, and explore a lot of surprisingly deep themes, most notably racism and the futility of war.

There are so many likable characters in the game, and you can explore a bit more their personalities through the support conversations. These are unlockable by bringing the two elements to the same battle together, which really makes you want to field chose everyone. Even more, each character is limited to 5 support conversations, as these will effectively give bonuses to the character. I wish that i could explore more out of these characters, but i am already satisfied with what the game offered.

Gameplaywise its the same old Fire Emblem except with a few minor changes. The map design i found to be excellent, with very unique battle settings in each battle. I didnt find as much copy and pasted battlefields like in the past titles. It still uses the same rock paper scissor system when it comes to the weapon classes, but the addition of new enemy types makes things even more complex. Leveling your characters is still really rewarding. Even more is the bonus xp you get at the end of missions that you can atribute to any character, effectively making support characters and characters you get later in the game much more viable. There is also the option to make your custom weapons, although i find this to be overpriced.

Overal its really hard to find flaws in the game. It has deep turn based gameplay allied with a simple plot but fantastic characters. Because the story is allied with the gameplay through support conversations and permadeath the stakes are even higher. Its a challenging game, but very rewarding. Its amazing, and one of the best games i have ever played.