Path of Radiance feels like a much grander Fire Emblem than I am used to playing, and it added a lot of new welcomed additions to the original Fire Emblem formula that I would love to see continue and improve on. While the fact that the battle animations are lifeless and the game is no longer “pick up and play”; Path Of Radiance still makes for a grand time and I would recommend any fan of strategy games to play it.
It can be absolutely brutal at times, but it is also true to the series' fundamentals, and that alone should ensure acceptance from fans of the series.
This may not be an innovative title, but it's an excellent example of developers really nailing a game's design and clearly shows what separates the experts from the amateurs.
Both entertaining and satisfying yet difficult and frustrating in equal measures, if you haven't already fallen out of love with the series or have never played a Fire Emblem game then there's an awful lot to enjoy.
One of my favourite Fire Emblem games, it has everything you need in a good tactical RPG game : great story, great characters, great maps and challenging battles with nice mechanics. The mysterious antagonist makes you want to progress further in the game and find out more.
I didn't experience this game till a few years ago, but it's still one of my favorite games of all time. The character development is the best in the series, it doesn't just feel like a bunch of stereotypical archtypes bumping into each other. The same can be said about the story, it is oddly nuanced in a way I wasn't sure fire emblem could be. A woman designed all the characters too, so they all look incredible and theres no confounding boob armor to be seen, that alone means the world to me and places por above most of the other FE games. And of course as a lesbian, Ike and Soren's relationship holds a special place in my heart.
Sigh.. I miss the good old days when male protags were based off of BL tropes for seemingly no reason. They don't have the guts anymore to do that...except for Ace Attorney, I suppose.
Man, fire emblem was so cool! sooooo sad they never made another game after this one ): maybe they'll bring it back one day... or maybe not maybe they shouldnt. maybe they really shouldnt. maybe its a bad idea. but i'm glad the series ended on such a high note!
I have to be honest - I did not like this game so much.
This is only the second game in the franchise the I've ever played, but Path of Radiance kinda got me a little disappointed.
First, the good thing.
The glue that holds it all together IS the combat system. The true meat of the game! Strategizing your units, taking advantage of the amazing and well-designed maps, leveling up, changing classes, getting to know them, recruiting, losing members and etc. When it comes to what was supposed to be the basic in a tactical game, Path of Radiance is great! I had fun with it!
When things work out or when you know exactly what went wrong with your strategy, that's when the game shines.
The story is alright. I liked it, but it took me several chapters to actually get a grasp of it as a whole. Things are just thrown at you. Not not just 'things', 'THINGS' are thrown at you! The pinnacle of TMI! I'm glad there were some actually interesting character and story development, but it was VERY slow. I blame the story flaws in the tedious writing.
But, still, not a bad story. Especially when you're getting close to the end - That's when it gets GOOD!
But that's about it. That all I actually liked about in Path of Radiance. Sure, it's basically the core of the experience, but the game lacks in so many other aspects!
The presentation, for example, it's so bad, it's offensive! This game could've been a SNES game!
To me, that hurt a HUGE part of the experience. The soundtrack sounded bad, the storytelling felt stiff. the artstyle was weird and everything else seemed too archaic.
And although I liked the fact that the game focuses mainly on the main story, without any sidequests or unnecessary detours, THIS TIME I missed it.
See, depending on the way (and difficulty) you play, Path of Radiance can be extremely punishing and there's no extra way to grind or get a bit stronger. Some bonus exp or character recruitment requirements are never actually explained to you, so you're left in the dark, with whatever you make out of its gameplay. It also doesn't help that most units are USELESS! Their resistances/defenses are made of PAPER and their attack power can be quite low. Good luck on the field, with your 11 characters vs 22 enemies and a one-shot freak of a boss!
Add that to the preposterous permadeath system and you have a mediocre way to challenge the player, instead of actually teaching them how to get better and giving them mens to it. You're basically on your own and you don't have much else to do.
Maybe my hype for this game was too big. But I'm not to blame here, since EVERYBODY LOVES Path of Radiance. I had my share of fun during battles, yes, but found no love here, only frustration.
I don't recommend this game, unless you're an ultimate **** for the genre and the franchise.
Now and then I get the urge to play an older game for nostalgia and to see what I missed back in the day. So this review is from 2013, but I'm trying to think with a mind of the past to be fair.
When compared to other games in the genre, I feel PoR is more linear, less customizable and less complex than other grid TRPGS(tactical role-playing games), like say Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea. It's by no means a bad game, but it is rather simple and straightforward.
For a novice to the genre, it's probably a good starter. For veterans of the genre, I would pass this one over unless you're just completely out of unplayed TRPGs.
A very overrated game, simple strategy, repetitive, a predictable story. In short, there is nothing surprising about this game. I played it at the time and I didn't understand why it was so popular. Flat, simple, boring.
SummaryFire Emblem: Path of Radiance brings back to consoles the strategic combat series Fire Emblem from the Game Boy Advance. In this installment, you can control units such as knights, mages, and winged creatures, and use their unique fighting styles to win battles and gain experience. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance also includes a detailed s...