Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Encyclopedia
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, known in Japan as is a tactical role-playing
video game developed by Intelligent Systems
and published by Nintendo
for the Nintendo GameCube
video game console
. The game was released on April 20, 2005 in Japan, October 17, 2005 in North America, November 4, 2005 in Europe and December 1, 2005 in Australia. It is the ninth Fire Emblem
series title, and the third Fire Emblem series title to be released in North America and Europe. It was the first Fire Emblem series title to feature voice acting as well as being the first title to be rendered in a three-dimensional
, cel-shaded
manner. It is also the first Fire Emblem game to be released for a home console in North America, Australia and Europe.
The story is set on the fictional continent of Tellius and is totally unrelated to any of the previous Fire Emblem installments. It introduces a new system for battle preparation as well as a new set of races collectively called "laguz" (humanoid shapeshifters). A sequel to Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, was released for the Wii
in 2007.
Path of Radiance averaged 86% on Game Rankings
, which makes it the second highest rated Fire Emblem
game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, the game's main character, Ike, appears as a playable character.
was introduced in this game. At the end of every chapter, bonus experience is awarded based on certain factors such as number of enemies remaining and turns taken to complete the chapter. It can be distributed to units at the Base screen.
Another unique feature to Path of Radiance is Fixed mode, which is an alternative method for unit growth that is available after completing the game once. Random mode—the method used in all other titles in the series, as well as in the first play-through of Path of Radiance—gives units a set percentage chance to increase a given stat upon level up. This chance is termed a "growth rate." Due to the "chance nature" of this system, a unit that levels up may gain many stat increases or none at all. In Fixed mode, units instead earn experience towards a stat increase as they earn standard experience. This "stat experience" is kept per stat, and if enough has been accumulated, that stat will increase the next time the unit gains a level and "stat experience" will return to zero; otherwise, it will carry over to the next level. Units earn stat experience based on their individual growth rates, which can be modified by what items a unit has equipped and the class of the enemy that it is attacking.
. Path of Radiance was the first Fire Emblem game to feature voice acting. In the Japanese version, there was voiced narration for all of the overworld map scenes and the ending cinema scenes. However, the narration was mostly omitted in the English version, leaving only the ending cinema narration.
Over the course of the game, Ike and his companions must overcome long-held racial tensions between the beorc and laguz in order to form an alliance against their true enemy, Ashnard, king of Daein. In particular, Ike manages to reestablish relations between the beorc nation of Begnion and the few remaining members of the heron laguz clan, which was annihilated in an act of genocide
known as the Serenes Massacre. With this accomplishment, Ike is given command of a patchwork army that he leads into Daein and finally back to Crimea, where he confronts the Black Knight and ultimately King Ashnard himself.
The medallion once belonged to the heron laguz clan that dwelt in the Serenes Forest within Begnion. They were charged with protecting the medallion so that the evil god would not be released. However, the Serenes Massacre forced Lillia, a member of the heron royal family, to flee with the medallion, only to be captured by Ashnard's forces. Lillia was ordered to free the dark god, but she could not. She befriended Elena and gave the medallion to her. Mist eventually inherited it from her mother. Over the course of the story, Ashnard repossesses the medallion. In the final chapter of the "Difficult" difficulty (and "Maniac" in the Japanese version), he uses the medallion after his initial defeat to gain godlike power, but is still defeated by Ike and the party.
and voice acting to present cinematic sequences at key points in the game. The FMV sequences were animated by Production I.G.
The Fire Emblem series' veteran music composer Yuka Tsujiyoko
was actively involved in providing the musical score. Path of Radiance is the first Fire Emblem game to feature a theme song with vocals, "Life Returns," which is sung in the fictional language of the heron tribe.
Path of Radiance was praised for its deep story, excellent cut-scenes, and orchestrated music. IGN's Peer Schneider described the CG sequences as "gorgeously animated" and the game's music as "great." However, it was criticized for outdated in-game graphics and extended periods of dialog. GameSpot's Greg Kasavin commented that the graphics "sacrifice some of the series' old charm." The lack of innovation in gameplay and presentation was bemoaned, as well as the opinion that the game would not appeal to new fans.
Eurogamer cited the gameplay as "single-minded", stating that some gameplay elements lack complexity compared to games of a similar genre such as Final Fantasy Tactics
. Reviewers also mentioned the occasional burden of ensuring units' safety as a result of permanent death, and the frustration when losing a unit. Despite this, the game was praised for retaining the charm that made the previous installments popular. Path of Radiance sold over 156,000 units in Japan as of December 31, 2006.
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
video game developed by Intelligent Systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The game was released on April 20, 2005 in Japan, October 17, 2005 in North America, November 4, 2005 in Europe and December 1, 2005 in Australia. It is the ninth Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem
is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems , the maker of Advance Wars , and published by Nintendo...
series title, and the third Fire Emblem series title to be released in North America and Europe. It was the first Fire Emblem series title to feature voice acting as well as being the first title to be rendered in a three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, cel-shaded
Cel-shaded animation
Cel-shaded animation is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. It is a somewhat recent addition to computer graphics, most commonly turning up in video games...
manner. It is also the first Fire Emblem game to be released for a home console in North America, Australia and Europe.
The story is set on the fictional continent of Tellius and is totally unrelated to any of the previous Fire Emblem installments. It introduces a new system for battle preparation as well as a new set of races collectively called "laguz" (humanoid shapeshifters). A sequel to Path of Radiance, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, was released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
in 2007.
Path of Radiance averaged 86% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, which makes it the second highest rated Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem
is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems , the maker of Advance Wars , and published by Nintendo...
game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, the game's main character, Ike, appears as a playable character.
Gameplay
The game retains the fundamental gameplay mechanics of the Fire Emblem series, such as the weapon triangle and grid-based battlefields. However, there are some changes to the gameplay, such as the way in which the group prepares and units support each other.New race
Path of Radiance introduces the laguz changelings—humanoid creatures that transform into powerful animals when their transformation gauge is full. The bar within the transformation gauge increases each turn; the laguz spend roughly an equal amount of time in each form, though the humanoid form can be completely bypassed if the laguz is equipped with a special item. There are three species of laguz which are further divided into three classes each, although not all of them are playable. Beast laguz are divided into cats, tigers, and lions; birds into ravens, hawks, and herons; and dragons are divided into red, white, and black dragons. When in animal form, laguz use the natural weapons of their species—claws for beasts, beaks for birds, and breath attacks for dragons. The natural weapons of a laguz will never break with use, unlike normal weaponry, but laguz do not use manmade weapons and are thus unable to attack when not in animal form. Each laguz species has an elemental weakness: fire for beasts, wind for birds, and thunder for dragons. Birds can fly in either form, but also have the weakness to bows associated with flying units when in animal form.Unit classes
Path of Radiance allows the player to change a unit's class once he or she reaches a certain level. Unlike previous localized titles, a unit automatically promotes upon reaching level 21. Players can also use the Master Seal item to immediately promote any unit at any point between levels 10 to 20. The laguz cannot promote. Path of Radiance introduces some new classes while omitting some that were present in earlier Fire Emblem installments. There have also been changes to which weapons some classes can wield.Partner units
Path of Radiance introduces partner units who will aid the player's units in battle. The partner unit phase follows the player phase and is before the enemy and other phases. While partner units cannot be directly controlled by the player, there are options for Ike to give general instructions to them which include roaming, targeting certain locations, halting or avoiding enemies altogether. Some partner units that survive in battle may later become playable units. Tanith has the special ability to call a maximum of six reinforcements to a battle, who appear as partner units from Begnion's Holy Guard.Battle preparation
Path of Radiance is the first Fire Emblem game to feature a Base screen along with the "Battle Preparations" screen. Before the Base screen appears, Soren provides information on the previous battle, including the weapons and the distribution of bonus experience and skills. Players can engage in support conversations and "Info" conversations, chapter-specific conversations rated on a scale of one to three stars. One star denotes conversations that provide story background; two stars mark conversations that provide hints on how to proceed in the coming battle, and three stars indicate that the conversation may yield a special ability or new playable character.Experience
Bonus experienceExperience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
was introduced in this game. At the end of every chapter, bonus experience is awarded based on certain factors such as number of enemies remaining and turns taken to complete the chapter. It can be distributed to units at the Base screen.
Another unique feature to Path of Radiance is Fixed mode, which is an alternative method for unit growth that is available after completing the game once. Random mode—the method used in all other titles in the series, as well as in the first play-through of Path of Radiance—gives units a set percentage chance to increase a given stat upon level up. This chance is termed a "growth rate." Due to the "chance nature" of this system, a unit that levels up may gain many stat increases or none at all. In Fixed mode, units instead earn experience towards a stat increase as they earn standard experience. This "stat experience" is kept per stat, and if enough has been accumulated, that stat will increase the next time the unit gains a level and "stat experience" will return to zero; otherwise, it will carry over to the next level. Units earn stat experience based on their individual growth rates, which can be modified by what items a unit has equipped and the class of the enemy that it is attacking.
Skill system
The skill system, which was introduced in Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, has different mechanics in this game. Each character has a capacity gauge that allows for mastery of skills. By using a skill scroll, the character learns the corresponding skill and a certain amount of slots are taken up in the capacity gauge. The space of the capacity gauge varies between classes and characters. Almost any unit can learn any skill with a few exceptions. Skills vary in how useful they are and what they do. Most give the unit an advantage in battle; Ike's Aether, for example, allows him to deal extra damage while recovering some health points when it is triggered.Support system
The support system remains the same in how the support conversations affect each unit and how statistical boosts are determined. However, instead of the support level being determined by the number of turns units are adjacent in a battle, it is now determined by the number of battles two units have been in together. Furthermore, the support conversations take place at the base instead of in the battlefield. An option to re-read the support conversations as an extra feature is not available in this game as it was in previous Fire Emblem games. However, there is a section on the unit information screen that shows the specific statistical gains from support conversations; this wasn't available in the previous Fire Emblem games.Weapon forging
The weapon forging system, introduced in this game, allows players to create improved versions of some of the weapons available in shops. Players can forge one weapon during every visit to the Base screen. To forge a weapon, the player first chooses a base weapon to modify. More choices become available as the player progresses through the game. The player can then increase or decrease several statistics of the weapon, such as strength and weight. The further away from the statistics of the base weapon, the higher the cost. Making no changes to the base statistics results in the same price as the base weapon. After statistics are adjusted, the player can choose a new color for the weapon and give it a unique name; these features have no effect on price.Changes from Japanese version
Releases outside of Japan omit the extremely hard "Maniac" mode, replacing it with an "Easy" mode that is of lower difficulty than "Normal" mode. In the localized versions, the Swordmaster, Berserker, and Sniper unit classes receive a 15 percent boost to their critical rate (the chance to triple the damage of an attack), similar to those present in Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: The Sacred StonesFire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, known in Japan as , is a tactical role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance published by Nintendo. It is the eighth game in the Fire Emblem series, the third and final game in the series to be released for the Game Boy Advance and the second game in the series to be...
. Path of Radiance was the first Fire Emblem game to feature voice acting. In the Japanese version, there was voiced narration for all of the overworld map scenes and the ending cinema scenes. However, the narration was mostly omitted in the English version, leaving only the ending cinema narration.
Plot
The storyline of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is completely unrelated to any of the previous titles in the series. The protagonist, Ike, the son of Greil, begins the game as the newest member of his father's mercenary company, the Greil Mercenaries. The company operates within the borders of Crimea, a nation of non-shapeshifting humans (referred to as "beorc") that shares its southern border with Gallia, a nation of beast laguz, or humanoids capable of transforming into animals. A few chapters into the game, a neighboring beorc nation, Daein, invades Crimea. Soon after, Ike comes across an unconscious woman in a forest that turns out to be the Crimean princess, Elincia Ridell Crimea. Faced with the ruthless Daein assault, Greil leads the mercenaries out of Crimea and towards Gallia, but is killed by a Daein general known only as the Black Knight. After Ike and his little sister Mist grieve for their father's death, Ike swears revenge. These events mark the beginning of a long journey that will take Ike, Elincia, and the mercenaries across the continent and back in an effort to defeat Daein and restore Crimea's royalty to the throne.Over the course of the game, Ike and his companions must overcome long-held racial tensions between the beorc and laguz in order to form an alliance against their true enemy, Ashnard, king of Daein. In particular, Ike manages to reestablish relations between the beorc nation of Begnion and the few remaining members of the heron laguz clan, which was annihilated in an act of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
known as the Serenes Massacre. With this accomplishment, Ike is given command of a patchwork army that he leads into Daein and finally back to Crimea, where he confronts the Black Knight and ultimately King Ashnard himself.
Setting
Path of Radiance is set on the fictional continent of Tellius, which is divided into seven nations that are governed by either beorc or laguz. They are:- Crimea: A beorc kingdom that is home to the Greil Mercenaries. At the start of the game, it is invaded by Daein.
- Daein: A beorc kingdom that had become antagonistic ever since King Ashnard ascended the throne.
- Begnion: A beorc theocracy worshiping the goddess Ashera. The figurehead and empress is Apostle Sanaki.
- Gallia: Home to the beast laguzLaguz*Laguz or *Laukaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the l-rune , *laguz meaning "water" or "lake" and *laukaz meaning "leek". In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called lagu "ocean". In the Younger Futhark, the rune is called lögr "waterfall" in Icelandic and logr "water" in Norse.The...
; it had recently improved relations with Crimea. Ruled by King Caineghis. - Phoenicis: Home to the hawk laguz; its king is Tibarn.
- Kilvas: Home to the raven laguz; they are considered more cunning and dishonorable than the hawks. Their king is Naesala.
- Goldoa: Home of the dragon laguz; it isolates itself from the rest of Tellius. Their king is the legendary Dheginsea.
The Fire Emblem
In Tellius, the Fire Emblem takes the form of a simple bronze medallion also known as Lehran's Medallion. It allegedly holds the soul of an evil god whose energies disrupt the level of chaotic energy in a person. When Greil touched the medallion, it caused him to go berserk and kill everyone in sight, including his wife, Elena. It was only when she took the medallion from his hand in her final moments that Greil regained his sanity. Only a person with a high level of balance is capable of holding the medallion without going mad. Ike's mother, Elena, and his younger sister, Mist, are two such people.The medallion once belonged to the heron laguz clan that dwelt in the Serenes Forest within Begnion. They were charged with protecting the medallion so that the evil god would not be released. However, the Serenes Massacre forced Lillia, a member of the heron royal family, to flee with the medallion, only to be captured by Ashnard's forces. Lillia was ordered to free the dark god, but she could not. She befriended Elena and gave the medallion to her. Mist eventually inherited it from her mother. Over the course of the story, Ashnard repossesses the medallion. In the final chapter of the "Difficult" difficulty (and "Maniac" in the Japanese version), he uses the medallion after his initial defeat to gain godlike power, but is still defeated by Ike and the party.
Development
Path of Radiance is the first Fire Emblem title to feature three-dimensional graphics on the battlefield, replacing two-dimensional sprite animations and landscapes with fully rendered 3-D models. It is also the first game in the series to make use of full motion videoFull motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
and voice acting to present cinematic sequences at key points in the game. The FMV sequences were animated by Production I.G.
The Fire Emblem series' veteran music composer Yuka Tsujiyoko
Yuka Tsujiyoko
Yuka Tsujiyoko is a Japanese video game music composer for Nintendo. She is the music composer for the Fire Emblem video game franchise, which was not released outside Japan until 2003, and several other Intelligent Systems developed games. She also scored the Super Scope games Battle Clash and...
was actively involved in providing the musical score. Path of Radiance is the first Fire Emblem game to feature a theme song with vocals, "Life Returns," which is sung in the fictional language of the heron tribe.
Reception
Path of Radiance received mostly positive reviews after its release. Game Rankings, a review aggregator website, rated the game at 86%.Path of Radiance was praised for its deep story, excellent cut-scenes, and orchestrated music. IGN's Peer Schneider described the CG sequences as "gorgeously animated" and the game's music as "great." However, it was criticized for outdated in-game graphics and extended periods of dialog. GameSpot's Greg Kasavin commented that the graphics "sacrifice some of the series' old charm." The lack of innovation in gameplay and presentation was bemoaned, as well as the opinion that the game would not appeal to new fans.
Eurogamer cited the gameplay as "single-minded", stating that some gameplay elements lack complexity compared to games of a similar genre such as Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics
is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It is the first game of the Final Fantasy Tactics series and was released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998...
. Reviewers also mentioned the occasional burden of ensuring units' safety as a result of permanent death, and the frustration when losing a unit. Despite this, the game was praised for retaining the charm that made the previous installments popular. Path of Radiance sold over 156,000 units in Japan as of December 31, 2006.
External links
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance at Serenes Forest
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance at Fire Emblem Wikia