One of the problems with console-based strategy games is that they’re, well, confined to a console. Like all turn-based strategy games, you’re in charge of commanding your units throughout these battles to safety-but unlike other games, if you lose a unit, they’re gone for good (unless, of course, you reset the game and resume from your last save point). Radiant Dawn features lots of characters, plenty of hidden items, all the usual complexity in terms of stat growth and whatnot… it’s a big game, too, with several dozen battles, most of which I never had the chance to see before having to write my review. On the other hand, Fire Emblem traditionalists will be happy to hear that nothing much has changed in the way of the classic formula, either. Overall, there’s almost no evolution to be seen in terms of presentation, and that’s a shame. At least the soundtrack is instrumentally fantastic (the Fire Emblem games are known for featuring some of the best MIDI around), but the pieces aren’t as inspiring and memorable as the good old Game Boy games. Thankfully, there are a handful of full-motion videos, complete with great voice acting, speckled throughout the campaign to spice up the experience… but it’s quite a downer coming off of one of those dramatic, well-done FMV sequences and diving straight into the still-frame read-it-yourself dialogue cut scenes.īattle animations are particularly dull, as well, and chances are you will have located the option to switch them off by the time you begin your second battle. Boring, right? Yeah, it honestly could have been done better-and I’m not usually one to complain about a lack of voice acting, either. Excellently drawn cardboard cut-outs, but entirely static nonetheless. Radiant Dawn even returns to the same old dialogue scenes in between each battle, which feature cardboard cut-outs of each character accompanied with scrolling text. That isn’t always a bad thing, but admittedly the general lack of voice acting and full-motion cut scenes does detract significantly from the experience. Radiant Dawn might be a brand-new game, but if it weren’t for the funky new controller and widescreen presentation, you’d almost think you were playing the GameCube title. It’s tough even on the easiest difficulty setting! This game is not just a challenge-it’s a torturous romp through turn-based hell. You hardcore strategists might be thinking “What’s wrong with that? Games these days are way too easy, so I appreciate a challenge every once in a while.” But then you would be misunderstanding. With a relentlessly punishing difficulty level and unfathomably steep learning curve even on the easiest setting, Radiant Dawn provides a level of punishment that even Castlevania III and Super Monkey Ball would fear. That’s because Radiant Dawn is one of the most maniacally challenging strategy games ever created. Sure, you should have very little trouble picking up on the plot even if you missed the GameCube Path of Radiance, but this game is no place to start on the series. Wait… what did I just say? Wow, actually, that’s completely untrue. You will meet up with familiar faces along the way (if you played the GameCube game), but it’s okay if this is your first console Fire Emblem, too. It’s an interesting (if not thoroughly confusing) approach to be certain the game is essentially divided into four parts, all of which feature different lead characters and new armies. That’s because instead of providing a continuation of Path of Radiance’s storyline, Radiant Dawn simply tells the story from another perspective-that of a good-hearted, rebel faction within the enemy ranks. This is a list of classes from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.If you missed the Fire Emblem game for the GameCube ( Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance), you’ll be happy to hear that while this new console-based entry in the series, similarly titled Radiant Dawn, is indeed a direct sequel to its predecessor, it actually does not rely on your having played the previous game.
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