Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

[Mendon]

WOW!! I just finished beating Radiant Dawn and can't say enough how much I really, really enjoyed it. The story, the music, the surprise twists & turns, the characters.... the entire game was QUALITY from beginning to end.

 

Once I started Radiant Dawn, I've played almost nothing else until I finished the game today. The end clock said I had 42 total hours into it but I know it was much higher as I had to reset a battle here and there multiple times due to the death of one or more of my PC's during fighting (I decided when I started playing that all of my PC's would see the end of the game).

 

The game is sort of a sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for the GameCube as several main characters continue their journey into Radiant Dawn. But its not necessary to play the GameCube game first because Radiant Dawn does a pretty good job of filling in the story.

 

I'm not sure if anyone else has played this game, but I highly, highly recommend Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn if you are interested in turn-based RPG's.

 

 

Mendon

Edited February 25, 2011 by Mendon

[DickNixonArisen]

Can't do it. I LOVE shining force like a shrub, i'll take me some ogre battle or FF tactics, but I can't handle my guys dyin'. See Also: Valkyrie Profile: covenant of the plume

[Mendon]

Can't do it. I LOVE shining force like a shrub, i'll take me some ogre battle or FF tactics, but I can't handle my guys dyin'. See Also: Valkyrie Profile: covenant of the plume

 

I know what you are saying.

 

It's tough to lose one of your guys during battle, especially because you never know if further into the story that character might be someone who can really help you in a major battle. On the other hand, not having "immortal" characters is sort of a trademark of Fire Emblem games and sets it apart from other RPG's.

 

As I said, I went into this game and decided I wasn't going to lose any of my characters. And because of this vow, I had to re-do several battles multiple times. Many battles were an experiment when I first started them because often I didn't know which characters were strong/weak against current enemies, what kind of re-spawn's might take place & where, what character skills I needed in this battle, etc etc. Its what made the game fun for me.

 

Nothing was more frustrating to me than fighting a one hour battle only to lose one of my characters due to a stupid mistake on my part or a re-spawn of an enemy I hadn't foreseen, then having to re-start the battle all over again. But I solved this frustration by learning to use the "Battle Save" feature frequently!!

 

Again, I know what you are saying and I realize not every game is for everyone. But I really, really enjoyed Radiant Dawn and hope that Nintendo will be releasing another game in the series very soon.

 

 

Mendon

[Gabriel]

Can't do it. I LOVE shining force like a shrub, i'll take me some ogre battle or FF tactics, but I can't handle my guys dyin'. See Also: Valkyrie Profile: covenant of the plume

 

While I haven't played any of the Fire Emblem games all the way to completion, my plays have given me the impression that permadeath isn't that big of a deal. The game is always throwing replacement characters at you, so as long as you don't lose more than one or two guys every few fights, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

The reason I have a problem getting into the game is because I find it difficult to evenly level my characters, and the game offers no way to repeat a battle to grind out a few more XPs. So, it feels a bit more like work to balance everything out, which is a problem Shining Force (it's closest relative) doesn't have.

[Mendon]

 

 

While I haven't played any of the Fire Emblem games all the way to completion, my plays have given me the impression that permadeath isn't that big of a deal. The game is always throwing replacement characters at you, so as long as you don't lose more than one or two guys every few fights, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Maybe not a game breaking problem, but losing people can make the game incredibly hard or much easier.

 

Example: building "Support" between characters is a major part of the game. If the support between two characters is high, between battles you might receive a powerful weapon, spell, or item such as a Master Seal (which allows you to change class). Any/all of those things could play a big part in winning the game, and losing a character might mean an award will never happen.

 

Example: I obtained the character Haar, the DragonLord. During one battle, the computer killed him using a "sneaky" method I hadn't foresaw. So I re-played the battle to keep him alive. Later in the game, he proved to be a MONSTER in battle, killing enemies by the score and using his long movement range to rescue other characters or to get quickly to a "boss" which would shorten that battle. If I had let him die early, the game would have been much, much more difficult to beat.

 

While I've let characters perish in other FE games, from my gameplay in Radiant Dawn I'm of the viewpoint that keeping characters alive helps tremendously.

 

 

The reason I have a problem getting into the game is because I find it difficult to evenly level my characters, and the game offers no way to repeat a battle to grind out a few more XPs. So, it feels a bit more like work to balance everything out, which is a problem Shining Force (it's closest relative) doesn't have.

 

Knowing major combatant characters..... such as Ike, Titania, Skrimir, Tibarn, etc.... would get experience points with kills during battles, I used the bonus exp's awarded after battles to keep non-combatant characters.... such as Mist, Rolf, Sothe the Heron's, etc..... raising in levels in order to improve their stat's and change their class.

 

Maybe I'm not understanding exactly what you're referring to in finding it difficult to evenly level characters, but the above is what I did and it worked out pretty well.

 

 

And I love the Shining Force series; I imported all the chapters for my Saturn and used player guides to help me understand the Japanese text.

 

 

Mendon

Edited March 2, 2011 by Mendon

[Gabriel]

Maybe not a game breaking problem, but losing people can make the game incredibly hard or much easier.

 

I'm definitely not arguing with that. I was just addressing the nervousness the permadeath in the series causes. Yes, the game is easier if you make sure to keep everyone alive. That said, just because you lose a guy, it's not the end of the world or even the game. It doesn't even require a huge retuning of tactics. It just encourages a a bit more conservative playstyle than normally seen in other TRPGs of this sort.

 

Knowing major combatant characters..... such as Ike, Titania, Skrimir, Tibarn, etc.... would get experience points with kills during battles, I used the bonus exp's awarded after battles to keep non-combatant characters.... such as Mist, Rolf, Sothe the Heron's, etc..... raising in levels in order to improve their stat's and change their class.

 

Maybe I'm not understanding exactly what you're referring to in finding it difficult to evenly level characters, but the above is what I did and it worked out pretty well.

 

I'll just mention that I was speaking of the series in general rather than the specific Wii version of the game. I haven't played very far in Radiant Dawn at all (it seemed pretty good), and most of my play of the series is with the earlier GBA titles. It's also been a while. In any event, I wasn't really complaining about the level up system as much as I was attempting to stress the importance of efficient leveling which I felt gained elevated importance in Fire Emblem.

 

In other words, these are different "flavors" to the Fire Emblem series. They're not really anything for a TRPG fan to be afraid of.

[Cybergoth]

Part of the problem seems to be understanding that you're not supposed to level your characters evenly. You're supposed to use the characters you like and that work for your playstyle

 

One big mistake you can make early on though is too heavily relying on characters that are already strong. Then some of your characters may indeed never be able to catch up and come to form. Also keep in mind that levels max out at 20 I think. I've usually been trying missions without bringing maxed out characters, since they don't gain anything from further fighting experience.

 

BTW: I also don't ever accept death for FE characters. They may be replaced in quantity, but you're definitely missing out on their story branches. Unlike Valkyria Chronicles all characters in FE really have their own story bits and pieces.

[Gabriel]

Part of the problem seems to be understanding that you're not supposed to level your characters evenly. You're supposed to use the characters you like and that work for your playstyle

 

I thought that was understood. Perhaps I should have said "evenly balanced in your combat team." Yeah, if you have some guy you don't like and never use, it doesn't matter what the hell level he is.

 

One big mistake you can make early on though is too heavily relying on characters that are already strong.

 

I'm weak at this. I like steamrolling, and it causes characters who fall behind to typically stay there.

[Mord]

Maybe I'm not understanding exactly what you're referring to in finding it difficult to evenly level characters, but the above is what I did and it worked out pretty well.

 

Based on my experience from the GBA, it's probably a case of a strong character killing hordes of enemies for low exp, which otherwise would have helped the weaker characters advance in levels. I had this problem originally until I got the hang of weakening characters with the stronger ones that didn't need many levels so that the weaker ones I wanted to level could rush in and get the final hit.

 

Of course that method is with great risk. And it has caused many a battle reset since I also didn't like seeing characters die off. Although even then I ended up losing one of my knights... and didn't even realize he was gone for several battles. I probably got distracted when he was taken down.

[Mendon]

 

Based on my experience from the GBA, it's probably a case of a strong character killing hordes of enemies for low exp, which otherwise would have helped the weaker characters advance in levels. I had this problem originally until I got the hang of weakening characters with the stronger ones that didn't need many levels so that the weaker ones I wanted to level could rush in and get the final hit.

 

Of course that method is with great risk. And it has caused many a battle reset since I also didn't like seeing characters die off. Although even then I ended up losing one of my knights... and didn't even realize he was gone for several battles. I probably got distracted when he was taken down.

 

Ahhhhh... I see what you mean.

 

Yep, I 100% agree that the power characters can go thru a battle racking up all the kills and exp's while your weaker party members.... the ones that can be killed with one hit, like the healers and mages... must be protected with a passion. This method results in very little exp's and levels for the weaker characters, thus they can remain weak the entire game.

 

I would sometimes, towards the end of battles when the number of foes were way down, equip a powerful character with a weaker weapon, let him do most of the damage without killing a foe, and let the healer/mage finish the kill for the heavy exp's. It can be a workable method but as you say, a great risk is incurred by doing this, especially when spawns can take place.

 

As I said earlier, my main method was to let the power char's get their exp's and use the bonus exp's on the "Manage" screen to level up the weaker characters I wanted to use. Maybe not the best battle plan, but it got me thru the game with these weaker char's changing Class at least once or twice.

 

 

Mendon

[DickNixonArisen]

Wasn't that new SF game, Shining force Feather, slated for US release?

 

Should I bother finding GEN Warsong (de langrisser or something?) it's a pinch expensive.

 

I am (very) seriously considering getting a tattoo of slade from SF2, btw

 

I just feel like I can't make any progress in FE games. I only have the sacred stones and path of radiance though, haven't tried the Wii one. Is it significantly better?

Edited March 7, 2011 by DickNixonArisen

[cimerians]

Just wondering:

 

I have Radiant Dawn but I have shelved it because my nephew got to the end and he said it was incredibly hard. He could be exagerating but I dont know. He said you basically cant beat the game no matter what combination of characters you have or how high in level you are. Basically the end boss kicked his butt and there was no going back to level up or anything. Maybe he lost some characters so he got stuck?

 

I have no idea. Is it really that hard? The final encounter? Is there a good strategy to follow throughout the game? (Leveling, playing certain characters etc)

[Razzie.P]

 

The game is sort of a sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for the GameCube as several main characters continue their journey into Radiant Dawn. But its not necessary to play the GameCube game first because Radiant Dawn does a pretty good job of filling in the story.

 

 

 

If you get a chance, check out Radiance on Gamecube. Same high quality game, incredible story!

[Cybergoth]

I have no idea. Is it really that hard? The final encounter? Is there a good strategy to follow throughout the game? (Leveling, playing certain characters etc)

 

I don't remember it in particular, but I considered the whole game too hard on 'normal' difficulty. After biting through the first handful of missions, I started over on 'easy'. For your first playthrough I'd recommend that, it's a lot more fun then

[Mendon]

After biting through the first handful of missions, I started over on 'easy'. For your first playthrough I'd recommend that, it's a lot more fun then

 

Agree 100%.

 

Like you, I started out on Normal and played quite a bit into it but found the game getting harder and harder and harder. Battles were taking well over an hour to complete as I had to re-start them multiple times in order to keep any of my team from dying. I finally said to heck with it and started over on Easy, completed the game, and found I had a incredible time playing the game.

 

But I can say with confidence that anyone playing the game will find Easy Mode to not be a cakewalk, as even it is a bit challenging.

 

 

As for a good strategy.... I can only speak on my experience but found that keeping everyone alive was the best. As I said earlier, certain characters will be able to have "conversations" with other characters at different points in the game that will result in you being given powerful spells and equipment. Certain characters will be able to recruit other, very powerful characters, to your team. If characters have died and cannot provide you with spells/equipment/recruitment, then the game can be even more difficult.

 

A lot of the game is trial and error as you will find that forging relationships and assigning skills to certain characters makes a big difference in how well the battles you face turn out. You'll also find that certain characters are almost worthless in some battles but might be powerhouses in another.

 

Without giving away the ending, I will give one major hint: make sure you have 2 or 3 team members with the Nihil skill. Obtain it, use it, love it. Without that skill, the game will be extremely difficult to beat, even on Easy.

 

I also found out after completing the game (when I finally looked at an online FAQ guide) that there are hidden items (spells, weapons, skills, etc) on almost every battle field. Sigh... I really could have used some of that stuff.

 

 

This is a fantastic game with a great (and mature) storyline, characters you'll love and hate, and a challenge that really gives you a sense of achievement & accomplishment when you finish the game. I put a lot of hours into the game and had a total blast with it.

 

 

Mendon

[Cybergoth]

But I can say with confidence that anyone playing the game will find Easy Mode to not be a cakewalk, as even it is a bit challenging.

 

It is still challenging and rewarding to play on easy. The "easy" difficulty of the Wii game matches "normal" difficulty of the two GBA games IMO.

[cimerians]

Great thanks for the info. I will definitely switch it to easy and give it a second try.

[Razzie.P]

But I can say with confidence that anyone playing the game will find Easy Mode to not be a cakewalk, as even it is a bit challenging.

 

It is still challenging and rewarding to play on easy. The "easy" difficulty of the Wii game matches "normal" difficulty of the two GBA games IMO.

 

 

I forgot about that. There was some sort of "glitch" with the US release where Easy was really Normal, Normal raelly hard, etc etc.... something about the way difficulty is higher on the Japanese release.

 

It was a challenge, but definately not unbeatable. I never thought it felt "cheap," just difficult for all the right reasons (for me at least)

[DickNixonArisen]

That's a good distinction to make. Sometimes I am playing a game and die and think "WHAT THE HELL" but usually I think "oh, I deserved that." Devs need to learn to keep the first type of death to a minimum even if there are many of the second type.

[Mendon]

Below is a link to Part 1 of a video retrospective on the history of the Fire Emblem games. I found the video extremely interesting as I love the series but missed out on its beginnings as the first titles never appeared in NA (my first gameplay in the series was Sacred Stones).

 

HISTORY OF FIRE EMBLEM Part 1

 

 

EDIT: Just found Part 2:

HISTORY OF FIRE EMBLEM Part 2

 

 

Mendon

Edited April 3, 2011 by Mendon

[cimerians]

Below is a link to Part 1 of a video retrospective on the history of the Fire Emblem games. I found the video extremely interesting as I love the series but missed out on its beginnings as the first titles never appeared in NA (my first gameplay in the series was Sacred Stones).

 

HISTORY OF FIRE EMBLEM Part 1

 

 

EDIT: Just found Part 2:

HISTORY OF FIRE EMBLEM Part 2

 

 

Mendon

 

 

Pretty cool! Thanks for the links. I didnt know Fire Emblem went that far back.

[Mendon]

Part 3 of the Fire Emblem retrospective is now available:

 

History of Fire Emblem Part 3

 

 

Mendon