Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Developer(s)	Nintendo SPD Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Taeko Kaneda
Producer(s)	Thoru Narihiro Hitoshi Yamagami
Artist(s)	Senri Kita
Writer(s)	Ken Yokoyama
Composer(s)	Yoshito Hirano Chika Sekigawa Naoko Mitome
Series	Fire Emblem
Platforms	Wii
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn (ファイアーエムブレム 暁の女神, Faiā Emuburemu: Akatsuki no Megami), is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It is the tenth main Fire Emblem title (11th overall) and the first for the Wii. It was announced for the Wii at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006 convention, and released in Japan and North America in 2007 and in Europe and Australia in 2008.

Radiant Dawn is a sequel to the Nintendo GameCube title Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, featuring the same style of cel-shaded FMV cutscenes. The game features most of the playable and non-player characters that were present in its predecessor, as well as some original characters. The player has the opportunity to transport gameplay data from Path of Radiance when beginning Radiant Dawn. The gameplay retains the fundamental format present in all games of the Fire Emblem series, but also introduces features such as new unit classes and an elevation advantage between battling characters. Radiant Dawn's plot begins in war-torn Daein with the main character Micaiah and her allies rebelling against the oppressive Begnion army. The story is divided into four parts, and changes perspective between different factions within the continent of Tellius.

Radiant Dawn has been positively received by critics, many of whom criticised only the game's high difficulty.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay of Fire Emblem

Radiant Dawn retains the gameplay mechanics of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, with turn-based battles taking place on a square-based grid. Most of the Path of Radiance cast returns, including all of its playable characters (except Largo), as well as figures new to Tellius. Data from a completed Path of Radiance save file can be transferred to Radiant Dawn via a Nintendo GameCube memory card, which can lead to characters obtaining statistical gains. Support conversations from Path of Radiance can also be accessed and viewed using this method. In Radiant Dawn, the "support" system has been altered so that a unit can support any other unit, although units can only have one support relationship each. A secondary support known as a "bond" is also available, which is active by default or obtained when two units have attained an "A" support level in Path of Radiance.

Radiant Dawn's multifaceted plot and lack of a permanent main character leads to the player controlling different factions in the game. In the later stages of the game, the player's units will battle against a previously playable set of enemy units; despite the "permanent death" feature common to the Fire Emblem series, some partner units and previously playable enemy units defeated in battle will still be playable later in the game. Radiant Dawn introduced new features relating to unit development, such as double promotion for beorcs, which grants the unit a special skill dependent on the unit's class. New features have also been added to the laguz units, including a maximum level increased to 40, the ability to fight untransformed, and the presence of the wolf laguz.

There are also modifications to combat, including an elevation advantage which grants units at a greater altitude with more power and accuracy. Radiant Dawn introduces the highest level of weaponry, known as "SS", which requires a unit to have used a particular weapon type many times. In previous Fire Emblem games, archers could not attack adjacent units, but the crossbow, as well as a few other bows, allows such units to attack both adjacent and distant units. Dark magic, omitted from Path of Radiance but present in earlier games, was reintroduced to form a second magical trinity (akin to the rock-paper-scissors system) alongside the one in Path of Radiance.

Plot

See also: List of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn characters

Radiant Dawn is divided into four parts, each of which begins with a prologue chapter that introduces the situation, followed by a series of chapters that is resolved with an "Endgame" chapter. Three years after the Mad King's War, detailed in Path of Radiance, Daein, the war's instigator and eventual loser, and the victorious nation Crimea are still in the process of rebuilding. Although Crimea is ruled by Queen Elincia, Daein lacks a proper successor and is instead ruled by the occupation forces of the Begnion Empire. The Daein people are oppressed by the corrupt senate and imperial soldiers. A group of Daein rebels named the Dawn Brigade, headed by Micaiah and Sothe, act as vigilantes to provide some measure of hope. After being driven from the capital, they locate and ally with the late King Ashnard's orphan son Pelleas, his scheming and ruthless adviser Izuka, the heron prince Rafiel who was long presumed dead, the wolf queen Nailah, and the former general of Daein known as the Black Knight. The group launches a guerrilla war against the occupation army, and word of their plight eventually reaches Empress Sanaki of Begnion. The senate disavows and scapegoats occupation leader Jarod, who is overthrown and killed by the liberation army. Unbeknownst to them all, Izuka tricks Pelleas into signing a contract known as a blood pact with the head of the Begnion senate, Lekain, which will kill increasingly large amounts of Daein citizens when triggered.

Word of Pelleas' ascension reaches Crimea, and Queen Elincia's recognition of Pelleas as Daein's rightful ruler outrages the Crimean nobility. A Crimean noble named Ludveck takes advantage of the tension to organize a rebellion in order to claim Crimea for himself. Ludveck's troops siege Elincia's castle, but they are repelled and Ludveck is captured. He attempts to force Elincia to release him by holding her friend Lucia hostage, but she is rescued by Ike and the Greil Mercenaries. Before Ike leaves, Elincia reveals the Black Knight's return.

When Ike returns to his headquarters, he is hired by the Laguz Alliance, consisting of the hawk nation of Pheonicis, the raven nation of Kilvas, and the beast nation of Gallia. Their representative, Ranulf, explains that Rafiel has revealed that the Begnion senate was responsible for assassinating the previous apostle of Begnion and framing the heron clans for it, resulting in their near annihilation. This has led to the Laguz Alliance declaring war on Begnion. The situation quickly escalates, threatening to become a world war that will awaken the god of chaos Yune who will supposedly destroy the world. Begnion coerces Daein into joining the war on their side with the blood pact and uses another blood pact to force Kilvas to betray the Laguz Alliance. Nailah and Prince Kurthnaga of the dragon nation of Goldoa learn of Daein's plight and also side with them. Meanwhile, Begnion begins raiding Crimean villages for supplies, drawing Crimea into the conflict on the Laguz Alliance's side, and Empress Sanaki escapes the senate's clutches and joins the Alliance along with the faction of Begnion soldiers loyal to her. A massive battle ensues, and the chaos begins to awaken Yune; Micaiah is forced to prematurely awaken her with the galdr of release. Yune's awakening also awakens the goddess of order Ashera.

As punishment for bringing the world into chaos, Ashera subsequently petrifies Tellius; only the most powerful warriors and human-laguz half-breeds survive. She decides that humankind is unworthy of survival and must be eradicated, and recruits the Begnion senate to this end. Guided by Yune, who sides with humanity, Ike, Micaiah, and King Tibarn of Pheonicis lead three groups in an assault on the Tower of Guidance where Ashera lies. They confront the senators and Izuka, who reveal that Pelleas was not Ashnard's son, but an unwitting dupe used to place Daein further under Begnion's thumb. Ike also learns that the Black Knight's true identity is the Begnion general Zelgius, and defeats him in a duel. At the entrance to Ashera's chambers, the group encounters Sanaki's trusted adviser Sephiran, who reveals himself to be the ancient heron Lehran. Sephiran admits that the massacre of the heron clans destroyed his faith in humanity, and that he has since engineered both the Mad King's War and the Laguz-Begnion conflict in order to destroy the world. After defeating him, Yune empowers Ike with godlike power, and he defeats Ashera and restores peace to Tellius. Hundreds of years later, Yune and Ashera combine to again become the goddess Ashunera, creator of Tellius.

Development

Radiant Dawn was first revealed as part of a short FMV sequence during the E3 conference of 2006. Development had begun soon after the announcement of the Wii—then codenamed Revolution—and even before the Wii hardware had arrived for Intelligent Systems. During an interview with Dengeki Nintendo DS, Hitoshi Yamagami revealed that Wi-Fi compatibility had been considered for Radiant Dawn, with features such as downloadable battle maps and units, although difficulties relating to balance and difficulty prevented the idea from developing. When asked about why the developers chose to develop Radiant Dawn for the Wii instead of the Nintendo DS, Yamagami stated that "The FE series began on the Famicom, so we'd generally like to release it on consoles." He proceeded to explain Intelligent Systems' decision not to utilise the Wii's motion controls, stating that he did not think they were suitable for a Fire Emblem game. Yamagami also gave an insight into development during an interview with Nintendo Dream, stating a willingness to return to home consoles after releasing three titles for the Game Boy Advance, despite soaring development costs.

In an interview discussing the game, Nintendo of America localiser Rich Amtower discussed an emphasis on maintaining a consistent characterisation between the two games. He stated how the development team was hoping to attract players of Path of Radiance with the storyline continuation, and also newcomers to the Fire Emblem series, rating Radiant Dawn as "the perfect refinement of the Fire Emblem series."

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 78/100 Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer 7 of 10 GameSpot 6 of 10 IGN 8.0 of 10 ONM 78%

Radiant Dawn hold a score of 78/100 on the review aggregator Metacritic, indicating generally favorable reviews. GameSpot's Lark Anderson noted that, although players can save mid-battle, the difficulty "will easily overwhelm even experienced tacticians." Eurogamer's Keza MacDonald appreciated the depth and refinement of the game, but proceeded to note a lack of accessibility due to greater complication and difficulty as Radiant Dawn progresses. Some reviewers were also critical of the developers' choice not to use the Wii's motion controls, although RPGamer's Bryan Boulette commented that "the game thankfully delivers a traditional experience that isn't changed just for the sake of changing it." In general, critics praised the gameplay system recognized in previous Fire Emblem games, but noted that the game felt too similar to its GameCube predecessor, with ONM's Chandra Nair commenting that Radiant Dawn has "refused to move forward." Hyper's Yuri Spadeface commends the game for its "deep strategy and for being hard". However, he criticises it for being "unforgiving", noting that it features "permanent death and is not really a Wii game".

Reviewers praised refinements of gameplay aspects present in Path of Radiance, such as the weapon forging system, which ONM thought was simpler to control in Radiant Dawn. Despite this, other changes, such as those to the support system, were not as welcome, with GameSpot commenting that support conversations "have been reduced to mere battlefield chatter." 1UP's Michael Donahoe praised the game's length and range of characters, but stated that the laguz "still aren't very useful." Although Fire Emblem games have been praised for their plot and characterisation in the past, GameSpot described the story as "laughable" and the game's villains as clichéd and "one-dimensional." Conversely, RPGamer lauded the alterations in perspective by use of different protagonists, which Boulette felt "makes the overall story feel so much broader and more expansive in scope."

The game's presentation received a mixed response, with IGN's Mark Bozon lauding the use of FMV and accompanying voice acting, although he commented that these were too infrequent, and that voice acting should have been used for the entirety of the game. The game's music received a positive response, with GameSpy crediting the work of series composer Yuka Tsujiyoko as "Remarkably good." However, multiple reviewers noted that the game's visuals were very similar to its predecessor's, with GameSpot rating them as "little to no improvement graphically" from Path of Radiance. GameSpy noted that the game's visuals "aren't mindblowing," but welcomed Radiant Dawn's interface and camera, stating that "A strategy game should often focus on function before form, but Radiant Dawn nails both."

External links

• Official European website