Bozon at his finest.... NOT. Sorry, I don't want any stinking Mii's in my Fire Emblem game.
Note: I included a list of his pros and cons at the bottom if you are too lazy to read
_________________________________________________November 2, 2007 - As far as classic strategy games go, Fire Emblem pretty much harks back to the beginning of time. The game got its start in Japan 17 years ago on the original Famicom, and has since seen over ten iterations across Famicom, Super Famicom, GBA (the game's USA debut), DS, GameCube, and now Wii. Over the years the systems have changed, but Fire Emblem remains a stead constant, offering the most hardcore strategy gamers out there some of the deepest strategy and difficulty with the most minimal control scheme possible. It should come as no surprise, then, that Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for Nintendo Wii does very little to change a formula that's been around for nearly two decades. The involving story is still there, the classic turn-based strategy originating on Famicom Wars (the 19 year old inspiration for Advance Wars) is at large once again, and players of a whole new generation have a chance to experience exactly what Fire Emblem is all about.
By Bozon
What you won't get with Fire Emblem, however, is any motion control or IR experience. There's no Mii integration, no online, no waggle, and no IR aiming. It is what it is, and Fire Emblem plays identical to its GameCube counterpart, who in turn still drew inspiration from the very beginning nearly two decades ago. The downside to that? Fire Emblem inherently feels like a GameCube title, with nearly identical interface, style, graphics, audio (or lack of), pacing, and general appearance, so while the game may come in a white box and burned onto a DVD, it's about as far from a traditional Wii experience as you can get. In fact, chances are if you already know you want this game before reading our review, as Fire Emblem hits a very specific, mature, traditional crowd.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is a direct sequel to last generation's Path of Radiance on GameCube. Players will eventually take control of nearly every character from the last game, work within the same world, but now see a totally different side of the story. After the defeat of Mad King Ashnard three years ago, the country of Daein is now falling to pieces, as a corrupt government strives to keep control over a public body that is now thrown into chaos. As an odd move for Radiant Dawn, players are actually assuming the role of members of Daein, previously the enemy in Path of Radiance. Taking control of a group called the Dawn Brigade - a medieval Rebel Alliance, if you will - players will scour the countryside in search for allies, aiming to take down the corrupt leadership that has - and continues - to plague Daein. And while this is a 100% sequel to the last game, players that haven't had a chance to pick up Path of Radiance for GameCube won't be left in the dust, as you'll get tons of backstory, character reintroduction, and an all new story. Basically if you just read the preceding paragraph, you're already good to go. Corrupt government, group of rebels, you with a controller… go.
Battle movement and strategy revolves around the same staples the series has since the beginning, with all control being done turn-based around a huge grid. As with Advance Wars, each unit has different attack abilities, movement space, and ranged or local attacks. What will come to a surprise for many, however, is that this is a game that embraces "permadeath", so any unit that falls in battle is gone, and gone forever. This means you'll either need to plan ahead, or restart battles often if you want to make it through the game. We've got absolutely no problem wit the game's difficulty or traditional rules, as it's exactly how Fire Emblem has been for years and years; just know what you're getting into.
It's not all wonderful nostalgia and flawless packaging though, as there are a few things Fire Emblem is definitely missing, and they can be very, very annoying. For starters 99% of the storytelling in the game is done with static drawings placed over a painted background. When characters interact, text scrolls by with no VO to be had. There are sections in the game - many more this time around than on GameCube - that launch FMV sequences which of course support full voice acting, and the actors this time around do a wonderful job; it's just a shame they couldn't be used for the entirety of the story. What you end up getting is an experience nearly identical to what you could see on Nintendo DS, minus the FMV work, and it's one that Nintendo seems to have no intention on improving. In fact, the general amount of animation in the game is extremely small, with short scripted sequences launching whenever attacks are initiated, but the majority of the game working with sliding pieces and very simple animations on tiny, low-poly characters. If you pick this one up, you better be in it for the gameplay, as the overall presentation - both audio and visual - is astonishingly simple.
Still, for those looking for amazing tactical play, this is the best you're going to find on Wii thus far, and possibly for the majority of the system's life. The list of skills, items, options, and possibilities in creating your team is seemingly endless, even allowing for members to tag up and boost each other's effectiveness by teaming skills with each other. You can create weapons in forge mode (included on GameCube as well), which lets you take literally any weapon in the game and boost specific stats, color them, and rename the item as you see fit, though you'll end up paying through the nose to do it. To add to the game's replay ability (and overall strategy), characters level up, but increase stats randomly, so you can't just boost a group of characters and expect to rip through the game because of it. For those that have a GameCube memory card with Path of Radiance saved to it, there's even an option to move specific players over to the Wii version, or at the very least boot another member's stats based on your progress on Cube. Fire Emblem isn't much to look at, but it's easily the best tactical experience you'll find on Wii, and a hardcore gamer's wet dream.
Closing Comments
To call Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn a Wii game is to take the meaning of that statement as literal as possible. Yes, it runs on Wii, comes in a cute white box, and you’ll pay $49.99 for it. From there, however, the experience is anything but Wii-like, as the game uses no motion, no IR, no Mii integration, and no online. While some gamers will scoff at this fact, diehard Fire Emblem fans already understand the choice made by Nintendo, as the series hasn’t needed to change in nearly 20 years, and shouldn’t be expected to now. The game supports Wii-mote control in classic NES-style, the GameCube controller, and the Classic Controller, so no matter what your setup you can still dive into one of the deepest, mature, and traditionally rooted titles on Nintendo consoles.
What you’ll miss, however, is any sort of upgrade from the GameCube version which is on sale for $20 new. Radiant Dawn is a direct sequel to the Cube’s Path of Radiance, and as such looks, acts, and feels identical. You’ll still get very little VO, minimal animation overall, GameCube graphics, and extremely simply storytelling that makes use of only a backdrop and some character art. Why the production value in Fire Emblem has yet to be completely overhauled is beyond us, but apparently someone at Nintendo things traditional games need to not only play like a game two decades old, but also look similar as well. If you’re looking for an entertaining, challenging, traditional strategy game, look no further, as Fire Emblem is as good as it gets. Just don’t expect anything more than GameCube presentation, visuals, and control for $50.
4.0 Presentation
Aside from some FMV work, there’s nothing here above what was done on GBA or DS. Basic menus, tons of text, simple backdrops, and not much more than some portrait art to tell the story.
6.0 Graphics
16:9 was included for the USA release, and 480p is a nice touch – for a game that is identical to GameCube in almost every way. Battle animations are improved a bit though.
7.5 Sound
No orchestration, very little VO, and a virtually unchanged experience from Cube’s effort. The music is still impressive, but it’s all midi.
8.0 Gameplay
No Wii functionality, but really no need. It’s a classic design, and it plays as such. It's a great tactical experience, still smooth and quick, and still entertaining.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Well over 50 hours, random stat evolution during level ups, GCN data transfer, but no online or multiplayer elements to be had.
8.0
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
IGN: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Review
__________________________________________________
For those of you too lazy to read, Bozon for the most part points out the flaws, rarely pointing out the pros. To basically sum up his complaints (and yes, the Mii thing is NOT a joke):
-No Motion controls
-No Mii Immigration
-Feels too similiar to Path of Radiance
-No Online
-Few FMV's
-Mostly Text
-Story was underdeveloped (although, people fimiliar with FERD beg to differ)
-Last Gen Graphics
-Poor Porduction Values
-No Voice Acting
The few pros that he mentions:
-Best TRPG on the Wii so far (no dur, it is the only one so far), and likely remain the best on the Wii
-50 hour RPG, WITH POTENTIAL FOR REPLAY VALUE
-Challenging
-No need for Wii functionality*
-"Still Entertaining"
He also says it is traditional, but changes between using that as a pro or a con.
Note: Although Bozon commented on the production values of the audio, he barely mentions the actual soundtrack. As far as I can tell, who could care less at who generic or original it is, as long as it is ochreastrated and "next gen" (as far as that goes for the Wii), he is happy.
Moreover, he doesn't bother talking about how well-written the text is and does not once metion the characters, both which change the plot drammitically. Basically, when it comes to story, music, and graphics, he only cares about production values. Graphics is understandable, since if no styling is involved (IE cel-shading), it relies 100% on production values. Story and audio do not.
So ya discuss. Do you agree with Bozon? Do you think this review was pretty bad (I thought it was, he kept repeating himself and half of his complaints were irrational), etc.
*Although he made this statement, he is being a hypocrite since he constantly complaint about it not being "current/next gen."
