Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance shows just how much the series has changed in 20 years
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance shows just how much the series has changed in 20 years
by Turbostrider27
25 Comments
mikehiler2
“*Older game is vastly different and less refined compared to newer games in the series, more at 11*”
CapRichard
Yeah. Before it was better.
Ot at least, the correct version of the boomer take: the previous games aesthetic, tone and story choices appealed to me more than more recent titles.
Wild-Advertising6872
It’s kinda crazy how much Fire Emblem has changed over 20 years. Some changes were definitely for the better, some not as much, but it still feels like Fire Emblem at its core.
myghostflower
i’m so glad it’s changed, if we were still stuck with the gameplay of that time it’d feel so boring
seeing the evolution and refinement of the fire emblem gameplay is so cool
Ayrios440
Old games – Not many tits
New games – lots of tits
That’s basically what Fore Emblem has become.
SlipperySparky
Three Houses was a slog. Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn were the series at its peak imo
Rob_And_Co
I hate the increasing importance of the social hub. I want to get to fighting and strategizing, not spend 2 hours having tea with a big titty lady/man.
I think Path of Radiance is perfect in that aspect. Great story, camp activities are minimal but provide fun lore, and you go straight to battle if you want.
baneez
Engage had great gameplay and imo was better than three houses from that aspect. But the art style and story really detracted from it comparatively. At its core though fire emblem is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises and I’m just glad people are enjoying them and buying it still
ArcTray_07
Series evolve, things change, news at eleven.
FE PoR is also very different from Geneology, and while still my favorite, Radiant Dawn proved the masses are not into the complex multifaceted story of war and 3 hrs per chapter unforgiving tactical gameplay, it remains the least sold game in the series and nearly killed the series, Three Houses made the necessary changes to bring a similar story and gameplay and handled way better.
If change is needed for FE to thrive, I’ll take it.
Crit_Nerd
Having read the article, I feel like it can be summarized “Well, it’s not Three Houses so…”. The series has had many changes since PoR. Some for better and some for worse. It feels so refreshing going back to this format, but it’s also great to just experience this game all over again.
It’s funny how the difficulty is mentioned because I thought PoR was considered one of the easiest games in the franchise? NSO allows you to make save states too. I do think there are some dated qualities to this game, even if it’s fitting with the narrative. Not having a convoy until chapter 8 is tedious because I sometimes end up throwing away new weapons I just got because the inventory is full. Having to turn on the enemy range Every, Single. Turn. just sucks.
Nitpicks aside, the Tellius games hold a special place for me. I’m glad more people will be able to go through one of the best games in the series, dated aspects and all.
Plastic_Bottle1014
Just having an updated high resolution and 16:9 support would be enough for me to be happy.
LazorsBear
Indeed… It was a SRPG, now it’s a visual novel dating simulator
AlexKidd316
PoR is peak FE
Dont-be-a-smurf
Loved Path of Radiance
Did not like three houses
Perhaps this is a minority opinion
When I became a fire emblem fan on the gameboy advance, I loved how focused it was. Tight mechanics, permadeath high-stakes tactics, and a straight forward story of intrigue and heroes rising to the occasion (or tragically dying in the attempt).
Three houses felt like a fucking dating sim. Spending time running around a campus, yukking it up with different students, wasting time fishing…
The combat itself felt smaller. Permadeath wasn’t really a factor. The stakes felt lower.
It just didn’t feel urgent. I didn’t feel like a soldier or noble swept into action, facing battle with comrades that may not be with me next time. Little stories like someone blocking the way for the main group to extract, and dying valorously (or save scumming and trying to change fate) just brought more excitement to me.
Anyway I’ll be replaying path of radiance.
kahabraham
Polygon with their high quality articles. /s
EnigmaKa
This was the game that got me into Fire Emblem after seeing Marth and Roy in Melee! The origins of Ike.
I’ll never forget the moment the Black Knight first appeared on the map like some medieval Darth Vader on a warpath, just slowly walking towards my units.
Arab_Chief
I’m only five chapters into PoR on my first playthrough and already the writing is better than engage ever was
Caesar457
I think a lot of what I don’t like is being considered the chosen one and playing a self insert character. I want to experience the story that was written not play it out from every side and collect 100 units just cause they look nice. The hero can be such and be destined for this role but I prefer him being thrust into the role and through struggles and hardship becomes the hero.
CptDecaf
In that the actual fighting of the game has become a sideshow to the main attraction… creepy dating sims for weebs.
BebeFanMasterJ
Feels like I’m in the minority but I genuinely loved and prefer Engage’s art style and character designs. Everyone has a design and style that stands out from each other while the designs in these older games tend to feel samey and blend into each other.
It’s why I’m glad the upcoming Fortune’s Weave still has very eye-catching designs that pop. Path of Radiance has an amazing story no doubt but Engage still has one of my favorite art styles of any game.
Hortensia is also my favorite Fire Emblem character period. I love how her design ties into the tragedy of her character. That aside though, I’ve enjoyed every FE game I’ve played so far both modern and classic. Three Houses is great, Engage is great, the GBA titles are great, and POR is great. It’s all Fire Emblem and I love Fire Emblem.
Tempest753
I haven’t played Engage yet so maybe that’s an exception, but I feel like instead of innovating the series by deepening its tactical depth, Nintendo/IS choose to water it down more and more with dating sim mechanics. Usually I love strategy games, but I can’t help but feel lukewarm on FE for that reason. I guess it sells so from that perspective it’s a success, but I feel like all the maintenance work in Three Houses sits right on the line of becoming a game for no one.
Pixel_Nation92
PoR has some of the most memorable character casts of a mainline game. Not much I could say aside from the fact that it is a staple mainline game that everyone should try at this point in time. The classical feel of FE is much better than its current iterations personally. Three Houses is great, but Engage was certainly not true to its title. It was painfully boring with its world and characters and was only uplifted by its mechanics alone. Whereas Three Houses was the opposite. The mechanics aren’t my favorite and could do without the monastery fetch quest dating simulators, but it certainly has a world that feels interesting with its story and characters.
Is PoR that punishing though? I never found PoR to be particularly impossible on its difficulty, though there are plenty of difficult moments within the game, but nothing that can’t be overcome with some proper planning. The person in the blog post made it sound like PoR was like the most difficult game to ever exist.
From beyond FE 10, it never quite hit the same for me. The concepts of the classics, and even the passion from a lot of fans with their fan games have certainly been better in quality compared to its current era.
P.S: try Cerulean Crescent for those who enjoy hacks. It’s got all good and great people love about FE packaged in it.
I only hope Fortune’s Weave follows suit for a more classic approach, but we’ll see.
Ok-Comfortable-3174
I try to like these games but always bounce hard in the early hours. I pushed through in 3 houses but kinda hated the graphics and dating parts. How long until it sinks it teeth in?
SidWes
Hot take, perma death and difficult choices make the fire emblem games what they are if not better. Sacred stones and the console games did it best in my opinion. Big fan of awakening too.
I like the more grounded fantasy aspect and the less anime-like aspects. Less Genshin Impact more Final Fantasy 1-3. More Zelda style.
pretension
Back when fire emblem was still fire emblem. No dating sim bullshit, no getting around perma death.
25 Comments
“*Older game is vastly different and less refined compared to newer games in the series, more at 11*”
Yeah. Before it was better.
Ot at least, the correct version of the boomer take: the previous games aesthetic, tone and story choices appealed to me more than more recent titles.
It’s kinda crazy how much Fire Emblem has changed over 20 years. Some changes were definitely for the better, some not as much, but it still feels like Fire Emblem at its core.
i’m so glad it’s changed, if we were still stuck with the gameplay of that time it’d feel so boring
seeing the evolution and refinement of the fire emblem gameplay is so cool
Old games – Not many tits
New games – lots of tits
That’s basically what Fore Emblem has become.
Three Houses was a slog. Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn were the series at its peak imo
I hate the increasing importance of the social hub. I want to get to fighting and strategizing, not spend 2 hours having tea with a big titty lady/man.
I think Path of Radiance is perfect in that aspect. Great story, camp activities are minimal but provide fun lore, and you go straight to battle if you want.
Engage had great gameplay and imo was better than three houses from that aspect. But the art style and story really detracted from it comparatively. At its core though fire emblem is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises and I’m just glad people are enjoying them and buying it still
Series evolve, things change, news at eleven.
FE PoR is also very different from Geneology, and while still my favorite, Radiant Dawn proved the masses are not into the complex multifaceted story of war and 3 hrs per chapter unforgiving tactical gameplay, it remains the least sold game in the series and nearly killed the series, Three Houses made the necessary changes to bring a similar story and gameplay and handled way better.
If change is needed for FE to thrive, I’ll take it.
Having read the article, I feel like it can be summarized “Well, it’s not Three Houses so…”. The series has had many changes since PoR. Some for better and some for worse. It feels so refreshing going back to this format, but it’s also great to just experience this game all over again.
It’s funny how the difficulty is mentioned because I thought PoR was considered one of the easiest games in the franchise? NSO allows you to make save states too. I do think there are some dated qualities to this game, even if it’s fitting with the narrative. Not having a convoy until chapter 8 is tedious because I sometimes end up throwing away new weapons I just got because the inventory is full. Having to turn on the enemy range Every, Single. Turn. just sucks.
Nitpicks aside, the Tellius games hold a special place for me. I’m glad more people will be able to go through one of the best games in the series, dated aspects and all.
Just having an updated high resolution and 16:9 support would be enough for me to be happy.
Indeed… It was a SRPG, now it’s a visual novel dating simulator
PoR is peak FE
Loved Path of Radiance
Did not like three houses
Perhaps this is a minority opinion
When I became a fire emblem fan on the gameboy advance, I loved how focused it was. Tight mechanics, permadeath high-stakes tactics, and a straight forward story of intrigue and heroes rising to the occasion (or tragically dying in the attempt).
Three houses felt like a fucking dating sim. Spending time running around a campus, yukking it up with different students, wasting time fishing…
The combat itself felt smaller. Permadeath wasn’t really a factor. The stakes felt lower.
It just didn’t feel urgent. I didn’t feel like a soldier or noble swept into action, facing battle with comrades that may not be with me next time. Little stories like someone blocking the way for the main group to extract, and dying valorously (or save scumming and trying to change fate) just brought more excitement to me.
Anyway I’ll be replaying path of radiance.
Polygon with their high quality articles. /s
This was the game that got me into Fire Emblem after seeing Marth and Roy in Melee! The origins of Ike.
I’ll never forget the moment the Black Knight first appeared on the map like some medieval Darth Vader on a warpath, just slowly walking towards my units.
I’m only five chapters into PoR on my first playthrough and already the writing is better than engage ever was
I think a lot of what I don’t like is being considered the chosen one and playing a self insert character. I want to experience the story that was written not play it out from every side and collect 100 units just cause they look nice. The hero can be such and be destined for this role but I prefer him being thrust into the role and through struggles and hardship becomes the hero.
In that the actual fighting of the game has become a sideshow to the main attraction… creepy dating sims for weebs.
Feels like I’m in the minority but I genuinely loved and prefer Engage’s art style and character designs. Everyone has a design and style that stands out from each other while the designs in these older games tend to feel samey and blend into each other.
It’s why I’m glad the upcoming Fortune’s Weave still has very eye-catching designs that pop. Path of Radiance has an amazing story no doubt but Engage still has one of my favorite art styles of any game.
Hortensia is also my favorite Fire Emblem character period. I love how her design ties into the tragedy of her character. That aside though, I’ve enjoyed every FE game I’ve played so far both modern and classic. Three Houses is great, Engage is great, the GBA titles are great, and POR is great. It’s all Fire Emblem and I love Fire Emblem.
I haven’t played Engage yet so maybe that’s an exception, but I feel like instead of innovating the series by deepening its tactical depth, Nintendo/IS choose to water it down more and more with dating sim mechanics. Usually I love strategy games, but I can’t help but feel lukewarm on FE for that reason. I guess it sells so from that perspective it’s a success, but I feel like all the maintenance work in Three Houses sits right on the line of becoming a game for no one.
PoR has some of the most memorable character casts of a mainline game. Not much I could say aside from the fact that it is a staple mainline game that everyone should try at this point in time. The classical feel of FE is much better than its current iterations personally. Three Houses is great, but Engage was certainly not true to its title. It was painfully boring with its world and characters and was only uplifted by its mechanics alone. Whereas Three Houses was the opposite. The mechanics aren’t my favorite and could do without the monastery fetch quest dating simulators, but it certainly has a world that feels interesting with its story and characters.
Is PoR that punishing though? I never found PoR to be particularly impossible on its difficulty, though there are plenty of difficult moments within the game, but nothing that can’t be overcome with some proper planning. The person in the blog post made it sound like PoR was like the most difficult game to ever exist.
From beyond FE 10, it never quite hit the same for me. The concepts of the classics, and even the passion from a lot of fans with their fan games have certainly been better in quality compared to its current era.
P.S: try Cerulean Crescent for those who enjoy hacks. It’s got all good and great people love about FE packaged in it.
I only hope Fortune’s Weave follows suit for a more classic approach, but we’ll see.
I try to like these games but always bounce hard in the early hours. I pushed through in 3 houses but kinda hated the graphics and dating parts. How long until it sinks it teeth in?
Hot take, perma death and difficult choices make the fire emblem games what they are if not better. Sacred stones and the console games did it best in my opinion. Big fan of awakening too.
I like the more grounded fantasy aspect and the less anime-like aspects. Less Genshin Impact more Final Fantasy 1-3. More Zelda style.
Back when fire emblem was still fire emblem. No dating sim bullshit, no getting around perma death.