CozmicKoala
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the direct sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. While I don't think this game is quite as strong narratively as its predecessor, I do think it is very enjoyable in its own right, and the gameplay is much better.
This game takes place a couple of years after the main conflict of Path of Radiance, and it is very enjoyable to see all of the characters you came to enjoy in Path of Radiance once more, especially with how some of them have changed in the years since. This is especially true for both Elincia and Ike, as we get to see a great deal of development for Elincia, and how Ike has fully matured after the events of the previous game.
This game also introduces a number of brand-new characters, including a new protagonist, Micaiah. Micaiah's story offers a different perspective to the events of Path of Radiance, and does a lot to setup her eventual involvement in the main events of the game.
Radiant Dawn is rather infamous for a couple of things: its high difficulty, and its plot issues. The difficulty part is mainly attributed to the chapters involving Micaiah's faction, the Dawn Brigade, which generally consists of weaker units compared to Ike's Greil Mercenaries. Some of Micaiah's chapters can be tedious to get through, and may deter some players.
While the story issues bothered me less compared to most other players I've spoken with, I do think part of the issue has to do with localization. The original Japanese version had 3 different scripts for the game depending on the selected difficulty, with the "Lunatic" script having far more detail than the lower difficulties. The localization of Radiant Dawn tried to fix this by using a singular script across each difficulty, but they script they used was the less detailed one. For those interested, I highly recommend looking into the script differences upon completing/watching Radiant Dawn.
Despite the issues Radiant Dawn has, I ultimatelythink Radiant Dawn serves as a great culmination of Ike's character and story, and still has an enjoyable cast, selection of maps, and some strong emotional moments.
We don't need to talk about the voice acting though.
This game takes place a couple of years after the main conflict of Path of Radiance, and it is very enjoyable to see all of the characters you came to enjoy in Path of Radiance once more, especially with how some of them have changed in the years since. This is especially true for both Elincia and Ike, as we get to see a great deal of development for Elincia, and how Ike has fully matured after the events of the previous game.
This game also introduces a number of brand-new characters, including a new protagonist, Micaiah. Micaiah's story offers a different perspective to the events of Path of Radiance, and does a lot to setup her eventual involvement in the main events of the game.
Radiant Dawn is rather infamous for a couple of things: its high difficulty, and its plot issues. The difficulty part is mainly attributed to the chapters involving Micaiah's faction, the Dawn Brigade, which generally consists of weaker units compared to Ike's Greil Mercenaries. Some of Micaiah's chapters can be tedious to get through, and may deter some players.
While the story issues bothered me less compared to most other players I've spoken with, I do think part of the issue has to do with localization. The original Japanese version had 3 different scripts for the game depending on the selected difficulty, with the "Lunatic" script having far more detail than the lower difficulties. The localization of Radiant Dawn tried to fix this by using a singular script across each difficulty, but they script they used was the less detailed one. For those interested, I highly recommend looking into the script differences upon completing/watching Radiant Dawn.
Despite the issues Radiant Dawn has, I ultimatelythink Radiant Dawn serves as a great culmination of Ike's character and story, and still has an enjoyable cast, selection of maps, and some strong emotional moments.
We don't need to talk about the voice acting though.
A good beginner entry into the FE series. The game overall has enjoyable characters and maps, but I believe that the narrative begins to run into issues after the first arc, and the gameplay itself is rather broken.
This game introduced the Pair-Up mechanic into the Fire Emblem series, and it was also at its most broken here. While I certainly appreciate it for helping to grind support chains faster, the additions it provides to combat are a bit excessive at times, especially at A or S rank supports.
That being said, I found the character building to be incredibly fun in this game. Being able to try out all sorts of builds for the large variety of characters within the game does quite a bit to add to the replayability, and there are many viable builds that can be created for any character in the game.
As I mentioned previously, while I feel like the first arc of this game is rather strong, I think the second arc is rather disconnected from the rest of the story, and the third arc feels a bit rushed to some degree.
Finally, this game is rather infamous for its Lunatic+ difficulty, which is probably the most bullshit difficulty in the series. Not difficult, bullshit. It should say something when a map needs to be reset simply because a boss enemy just happens to have a skill that will destroy just about every unit you have. Even if this becomes less of an issue later in the game due to your own units catching up in terms of stats to a degree, it makes playing through the early game on this difficulty an absolute chore. It's understandable why Robin is considered the best unit in the series for their ability to solo this utter atrocity of a difficulty.
All in all, I think this game is enjoyable, but there are areas where I feel there could be a lot of improvement. I would definitely recommend for anyone interested in the FE series to give it a go, especially since it introduced many features that have continued to persist and be improved upon in just about every new entry in the franchise.
This game introduced the Pair-Up mechanic into the Fire Emblem series, and it was also at its most broken here. While I certainly appreciate it for helping to grind support chains faster, the additions it provides to combat are a bit excessive at times, especially at A or S rank supports.
That being said, I found the character building to be incredibly fun in this game. Being able to try out all sorts of builds for the large variety of characters within the game does quite a bit to add to the replayability, and there are many viable builds that can be created for any character in the game.
As I mentioned previously, while I feel like the first arc of this game is rather strong, I think the second arc is rather disconnected from the rest of the story, and the third arc feels a bit rushed to some degree.
Finally, this game is rather infamous for its Lunatic+ difficulty, which is probably the most bullshit difficulty in the series. Not difficult, bullshit. It should say something when a map needs to be reset simply because a boss enemy just happens to have a skill that will destroy just about every unit you have. Even if this becomes less of an issue later in the game due to your own units catching up in terms of stats to a degree, it makes playing through the early game on this difficulty an absolute chore. It's understandable why Robin is considered the best unit in the series for their ability to solo this utter atrocity of a difficulty.
All in all, I think this game is enjoyable, but there are areas where I feel there could be a lot of improvement. I would definitely recommend for anyone interested in the FE series to give it a go, especially since it introduced many features that have continued to persist and be improved upon in just about every new entry in the franchise.
I don't think my thoughts on this game are really that different from the general consensus among FE fans— the gameplay is fantastic, the story is laughably bad. I think the beginning part of the story is OK from what I remember, but the number of plot contrivances and the flat-out bad writing that follows will likely disinterest a lot of people. If you want to laugh at the stupidity, then go ahead and watch the cutscenes. Otherwise, I would say you're better off skipping the narrative and just enjoying the maps.
I rate this one as highly as I do simply because I think it has the best gameplay of the 3DS Fire Emblem entries, but otherwise I would probably give it a similar rating to the other routes of Fates.
I rate this one as highly as I do simply because I think it has the best gameplay of the 3DS Fire Emblem entries, but otherwise I would probably give it a similar rating to the other routes of Fates.
Similar to my review of Conquest, I don't think that my opinions on this entry in the Fire Emblem series are really that much different from the general fanbase. I would also agree with anyone who says it is the worst Fire Emblem game.
The map design is unnecessarily gimmicky in the latter half of the game, and how the writing attempts to resolve the conflict the game is centered around is hilariously bad.
This particular route of Fates also takes the main protagonist, Corrin, to unbearably high Mary Sue/Gary Stu levels with how many characters will simply join their cause for no reason other than "surely they couldn't be wrong!".
If bad games interest you, by all means try playing this one. Otherwise, I'd recommend just watching someone else suffer through it, or going through the cutscenes on YouTube.
The map design is unnecessarily gimmicky in the latter half of the game, and how the writing attempts to resolve the conflict the game is centered around is hilariously bad.
This particular route of Fates also takes the main protagonist, Corrin, to unbearably high Mary Sue/Gary Stu levels with how many characters will simply join their cause for no reason other than "surely they couldn't be wrong!".
If bad games interest you, by all means try playing this one. Otherwise, I'd recommend just watching someone else suffer through it, or going through the cutscenes on YouTube.
The first Fire Emblem game to be released in the West, Blazing Sword is a very cherished game for many long-time Fire Emblem fans. While I myself am not one of those players, I do think there are a lot of enjoyable aspects about this entry.
The sprite work and animations for this game are fantastic for its time. Several of the unique animations for major characters are incredibly fluid and enjoyable to watch.
The map design as a whole is pretty enjoyable. While there are a couple of maps that aren't great to play, I didn't have many issues with most of them.
The story does have some surprisingly emotional moments, but I do think the story as a whole is hit or miss. One of the biggest misses in my opinion, is how the game neglects Lyn after her story. Even worse, some of the plot points they set up for Lyn during her story are never fully resolved, which does take a bit of the experience away from me. That being said, I do find the other main characters, Hector and Eliwood, to be very enjoyable for their own routes in the game.
The game itself isn't terribly difficult. The enemies overall are rather weak, and there are multiple instances where you can simply field some of the later pre-promoted units and they'll outperform earlier growth units quite a bit. Unless you highly invest into some of these growth units, many of them (barring Florina, Sain/Kent if Lyn's story is done) are just outclassed by later pre-promoted units given to the player.
I think this game is enjoyable to play through and is worth a try for anyone interested in the earlier entries of the Fire Emblem series.
P.S. Why the hell is Lyn a weaker unit than just a normal Swordmaster. Like, HOW???
The sprite work and animations for this game are fantastic for its time. Several of the unique animations for major characters are incredibly fluid and enjoyable to watch.
The map design as a whole is pretty enjoyable. While there are a couple of maps that aren't great to play, I didn't have many issues with most of them.
The story does have some surprisingly emotional moments, but I do think the story as a whole is hit or miss. One of the biggest misses in my opinion, is how the game neglects Lyn after her story. Even worse, some of the plot points they set up for Lyn during her story are never fully resolved, which does take a bit of the experience away from me. That being said, I do find the other main characters, Hector and Eliwood, to be very enjoyable for their own routes in the game.
The game itself isn't terribly difficult. The enemies overall are rather weak, and there are multiple instances where you can simply field some of the later pre-promoted units and they'll outperform earlier growth units quite a bit. Unless you highly invest into some of these growth units, many of them (barring Florina, Sain/Kent if Lyn's story is done) are just outclassed by later pre-promoted units given to the player.
I think this game is enjoyable to play through and is worth a try for anyone interested in the earlier entries of the Fire Emblem series.
P.S. Why the hell is Lyn a weaker unit than just a normal Swordmaster. Like, HOW???
A desperately needed remake of Fire Emblem Gaiden. Shadows of Valentia resolves many of the issues of the original game, while arguably having some of the best aesthetics of any game in the series, with its fantastic soundtrack being the cherry on top.
I think my biggest gripe with this game has to do with the map design. Many, if not all of the maps are copy-pasted from Gaiden. While I can appreciate being faithful to the original game, I would also say that Gaiden didn't exactly have great map design to begin with. I think this is especially noticeable on Celica's route, where the maps can feel like a chore to get through more than anything.
I do also think some of the new additions to the narrative, like the characters Faye and Conrad, either don't help the story, or actively worsen it. Conrad especially feels like he reduces Celica to a damsel-in-distress during certain story beats, whereas in the original she was able to get out of those situations with her own strength. I think this unnecessarily diminishes her character to a degree, but I'm not sure if this largely held opinion or not.
The game does do a lot more for Alm and Celica as characters, and that is only enhanced by the fantastic voice acting for both of them, as well as the rest of the cast.
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone interested, but I will warn people about the map design possibly making it feel like a slog to play, especially for Celica's route.
P.S. If you're having issues with Celica's route, complete Alm's Act 3 before Celica's, fully forge up the Killer Bow, and use the Peddler NPC to send over the Killer Bow to Celica's side for Leon to use. Hunter's Volley Leon does so much to make Celica's route easier.
I think my biggest gripe with this game has to do with the map design. Many, if not all of the maps are copy-pasted from Gaiden. While I can appreciate being faithful to the original game, I would also say that Gaiden didn't exactly have great map design to begin with. I think this is especially noticeable on Celica's route, where the maps can feel like a chore to get through more than anything.
I do also think some of the new additions to the narrative, like the characters Faye and Conrad, either don't help the story, or actively worsen it. Conrad especially feels like he reduces Celica to a damsel-in-distress during certain story beats, whereas in the original she was able to get out of those situations with her own strength. I think this unnecessarily diminishes her character to a degree, but I'm not sure if this largely held opinion or not.
The game does do a lot more for Alm and Celica as characters, and that is only enhanced by the fantastic voice acting for both of them, as well as the rest of the cast.
I would definitely recommend this game to anyone interested, but I will warn people about the map design possibly making it feel like a slog to play, especially for Celica's route.
P.S. If you're having issues with Celica's route, complete Alm's Act 3 before Celica's, fully forge up the Killer Bow, and use the Peddler NPC to send over the Killer Bow to Celica's side for Leon to use. Hunter's Volley Leon does so much to make Celica's route easier.
1996
The original Pokémon games still bring me good memories from when I was younger and playing through them for the first time. That being said, the game itself has not aged well, and I do think its hilarious to abuse several of the broken mechanics in this first iteration of the Pokémon franchise. I can safely say that outside of some unique challenge runs, I don't have much reason to return to this particular entry over the remakes, Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green. This might be the original Pokémon experience, but I would rather play just about any other entry in the franchise over this one.
Tears of the Kingdom was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. For me, it rectified many of the issues that I had with its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, and improved on it in every way.
I greatly enjoyed going through the various temples, although I do feel that the Fire Temple was lacking in some aspects. The Wind Temple stands out to me as a particular favorite, alongside the Spirit Temple. I felt like these temples gave me very fun and unique experiences that I would love to go through again.
Mechanically, this was some of the most fun I have had with a game due to its unique building mechanic. There are so many different ways to approach the various obstacles that the game throws at you, and I always enjoyed using my own methods to overcome them.
Ultimately, I have few negative things to say about this game. It felt very well-polished, and I greatly enjoyed exploring the new Depths and the Sky areas, as well as seeing how this iteration of Hyrule had changed over time. While part of me is sad that we will not see this version of Hyrule again in the future, I am also very excited to see future Zelda games continue in the same direction as this one.
I would highly recommend this game to any Switch owner.
I greatly enjoyed going through the various temples, although I do feel that the Fire Temple was lacking in some aspects. The Wind Temple stands out to me as a particular favorite, alongside the Spirit Temple. I felt like these temples gave me very fun and unique experiences that I would love to go through again.
Mechanically, this was some of the most fun I have had with a game due to its unique building mechanic. There are so many different ways to approach the various obstacles that the game throws at you, and I always enjoyed using my own methods to overcome them.
Ultimately, I have few negative things to say about this game. It felt very well-polished, and I greatly enjoyed exploring the new Depths and the Sky areas, as well as seeing how this iteration of Hyrule had changed over time. While part of me is sad that we will not see this version of Hyrule again in the future, I am also very excited to see future Zelda games continue in the same direction as this one.
I would highly recommend this game to any Switch owner.