confidentialmisanthropy

Emblem.



After polishing off the latest videogame trying not to be videogame, I gotta say it's nice to play one that's very comfortable in it's heritage. I am kinda disappointed with Path of Radiance in that the 3D facelift is just that. Terrain isn't any more a factor than it was in two dimensions. Fire Emblem has the tendency to dampen my post-modern progressive sensibilities though.

While the gameplay is largely still the same ol' song, Path of Radiance does stray a bit from series traditions in it's narrative. I was expecting more nauseatingly noble protagonists. And while there are some, Ike, the game's blue-haired lead isn't of noble blood and doesn't act it; the first Fire Emblem lead to be so. He's leading a band of mercenaries with no true alliegances to anybody's crown. The game's world of Tellius is comprised of two races: obligatory human-like beorc, and the animorphing laguz. The relations between the races are turbulent at best, and Ike an co. get mixed up in the middle, trying to patch things here an there but it wouldn't be Fire Emblem without a little war. I don't play FE for the story, but at least this one is less derivative than the fan-fic fodder from the last couple games.

In addition to the normal trappings gameplay-wise, there's a considerable improvement in the customization area. You can now pick which weapons you want upgraded units to be able to use. They also added "bonus EXP" that you can use to level up those random level nothing guys they throw at you like half-way through the game that are otherwise useless on the battlefield. And then there's the laguz. Nothing says "I love you" like units that have the strength of your frontline knights and the mobility of your mounted units all rolled into one character.