Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

If you are a fan of the strategic RPGs (role playing games) you are in luck.  The Japanese favorite, Fire Emblem, has finally come to the United States with its newest edition Fire Emblem:  Path of Radiance. 

The story starts out with the entire land of Tellius at war.  The land is filled with humans and half human/half beasts.  You alone have the ability to end the war.  Lead and command a band of mercenaries that hold their loyalty to you and only you.  Together you fight out epic battles to win victory over the forces of the Daein Kingdom.

Fire Emblem is a strategy based RPG.  You must use various tactics to defeat your enemies over a 3D battlefield.  It is unlike other tactic and strategy games such as Final Fantasy Tactics.  This is because in Fire Emblem, you encounter various people that you must recruit to join your league of mercenaries.  They are not mere grunts.  Each person is unique with their own history, attitude, weapons, skill, and agenda.  The other difference between Fire Emblem and most other games like it is that if one of your characters dies in battle, it is gone for good!  So protect all of your allies at all costs!

Battle takes place over a 3D chessboard-like battlefield.  It is a turn based attack system.  You advance you army across the grid.  Obstructions can get in your path such as:  water, plains, trees, mountains, etc.  You must plan out your strategy and utilize each one of your characters best skills.  Some types of characters are:  knights, winged soldiers, skinshifters, pikemen, and many others.

As you progress and perform attacks, the characters gain experience.  This is used to customize skills and equip them as you please.  There is also a pool of experience that you gain for distributing among party members as you see fit.  This helps out any weaker party members that are not quite ready for battle.

The controls of Fire Emblem are flawless.  It is very easy to maneuver your party members and execute attack commands.  An added benefit is that you can zoom in and out on the battlefield to better assess your attack options. 

One part of the game you may also enjoy is the numerous cut scenes.  The animation of these cut scenes is outstanding.  The voice acting is also great.

Fire Emblem:  Path of Radiance is available on Gamecube.  It is by far one of the best games ever released for this console.  It has an ESRB rating of T for teen.  This is because the game features fantasy violence.  If you have a hard time with it, there is a strategy guide available.