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Fire Emblem Facts - Gamecube

13th October 2005, 7:01pm
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 Here's a new fact sheet for Fire Emblem: Path of Radience, for Gamecube. It's pretty in-depth, and a good read.

All of Tellius is torn in a bloody war that has set the human empires against the nations of the shape-shifting laguz. A small band of mercenaries, led by the earnest but inexperienced Ike, possesses the means to end this war, but a hard path lies before them. Players must master strategy, steel and sorcery to restore order to the seven kingdoms.

Customize fighters with new skills! Equip fighters with Stealth to guide them past guards undetected or give them Vantage and guarantee them the first strike in combat.

Bring peace to a land divided! Take familiar soldiers like Pegasus Knights to the air, or transform new laguz shape-shifters and unleash their ferocious claws on enemies. Plot moves carefully, because if soldiers fall in battle, they're gone forever.

Game Storyline: Near a mercenary stronghold in Crimea, a kingdom on the continent of Tellius, a mercenary named Ike rescues a woman he discovers to be the princess of Crimea. The neighboring Daein kingdom has invaded her homeland, and she must travel to Gallia, home to the half-man/half-beast laguz, demi-humans with the ability to transform into animals. War spreads across the continent as Ike and his swords-for-hire fight to protect the princess and confront headlong the racial tensions and prejudices that have torn a rift between humans and laguz. As they fight, they learn the true reason for the war as well as the mystery behind the very creation of their divided world.

Characters: Ike is the leader of a company of mercenaries formed by his father, Greil. Titania is Ike's second in command and trusted advisor. Soren is a tactician and mage with a bleakly realistic world view. Ike's sister, Mist, also plays a prominent role in the game. There are dozens of other characters as well, both allies and enemies, each of whom has a unique personality, back story and set of abilities. There are several different breeds of laguz, too: the cat tribe, the winged raven and hawk tribes, and the powerful dragon tribe.

How to progress through the game: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy setting. The player alternates turns with the computer opponent, moving his pieces (units) and attacking enemy units on the battlefield. There are dozens of units and different weapons and magic spells, each with its own strategic benefits: Armored knights wield swords, fast-moving mounted cavaliers can use swords and lances, unarmed monks use healing staves and so on. As units grow closer together in the story, players can initiate support conversations to see some of the units' back stories and to enhance their effectiveness together.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: In addition to the usual character classes from the previous Fire Emblem games, Path of Radiance features new classes like Sword, Axe and Spear Knights, each with specific weapon proficiencies. The new Skills customize units with special abilities that allow them to attack multiple times, hide from foes and much more. Skills can be assigned to any unit, but because each unit can only have so many skills, players will need to be careful in how they assign these unique abilities.

At key points, players receive Bonus Experience, points that can be assigned freely to any unit to help it improve in levels. Players can spend these points however they like, using them to make their favorite characters stronger or to improve their overall team's effectiveness. Several other new features enhance the Nintendo GameCube version: The game environments are three-dimensional, and players can adjust the camera for the best perspective. Each in-game element, from strategy to movement, has an extensive tutorial that can be reviewed at any time.

Connecting a Game Boy Advance SP with a copy of either Fire Emblem or Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones to a Nintendo GameCube playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance will unlock exclusive character art and challenge maps.
by Nick Schaedel » Author's Blog