Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Released on November 5, 2007 for the Nintendo Wii by Nintendo after development by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn features tactical RPG gameplay across 37 chapters in a medieval fantasy setting.

"Who can account for taste?" asked my American Lit professor in a comment on my paper for Cormac McCarthy's drag of an overlong romance western adjective vomit, All the Pretty Horses. My English professor's favorite all-time book was All the Pretty Horses, and while he insisted that the fact that I disliked it would not affect my grade, the B he gave me in his lower level class sure looked conspicuous next to the A's I made in literally every single other English class I took as an English major. 19 A's and a B. "Who can account for taste?" my ass.
I don't like Fire Emblem games. I can see that now. About halfway through Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, I decided that continuing to play the 2007 Wii tactical RPG would be about as fun for me as...reading All the Pretty Horses again. By why isn't this storied series my cup of tea?

Game Over? But I just started!

Radiant Dawn starts well enough, with some cool, action-packed, atmospheric cinematics. Some magical girl with a cute bird is on the run, and some guy shows up to protect her. There's all kind of societal strife and war, and a bunch of over-complicated political mumbo-jumbo, and then you're suddenly looking at an overhead view of a city street, controlling some characters on a playing field.
When each of your respective characters gets their turn, a movement grid appears around them, upon which you can direct the character to any spot. The grid moves with you as you progress across the playing field, at times growing smaller according to more difficult terrain, like slopes. If you move close enough to an enemy, you can choose to attack them, whereupon a screen showing an animation of that attack appears. You also have the choice to end the turn using an item, like a healing herb, instead of attacking. Complete the chapter goals, like defeating a boss, or staying alive for a certain amount of turns, and you complete the chapter. There are 37 chapters.

I told you the stupid bird was cute.

And that's...the gist of it. As the game progresses, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn adds more and more complexity to the basic core of its gameplay, like missions geared specifically toward defense, missions involving prisoner rescue, allies added to the playing field the player can't control, and playable characters who can shapeshift. So much minutiae is added with each consecutive mission, that the corresponding tutorials become laughable--really, I'm 15 missions and 30 hours in, and you want to show me another instructional video?
I had a good time to start. Radiant Dawn felt like an onscreen board game and turn-based-RPG rolled into one. The game allows you to utilize many different types of characters: swordsmen or ax men who have to land right next to an enemy square in order to attack, archers who can attack from two squares or more away, lancers who can do both, and many more. There are even mage characters who can heal the rest of your party. Sure, you don't really get to know these characters, and they start to become more and more interchangeable as the game goes on, but early in, when the fields of play and mission objectives are simple, strategizing how to best use them is a thrill. For the first 10-15 hours, I was truly enjoying the game. Then cracks began to appear in the facade.

Look, it's Ike from Smash Bros.! Uh...I think I'm gonna go play Smash Bros. now.

First, I started to notice I wasn't interested in Radiant Dawn's needlessly complex, emotionlessly told story: Here's some prince. Here's some king. Here's some other prince who doesn't like the first prince. Here's some tyrant doing tyrant stuff. The people are restless. War. Famine. Repeat.
Radiant Dawn introduces character after character, location after location, and it's all just narrative white noise. Seven or eight missions in, I started skipping the cutscenes, which had become a time-wasting drag. You can access each mission's objective at any point during the chapter anyway
That's fine, I thought. I'm only playing this for the gameplay, anyway.
Then, it happened.
I reached the final chapter of the second part of this five-part game. Each part focuses on a different set of characters in a different location of the game's kingdom, which ensures you not only won't get too attached to any of them, but will be even more confused by the convoluted plot. When the characters die in a mission, they're dead permanently, anyway. Okay, so back to the end of the second part of of the game...
As I hinted at before, every one of Radiant Dawn's chapters has a condition that must be met to progress. They also have conditions of failure, such as allowing a particular character to die,or giving up on certain square on the playing field. The second part's final mission features many, many enemies and allies, and has a winning condition of surviving for 15 turns. A turn finishes when every character for you, your enemies, and your allies have had the opportunity to act. The game was already starting to get stale, when I, with a horror, realized I would be wasting time just sitting there, watching enemies and allies moving around for a vast amount of time. I eventually pulled out my stopwatch, and found that during each turn in the chapter, the enemies and allies took at least 3.5 minutes to complete all their moves...and I didn't have the option to skip watching their moves take place.. 15x3.5 is...more than 50 minutes. That's more than 50 minutes of just one of Radiant Dawn's 37 missions that I had to spend just sitting there watching what was going on on the screen. And this is a mission that occurs before the halfway point. I nearly went out of mind.

Why does your game hate me, Ike?!

That's not going to work for me. Ever. That chapter also included the failure condition that two particular characters could not die without the chapter automatically ending in defeat. I once made it to the final turn, after two hours of chapter gameplay, only to have one of these characters perish. So much time wasted. Thankfully, you have the option to save during a battle, but save at the wrong time, like say, right before the turn where your vital character has already been trapped and is about to die, and you're screwed. This type of pacing just isn't for me. At that point, I realized that, in order to keep my happiness and general well-being, I would need to quit playing Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
And so I did.
I should mention, though, the music up to that point was solid Nintendo stuff, but not good enough to make me want to finish the game. There's some voice-acting, but it's rarely utilized, mainly just in certain cutscenes. The graphics are solid, particularly in some of said cutscenes. Really, everything about the production values is solid. The gameplay, though...as much fun as the more straightforward missions can be, just becomes too tedious...
To me. As I said, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn just isn't my type of game. Perhaps I'm being too hard on it. Then again, the overly convoluted narrative is a legitimate complaint. The way the game introduces too many characters to allow the player to emotional connect with any one of them is a legitimate complaint. The way the player has to sit through long patches of video game AI making its moves is a legitimate complaint. Cormac McCarthy taking 100 pages just for the kid to ride his damn horse home at the end is a legitimate complaint! Yes, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn isn't my type of game--but I'd have the same complaints about these issues if they existed in a game in any genre that I enjoy. Imagine having to watch K. Rool putz around for an hour before you, as Donkey Kong, are allowed to defeat him? That's not very enjoyable...and life's too short to spend 60 hours playing a game you don't enjoy.

My better tomorrow will be spent playing a different game!

I can say, when the missions didn't involve me waiting a million years, I enjoyed the strategy involved in moving my characters in a grid like pattern against enemies. I enjoyed leveling up my archer (your characters level up, growing stronger after enough fights, but you can also level them up from a group pool between chapters, as well), buying him better arrows (there's a camp store you can visit between chapters), and turning him into a genuine weapon. I enjoyed maneuvering my stronger fighters, like Sothe (during the parts he was available) into a group of enemies that were giving my other characters trouble, and waylaying them. There are certainly many elements here to enjoy--but the flaws, piled on top of my personal taste--because who really can account for taste, right Dr. McKinnon, you jackass?--were just too much to bear. I don't like reviewing a game I haven't played to the final credits, but in this case, for my sanity's sake, on to the next game.

8.0

Graphics

They're fine. It's the above average, higher-res GameCube graphics you've come to expect in Wii prestige titles. Cutscenes look nice. 

7.5

Music and Sound

It's fine. Decent voice-acting in the cutscenes. Effective, if unmemorable music.

6.5

Gameplay

Some great, grid-based tactical RPG fun, saddled with overlong missions that force you to watch your enemies move for hours.

7.5

Lasting Value

There are at least 37 missions, and lots of options, but does that really matter when I have no drive to finish the game?

6.8  FINAL SCORE

Child of Light (Wii U Review)

Child of Light
Released on the Wii U, April 29, 2014, by Ubisoft, and developed by Ubisoft Montreal
Retail: $14.99
Wii U Game Reviews Score: 9.5/10



Starting last year, I made a promise that every winter break I'd pick out an uncompleted Wii U game from my collection and finish it. Last year's selection was Xenoblade Chronicles X. This year's choice was a no brainer. I've had Child of Light stuck in my head for the last five years. It's an astoundingly beautiful game that I've somehow continuously put on the backburner for half-a-decade. Well, no more! Over the week after Christmas of 2019, I finally finished Ubisoft's underrated RPG.

As famous trial lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, used to say, "If the tree is pink, just play, don't think."

Underrated? Didn't this game receive some accolades?
I haven't heard any real life people talk about this game, ever. That's a shame, as it's an incredible piece of work. For one, the art style and graphics are amazing. "Amazing" isn't a word I use lightly, and is, in fact, one I throw out rarely. In this case, though, it's one of the only words to do Child of Light's hand-drawn and painted graphics justice. 

Even the anglerfish, which in real life escaped to the sea from a sulfurous crack in hell, looks beautiful. 

Child of Light's backgrounds look like watercolor paintings. The game's director, Patrick Plourde, says (in an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun) Child of Light's artwork and character design in general was inspired by golden age illustrators like Arthur Rackham, John Bauer, and Edmund Dulac, which, okay, but when I look at the characters, specifically, what I see is the work of my personal favorite illustrator, Alphonse Mucha. Especially considering Mucha was from the Slavic region of Austria where the game begins.

I don't know...

Maybe it's just me.

Nice run-on sentence. Does it really matter what influenced the graphics?
Whatever the influence, the result is stunning image after stunning image, to the point that I had to force myself to stop taking screenshots for this review. Child of Light is most definitely reaching for a fairy tale vibe, but these graphics elevate the game into the realm of epic myth. The character animations only accentuate the excellence, from the charming way the main character hefts around her oversized sword, to the way her foes scurry to meet her. I could watch the characters' hair blow in the breeze for hours. Truly incredible stuff.
That's nice. Does the music measure up, or did they just farm the soundtrack out to a faceless production company?
Musically, Ubisoft brought in Béatrice Martin, aka Cœur de pirate, to give this imagery a deserving aural counterpart. Martin mainly employs strings and piano, creating some memorable, haunting melodies, with drums at select moments, particularly during some bombastic boss battles, that fits Child of Light's dark, epic fairy tale quite well. While at times whimsical, the game's music is quite tinged in sadness, which is fitting, as Child of Light begins just as its protagonist, an adolescent girl named Aurora, dies in her sleep.

Really, though, what little girl doesn't want to die in her sleep, then fight giant spiders over a lava pit? Er...that got dark.

So you play as a living dead girl? Is this a Rob Zombie album?
No. Aurora wakes up to find she's no longer in 1895 Austria, but in a strange and magical land called Lemuria. Of course, Aurora wants to get back home, as she's a princess, and her father, the Duke, misses her terribly to the point that he's nearly grieved himself to death. Also, her stepmom just might be evil, and quite possibly the cause of her death. Thankfully, Aurora quickly finds a Lemurian ally in feisty firefly, Igniculus, along with a host of different specied party-members she picks up along the way, all who want to help her get back to the land of the living, though they also have their own side-stories.

This giant, living cave doesn't join your party, but on the flip side, it is a giant living cave.

In the service of this story, Child of Light's gameplay follows the general outline of a JRPG. Aurora roams the 2D world of Lemuria with only she and Igniculus from the party visible. Each can be controlled simultaneously with the Wii U Gamepad's two joysticks, respectively. When you see an enemy, you can try to go around it, or make contact with it to start a fight. At that point, the world blacks out for a moment, then goes into a combat screen, featuring Aurora, Igniculus, and a party member of your choosing, versus up to three enemies. Fighting is turn-based, but there is an active turn bar at the bottom of the screen, showing not only all combatants places, but how fast their turns are coming up. Naturally, faster combatants turns will come up more frequently. Once a character passes from the blue "WAIT" stage of the meter to the red "CAST" stage, they can select a move (if it's one of your two party-members, naturally, you'll select their moves), whether to attack, defend, use a potion, use magic.

Where's the "Find a Responsible Adult to Fight this Hellbeast" option?

You only use two party-members at once? That sounds really simplistic?
Wrong. This is where the two party-member combat begins to reveal unexpected depth. Certain moves take longer to carry out, and consequently move more slowly on the "CAST" portion of the meter than others. If an enemy attacks one of your characters while that character is on the "CAST" portion of the meter, your character is "INTERRUPTED," meaning their move is cancelled, and their turn is knocked backward on the action meter. You can also do the same to your enemies. Plus, Igniculus can also factor into the fight in this regard. The player can cause the useful firefly to beam his energy toward Aurora or the other party-member to heal them, or he can beam his energy into enemies to slow their progress on the action meter--perfect for getting in an attack before being interrupted...or for interrupting. However, Igniculus has a limited power meter, himself, and his energy must be used sparingly, though it recharges gradually on its own, and fight screens generally include a few fill-up stations for him to refuel.

If my real life was an RPG, I wonder what I'd be leveled up to at this point? My defense stat should at least be high enough for me to take a bullet by now, right?

But that...
To make matters even more complex, enemies also have strengths and weaknesses in regard to certain magical elements, like lightning or fire, so you'll want to make sure you have the right party-member equipped with the right magic attacks at Aurora's side. Of course, each character's magic meter drains, as well, but thankfully, they can be recharged with potions (as can health and Igniculus' meter...and there are potions for speeding up your action meter...or slowing down your enemies' action meter...), and also refill when your characters level up. As in most JRPG's, Aurora and her party-members, even those not partaking in the fighting, gain experience points from every fight, and the characters level up, and gain stronger stats, like speed, strength, and defense, the more experience they earn. They also learn skill points, which can be put to use on a three-pathed skill chart with unlockable moves and stat increases. It's up to the player to choose the path.

Which one of these paths leads to some Ibuprofen for the headache all these options are giving me?

So as you can see, despite seemingly leaning heavily into its artistic production values, Child of Light hides a deep fighting and leveling up system within its beautiful aesthetics. I haven't even mentioned the oculi-crafting, which involves collecting gems strewn about Lemuria, and how equipping and combining sets of them for each character gives additional stat, attack, and defense power-ups, as well as specific elemental buffs for attacks and defenses. There's just so much here, but the game's systems somehow never tip Child of Light into overwhelming territory.

What's with kids these days and "Crafting?" Go knit a sweater, you damn hippies!

The gameplay doesn't entirely rely on fighting, either. Aurora and Igniculus have to work together to solve a variety of environmental puzzles, as they explore and progress through Lemuria, usually, but not always involving Igniculus light-casting abilities. These puzzles can be tricky, but always feel fair, and never hinder overall progress. They're generally quite fun and satisfying. There are also obstacles like spikes or lava, which have to be avoided, as they hurt Aurora and deplete her HP while exploring. Of course, Igniculus can both heal her, and refill his energy meter in the overworld, as well.

I forgot my Roman numerals. What's V? What English number has a "V?" That would help give some context. There's a "V" in "SEVEN," right? Oh, yeah, I'm going to crush this puzzle.

So you've got a game set in an absolutely stunning and imaginative fantasy world, with a beautiful soundtrack, featuring deep and enjoyable gameplay. Child of Light is near perfect.
Does it have several issues, though?
However, the game does have several issues. There's no voice acting, and characters speak in text boxes...in rhyme...always in the same rhyme pattern, rhyming the second and fourth lines. This not only gets a little stale, but the similar speech patterns make it a little difficult to distinguish each character's individual voice. I get that the developers were trying to further reinforce the fairy tale atmosphere, but it's a bit much.

How you talk hurts my head/What's with the rhymes?/I shouldn't have drank/All that Early Times

Child of Light is also on the shorter end of the spectrum, as far as JRPG's go. While I actually prefer that to a 100+ hour monster game-length, I'd rather something in the 30-50 hour range. Finishing Child of Light's main story barely takes 20 hours, if that. Thankfully, the game does include a "NEW GAME +" mode, where you can play through again with every upgrade and level enhancement you earned the first time, to explore with more ease...considering the land is full of hidden treasure chests and "confessions"--letters that add further depth to the game's story and world--further exploration is most definitely a bonus. This also offers a chance to complete all of the game's many side-quests.
Thankfully, even though Child of Light is short, it doesn't attempt to pad--
Speaking of pad, how does the game make special use of the Wii U's Gamepad?
Er...I'm sad to say, it doesn't. Of course, you can play on the Gamepad separate from the TV (like all Wii U games, within 15-20 feet from the Wii U), but unfortunately, if you've got the use of both the television and your Wii U Gamepad, the same image is broadcasted to both screens. A map or separate inventory screen would have been a cool addition to the Gamepad during TV play, ala the Zelda HD remakes. Alas, twas not to be. Anyway, thankfully, Child of Light doesn't attempt to pad its length with tedious backtracking-- there's a fast-travel mode so you can bounce around the places you've already visited in Lemuria with ease. The map also lets you know just what you've collected.

DISCLAIMER: This game does not feature one single damn lemur!!!

Outside of nitpicks, it's tough to find much to complain about here, outside of the short length. Child of Light is a deep, beautiful game. In fact, before my final scoring, here's a giant screenshot dump. I doubt whatever Wii U game I play over Christmas break 2020 will look this good!

Play it again, Rat Sam.

I think this image is even dense enough for Rick McCallum.

Giant, misty forest? This game is speaking my love language!

Game, I will go wherever you tell me.

Pig Man. Heat. Spider spice. Sharp object. This picture contains all the ingredients necessary for bacon.

Nice shot! That empty air is really gonna feel it!

I don't care if "of" means it's a Temple "on" the Moon or a Temple "for" the Moon, or a Temple "about" the Moon. I'm there.

C'mon, Pelican!

It's so pretty, I'm gonna vomit.

Looks like another puzzle. Get to work, firefly, you lousy bum!

Yawn. Just another beautiful enchanted tree in this beautiful enchanted forest. Think I'll go inside and take a nap.

*Sigh* I mean, what's left to say? This game is so mystically gorgeous. I think even Mucha would be impressed...

I didn't even mention, though it's clear from the screenshots, that Aurora eventually ages, becoming more and more badass. Just like my Wii U.

10.0

Graphics

Like getting dropped into a beautiful, dreamy, interactive masterpiece of a painting.

9.0

Music and Sound

Memorable piano and string melodies perfectly fit the fun, yet melancholy vibe, along with some rousing battle music.

9.5

Gameplay

2D exploration and puzzle-solving between deeper-than-they-seem RPG fights.

8.5

Lasting Value

Certainly not the longest game of its kind, but makes up for it in side-quests and additional gameplay modes.

9.5FINAL SCORE