Collection essentials #549: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GC)
By 2005, Nintendo had been in the business of 3D consoles for nearly a decade. It took this long for Fire Emblem to finally be seen in 3D. During the Nintendo 64 era, Intelligent Systems developed the fifth Fire Emblem game for the…aging Super Famicom (Super Nintendo), the last Nintendo-published game on that platform, and no Fire Emblem ever graced the Nintendo 64. The series had shifted to the 2D handheld Game Boy Advance for a few years before finally hitting the GameCube late in its lifespan. Path of Radiance features a brand new continent, standing alone story-wise from the previous game. The continent of Tellius is home to Beorc (humans) and the Laguz (half-beast people who can temporarily transform into full-on beasts). You play as Ike, son of a warrior named Greil who leads a band of mercenaries to which Ike is a new recruit. The nearby nation of Daein is up to no good, and the game’s cast gets caught up in shenanigans after rescuing a woman who escaped from them. The stor...