Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn [Wii] - vi i PAL-land håller tummarna!

Ultimately, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is a huge disappointment. It seems that nothing was learned from the making of Path of Radiance, and as a direct follow-up, Radiant Dawn can't even live up to its predecessor's epic story. The walls of text and unforgiving difficulty level will do nothing but alienate and discourage newcomers and even some veterans, which makes it a game purely for the hardcore crew who are dedicated to the series or the genre--anyone else need not apply.

The strong tactical-combat system is thankfully intact, but the difficulty has been bumped up so high that it at times becomes infuriating, and the end result is a game suited only to hardcore fans of the series or of strategy RPGs in general.

Despite being a Wii game, it doesn't make any attempt to use any of the system's strengths, such as Mii support

Despite being a Wii game, it doesn't make any attempt to use any of the system's strengths, such as Mii support

Despite being a Wii game, it doesn't make any attempt to use any of the system's strengths, such as Mii support

Generally speaking, I'm pretty burnt out on JRPGs. To throw out a ton of blanket generalizations, they all are essentially the same game, differing only in the presentation of the combat system, and you're always out to kill God. Or at least, what everyone seems to believe is God. I've always been a huge fan, but lately I just haven't gotten into many of them.

I had Final Fantasy XII from GameFly for eight months, and I never progressed past the first rain season. I've always enjoyed the rich lore surrounding the .hack series, though I could never play the games because they were terrible. When .hack//GU came along, I enjoyed the presentational style and the unique twist that the game gave you, and finished it. But when part two came out I played it for about an hour until I started throwing up in my mouth at how it hadn't changed at all. Then I swore off JRPGs. Keep in mind this wasn't because of those two games, but the end of a long build up.

But really, these faults are minor. Radiant Dawn is one of the best strategy games you'll find on any console, with a crazily addictive strategic core that more than makes up for the subpar visuals. The only thing that truly sucks about this amazing head-scratcher is the likely -- and unfortunate -- chance that it will get lost inside Mario's galaxy this winter. [OM MAN INTE BOR I PAL-LAND DVS!!!]