Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

[FantasiaWHT]

Anybody else playing this? I've just started the second part

So far I'm pretty disappointed, especially compared to how good Path of Radiance was.

It seems like the game is less about cultivating your team from weaklings into powerhouses and more about just using the powerhouses given to you. It really bothered me that even right from the beginning you are given several characters (not just one, like in the other FE's I've played) that is vastly superior to the rest.

The game is also much less forgiving (enemies seem to do greater proportional damage) and makes up for it with the "cheap" save (save in the middle of the fight without quiting). The only way I could get through many fights was either a) Picking only strong characters and just trying to keep my weak ones up with bonus exp, or b) rampant save abuse.

It's fine having one uber-character to absorb some damage when you need to, but so far it seems like half of your characters are invincible unless subjected to complete and utter idiocy.

[heybtbm]

The game is also much less forgiving (enemies seem to do greater proportional damage) and makes up for it with the "cheap" save (save in the middle of the fight without quiting).

If it's so cheap, don't use it. The new save feature sounds like the best Fire Emblem innovation...ever. The danger of loosing a character (that you've leveled up for hours and hours) is the exact reason I could never stay with any of the Fire Emblem games to the end.

[FantasiaWHT]

See, in previous Fire Emblems, the risk was definitely there, but you could reduce it by good, sound, tactical strategy.

In this one, it's honestly almost more like a trial-and-error puzzle game than a strategy game. Where do you have to place your characters every turn to avoid that one archer that can come in and pick off your healer? I think the problem is compounded by the constant reinforcements the enemy gets from every angle. Unlike previous FE's, they are nearly constant, and present on almost every map. Since there is no way to predict when they will come, and only a limited ability to predict WHERE they will come from, there is constant reloading and trying to plan for THAT unpredictable threat. Especially in earlier maps when you don't have a fully developed force and can't protect your vulnerable characters from all sides.

I suppose cheap was the wrong word... cheap compared to the previous battle saves (must quit when saving, can only restart from that save one time), but annoyingly required in this version.

Puzzle game. You are given, at most times, enough characters sufficiently strong to kill any enemy in one turn that it's more about trial and error of placement than strategic use of various strengths and weaknesses.