Characters: This game has an amazing cast. Each and every character have their own particular mannerisms, motivations and unique histories.
It’s no big secret that I love Ike. His character arc in Path of Radiance is very compelling. It’s so cool to watch him start out as a humble mercenary and then slowly rise to become a powerful leader of this army comprised of multiple different factions from all across Tellius. His blunt, straightforward mannerisms and overall rough lack of manners combined with a simple outlook on life make it easy to relate to him. Plus I love the fact that he’s not a noble or a prince. He’s just a down to earth mercenary without prejudice in a world where a lot of characters are prejudiced. There’s a fantastic video that goes even further in depth about him that I highly recommend watching:
Another character with a well done arc is Jill. When we first meet Jill she’s pretty heavily racist against laguz. She also comes across as really strict and duty bound. Over the course of the series this begins to change. Since she is part of Ike’s army she naturally has to fight alongside laguz. She has to deal with the fact that her pre-conceived notions about laguz being mindless monsters is completely untrue. Her conflict in Chapter 20 when she has to face off against her father Shiharam is also really sad when you think about it. Then add in the part where generic wyvern riders in that level all call her a traitor just adds to her turmoil and also shows just how far she’s progressed.
A huge part of what makes the characterization in this game work as well as it does are its support conversations. This game has a long list of awesome support conversations. This is the only game where I can say that I like every support conversation that I’ve read. The supports let the personalities of these characters shine while also letting us see into their backstories and motivations. This is exactly what support conversations are supposed to do and it works brilliantly.
Not only are the heroes well done, but the antagonists are also top notch. The Black Knight is one of my favorite villains, both in the Fire Emblem franchise and outside of it. He’s mysterious, powerful, intimidating and ruthless. Every time he shows up you know crap is getting real. Having him kill Greil early on gives Ike a personal stake in the story and then when you combine all of this with the fact that he’s so difficult to beat it really makes defeating him incredibly satisfying. The Black Knight fight is one of my favorite boss battles ever for this exact reason.
Ashnard is also a very well done final boss. If you think about it, the final bosses in Fire Emblem all tend to be huge dragons or deities. Rarely do you see someone like Ashnard being the final villain. If this were any other story Ashnard would be one-dimensional and boring but in this story he works really well. His Social Darwinism combined with his war mongering work well with the themes of this game and they help to make him a memorable villain.
Overall Summation: These characters rock! This game gets my vote for “Best Cast In The Series”. They’re different, memorable and unique. It’s very easy to get emotionally attached to them which makes playing this game a real treat.
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