Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is a turn-based strategy game for the Wii that offers an extremely challenging gameplay experience with numerous role-playing conventions to boot. With dozens of characters to choose from, each has the potential to become a fearsome warrior on the battlefield. When coupled with the staggering number of choices allowed in the game, it becomes clear that the beauty of Fire Emblem is the wealth of freedom that this title allows.

Fire Emblem opens with what seems like the typical strategy, or even role-playing storyline. A kingdom is at war, but a small faction of rebels use guerrilla tactics that chip away at the huge army they are up against. Micaiah, the "silver haired maiden," is the leader of this group, and she inexplicably has visions of the future, often being able to predict the outcomes of a given skirmish. As the story progresses, there are many reveals for fans of the series, and the storyline from the previous Fire Emblem, which was on the GameCube, is closely followed by this Wii iteration. In fact, players with a Path of Radiance save will have the choice of using their file to start a new game in Radiant Dawn with the statistics of characters appropriately padded.

Difficulty aside, Radiant Dawn is an engaging strategy game.

However, just because the two games share story points does not mean that no progress was made between the titles. The graphics, while not technically better, show some slight refinement, especially during the combat cut scenes, as animations look slightly smoother and more fleshed out. Characters can now move diagonally on the battle grids, which is a small addition, but it makes each unit seem less robotic during the movement phase. Also, while flying units can still move over mountains, bodies of water, and forests, they can no longer land anywhere like they used to be able to do; now they must be in a legitimate grid-piece that consists of solid footing to end their turn.

Radiant Dawn offers the player lots of options. In fact, a follow-up playthrough of the game could yield a different experience despite the fact that the adventure itself is the same. The first and most obvious choice placed into the hands of the player is the character selection. There is a huge roster of diverse characters, but each one of them requires a bit of grooming and care to reach their full potential. Some players may choose to employ a wall of armored soldiers followed up by archers. Others can use the nimble skill and dexterity of a swordsman to break the enemy ranks and butcher anyone foolish enough to accept the challenge. You can even pair characters up, making each group of two a powerful army in and of itself. In fact, pairing characters is a viable strategy, and something you are rewarded for. The longer two characters fight beside one another, the closer their partnership becomes, which yields statistical enhancements in combat.

Weapons are another choice presented to players, as a character's proficiency with a specific weapon will increase the more it is used in combat. However, many characters can wield multiple weapons, so you need to wisely choose which weapons you want to strengthen. For example, a knight may be able to use a lance, which is a powerful spear-like weapon, but it can only attack adjacent units. However, that knight may also be able to use the javelin, which can attack adjacent units as well as others one space away, but at the cost of power and accuracy. Later on in the game, if your character does not have a good enough weapon ranking for a newer, more powerful weapon, it cannot be used.

The sheer amount of variety within the level design is pretty amazing for a turn-based strategy game. Each mission has unique objectives, and various ways to go about accomplishing them. Some stages will pit you against enemy forces that are guarding treasure, and if you don't move quickly enough through the map, a group of bandits will enter the battlefield and rob the chests before you can reach them. While you never need to get treasure to complete a mission, often times, these chests contain rare and powerful items. Other stages will see you defending a fort against an epic onslaught of attackers, forcing you to use choke points and other strategies just to survive. A few maps have the fog of war, but various torches placed around the environment can be lit to help visibility. Another map takes place in the air and above the clouds, fought by Pegasus knights, dragon riders, and warriors from the bird tribes. And these are just a sampling of the many scenarios that you will encounter throughout the game.

However, an area where the options are both varied and limited is in the control setup. There is no use of the Wii-mote in the sense of pointing at units and directing them. Instead, everything is handled with the controller held sideways like an NES pad. Radiant Dawn also allows the freedom of hooking up a classic controller, or even digging out an old GameCube controller if that is your preference, but that's about it. While there really is no need for a motion control scheme, it would have been nice if the option to move characters around with the pointer was available.

Something else that should be noted is difficulty of Radiant Dawn. It is one of the most challenging console strategy games around, as even on the easiest settings, you'll find yourself having to repeat battles because of the savvy artificial intelligence. That being said, Fire Emblem actually gets easier as the game progresses. While it is quite possible that the lowly group of freedom fighters at your disposal at the game's opening are barely up to the challenge ahead of them, once you gain control of more powerful units, the game actually becomes far easier. That's not to say that it ever becomes a walk in the park, as thoughtless moves will still be exploited by the enemy's army, but the extreme challenge of the first ten or so stages eases up as the story progresses.

The difficulty is also enhanced by the fact that if a character is killed in battle, they are dead for the rest of the game. This is a staple of the Fire Emblem series and is part of the appeal, as it truly adds value to each and every character. If you don't take care of your healer, for example, their low defense will be sure to attract enemy attacks, and you could find yourself without a medical unit until a new one joins the ranks of your army.

Unfortunately, the graphic presentation isn't that great.

Graphically, Radiant Dawn closely resembles the GameCube prequel, so anyone expecting the Wii's power to be put to use will be disappointed. However, this is not a total surprise, as Radiant Dawn was originally released on the GameCube in Japan. While the graphics are not impressive, they do have a nice style in and of themselves, and the Japanese anime inspiration for the characters adds a degree of appeal to what would otherwise be a mundane looking game. On a positive note, there are a small handful of cutscenes that look fantastic. These are composed of a cel-shaded CG that looks very unique and stylish, and the bits of story told through these scenes is excellent.

The sound and music are both par for the course. Hitting an enemy with a sword will create that unrealistic, but satisfying "chop" sound that is featured in many Japanese-themed video games. Moving units around the map or progressing through dialog provides the requisite beeps and small sound cues that most role-playing games offer. In other words, nothing here is out of the ordinary, and the sound department will not enhance or detract from your gameplay experience.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is a solid strategy game for the Wii. A bulleted list of the game's options would most likely lead a potential buyer to believe that it is a run of the mill turn-based game, but that's far from the truth. The heart and soul of this title lies in both the amazing storyline and the many creative battles. It never grows stale, which is a fairly amazing feat considering the number of hours packed within. And by the close of the story, you will actually care about your characters and what happens to them, something that cannot be said about most other similar games in the genre. While the presentation is certainly lacking, the gameplay still shines, so if you want a deep and lengthy strategy game for the Wii, look no further than Radiant Dawn.