So I finally popped my Fire Emblem cherry today. This is a series that I’ve been aware of on the periphery of my vision for some time, but have never actually got around to exploring. Which is sort of weird, really, because it’s exactly my sort of thing.

Naturally, because I’m an arbitrary sort of person, I am not playing the newly-released Fire Emblem Awakening on 3DS (largely because it’s not out yet, and also because Andie is away all week and has taken the 3DS with her) — no, instead, I am playing the Gamecube game Path of Radiance, which I acquired at great expense recently after being informed that I should probably play it before the Wii version Radiant Dawn that I got for a pocketful of change when Game was undergoing its, uh, “troubles” a while back.

Although Fire Emblem Awakening’s immensely positive reception from press and public alike has caused the series to enjoy unprecedented visibility recently, it’s entirely possible that some of you reading this may, like me, have missed out on it so far. So allow me to explain.

Fire Emblem is a strategy RPG series developed by Intelligent Systems, who over the years have also been responsible for the Paper Mario and Advance Wars series as well as the excellent 3DS puzzle games Pushbloxpullmo or whatever they’re called in each territory. It is closer in execution to a strategy game with a linear campaign like Advance Wars than something more explicitly RPG-ish like Final Fantasy Tactics, but the important thing about it is that you’re taking it in turns with the enemy to move little dudes around on a grid-based map and beat the snot out of each other, much like a board game.

Even the mechanics are very similar to Advance Wars — certain units may only perform “direct” attacks by standing next to enemies; others may only perform “indirect” ones by standing a square away from their target. Attacking an enemy isn’t a guarantee you’ll get away unscathed, either — a typical combat exchange between two units allows both attacker and defender to strike, assuming the defender survived the initial blow, of course.

I often find strategy games somewhat daunting as I’m not very good at them, but the relatively little I’ve played of Path of Radiance so far does a good job of introducing concepts to you very gradually and letting you explore them for yourself. At the core of the combat system is a sort of “rock, paper, scissors” system whereby characters with swords are better against ones with axes, characters with axes are better against those with lances, and characters with lances are better against those with swords. This is gradually built upon with ranged combat, mounted units, magic-using units who can cast spells using a staff, static ballistae on the battlefield and numerous other considerations. It eventually — presumably, anyway, I’m only four missions in — builds up to something of satisfying complexity, but which remains straightforward enough to be easily understandable for even rookie wargamers.

Then there are the interesting other mechanics laid atop these foundations. In maps based on towns, for example, you can spend a turn “visiting” any building with an open door, which leads to a short conversation with the inhabitant and usually an item. It also secures that building and prevents the enemy from destroying it; conversely, an enemy who gets to an open-door building before you will raze it to the ground, preventing you from getting at the goodies within and making you feel bad for the residents in the process.

And, of course, there’s the series’ trademark: permadeath or, in other words, if you lose a unit it’s gone forever. This is a thorny issue for some — some believe that it adds an extra layer of excitement to the game (I’m inclined to fall into this camp) while others simply find it frustrating. Others still find themselves appreciating the permadeath system, but restarting any mission they lose one of their units on — a point which Matt’s blog post linked above argues may be missing the point a little!

I’m a fan of the permadeath system. The last game I played that was vaguely like Fire Emblem was Aselia the Eternal, which featured a similar system whereby if you lost a particular character, they were gone forever. I managed to get all the way through the entire game (with a few tactical reloads, admittedly) only using one single unit in the final battle. (Her sacrifice was worth it.) I tend to find that a permadeath system is best paired with a strong sense of characterisation, however; for some people, the feeling of having nurtured an awesome character up to level amazing is enough, but for me I like to know who this person is before I feel bad about losing them. It’s something that Aselia the Eternal did particularly well with its incidental scenes between its protagonist and his troops, and it also looks like Fire Emblem will be this way, too.

I’m very early in the game so far but I can tell it’s going to be a pretty cool experience, plus its extremely linear mission-based nature means that it’s friendly to being played alongside other stuff and has natural “break points” to stop, which is good. I will probably play it alongside Ar Tonelico and the other bits and pieces I’m enjoying at the moment, and then move on to Radiant Dawn when I’m done. By the time I’m finished with that, you never know, the 3DS Awakening might be out over here in Europe!