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Parents' Guide to

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Fantasy strategy game more mature than it looks.

Game Nintendo Wii 2007
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Vohaul
Vohaul Adult
November 3, 2019
age 13+

Good strategy game

This was the first Fire Emblem game I ever played, and I must say I love it. However, I only recently discovered a flaw in the programming: due to a translation error the difficulty settings are wrong. "Normal" means hard, "Easy" means normal, and "hard" means insane. The violence is gruesome but not graphic (no blood or gore). The villains are heartless and even kill innocent villagers or their own men (the detail of this action is low). Overall a good strategy game, but keep your kids away until high school.
Pvt. Sokolva
Pvt. Sokolva Adult
January 5, 2011
age 12+

Like hardcore chess.

The only reason I set the age limit this high is because of the difficult strategy required to make it far in this game. It is like playing an incredibly complex and detailed game of chess, in which the board, pieces, and rules are constantly changing. Its an incredible game though, really entertaining. I love the Fire Emblem games anyway, but the concept of adding the race of people who can change briefly into animals is very interesting. This game is intended for older kids in difficulty level and story line, but there's little in this to make it inappropriate. No language, certainly; everything is very old english sounding and proper. However, there is death; you are trying to kill the enemy using your little army before they kill you, its like a board game of war. No blood, attacks not graphic, but your characters fall in battle (rather than dying, they get injured and you can't use them anymore) but enemy characters do die.
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

On the surface, FIRE EMBLEM: RADIANT DAWN, a sequel to the GameCube's Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, is just another turn-based strategy title. It's a chess-like experience in which you shuffle units with varying skills and movement abilities,\" a defining trait of the Fire Emblem brand.

Every unit at your command has his or her own backstory and compelling, ongoing drama -- that is, until he or she dies. If it's a primary protagonist who perishes, it's game over. But if any of the dozens of secondary characters bites the dust, the game continues and he or she is gone forever, their story cut prematurely short as a direct result of your shortcomings as a commander. If the dead characters were among your more powerful units, you'll sorely miss them in future missions.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (4 ):

Many players replay battles with an aim to make it through with all their beloved characters intact. But take our advice and do this sparingly. As in all Fire Emblem games, Radiant Dawn is best enjoyed as it was designed to be played: with unpredictable, melancholy death lurking around every corner. Not only does it make battles more emotionally charged, it also forces you drum up better, more prudent strategies to ensure your heroes' survival.

However, it also makes an already difficult game much more challenging. Fire Emblem games have always required a keen tactical mind capable of thinking several moves in advance and keeping tabs on each unit's unique skills and weapons. However, brute strength is also required, and if you've lost your most powerful units, some missions will become an exercise in frustration.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how death is presented in video games. Why do most games simply allow characters to come back to life when they die? Does this idiosyncrasy make video game stories less believable than tales presented in other media, such as books and movies? Does the fact that most of this game's characters remain deceased when they die make it more believable? Does the threat of permanent death have an impact on your emotional connection with them?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo Wii
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release date: November 5, 2007
  • Genre: Strategy
  • ESRB rating: E10+ for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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