History VideoGame / FireEmblemPathOfRadiance

** Making Jill fight her own former comrades is mean enough, but having her fight her own father can get you punished with her [[FaceHeelTurn defecting from your army]], unless you've built up her supports with Mist or Lethe. The game even tries to warn you away from this by Ike offering to let her stay away from the front lines during some unique dialogue at the start.

*** Cavaliers and Paladins only have one and two weapons respectively, and their coverage is all over the weapon triangle and even bows instead of the traditional sword or lance. The early-joining Oscar, Kieran, and Titania all use axes or lances and leave Ike as your main sword user for a while.

* HitAndRunTactics: Somewhat uniquely, the class skill Canto for winged and mounted cavalry lets those classes use unused movement spaces after attacking, which lets multiple cavalry units attack a single target then move out of the way for the next one.

* MarathonLevel: Chapter 17 is uniquely broken up into 4 parts, and while you can save in between each part, you can't switch out your units or weapons in between, though you can bring 2 reinforcements per chapter to help you out or resupply you with more weapons.

* UniqueProtagonistAsset: Ike is an infantry sword-locked lord like many of his fellow Fire Emblem protagonists, but ''Path of Radiance'' uniquely seems to give him a near-monopoly on being a frontline sword user for the first half of the game and keeps it relatively unique to him even afterwards. He's the only sword user of the Greil Mercenaries until Mia and Zihark join (who tend to have durabilty issues) which leave Makalov, Stefan (assuming you recruit him), Makalov, Tanith (or a promoted Marcia) who all join about halfway. Even more interestingly, the Tellius class changes seem to [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration emphasize the uniqueness of Greil's family's swordsmanship]], since the Mercenary/Hero line is removed or arguably merged into Ike's Lord class, Cavaliers and Paladins no longer have swords by default (with the earlier joining {{RecurringElements}} covering lances and axes instead, the introduction of Knives differentiates Thieves and Assassins away from swords, and the Valkyrie class exclusive to Mist gains swords on promotion for the first and only time.

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Many of the skills that characters start off with reflect their personality or backstory. For instance, Tomrod has Celerity (a flat +2 movement) because a tiger laguz taught him how to run, and Shinon has Provoke (increased chance of DrawAggro) because he's such an asshole.

* MercyRewarded: You are incentivized with BEXP to leave certain enemies alive, which Ike usually tells his troops to try to spare if possible. In addition to a lot of BEXP, you can receive an Ashera Staff in Chapter 22 for sparing all the priests and bishops.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Immediately after Greil's death, the roar of the KingOfBeasts is enough to send the formidable Black Knight into a swift retreat (though he regards it more of an annoyance than anything). While this immediately establishes the badass credentials of the Laguz royals, it also foreshadows that certain things ''can'' hurt Ashera-blessed armor, including the extremely powerful Laguz that show up to help you in the end against Ashnard. Slightly before this, during the Black Knight's first appearance, he has the werewithal to casually tell [[TheDreaded Petrine]] to withdraw and that he has sway with King Ashnard himself, establishing that as scary as Petrine is, TheresAlwaysABiggerFish.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Immediately after Greil's death, the roar of the KingOfBeasts is enough to send the formidable Black Knight into a swift retreat (though he regards it more of an annoyance than anything). While this immediately establishes the badass credentials of the Laguz royals, it also foreshadows that certain things ''can'' hurt Ashera-blessed armor, including the extremely powerful Laguz that show up to help you in the end against Ashnard.

* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: You might notice that the last chapter has less enemies on Hard mode than on Normal. This is for good reason: [[spoiler:Ashnard decides to starting moving on turn 9 instead of being a StationaryBoss, and has a harder second stage after that]].

* CharacterSelectForcing: If you want to have a chance at winning the Black Knight duel, not only do you need a good Ike with Aether, you also need to train up Mist to a Valkyrie and have her strong enough to [[ShootTheMedicFirst quickly kill the bishop that shows up]] before he can use Physic, since you can't afford to waste a turn having Ike do it. Thankfully, the fight is optional to begin with and there's nothing detrimental about having both Mist and Rhys as healers.

* MarathonLevel: Chapter 17 is unique broken up into 4 parts, and while you can save in between each part, you can't switch out your units or weapons in between, though you can bring 2 reinforcements per chapter to help you out or resupply you with more weapons.
* MercyKill: Implied to be the case for the BrainwashedAndCrazy Feral Ones. If you have your own Laguz face the first ones you fight in chapter 15, Lethe is horrified and hisses that [[NoTrueScotsman they are no longer Laguz]], while Mordecai is hesistant to fight his brethren, until he sees they cannot be saved.

* RapePillageAndBurn: Alluded to in a PG fashion, when Elincia can't believe what Daein civilians think will happen to him, Soren snaps and spells out exactly what happened to Crimea, albeit leaving it at "homes destroyed and common people treated like dirt".

** Ashnard is an ObviouslyEvil TinTyrant like many other Fire Emblem villains. It asks the question as to why anyone in their right mind would serve such a figure. Ashnard's Social Darwinist beliefs actually allow for people who weren't ''born'' into the right family to advance. In a setting where peoples' worth as a human being was largely determined by who they were born to, it does actually explain ''why'' Ashnard ''would'' have any kind of popularity outside of his cronies.
** Elincia is a hidden backup princess raised in secret. Sure enough? Crimea doesn't ''instantly'' rally behind her - since they don't even know she ''existed''. (See RewardedAsATraitorDeserves). Elincia as well also feels somewhat useless and eventually dons armour and joins the fight herself - admittedly she is much more of a support role since, well, she's not trained in combat.

* HeelFaceTurn: {{Zigzagged}}. The game implies that Ashnard instigated the Serenes Massacre as part of his plan to get [[ArtifactOfDoom Lehran's Medallion]] and a Heron who could release the goddess within. The sequel, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' reveals that [[NotMeThisTime it was actually the Begnion Senate who orchestrated the massacre]] (which is more understandable, given their already established FantasticRacism and Heron slave trade). However, ''Radiant Dawn'' also establishes that the "plague" Ashnard engineered to [[KlingonPromotion get rid of everyone else in line for the throne]] was via Blood Pact, meaning a ''lot'' of innocents must have died in the process, far more than previously implied. It ''also'' establishes he was an AbusiveParent who married a Dragon Laguz in hopes their child would be powerful, and when the child seemed normal he abandoned them both. So while his heinousness was downplayed for one event, it was ramped up in other ways.

* HeelFaceTurn: {{Zigzagged}}. The game implies that he instigated the Serenes Massacre as part of his plan to get [[ArtifactOfDoom Lehran's Medallion]] and a Heron who could release the goddess within. The sequel, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' reveals that [[NotMeThisTime it was actually the Begnion Senate who orchestrated the massacre]] (which is more understandable, given their already established FantasticRacism and Heron slave trade). However, ''Radiant Dawn'' also establishes that the "plague" Ashnard engineered to [[KlingonPromotion get rid of everyone else in line for the throne]] was via Blood Pact, meaning a ''lot'' of innocents must have died in the process, far more than previously implied. It ''also'' establishes he was an AbusiveParent who married a Dragon Laguz in hopes their child would be powerful, and when the child seemed normal he abandoned them both. So while his heinousness was downplayed for one event, it was ramped up in other ways.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:

** Ashnard chooses his generals by selecting the strongest fighters of the nation, as opposed to the other nation's military leaders being hereditary in nature. His ultimate goal is to create a world where [[MightMakesRight the strong are able to rule of the weak, with no regard to one's birth status]].

* ArmorPiercingSlap: In a [[EasterEgg hidden cutscene]], after Boyd makes fun of Mist's weight, she shoves him double-distance ("smites" him). In most situations, Mist is too light to shove Boyd at all, or may be mounted and therefore unable to shove somebody.

** Shinon starts out looking like a straight Crutch Character, also being a pre-promoted unit, but then becomes unavailable until roughly two-thirds of the way through the game, by which time he CantCatchUp.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: More blatant FantasticRacism between Beorc and Laguz aside, the Branded are people born of both races who are hated and shunned by Beorc and Laguz alike for the "crime" of being born, evoking the unfortunate stigma that people of mixed race can face in the real world.

* DramaPreservingHandicap: The four parts of Chapter 17 are the last chances Ike has to gain experience before he promotes mandatorily. It's likely that any given Ike is already quite strong by that point, so the game handicaps him by encumbering him with an unconscious Leanne (as if he Rescued her and can't put her down) for last two harder parts.
* TheDreaded: The Four Riders of Daein, plus Ashnard himself. Actually GameplayAndStoryIntegration as each one you fight has the skill Daunt, lowering the Hit and Critical chance of your units to reflect their fear.

* DuelBoss: The Black Knight is fought on his own, seperate part of a level, and only Ike gets to battle him. [[spoiler:You can get Mist to help you by healing Ike, but she can't even scratch Black Knight thanks to his blessed armor.]]

* EgocentricTeamNaming: The Greil Mercenaries.

* TheEmpire: Daein, a heavily militaristic country under the [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic rule]] of [[TinTyrant King Ashnard]], and is the main threat of the game. [[spoiler:[[DeconstructedTrope The campaign against it ends up doing more harm than good however]]]].
* EndGameResultsScreen: Relegated to Trial Maps, and only ranking the player on their kills.

* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: Ike's first meeting with [[AChildShallLeadThem the apostle of Begnion]].
* ExtraTurn: The herons' galdr refreshes units that have already acted during the player phase, granting them a second action in the same phase.
** Unlike previous installments in the franchise, horse and winged cavalry can move again after attacking for any unused movement distance, but can't do anything but end their turn.

* FantasyConflictCounterpart: The general plot of Path of Radiance seems has some parallels with World War II, particularly in the roles of many of the countries. Daein/Germany is a bigoted, militaristic aggressor nation, Crimea/France is a cultured nation invaded by said agressor state, Begnion/Britain is a powerful, aristocratic empire to whom Crimea/France appeals to for help and the Laguz/United States are isolationists who come to join the Allies when they realize Daein/Germany threaten them. To top it all off, the leader of the allied force is called Ike.

* FinalSolution: The Serenes Massacre enacted by a frenzied Begnion mob that killed all but a handful of the Heron laguz and destroyed their home. It's later revealed that the Herons were scapegoated for the death of the previous Begnion Apostle, and the grief-stricken mob, who already had anti-Laguz prejudices, did the dirty work.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Immediately after Greil's death, the roar of the KingOfBeasts is enough to send the formidible Black Knight into a swift retreat (though he regards it more of an annoyance than anything). While this immediately establishes the badass credentials of the Laguz royals, it also foreshadows that certain things ''can'' hurt Ashera-blessed armor, including the extremely powerful Laguz that show up to help you in the end against Ashnard.

** Want to recruit [[spoiler:Stefan]], one of the best characters in the game, as well as obtain one of the four valuable Occult Scrolls? You can only do it in one mission, by sending one of your Laguz characters to stand on a single square that's so far off the beaten path they pretty much won't be participating in the fight. It has to be a Laguz too, otherwise you their nice sword as a gift only. The only indication the game gives you about this is a vague hint by a servant at the base, though a few players might find the area you need to go conspicuous, seeing as it's a massive detour that leads to a dead end. The rest of the hidden treasure can be this too, particularly the ever-valuable boots, but at least this is supposed to be a secret and mitigated by the presence of an easy-to-find Coin right in front of your start position that most people will discover by accident.

* HerdHittingAttack: Due to how Canto works in Tellius, cavalry and winged cavalry are free to move after attacking- this lets entire groups of these units attack one of your units that's in range then move away to make room for the next attacker.
* HeroicSacrifice: Geoffrey's unit of knights are prepared to do this for Princess Elincia when they get completely encircled by Daein. Against the advisement of Lucia and Bastian, Ike presses the attack and saves them without risking Elincia's life.

* HotBlooded: '''KIERAN, LEADER OF THE FIFTH PLATOON OF THE CRIMEAN ROYAL KNIGHTS!'''
* HulkingOut: The game seems to encourage this to a degree by letting Laguz transform faster if they've been attacked by enemies.

** Greil to Ike at the very beginning of the game, although Greil was also impressed that Ike figured it out on his own.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'' reveals that [[spoiler:the Black Knight also allowed Ike to defeat him after he learned that Greil crippled himself.]] At least in the English version.

* KingOfBeasts: Caineghis is a very literal one.

* TheLeader: Ike matures into a type II for the Greil Mercenaries and Crimean Army.

* LegendaryInTheSequel: At the start of ''Path of Radiance'', Ike is a member of a relatively obscure mercenary company based out of rural Crimea. By ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'', he's a hero and a household name across the entire continent.

* LimitBreak: Mastery/Occult Skills. [[OlderThanTheyThink Originally prototyped]] in ''7'' with the Assassin's "Silencer" ability (renamed Lethality in this series), and in ''8'' with class-specific skills like the Wyvern Knight's "Pierce". Any promoted beorc unit can use an Occult Scroll to learn one, which then has a chance to trigger based on their Skill stat. The exact skill depends on unit's class - Paladins' ''Sol'' heals them for half of damage dealt, Generals get ''Luna'' which halves opponent's Defense, and Ike's ''Aether'' does [[AllYourPowersCombined both]].

** The fight [[spoiler:with the Black Knight]]. If Ike has his relevant stats maxed (almost impossible for him not to if he hasn't been left out of the action), you still need Aether to activate at least once before the battle ends. If it does, you win! It doesn't? [[GameOver Too bad.]] Otherwise, victory is only possible if Ike's strength is [[{{Cap}} capped]], Mist is tough enough to survive the [[{{Mook}} mooks]] and heal him, and he hits his enemy on every single blow, ''and'' said enemy never activates their ArmorPiercingAttack on player phase- a single Aether is more likely than all of this.

* MacGuffin: Lehran's Medallion, a.k.a. the [[TitleDrop Fire Emblem]].

* MiniBoss: Nedata in the "Gallia" level from ''Path of Radiance'', a hilariously stereotypical pirate.

* NemesisWeapon: The Black Knight has the two blessed swords [[DualWielding dual wielded]] by the legendary warrior Altina, and which are named Alondite and Ragnell. When he confronts Greil looking for a duel he only uses Alondite and actually gives Ragnell to his opponent so it can be an even fight. Greil refuses and ultimately loses. In the aftermath, Ike takes up Ragnell and [[spoiler:duels the Black Knight with it to get revenge for Greil's death]].

* NoCureForEvil: Laguz by definition cannot use magic or staves, so the few Laguz-only enemy chapters you face are this (though several carry Vulneraries in Chapter 15). Later on, when Daein uses Feral Ones or Kilvas mercenaries alongside their Beorc troops, their healer AI will prioritize almost everything before healing their Laguz allies.

* PlayingWithSyringes: One of the more horrifying things that Daein sanctions. [[spoiler: The heroes eventually discover a dungeon where imprisoned Laguz were cruelly experimented on, with many of them implied to have died or lost their minds. They turn out to be Feral Ones that you fight later, who unwillingly lost their identities and are forced to constantly be in transformed mode.]]

** Interestingly, they do touch upon taking the dead's weapons once early on, but everyone scolds Shinon for doing so (for honorable and pragmatic reasons alike).

* PoorCommunicationKills: Daein's citizens see the combined Crimean/Begnion army as nothing more than an invading, bloodthirsty force, when they don't realize that it's trying to do the exact '''opposite''' since it's the former that the tyrannical Daein army has done to Crimea and the poor nation is merely trying to eliminate the tyrannical Mad King Ashnard from committing any more blood-crazed atrocities that further his [[ForTheEvulz ruinous goals]] and bring an end to them for the good of everyone else. Despite this, the citizens of Daein just [[UngratefulTownsfolk continuously keeps thinking that the combined army is there to bully/burn their nation to the ground]], when it's the complete opposite of that fact.
* PowerAtAPrice: Equipping Laguz with the Demi Band keeps them in transformed mode constantly, but with half their transformation bonuses (the Laguz Band that the royals have has no such restriction). The Feral Ones are enemy Laguz created by PlayingWithSyringes that are slightly stronger than normal with permanent transformation, at the cost of their identity and sanity.

* PurposelyOverpowered: The three royal Laguz that you can take as reinforcements in the final chapter are this and the {{Eleventh Hour Ranger}}s, and potentially necessary to beat Ashnard if your Ike or your dragon aren't up to scratch.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Sanaki becomes this in ''Path of Radiance'', although at first she appears to be a spoiled little kid. (Which well, she is...she's ''eleven''.)
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Non-lethal variant. One minor villain in pursuit of Princess Elincia has [[TheQuisling volunteer Crimeans]] tell him her whereabouts in hopes of a reward, only to turn around and have them abused for labor for selling her out. To be fair, they didn't know that the woman was Elincia and immediately have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, but still...

** When Ike puts together Ashnard's plan in Chapter 22, those who've played the sequel will notice [[spoiler:there's no evidence that Ashnard was behind the Serenes Massacre, Ike jumped to that conclusion on his own.]]

* ShoutOut: A base conversation between the three Pegasus knights; they are training, and Tanith shouts "DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!" Coincidence? [[Literature/GauntsGhosts We don't think so.]]

* SocialDarwinist: Surprisingly, [[spoiler:Ashnard]] fits this mold pretty well, though the only way to find out about it is through a boss conversation he has with... ''Reyson'', who probably won't survive the ensuing battle due to his pathetic defenses.

%%* StayInTheKitchen: Mia's backstory. Leads to the hilarious [[http://serenesforest.net/fe9/support/046.html Mia x Largo supports]].

* SuperSenses: Most Laguz have them, but Janaff and Ulki (both Hawk Laguz) have them as actual combat powers. Some of their supports bring up how they [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDothat wonder how Beorc function being blind at night]], and so forth.

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Boss characters will sometimes talk to or even have conversations with your units before fighting them. If Ashnard meets Reyson in the endgame, he will go on a full-blown MotiveRant while the rest of your army stands patiently.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The first group of Daein soldiers that Greil's Mercenaries encounter, had they not attacked for no reason and forced them to defend themselves, would have likely found Elincia hiding nearby with zero issue and Daein probably would have gotten away with their invasion of Crimea. By the simple act of forcing Ike's hand, they lose princess Crimea and set off a chain of events that causes Ike's Mercenaries to escape with her, eventually gain the support of Begnion and the Laguz tribes, conquer Daein with a full-on army, then liberate Crimea from Ashnard.

* WingedHumanoid: The bird tribe Laguz are this in their humanoid forms.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The Royal Laguz are selected from the strongest in the tribe. To get the throne, you must fight the king or queen and defeat them.
** Ashnard also has [[MightMakesRight this attitude]]... and takes it [[BloodKnight way]], '''''[[SocialDarwinist way]]''''' [[BadBoss too far]]. That being said, he still is far more powerful than any of the Laguz Kings (and Giffca) in ''Path of Radiance''. No single unit can beat him without healing or multiple skill activations.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Largely averted in terms of heavier weapons, thanks to Tellius games using Strength instead of Constitution to determine speed penalties. Units with good strength growths can utilize Blades and other previously AwesomeButImpractical weapons without issue once they're trained up, though magic users with low Strength can play this straight with heavy tomes.
** Rexbolt, the S-ranked light tome that only Rhys can use. It's powerful but far too heavy for Rhys to use and double with, not to mention barely worth it since it's only available in the final chapter and it takes a bit of effort before you can actually steal it.

* BadassArmy: The Greil/Ike Mercenaries and all of their allies are a force to be reckoned with.

* BigDamnHeroes: The Gallian forces do this on a regular basis in the first part of the game.
** In their first apperance, they bail out the Greil Mercenaries in a cutscene at the end of Chapter 7, forcing a troop of Daein forces outnumbering them 4-to-1 to retreat out of sheer teror.

** At the end of Chapter 13 (another defend map), if you haven't routed the enemy already, the Apostle Guard lead by Sigrun charges in and finishes everyone off for you.

** It's also mentioned that the beast Laguz in general are this, probably due to the energy needed to transform, and the animals they transform into are large carnivores. And it's also said that Ike's appetite is about as big as theirs.
* BlackKnight: Its worth mentioning that the game actually has '''two''' distinct characters that fit the Black Knight persona to different degrees and in their own ways; besides the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Black Knight"]] himself, there is also Bertram.
* {{Blackmail}}: After Soren discovers that [[spoiler:Nasir is a spy]] and confronts him about it, the latter subtly threatens to reveal Soren's secret, that [[spoiler:he is Branded]]. Soren is then so terrified of being found out that he keeps his mouth shut about what he knows, even when [[spoiler:Mist's medallion vanishes]] and after [[spoiler:Nasir]] is caught. Bottling up the truth makes him become gradually (even more) meaner and more upset during briefings until the earliest time he can [[spoiler:tell Ike his secret on his own]].

* BlessedWithSuck: According to a support conversation, some mages can invite a spirit to enter their bodies, allowing it to consume said mage's soul in exchange for essence (i.e. power).
-->'''Callil:''' Magic comes from interaction with spirits. If you let one into your body, it will give you tremendous power... [[DealWithTheDevil for a price.]]

* BloodKnight: Ashnard, all the way. In one conversation, he hints pretty heavily that he's deliberately setting up a SortingAlgorithmOfEvil to allow Ike's group to reach their full potential before meeting him, provided they're worthy.

%%* BoomHeadshot: What Shinon does to save Rolf in chapter 2.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Enemy Beorc factions sometimes use Feral Ones (Laguz who have been [[SlaveMook enslaved]] and [[PsychoSerum drugged]] into rabid beasts) in combat. Also counts as KickTheDog.

-->'''Jill:''' ...Ashnard... Ashnard!! ASHNARD!! [[ThisIsUnforgivable I... will never forgive you! NEVER!!!]]
[[note]]Unfortunately for Jill, Ashnard is ''way'' too decked with protection and defenses, plus his goddess-blessed armor, that she could never even harm him despite her rage[[/note]]

* CharacterDevelopment: ''Path of Radiance'' had many conversations for each character. However, like the GBA ''Fire Emblem'' titles preceding it, each character could only have 5 conversations per playthrough (many characters have over 10 conversations, so it takes more than one playthrough to unlock them all).

* ChekhovsGun: Ragnell is first presented in this way, during Greil's battle with the Black Knight.

* ChildSoldiers: Rolf, Mist, Tormod, and Sothe are at most in their middle teens, but they still fight with the rest of your army. Rolf's support conversation with Mist discusses this, as Mist notes that Rolf is starting to become [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior too comfortable with killing]].

** Titania is the closest the game has to a classic Crutch Character, but in a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], she has decent enough growths to remain feasible throughout the entire game.
** Shinon starts out looking like a straight Crutch Character, then becomes unavailable until roughly two-thirds of the way through the game, by which time he CantCatchUp.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Lethe and Mordecai blow past half a dozen Daein mooks in a scripted sequence, instantly killing them in a BigDamnHeroes moment. It's likely that they could have fought all of them anyways and this shorthand method was used to save time.

** Elincia when she's first discovered unconscious on the side of the road in Crimea. Lampshaded by the more cynical members of Greil's Mercenaries that Ike and Greil can't resist saving a helpless woman.
** An unusual variant in that Leanne is incapacitated for all of Chapter 17, but unlike previous installments where she's a stationary NPC to protect, Ike insists on carrying her for parts 3 and 4, basically hampering his stats by using Rescue on her and not being able to put her down or give her to anyone else.