History VideoGame / FireEmblemRadiantDawn

* AnAesop: Don't keep secrets. A lot of heartache could have been avoided if [[spoiler:the heroes never covered up the truth about the Branded, which is explained at NiceJobBreakingItHero further below.]]

* CuttingOffTheBranches: All of the army members that were in Path of Radiance are still alive and well in this game, which means that Ike not only recruited everyone he possibly could but nobody died in gameplay or otherwise. This especially applies to Nasir, who you could only [[MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers recruit/have survive]] if Ike actually defeated The Black Knight instead of just surviving enough rounds. The Black Knight handwaves this by saying that when he realized Greil hadn't been fighting at full strength due to crippling himself he [[ILetYouWin let Ike win]] so that he could have a chance at a rematch one day when Ike reached Greil's level of power.

''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn'' is the tenth entry in the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series, released on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} in 2007. It is a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', taking place three years after its ending.

''Radiant Dawn'' was followed by the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon'', a remake of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight''.

* OldSaveBonus: If you have a UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube memory card with ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' data plugged into the Wii, you can transfer data from ''Path of Radiance'' to ''Radiant Dawn'' to buff your characters and/or get extra coins for forging.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The final chapter structures this as you literally a climb up a tower, and fight a series of five battles to complete the game. First, you fight the apparent BigBad [[spoiler:Lekain]], who is ultimately revealed to be a mere puppet. Next, you fight TheDragon [[spoiler:Black Knight]]/[[spoiler:Zelgius]], who it turns out was deeper into the conspiracy than the supposed BigBad. After him lies an even stronger person [[spoiler:Dheginsea]] who is just as deep in the games plot. After this you face the real BigBad [[spoiler:Sephiran]]/[[spoiler:Lehran]]. And finally at the top of the tower, you face off with [the goddess [[spoiler:Ashera]] that the BigBad worships, as the games final boss.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The final chapter structures this as you literally a climb up a tower, and fight a series of five battles to complete the game. First, you fight the apparent BigBad [[spoiler:Lekain]], who is ultimately revealed to be a mere puppet. Next, you fight TheDragon [[spoiler:Black Knight]]/[[spoiler:Zelgius]], who it turns out was deeper into the conspiracy than the supposed BigBad. After him lies an even stronger person [[spoiler:Dheginsea]] who is just as deep in the games plot. After this you face the real BigBad [[spoiler/Sephiran]]/[[spoiler:Lehran]], and finally, at the top of the tower, face off with [the goddess [[spoiler:Ashera]] that the BigBad worships.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The final battle structures this as ''literally'' a climb up a tower. First, you fight the [[spoiler:apparent]] BigBad, [[spoiler:who is ultimately revealed to be a mere puppet]]. [[DragonTheirFeet Next, you fight]] TheDragon, [[spoiler:who it turns out was deeper into the conspiracy than the supposed BigBad]]. Next up is [[spoiler:an even ''stronger'' person just as deep in the plot]]. After this, you face [[spoiler:the ''real'' BigBad]], and finally, at the top of the tower, face off with [[spoiler:the goddess the BigBad worships]].

** Along with the first game, Radiant Dawn showcases why a UniversallyBelovedLeader can actually be a bad thing: When the beloved empress of Beignon is slain, and a target is found? Sure enough, the results are ''not'' pretty, leading to the almost total genocide of a peaceful people.

** DarkIsEvil: [[spoiler:Yune is the Goddess of Chaos and associated with darkness. Chaos also means free will. She was never evil, rather Ashera and her Apostles framed her as such in history to prevent her from returning. She's ultimately the more humane of the two goddesses]].
** HeroicNeutral: Dheginsea attempts to force Goldoa to remain out of ''any'' conflict that occurs, regardless of how terrible it is. [[spoiler:His reason is because if he does get Goldoa involved, the pact made with Ashera many years ago will break and she will pass judgement on the world, so if he keeps out of any conflicts, he can avoid a world war that would awaken her]]. However, several characters call him out for letting other nations more or less suffer for no reason when he could help those in need, and by the end, he is so dedicated to remaining neutral that his son joins the war because he can't stand how StupidNeutral his father is being. [[spoiler:This causes Ashera to reawaken like he feared, but while he was right to avoid it, the party calls him out for not taking steps to help ''before'' things got to the point they did]].
** LesserOfTwoEvils: In the previous game, Begnion was seen as this compared to Daein, as while Begnion was still pretty bad, the war with Ashnard was seen as more dangerous and needing to be stopped. With Daein defeated, Begnion's corruption steps into the forefront, and they turn out to be just as bad, if not worse, than Ashnard. The heroes ignoring of Begnion ends up leading them to be a bigger threat than Ashnard ever was.
** MagneticHero: After Ike showed how basically a nobody could become a leader, many young people became inspired to follow in his footsteps. When Ludveck appears with a charismatic personality and talks about overthrowing the queen to bring stability to the kingdom, they join because they want to follow in his footsteps, creating a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
** MyCountryRightOrWrong: In act three when Daein joins the war on the side of Begnion and not the Laguz Alliance, Micaiah is rightfully confused by this but agrees to lead the war for the sake of the people. She slowly however begins to throw away her morals as it becomes clear Daein has no chance of winning, and she almost crosses line into committing acts that before disgusted her just so she can win. She gets a dose of reality when Tibarn threatens to kill Sothe, causing her to [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone crack]] and try to stop the conflict. [[spoiler:She finds out that Pelleas was tricked into signing a Blood Pact without knowing, meaning if they don't fight Daein will be wiped out by it, forcing her to continue the war anyway]].
** RightfulKingReturns: Elincia suddenly appearing and taking the role as Queen of Crimea doesn't go smoothly, with just as many finding her to be incompetent at worst, at best unsuited due to having no prior experience. Ludveck starts a civil war to obtain power, causing the nation to nearly fall apart by using this to call into question her legitimacy. Part 2 is all about the struggle she goes through having to prove she can lead a nation. Also, Pelleas is the son of Ashnard and thus the prince of Daein, but his sheltered upbringing on top of his overly doting mother means that while he is a good person, he's not equipped for the role of a king. This results in him making mistakes out of good intentions, but he's too naive to be careful. [[spoiler:On a second playthrough, it turns out he isn't even Ashnard's son, which when he realizes has him AbdicateTheThrone to Micaiah instead]].
** TakeAThirdOption: In Act III, Pelleas attempts to get around the [[spoiler:Blood Pact he was tricked into signing by having Micaiah or Tauroneo kill him, which should be a LoopholeAbuse to prevent Daien from either dying from it's effects, or continue to fight for Begnion. Regardless of if Micaiah or Tauroneo kills him, the Blood Pact instead transfers to Micaiah as it turns out that the only way to remove it would be the death of the creator and the destruction of the document itself. This sends Pelleas' mother, Almedha, into a rage at the heroes; they just killed her son based on a guess and not only have taken away their king, but now they somehow have to get to the creator of the Blood Pact during a war]].
** UnderdogsNeverLose: Most ''Fire Emblem'' games involve a hero gathering a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to defeat a more powerful enemy. Such a scenario occurs when the scrappy Dawn Brigade goes against the battle-hardened Greil Mercenaries. The battles play out exactly as you realistically expect them to and the story itself never expects the Dawn Brigade to ever triumph against the Greil Mercenaries. Your objectives while playing as the underdogs are basically survive as long as you can, and when the Greil Mercenaries finally take to the field against you in 3-13, your only options are RunOrDie, [[LordBritishPostulate unless you're good enough]].

** OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Along with the first game, Radiant Dawn showcases why this can actually be a bad thing: When the beloved empress of Beignon is slain, and a target is found? Sure enough, the results are ''not'' pretty, leading to the almost total genocide of a peaceful people.

** HeroicNeutral: Dheginsea attempts to force Goldoa to remain out of ''any'' conflict that occurs, regardless of how terrible it is. [[spoiler:His reason is because if he does get Goldoa involved, the pact made with Ashera many years ago will break and she will pass judgement on the world, so if he keeps out of any conflicts, he can avoid a world war that would awaken her]]. However, several characters call him out for letting other nations more or less suffer for no reason when he could help those in need, and by the end, he is so dedicated to remaining neutral that his son joins the war because he can't stand how StupidNeutral his father is being. [[spoiler:This causes Ashera to reawaken like he feared, but while he was right to avoid it, the party call him out for not taking steps to help ''before'' things got to the point they did]].

** UnderdogsNeverLose: Most ''Fire Emblem'' games involve a hero gathering a RagtagBunchOfMisfits to defeat a more powerful enemy. Such a scenario occurs when the scrappy Dawn Brigade goes against the battle-hardened Greil Merenaries. The battles play out exactly as you realistically expect them to and the story itself never expects the DB to ever triumph against the GM. Your objectives while playing as the underdogs are basically survive as long as you can, and when the GM finally take to the field against you in 3-13, your only options are RunOrDie, [[LordBritishPostulate unless you're good enough]].

** ''Radiant Dawn'' also deconstructs a ''Fire Emblem'' trope by asking what happens to the aggressor nation once the war is over. Ashnard is dead, yes - but he (apparently) left no heirs. Nor was any other kind of government set up. As a result? Beignon senators rule over Daein - and of course they are much ''less'' accountable for their actions here than they are even in Beignon.

* HeinousnessRetcon: {{Zigzagged}}. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' 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. This sequel 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.

** In the localized versions, Edward, Leonardo, and Nolan get free weapons passed to them that are better even than anything you could forge at that point. As the following mission is your first one with the returning Dawn Bridage instead of the PurposelyOverpowered Greil Mercenaries, and the mission is entirely against very Demonic Spider-ey laguz, it's less "generous" and more "direly necessary".

** The game does not at all convey how to unlock some of the certain extra characters. Some can only be acquired on multiple playthroughs, while some require putting certain characters on the field in specific levels. For example; acquiring Stefan requires placing either one of the Laguz who can support with him (and must have done so) from the previous game, or Micaiah, on a specific tile in Micaiah's second level in Chapter 4.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: In chapter 4-5, Oliver appears as the enemy boss, but can be recruited to your side. How? You leave Rafiel, your very valuable and ''very fragile'' Heron that will get instantly killed by about any enemy and can't fight back, in Oliver's movement range. If you do this, instead of Oliver attacking your unit like an enemy will do any other time, Oliver will instead run up to him, talk to him, and then join your side on his own initiative. Also serves as a GuideDangIt, because who in their right mind would intentionally put such a fragile Heron in the attack range of any enemy, let alone a boss?

* YouShallNotPass: There is both a heroic and a villainous (okay, {{Anti Villain}}ous) example toward the end of the game: in the former, all but seventeen members of your party stay behind as you enter the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Tower of Guidance]] to hold off [[spoiler:Ashera's zombie horde]] ([[spoiler:they live]]). In the latter, [[spoiler:Dheginsea]], in his utter devotion to [[spoiler:Ashera]], stands in your way upon entering the tower, adamant on stopping you from reaching [[spoiler:her]] ([[spoiler:he does ''not'' live]]).

** TakeAThirdOption: In Act III, Pelleas reveals why he joined forces with Begnion despite logically them having no reason to; [[spoiler:he was tricked into signing a Blood Pact, dooming the people of Daein to die if they don't follow orders. When he reveals this, he asks Micaiah to kill him in the hopes it will be a LoopholeAbuse. Regardless of if Micaiah does it herself or has Tauroneo do it, the Blood Pact instead transfers to his killer. This sends Pelleas' mother into a rage at the heroes; they just killed her son based on a guess and not only have taken away their king, but now they have no idea how else to break it]].

** The game does not at all convey how to unlock some of the certain extra characters. Some can only be acquired on multiple playthroughs, while some require putting certain characters on the field in specific levels. For example; acquiring Stefan requires placing either one of the Laguz who can support with him (and must of done so) from the previous game, or Micaiah, on a specific tile in Micaiah's second level in Chapter 4.

* InconsistentDub: The dragon king's name is spelt "Deghinsea" in the PAL version, as well as all versions of ''Path of Radiance'', but is spelt "Dheginsea" in the North American version of this game.