Making of Path of Radiance

[VincentASM]

Another product of my collaboration with Kirokan: Making of Path of Radiance

Here, we look at one of the final games covered in detail in the Making of Fire Emblem book. Some of these you have read previously on Kirokan's website or elsewhere, but now you can find everything (and more) all in one place!

Some highlights:

It was planned that the base could be explored like My Castle.
Leanne couldn't speak.
Stefan was a descendant of the Three Heroes.
Mist was a female magic-wielding Lord.

Edited April 20, 2016 by VincentASM

[BrightBow]

I suppose Stefan being a descendant of the 3 heroes is still true in the final game, even if it ended up being a random piece of trivia in the final game. Heck, it seems to be the only thing still consistent with the final game. Here he is no Branded but a member of the Begnion army who lived in solitude by his own choice and his still loyal to his home country.

Considering his connection with the heroes and the strong emphasis on his outstanding sword skills, I wonder if some aspects of his character were given to Zelgius. Either way, he probably ended up with a far smaller role then originally intended. And I think the same is true for RD seeing how he and Sothe are the only non-main characters in PoR who specifically don't die when reaching 0 HP.

I have trouble to imagine Mist as a Lord but I guess that explains why she is supposedly barely younger then Ike. At least I always had the impression that she was more like 14 years old based on how the characters were treating her and how she is one of the characters who can trigger children-specific events.

Edited April 20, 2016 by BrightBow

[Elieson]

Magic Lord Mist would've added a fantastic arc to the young lady, I'm sure.

[VeryAngryBisharp]

Now I wish Stefan had a bit more to do with the actual plot.

[Augestein]

I wish Mist had been like she was. If not her, I wish Elincia would have been given the treatment. Can you imagine how awesome that would have been?

[Anacybele]

Wow, Mist being a magic-wielding lord would've been cool! Micaiah might not have happened either, which I wouldn't have minded because I dislike her. But this is really interesting. ^^

[Sentacotus]

Its really cool how ideas like M/F main lead choice and My Base/castle were scrapped and recycled later on. Great job on the translation and analysis.

[BrightBow]

Its really cool how ideas like M/F main lead choice and My Base/castle were scrapped and recycled later on. Great job on the translation and analysis.

IS hasn't done this kind of main character choice since Sacred Stones.

Although it sounds as unlike in FE7/8 only one of the two was going to be playable despite both of them still coexisting in the story.

[Emblem Blade]

Leanne was naturally quiet, more so than the other two. However she has some rather funny lines in the following game in her supports. Had it not been for her, Naesala would have been more backstabbing than ever possibly.

Makes more sense that Stefan is a descendant to Soan as there are theories for why he is branded. Even if it wasn't hinted on either game, I could agree that it makes sense.

Mist being a magical female Lord in-game, I would have enjoyed that feature. Considering how poor her Strength Growth is (PoR), she would have made an excellent choice if Path of Radiance had two Lords, Ike and Mist with Ike being the melee and Mist being magical as it goes hand-in-hand. To me Mist is also the inner voice of the original crew who helps everyone once you get her (excluding Elincia) as Ike is more of leader who works hard to convince the rest of her team to promote peace to everyone. She also has quite a determined personality: Refusing to leaving Ike's side when their main fort is attacked Daein even when Ike doesn't want her to out of fear that she'll possibly die, punching Boyd (back two spaces which isn't possible for her in-game in PoR) for talking rude everyone trying to save Leanne and the list goes on.