List of version differences/Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

This page details the changes made to the gameplay and writing of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn during its localization from Japanese to US English, and later from US English to the five PAL localizations.

Name changes

Main article: Name chart/Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

NTSC-J to NTSC-U changes

Gameplay changes

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• The initial release of the game inadvertently introduced a glitch with the Path of Radiance data transfer function. If the GameCube memory card has an Easy Mode Path of Radiance save, then Radiant Dawn will freeze when opening the Memory Card, likely an oversight resulting from Easy Mode being introduced in the Path of Radiance localization. Later print runs of the game fixed this issue.
• Battle Saves were added to the Easy and Normal Modes.
• The localized game supports the option to play it in 16:9 widescreen mode.
• The Japanese version's "forging points" system was cut in the localization's version of the forge system.
• Three new items were added as personal weapons for members of the Dawn Brigade: Caladbolg for Edward, Tarvos for Nolan, and Lughnasadh for Leonardo.
• Four new base conversations were added: three conversations in Part 3 Chapter 6 to provide the three new weapons, and a fourth in Part 3 Chapter 12 where Nico re-appears.
• Class change requirements for advanced units were altered. In the Japanese version, an advanced unit required a Master Crown to promote to the third tier and could not do so by maximizing their level. The localization changed this to allow advanced units the option to promote by maximizing their level. As part of this change, the number of obtainable Master Crowns was reduced because there was less need for them.

Dialogue changes

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• In the Japanese version, an "extended script" is played instead of the game's standard script when the game is played on Hard and Maniac Modes. The extended script goes into greater depth on the game's story and lore than the basic script did. The localizations only use the basic script, with the extended script being cut entirely, amounting to a loss of roughly 5% of the game's story content. Among the story details cut by the loss of the extended script are:
  • In the closing of Part 3 Chapter 2, when Ranulf is defeated by Zelgius, in a haze of fatigue and confusion he asks Zelgius if he is "any stronger than I was when we fought in that port city", which Zelgius dismisses as a hallucination. This scene is how Ranulf realizes the Black Knight's identity and is the first proper hint at it, but in the basic script and the localization, there is no indication of how he learned this when he reveals it to Ike in Part 4.
  • In the opening of the fourth part of the Part 4 Endgame, Sephiran's explanation of his plot is more detailed and confirms that, after the Serenes Massacre, he personally gave Lillia and Lehran's Medallion to Ashnard.
• Ike's conversation with the Black Knight in Part 3 Chapter 7 was edited to change the reason for the Black Knight's survival. In the Japanese version, he claims he survived due to problems with his warp powder which prevented him from properly manifesting in Castle Nados. In the localization, he instead claims that he deliberately let Ike win so that Ike could mature and become an opponent worthy of Greil's legacy.
• In the closing of the second part of the Part 4 Endgame, Yune's closing monologue about Zelgius is slightly longer in the Japanese version as a result of a bug in the localization: "Micaiah. You’re sad, too, aren’t you? You wished that the Black Knight could have stayed by your side." The line still exists in the localizations, but a programming error prevents it from being displayed, and Yune instead skips to her last line.
• In the closing of the fourth part of the Part 4 Endgame, Sephiran's flashback to the night of the Serenes Massacre is significantly longer in the Japanese version. The localization cuts a segment where he remembers the words of Dheginsea, Ashera, Misaha, and Altina, and a second segment where three Begnion citizens revel in the suffering of the herons.

NTSC-U to PAL changes

Unless otherwise stated, all changes made between the NTSC-J and NTSC-U releases are retained in the PAL version, excluding names.

Graphics

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• The banners announcing phase changes were changed to have very different animations for their appearance. While the Japanese and NTSC-U announcements had the words quickly rush in, the PAL releases have a simple, static fade-in and fade-out. Also, the "Ally Phase" was re-labeled "Partner Phase", presumably to match Path of Radiance.

Dialogue changes

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• The opening cutscene of Part 1 Chapter 3 was edited to cut a reference to the Olivi Grass item. In the Japanese and NTSC-U scripts, Olivi Grass is cited by Kurthnaga as the main ingredient of a herbal salve he gives to Micaiah to heal a wound. The PAL localizations change this line to refer to a generic "powerful herbal infusion".