Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Being on the same console known for games like Wii Sports and a plethora of Mario spinoffs, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn feels like a shock to the system. Being the sequel to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, our heroes must once again stop a glowing lump of blue metal from ending the world (well, sort of...).

Notes Unused MusicA lot of alternate themes. Version DifferencesDon't be fooled by the difficulty names. English Translation Differences(Contains spoilers!) Lots of English text was fixed in the European version.

Unused Cutscenes#

Strangely, two unfinished CG cutscenes are still present on the disc of JP v1.0 for undisclosed reasons. Prototype cutscenes were removed in all later versions. Both cutscenes use placeholder textures and backgrounds, feature unfinished shading and graphical effects on the characters, and also feature multiple layers of frame counters. They are also totally silent.

s_sikkoku.thp#

Watch on YouTubeThe first is an early version of the scene in which Ike confronts the Black Knight in the Tower of Guidance. The layout of the scene is exactly the same as in the final release, but animations and visual effects are clearly in a very primitive state. "sikkoku" is the Japanese word for "black", a fitting name for the Black Knight fight.

s_dragon.thp#

Watch on YouTubeThe second is an early version of the scene in Part 3 Chapter 13 in which Kurthnaga incinerates and destroys one of Castle Nox's towers. Compared to the previous cutscene, this one is in an even earlier stage of rendering, with Kurthnaga and castle being completely textureless. There are also far more soldiers running across the scene than in the final version, where only 1 or 2 of them can be briefly seen.

Unused Graphics#

Dummy Portraits#

The game contains placeholder portraits for both genders. There are also duplicates of these portraits in the game's files associated with unused name strings.

Forge Cards#

Leftover forge card graphics in window/base_card.tpl, which suggest fourteen forge card types were planned rather than the twelve in-game.

Memory Card Graphics#

For some bizarre reason, in etc/memcard.tpl, there are graphics for a GameCube memory card animation and banner! Since Radiant Dawn was developed as a Wii title from the beginning, these could be a remnant of an experimental build on the GameCube, especially since it was based on Path of Radiance.

etc/eventicon.tpl#

A crude development texture, which seems to represent the different grid square types in the game.

etc/terricon.tpl#

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

A similar texture, which seems to represent the different terrain costs for units. Note that the original texture is riddled with transparency pixels, so a black underlay has been added to this view.

Unused Characters#

To do: Elaborate on the "unique animations"—are any of them unused? Document them here if so.

Zelgius, while being a recurring playable character and boss as the Black Knight, never actually appears in any maps as himself, only appearing in scripted battle scenes. He has stats and skills that are obviously identical to those of the Black Knight, but he has a unique version of the Marshall class that exclusively uses Swords and Lances (the latter of which he is never seen using) and has unique animations. He also has a bond support with Sephiran (which isn't present in his Black Knight appearances) with a bonus value of 10.

Unseen Growth Rates#

While most enemy and NPC units have assigned growth rates of 0% across the board, a handful of them do have unique values for it in their data, oddly enough. Since they obviously can't level up, these are effectively unused in-game.

Izuka#

Aimee#

Levail#

Hetzel/Lekain#

Unused Weapons#

To do: The Devil Axe, like in Path of Radiance, may still be unused here - there is a folder called xwp/devilaxe, and its icon is in window/icon.cms.

Icon	Internal Name	Name (EN)	Name (JP)	Rank	Might	Hit	Crit	Weight	Range	Uses	Worth	Exp	Description (EN)	Description (JP)	Notes
	DELICATELANCE	Slim Lance	細身の槍	Lance: E	3	95	5	4	1	35	490	1	A lightweight lance that's easy to wield. It has a slightly improved chance to land a critical hit.	軽く扱いやすい槍 少し必殺の一撃が出やすい	The Slim Lance from previous games. Also one of the only unused items with an actual description, suggesting it was cut late in development.
	JOG AD	dummy	裁き	None	1	100	None	1	1-(Magic/2)	Infinite	None	1	The miraculous power of the goddess. Her attacks have myriad form and effect.	女神の行なう奇跡の御技 多彩な攻撃パターンを持つ	An unused Dark magic version of Ashera's Judge attack that damages all enemies in range, doing three less damage for each square between her and the enemy.
	JOG SD	dummy	裁き	None	1	100	None	1	1	Infinite	None	1	The miraculous power of the goddess. Her attacks have myriad form and effect.	女神の行なう奇跡の御技 多彩な攻撃パターンを持つ	Another Dark magic version of Ashera's Judge attack that deals damage to one enemy.

Unused Items#

Icon	Internal Name	Name (EN)	Name (JP)	Uses	Worth	Description (EN)	Description (JP)	Notes
	WARPPOWDER	dummy	転移の粉	1	10,000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	This is supposed to be the Warp Powder the Black Knight uses to transport himself around, but it has no functionality, or a proper name and description for that matter.
	FREYRBOMB	Frey Bomb	フレイボム	1	500	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	This is the Mine from the GBA Fire Emblem titles, but with its Japanese name and no functionality.
	TEMPEST	Tempest	気分屋の書	1	2,000	An item that allows you to acquire the skill Tempest when you are at a base.	スキル『気分屋』を修得できる 拠点の「育成」→「スキルの着脱」で使用する	A scroll used to acquire the unused Tempest skill, a skill from the previous game. The scroll has full functionality.
	SERENITY	Serenity	安定の書	1	3,000	An item that allows you to acquire the skill Serenity when you are at a base.	スキル『安定』を修得できる 拠点の「育成」→「スキルの着脱」で使用する	A scroll used to acquire the unused Serenity skill, a skill from the previous game. The scroll has full functionality.
	VSBEAST	Laguzguard	ラグズガードの書	1	8,000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	A skill scroll seemingly meant for a skill version of the Laguzguard item from the previous game. However, the scroll has no functionality.
	VSHUMAN	Beorcguard	ベオクガードの書	1	8,000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	A skill scroll seemingly meant for a skill version of the Beorcguard item from the previous game, which nullified effective damage dealt by anti-laguz weapons. It's unknown how it would've worked in this game, since there are no specific anti-laguz weapons, and the scroll has no functionality.
	DELPHISHIELD	Full Guard	フルガードの書	1	20,000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	A skill scroll seemingly meant for a skill version of the Full Guard item from the previous game. As the Nullify skill in this game has the same effect, this is likely why the skill was left unused, and the scroll left with no functionality.
	KNIGHTSHIELD	Knight Ward	騎士の護りの書	1	4,000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	A skill scroll seemingly meant for a skill version of the Knight Ward item from the previous game. However, the scroll has no functionality.
	TROOP	Troop Scroll	騎兵の書	1	1000	IF THIS APPEARS IT'S A BUG. REPORT IT.	表示されていたらバグですので すみやかにご報告ください	A skill scroll seemingly meant for a skill version of the Knight Ring item from previous Fire Emblem titles. However, the scroll has no functionality.
	CHANGESTONE1	Laguz Stone	化身の石	1	4,000	An item that fills up the transformation gauge, allowing laguz to shift forms. For laguz only.	使うと「化身」できる　【ラグズ専用】 「化身ゲージ」が満タンになり化身状態になる	A one-use version of the Laguz Stone previously used in Path of Radiance by enemies in the Japan-exclusive Maniac mode. However, it's not used by any enemies in this game.
	HALFCHANGE	Wild Stone	半化身の石	1	6,000	An item that fills up the transformation gauge, allowing laguz to shift forms. For laguz only.	使うと「半化身」できる　【ラグズ専用】 「化身ゲージ」が満タンになり半化身状態になる	A strange item with an internal name and description that implies it would be like a Halfshift version of a Laguz Stone, but that has no functionality whatsoever. The English script mistakenly gives it the same description as a regular Laguz Stone.

Unused Skills#

Icon	Internal Name	Name (EN)	Name (JP)	Capacity	Description (EN)	Description (JP)	Notes
	TEMPEST	dummy	気分屋(未使用)	5	IF THIS APPEARS, IT'S A BUG. PLEASE REPORT IT.		The Tempest skill from the previous game. Has a fully functional skill scroll in the game's files, though the skill itself doesn't seem to work.
	SERENITY	dummy	安定(未使用)	5	IF THIS APPEARS, IT'S A BUG. PLEASE REPORT IT.		The Serenity skill from the previous game. Has a fully functional skill scroll in the game's files, though the skill itself doesn't seem to work.

Unused Terrain Speed#

To do: Figure out which specific values are unused and list them here.

Dragon units have two unique values for how fast they can pass terrain. Most of this data is unused due to limited appearance of these units. Civilians also have their own rate, but aside from rivers and bogs, which are used, their speed is identical to standard infantry.

Unused Text#

To do: Remove any speculation, and elaborate.

Names#

There are a few unused name strings, only a few of which were translated.

• Map 5 Enemy/ＭＡＰ５敵 (Filename MPID_MAP5_ENEMY) is listed between the Feral One enemy name and the name of Pugo, the first boss of the game. It's an obvious placeholder name, possibly for enemies in Chapter 4 of Part 1, the fifth map in the game.
• Ferere/フェリーレ (Filename MPID_FERERE) is listed before Anna. It seems to be a mistranslation of the Crimean territory, Felirae, which is ruled by Duke Ludveck, the main villain of Part 2. It may have been intended for the generic soldiers in Part 2, which just use the name "Rebel" in the final game.

The following name strings were replaced with the word "dummy" in the localization, meaning they effectively only exist in the Japanese version.

• Dent/デント (Filename MPID_DENT) is listed between Numida's name and the "Grandfather" NPC name. This name is also used as a filename for a duplicate of the male dummy portrait.
• Tabitha/タバサ (Filename MPID_TABASA) is listed between the name of Nico, a minor NPC, and Alder, a boss. This name has no associated portrait.
• Naybe/ネイベ (Filename MPID_NABE) is listed after Alder's name. This name is also used as a filename for a duplicate of the female dummy portrait.
• Yaromi/ヤロミ (Filename MPID_LALOMI) is listed after Naybe and before Ferere. This name is also used as a filename for a duplicate of the male dummy portrait.
• Gritz/グリツ (Filename MPID_GRITZ) is listed between the names of Almedha and Lehran, two major characters. This is also used as a filename for a duplicate of the male dummy portrait.

Dialogue#

To do: See if this line correctly displays in the Japanese version. Also, if possible, figure out why the line fails to display.

When Yune talks to Micaiah at the end of the second Endgame chapter, one of her lines is skipped over, which seems to be due to a glitch (at least in the English version). The full conversation, which is found in \Mess\e_c0407b.m, is provided for context:

Whose... Whose memory was that?
It's just one of many...
They're swirling everywhere...
The tower resonates with their strength.
But...who is it? Who do they
belong to?
...There is such sadness...
Zelgius met someone. One lonely soul
calling out to another...

This part is skipped over:

Micaiah. You're sad, too, aren't you?
You wished that the Black Knight could
have stayed by your side.

But he's no longer with us.
Zelgius is gone...
And now the soul that remains
is once more alone...

There is also leftover dialogue for the first part of the final chapter between Sanaki and Hetzel, suggesting Hetzel could be spared. The following dialogue is found in \Mess\c0407a.m or \Mess\e_c0407a.m, at ID MS_0407a_ED_00:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto;" |- ! width="5%" | Speaker ! width="40%" | Dialogue (JP) ! width="70%" | Dialogue (EN) |- |Hetzel |わ、私は……ルカンに命じられていただけ……刃向かう意思などありません…… どうか、どうかお許しください、神使様…… |I... I was only following Lekain's orders... I never meant any harm. Please, my empress... forgive me... Please! |- |Sanaki |そなたらの罪については、追って沙汰することとなろう。 それまではそなたら……ここでおとなしく待っておるがよい。今は一刻が惜しいのでな。 わたしはこれより女神のもとに赴き、帝国の民を救わねばならぬ…… |Your crimes will be punished in due time. Until then, just wait here patiently. I'm sorry it has to come to this, but I must go see the goddess and save the people of Begnion. |}

It's likely this went unused due to the mission having the Rout objective (i.e., cleared by defeating every enemy on the map), providing no scenario in which Hetzel could be spared.

There is also dialogue that triggers when the Black Knight dies under player control, which will never happen because regardless of difficulty there's not a single enemy capable of damaging him, let alone killing him with their limited durability. This dialogue is found in \Mess\common.m or \Mess\e_common.m; for some reason, this text is duplicated in the same file (in IDs MDIE_DARKKNIGHT_0_GAMEOVER and MDIE_DARKKNIGHT_0404).

Supports#

It seems the developers were originally going to include full length support conversations (like the ones in the previous four games) instead of the watered down ones that you see now. One major difference is that only data for A-rank supports exists, so the developers may have intended to utilize the current "everybody supports" system, but have special conversations for certain pairs when they reach the A-level support.

A considerable number of unused support pairs (other than A-rank supports) can be found, with no conversations for them.

• Boyd x: Brom, Ike, Rolf, Mist, Oscar, Titania, Ulki, Mia
• Aran x: Laura, Makalov, Micaiah, Mordecai, Nealuchi, Nolan, Sothe, Danved
• Caineghis x: Elincia, Giffca, Ike, Kyza, Ranulf, Renning, Lyre, Mist, Mordecai, Nailah, Lethe, Skrimir, Stefan, Titania
• Calill x: Geoffrey, Heather, Muarim, Nephenee, Soren, Tauroneo, Tormod, Mia, Danved
• Brom x: Elincia, Heather, Janaff, Meg, Nephenee, Zihark
• Shinon x: Gatrie, Ike, Janaff, Rhys, Rolf, Mist, Oscar, Sigrun, Titania
• Edward x: Leanne, Leonardo, Micaiah, Nolan, Sanaki, Stefan, Sothe
• Ilyana x: Gatrie, Laura, Lucia, Micaiah, Mordecai, Oscar, Mia, Zihark
• Ena x: Gatrie, Gareth, Kurthnaga, Leanne, Mist, Nasir, Volug, Rafiel
• Elincia x: Geoffrey, Ike, Kieran, Ranulf, Leanne, Renning, Lucia, Marcia, Mist, Nephnee, Nailah, Pelleas, Sanaki, Tibarn, Bastian
• Fiona x: Laura, Leanne, Leonardo, Micaiah, Pelleas, Tanith, Tauroneo, Danved
• Gatrie x: Marcia, Mist, Muarim, Oscar, Rafiel, Astrid
• Geoffrey x: Kieran, Kyza, Renning, Lucia, Bastian
• Giffca x: Gareth, Kyza, Ranulf, Lyre, Mordecai, Lethe, Skrimir, Tauroneo, Bastian
• Gareth x: Janaff, Kurthnaga, Renning, Nasir, Vika
• Haar x: Heather, Jill, Makalov, Volug, Pelleas, Sigrun, Tauroneo
• Heather x: Lucia, Mist, Nephenee, Vika, Volke
• Ike x: Kurthnaga, Ranulf, Micaiah, Mist, Nasir, Nailah, Oscar, Lethe, Reyson, Soren, Sothe, Titania, Tibarn, Volke, Mia, Zihark
• Janaff x: Lucia, Oscar, Tibarn, Vika, Ulki
• Jill x: Mist, Nealuchi, Lethe, Sigrun, Tauroneo, Zihark
• Kieran x: Rhys, Renning, Lyre, Marcia, Oscar, Reyson
• Rhys x: Rolf, Mist, Nailah, Oscar, Titania, Ulki, Mia, Ranulf, Lyre, Meg, Mordecai, Muarim, Zihark
• Kyza x: Ranulf, Lyre, Meg, Mordecai, Muarim, Zihark
• Kurthnaga x: Micaiah, Nasir, Pelleas, Skrimir, Sothe
• Laura x: Meg, Micaiah, Nealuchi, Nolan, Tanith
• Ranulf x: Lyre, Mordecai, Lethe, Skrimir, Tibarn, Zihark
• Leanne x: Leonardo, Naesala, Nealuchi, Nailah, Oliver, Sanaki, Tibarn
• Renning x: Lucia, Bastian, Vika
• Leonardo x: Micaiah, Nolan, Pelleas, Skrimir, Sothe
• Lyre x: Nephenee, Pelleas, Lethe, Astrid, Titania, Zihark
• Rolf x: Marcia, Mist, Oscar, Rafiel, Tauroneo
• Lucia x: Astrid, Bastian
• Makalov x: Marcia, Naesala, Astrid, Bastian, Volke
• Marcia x: Sigrun, Tanith, Astrid, Ulki
• Meg x: Micaiah, Nephenee, Astrid, Vika, Ulki, Zihark
• Micaiah x: Naesala, Nailah, Nolan, Volug, Rafiel, Soren, Skrimir, Stefan, Sothe, Tauroneo, Tormod
• Mist x: Oscar, Titania, Mia
• Mordecai x: Oliver, Lethe, Stefan, Ulki, Danved, Zihark
• Muarim x: Lethe, Sothe, Titania, Tormod, Vika, Zihark
• Naesala x: Nealuchi, Oliver, Rafiel, Reyson, Sanaki, Sothe, Tibarn, Vika
• Nasir x: Stefan, Volke, Ulki
• Nealuchi x: Nolan, Rafiel, Reyson, Tauroneo, Vika
• Nephenee x: Pelleas, Danved, Zihark
• Nailah x: Volug, Rafiel, Reyson, Tibarn
• Nolan x: Sothe
• Oliver x: Rafiel, Reyson, Tanith, Tormod, Danved
• Volug x: Rafiel, Soren, Tormod
• Oscar x: Tanith, Titania, Mia
• Pelleas x: Tauroneo
• Rafiel x: Tibarn
• Lethe x: Sanaki, Skrimir, Zihark
• Reyson x: Tanith, Tibarn, Tormod, Ulki
• Sanaki x: Sigrun, Tanith
• Soren x: Skrimir, Stefan, Titania
• Sigrun x: Skrimir, Tanith
• Skrimir x: Tibarn, Mia
• Sothe x: Astrid, Tormod, Volke
• Tauroneo x: Volke, Zihark
• Titania x: Tibarn
• Tibarn x: Ulki, Mia
• Tormod x: Vika, Danved
• Bastian x: Volke

Path of Radiance Leftovers#

Several graphics are leftover from the previous game in the series, Path of Radiance, which are from the original Japanese version.

Memory Card Graphics#

Present in window/cardicon.tpl are Path of Radiance's memory card banner and animation.

window/trialmenu.tpl#

Contains the textures for the Trial Maps menu in Path of Radiance, mostly unchanged.

window/title.tpl#

Two textures from the title screen.

window/expup.tpl#

Path of Radiance's EXP meter graphics.

etc/num.tpl#

The numeric font used for taking damage in Path of Radiance, which is seen when battle animations are turned off.

Other#

• window/back.tpl & back2.tpl - Graphics for the menu background of Path of Radiance.
• window/butai.tpl - Seems to be graphics for debugging and may be unused in Path of Radiance as well.
• window/progressive.tpl & eurgb60hz.tpl - Graphics for the Progressive Scan & 60HZ menus for the NTSC-U and PAL regions respectively. Seem to be identical.
• window/ctrlinfo.tpl - Graphics for the simple help window, which includes graphics for the GameCube buttons and option prompts.
  • Interestingly, the "Con" (short for "Condition") graphic was replaced with "Sit", which could refer to the Seize objective. Perhaps the developers once thought of reusing this window for Radiant Dawn?

Several miscellaneous files and the dummy video remain unused in the exact same file locations.

Unused Voice Acting#

A large amount of (if not all) of the Japanese voice acting remains on the disc in the North American version. The game does not have the option to select the Japanese voice acting, so all this data goes unused.

Oddities#

Longswords and Armorslayers Referenced in Game's Tutorial#

Despite Longswords and Armorslayers not actually being items in Radiant Dawn, they are mentioned in the bonus damage tutorial in the English version of the game. In the Japanese version of Radiant Dawn, Horseslayers and Hammers are mentioned instead of Longswords and Armorslayers.

Volke's Dummy Message#

Like in Path of Radiance, Volke charges 50G for each door or chest he unlocks (though there's no indication of this anywhere in Radiant Dawn's script). However, if the player attempts to have him open the Matrona chest in the first map of Part 4's Endgame (the only chest that appears after Volke joins) while having less gold on hand than the 50 required, the failure message displayed in the English version will simply say dummy—perhaps because this is such an obscure case that the localizers forgot to add a proper message for it?

Renning Can't Use Amiti#

In Radiant Dawn, Amiti is programmed to be usable by Renning as well as Elincia, which can be seen by viewing it in the item list with Renning. However, it is also permanently locked to Elincia's inventory and cannot ever be removed from her possession, so despite the personal weapon programming, Renning is never actually allowed to use Amiti in legitimate gameplay.

Misleading Minimap in Third Endgame of Part IV#

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

This chapter's minimap differs slightly from the actual map of the game. The minimap has more stairs compared to the actual map, suggesting that it's leftover from an earlier version of the chapter.

Data Transfer Stat Boost Oddities#

When applying boosts to character stats during data transfers from Path of Radiance, the game actually checks for certain characters that are in no circumstances playable in Path of Radiance through legitimate gameplay (Zelgius and the Black Knight).

If, through hacking, Zelgius and/or the Black Knight are added to the player's army in Path of Radiance and cap any of their stats in that game (save for HP and skill, as they are already capped in Radiant Dawn from the start), said stats will also receive boosts in Radiant Dawn. However, the Black Knight's actual playable variant in Radiant Dawn (referred to internally as PID_DARKKNIGHT) will not receive stat boosts. Instead, the Easy Mode boss variant from Part IV, Endgame 2 is the one who will receive the stat boosts if the Black Knight somehow capped any stat that isn't Strength or Defence (feasible through hacked autolevels).

Sephiran also appears in both games, but it is currently unknown if he would receive the same boosts were he hacked into the player's army in Path of Radiance.

References#