So far I have only played two Fire Emblem games. I quit one, but beat the other.
Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi (The Binding Blade AKA Sword Of Seals)
I did not beat this game when I played it a few years ago. The Binding Blade was the first Fire Emblem designed after Shouzou Kaga left Intelligent Systems. Without his input the balance certainly faltered. While Binding Blade starts out at a reasonable difficulty, about midway through this game's disdain for its player begins to shine through. Your strategies will matter little when wave after imperceptible wave of baddies constantly materialize out of nowhere to surround and focus on your weakest units. The last quarter of The Binding Blade is a nightmare of offensive enemy sorcerers attacking your troops from three screens away with status ailment spells. They will sleep your party while more and more enemies appear out of the ether to attack their slumbering carcasses. Thanks to shoddy game design such as this, legitimate strategy on behalf of the player is thrown out the window for savestate abuse, or constant mission restarts. Ultimately The Binding Blade is a game more interested in cheating the player and wasting their time, rather than offering a fair tactical challenge to be overcome by clever stratagems. 4/10
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
I did beat this one. "Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance" is a 2005 strategy roleplaying game developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. FEPoR was the ninth entry in the "Fire Emblem" franchise, and the first console entry released in English territories. This release follows the story of a mercenary named Ike, as he seeks revenge against the slayer of his father, as well as vying to return his homeland to its rightful ruler. As of the time of this writing, FEPoR remains a GameCube exclusive, and has become a rare and difficult to acquire title. However, its direct Wii sequel "Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn" was also released in English territories, and is considerably easier to acquire.
+Fun tactical gameplay without unnecessary complexity.
+A well written story with stellar localization.
+ Meaningful decisions affect the plot and ending.
+Skillfully painted backgrounds for the visual novel scenes.
+Impressively animated CG cutscenes.
-Cakewalk easy on Normal difficulty.
-The shopping system could've been better organized/optimized.
-The OST is a bit "paint by numbers" and needed more variety.
-Permadeath does exist here; love it or hate it.
-The ending is LONG and ignores player text speed settings.
The "Fire Emblem" series is often considered the grandfather of the SRPG genre. And you can tell the roots are old here, because the gameplay in "Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance" is dirt simple. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Indeed there are many memorable battles to win in FEPoR, and more than a little pathos to soak up. This has to be the bravest localization I've personally seen Nintendo pen to English, but I won't spoil anything. Just know "Path of Radiance" is a rock solid SRPG. But if you want a challenging SRPG, you'd best go beyond Normal difficulty here. Come for the permadeath, stay for the waifus. We like Ike indeed. 8/10