I think I want to start with Awakening. Not yet because I already have a lot of games to play but sometime in 2014 I plan to buy it. Hopefully, FE is as good as some people seem to think.

The Gamecube version is rare and expensive, I hope you find it cheap and not just pirate it! great game

I wish they would make a WiiU collection with these two games, considering Radiant Dawn is a sequel to Path of Radiance

My thoughts as well, Radiant Dawn was almost snuck out early in the Wii's life cycle under the shadow of the insanely successful Wii launch and during a time systems alone were difficult to get. Then it had a fairly short production period before Nintendo not only stopped making new copies but announced they were doing it driving up the price of remaining ones on the market. Honestly, a collection with both games would be a great way to introduce those that only got to know the franchise through either Smash Bros or Awakening to one of its best and unique periods.

Even if it is only a digital release, I think it would be great to see Nintendo put these games back out there for consumption in some form or another.

The Wii one was my first fire emblem and it was amazing. Very challenging

I actually didnt play Radiant dawn cause i dont have a Wii. I will probably get it when i get a Wii U.

The first game is quite good. The character design and the story are compelling. It was the first 3D Fire Emblem so it holds a special place as an evolution of the series. Look at it like Pokemon X and Y are to Pokémon.

Be sure that this is the kind of tactical game you want though. Deaths on this series are permanent, so you will be motivated to move carefully so you dont lose those characters you worked up. Something that awakening fixed.
This makes the battles more dangerous and tbh, it can be frustrating and if you're like me you will just start over a battle when something goes wrong so you dont lose your characters.
Back on point though, If you have played Shining force, or in a way Valkyria chronicles you will know the type of strategy that is waiting for you here. Its not the same type of games as Disagea and FFT where death is something recoverable and theres a high degree of customisation. Besides that an important management is the weapons your units use. They have limited uses and you will want to always have a backup so you're not caught with a unit weaponless. There is a class upgrade system though and its a joy to turn a unit you worked on into a badass unit.

Hope that feedback helps with your decision. :)

Yeah, permanent death makes you play a tactical game differently.
Have you played Tactics Ogre? Those battles are something else than FFT battles for sure.
Suikoden Tactics also has permanent death.
It makes these games much more tactical. A unit cant storm forward without good cover.

I just want to say that Path of Radiance is one of my favourite games of all time.

It was addictive like crack.

...couldn´t get in the Wii sequel though.