Radiant Dawn is better than Path of Radiance. Though I'd recommend picking up Path of Radiance first so you can fully appreciate and understand Radiant Dawn's characters and story.

Also, lol@saying Radiant Dawn is hard. It can be beaten with ease using only about a half dozen characters. Difficulty is a joke in this series.

Radiant Dawn is the better game, but you should get both because both are awesome. Also, don't wimp out and play it on easy. Instead, play it on normal and just ask a couple questions and people will lead you generally in the right direction.

I say both. The story would not be the same with out them together.

I own and love them both equally. This is only my favorite franchise in gaming.

Sorry this was not much help. Great games they both are!

It's also a sequel though.

Radiant Dawn was my first FE and it didn't stop me from enjoying the game.

You'll maximize enjoyment by playing the prequel first tho.

The best way to go is to get the GC one first. It's a great game and it would help you better understand the wii version (which is arguably a bit better).

*Agrees with consensus*

Radiant Dawn is better. For me it's mostly because it gets more epic than PoR did, especially near the end. Plus with the third tier, you have that great sense of power. RD fixes a few other of the stupider elements of PoR (like not being able to choose when laguz morph). But you should buy PoR first anyway, since understanding it is really key to understanding RD's story.

get both

I concur with this fellow.