Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

"Play as Marth outside of the Smash Brothers Universe in this Nintendo DS Fire Emblem experience"

Introduction - In 1990, Nintendo released a game for the Famicom with tactical gameplay similar to the Famicom Wars game, but fused with RPG elements and unique character to create an incredibly different experience. This game would become the start of the Fire Emblem series.

The original Fire Emblem would be remade and have a sequel at the same time with Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo, which not only allows gamers to replay 20 out of 25 of the original game's chapters, but play 23 new maps which complete the story of Marth and his army's journey.

Skip to 2008. Both Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken and Monshou no Nazo have aged poorly in the light of newer Fire Emblem games. A remake is in order, adding depth and filling voids, while still keeping to what made the original game what it is.

This would become Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken, or New Dark Dragon and Sword of Light.

Gameplay - The gameplay remains true to its roots, which is important because this game is the remake of the root itself. Do not expect too many new features, since this is essentially an old game with updated mechanics to be more enjoyable for new fans of the series. There is one major new feature the game introduces, and Forging from Path of Radiance makes a return as well.

For those unfamiliar with the Fire Emblem series, there are several important things to consider. Most Fire Emblem games, with the exception of a couple, usually do not have world maps, instead having a Chapter progression similar to stage progression in action games. Your units level up just like in any RPG, but can die permanently if you are not careful. You recruit new units as you go along, and you choose what units you want to use at the start of every chapter except the first few.

Unit types are different based on movement abilities, what weapons they can use, what stats they have, and what weaknesses they may suffer. Just like in Advance Wars, some units are weak to certain types of weapons, such as Pegasus Knights being weak to bows, or Cavaliers and Horsemen being weak to Rapiers. Weapons are also more accurate or less accurate depending on the weapon of the foe being fought against.

Specifically for Fire Emblem DS, the game remains very fun to play, and has several difficulty modes ranging from Normal Mode to Hard 5 mode, which is said to be one of the most difficult Fire Emblem game modes in the series. These modes are all unlocked at the start, allowing players to choose what difficulty suits them best.

Because the game is a remake of Fire Emblem 1, and not a new game entirely, a mechanic is introduced to add Gaiden Chapters without having to change chapter requirements within the game's existing chapters. If you have less than an amount of units before certain chapters, you can partake in a side quest that allows you to get a new character. Most do not like this feature, but I feel it is the best way to add Gaiden chapters to an already existing game scenario. Generic units also exist if you absolutely cannot fill the maximum number of units for a chapter, though these units are nowhere near as good as your recruitable characters.

One of the major new features is the Class Swap. It allows characters to become an entirely different class, within reason. This adds extra customization to your army, without feeling like a gimmick, even if it is a gimmick. Class Swap is a fun feature to toy with and experiment, to see what some characters are good at. It is completely optional too, so the game never forces it upon you at any time, allowing players that prefer to use a character's original class to completely ignore it.

Story - Being a remake of the very first game, the story is kept simple instead of in-depth and very characterized. Sadly, this will turn some players off, but the gameplay and fun factor is worth it. Another unfortunate side effect for players of the recent games is that the game's support system no longer initiates conversations, as the game relies on its main storyline to define the characters just like in FE1 and 3.

Being that FE1 is an early 90's game, the game is obviously about a hero going off to save the day.

Graphics - At first glance, the graphics look terrible in screenshots, but once you play the game, is when the graphics truly shine. The map tiles are extremely beautiful, and the heavy desaturation does not make the game 'emo' or 'dark', regardless of the stereotype. Even if you feel that the map tiles are too dark, there is actually an in-game option to increase the brightness of the map, but I found that a lot of the game feels like it takes place in day time regardless.

The battle animations shift from more of a Marvel vs. Capcom style to more of a fast paced, swift style of combat, being very simple yet extremely effective, as well as being fun to watch. The less flashy style of combat also suits the game's fantasy and war theme prevalent much better than the cartoony exaggeration seen in the GBA games.

Play Time/Replayability - As mentioned before, there are several difficulty modes, making it worth a replay to step up from Normal Mode. Other than that, it is up to the player what they do to add replayability. The game for a first timer may take a few days to finish, though it may take a veteran Fire Emblem gamer less than that.

Final Recommendation - I highly recommend this game to the open minded and for the Fire Emblem fan. I would not recommend it to highly opinionated people that do nothing but complain about minor, insignificant things. I would recommend it to both a relaxed gamer and the hardcore, thanks to the various difficulty modes.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/08, Updated 01/05/09

Game Release: Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken (JP, 08/07/08)