Product Description

Medeus, the king of the dragonkin, has been revived and is forming an alliance with a fearsome sorcerer named Gharnef. Together, they threaten to the throw the entire continent of Archanea back to an age of chaos and war. Now, its up to young Prince Marth and his small band of loyal followers to rise up and rally all those left in the land to make one last desperate push to free Archanea from the tyranny of the Shadow Dragon. Fire Emblem returns to its roots with a total overhaul of an NES classic never before released in America! New features include touch screen controls, multiple save options, and easy-to-follow tutorial chapters that shed new light on Marth's story. New players can jump into the action, even if they've never played a Fire Emblem game before. Take the battle online and clash with players around the world over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection! You can also borrow units to use in your army, talk with friends using the built-in Nintendo DS microphone, and even buy rare and powerful items from the Online Shop using in-game currency. You are the general! Shape your army to suit your strategy by selecting from dozens of characters with unique spells and abilities. But guide your army wisely, because if a character falls on the battlefield, he's lost forever!

• Easy-to-follow tutorial chapter
• Take the battle online and clash with players around the world
• Choose from dozens of characters with unique spells and abilities
• Fire Emblem returns to its roots with a total overhaul of an NES classic never before released in America
• Touch-screen controls and multiple save options

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2007 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Nintendo
• Model: NTR P YFEE
• Published on: 2009-02
• Released on: 2008-12-05
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .61" h x 5.44" w x 5.73" l, .25 pounds

Customer Reviews

The toughest DS title of the Year, what we've all been waiting for...
As Christmas approaches, most people will be looking for a game which is appropriate for the big day. Look no further; this game is worth your money and an absolute classic, literally! In my opinion you could find no better than this characteristic `Fire Emblem' title.

As a long-term fan of the series, I was delighted to hear about `Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon' for the Nintendo DS. Although a fresh identity, genuinely, this game is not an advance on previous titles, but a remake of the original NES classic only ever released in Japan. As many may know, Fire Emblem is widely recognised as one of the toughest games available. Adverse with the many family orientated games released by Nintendo recently, this is certainly not one of them. Palpably, in my opinion, this is the hardest fire emblem game to date, which only heightens the sense of achievement when completing a chapter.

If you have never played a fire emblem title before, fear not. In case you don't know the history of this gaming gem, Fire Emblem began in the 1990's with the release of Fire Emblem 1 on the NES. This tactical role-playing experience has developed through Nintendo's history into a true prize in their already extensive treasure chest. Created by the same team which brought us Advanced Wars, Fire Emblem follows suit in the strategic gameplay style. However, in my opinion, with a more broad character development setup than in any game I have ever played. Fire emblem surpasses her sister game in almost every aspect. The gameplay mechanics follow a turn-based tactical role, where you manage a group of characters through a map grid in order to defeat the enemy and ultimately complete the chapter objective.

Following the story of Prince Marth, you are charged with saving your kingdom from the evil pontifex `Gharnef.' Your job is to recruit various fighters with which to complete the 25 missions on offer. However, unlike alternate role-playing-games, whenever one of these fighters is killed in battle, they do not return. There is no system of `lives,' once they're gone they're gone. Crucially, this develops great bonds between the player and the character. Seriously, if one of your prized characters is killed in a gruelling boss battle, you actually feel sad. This is what I believe separates the title from other RPG's on the market.

Long over-waited, the DS suits this game perfectly, with the touch screen easily controlling each action taken. Relentlessly, this game commands attention. Whenever in the thick of battle, you must be totally aware of your characters and their current predicaments, otherwise the result would be devastating. However, I don't want to scare you, in fact the difficulty curve is very well pitched. Especially, the opening chapters gradually introduce the gaming mechanics and various fighting strategies. From then on the curve increasingly rises with the ability of the gamer improving at a similar rate. Additionally, the game has multiple difficulty settings, ranging from `normal' to `Hard', to 'merciless'(reccommended after completing the game) This suits the need of all players from people who have never played the series before, or hardcore fans such as myself.

Finally, this fresh version of the original game also includes `Wi-Fi' capabilities. Online multiplayer varies, allowing you to pit your team from the one player game against players over the internet on a new map/battlefield. Your prime objective is to wipe out their fighters before they wipe out yours. If this is not enough, you can also pit your team against four others in a coliseum style arena battle. This is great fun and is the first time in the entire series where Wi-Fi options are available.

In my opinion, this is the DS game of the year. Although it has slipped under the radar of many gamers it is critically acclaimed by reviewers and well worth a look for the New Year if not for Christmas. Its classic, addictive gameplay is charming; along with a great online mode and a perfect learning curve, this game is great for everyone. A great title offering 50 hours of game-play without counting the multiplayer experience, go for it!

(NOTE: this review was origninally published on 16 December 2008)

Enjoyable Remake
This game is a remake of the original NES game released in 1990 meaning it is has taken 19 years for it to be ported over. Aside from the obvious graphics overhaul, it has been given an updated control mechanism including using the stylus and some new gameplay features.

Overall, these things have made the game ease the transition from it's early 90s roots to the modern console while adding in some of the features from later games (such as the weapon triangle). Overall very enjoyable and has the addition of a prologue in normal (easy) mode for beginners.

Great game
Really good game. Normal mode to good to get you into it, then the real challenge starts on the hard modes.