Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light

Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi
Developer	Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U), Nintendo Switch
Release Date	NES JP April 20, 1990 Wii Virtual Console JP October 19, 2009 3DS Virtual Console JP August 1, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console JP June 4, 2014 Switch December 4, 2020
Gallery	GH Gallery

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light (originally known only by its Japanese name of Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi, which approximately means the same as its localized title) is a tactical action role-playing game and the first game of the Fire Emblem series, which was never released outside of Japan beyond a limited release in the year 2020.

Story

The evil priest Gharnef has plotted to resurrect the evil dragon Medeus, which spells the end of Altea's period of peace. Prince Marth, who is descended from the original slayer of Medeus, has also been exiled with his father having been killed and his sister Elice taken hostage by the forces of Gharnef. Marth then assembles a group to go on a quest to save Altea and his sister from Gharnef and Medeus by seeking the Falchion Sword.

Gameplay

This game set the standard for the gameplay of the later games. The player controlled multiple types of medieval themed-units which they could move around the map to attack other enemies. Chapters are usually won by defeating all enemy units or the boss character.

Legacy

Ports/Remakes

• The first half ("Book One") of the game Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo acted as a condensed remake of Ankoko no Ryuu which featured enhanced graphics and dropped some of the original characters from the cast, among other new features.
• A Nintendo DS remake, titled Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi, which loosely translates to New Dark Dragon and the Blade of Light) was released in 2008. This is currently the only version of the game to receive an international release and an English localization.
• The original NES game has received releases on all iterations of the Virtual Console in Japan: for the Wii's Virtual Console in October 2009, for the 3DS Virtual Console in August 2012 and for the Wii U Virtual Console in June 2014.
• In March 2019, it was among the NES games made available to play as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service, once again exclusively in Japan. This version included cooperative and competitive online multiplayer options. In April 2020, two SP versions were also made available, which started the game at specific points: one would start the game just before Palla, Catria and Est performing a Triangle Attack, while the other would start the game at the final chapter.
• In December 2020, it received a translated release on the Nintendo Switch that was only available for a limited time. It was only available digitally on the Switch's eShop in March 2021. A physical special edition bundle was also made available in North America, which contained a download code for the game as well as several physical bonus materials such as an artbook and materials imitating the look of an NES game such as a translated instruction manual, NEX Box and a replica NES cartridge for the game. This release contained some quality of life features, such as the options to rewind and set suspend points (similar to the features in the Nintendo Switch Online releases) as well as to set the speed at which the enemy moves.

Sequels

The next game in the series was Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was set in the same world, but was a side story and featured heavily altered gameplay (akin to the alterations made in the second Zelda game). Additionally, while Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo starts out as a remake of Ankoko no Ryuu, the second half of the game ("Book Two") acts as a direct sequel to the game's events.