Tired of all those Touch Generation games that simply don't appeal to you? Already consider yourself a math guru and a cooking expert? Well, believe it or not Nintendo has released an honest to goodness hardcore game for you to play on your DS (between playing animal doctor and raising your babyz). And it's a darn good one too. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a prequel to the original games released for the Game Boy Advance. If you like strategy/role-playing games, this one's a keeper. If you have yet to ever try one, there's never been a better game to get your feet wet. Just don't be surprised if you become hopelessly addicted in the process. You've been warned!
The original Fire Emblem game was released for the Famicom (the U.S. equivalent of the original NES), but it never made it to these shores. Luckily Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon is a remake complete with overhauled graphics, gameplay tweaks, DS functionalities built-in, and a deeper story. The game begins with a brand new prologue, which unravels the story surrounding Prince Marth, a character many gamers will recognize from the Super Smash Bros. games. As it turns out, his father has been killed in battle, betrayed by one of his own warriors no less, and the castle is under attack. Marth has no choice but to try and escape with his own life to avenge his father's death and reclaim the kingdom he loves so dearly. The adventure truly begins after these events, with only a small handful of allies willing to risk it all to reclaim their freedom.
For those new to the Fire Emblem series, the games are turn-based. They play very similar to games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Shining Force, and to some extent, even Advance Wars. Basically you'll enter a battlefield where you'll see your characters and the enemies scattered about. In most cases you'll have a mission objective, which usually involves killing all of or most of the enemies in your way. Each member of your party will then get a turn to move and can either attack (if within range), use an item, or depending on the map, go into houses to get clues or rest in fortresses to regain health. After all of your characters have taken a turn, the enemies get to move around the map. Each individual will have a unique amount of squares he or she can move as well as differing attack ranges depending on the weapons being used. For example, an archer can hit enemies a few squares away with his bow and arrow, but a warrior with a sword must be standing next to an enemy to attack. There's a great deal of strategy involved to make sure you don't accidentally put your weaker characters in harm's way. Luckily you'll be able to see how far each enemy can travel and how far its attack can reach. This knowledge is essential to keep your weaker allies (like archers, mages, and healers) safe. However, Fire Emblem pulls no punches. If your ally dies he or she is dead for the rest of the game. So plan accordingly or you'll be resetting your DS constantly!
Each successful attack will net your character some experience points. More experience points are awarded to whoever deals the final blow. Many times it will be advantageous to lower an enemy's hit points to near zero with a strong ally, then allow one of your lower level fighters to finish him off thereby giving him the bulk of the experience points. This will allow him to level up faster, raising his attributes to make him stronger. Certain weapons are more effective against others, similar to past games in the series. Axes are advantageous over lances, lances are great against swords, and swords triumph over axes. If all of this sounds complex, it's really not. The game does an adequate job of easing you into the battles and each enemy encounter will show you if the weapon you have equipped is good or not. As your quest continues you will be recruiting new members into your alliance via story line elements and also in battle. That's right, in some instances you'll be able to talk to an enemy and convince him or her to give it up and join your cause.
Fire Emblem makes good use of both screens on the DS. The lower screen shows the battlefield and where your troops are all located. Animated combat cut-scenes are showcased on the upper screen. The battles are very streamlined and quick, which is especially nice since some campaigns can take up quite a bit of time. The touch screen can be used to move around characters, but I found it just as easy (and more convenient) to use the d-pad and buttons. The microphone is used for voice chat when you're playing online against a friend. Another unique online option is to borrow characters from your friends to assist you in completing missions. These online options are nice, but overall they seem kind of tacked on. I'd rather have seen a 2-player co-op mode or a huge map with maybe 3 or 4 player teams (ala StarCraft), but I'm sure some gamers will have fun with the online as-is.
Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon is another great game in the series. For veterans who may have played prior versions, there are still plenty of missions to conquer and the game is quite enjoyable. It might seem a little easier in spots, but the entire game is very fun to play and it's exciting to see how the series got its start. The game doesn't offer a whole lot of innovation when compared to prior installments, but the formula works fine. Gamers new to the series will find the game easy to learn, but it will take some serious skill to keep all of your allies alive during battle. If you're tired of all the "casual" games on the DS, you absolutely can't go wrong with Fire Emblem. Show Nintendo you want more games like this!
