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Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon DS
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release Date: Feb 16, 2009
User Score
6.3 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 47
  3. Negative: 15 out of 47

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  1. hondo
    Feb 21, 2009
    10
    Amazing game, pivotal game elements of characters dying makes it truly feel like a war game, they don't just faint or some crap, if you let your guys die, they DIE, so suit them up with what you need, and play smart, or you'll lose your characters, which the game does a brilliant job of getting you attached to.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. bobjones
    Jan 27, 2009
    10
    An excellent game. perhaps one of the best games ever on the Ds. You could even consider it the pinnACle of the series. It's obviously a must have. The graphics are fabulous. the character models and art are just completely gorgeous. The story while maybe not to strong, is lovely and petite. The music is so sweet and will make you sing. I'm not exagerrating these features. This is truly a beautiful game, I'm waterofthedarkness… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. [Anonymous]
    Dec 16, 2008
    8
    It's Fire Emblem. In short, the game is a good remake for those who haven't already played the game, but there's nothing here that won't disappoint those who have. The audio and overhead visuals work well, the leveling system is nicely done, and there are many more characters obtained much more quickly than there were in the other two US releases, which does a good job of improving replay value. The story is closer to that of Sacred Stones than that of the original GBA US release; it's shallow, doesn't make you think, and just feels like an afterthought. There are plenty of Fire Emblem games that would have been better to bring to the US; Nintendo probably only chose this one because it had Marth... *cough* sellout *cough*. To balance that out, though, gameplay is excellent and the whole thing feels very polished. The whole thing except for the battle scenes, at least. For some reason, Nintendo decided to make the battle animations 3d-rendered instead of sprite-based. As you can imagine, 3d rendering does not mix well with a 2-dimensional game. The new animations lack the character of the original sprites, they got rid of the over-the-top critical hits that were so enjoyable in previous releases. Overall, they make a stark contrast with the rest of the game, and really pull you out of the action. Nonetheless, the game is a solid addition to the series. I wouldn't recommend it over either of the other two handheld Fire Emblem games, though. Graphics: 6/10 The new rendered characters feel out of place and make fights pull you out of the action, rather than drawing you in. Sound: 9/10 I took a point of for the incredibly grating music that plays once all the enemies on a map are dead. Gameplay: 10/10 It's a Fire Emblem game, and in terms of the core mechanics, it lives up to the standards set by its predecessors. Story: 7/10 The story won't fool anybody - it's shallow and doesn't even pretend to be plausible. Overall: 8/10 Enjoyable, but not worth it if you're not a fan of the series.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. KevinQ
    Feb 16, 2009
    10
    It's a wonderful remake of a series that Nintendo seems to be neglecting handheld wise. Can you believe that this is the first DS Fire Emblem game?! It's unconceivable how little attention Nintendo gives this series. Anyways, this is a good remake of the very first Fire Emblem game. It tells the story of Marth, which I'm sure everyone recognizes from the Smash Bros series. The story could be better, and the permanent loss of characters maybe be hard at first, but it brings a new level of strategy to it. Buy this game, and you won't be disappointed.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. PhilG
    Mar 21, 2009
    9
    Challenging, and a bit cluttered at times with a few too many details (I could have done without weapon forging especially when said weapons break a lot) and lacks a little on the story side. That being said, it is a very strong entry in the series and the best handheld tactics game to pick up on the DS. Addictive, challenging, and very rewarding when you discover new ways to beat levels. And (thank god) Nintendo decided to LEAVE THE BUTTON CONTROLS ALONE unlike LoZ: PH on the DS so you can use touch screen or buttons. Only other gripe is an undo feature would be nice (not to prevent characters dying, but if you move someone in the wrong spot or something) but I can see why it's not in there (don't want you screwing around until you find the best outcome).… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. RobertC
    Mar 22, 2009
    4
    As a long-time fan of Fire Emblem games, I was extremely disappointed in this one for the following reasons: The story was ATTROCIOUS. No twists, just a plain old linear storyline. I could practically call the story from the beginning, and when I was fighting the final battle, I didn’t feel any sense of an epic fight at all, as he wasn’t built up. The characters weren’t expanded at all. Once you recruited them, they didn’t speak again unless they died. The portraits were changed to 3D, not fitting in with the beautiful hand drawn images. Supports and relationships were completely removed. I didn’t care if my troops died, because they were “bricks with faces.” I usually enjoy the epilogue, but at that point I was trying to power off. There were some features that were not loyal to the game play of the Fire Emblem series. One of them was the re-class ability. A person who aspired to be a mage, and had a few lines of text had tied to them, should stay a mage. Also, killing off your characters to get to play extra chapters? That defies the usual rules of conserving your troops. I should not have to kill 20 characters so I can unlock extra chapters. The music was decent, but it didn’t have some epic pieces, like for the final boss, that it normally does. Overall, this game was not worth my two days, nor my 35 dollars. ~Robert C.… Expand
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  7. WallidK
    Mar 31, 2009
    7
    Hmm. This game may be very frustrating to someone who has no idea what Fire Emblem is as it's a very hard game. THIS IS VERY HARD. Either way, despite the features it takes out like preparing for battles, it replaces it with fresh new ones like difficulty settings and save points. If you liked Fire Emblem before this, pick this one up. If not, you might want to borrow this from a friend first AND PLAY ABOUT AN HOUR IN. If not, you may think this game is still easy and be killed later.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. OmanL
    Apr 2, 2009
    6
    I seriously struggled to finish this game, and not because of it's difficulty. It's the least accomplished and least-rewarding Fire Emblem Gmae that's been released outside of Japan. In fairness to it, it is a remake, but paying full price for it isn't really worth it. The first problem is the story. It's virtually non-existant. No events or sequences between chapters, just a "we won" speach and a map-screen intro to the next battle before you're put in the scene. The characters are one-dimensional- they barely even talk more than once and there's next to none character development, even with the main characters. The history of the continent is extremely vague and enemy units are stupid and annoying. You'll virtually never have to take defensive measures unlike in Sacred Stones when you're batting off swarms of monsters or in Radiant Dawn where you're fighting soldiers roughly as strong as yours. The reclass system further devalues each unit's character. It makes having specialized units essentially useless. In this game you may as well have a few main-characters with customizable faceless units that you can reclass or reproduce for every battle. Pah. The gameplay is solid though- same old fire emblem formula, an interesting unit addition, the balastician, and territorial battle is more important. However, things like the magic and weapon triangle are left out as are the rescue and move after action options. The graphics are somewhat charmless. Criticals are unspectacular and the physical fighting is dull. The magic animations are good, as are the maps and drawings. A decent soundtrack too. They should go for more charming graphics as opposed to realistic ones in the future, for the handheld games that is. As a normal game I'd give it a seven but as a Fire Emblem it only just deserves a five. If Intelligent Systems are going to re-release remakes of that calliber then they're going to have to do it for less than full price or with more than one remake included in the game.… Expand
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  9. FredJ
    Jan 25, 2010
    1
    What have thye done to you Fire Emblem? As a remake of the first FE game, I expected a lot. I've been playing FE since it came out in the US and have gone out of my way to paly many of the Japanese only games like FE6. This, however, is an abomination. There are NO support conversations, NO character depth, NO sense of a Fire Emblem game. What made FE unique was the personalities of the characters, the bond you built with them that made you WANT to keep them alive. Take that away and you get discarable troops wish you merely use as bait. The beautiful 2D portraits are gone, replaced by clunky and ugly 3D. 3D combat cutscenes would have been nice, but they screwed that up too. Every class pretty much has the same attack, compared to the different animations of previous games. Long story short for a traditional FE fan this game sucks… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. TeodorIkonomov
    Jan 27, 2009
    1
    The Best Game Ever
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. Theday
    Jun 1, 2011
    7
    One step forward, Two steps back. Not as complex as it's console predecessors, but still moves the series forward. No pushing, no carrying, no support convos and easier levels. A very good game for newbies to the series.
  12. nonnikchief
    Jun 29, 2011
    8
    Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a turn-based RPG that tells the story of Marth, a young prince who has to go into hiding after his home is taken over and must come back to defeat the shadow dragon and reclaim his throne. The story has over twenty chapters, and the levels are long and often very hard. when a character dies, they're dead permanently. they don't come back. so be careful. there are over twenty different character classes, and many of them can be changed or enhanced. There are many different weapons as well as a weapons triangle, axes beat lances, lances beat swords, and swords beat axes. The graphics are fine for the DS, though not groundbreaking, and the story is pretty good. the characters are pretty cool, but Radiant Dawn's are better. the gameplay is really good and there are six difficulty levels for you to choose from. So no matter what kind of gamer you are, if you have a DS get this game.… Expand
  13. SwoopTrust
    Nov 10, 2011
    1
    Worst FE ever made. it's bland, has no soul. Its absolutely horrendous. Difficulty is nonexistant as times, the game feels rushed, the portraits are just bland, bad CG, same for the animations. Truly a butchering of FE in all the sense of the word.
  14. Metakev
    Jan 8, 2012
    5
    It has no excuse of being a remake of an old game, there is no support so characters have no personality, main story, besides being bland and hard to follow (follow where the f**k are they traveling) is just straight forward with no interesting plot twist or special emotiveness, graphics are ok but bland, animations are bland and dull and look terribly, the changing class gimmick has no use besides ruining you character development, the gameplay works the same as always it's good but unintersting, the difficulty curve is insane and changes from a piece of cake to an unforgiving situation, still the game is too easy and by the time you get the last sword for your lord, credits better roll… Expand
  15. 000Tuld000
    May 5, 2012
    6
    Good game but nothing compared to its predecessors. There's no dark or light magic users, only anima. You can change classes for your characters, such as transforming your magic user into a paladin or your archer into myrmidon. The game can be quite difficult even on a normal setting. You can't rescue your characters nor can you have them support each other. And the only way to unlock side quests is to have most of your units killed off which doesn't seem like a fair advantage.… Expand
  16. Kirisoul
    May 10, 2012
    6
    Make no mistake, this is a polished game. However, I hold Fire Emblem to a higher standard due to the quality of the other games, and this one fails compared to them. True this is a remake of a very old game, but nearly no attempt was made to flesh the story out or update the mechanics. Playing through it, I little attachment to my characters or the plot in general, which is simply told through a short chapter description before each mission. Fire Emblem isn't just a tactics game! There are far better TBS games out there! It's appeal has always been the RPG element, the compelling story, and lovable characters. Strip FE from this, and it becomes only a solid, but not outstanding tactical role playing game.… Expand
  17. Teliiii
    May 27, 2012
    7
    Amazing game considering it is a remake of a really old game. The story is good, the game play is great, but the animations could have been done better and support conversations should have been added in because personally, I felt that the characters were really boring.
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. 3DJuegos
    87
    Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon debuts on Nintendo DS with a classic chapter adapted to these times. The deeply interesting story of the game with many characters to recruit and different strategies for the victories offers a unique experience. The most important feature is the online mode, simple but correct in its way. This is one of the best games to come out this year for Nintendo DS.
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  2. IGN UK
    80
    It hasn't toppled the Sacred Stones from its berth as the best game in the series (or, if you're a purist, Fire Emblem on the GBA), and it feels a bit like a missed opportunity to ally the game that started it all with some of the many incremental improvements that have been introduced since. Still, though, it is a Fire Emblem game, and for some of us, that's enough.
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  3. Pocket Gamer UK
    90
    Fire Emblem's DS debut has been a long time coming but it's unquestionably worth the wait. Shadow Dragon provides astonishingly compulsive turn-based action.
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