When someone says 'Fire Emblem', many Americans and Europeans may not know what you are talking about. The Fire Emblem franchise was introduced to North America and Europe not too long ago, with a Game Boy Advance release titled
Fire Emblem, in 2003/2004. Prior to this date, NA'ers and Europeans had only learned of the series via either the import scene, or Super Smash Brothers: Melee, on the GameCube.
But, what many do not know, is that FE has been a long standing, and quite popular franchise in Japan. Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Ken or Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light in English, was released in 1990 on the Famicom, or NES to the rest of the world. On February 17th, 2009, North America was 3rd to recieve this original game (being released on December the 5th, 2008 in Europe) in an all new, remade format, titled
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
Utilizing the DS's 2 screen interface, this (practically) new game is incredibly fun to play, and has a wonderful background soundtrack.
Learning Curve:Quite Easy to start with, but as you approach Chapter 5 - 7, it gets progressivly more difficult. It jumps up to this quite difficult-ness very quickly, instead of slowly getting more difficult.
4.5/5
Gameplay/Story:Awesome! The story is very fun to read, and you feel as if you are actually part of the game, in a way. I won't spoil it for you, but you basically take on the persona of Prince/King Marth, commanding your forces and Leveling up, to save your kingdom.
5/5Replay Value:Since I haven't actually beaten it yet, I can't say much on the topic of replay value yet. It seems to me, however, that this would be a game that going back to after you beat it makes it really easy.
4/5Music:Brilliant. The music fits the tone of the game amazingly, and the composer did a wonderful job. It also makes great use of the DS's fairly high Audio Quality, sounding very nice even through the speakers.
5/5To sum it all up, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a great game. It has many qualities that make it highly addicive the moment youy begin to play. For the normal DS game price of $29.99, you can get more than your money's worth out of this game.
18.5/20 or 92.5%
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I also love this game. Fire Emblem is probably my favorite series.
Nice review Logical! 
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I though the game was excellent,although I tend to like Radiant Dawn better
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Fun read.
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Really? Wow, most fans tended to dislike it because it has no character depth, feels too primitive, and you have to let troops die in order to get all the missions. I haven't played it but those are the common complaints I'm seeing on most forums.
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Oh and that wasn't meant to belittle your opinion, I was just surprised considering most of what I've been seeing has been negative (besides professional reviews). It seems like every comment I make looks as though I'm angsty...
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@Shimra: That's the way every Fire Emblem game is.
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@BadEnoughDude: No, not at all. You never had to let your troops die to go on extra missions and the character personalities was deep due to tons and tons of support conversations (from what I've heard some characters talk once and that's all).
Also, it kind of bothers me when people review a game without finishing it. I mean, if I would have reviewed MGS2 without getting to arsenal gear I would have given it like a 9. After completing the game I think I gave the game like a 3 or a 4.
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Now the DS is in my sights, I think I will have to get this. This and also the Shining Force Feather would be a must for me. Too bad Square couldn't port Tactics to DS instead of just for PSP, but oh well.
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