Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light Reviews
Quotation forthcoming.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Although very much of its time in visuals and sound, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light holds its own in the modern day thanks to solid gameplay and structure. Almost everything you know and love about the series is here, and the game is worth picking up if only for the insight into early parts of the franchise. It's not an essential Switch game by any means, and quite alienating for beginners to the series, but it's practically compulsory for fans of Fire Emblem.
All the improvements that have been added over the years in the gameplay, here directly do not exist. That is why we believe that it is a necessary historical document in Europe (because it has not arrived earlier in our country), but little else.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a fantastic game that somehow holds up after 30 years, it's presented in a barebones package that feels too little too late as an anniversary release. If Nintendo is hell-bent on destroying their own history, they'll have to do a lot more than adding savestates and speed modifiers.
After 30 years, the original Fire Emblem gets a Western release, an English localization and some new features meant to smoothen the experience. It's a neat history lesson, but gameplay wise Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light shows its age.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I can’t argue that at the heart of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light is the tried-and-true Fire Emblem formula. And when used as nothing more than a reference to how far the series as a whole has come in 30 years, it answers the question of whether or not it’s worth your hard-earned $6. But I’d bet the farm that the majority of casual Fire Emblem fans won’t be able to deal with the games offensively slow pace. And to top it all off, I love the sights and sounds of the eight and sixteen-bit by-gone era, but by the end of the campaign, I was ready to never again play another classic. There are only so many beeps and crumple sound effects that I can handle in one lifetime.
Despite my less than enjoyable time with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, I can’t help but appreciate its existence as the precursor to some of my favorite JRPGs of all time. However, as is often the case with pieces of history, it’s best left in a museum to be admired for all future generations.
This well written english translation of Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light proves true to the original script while cutting short through the narration in comparison with the DS remake, just like the gameplay charges straight to the point. A real testament to Fire Emblem's traditional values, though some archaic principles bound this version to an historical interest, even with additional modern options that only alleviate the aging elements.
Review in French | Read full review
It's difficult to land on a fitting score for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. On one hand, historical context is vital and you can't expect too much out of a thirty-year-old game. On the other hand, granting a generous score to a title as fundamentally flawed as this would be dishonest; by modern standards, it's really not a good game anymore. Considering the low cost of entry and the inclusion of new features, we'd say it's probably worth a look for long time Fire Emblem fans who are curious how it all began. If you don't fall into that category, we'd encourage you to look into more modern games for your strategy gaming fix.
In the end, Nintendo gave what they promised: a localized port. It’s still a fun Fire Emblem game at its core though, and I can only hope that we get more Japanese-only Fire Emblem games localized because there are many improvements in every entry.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light lays the foundations for the Fire Emblem games of present, unfortunately, however, as a 30-year-old game, feels incredibly obtuse and slow and really shows its age. For anybody interested in the Fire Emblem series, this is worth picking up. For anybody looking to play a genuinely fun strategy RPG, maybe give this a miss.
With the original Fire Emblem's first Western release, Americans can finally enjoy the excellent, debut game in Nintendo's popular strategy-RPG series.
Fire Emblem: Shadow of Dragon & The Blade of Light is a controversial operation. If it is undoubtedly precious and at times pleasant to discover the origins of a franchise that is part of the excellence of turn-based strategy of fantasy matrix, the first chapter carries on its shoulders in a not too solid way the weight of its 30 years, with a game formula so sufficiently varied and stimulating, yet conspicuously aged to the present day.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The combat system of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light works great, but it's let down by frustrating maps and poorly presented information.
For its time, it's easy to see how Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light had a massive appeal to fans looking to get into the SRPG genre.
A good majority of NES titles are hard to recommend to anyone this day and age when most are either outdated or have superior versions players can pick up.
Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and The Blade of Light it's a hard pill to swallow for all the recent fans, as its gameplay and graphics haven't aged that well. But it's also a great return to the past for old time fans, and for just five bucks.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As someone who has finished and loved the GBA, 3DS, and Switch iterations, I can't wholeheartedly recommend the Famicom/NES version of the first Fire Emblem game. The DS remake, however different from the original, would be a much better way to slake your tactics thirst. Unless you're prepared for a slow and meandering, albeit decent for the time, 10-15 hours, get your Fire Emblem fix somewhere else.
Fire Emblem's original 8-bit adventure is back and for the most part, Shadow Dragon * the Blade of Light still holds up well.