Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Review

This game is awesome.

But that's not much of a review, is it? No, it is not.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a strategic RPG. It follows the story of Prince Marth and the Archanean League on their quest to reclaim Marth's lost kingdom of Altea and to put an end to the dark sorcerer Gharnef and the Shadow Dragon Medeus.

While most RPG games have some action, this one is pure strategy. It doesn't make you mash buttons, but it does make you think. You must consider every factor before sending a unit to attack a foe. Will he be able to survive the attack? Will the movement expose him to other enemies? Should I send Abel to kill that swordmaster and Minerva to handle the knight instead of the other way 'round? This game will punish you for mistakes. Any character who dies in battle stays dead. If you lose too many, you will get some other soldiers to help you, but they will not be nearly as good.

There are 25 levels in the game, not counting the prologue and extra chapters (which you go to if you are running out of characters). Each one is played on a grid, with you and the enemy taking turns to move your troops, attack each other, and find defensive positions. Before the battle, you can also take to time to look at the map, pick the units that will fight, arrange them, give them new weapons, or even change their warrior class.

Attacking works like this: you select a character and then select an enemy within range. If you move up to that enemy and select "Attack" from the menu, you can choose which weapon to use, which is an art all its own, not only because certain weapons work better than others, but also because weapons will break after a while. Don't waste your paladin's Ridersbane on that archer, save it for other cavalry and kill them instantly. That guy only has a few HP left, use your sniper's steel bow instead of his silver bow. Weapons break, and the only ones you can purchase between battles are iron weapons, which are horrible. All other weapons and items must be bought at armories and vendors on the battlefield. Not only does this require the use of a unit, but the weapons are also expensive. Also, the range on most weapons is fairly limited.

Most swords, axes, and lances have a range of 1.

Most bows, magics, the Levin Sword, the Hand Axe, the Javelin, and the lance Gradivus have a range of 2, though all but bows can be used at close range.

Longbows have a range of 2-3.

Ballistae and the magic tome Swarm have a range of 2-10. These guys can attack from half a world away, but are very vulnerable at close range.

The game takes some getting used to, but I tell you, there is nothing more satisfying than taking out that stupid enemy healer from across the river with a ballista, or watching a knight or general block a narrow corridor and cut down every enemy that challenges him. The replay value of this game is enormous. I've played through and beaten the game over ten times, and loved every minute of it. No time playing through is ever the same. Some characters are only obtainable if other characters die. Sometimes you may feel like killing someone instead of recruiting them.

The only major problem I have with this game is the difficulty. This game is not for the young or easily frustrated, believe me. One little error can kill a good character and force you to start the level over.

Still, the difficulty in this game is like a fleck of iron on a gold bar. I heartily recommend this game to any fan of strategy games. When playing, I really feel like I'm there, commanding my troops, desperately hoping that they don't die, and resetting if they do. Yeah, it's easy to reset. Just press and hold L, R, Start, and Select. You'll be doing it a lot.