Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Release Dates: Available Now (E) Available Now(U), August 5, 2008 (J)
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Strategic RPG
Players: 1-2 (2+ is yet to be confirmed)
Aliases: Fire Emblem DS (J)

Storyline:

Long long time ago, the continent of Akanea was invaded by the Doluan, led by the monstrous Shadow Dragon, Medeus, and the people of Akanea lived in fear. Anri, a person from Altea, slew the Shadow Dragon using the epi Falchion Sword. The world was at peace but then Medeus resurrected. Medeus joined forces with the Demon King, Garnef, and launched an attack against Akanea. Of course Akanea was defeated and the royal family besides Princess Nina was wiped out. Cornelius, the King of Altea, left his kingdom to battle Medeus with the Falchion. Marth remains in Atlea continuing his martial arts training....

Overview:

I have played this game and it's awesome but not easy on the eyes. Due to the fact that this game was announced just recently, little is known about it. Whether or not it will be released outside Japan (I'm sure it will be), when it will be released outside of Japan is unknown. Stay patient and wait for new details to be released.

Fire Emblem DS is a complete remake of 'Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi' which was the first ever Fire Emblem game of the series, released on the Famicom (Japanese version of the NES). However it was never released outside Japan so it will be a new experience for us Westerners with graphical enhancements (obviously) and extras such as WiFi play.

Features:

The game is wifi compatible. Only information I got was, you are able to battle friends online.When playing against your friends, you begin by first creating a team using up to five units that you've leveled up in the single player story mode. Battles take place over versus-specific maps. There will be an online store and the game also supports voice chat. Options for multiplayer include:

* Toggle fog of war on/off.
* Set Turn limit from 5-10 Turns.
* Set time limit for each Turn from 3-10 minutes.
* Toggle use of "Charms" on/off.

Gameplay:

This is a typical TBSRPG. Fire Emblem New Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light will feature over 20 character classes, including armoured knights, airborne pegasus riders and priests. Some classes have returned like the Shooter class. Players can also directly swap a character's class using the "Class Swap" option like in Final Fantasy games but there is a limit to how many of one particular class a player can have at the same time. For example, special classes like Lord or Thief cannot use "Class Swap" option. Obviously they haven't heard of the King of Thieves. =P. There are also items called Master Seals. Master Seals promote most characters when they are Level 10 or over.

Saving option is like every Fire Emblem game. Permanent saves are available after completing a chapter, and players can create a quick save during battle. There is something new to the saving option. During battles, there are these new "Save Point" squares. These points can be only used once. These points are activated by moving one of your units onto a "Save Point" square. "Save Point" squares usually appear before a boss fight.

To proceed into the next chapter, you have to complete Sidestories. Like in previous games, completion of certain quests in certain chapters grants access to "gaiden" chapters, which are an aside to the main story.

The danger button has been added to this game. When pressing the X-button, you can see the attack ranges of all enemies. If you are in the range, attack or move, if you don't, your characters will get hurt.

Controls:

Players can use the stylus to move and order characters on the touch screen, or players can just use buttons

Cast:

Marth - Main character of the game. Prince of the Kingdom of Atlea.
Sheeda - Princess of a nearby Kingdom of Talis.
Ellis - Marth's Sister and gets kidnapped by Mediuth.
Mediuth - The bad guy.
Freyer - Not in the original.

Screenshots:

Related Links:

Youtube - Fire Emblem DS Nintendo Channel Movie


UPDATED: A lot