Game Focus writes: "I have been a fan of the Fire Emblem series ever since its first English-release on the GameBoy Advance. Since then, I have played every version released outside of Japan, and was highly anticipating Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, the first entry to the series on Nintendo's DS. Now, Shadow Dragon is not an entirely new entry to the series; rather, it is a remake of the game that started it all: the original Fire Emblem, released only in Japan on the Famicom. This means that the vast majority of people (myself included) have never played the game, and it is a fresh experience to them."
Pros
+Fire Emblem finally makes it to the DS!
+Gameplay is still as challenging and fun as ever
+Overall good audio-visual
Cons
-Plot hasn't been enhanced at all from the original version, and as a result is relatively weak
-Players new to the series might want to check out the GBA versions first
-Lack of character development
-Missing the charm of earlier games in the series
BLG writes: "The Fire Emblem games are a storied part of Nintendo’s history. Debuting only in Japan in 1990, it gave the first Nintendo consoles an enjoyable fantasy RPG-strategy experience. With 2003’s Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the series made its debut in North America (Europe and Australia got a 2004 release). Since then, the franchise has been a mainstay on every Nintendo system."
I still own Fire Emblem POF and RD. Those entries are uber pricey now. I wish they would bring back the transforming units from those games. Radiant Dawn was pretty hard too but at least you could save before each turn. Saved me the trouble of having to redo many a map due to unlucky enemy crits. lol
Thracia 776, Heroes and Warriors are all awful. I ignore them when discussing Fire Emblem altogether
Top 5:
1. Awakening
2. Three Houses
3. Blazing Blade
4. Sacred Stones
5. Path of Radiance.
I've played most of the others, but they didn't really hook me.
Stay away from Shadows of Valencia and the DS remakes.
Alex S. from Link-Cable writes: "...as we get ready to embark on the next journey with Fire Emblem: Three Houses we thought it would be a good idea to look back at the games that helped shape the series into what it is today, at least as far as the west is concerned."
There are a lot of animal-people in the Fire Emblem series! These are different races who transform into actual animals in battle, while occasionally maintaining some of these features while in their humanoid forms. Hearing about laguz or taguel can be confusing, especially since these races are not universal and may only be present in a few select entries.
