In another seemingly unexpected choice of bringing classic games to Nintendo Switch, the inaugural Fire Emblem game has re-released for fans. For $6, players can experience the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on Nintendo's latest console, localized in English and released outside of Japan for the first time. The 1990 NES game never left its home country in its original form, only being remade as a DS game back in 2008 for worldwide release. Bringing the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light to Switch is a strange choice, but it could potentially open up the door for additional Fire Emblem re-releases.
Considering Shadow Dragon has now technically been released three times, that still leaves plenty of Fire Emblem games that deserve the same localization and/or re-release treatment. Devout Fire Emblem fans could probably come up with several examples of underappreciated or non-localized entries that deserve more attention. Fire Emblem's popularity saw a mild increase when it first came west in 2003, but now with Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes, the series has never been more popular. While Shadow Dragon's localization is great, re-releasing these iconic Fire Emblem games would be even more impactful for the franchise.
Those among the hardcore Fire Emblem fanbase probably expected the sixth entry would be the first mention. Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (alternately translated as Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seals) was the franchise's first foray into handheld gaming with the Game Boy Advance. Not only that, but Binding Blade also served as the franchise's resurgence in Japan after the NES. Western fans in particular know of Binding Blade as the one that got away, as the sixth game was one of the few Fire Emblem entries never released outside of Japan.
Many figured that, since the game's protagonist Roy ended up featuring in Super Smash Bros. Melee, his respective game would eventually come to the west thanks to his (and Marth's) newfound popularity. That never came to pass, even though the game's prequel and successor Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade was localized. Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade is an entry enjoyed by hardcore fans for its narrative and immense challenge at higher difficulties. Even though emulation and fan translations aren't that hard to come by, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade indirectly bolstered the franchise's popularity in the west, and absolutely deserves a re-release on Switch.
Alternatively, the Fire Emblem game that did directly contribute to the series' popularity in the west, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, could use a re-release. Known to western audiences simply as Fire Emblem, the prequel to Roy's adventure was released as a result of Marth and Roy's surprising popularity in Super Smash Bros. Melee. In a lot of ways, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade emphasizes both the best of old-school Fire Emblem, and arguably when the whole franchise was at its best.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is a game for purists, a strategy game built upon a medieval setting, narrative, and character cast. This game doesn't have a whole lot of bells and whistles that improve many of the later entries in the series. However, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade strikes a serviceable balance between gameplay aspects that defined the old-school Fire Emblem games, while incorporating many of the features that would become mainstays in future entries. If Binding Blade isn't going to get localized, re-releasing the game that jump-started Fire Emblem's popularity in the west would make just as much sense.
Perhaps Nintendo will want to follow in the steps of Shadow Dragon and re-release the second Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem Gaiden. However, localizing the second game would be a disservice to the fantastic remake released on Nintendo 3DS just a few years ago: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Anyone picking up Shadow Dragon has to understand that, as a decades-old NES game, the first Fire Emblem is comparatively very archaic. Sure, Shadow Dragon did eventually receive a remake on DS so that's theoretically a moot point, but Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was released relatively recently in 2017.
Despite Echoes being a ground-up remake of Fire Emblem: Gaiden, much of its traditional gameplay mechanics and features were retained alongside the graphical and systemic overhaul. There'd be no point in re-releasing Gaiden, which in many ways is functionally identical to Echoes without modern accessibility. Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a stubbornly traditional Fire Emblem game just as much as Gaiden is, and the updated graphics would shine even better on Switch as a definitive version.
Ever since the Switch came out, Nintendo fans have been waiting to see if any GameCube games would eventually see re-releases/ports/remasters on its new console. As it turned out, Super Mario 3D All-Stars would be the inaugural effort with Super Mario Sunshine. After a ton of buzz about how Sunshine was running via first-party GameCube emulation, fans got excited at the prospect of more GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch. With that said, a perfect opportunity would be to re-release or remaster Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, arguably one of the best Fire Emblem games of all time.
Marking the return to home consoles for the first time since the NES, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance had one of the most ambitious and impactful stories in the Fire Emblem franchise. Bolstered by the franchise's excellent first effort into 3D graphics and voice acting, Path of Radiance was one of the most successful GameCube games released in its lifespan, despite coming out relatively late. Assuming more Fire Emblem re-releases are on the way, Ike's story could use the same treatment.
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