The original Fire Emblem is great, but Nintendo’s retro strategy is confusing

Like many longtime Fire emblem fans, I never played the first game of the series. 1990s Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light launched what has slowly grown into one of Nintendo’s most important franchises, a series that combines tense tactical battles with character-driven storytelling. It’s not my fault, however: the original game was never released outside of Japan.

Three decades later, that is finally changing with the release of Shadow dragon and blade of light on Nintendo Switch. It’s a solid, no-frills port that costs just $ 5.99, making it an attractive option for fans looking for a history lesson. But it also highlights Nintendo’s increasingly confusing strategy for its large library of classic games.

First of all, the game itself. If you come to Shadow dragon and blade of light after playing a more recent entry in the series – like, say, 2019 Three houses – you will probably be shocked at the simplicity of the original game. It was none of the relationship building that ultimately became a staple of the franchise. Instead, the focus is almost entirely on turn-based strategic combat. You control Marth and a small army of soldiers, traveling across different realms to ward off enemies. This almost always means defeating all the soldiers and capturing the castle.

There are a few twists and turns in terms of your goals and the geography of the map, and the game is a perfect blend of story and combat. I found it surprising how much Shadow dragon and blade of light resists. It’s especially great as a Switch game, where I can knock out a battle, or even just a few rounds, whenever I have some spare time. While this is mostly a direct port, there are a few cool modern touches including a rewind feature, the ability to bookmark mid-battle, and an option to fast forward through enemy turns incredibly. slow.

Even though I enjoy the game, I wonder why it’s not part of Switch Online. Selling classic games individually is how Nintendo worked, of course, with its Virtual Console on platforms like the Wii and Wii U. But that changed with the Switch. In order to attract gamers to its brand new online subscription service, Nintendo added a Netflix-like functionality, including a growing library of NES and SNES titles to play. It’s become one of my favorite things about the Switch.

In the past, Nintendo has even added unreleased games, including Star Fox 2, a canceled SNES game that debuted as part of the SNES Classic mini console, as well as Mario picross, which was not originally launched in North America. These types of surprise posts are important in building excitement for any streaming service. That’s why Netflix is ​​spending so much on original series and Microsoft has lost $ 7.5 billion on Bethesda to bolster Xbox Game Pass.

Switch Online isn’t quite the same thing, but it still needs a constant stream of new (retro) releases to keep people subscribing. And this is in the unique position where most of the games that it announces as coming, whether Donkey Kong Country or Super Metroid, are the ones that fans already know. A version like Shadow dragon and blade of light change that. It’s a rare surprise.

I fully understand that the reissue of the original Fire emblem is more involved than most Switch Online titles. Not only does it have new quality of life features, but it’s also a text-rich game that had to be localized. So in some ways it makes sense as a standalone version. But it would also be a boon to the subscription service, which would help simplify Nintendo’s often frustrating approach to its own history, which is scattered across platforms and devices. (To make it even stranger, kinda like Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the game will only be on sale until March 31, 2021.)

Nintendo Switch Online solved some of these issues, with a constantly growing library that was easily accessible to subscribers, all on incredibly popular hardware. It is also not difficult to envision a future where this subscription will follow you to future Nintendo devices, whatever they are. Maybe one day I won’t have to redeem Super Metroid for every new Nintendo console.

I highly recommend Shadow dragon and blade of light for fans looking to find out how the series evolved. Reading the original Fire emblem in 2020 is a fascinating and long overdue experience. I just wish the reading process, and the rest of Nintendo’s enviable lineup of classic games, was a little easier. Now where is Mother 3.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light launches December 4 for the Nintendo Switch.