Trivia / Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

• Masamune Shirow provided some character art to the remake, Shadow Dragon.
• Dueling Dubs: Shadow Dragon has two English scripts, one for North America and one for Europe, with the European script making significant changes to the names of some characters and locations. These changes were not kept in future games that reference Shadow Dragon, as the North American names became the standardized ones.
• Dummied Out:
  • An unused death quote indicated that Norne was supposed to be one of the recruits in the prologues in New Mystery, indicating that she was intended to be playable in the prologues.
  • There's an unused line for Gotoh when he dies and is forced to retreat in Casual Mode in New Mystery, indicating that he was meant to be playable over there at one point.
• Fan Translation: Prior to the game's official localization in 2020, the only way to play the original Famicom version in English was to inject a fan translation into the ROM, as only Shadow Dragon was localized. As of November 2012, all five Japan-only games can now be enjoyed in English with these, including Archanea War Chronicles through the remakes of its maps in New Mystery.
• Fountain of Expies: This game started many of the Archetypes that would continue into future games such as the Jagen, Cain and Abel, Gordin, Ogma, Julian, Lena, Navarre, Merric, Maria, Minerva, Est, and Gotoh archetypes. It also is the origin of the Triangle Attack.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes:
  • The international version of the original game is no longer available for purchase on the Nintendo Switch eShop as of April 1st, 2021. Therefore, the only way to get it legally is through unused download codes. However, the original Japanese release for the game can still be accessed through Nintendo Switch Online.
  • With the closure of the Wii U eShop in 2023, the only way to get the DS remake nowadays is through physical copies and even then, used copies can fetch very high prices.
• Late Export for You: The original Famicom game would see localization three decades after its initial release in 1990, along with some quality of life updates that come from the more modern Fire Emblem games.
• Marth Debuted in "Smash Bros.": Nope, this game! It's both the Trope Namer and current world record holder (nineteen years from Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light to the international release of Shadow Dragon; seven years from international debut in Melee to international release of Shadow Dragon; thirty years for the original Famicom game to see localization).
• New Work, Recycled Graphics: A lot of the item sprites in this game and the sequel are remastered from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, with a notable exception of magic tomes.
• No Dub for You: The American release of Shadow Dragon doesn't feature the European Spanish translation used in the European release, very likely because it was translated into a very archaic variation of the European dialect in a way that it's very hard to read for Latin American players.
• No Export for You: The Updated Re-release for the game was never released in Japan. This is due to the game already being on the Nintendo Switch Online Service there, as well as it already giving players the ability to rewind.
• Remade for the Export: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light got a remake that was a given an international release under the title of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
• Sleeper Hit: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light sold poorly during its first two months on the market due being panned by critics. It still kept selling in spite of this due to strong word of mouth, eventually leading to a sequel being greenlit and a franchise being born.
• What Could Have Been: The biggest Fire Emblem site, SerenesForest.net, posted an article about Fire Emblem's 25th Anniversary. See this to find many ideas not included in the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Highlights include:
  • Nyna was originally going to be a playable character as a Paladin and her vassals accompanying her. However, their role was given to Hardin and the Wolfguard instead and Nyna was given the damsel role while her vassals were imprisoned. The band's name, the Archanea Free Company, was reused for Astram's squad.
  • Medeus was originally named Gaia.
  • A sketch of a serpent-like dragon named "Water Dragon Neptune" suggests that there was going to be a tribe of water dragons. According to the designer notes, they would fight by forming a tornado with an incantation rather than utilizing a breath attack.
  • Cutscene images were also originally going to be included in the NES version but weren't included due to technical limitations. This was first featured in The Blazing Blade, the first Fire Emblem game to be released internationally. Ironically, Shadow Dragon's image focused on the Ghoul's Teeth, rather than Julian and Lena running from the bandits.
  • Jagen originally was going to die during the story.
  • The plot would have changed depending on whether you recruited Samson or Arran. This idea would later be reused as the basis of Fire Emblem Fates' plot.
  • The DS remake was originally going to debut the Avatar system before it was scrapped for New Mystery of the Emblem.

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