Do you recommend Shadow Dragon as a good starting point to the fire emblem series?

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

Its a remake of the first game on the series, also the only other tactical rpg games I recall playing are advance wars 1 and the ds final fantasy tactics game

 

[Clippy]

I would recommend Sacred Stones myself. It's slightly easier than other games in the series and chances of you lucking into having a really strong character are pretty high while at the same time it will introduce you to the general mechanics and the feel of the series.

The first game on the GBA (officially released in English) is also a good starting point, especially if you're a complete newcomer since it has a tutorial that's rather thorough.

 

[ObscureJigglypuff]

Shadow dragon está bien para empezar.

Yo recomendaría también Blazing Sword y Sacred stones, o Awakening.

 

[ATenderLad]

There really isn't a continuity, most of the games take place in different settings and almost nothing carries over. You don't miss anything playing them in any order (excluding the Radiance sequel), and like the previous posters pointed out, the GBA games are your best bet. Blazing Sword is the only one with a (surprisingly fun) tutorial campaign.

Edit: Forgot to point out, Shadow Dragon in particular isn't a great point to start mostly because it isn't very good. It's a drab remake of the first, and most basic, game in the series.

 

[Bonkers225]

Blazing Blade, Binding Blade and, Sacred Stones. And after those, Path of Radiance on the GC.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

I started with Shadow Dragon and it is a fine starting point. At least from understanding the series as a whole. Yes, there isn't a lot of continuity but Marth is referenced in one way or another throughout the series. I think Shadow Dragon gets a lot of undeserved hate, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

I think Shadow Dragon gets a lot of undeserved hate, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

I heard its bc of the graphics, but they dont look bad

 

[Deleted member 2077]

I didn't played that one so I can't answer.
I started with Awakening, everyone was saying that it was the game that brought back FB to life? It's not like I'm a fan of the franchise so I'm not sure about it. I liked that game. Then I played Fates(didn't finished it), then Path of Radiance(I liked it), tried the sequel Radiant Dawn but I read the translation being very unfaithful compared to the original script so I dropped it since I was invested in the story.
And finally my favorite Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, the storytelling, the music, a lot of voiced scenes and it adds some dungeon crawling now and then.
I don't know which one is best as a first pick since I feel that I'd have been ok picking any game as a starting point.

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

I heard its bc of the graphics, but they dont look bad

I think the combat scenes look fine. I like the realistic proportions and detailed animations. The portraits are kind of weird, though. They did this inbetween realistic/anime style and it looks wonky.

 

[tenkai star]

This is my favorite genre easily. I’d say the first title released in the west, blazing blade, is a great place to start. It has a whole tutorial campaign as the first 10 chapters and doesn’t get too difficult after. It also has way better aesthetics than the DS titles and has unbelievably beautiful combat animations.

Someone mentioned sacred stones and that’s a great one too

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Shadow Dragon ID a good game but you should start with the gba entries. Learning the curves on those games will the experience to further enjoy Shadow Dragon.

 

[Ain_Gamer]

I heard its bc of the graphics, but they dont look bad

The graphics are part of the reason , many people also don't like it because it doesn't have support conversation , the plot is very basic even if well written, you also need to kill a lof of people if you want to play the newly added gaiden chapters.

Shadow dragon is very different from other Fire emblem games, a lot of people recommended FE 8 or 7 Which are better entry points, FE Shadow dragon feels like a game made for Die hard FE players that love to replay their games, specially with Iron man challenge (No reset)

 

[nonotz]

follow this guide here , very comprehensive :
Reddit Post

Post automatically merged: Dec 21, 2024

The graphics are part of the reason , many people also don't like it because it doesn't have support conversation , the plot is very basic even if well written, you also need to kill a lof of people if you want to play the newly added gaiden chapters.

Shadow dragon is very different from other Fire emblem games, a lot of people recommended FE 8 or 7 Which are better entry points, FE Shadow dragon feels like a game made for Die hard FE players that love to replay their games, specially with Iron man challenge (No reset)

https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/9157/#review

this hack remived gaiden requirements , also available in the repo ofc

 

[Cu-Neo]

A little late but I Would recomend the Sacred stones on GBA (even the others two gba games) or Awakening on the 3DS as a starting point. Shadow dragon is a good game but it's better playing it with the basics learned

 

[Ain_Gamer]

A little late but I Would recomend the Blazing stones on GBA or Awakening on the 3DS as a starting point. Shadow dragon is a good game but it's better playing it with the basics learned

I belived OP post the Specs of his PC, and to shows us that he can't play anything beyond the N64 and DS, the Intel Celeron is a very weak CPU that can't do much on it's own.

If OP didn't had such hardware limitation I would Recomend Fire Emblem Path of the Radiants to him.

Post automatically merged: Dec 21, 2024

follow this guide here , very comprehensive :
Reddit Post

View attachment 5608

Post automatically merged: Dec 21, 2024

https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/9157/#review

this hack remived gaiden requirements , also available in the repo ofc

I belive this Hack is in The Repo, but I almost forgot about them, I normally play the games vanila first anyway.

but this is not a bad way to play Shadow dragon for the second time for replays.

 

[RageBurner]

I voted "Yes" but with caveats. First, I hate the graphics in Shadow Dragon with a passion, save for the mugshots. Why on Earth did they use pre-rendered sprites? that's just ugly and off key.

That aside, if you play at a friendlier difficulty level, it should be very approachable.

However, as others have said, Sacred Stones is also very beginner friendly, and you'll get to enjoy those sweet GBA graphics and animations.

 

[Karnik]

OP, did you mean the title for NDS? Nah, I don't like the character artwork and battle animations at all.
Instead I recommend the remake of Shadow Dragon, which uses the Fe8 engine and assets, while the plot is identical and the characters have been specially recreated by a talented graphic artist. According to many, the best version. https://feuniverse.us/t/fe8-fe1-shadow-dragon-faithful-remaster-v1-9-4/20331

 

[BassForever]

In a vacuum the only FE games I think are a bad starting point are

Designed sequels games: Radiant Dawn and New Mystery

Famously hard entries: Thracia 776 and Fates Conquest

Hard to go back due to old: NES titles

Beyond those you can pick almost any entry to be your first. If I had to recommend a few I'd say

Blazing Blade (just FE in the west): Was the first localized title and includes a fairly in depth tutorial campaign

Mystery of the Emblem: The oldest entry that is easiest to go back to. Mechanics are kept simple and you get two stories in one.

Awakening: The game that saved the franchise and exploded it in popularity. Gives you a great deal of flexibility for customizing your army.

Honorable mention starting points for Sacred Stones (not my favorite but it's the easiest title on default difficulty) and Three Houses (easily available on Switch, most popular entry).

 

[Strategist's icon Strategist Strategist]

I voted "Yes" but with caveats. First, I hate the graphics in Shadow Dragon with a passion, save for the mugshots. Why on Earth did they use pre-rendered sprites? that's just ugly and off key.

That aside, if you play at a friendlier difficulty level, it should be very approachable.

However, as others have said, Sacred Stones is also very beginner friendly, and you'll get to enjoy those sweet GBA graphics and animations.

Yeah, I mostly like Shadow Dragon because of the variety in difficulty levels. I went from normal to 5 star hard and learned a lot about FE strategy from the game. Sacred Stones, on the other hand, is way too easy, even on hard. It is probably the easiest FE game in the series. Still worth a playthrough for sure.

I acknowledge that difficulty is entirely subjective, so maybe it is at an acceptable level for many.