Given that I did this analysis with the anniversary edition of Mario, Super Mario 3D All Stars, it’s only fitting I do the same for the anniversary edition of my favorite series Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was never released outside of Japan, but was remastered in the form of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon which was released to the States in 2008. This version updated the graphics and added additional content. Now this version of the game is a release of the original version with some quality of life improvements like easier saves and turn rewind but kept the original graphics so fans are debating if this game is worth it. Now even though I’m getting this and it’s my favorite series I’m going to try and keep my bias out of this blog.

Let’s first talk about the price of the game itself. The game is digital only and can be bought for $5.99. I actually find the price here to be very reasonable as it’s very much like ports Nintendo has made of other games like the original Super Mario game and Legend of Zelda. Most of the ports Nintendo made that were released to the 3DS were about $5 so it actually lines up really nicely with what Nintendo has done in the past. Those ports were also digital only so really this pattern is something fans have been used to when buying ports for the 3DS and even the Wii U.

However, we have not one but two versions of this game. The regular edition and the anniversary edition which comes with a few goodies. Those goodies include replicas of the original game cartridge, game box and an art book. There’s still no physical copy of the game itself but this edition comes with a code for a digital download and can be bought for around $50. Now honestly I plan to get this because I’m an avid collector; however, after looking at this stuff I can see no reason for anyone less of an avid collector to make that investment. All the stuff is nice, but also really decorative. Sure Nintendo has released special editions of games with some of this stuff in the past but in most of those cases those items add about $20 to the original price of the game. In this case you’re paying about 10 times the price of the game itself for the extras. Again they all look really nice but I don’t see casual fans wanting to invest a huge boost in the price of the game for merch that is usually offered cheaper for other titles. I get that since it’s an anniversary edition that it would have such a price hike and that’s fine. I actually don’t have an issue with the price myself but again I’m a huge fan if I wasn’t then this would be a pass for me. Especially since the game was re-released in 2008 so the game itself is easily accessible for fans and playable on the DS and 3DS.

Then you have a limited time release. Like Super Mario 3D All-Stars this game is only out for a few months. In fact less than four which is less time than what was offered for Mario. In my blog on the Mario game I noted how this was more frustrating than anything and only made it easier for scalpers to surge the price of the game and take advantage of fans. I have a different opinion here. The game is digital only and can be bought for $6 which means it’s much easier for fans to make a decision to buy the game as soon as it comes out because of the price. Mario is a $60 game and that is a significant amount of money but $6 is what some people pay for a meal at a fast food restaurant. It still requires a decision on whether or not to get it but the much lower price makes it much more accessible. Plus the game itself doesn’t have a physical cartridge like Mario. The only physical stuff is in the Anniversary Edition and special editions like that always sell out quickly and are always tools used by scalpers to make money. So really the time limit is not a huge factor since one edition will likely sell out on day one and the other edition is available for a reasonable price and scalpers can’t take advantage of that. So the time limit issue here, while still frustrating, is less of an issue to those wanting to purchase the game.

Overall the price is reasonable for all fans for the game itself, but for all the collectibles I really don’t see it being worth it unless you’re an avid fan like myself. Mainly because it’s a lot of money for merchandise offered cheaper for other titles. The time limit issue is a pain but with the standard version of the game being so much cheaper than the Mario anniversary game and digital only the issues that this brought to the Mario game are much less significant for this so that makes the time limit less of a concern in my opinion.