On March 30, Nintendo fans paid tribute to Mario on various social media platforms, mourning his death as Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. 35 were officially taken off the eShop. However, there was another game that was overshadowed by the famous Italian plumber during the limited release controversy: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a title that might be unfamiliar to even diehard fans of the Fire Emblem series. It was originally released on the Famicom (the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1990. While it’s the game that kickstarted the now beloved tactical role-playing franchise, the first Fire Emblem never came to the United States and remained a mystery to American consumers for decades until Nintendo announced the game would be coming to the Nintendo Switch.
However, this came with one small catch: Like Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. 35, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light would disappear after March 30, 2021. Unfortunately for fans today, especially those interested in history, because of the dilapidated interest in gaming in the United States, along with the logistics of shipping and translating all products for North American consumers, Japanese gamers got quite a bit of content that never made it overseas. Limiting the release of games like the first Fire Emblem, which was previously unavailable outside of Japan, only makes it worse.
Why The First Fire Emblem’s Limited Release Was So Bad
For fans of the series, the release of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on the Nintendo Switch was a cause for celebration – except it wasn’t a permanent fix. Instead of honoring gaming history and properly celebrating the long-awaited English release of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light 30 years after its initial launch, Nintendo teased consumers, letting them purchase it for three months before snatching it away again. This is a lot worse than the limited release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, since those games were already available and localized previously. A port of Super Mario 64 had even been released on the Nintendo DS, meaning that game is already on multiple consoles in some capacity.
Not only is this limited release disappointing for Fire Emblem fans who may have missed the window on purchasing the game, but it’s frustrating for those interested in gaming history. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was almost a step in the right direction for preserving a rather elusive title, especially for English speakers, but Nintendo fumbled the ball by making it a temporary reward instead of a permanent solution.
