Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, originally promoted simply as Fire Emblem, is a 1990 tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It is the first installment in the Fire Emblem series and was originally released in Japan. Set on the fictional continent of Archanea, the story follows the tale of Marth, prince of the kingdom of Altea, who is sent on a quest to reclaim his throne after being forced into exile by the evil sorcerer Gharnef and his dark master Medeus, the titular Shadow Dragon. Forming new alliances with neighboring kingdoms, Marth must gather a new army to help him retrieve the sacred sword Falchion and the Fire Emblem shield in order to defeat Gharnef and Medeus and save his kingdom. The gameplay revolves around turn-based battles on grid-based maps, with defeated units being subject to permanent death.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 1990
- Developer
- Intelligent Systems
- Platforms
- 3 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 20 April 1990 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Intelligent Systems, Nintendo Research & Development 1 |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U |
| Genres | Role-Playing |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q150146, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light? How long to beat it
Total play time for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is about 38.2 hours to do everything, and around 27 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 27h | 39 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 32.6h | 25 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 38.2h | 15 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 44ahead of 4% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 34ahead of 75% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
What platforms is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on?
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is available on Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U. It first released in 1990.
Who made Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light?
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was developed by Intelligent Systems, Nintendo Research & Development 1 and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light?
about 27 hours for the main story, 32.6 hours with the main extras, 38.2 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.