If you've ever played a Fire Emblem game before, you pretty much know what to expect, and if you haven't, there's a good tutorial prologue that will walk you through the basics. Essentially, you control a group of soldiers, knights, horsemen, wizards, archers, etc. on a battlefield map. Your goal is to clear each map by besting the opposition in turn-based combat. Different weapons and types of magic are strong against one type and weak against another, forming a sort of rock-paper-scissors style triangle. Lose a unit in combat and he or she is gone for good, though throughout the course of the game you will have the opportunity to recruit new soldiers to replace fallen ones. Eventually, you can level up your troops and give them new, more powerful classes.
There are more than 20 different main levels, as well as several side-story challenges, in Shadow Dragon. Furthermore, there are six different difficulty levels, though only two are available at the very beginning. Of course, there are some major differences between this game and other U.S. Fire Emblem titles. For one thing, there's actually a multiplayer mode--a first for the series. Not only can you battle someone over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, but you can also loan out units and purchase items from an online shop as well. Furthermore, unit progression is not fixed. You can "reclass" or change their classes at any time, handy for filling glaring holes in your troop roster. Finally, you can now access permanent save points during certain points in most battles, allowing for shorter play sessions. These points do disappear once used, but it definitely makes the game easier and more convenient.
