The original Fire Emblem game is getting localized after 30 years

Today, Nintendo announced that the original release of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is making its way outside of Japan for the first time since its original release 30 years ago on the Famicom. The game is coming to the Nintendo Switch eShop on December 4.

The game was announced through a tweet that plays with the fact that Marth, a main character in the original Fire Emblem game, was featured in the 2001 release of Super Smash Bros. Melee, despite the franchise being exclusive to Japan at the time.

Fire Emblem debuted in the West with the release of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (originally known simply as Fire Emblem worldwide) on the GameBoy Advance in 2003, but the previous titles were never officially brought over to other markets. However, the original Fire Emblem was remade as a DS title, and that saw a worldwide release, so this isn't exactly the first time you can experience the same overall story.

The Nintendo Switch release will be mostly like the original game, but some changes have been made to make the title more accessible for modern audiences. There's a new ability to rewind turns in battle, fast-forward for movements on the battlefield, and save states so you can pick the game up where you left off.

To celebrate the history of the franchise, Nintendo is also releasing a Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition, which includes a game box replica, an art piece based on the original cartridge for the game, an art book, and a "mini Nintendo Power retro collectible". The game itself will be included as a download code - presumably it was hard to justify producing a physical game card considering the game is 30MB in size.