Dear Reader:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon - hints/tips from the developers
Just had these sent over by the good PR folks at Nintendo. If you’re having a bit of a rough time in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, perhaps these hints and tips will help. They come straight from the devs…and I think they know the game pretty well!
* Don’t forget about side quest chapters…
When you finish chapters 6, 12, 17, 20 and 24, you will automatically unlock optional side quest chapters if you have fulfilled certain conditions. To unlock the first of these after chapter 6, the number of total units in your army must be 15 or less including Marth at the time you complete the chapter.
* To recruit Navarre to your army…
In Chapter 3, send Caeda to a space adjacent to Navarre’s and initiate a conversation with him using the special Talk command that appears. Remember, it has to be Caeda. Approaching him with any other character won’t do the trick.
* Be smart about how you use arenas to maximize their usefulness:
When you enter an arena you can see how much gold you need to wager to cover the bet on a fight. The bet changes based on the strength of the fighter your unit will face in battle. The lower the bet, the better the chance that you will be able to easily dispatch of your opponent, earning you money and experience. If you’re worried that a proposed fight will be too tough for your unit, simply back out of the arena and reenter. Repeat this process until you come across a fight with a bet low enough for your tastes.
* Make sure to purchase rare weapons in Chapter 8.
In chapter 8, there are multiple armories and item vendor shops on the map. Here you can find rare and powerful weapons such as Silver Swords and Wing Spears for sale. These weapons will make encounters in the coming chapters much easier, so be sure to make a few purchases before you seize the castle gate and end chapter eight!
* Don’t forget to talk with villagers from time to time…
You never know what you might gain from talking with the people of the land. For example, in Chapter 11, you can recruit a powerful ballistician by the name of Jake to your team, but only if you talk with his sweetheart, Anna, first. Talk with Anna by visiting the house east of the lake in the village on this map. Only once you’ve done this can you Talk to Jake using Caeda and recruit him to your cause.