It is the eleventh entry in the Fire Emblem series, and is a remake of the Famicom title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first installment in the series.
Shadow Dragon retells and expands on the events of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Set on the continent of Archanea, the story follows the tale of Marth (Fire Emblem), 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 follows the established Fire Emblem formula of turn-based battles played out on grid-based maps. Returning features include a character class system which evolves based on character usage, and permanent death for units defeated in battle.