Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the eleventh installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the Famicom title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first entry in the series. It released in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and 2009 in North America and Australia.

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, 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.

Development began in 2007, overlapping with the final months of production on Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Many staff from earlier entries returned, including director Tohru Narihiro and original composer Yuka Tsujiyoko, who handled the remixed and expanded soundtrack with Saki Kasuga. Character artwork was redrawn by character designer Daisuke Izuka, with special contributions by Masamune Shirow. First announced in late 2007, it was released internationally the following year and localized by external company 8-4. The game features many gameplay additions and alterations to the original Famicom version, including colored tiles for movement and attack range, the Weapon Triangle, a new class swap feature, and online multiplayer, a first for the franchise. Upon release, critical reception was generally positive, with common points of praise going to the gameplay balance and multiplayer functionality. However, sales remained low for a good while after launch, despite Intelligent Systems saying they were satisfied with the game's sales in Japan.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a tactical role-playing game where players take control of main protagonist Marth and his army on missions across the continent of Archanea. The gameplay and general game information is separated between the two screens of the Nintendo DS: the map is located on the bottom screen, while the top screen features story sequences, unit statistics (stats) and battle animations. The game is divided into chapters, with each chapter being the stage for a single large-scale battle that advances the story and can lead to the recruitment of new units. "Gaiden" (side story) chapters are progressively unlocked depending on how many units have been lost in battles. Prior to each chapter, players can prepare for battle, including changing a unit's currently assigned weapons, forging new weapons, and managing the inventory. The game also features limited multiplayer functionality. Using the DS' Wi-Fi Connection or normal local wireless, players can engage in voice chat with other players, engage multiplayer matches with groups of five units each, and loan units to use in the campaign.

Battles take place on a grid-based battlefield, with objectives which range from clearing enemy groups to capturing points of importance. Each map has unique terrain to be negotiated in battle ranging from mountains to rivers and flat plains. Viewed from an overhead perspective, there are castles and locations such as shops that the player can visit, the latter of which provides a means for obtaining items. Each chapter has a different set of victory conditions, which can be related to the number of turns taken or how the enemy force is dealt with. Battles play out using a turn-based system where each unit on both sides is given their chance to move and act. During battle, the combat screen appears, showing the fight from a sidelong perspective. Both sides move at least once, after which the combat screen fades. Battles between individual units are governed by the series' recurring Weapons Triangle, a rock–paper–scissors system where certain weapons have advantages over others – lances are stronger than swords, swords are stronger than axes, and axes are stronger than lances. As they participate in battles, each unit gains experience points (EXP) from their actions: they raise their experience level by one when they have accumulated 100 EXP. EXP can be earned in both normal battles and challenge fights in special arenas. Players can save at the end of each chapter or outside battle. They also have mid-chapter saves available at certain points. All units are subject to permanent death: If a unit dies in battle, they are removed from the rest of the campaign.

Units each have a character class which determines their weapon, skill set, movement and attack range, how much effect they have on other units, and whether they use passive or aggressive skills. There are thirty classes available to choose from: these include mounted units such as the Pegasus Knight, Sorcerers and Healers that wield magic for attack and healing respectively, soldiers who wield swords and axes, and archers who specialize in long-distance attacks. The only class that is character exclusive is the Lord class, which is used by Marth. When a unit has reached Level 10, their class can be evolved using an item called a Master Seal. Units can also be re-classed, changing to a completely different class or back to their original class at the player's discretion: the re-class option has limits as there are only a limited number of available classes for a unit to change into, and limitations are placed on how many of one class can be used at a time. If a class change is reversed, all the unit's previous stats will be retained. Each unit's weapon rank, which is directly associated with its class, has its level raised based on the amount of weapon usage, while also decreasing weapon durability — unless merged with another identical item, a weapon will break after its maximum number of uses.

Shadow Dragon follows the events of the original game. In ancient times, the Shadow Dragon Medeus led a reign of terror over the continent of Archanea, before a young man named Anri used the divine sword Falchion and the mystical Fire Emblem shield to defeat Medeus and restore peace to the continent. One century later, Medeus is resurrected by the evil sorcerer Gharnef, reestablishing his empire and reclaiming his former territories. The kingdom of Altea, the original home of Anri and the birthplace of protagonist Marth, comes under attack from Gharnef's forces. Marth is forced into exile in the neighboring kingdom of Talys. Several years later, together with the king's daughter Caeda and a small band of soldiers, Marth returns to the mainland to reclaim his kingdom and defeat Medeus once again.

The original version of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was released in 1990 for the Famicom by Intelligent Systems, who had previously created the military strategy game Famicom Wars. It was designed and written by series creator Shouzou Kaga, who envisioned a new type of role-playing experience unknown at the time. The success of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light launched the Fire Emblem series, of which he parted ways with after the release of the fifth installment. According to co-director Masayuki Horikawa, development started on Shadow Dragon during the development of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, which released in 2007. The development period was estimated at "one and a bit years", although full development lasted ten months as the first part of development overlapped with Radiant Dawn. It was decided by Intelligent Systems to remake Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light so more players could experience software from their early days. They also wanted players outside Japan to experience the game for the first time. The core staff included producer Tohru Narihiro and director Masayuki Horikawa from Intelligent Systems, and producer Hitoshi Yamagami and director Masaki Tawara from Nintendo.