Friendly Reminder! Fire Emblem 1 & Super Mario 3D All-Stars Are About To Disappear Into Nintendo's Vault!

Introduction

I think we can all agree that Nintendo has been around the block. Because of its longevity, it has had several significant video game anniversaries over the past few years. Last year, they celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario franchise and this year the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. These commemorations usually coincide with repackagings of old games with new textures and a bevy of bonus goodies. That was the case last year with the Switch releases of Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. The latter of which is the first official English translation of Fire Emblem 1 and marked the 30th anniversary of the franchise. However, Nintendo is set to remove both of these titles from their marketplace at the end of the month.

I'm not going to beat around the bush. I think Nintendo's decision to make these games "timed sensitive" sets a horrible precedent and an annoying blow to video game preservation. Sure, an argument could be made that there might be a hope these titles get sold piecemeal later down the road. Another could be made that Nintendo will have these games pop-up in their Nintendo Switch Online program after allowing consumers about a year to buy them wholesale. As you can probably tell from my tone, I am rather pessimistic about either of these scenarios and think the likeliest outcome is that after March 31st, 2021, consumers will be shit out of luck. When you look at every time Nintendo has ported older games to platforms, you'll notice that rarely if ever, they go back and make those releases available on newer platforms. And this applies to EVERY landmark title or franchise in Nintendo's wheelhouse! For example, despite Mario's cache as an industry icon, the GBA Super Mario Advance games live and die on that handheld and have never been made available elsewhere.

However, there's no doubting that Nintendo does play favorites. I think the odds of the games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars turning up on the Switch store are a lot better than that of Fire Emblem 1's. Which, if we are being honest, is what inspired me to write this blog. I am downright furious that the original Fire Emblem will disappear for what I worry is forever as I prefer the older Fire Emblem games to the current titles (i.e., Three Houses or Fates). I know that sounds "weird," but I am a sick person who enjoys the byzantine character recruitment requirements and the balls-hard difficulty curve of the Shouzou Kaga-helmed titles. I am obviously in the minority in that regard, but hey, to each their own. The Switch release of Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light is the only game in the Fire Emblem franchise in the past fifteen years that pines for that old-school aesthetic and gameplay that I enjoy. Until Thracia 776 or Genealogy of the Holy War get their much-deserved official translations, I am shit out of luck after March 31st in terms of legally buying a Fire Emblem game I want to play. Yes, I currently have a copy on the Switch, but if an unfortunate series of events caused me to need to create a new Nintendo account after March 31st, I would not be able to own this game.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars Might Not Be Great, But It Shouldn't Disappear

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a $60 title on the Nintendo Switch and contains "remasters" of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. When this package was released, it was met with a fair amount of derision and for a good reason. The ports are of questionable quality, with the Super Mario 64 part of the compilation being the most dubious. Personally, when I booted up the Super Mario 64 port, I thought it looked like dogshit. I immediately felt like the textures were over-compressed and found the attempts at visual fidelity groan-inducing. However, my most significant issues are with the Switch Lite ports of Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. In both, you can only pick up collectibles by tapping the screen on the Switch Lite. There's no button prompt to collect everything littered on the screen during action scenes or platforming levels. Instead, you need to come to a full stop in-game and tap your screen to pick up anything that needs collecting. As a Switch Liter owner, I can tell you this makes both Sunshine and Galaxy nigh unplayable.

All this bellyaching aside, Nintendo pulling this title at the end of the month is a shitty thing to do. For one thing, this compilation pack is the only way for Mario fans to play any of these titles on the Switch until further notice. To add insult to injury, if you search for Super Mario 64 on Nintendo's website, the only result you get is the Wii U port of the DS port of Super Mario 64. Before we move on, I want you to know the awkwardness of that last sentence is entirely intentional, and I hope it profoundly hurts you to read as much as it hurt me to write. Back to the matter at hand, for new consumers or platform adopters, this sucks. If Nintendo makes any of these titles available later down the road, they will likely NOT be sold in a single package. The best-case scenario is that you will be able to buy the HD Remasters of Super Mario 64, Sunshine, or Galaxy separately but not together and certainly not as a single executable. Finally, it remains to be seen if all of the anniversary trimmings will translate into these supposed later releases.

We are also all assuming these games will be made available at some point in separate packages. Unfortunately, when you stop and think about Nintendo's history regarding their hallmark anniversaries or previous ports of older games, the likelihood of that happening is rather slim. To return to my Super Mario Advance example, all of those ports made novel changes to the originals so they would control better on the GameBoy Advance. However, they have never been made legally available anywhere else. Let's stop and think about the implications of that last point for a minute. How many times have you been able to play the original Super Mario Bros. on a Nintendo console or handheld? Now, please think about your favorite version of the original Super Mario Bros. On how many Nintendo platforms can you legally buy that version?

Let's say your favorite outing of OG Super Mario Bros. is the Super Mario All-Stars version. If that's the case, you can only play that version on two platforms: the SNES, Wii, or Switch. However, because Nintendo discontinued the online Wii Shop two years ago, future digital purchases are no longer available on the Wii. There's also the Nintendo Switch Online version but for arbitrary reasons, let's assume you don't have a Nintendo account. If that is the case, then you are going to need to track down a physical copy to play it. I should also mention, Nintendo has attempted to shutdown re-sellers of cartridges of their older titles. So, by their books, if you buy an SNES copy on eBay, they think you are breaking the law. My point here is simple, Nintendo has allowed all re-releases of their "classic" titles to die a death by a thousand cuts, and it does not matter if it has Mario's name on it. They do not give a fuck. You can play those games on their intended platforms, and only if you bought them in the narrow window Nintendo sold them. To call all of this a "moral hazard" for video game preservation is an understatement. It is a fucking nightmare.

But What About Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light?

Things are notably worse for the Switch "remaster" of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. Despite the game being ostensibly the first "true" release of the original Fire Emblem in the West, it too is set to disappear from the Switch marketplace on March 31st, 2021. The reason for this decision is pretty apparent... there is no reason! What we have here is a classic case of "Nintendo being Nintendo" in the worst way possible. It is worth mentioning, but the Switch port of Fire Emblem 1 is $6, and it is not a part of a more meaningful compilation package. It is just one game with slight work done to the textures, so they don't look like shit on modern monitors. The issue here is that Western audiences do not have any alternative title to backtrack to when this game disappears from the Switch marketplace. Worse, because the original game did not get an official translation until this Switch release, if you wish to emulate the original game, you are forced to contend with fan translations, some of which are suspect at best or only partially complete.

If you want to emulate Super Mario 64, the only "real" weirdness you have to contend with is the state of N64 emulation and the refresh rate "wonkiness" associated with the platform. You don't, in general, have to worry about some random yahoo, including turn-of-the-century memes for no goddamn reason or self-inserting themselves as an NPC. Trust me, as a fan of the "classic" Fire Emblem games; I have had to deal with that for the better part of twenty years. However, let's say I want to "upgrade" my console or create a new account for personal reasons. If that happens after the end of this month, I will NEVER be able to play Fire Emblem 1. Outside of their efforts to completely shut down Twitch streamers or the Smash tournament community, this is the most profoundly stupid thing Nintendo has done this year. I do not see the point of Nintendo pulling their rendition of the "Disney Vault" on digital releases of classic video games.

Suppose you want to be generous and put yourself in the shoes of Nintendo. In that case, I can imagine there being a small modicum of fear that whenever a new Fire Emblem title comes out, people might "test out" this game and be bummed that it does not play anything like Three Houses or Fates. But you know what? Tough titties! If you want to appreciate where the franchise is today, you owe it to yourself to check out the Kaga-led Fire Emblem games. Do you think it's a pain in the ass to recruit characters in Three Houses? Come back to me when you've managed to add Xavier to your party in Thracia 776! And if people feel inspired to check out an older Fire Emblem game because they played Smash or a more modern title, why prevent them from doing that? This is, after all, the game that gives you Marth!

Finally, there's the argument that Nintendo is planning to add this title to their Nintendo Switch Online suite of freebies. I think this is wishful thinking as Nintendo thus far has not made any gestures of their long-term plans with any of these sorts of games. Also, even if the game does appear, how long will it be available to download before it entirely escapes into the ether? As a short case study, think back to EarthBound Beginnings. The Wii U release of Mother 1 is the only legally purchasable version of that game outside of Japan. The GBA Mother 1+2 compilation pack, which includes an extended ending, never came out in the USA or Europe. Despite the release of EarthBound Beginnings being touted as a goodwill gesture to long-time fans, the game lives and dies on the Wii U. The moment Nintendo pulls the plug on the Wii U online marketplace, as they did with the Wii, that game is dead forever. Nonetheless, at least that game didn't disappear after six or seven months!

I cannot emphasize enough, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light is a historical landmark and culturally vital to the evolution of tactical strategy games even though it was never released outside of the West. Without Fire Emblem 1, you don't get Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics. While it lacks the sweeping story or heady characterization that we now associate with the Fire Emblem franchise, it is the game that codifies a lot of the mechanical design standbys of the tactical RPG genre. By playing this game, you can find yourself in different "places" in the genre, whether it be the works of Nippon Ichi or Squaresoft. Furthermore, the indelible mark it has on the Fire Emblem series is equally undeniable. When I played the game, I was somewhat surprised to see how much of the series's DNA was intact. You have interstitial moments in-between combat sequences as well as an intricate inventory management system. The iconic "combat triangle" is not present, but all of the expected unit types are here. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, and you should not play it with the expectation that it will amount to what the series has become nowadays. Regardless, playing the game should be allowable so more people can appreciate the hard work Nintendo has done to keep this series relevant for thirty years.

Final Remarks

First, I want to clarify that by no means am I advocating for piracy or any other "illegal activities" in this blog. I will, however, gesture that I understand why such activities exist. Providing consumers with only a limited window to buy goods or services is frustrating, if not infuriating. For some people, it could be another two or three years before they have the wherewithal or knowhow to purchase or play any of these games. To take that ability away from them, even temporarily, will simply crystalize the same arguments we have heard repeatedly about why people support piracy. And with digital marketplaces setting new standards for what people expect when searching for video games, Nintendo should do better.

Lost in the mix are the games themselves. Regardless of how you feel about Super Mario 3D All-Stars, I'd rather it exist in perpetuity than be a sad endnote to a major anniversary. The release itself and Nintendo sweeping it under the rug leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I think we can all agree Mario deserves better. The treatment of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, on the other hand, is totally unconscionable. With every new title, more people get introduced to the Fire Emblem series. Newer fans might not be in a position to explore or appreciate the franchise's roots until another contemporary title presents itself. Furthermore, taking away the only official translation of a game, less than a year after its release, is simply unfathomable. It does not make sense from a business standpoint, nor does it make sense as a goodwill gesture to fans. These are, of course, franchises that have helped establish Nintendo as a titan of the industry. But hey, Nintendo be Nintendo, amirite?

I think there is a business reason for the Fire Emblem (and arguably the Mario) pricing, even if I don't endorse it (either as a business practice or, of course, an art preservation practice.)

Basically these companies, and especially Nintendo, have a lot of data on how retro games sell on digital storefronts at this point. I think that what they've seen is that a lot of people will look at a game and remain on the fence about it indefinitely. They may want to play the first Fire Emblem on some level, but they're not going to buy it until they want to play it, or it goes on sale, and that means it doesn't sell well. Nintendo is trying to force people to make that decision in a limited time window, hoping that many fence sitters would rather buy it with the possibility of playing it later, rather than just letting it linger in some wish list indefinitely.

The same sort of dynamic is at play with the Mario games. You might want to play Mario Galaxy on the Switch (and it plays great in docked mode) but do you $60 want it? Nintendo is forcing you to make that decision.

Is this a good business practice in terms of long term profit? I have no idea. Is it consumer friendly? Absolutely not. But it has a logic to it.

I think it's crappy that Nintendo is willing to treat its games and most loyal customers (the kind who might want an ancient Fire Emblem game) this way, just like I think it's insane that you can't play Galaxy with motion controls on the Switch Lite, but it's how Nintendo loves to roll. They make a lot of great games but they kind of hate their customers.

Also, here's a link to a podcast roundtable in which I debate and discuss this exact topic with @jeffrud and @arbitrarywater:

Honestly, nothing turned me off from buying Mario 3D Collection faster than the timed release. I probably would've gotten it otherwise, even with the lukewarm reviews just to jump into Galaxy again, but them pulling this AND not doing "proper" work to update these games just made it feel like exactly what it is and that's not something I need.

The thing that sucks is that FE1 would have been a day one buy without this shit, but I felt so bad about supporting this I waited until like last week. Not for of fear of missing but mainly because I realized voting with your wallet doesn't seem to actually work that well and yelling at them on social media enmass doesn't seem to work and because we live in a society that's all the options we have.

You know Mario, people would emulate your old games less if you made them more easily accessible yourselves you fucking dinosaurs, not putting them up for sale and then literally taking them away. People aren't that god damn stupid, they know what you're doing.

I don't really get your point about video game preservation. Yes, it is an important thing to do, but it's not the task of an individual consumer. I can't even begin to estimate how much it would cost to collect every version of every video game, but it is obviously far out of reach for normal people. But there are museums and extremely wealthy collectors out there for whom the $60 asking price is not an obstacle, and even if they missed the timed window they would be able to get it second-hand.

For the vast majority of consumers, the difference between the original Mario 64 and the Switch version is insignificant, same with the Super Mario Advance games (all of which were re-releases). A person wants to play Super Mario World again, they will get whichever edition of it is most easily accessible at that time. They're not going to insist on getting to play specifically the GBA release and nothing else. Suppose you want to watch the classic film Nosferatu. You'll do a quick search and then grab the first release that you can find and you'll be perfectly happy with that. Very few people will say that they only want to watch the ultra-rare 1956 release that has one frame that is missing from every subsequent VHS, DVD, Bluray and On-Demand release (I'm not actually knowledgeable about Nosferatu releases, just I know there are a lot of them).

I'm still annoyed that I can't get Warioware Mega Microgames on 3DS because I'm not part of the ambassador program.

edit: or Minish Cap!

The March 31st 2021 date lines up nicely with the end of their fiscal year. Capitalism, ho!

This is nitpicky on my part: I do wonder those who are baffled by the March 31st execution of Mario and Marth date just don't want to give a single thought that this deadline is a completely cynical money-grab by Nintendo Co. Ltd. to juice their quarterly numbers. The obfuscation of whether or not these limited-releases will ever be rereleased in the future being a point rather than an oversight.

It's sad, ultimately. As much as I try to ignore it, Nintendo frequently reminds me that it is a ruthless and idiosyncratic toys and playing cards company based in Kyoto.

This stuff really grosses me out. I grew up a Sega kid, so I don't have much interest in Mario, but I like Fire Emblem, and I would have loved to play that game, but there is no way I could justify supporting a limited time release of a digital game. It offers absolutely no value to the consumer. In fact, it's actively harmful and it makes me less likely to buy anything from Nintendo in the future.

Great post, pretty spot on in my feelings as well. I'll just add that the DS remake of FE1 is a really good remake if you'd like to see the game and a vastly more palatable experience for those more used to modern FE sensibilities (read: FE3 and beyond) due to the QOL additions to the original. Obviously you'll be missing out on the historical touchstones due to the updated gameplay systems, and at this point it's probably much harder to find a copy of a DS game, but just here to say it's a well done remake (unless you really like Marth because not only did they put pants on him, they made him a pretty terrible unit).

@imhungry: That DS remake is really dry though, even in comparison to original NES. Honestly the only thing I feel it improves is inventory management which on the NES is a certifiable nightmare.

These were rushed ports of 3d Mario, unlike the truly complete and flawless SMAS&SMW SNES cartridge.

Either they will perfect the emulation in future releases, or, they'll put more effort into remaking/remixing and modernizing them.

Oh wow. I knew about the sloppy portjob of the package in general, but having to tap the screen to get all the collectibles in Mario Galaxy.. That really fucks up that game.

The joy and happiness that Nintendo's worlds radiate is only matched by their hostility towards their own players.

From a casual perspective, it's never seemed like Nintendo has had an interest in being consumer-friendly. They're like Santa, isolated from the world and making toys and games for people they never interact with. The only guidance they work from is a list; Santa's being the naughty list, Nintendo's being sales figures.

Much as I might be interested in playing Galaxy again and Fire Emblem for the first time, Nintendo can fuck right off with this shit. I'm not supporting this with a penny.

It's sad to see them going to be delisted from the digital store.

I'd love to be in a Nintendo marketing meeting to see how they discuss the pros and cons of the horrid decisions they make.
I still haven't picked up a Switch because they're still expensive and i know my enjoyment of the games would be hampered by what i'm going to start calling "The Nintendo Experience".

I guess just to add on/dogpile a bit:

Switch build quality is such that I would not trust the hardware to last much longer than the (offset) console generation. Rails are weakened, joycons are shit all around, and I was reading a few threads about degraded battery life just the other week. And nintendo did a great job of not allowing any digital licenses to transfer from the wii/wii u...

So while you should support the developers/publishers/whatevers you like... odds are anyone who is thinking of grabbing this "for the future" will end up playing it the same way all the folk who missed out on this fomo campaign will.

This kinda bums me out. Like, I really want to play these games, but not right now when I have a lot of other things going on and I'm still slowly plowing through 3D World and Bowser's Fury (both great btw.) All three games are absolute classics and I would gladly pay for them on Switch. But do I have to pay NOW if I want to play them later? Kinda a dick move there, Nintendo.

Counter-point: game preservation from an individual consumer's stand-point doesn't seem like a big deal until you want to get your hands on a game (even an obscure version of one) and cannot do so legally because of arbitrary – and, arguably, anti-consumer – limitations imposed by a publisher.