Which Fire Emblem game was the first to allow reclassing of units?

The first Fire Emblem game to allow reclassing of units was Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. This Nintendo DS title is a remake of the original Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and its class-swap system let eligible units change into different classes.

Reclassing expanded tactical flexibility beyond the series’ traditional promotion system. A unit could switch to another available class, sometimes return to its original class, and retain previous statistical growth. The system still imposed restrictions, including limits on which classes each character could use and how many units could occupy a class.

Shadow Dragon is often confused with later games such as Awakening or Fates because those titles made class customization more prominent. New Mystery of the Emblem also built on Shadow Dragon’s systems, but it was not the first game to introduce reclassing. The feature was separate from promotion, which still advanced a unit into a stronger version of its existing class.