Shining Force

"This game is the pioneer of all Strategy RPGs"

I have always loved this game. It is and will be better than most Strategy RPGs.

Gameplay(9): Gameplay is great. It is like an RPG. You walk around towns get advice, buy weapons, find new party members ect, ect. But the shining highlight (no pun intended) is the battles. Battles don't happen randomly, you HAVE to fight the battles. It is like a game of chess. You can have more than 20 members in your party, and you attack almost the same amount of enemies. The battle takes place on a grid, and your allies can only move a certain amount of spaces a turn. Also, your characters can only attack at certaian angles. Archers can attack diagnally, or one space away, same goes for other warriors such as mages, and some centaurs. It makes your brain think, but if you lose a battle, it is a joy to play over again.

Story(7): The story is average. The Dark Dragon who was put to rest 1,000 years ago is awake again and is ready for revenge. He sends out the evil hordes of Runefaust...

Audio(8)/Video(8): Audio is very nice. Some of the battle tunes might make you hum along, while some intense tunes keep you wide awake in battle. Graphics are nice and crisp, and not to mention, colorful. The battles are some real eye candy. Nice colorful animation.

Replayability(uh, sure): If strategy is your thing, play it over. But if you just want something to do, rent it for a couple weeks and finish it. I've almost beat it three times.

To but or to rent: You would be missing out on a all-time classic game here if you didn't buy it. It might be hard to find, though, since it is about six years old. Don't let it's age fool you. THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES OF ALL TIME.

Cody Morrison 4:40 P.M. May 9, 1999

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 02/22/01