Shining Force

"The Definition of Classic"

Allo boys and girls tis I, Guilen, and this is a good place to start for my first review - one of my favorite games of all time.



I first picked up this game when I was roughly (ho hum) 11, 12 maybe? I was already a hardcore RPG player, and had mastered the original, Shining in the Darkness (a worthy game too!) and the very day I picked it up for the first time at the rental store I was absolutely blown away. Here was a strangely innovative and gripping strategy/RPG, a first of its kind. Since then I've finished the game more than 20 times.... and still haven't gotten sick of it! That's why I choose to deliver the title ''classic'' to this selection - no matter its flaws... it still is incredibly enjoyable to play, indeed rivals modern game quality, no matter how far 16 bit we've blown by.



- GRAPHICS -

10/10

This is a good one... most of the graphics in the game are debatable, definetely, but DAMN are the battle graphics cool. The battle screen itself is an innovative strength and adds a real power to the game. The characters are cute and all, and great designs too! But throw them in the combat screens and damn, its great. The greatest surprise was when you promoted the characters (occurs when a character reaches level 10) - the new battle forms they showed were just.... frickin COOL. GREAT designs. The rest of the game is fairly colorful and alive, but its honestly the battle scenes that give this category full marks.



- SOUND -


9/10

The great surprise in this game was that a decent soundtrack was created with the meagre Genesis sound system. From the incessently catchy town theme (its still in my head *twitch* *twitch*) to the urgent battle with Cain, the music is perfectly appropriate to each scenario and well executed. I also found that the harmonizing instruments were smartly placed, and well... its good stuff, with particular highlights. Fans of the series (such as myself) should jump with joy to the sounds of Darksol's final boss battle, and the battle with Dark Dragon sounds downright evil. ALSO the sound effects are great - the smack when your hero's sword connects with Orcish skull..... OUCH. That sounds like it hurt. Sounds like these really add to the dramatic strength of the game - particularly the battles. This category only loses points (meh, 9/10 isn't too bad) because none of the music tracks are what I would call legendary (''Terra'' from Final Fantasy 6, anyone?). Thats a hard rating to get.



- GAMEPLAY -

10/10

DAMN! This is the most incredible part of all. ALRIGHT, so you know that I've been babbling on about the battles for a long time, well its time to talk about them. These are great battles. I repeat, these are great frickin battles. In a completely original style, you move your characters not unlike chess pieces from place to place and are given the choice to act as you wish: attack, magic, item, etc. Sounds strange at first, maybe even confusing, but its the most addictive thing in the world - you will not be able to get enough. I believe this system inspired other games such as Final Fantasy Tactics, Vandal Hearts, and other similar games - but this game right here is the innovator. This is the kind of game where you could stick in one fight and do it again and again for 4 hours... and ENJOY IT. There are so many addictive dynamics to the game that its hard to put down.



- STORY -

7/10

Ouch. That one hurt. Actually, 7 isn't a horrible mark, but compared to the 10's and the 9 it was a setback. I think I'm even being generous here, because well really the story for Shining Force is NOT awe inspiring, nor are the characters. But I'll explain my reasoning. A problem one may find in many critics and games nowadays is that EVERYBODY is trying to come up with crazy warped stories and yada yada... but everybody is forgetting that a simple story can be made well - just because it isn't intellectually stimulating doesn't mean it can't be well told. Let me use Gladiator the movie for an example. Great movie. Story? Pretty mundane, nothing we haven't seen before ideally, but OH BOY is it ever effectively told. In its simplicity we are able to truly be drawn into the emotion and power being immediately displayed. By using strangely useful techniques, Shining Force is able to make a fairly linear storyline more interesting. It IS odd however, how that is managed, considering how there aren't too many impressive events or characters, but I believe its the progression that makes things interesting - aka the fact that you have a major boss battle many times in each ACT and that the non-random battle system itself has its gripping story factor in itself. Don't be looking for Final Fantasy story material here - but you will be entertained.



- REPLAYABILITY -

10/10

I'm not joking - you will not be able to give up. As I said a few paragraphs up, I've finished the game more than 20 times... and i've played it MANY more times than that without finishing it. Its not that I have no life - its that the jerks at Sega STOLE it from me. Err, right. Anyhow, there's a great combination of elements at work between audio, video, and gameplay that simply captivate you here and bring you back. PLUS there are a LOT of characters, so its a LOT of fun being able to play them all and find out their uses.




- OVERALL -

10/10

Hrm... considering all I've said, this 10 doesn't seem to add up does it? But it certainly is worth it, believe me. With the aforementioned combination of elements Shining Force is the perfect beginning of a Legacy (er, well there WAS Shining in the Darkness, but that was a very different game), one that I hope to see arise AGAIN one day. Til that day I'll be playing the first one some more. Thusly do I add this game to my list of ''Classics'', meaning that I'll STILL remember this game in 10-20 years when I dig my old dusty Sega out of the attic. How nostalgic.



- RENT/BUY? -

Buy. No doubt about it. If you can find it, that is. You'll probably play the damned cartridge to death over the years. But its a good one.



Ugh well it was a pretty ...well... amateur review but its my first one. For my review on Shining Force, one of the greatest games on the Genesis (best game of 199... uh.. which year was it again?) this is Guilen signing out. Adios folks.

GUILEN

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/01, Updated 03/21/01