Shining Force

"A great strategy/RPG"

This is just a great game, it was my first RPG I had ever played in my life, and I am very grateful that it was my first, ever since I've played it that first time I have played it over and over again, I think the Shining Force saga is the best one on the Genesis platform. Shining Force I has every aspect needed in a RPG, that is why it is a popular RPG.

Gameplay 90%
Wow, a RPG with some strategy in it, well most RPG's have strategy in them already, but this one has a lot more in it then most do, the battles aren't your basic RPG battles, it is set up in a field, with your characters set out, and the enemies set out, each characters moves a certain amount of spaces depending on the land they are moving on and that characters speed, plus you have magic to use, and characters strength, defense, agility, and their weapon strength comes into play, this it what makes it very cool, plus it has the basic thing all RPG's have, Towns where you have to talk to a bunch of people. So Shining Force has great Gameplay.

Difficulty 85%
This game has the perfect amount of difficulty, Sega didn't make every single battle hard, but the ones that have to be (boss fights) are hard enough, the final boss could've been made a little harder, but other then him, the difficulty is set just right. The only thing about the game though, it doesn't have those really fun parts of a RPG where you get stuck. You just slide through the game real easily, no little riddles or anything like that. This game would be at 90% difficulty but there is something that should be a little more challenging. Buying stuff is to easy, I can play this game and buy the best of the best items for my characters. Sega should've made it a little harder to get the items.

Storyline 45%
Your a swordsman in the medieval days, and the kingdom known as Runefaust attempts to attack an Ancient Gate, after that Runefaust keeps trying to take you, and a bunch of their enemies down. Your job is to stop them. OK I really think Sega didn't spend much time on this storyline, RIGHT HERE, is the lowpoint of the game, they could've of worked much harder on the storyline of this game. I think they didn't lay it out, I think they just made it up as they went along kind of thing, and when they were done, they made a few little changes. Storyline is not that good.

Graphics 95%
The graphics really surprised me the first time I saw them, sure they are not that great today, but you have to think about when this game was made, back then, these graphics were the bomb! The characters look great in the battle sequences, and the magic spells look really cool also. The graphics are very VERY smooth and very well drawn out. I think Sega did a GREAT job with these graphics.

Sound 65%
The sound effects are pretty good for this game, but what really gets on my nerves is the music, its just repeats itself over, and over, and over, I eventually had to put some Metallica on and mute the television, their music was really getting on my nerves.

Replay Value 75%
This game is a great game, but not worth playing over and over again. Once you beat it, you probably won't play it again for about 4 or 5 months. Toward the end of the game you will start to get sick of it.

Buy it???Oh of course you should
This game is definitely worth buying, that is if you ever get the chance, I haven't seen it on sale since I purchased it in a pawn shop, but if you ever get a chance, definitely buy this game.

Overall 90%
This is ,in my opinion, the best RPG on the Genesis platform, it has everything you need in a RPG and more, this game is just great in every way possible, I recommend this game with highest regards.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/02, Updated 12/23/02