Shining Force

"Say hello to the most overrated 16 bit game of them all"

I'm sure alot of you people have played, or at least heard of a Genesis game called Shining Force . Well, sure, you most likely have heard alot of good things about it. If you're like me, you've probably heard only good things about Shining Force. Personally, I think that Shining Force is the most overrated 16 bit game of them all-As how overrated Shining Force is, only Final Fantasy 7 and possibly Final Fantasy X-2 . I'm sure you probably heard of both. If you haven't, then you're probably new to gaming.

Ordinarily I give games negative reviews and low scores because they are filled with bugs and or are basically badly done, but Shining Force is different-It has the makings of a great game, so in other words, it's a perfectly done bad game. Sure, you'll be reminded of Fire Emblem more than once if you had played it first. (Most of you probably have just found out about Fire Emblem via Super Smash Brothers Melee or the recent Fire Emblem release on the gameboy advance. Good game, btw) Sure, I only played a low quality ROM of Fire Emblem, and I couldn't understand what was going on because it was in Japanese, so I can't really get a decent opinion on it. Also, I don't see why people see this game as somewhat of a Pioneer for RPGs, being the ''First Tactical RPG''. Well, Fire Emblem was around first, and I think there was some other game first, but I'm not really sure. Oh, and let's not forget Ogre Battle.

The graphics of the game are executed perfectly, the cinematic at the beginning is very well done, but the storyline is somewhat uninspired. It's that basic Light fighting dark for control of the world stuff that's appeared in about 60-75% of the RPGs, I still think it's strange that the Dark side is immortal but the Light side isn't. The graphics look pretty good-Okay, sure, there are alot of Palette swipes, which is a bad thing in this case. Sure-some of the graphics don't look so well, but the battle animations are pretty awsome. Sure, some of them look like ''And that's supposed to hurt HOW?!'' and others look like a strong attack hitting for a dizzying...5 damage. Whoopee!! The graphics ate still somewhat painful to see, but the battle animations are pretty awsome.

And now we get to the plot. I've already explained some of it, but one problem I have with it is the lack of creativity. I don't know much about Fire Emblem, but I heard that the Dark Dragon had a name. Also, in Breath of Fire, they had Zog the Dark Dragon. Here, we have Dark Dragon the Dark dragon who isn't even a dragon. Very creative-I never would have thought of naming the Dark Dragon ''Dark Dragon''! Also, there's the classic part about the hometown being destroyed. That happens in almost every RPG, so I'm sure you're probably used to it by now. More RPGs aren't doing that now, but still, it seemed very unoriginal and uncreative. Even for an early RPG.

I really like the sound for this RPG-Some of it is unbearable, whereas some is really awsome. One problem I have with the music is that the final battle music doesn't really fit the mood of the scene-In Tactics Ogre the Knight of Lodis , it plays a fierce battle music in the final battle because you are fighting to save the world-The Final battle music is sometimes the best one in the games, but in this case, it makes me think that I'm spending a day at the Circus than saving the world from the unoriginal Dark Dragon.

Your character's acting is based on speed-Probably meant to add onto the ''Strategy'' That's required to win battles. Sure-It was quite ingenious in Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics , but with how cheap or stupid the enemies are, you can brainlessly moving your characters and not risk them being surrounded. The enemies rarley go for the other characters, instead, they go right for the leader. In one battle, I had Mae, Ken, and Zylo surrounding an enemy, and instead of trying to run away, it just ran and attacked Zylo. It's no suprise that next round that enemy was the first to go. Also, the enemies sometimes go straight for the leader. Hello-HE'S RIGHT THERE!! GET HIM!!! One of the biggest issues I have with this game is that the final boss is as dumb as a Rock. It's I.Q doesn't even reach the temperature outside in December (And considering I'm measuring in Celcius, and where I live, it's about 24 degrees Fereignheight outside now...)

Well, overall, Shining Force isn't the best game in the series, not is it one of the best on the Genesis, (Maybe the most overrated) but it certainly isn't ''Great'' or a ''Pioneer for RPGs everywhere.'' Sure, it may be the first Tactical RPG released in the states, but some people can easily forget that Fire Emblem came out first, and that Marth came before Max, and that Shining Force 2 is 10 times better than this game. Sure-Codiekitty and Dark Gaia have it right. This game isn't at all as great as most of the world thinks it is. 5/10

Buy or Rent?
Buy if you want.

Best Part:
Zylo.

Worst part:
Taking down the final boss in like 20 minutes.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/03