Shining Force Exa

"An awesome game that deserves attention"

I saw a copy of Shining Force EXA, and I liked Shining Tears so much that I decided to pick up a copy. I sat down to play with high hopes that the game would be an awesome one. Those high hopes were not misplaced.

The story is pretty good. It starts out pretty simple at first, with the heroes trying to find something that each one is seeking for their own different reasons. And after one of them finally manages to get a hold of the item they are all out to get, the real story begins to unfold, with some interesting twists and turns here and there. However, despite the twists and turns this game takes, it does nothing that will try and confuse you. It is as simple as one event leads to another, and sometimes you have the opportunity to do a little side job.

The characters are all very well done. Each character has their own personality which really sets them apart from the rest. One person has a sort of tough-guy attitude, and talks as if he's unbeatable. Another character is pretty formal and aspires to be a great knight, and feels that form during battle is very important, while his friend is more reckless, uses more slang, and feels that form isn't important, so long as the method you use works. I've heard complaints about the voice acting, but I have a hard time agreeing with that. Each character has a voice that suits them, and the acting is great overall. The conversations are voiced, and there are battle quotes, as well. The great thing about these characters is that every one of them changes as the story progresses. Instead of being shallow throughout the story, like some characters tend to be, they each seem effected to some extent by certain events in the storyline.

I really like how the game works, by which I mean the system. I have heard some people say in reviews that the system works somewhat like the ones in the Diablo series. While there are differences, such as no containment squares for items and a classic item list instead, it does seem a little similar. You run around the dungeons or wilderness, defeat monsters that come to attack, and pick up the dropped items in a similar Diablo fashion. It's kind of cool, actually. It seems all the more interesting if you like the Diablo series, and may be incentive to get the game if your computer can't hold Diablo. Of course, that's just what I think. Another interesting thing about this game is that, sometimes during your travels, your base will fall under attack by monsters, and you will have to defend it. If the base power source is destroyed, it will mean an instant game over. So, it's kind of interesting that a little (or, in some cases, huge) attack on your base arises every once in a while, since I love battles in just about any games in which you are forced to defend someone, something, or some place.

The battles are simple enough to understand. You basically run around and take out all the monsters that stand in your way. However, later monsters will have some really crazy abilities, such as being able to kill you in one hit. Also, the monsters may just appear more frequently, or be able to withstand more of your attacks before they finally die. So, there is a certain risk factor to fights, and the abilities that the monsters can use against you are great enough in number to make the fighting more interesting, especially during sieges on your base. Also, if you manage to defeat all of the monsters in a certain area, you will be given a special bonus, so that's nice, too.

Something that can really help in the fights, and becomes a necessity during many points in the game, are battle abilities. You can acquire these abilities by accessing a certain part of your fortress and paying for them with mithril, which can be dropped by defeated monsters. These abilities are a very interesting feature to the game, so that you can't just breeze on through with no problem. These abilities can do things like raising your maximum HP, raising your defense, or even quickening your attack speed. These abilities, believe it or not, actually become essential for your survival. Put bluntly, if you don't acquire abilities, you can't move on too far. Put sharply, if you don't acquire abilities, you will hardly be able to scratch later enemies, but they will be able to kill you off in a matter of seconds.

A great thing about this game that may seem annoying to some is how difficult this game is. You may feel that you're doing fine, but then you get to the next place, and you may discover that the monsters are doing more damage and taking less. Also, as stated earlier, they may actually be able to kill you off in one hit. To make this game possible, you will need to spend time leveling up and acquiring abilities. Also, you will actually need to level up every character you have. At first, it may seem like you can breeze along with the team you use, but then you may discover that certain characters do better in certain areas than others. Also, while one team is out adventuring, the second team, which hangs out at the base, will have to occasionally defend the place from enemy attacks, and the assaults can range from seeming somewhat tame to outright vicious. Another thing that makes this game harder is that, sometimes, you aren't just going up against monsters. There may actually be times where you have to endure cannon fire. And these cannons don't just fire at your base...they may also fire on you. Challenging dungeons, powerful monsters, and the need to level up everyone contribute to a challenging game.

All in all, I feel that this game is being underrated for reasons it shouldn't be. Yes, the game can prove to be incredibly hard. Yes, leveling up your characters is time consuming. But this really is not such a big deal. This game has certain factors that may seem annoying in other games, like the Final Fantasy series. But these games takes all these factors that may seem as annoyances in other games and combines each one to form a pretty addicting and effective game. I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves a game that offers a challenge. Also, if you are a fan of the Shining series, this is one game that you definitely should check out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/08

Game Release: Shining Force Exa (US, 03/20/07)