Shining Force Neo

"A shining addition to your collection."

~ Introduction ~

Another game in the Shining series. After the disappointing Shining Tears Sega finally came up with a worthy hack 'n slash game. Although it is named Shining FORCE, it's not a strategy game like the previous Force games. A shame though, many gamers would love to see another turn based Shining game. Anyway this time it's NEO.

~ Game Play ~ 8/10

Like I said, this game is hack and slash but don't worry! If you rather like to be a mage you can be a mage as well! With the unique Force Arts system you can upgrade Max' stats to whatever you want him to become. Want to me a warrior with a sword? No problem, or rather a bowman or a mage? All this is possible in Shining Force NEO.

Sega promised huge battlefields with tons of monsters on it, well... they have kept their promise. I know you're thinking "Yeah right, we saw how good Sega did in Shining Tears, it was awful!". But you're wrong on this one. This game is very different from Tears, because now you can finally run through the world, going from city to city, house to house, exploring dungeons and fields.

Monsters appear when you come close to a so called monster gate, after defeating a certain amount of enemies these gates will lose their protective shield so you can destroy it. The AI of the monsters isn't that good, when you run away from a monster gate, they won't follow you. But don't think battles are easy! Prepare to die a lot, why? As I stated earlier it's common to find a monster group of 20 to 30 mobs. If they all hit Max at the same time it's game over for you.

Also a handy thing is warp stone, when you are in trouble or need more potions, use it and you'll be back in your hometown. There you can spend energy on Force Arts, replenish your hp and refill your healing water bottles, save your game, upgrade your weapons and store items. At certain events (like a boss fight) you can't use warp so it's wise to save before such battles.

~ Story ~ 6/10

The story can be said in one line:
Save the world!!

But that's a bit too easy, isn't it? When Max' training is complete after being with Graham for 2 years, he returns to Greensleeves when there are enemies in the city. The first of three crystals that protect the world is destroyed by "the man behind the mask". Your duty is to prevent this guy destroying all three crystals so the "Clan of the Moon" can't rule over the world again like in the war 13 years before.

~ Graphics & Music ~ 7/10

2D and 3D mixed makes the graphics in this game very nice but it would be sooooo much better if they had just made this game fully 3D. Same like in other shining games the character's outfit changes when you equip other things, the spells are OK and the monsters look evil too.

The music is fine but gets annoying after a while, although it has a good soundtrack.
Voice acting could be better, the dialogues are not that good and they miss emotion. The speech doesn't give you a warm feeling or sad when things happen, you just get the feeling "OK, what's next?".

~ Play Time & Replay Value ~ 7/10

The lack of a multiplayer is a bad thing but the game lasts about 25 to 30 hours without the side quests and dungeons so a game worth getting to add to your collection.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/05