"This game is fun, nuff said"

To be honest, this used to be one of the video game I ever played and I still play it today. Why you might ask? Well for one, it has much in terms of reply value i.e. You can set yourself challenges to only use your "main guy" (Default name is Max but I tend to call him Flygon or Breloom) and another character...did I mention that there are other 25 characters you can choose from in this game? This game probably falls under the genre of Strategy Turn Based RPG so if you don't have patience, don't bother playing this game...

Graphics: 9/10
Even now days, this game looks great and it's very possible to tell how much detail has been put in. This game looks it's best when being played though the original Mega Drive though, as emulators just don't give that charm, another reason to play it on a Mega Drive rather than playing them "illegally" (It really depends on opinion)

Sound/Music: 8/10
To be honest, this section will just revolve around the BGM apart from the bit after this text here: The sounds are fitting even though there are not that many. Now about the BGM, the BGM is very fitting also and I have absolutely no complaints but if your are a fast paced gamer than it can be hard to enjoy the Music.

Game play and Controls: 8/10
The controls are very easy to get a hold of but rapidly buying items from the shops can be a pain, so it nudges the rating down a bit. The Game play as very easy and its a very good introduction to newbies of Strategy Turn Based RPG's and it's also very good for setting yourself challenges with.

Story: 7/10
To be honest, it's not very original (Save the world from *insert gigantic evil creature thats pure black evil yada yada*) but the main reason it's not rated 0/10 is because it's also got it's quirks, enough to make it original in it's own sense. *Technical Spoilers* Also when I beat it for the first time I actually cried XD.

Overall: 8/10
This is what got me into RPG's (As well has the Pokemon RPG series) and it's also playable enough for an 8 year old to beat (Hint Hint) and I think that this game is NOT over rated but just a little under rated, just an opinion though.

Other statements:
The main reason I have to thank this game for me loving RPG's is purely because this game is a good introduction and it also teaches you patience (Unless your using a *coughemulatorcough*). This game also have several awesome characters that I think a awesome...I really am questioning myself if this is a review anymore though XD. This game can be VERY difficult at time's by the way, mostly in "Chapter 2" though, did I mention that this game employs a chapter system? The storyline of this game is actually of that of a "book" in the game itself, adding to its uniqueness. This game actually has a large cult following it thus making it very popular, too bad Sega doesn't manufacture Mega Drives and Shining Force anymore. If you ask me whats better, "Shining Force" or "Shining Force II", I would say neither, why?? Because the are equal in their own ways, Shining Force is short and sweet, Shining Force II is long and needs a lot of time to fully enjoy (And not everyone has time), plus Shining Force II is very rare to find (Selling up to $100USD on e-bay for the original cartridge and instruction manual (!!)). I personally enjoy Shining Force more because it's shorter (I don't get much time in the day due to school and the likes). Shining Force II has "superior" music in my opinion but Shining Force has it's own style, setting it apart from Shining Force II...oh dear, it looks like I have rambled but none the less, all these are the reasons I gave Shining Force a rating of 8/10, enjoy the game!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/07