Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya

"A classic gem"

Probably the best game on Game Gear. It certainly is my favorite. It's one of the few Game Gear games that i own,but it defiantly is my favorite.

Story 7
The basic story is and evil Demigod named Iom and corrupting the land. Prince Nick of the Cypress army, leads a force of troops to stop Iom's tyranny. In a previous battle, Nick's right hand was turned to stone.He leaves his sword behind and leaves a small group of trainees to defend the castle in his absence. Basically you play as those trainees. It starts out to reclaim back the sword of hajya, but turns into more (I won't spoil it for you). It's not the greatest story ever made but it's decent. During your journey,you'll explore castles,Caves Dungeons,fields and ship harbors

Graphics 10
The graphics in this game are amazing for a Game Gear game. All the Characters and monsters are easy to tell apart. The spells look real good and so do the character's attack animations.You can even see the movement of the water! Backgounds are well detailed.

Sound 2
The sounds is this game are pretty bad. It's the only thing that keeps this game from getting a 10. Every attack sounds the same. The Blaze and Bolt spells sound identical. The music isn't half bad. Although near the end of the game you might get sick of it.

Replayablity 10
The great thing about this game is that the replayablity is so high. There is no ''one'' best way to beat a level. There are many different tactics that cane be used. If you make 5 different people play through the same level,they'll all have a different way of beating it. That's the beauty of a strategy game.

Other Stuff
The are a total of 18 playable characters,2 which are hidden. You have humans,Centaurs,elves,and dwarfs just to name a few of the different classes. Each class can use certain weapons. There are many different weapons as well. The spells are great,though it's a shame that there aren't more. I do have a complaint though. It's seems to be too short. Only 24 levels,However, it's a pretty big game for a game gear

This is one of those classic games that will guaranty you many hours of fun playing time. Although you probably won't find it in any store,you might find it on E-bay. I've had it for years and still play it to this day. The verdict...Get it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/03