Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon

"A Shining Update"

This game is a complete overhaul of the classic Mega Drive game, Shining Force.
It now has the subtitle : Resurrection of the Dark Dragon

Presentation - 9
The graphics are very nice , and stand up to the ultimate test of being played on a game boy player. The sound is traditional shining fare, and the battle sounds in particular are vey nice, especially the moans when you kill a bad guy, or the flapping of wings when a flying character moves. A tiny bit of screen shuddering when you run around a town prevent Shining force from getting the full 10.

Gameplay - 10
Shining force is a strategy RPG, and the shining force series is regarded as one of the, if not the best example of the genre. Character classes consist of swordsmen, mages, archers, healers, centaurs, and various other classes, such as a steam knight, a magical egg, and an assassin. It contains the now almost standard idea of terrain defence(that being, if one of your characters is in mountainous, or wooded terrain, he/she has a higher defence then if they were on an open path).
You have to complete a "goal" in each battle, which is normally the destruction of the boss, or every enemy. On nearly every battle, if you complete the goal in a set amount of time, you'll get a bonus(normally money or a weapon).
Your main character(default name max) has a spell called egress, which sends you back to the nearest church where you can save, revive your characters, cure, and promote yor characters. Churches are normally in towns.
You promote your characters at level 10, which lowers their stats, but puts them back at level one, which means they level up far more quickly, and very soon far overpass the small loss in stats from promotion.

Storyline - 8
The story has changed somewhat from the original, with the example that Darksol is no longer referred to as a devil king, and although the story is different, it is good, and more detailed then the original. I won't go into it, as this is one of the things that you should enjoy.

The battles are well separated by town exploration, which is very fun, allowing you to buy & sell items, and sometimes find secret characters and items, such as cards.
In every town, there is a special place called a headquarters, where your characters hang out. Here, your force will tell you little bits about themselves, and slowly flesh out their characters. You can also deposit & withdraw gold, select which characters to send into battle(the maximum is 12, but you'll have more characters then that, so you'll have to choose a well balanced force) and get advice on the next battle.

Lifespan - 9
This game is about 8 - 15 hours long, depending how good you are at the genre, however, every time you complete the game, Iit gets a bit harder, giving it great replay value, and allowing you to complete your collection of cards if you missed some first time through.

overall - 9/1o
A great update of a great game, and the best strategy RPG on the GBA.

Buy or Rent? Buy .

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/09/04