Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon

"So this is what the famous SRPG from the Sega Genesis played like, eh? Cool."

Shining Force was originally released on the Sega Genesis in the 90's. It was the first SRPG to hit U.S. shores. It wasn't the first SRPG, however. Games such as Fire Emblem, on the Famicom, came before it, but it was the first one here, introducing a new & very addictive genre to U.S. gamers. Eventually came a sequel called Shining Force II, and later came Shining Force CD & Shining Force III (on the Sega Saturn). There have been a few sequels & spin-offs here and there, but this game is a remake of the original game, with new graphics and gameplay elements not found in the original. Let's get right down to it, shall we?

To start with, the story is done very nicely and is epic. You are Max, who was found washed up on a shore in a strange land, and have no memory of what has happened to you. Only your name remains in your memory. 1,000 years ago, the evil Dark Dragon was sealed away from the world, a creature that would have destroyed the world. Now, evil forces are trying to resurruct this terrifying monster, and the land of Runefaust is invading your new home. Max must travel through many chapters, face many battles, meet new friends, and discover new powers if he hopes to survive the constant onslaught of the forces of Runefaust and Darksol, the main villain of the game. Overall, it's a nice story. Although it probably wasn't necessarily considered "cliche" back then, it's still basically somewhat of a copy a different game's story: Fire Emblem for Famicom. Don't believe me? Read Marth's description in Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube. Sound familiar? Still, I don't mind. It's just a bit of information that you might have wanted to know. But here's another thing: Unlike in the Genesis version, at the end of each chapter (in the epilogue), you'll guide a princess named Narsha, who is trying to escape Runefaust castle. Along the way, she meets 2 companions to assist her. So that's a nice interesting twist, too. Overall, it's an awesome epic plot, but should have been just a little more original.

The game's graphics are done nicely. The battle animations are done very, and I mean VERY, well. If you've played Golden Sun, then, as you might have just guessed, the animations look something like that. Only attacks don't simply explode all the time (but just a few, like Bowmaster attacks, which are just white, engulfing circles). Like, Max will jump at the enemy and slash down with his sword, which will have a slash mark on the tip of the blade, then go completely down on the enemy. The screen flashes for magic spells (or, at least for healer spells, it does). However, there is a downside to the graphics, and if it isn't battle animations (which are perfect, btw), then it's overworld. They may not seem like it at first, but when you run with the B button, it just causes you to squint and may hurt your eyes, and I do not like that. It loses some points there, but it's nothing too heavy, especially with beautiful battle animations to look at.

Sound-wise, this game isn't exactly perfect, but it's nothing major at all. The sword sound is cool, even though swords never made a screeching noise before, but it just sounds...cool, for some reason. Door noises are perfect when you walk into houses and magic spells have a catchy & perfect noise, from Bolts to healing spells. But the point is, is that not all of the battle noises are good. Since when did raining freeze attacks (Freeze Level 2) give out a yell? It's not that I dislike the sounds (I love them), but they just don't seem to fit the attacks themselves right. Other than that, it's fine. Axes have a normal, deep hard sound to them when they hit, lances make a small beep-like noise, and healing spells sound sorta like electric currents. They may not be perfect, but they still capture a good sound in the ear that's catchy, which is probably the primary point, anyways, so I like it. As for music, it's perfect. In castles, it's all, like, deep & powerful. Battle music is cool, but when you get a promoted unit in battle, it becomes MUCH more heroic. Town music is nice & happy, and battlefield music varies, from the first battle, which sounds sorta heroic, to the eerie, fast-paced battlefield music, usually for harder & creepier battles. Overall, sound is catchy but just a little different-ish, and music is all heroic and stuff.

The gameplay of this game is addictive. It is a Strategy/RPG game. That means that you move your units around a battleifield and they can move a certain amount of spaces. There are various different classes for many different purposes, from your main Swordsman class, the leader with overall good stats, to Archers, which can only hit from one space away, but are good against flying enemies, to mages & healers, which cast magic attacks & healing spells for your units, to centuar knights and warriors, which are good in the front line and can deal & take good damage. Those are just a few examples. It's like Chess, sorta. Also, terrain can effect how good an opposing attack is, like mountains may make it harder for an enemy to hit you. However, knights can't travel through mountains at all, so they have to find another way around. The fastest units always move first, and it goes in turn-based formation of moving, as well as attacking. Once you move your character up to an enemy, you can attack. In battle, you have the option of Attack, Spells, Defend, and Items. Now, if you've played a game like Fire Emblem before this, then this game is actually a bit different. Aside from having those battle options in a menu screen & speedy characters attack first, your main character, Max, can freely move around towns & go to shops and churches in them. Also, unlike in Fire Emblem, you can revive fallen characters, but it comes at a price...a very small & measly 100-300 gold price. Also, you can promote your units at Level 10, although their maximum level is level 20. Problem is: Which ones should you hold back 'till Level 20 and which ones should be promoted right away at Level 10? See, some characters will learn new spells (Mages & Healers, mainly) if they get to a certain level before they're promoted, as once they've been promoted, they go back to Level 1, along with a small stat drop, which is dissatisfying. Archers will just continue to stay weak until you promote them, in which promoted units (to include them, obviously) can use more powerful weapons. I liked how in Fire Emblem, promoting a unit at Level 20 was always better, as the character didn't drop any stats.

There are quite a few chapters in the game, each with many different battles. The game would probably last an estimated 10 hours or so on the first playthough. When you beat this game, though, will you want to play it again? Quite possibly. For one, you can try to collect all the cards in the game. You can play through using different units. But also, every time you beat the game, it gets harder, and it gets harder for a maximum of 99 playthroughs. Now that's a lot. However, the game is easy on its first playthrough and, most likely, it only gets slightly harder for each one. I'd probably rather just have a set hard mode, much like in Fire Emblem. However, that's okay. If you have enough patience to play through it a lot, you'll wind up with 99 increasing challenges.

Overall, this game is awesome. One of the best GBA games I have played. It's only my 2nd SRPG, too. (Fire Emblem was my first)

Pros:

+Addictive Strategy/RPG gameplay
+Characters besides Mages & Healers can cast magic spells
+Beautiful battle animations reminiscient of Golden Sun
+Awesome music
+A bunch of classes
+Increasing difficulty for each playthrough
+Finding cards (side-quest)
+Awesome plot twists

Cons:

-Choppy graphics in the overworld that may hurt your eyes
-A.I. makes the game quite easy (they always try to attack your main character or a character close to them)
-Save points
-Promotion can be either good or bad if you hold back your characters.
-Main story isn't that original

But as you can see, the cons are actually VERY minor cons, and the pros greatly outweigh them.

Story: 8/10 (needs a little originality, but it's still quite epic, ESPECIALLY the twists)
Graphics: 9/10 (choppy overworld, but beautiful animations. Sprites kinda remind me of Zelda: A Link to the Past)
Sound: 9/10 (some sound might be a little out of place, but it is quite catchy)
Gameplay: 9/10 (tactical RPG with many good traditional RPG & tactical elements. A bunch of different classes to suit your needs. Just a bad A.I. in the game, but that's all)
Replay: 9/10 (Card collecting, use new units, etc. Increasing difficulty per playthrough is nice, but I'd rather just cut to the chase in various difficulty settings, like in Fire Emblem)
Overall: 9/10

Buy or rent? Buy, especially if you're a big RPG fan or have never played a Strategy/RPG before. Or if you just want to add an awesome epic quest or a deeply underrated game to your library, get it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/04