The
Shining Force games were one of Sega's premier RPG series
on the Megadrive and Saturn. It's been over a decade, but
now the acclaimed original game has been given a facelift
and plenty of new features for release on the Game Boy Advance.
The
plot is still the same as the original: trainee knight Max
must gather together a team of allies to head to the city
of Runefaust and stop the evil Dark Sol's plot to resurrect
a terrifying monster, the Dark Dragon. Across eight chapters,
Max will meet many people and be faced with various puzzles.
From intrigue in an underwater kingdom, to guarding a fugitive
princess, the plot is fast-moving and has plenty of twists,
turns and shady characters to keep things interesting.
New
allies can be found everywhere, from the field of battle
to some top secret hideaways. Each new member can potentially
strengthen the Shining Force, adding different skills to
the group - archers can attack from a distance, warriors
are tough in close-quarters and creatures like the magical
Domingo have stranger powers still! You can select up to
twelve people to go into battle so getting the right mix
for the right battle can make all the difference. These
battles can take some time as you need to move your troops
over large maps, but at the end you are usually rewarded
by new story developments and towns to explore. The terrain
and the enemies can both cause headaches, so strong teams
and good strategies are critical to victory.
Although
initially off-putting, the battle system is reasonably straightforward
with a series of option windows. Special items and shops
carrying mysterious deals are crucial for making sure your
team has all the latest battle equipment, and churches where
you can heal and resuscitate members of the Shining Force
soon become vital to continuing. Adding complexity to the
game is the promotion system, whereby characters can assume
a new rank, where they can equip new weapons, gain new powers
- and gain snazzy new looks.
For
anyone familiar with the Megadrive original, the new Shining
game won't have too many surprises - the basic plots and
battles are the same, and the game plays similarly. All
the same, there are some extras besides tweaked graphics.
The dialogue is tweaked and extended, items have been added,
there are extra battles and a few extra characters and storylines.
The innovative 'card' system is the most noteworthy addition:
the character Mawlock can collect cards from other characters
and use them to imitate the card-owners' powers, or else
affect the status of other players. The idea leads to some
interesting battles, but don't be surprised if it becomes
possible to walk through sections of the game easily by
cloning your most powerful character. While the extras make
game larger and more exciting, it also makes things easier
and so the excitement ultimately short-lived.
Shining
Force is still a classic, which is absolutely crammed with
secrets, so even after you finish the game one time, you
will probably want to return to it again and again. Newcomers
to the franchise are in for a treat, while those who enjoyed
the original games will be delighted to finally play the
Megadrive classic any time, any place, with the Game Boy
Advance.
