Shining Force
Shining Force | |
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![]() North American cover art | |
Developer(s) | Climax Entertainment,Sonic! Software Planning Amusement Vision(GBA)[7] |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Yasuhiro Taguchi Kenji Orimo |
Producer(s) | Hiroyuki Takahashi |
Designer(s) | Hiroyuki Takahashi |
Artist(s) | Hidehiro Yoshida Yoshitaka Tamaki |
Writer(s) | Masaki Wachi Kenji Orimo Haruki Kodra Hiroyuki Takahashi |
Composer(s) | Masahiko Yoshimura |
Series | Shining |
Platform(s) | Sega Genesis,Game Boy Advance,iOS,Microsoft Windows |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Shining Force[a]is a 1992turn-basedtactical role-playing gamefor theSega Genesisconsole. It is the second entry of theShiningseries of video games, followingShining in the Darkness.While primarily a traditionalfantasy-themed game, it contains somescience fictionelements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: inSega Smash Pack Volume 1for theDreamcastandSega Smash Pack 2forMicrosoft Windows,inSonic's Ultimate Genesis CollectionforXbox 360andPlayStation 3,[8]and as a standalone game for theWiiVirtual Consoleand Microsoft Windows viaSteam.Additionally, in 2004 aremakewas released for theGame Boy Advanceunder the titleShining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragonand in 2010 the game was released foriOSbut was discontinued in 2015. It was re-released again on theNintendo Switch Online + Expansion Packin 2021.[9]
Gameplay
[edit]Shining Forceis aturn-basedtactical role-playing game.Battles take place in square grids, and each unit occupies one square. Each unit can move up to a fixed amount of squares along the battlefield, determined by its Move statistic. Depending on its location relative to enemies and to allies, a unit can also perform one action: attack, cast a spell, use an item, or search the area. Some commands, such as equipping or dropping items, do not count as actions. The order of turns is determined by the unit's agility score and arandom seed.
As is most common for the RPG genre, units become stronger by fighting enemies or by performing other actions in battle, such as healing allies. These actions give the unitsexperience points (EXP),which allow them to gainlevels.
InShining Force,each allied unit is represented by a character with his or her own background and personality, much like in theFire Emblemseries. Although there are no "generic" units, except on the enemy side, most characters contribute little or nothing to the plot upon joining the player army.
Each allied unit also has aclass,which defines a set of abilities for that unit and determines the spells and equipment they have access to. A unit can be promoted to another class at any level between 10 or 20. Upon promotion the character's level resets to 1 and statistics are reduced by a fixed amount, although they begin higher if the character had been promoted to a higher level.
Battle goals for the player are fairly simple: kill all enemies, kill the enemies' leader, or advance to a town or landmark. The enemy side wins if they kill the player's leader, Max, or if the player chooses to escape the battle by casting Egress. Even if the player army is defeated, the player can recover allies and retry the battle. The Force keeps any experience that is obtained, regardless of the battle's outcome. Thus, there is noGame Over,and the player's army gets stronger even upon its defeat, although Max's death results in the player losing half of their money.
Shining Forcealso possesses an exploration mode that occurs outside of battle. This gameplay mode is essentially a Japanese-style traditional RPG, along the lines ofFinal FantasyorDragon Quest,although there are no labyrinths and only a few puzzles to solve. In this mode, the player's army is represented by Max, who is able to walk around, interact with people, find treasure, buy equipment and items, outfit the army, and choose which of the army's members will be used in battle.
Plot
[edit]The game opens in the Kingdom of Guardiana, in the land of Rune. Theprotagonist,Max, is sent on a mission to prevent the evil Kane, who commands the hordes of Runefaust, from opening the Shining Path and resurrecting Dark Dragon. Along the way, Max recruits a number of allies to join the Shining Force. They eventually find that both Kane and King Ramladu are under the control of the manipulative Darksol. Darksol ultimately succeeds in reviving Dark Dragon, but Max seals the creature away using the power of the Chaos Breaker, a sword created by merging a sword of light with Kane's sword of darkness.[10]
Development and release
[edit]Despite being the sequel to the successfulShining in the Darkness,Sega allotted only a minimal budget to the development ofShining Force.[11]Contrary to popular assumption,Shining Forcewas not influenced by archetypal tactical RPGFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.In fact, when asked about the game, leadShining ForcedeveloperHiroyuki Takahashiremarked: "The tempo of that title was so bad that it wasn't something I even wanted to play."[11]Takahashi recalled thatShining Forcewas chiefly inspired byDragon Quest.Asking himself how he and the rest of the development team could "take the battles fromDragon Questand make them more fun ", he drew inspiration from an obscure Japanese PC game calledSilver Ghost,"a simulation action type of game where you had to direct, oversee and command multiple characters".[11]The game was released forWiiviaVirtual Consolein Japan on July 10, 2007, in North America on July 23, 2007, and on August 3, 2007.[12]
Reception
[edit]Publication | Score |
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Game Informer | 8/10[13] |
Player One | 94%[14] |
Mega | 92%[15] |
Mega Force | 95%[16] |
Sega Pro | 93%[17] |
Mega Zone | 90%[18] |
![]() | This sectionneeds expansion.You can help byadding to it.(October 2021) |
In Japan, it topped theFamitsusales chart inApril 1992.[19]
The game was well received.Megaplaced the game at #33 in their Top Mega Drive Games of All Time.[20]
Retrospective
[edit]Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | SMD: 80%[21] GBA: 75%[22] |
Metacritic | GBA: 77/100[23] iOS: 84/100[24] |
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | GBA:![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In 2004, readers ofRetro Gamervoted this "truly unique RPG masterpiece" 86th top retro game, with the staff additionally calling it "one of the greatest Megadrive games of all time and a definite office favourite."[26]
Remake
[edit]The game was remade in 2004 for theGame Boy Advanceunder the titleShining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon.The changes included an expanded plot, three new playable characters, three new battles, ramping difficulty system and some tweaks in the gameplay. One of the new characters can use "cards" in battle, and turn order is determined solely by a unit's speed stat and can be checked at any time from a list, allowing the player to plan out battles with greater certainty. The remake features a ramping difficulty system: every time a playthrough is successfully completed, a player earns a star and all enemies get a boost in stats for the next playthrough. The game has also had a rerelease for iOS, which has been removed from the App Store by Sega.
GameSpotnamedResurrection of the Dark Dragonthe best Game Boy Advance game of July 2004.[27]
References
[edit]- ^Neff, Mike (1993-07-13)."Shining Force Release".Newsgroup:alt.sega.genesis.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-02-21.Retrieved2012-07-25.
- ^"File:SegaPro UK 21.pdf"(PDF).Sega Retro.2024-01-15.Retrieved2024-01-15.
- ^"Atlus U.S.A., Inc. -Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragonfor the Game Boy Advance Ships to Retailers Nationwide ".GameZone.June 8, 2004.RetrievedJanuary 15,2024.
- ^"What's New?".Eurogamer.net.2004-04-30.Retrieved2024-01-15.
- ^"Sega's Classic RPG 'Shining Force' Coming This Thursday – TouchArcade".2010-07-27.Retrieved2024-01-15.
- ^"SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics now officially supports Linux with a big update & price drop".GamingOnLinux.2018-05-29.Retrieved2024-01-15.
- ^"Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon".IGN.Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2004.RetrievedJanuary 15,2024.
- ^Review for Xbox 360 version of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis CollectionArchived2012-08-01 at theWayback Machine,IGN.
- ^Stedman, Alex (September 30, 2021)."Nintendo Switch Online Expanding With N64 and Sega Genesis Games in New Membership".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2021.RetrievedDecember 24,2021.
- ^Complete script for the original translation of Shining ForceArchived2012-05-11 at theWayback Machine,Shining Force Central.
- ^abcBehind The Scenes – Shining Force,GamesTM(archive)
- ^Shining Force (MD / Mega Drive) News, Reviews, Trailer & ScreenshotsArchived2012-08-26 at theWayback Machine,nintendolife. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^"Legacy Review Archives".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2022.Retrieved3 October2021.
- ^"Shining Force".Player One(in French). No. 32. 10 June 1993. pp. 82–3.Archivedfrom the original on 14 January 2021.Retrieved4 October2021.
- ^Megareview, issue 6, page 56, June 1993
- ^"Shining Force".MEGA Force(in French). No. 18. June 1993. pp. 78–80.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-04.Retrieved2021-10-04.
- ^Hickman, Sam; Jason (13 May 1993)."Shining Force".Sega Pro.No. 20 (June 1993). pp. 36–7.
- ^Lawson, Wayne (July 1993)."Shining Force Review".Mega Zone(29): 42–43.
- ^"Weekly Top 30 (4 nguyệt 3 nhật )".Famicom Tsūshin(in Japanese). No. 174. 17 April 1992. pp. 14–5.
- ^Mega magazine issue 26, page 74,Maverick Magazines,November 1994.
- ^"Shining Force for Genesis".GameRankings.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-24.Retrieved2018-10-24.
- ^"Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon for Game Boy Advance".GameRankings.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-24.Retrieved2018-10-24.
- ^"Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon for Game Boy Advance Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-08-21.Retrieved2018-10-24.
- ^"Shining Force for iPhone/iPad Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-24.Retrieved2018-10-24.
- ^Gray, William."Shining Force Review".Allgame.Archived fromthe originalon November 15, 2014.RetrievedJuly 26,2022.
- ^Retro Gamer8, page 60.
- ^Staff (August 10, 2004)."GameSpot's Month in Review for July 2004 ".GameSpot.Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2005.
Notes
[edit]- ^Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention(シャイニング・フォース thần 々の di sản,Shainingu Fōsu: Kamigami no Isan,lit. "Shining Force: The Legacy of the Gods" )
External links
[edit]- 1992 video games
- Camelot Software Planning games
- Climax Entertainment games
- Fantasy video games
- Game Boy Advance games
- IOS games
- Nintendo Switch Online games
- Role-playing video games
- Sega Genesis games
- Shining (series)
- Single-player video games
- Steampunk video games
- Tactical role-playing video games
- Video games developed in Japan
- Virtual Console games
- Windows games