Shining Force is another Genesis game on Steam. It's played the same way as Phantasy Star, and it's another game I don't remember how I got. I think I got it for free? Regardless, I tried to play it when I first got it but put it down. The first time was because I found the "speech" sounds annoying. There are little blips and bloops whoever a dialogue box is on screen to imitate a voice, but I wish there weren't. The second time was when I didn't get a secret character at the very start. I want everyone at my party, or I'm not playing! They're petty reasons, so I'm giving this another try. Shining Force is another game I've heard good things about. Whether it's only good because of nostalgia and the system it was on or because it's actually wonderful is something I'll decide over the next two weeks. Assuming my computer survives, of course, which I'm starting to think it might. I shouldn't think that, but I will...
This is a game that needs a proper pre-main menu cutscene to properly introduce itself. It starts out fairly generic: Light, the Ancients, and Darkness, led by Dark Dragon, do a lot of fighting. Light wins and seals Dark Dragon in another dimension, but he vowed to return in 1000 years. People ended up forgetting about Dark Dragon, but can ya guess what year it is now? Runefaust, not to be confused with the planet Rune, are an evil empire made up of hordes that bring death and despair wherever they go. They seem to be the dominant faction on Rune, but there are still some pieces of good around just waiting for a Hero to brandish the Light once more... So I guess it stays pretty generic, too!
A girl of unknown age is sitting in front of a book acts as the main menu in this game, which is a tad strange. I erase my old save and load up a new one. She asks me to name my character, and our MC is Cidolfus because the name is blank. I've read he's supposed to be Max, but I notice too late. This is now my story!
The screen goes blank as someone tells us we've had enough. Light comes to the world, and we see two people in a friendly duel. Well, one of us is a person. A centaur is standing over us. Lord Varios has grey hair and an aura of prestige about him. He's the general of the Guardiana military and answers only to the King. He's taken us under his... wing and trains us in the art of the sword. But our session is over for the day, so after another guy blocks out path, he heads to the castle. You're supposed to follow him, but I took my time to walk around the town. Nothing is really here, but we get an idea about the world. We know of the evil that is Runefaust and Guardiana is near something called the Ancient Gate. Also, the music is really annoying! Head to the castle when you're done exploring, and we'll walk in on the King and Varios having a conversion that isn't good.
Runefaust at the Ancient Gate, but Varios can't go. He then thinks it would be a perfect time to test his star pupil, Cid! He and the King ask us to take up this test, and we say yes. You can answer no, but I'm the great hero. That Max guy would have said no! We then need to return to town for our squad to officially join up. Why they couldn't join there is beyond me, but I'll blame retro programming problems! Members of the Shining Force include:
Luke, a knight with a giant nose.
Ken, a centaur spear knight.
Tao, a mage with fiery hair and magic.
Hans, an elvan archer who doesn't like getting hit.
And Lowe, a healer.
It's nice to see so many races come together to fight evil! But we then have to return to the King..., and he'll give us some spending money. The weapons dealer doesn't want to work today, but his son, who sells sundries, does. I got a few medical herbs for healing and gave them to my front line. If we return to the castle, there will be a centaur to the east of the throne room that will get upset and leave. He really wanted to lead Shining Force, but I'm sure we'll never meet them again. We left the town, and the wagon took us to the Ancient Gate.
While there, we see goblins, just as Varios said. We overhear them looking for the key, so I'm glad they can't get to whatever may lie behind it. A small earthquake hits, which tears apart the west wall of the temple, but all of the combatants are fine. Being the heros, we jump into battle!
I've never played a Fire Emblem game, but I get the feeling the combat in Shining Force is a direct rip off of that. It's probably not as it lacks the rock-paper-scissor aspect FE has, but it looks like it visually. So maybe a combination of FE and FFT? Each character can attack for varying damage based on class, and our mages do exactly what you'd think. Keep them behind our frontline of Cid, Ken, and Luke, but remember that Lowe can only heal one square around him. Ken can attack from range, so try to remember this in future battles. For now, though, this is a tutorial battle. The mobs in the back will stay back until you get right up to them and won't come close. Take out the small fry goblins upfront, and let the more dangerous dark dwarfs come to you later. We'll need to take out the rune knight last, which we do with ease. This should be easy, and the rune knight will tell us that they were just a distraction. Their boss, Kane, should be attacking Guardiana right now.
Because of the earthquake, our path back is blocked. There is a path north, though, through the mountains and forest, so we'll have to take that. Along the way, we're attacked by more of the same mobs but on a much larger battlefield. It all functions the same way, though, but before you do anything. Take notice of the small hut to the right of the Ancient Gate. Have a character walk over to it, and we'll enter it. Chopping wood outside is a man named Gong, who'll offer to join us to protect the forest. Gong is a monk who attacks with his hands. He's not very good, but he can also heal. Two healers are always welcome in my party! You can talk to his relatives and see a talking squirrel to the left. He says he's waiting for us, but nothing comes of it. Return to the battle.
I had Hans pepper the nearest goblins close to the start. They all retreat for some reason, so it's just free damage. It's going to take a while to get all of your characters out of the tiny path. The game properly simulates mountain and forest hiking. Ken and Tao, especially, tread poorly. But the goblins stay back and let you attack them. I think Hans could have taken them all out himself if you don't mind him getting all the EXP. Do make sure your whole group is near to each other after this. The dark dwarfs are no joke, and the line of rune knights near the castle can take out a player if you rush in. My first death was Luke, who ran in to save our fragile mages/archer from evil centaur spears. Reviving characters costs money, so try to avoid it! I wonder how limited gold is? From here, walk into Guardiana.
The guards tell us they managed to fight off the invaders, but they took losses. We can walk around the destroyed town and see the buildings are in rubble. As far as I could tell, all the people are alive. Walk to the castle to see the King, but it's not going to end well. We walk in on Varios fighting with Kane, who's gained the treasure sword of Guardiana, The Dark Blade. He swings it, and Varios is killed with ease. His daughter, Mae, rushes at Kane to avenge her father, but Kane teleports away because we're not worth his time. The King asks us to see his daughter, Anri, at the magic academy at Manarina before he, too, passes. Mae will join the squad for her revenge quest, and we can walk around the town again before heading out. Walk to the tavern so an old timer named Gorn can join us. The weapons seller starts business again, but he doesn't have anything worth buying. In the keep of the castle are a few treasures that Kane didn't loot. They're basic, but I like opening chests. The inventory management in this game is going to get really annoying, though, isn't it? When you're ready, head out to the world map. Our first stop is Alterone to the north.
But along the way, we have to fight more mobs. The goblins are gone, but they're replaced by the far more dangerous bats. Wait for the bats to the east to come to you before going north. After that, the dark dwarfs will march after you. Hug the left side of the map as not to arouse the suspicion of the rune knights and take out the second squad of bats. Then storm Alterone to kill the rune knights. The bats are harder as they can get two attacks per turn and have high dodge skills. One, in particular, weakened Ken and killed Gorn that way. Their attacks can also inflict status ailments. Sleep was the only one I saw, but who knows if there's more? Afterwards, enter Alterone, and we'll finally have some peace. I went back to the castle to revive the dead, saved, and called it a night.
I'm not digging the music so far, so that's one enormous knock against it. Hopefully, the gameplay and story make up for it. It can also get better, so stay tuned. It's day one, and I'm here for the long haul of gaming!
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