- If you are looking for information on the Shining series in general, please see Shining Force series
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention, more commonly referred to as Shining Force, is a
1992 turn-based strategy role-playing video game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some steampunk elements. Shining
Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, is a 2004 remake of the game for the
Game Boy Advance console. It includes a significant amount of changes (see below). Dark
Dragon, who was defeated years ago by the ancients, has returned to earth. As the people have forgotten about him, they are
unprepared for the invasion. Hordes of evil monsters were cast into the land. Max and his "Shining Force" are going to become the
last hope of good and fight fiercely against Dark Dragon and his followers
Game Info
While the game is the first in chronological order in the Shining Force series, it is the second game released
in the series, of which the first game released Shining in the Darkness,
taking place somewhere between Shining Wisdom and Shining the Holy Ark. The transition from Shining in the Darkness to Shining
Force was a major change, with few elements between the two games being shared, save for the names of certain items and
spells. Another significant change was in gameplay. Shining in the Darkness was a dungeon crawler in first-person
perspective, while Shining Force was a third-person strategy RPG game.
The Shining series flips between many gameplay styles: returning to first person dungeon crawler for Shining the Holy
Ark; adopting Legend of Zelda mechanics for Shining Wisdom; and the Shining Soul games being inspired by
Diablo, for instance.
The game was first released in 1992 in Japan, and 1993 in North America and Europe. It's been re-released in 1999 for "Sega
Archives form USA" (Japanese), in 2000 for Sega Smash Pack 2 and Sega's Greatest Hits 2, both for PC, in 2001 for
"Sega Smash Pack for Dreamcast", and again in 2002 for "Sega Smash Pack Twin Pack" for the PC.
The game was remade in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance
under the title Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon. The changes included expanded plot, new playable
characters, increasing difficulty level (starting considerably low, but increases whenever the player finishes the game and
begins a new play), and some tweaks in the gameplay (including the ability of using "cards" in battle).
On July 10th, 2007, Shining Force was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan, on July 23rd, 2007 in the United States & on August 3rd, 2007 in Europe,
Australia and New Zealand.
Gameplay
Shining Force is considered to be relatively simple compared to other tactical RPGs. Battles take place in square grids, and
each unit occupies 1 square. Units can belong to one of 2 sides: allies (controlled by the player) or enemies
(controlled by the computer AI).
The gameplay is turn-based; each unit can both move and perform one action (attack, use a spell, use an item) on its turn.
Some commands such as equipping or dropping items don't count as actions. The order of the turns is determined by the unit's
agility score. Units can use offensive actions (such as attacking or using a BLAZE spell) only on units belonging to the
other side, and they can use support actions (such as using a HEAL spell or a medical herb item) only on units belonging to the
same side.
Like most video game RPGs, units can become stronger by fighting enemies and performing some actions. Those give the units
experience points (EXP.), which allow them to gain levels. While in the original Mega
Drive/Genesis version only ally units can gain experience points, in the 2004 remake for Game Boy Advance enemy and ally units alike can gain experience points. This bears some resemblance to
some other strategy RPGs such as Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics.
On Shining Force, each ally unit is represented by a character with its own background and personality, much like the
Fire Emblem series. There are no "generic" units, except on the enemy side. Like what
happens on most RPGs with a large cast of characters, however, many of these characters are left in mystery and give little or no
contribution to the plot.
Each ally unit also have a class, which defines a set of abilities for that unit.
Once a unit reaches level 10, it can advance to another class, called "promotion". A unit can be promoted at any level after 10
up to the game's maximum of 20; the longer the player waits to promote a unit, the stronger it will be after being promoted, and
as promoted units are returned to level 1, the stronger they will ultimately become.
Battle goals for the player's (ally side) are fairly simple: either kill all enemies, or kill the enemies' leader. The enemy
side wins when they manage to kill the player's leader, Max, or when the player chooses to escape the battle. However, even if
the escape choice is made or Max is killed, one can recover the allies and fight the same enemy again. Since the main character
always carries the experience and money gained, regardless of the battle outcome, the game is considerably easier than most
strategy RPGs. There is no Game Over, and most of time, the player's army
gets stronger even if the ally side is defeated.
Most games from the Shining Force series (with the exception of the Game Gear and
Sega CD games) also possess an exploration mode, besides the regular battle mode. This
gameplay mode is more similar to a traditional RPG game. In this mode, one
plays as the Shining Force leader (Max), and one can walk around, interact with people or the scenario, and set the members and
equipment of the player's army.
Plot
The game opens in the Kingdom of Guardiana, in the land of Rune. The protagonist is a swordsman named Max. He is the
apprentice of the famed knight Varios, who is called upon when a force from Runefaust is seen at the Gates of Guardiana. Varios
chooses to send Max to investigate, so as not to scare the townsfolk with a large force. At this point Max is joined by five
other characters. Once they exit Guardiana, the adventure begins. It is also Max's job to recruit as many members to the Force as
possible as they fight the hordes of Runefaust. The game is divided into chapters, each chapter covering a different part of the
war.
The armies of Runefaust are commanded by Dark Dragon, an evil beast that was sealed away in an alternate dimension a thousand
years ago. When Dark Dragon is defeated, he is resealed in another dimension. As Dark Dragon’s castle begins to crumble, Max
teleports his army to safety, while he stays behind. The other characters watch as the castle sinks back into the water, and Max
is presumed dead.
External links
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