Video Game Review - Shining Force (1992 - Sega Genesis)

Shining Force was not the first RPG in the shining series that I played; that goes to the first RPG I enjoyed, called Shining Force II  Nonetheless, Shining Force gives us a little bit of history as to what its sequel will be talking about in certain points of the story. But we're here to review the second game in the "Shining" Series, Shining Force: the Legacy of Great Intention.

At first glance, the subtitle for Shining Force is powerful yet somewhat Engrish in its execution. That's not what you're here for. You're here to listen to a little girl named Meg read a story about a young man who sacrificed his life to save the world from the evil wizard Dark Sol (from the first game Shining in the Darkness) and his three-headed creation, Dark Dragon. She manages the save files for the game by the chapters read in the book, which is a detriment to those who must save on the fly. Because of the Chapter system, there is no going back to find missed items or playable characters. While this is a drawback, it doesn't diminish the fun I had playing it.

Playing this game after playing its sequel, *Shining Force II*, made the game a lot more fun than it should have been. I especially liked the reappearing young traveller Boken. Speaking of Boken, this game will always make sure that you try to help as many people as you can. The obvious reward is either items or a new party member, more often the latter. When you get your characters, just be prepared for some weird stuff.
When it comes to party members, *Shining Force* has some real doozies. You'll get characters like:

• Domingo the magical jellyfish
• winged birdman warriors like Balbaroy and Amon
• Guntz the mech-suited armadillo
• centaur knights(eliminating the need for both horse and rider by combining them)
• Zylo the werewolf

and many others who will see you through to your mission of saving the world from evil.

The magic in the game sets a precedent as to how magic will be exhibited in the "Shining" Series games. Most magic spells have 4 levels to them, with more complex animations as the levels go higher. They're damn good magic spells to look at and are great for the system's power. The items in this game are pretty cool, with created weaponry being forged from Mithril only and cursed weapons being found in battle. Those kinds of weapons are usually found in the presence of bosses.
Bosses are a mixed bag: they can be sickeningly easy or hard enought to gain your respect after you've stomped a mudhole in them and walked it dry. I think that they'd all be the same with different sprites if it weren't for the terrain they chose to battle on. The terrain in which a boss (or any enemy for that matter) chooses is usually chosen to take advantage of the delay in traversing the terrain, thus limiting movement. In an open grassland, the terrain effect to movement would be 0%, while terrain effect in a swamp would be at the maximum of 30%--enough to knock out one or two blocks off your movement radius (an average of 4).

As I stated before, the game sets down ground rules as to how future installments in the "Shining" Series are run. I must say though, the ending may be pyrrhic but there's always a light at the end of the darkness... a shining light...