Shining Force for Genesis
Review #4508
Shining Force
Good but not great
Gameplay
Massive improvement over the tactical games that preceded it, but a few mechanics prevent it from being best of breed.
First, battles take forever. The first encounter takes almost 30 minutes and that's against an army of only 9 or 10 enemies.
The other major issue is how the turn based ordering is organized. Turns switch between you and your opponent seemingly at random. Sometimes you can move two or three units (always one at a time) and the order they move is again completely random. This makes it impossible to devise a strategy because you can't, for example, move a ranged unit with confidence that you can move a melee unit to protect them. Every move is a calculated risk and bad luck often ruins the entire battle.
Oh and third, each attack is just that - an attack. Except in rare cases the defending unit does not retaliate when attacked. This encourages an offensive strategy that is atypical of most games in this genre.
Level Design
There's a long and interesting campaign. The game is broken up with typical JRPG sequences between battles. Battles are long and difficult but well crafted.
Theme
Finally a character driven story. I much prefer a JRPG rather than a nameless Western style RPG. A large roster of unique and memorable characters. It's easy to remember who your melee, ranged, and mages are.
Art Style
Adorable and colorful graphics. Anime style avatars for each character. Awesome battle view with interesting animations.
Audio
Lovely music.
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