Shining Force (Sega Genesis, 1992)

If you are looking for a good game for an older console, and you have never considered Shining Force, then you definately should. Way before the days of Final Fantasy Tactics there was a 2D game with a strategy flavor: Shining Force. This game had a decent story for its time, but it really shined in its easy, yet addictive, gameplay.

Graphics: By today's standards, terrible. Playing it on a Genesis, it looks fine. The animations are well done, and while the game is dated, it has a clean look to it that good 2D games always possess.

Gameplay: This is where the game shines. The game is easy to pick up. You have a group of characters and move them around on a chessboard-like environment, attacking enemies with different types of weapons. However, the gameplay throws twists at you, as managing your health, keeping your group together, and knowing when to use magic (or to recharge) is key. Winning every battle may take a few attempts. The hardest three battles are spaced out evenly in the game, and only one could give you headaches. You cannot save during battle though, so have an hour to devote to the game.

Sound: For its day, the tunes the game has are very good. Using Midi to its fullest extent.

Cons: The game is not nearly as complex as some would like, but for a person who likes this style of RPG, it can be very fun. Remember, you can also explore towns in between battles, so you will get a sense of adventure, not just pure battles.

Overall, an excellent rating, if you base it off of games from its era. Today, it may not have the appeal of modern games. Though it is easily worth a purchase.

This is a great game, it's a great addition to any RPG and/or retro gamer's collection. I've wanted an original copy of this game for 7+ years, ever since I played it on an old PC compilation disc. There isn't much I could say about this game that hasn't been said already, it's a Strategy RPG that puts you in command of a group of soldiers comprised of mages, archers, knights, and etc. who've set out to prevent the return of an ancient evil. It's very hard to find a copy for a decent price online or at a local used game store. Even so a good working copy is worth it.

though never actually played the game for the genesis, it became a favorite in our household when we aquired it through the sega smash pack II game for the PC. A long play for myself since i tend to play on the safe side on all RPG's my fist time around (about 30 hours play time). but after that it was a fairly quick game to beat. word of advice, your magic users will not learn any more spells once they are promoted. look every-where and talk to people more than once after a major event to aquire special characters.

definitly worth the effort of finding in any of its three formats. the game boy advance also remade a version that added another story between most of the first chapters.

It's hard to review this game.
If the name does not tell you anything - you probably never ever played console rpg games :)
Shining Force developed a new branch in role-playing games.After the release of this game, tactical role-playing games evolved to a new level.
Shining Force combines the best of classical rpg's with a tactical battles.You don't just have a dull "moving icons here and there" but an in-depth plot, intensive interactive parts and many other features combined in a brilliant game.
Awesome bright and colorful graphics, superb animation, great realistic sounds, awesome orchestrated music (dozens of soundtracks followed) and so on and so forth. The game itself became like a cornerstone to all rpg games which followed afterwards. If you never played the game - do it NOW, no matter the games' age it's still addictive as hell!

I recently purchased this game before I had surgery. It was very entertaining to replay this game that I loved as a child. It is one of the best role playing games ever. I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves rpg's. It has plenty of action and characters that can keep someone entertained for hours. I say anyone interested in rpg's should get this game.