New Shining Force For The DS

[Gorvi]

SEGA is again bringing back one of it's classic franchises, and in the right way this time. 1UP (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3169728) is reporting that the Shining Force series is going to be seeing new life soon, this time on the DS.
Set 3000 years after the events of the original Shining Force, Feather stars Gene, a self-centered and arrogant treasure hunter who was raised by a master swordsman but drummed out of his combat academy for insubordination. While snooping around an ancient ruin in search of loot, he stumbles across AL-FiN, an oddly naive young girl who calls Gene her "master" and claims to be a backup "core unit" for a long-lost airship used by the Shining Force itself millennia ago. The Force's exploits are all but forgotten by this era, though, and Gene (along with his partner in crime, a centaurus named Bale) are more than a little incredulous. Exactly how Gene and AL-FiN's story unfolds is still under wraps, but there's one bit of good news for art-obsessed RPG dorks: character designs for Feather are being handled by pako (who previously worked on Shining Force EXA) and Noizi Ito, who's best known among anime fans for her contributions to cult hit The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Like other games in the series, Shining Force Feather is an RPG with a decidedly strategic bent, with you moving a small army around like so many pawns in a turn-based battle simulation. Unlike previous sim-oriented Shining Forces, though, the fights themselves are action-style. Whenever you choose an enemy, the scene shifts to a side-scrolling battle landscape that's highly reminiscent of Square Enix's Valkyrie Profile games -- you actively control your fighter, assigning actions to each of the DS's face buttons, as he or she wails away at the bad guy you selected.
Another portable RPG? Thank you!

[Superman's Dead]

I was just thinking about how badly I wanted one of these on my DS...hooray!

[Metal Khaos]

Nice. I loved the original Shining Force, and the 2nd one wasn't that bad. Lets hope they do this new title justice. I want to see a fucking Gort shrine somewhere.

[Deepsleeper]

Excellent. It's about time there was a ...

Oh. Active combat.

...well, it still might be worth a look.

[Dread7x]

Did anyone play Shining Force EXA for the ps2? Should I put it in my gamefly que?

[LongStepMantis]

Did anyone play Shining Force EXA for the ps2? Should I put it in my gamefly que?

FYI, none of the shining force games for PS were like the originals.

And it's about damn time we got another (real) Shining Force game. Assuming that this one is like the originals. Shining Force 1 and 2 for Genesis, Sword of Hajya for Game Gear, and the Sega CD versions wer ethe only ones that count, imho.

[spdiscus]

I'm not terribly interested in the active combat, but Shining Force 2: Sword of Hajya (GameGear) was my first turn-based RPG, and I haven't touched an SF since, so this could be a good reason to catch up.

(not sure why I bothered posting that on the 1up site a couple of hours ago)

[LongStepMantis]

Nice. I loved the original Shining Force, and the 2nd one wasn't that bad. Lets hope they do this new title justice. I want to see a fucking Gort shrine somewhere.

To hell with Gort, that Bowser-wannabe! :p

Guntz is where it's at.

[Shadowmage952]

The active battle has me a little scared, but if they do the turn based "outside" combat portion correctly I'll be checking it out. I can't understand why they kept releasing all of those horrible "action" RPGs for the PS2. Do they not understand the love for the series came from the genre that they practically started?

On a side note, the action like combat almost reminds me of Archon. What I wouldn't pay to have an Archon (or Archon clone) that merged the new elements of SRPGs and put it on a hand held. Instant gold.

[AversionFX]

FFS, give us a real Shining Force or call it something else!

I'm still mourning Oddler :(

[LongStepMantis]

The active battle has me a little scared, but if they do the turn based "outside" combat portion correctly I'll be checking it out. I can't understand why they kept releasing all of those horrible "action" RPGs for the PS2. Do they not understand the love for the series came from the genre that they practically started?

On a side note, the action like combat almost reminds me of Archon. What I wouldn't pay to have an Archon (or Archon clone) that merged the new elements of SRPGs and put it on a hand held. Instant gold.

Someone in game development hire this man right fucking now...do it, I'm not kidding.

Archon and Shining Force in one game? I could die a happy man. The original Archon introduced me to gaming way back when a computer with a black and green monitor was "lee7". :D

[Cyndair]

Please oh please let this be good. Shining Force I & II are two of my favorite games of the 16 bit era. I even bought a Saturn on ebay a couple years ago for the sole purpose of playing through III (sad I know). A new game on the DS would be perfect. Active battles though? Ruh roh.

[LongStepMantis]

Please oh please let this be good. Shining Force I & II are two of my favorite games of the 16 bit era. I even bought a Saturn on ebay a couple years ago for the sole purpose of playing through III (sad I know). A new game on the DS would be perfect. Active battles though? Ruh roh.

I would buy a Saturn to play III.
Hell, I would learn Japanese so i can play the other Sega CD version that never got translated into English.

One day...

And the battle system, although not the same as the classics, at least sounds workable. But we shall see.

[prenetic]

Shining Force I and II were very significant games in my childhood. This will be mine...oh yes...this will be mine...

[LongStepMantis]

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/longstepmantis/542067-guntz_face_thumb.gif

That is all. ;)

[Cyndair]

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd315/longstepmantis/542067-guntz_face_thumb.gif

That is all. ;)

Agreed.

(So long as you give fatty a turbo pepper or a mobility ring ;))

[Ondo]

I first played a Shining Force game about 2 weeks ago, and I'm enjoying it, so this is good news.

Do they not understand the love for the series came from the genre that they practically started?
They didn't "practically start" the genre - Fire Emblem did.

[Evil Avnovice]

Just looked at some scans for this at Gamekyo. The pics for the battle system look interesting. :)

[LongStepMantis]

Agreed.

(So long as you give fatty a turbo pepper or a mobility ring ;))

He always got all of the movement items/powerups. Then he could just roll over most of the game by himself as Robo-Guntz after he got promoted.

[Sasori the Medic]

Lol, Guntz was my favorite character too.

Shining Force 1 and 2 are definitely up in my top ten games of all time.

[Demo_Boy]

Shining in the Darkness owns you ALL

[KamaItachi]

Cool. I had even been thinking of grabbing the original Shining Force for the GBA before I went on holiday.

I'd also like to see Sega put out another Shining Soul for the DS, Phantasy Star/Shining Force hybrids are awesome.

While I'm dreaming another true Phantasy Star game, please.

[LongStepMantis]

I'd also like to see Sega put out another Shining Soul for the DS, Phantasy Star/Shining Force hybrids are awesome.


Shining Soul 2 was a title I knew nearly nothing about when I bought it.
Shining Force meets Diablo meets Secret of Mana...I played the living hell out of that game. Sequels please! :D

[nixpayn]

I would buy a Saturn to play III.
Hell, I would learn Japanese so i can play the other Sega CD version that never got translated into English.

One day...

And the battle system, although not the same as the classics, at least sounds workable. But we shall see.

i have...2 or 3 scenarios for the sega cd one, theyre all in english. they may have been fan translated tho and dumped to isos, i duno. but i know at least 2 were done in english.

theyre not as good as 1 or 2, they feel repetitive.

the one for saturn tho, is good ;)

[LongStepMantis]

i have...2 or 3 scenarios for the sega cd one, theyre all in english. they may have been fan translated tho and dumped to isos, i duno. but i know at least 2 were done in english.

theyre not as good as 1 or 2, they feel repetitive.

the one for saturn tho, is good ;)

Sonofa...I didn't even know there was a version for Saturn! :eek:

In my defense however, the Saturn was the one console I've never played, seen anyone play, or even seen the console itself in real life. I've heard good things about the games on it.

As for the Sega CD versions, I think it was 3 parts. If you say 1 and 2 were in English, maybe that's right. I knew the first one was, because I could read it when I played it. At the very least though, I know the 3rd part was never translated. They also aren't the best versions, you're correct about that. At least the first part wasn't that spectacular besides bringing Lowe and some of the others back for pure nostalgia. However any Shining Force is better than none. ;)

[LongStepMantis]

Meant to say i didn't know there was a version for Saturn before today. So thanks both Cyndair and nix for finding me another old system I have to track down, just so i can play one game. :p

[KamaItachi]

Meant to say i didn't know there was a version for Saturn before today. So thanks both Cyndair and nix for finding me another old system I have to track down, just so i can play one game. :p

It was actually a three parter. The first episode was only about 20 hours long and the only one translated into English. I have heard that the other episodes (should you be able to track them down) would still work on an episode 1 saved game.

[LongStepMantis]

It was actually a three parter. The first episode was only about 20 hours long and the only one translated into English. I have heard that the other episodes (should you be able to track them down) would still work on an episode 1 saved game.

And that is why the Japanese should all be fluent in English. ;)

I could play all 3 parts then!

I mean, yeah, I could learn Japanese...but it's much easier for me to demand their nation live up to my misguided standards than force me to learn something. :p

[Kamalot]

I was just thinking about how badly I wanted one of these on my DS...hooray!

Thank You for making this game happen!

[KamaItachi]

And that is why the Japanese should all be fluent in English. ;)

I could play all 3 parts then!

I mean, yeah, I could learn Japanese...but it's much easier for me to demand their nation live up to my misguided standards than force me to learn something. :p

Exactly, i think it would make everyone's life that much easier if they just got off there arses and lerned themselves the language!

[Cyndair]

It was actually a three parter. The first episode was only about 20 hours long and the only one translated into English. I have heard that the other episodes (should you be able to track them down) would still work on an episode 1 saved game.

Yeah, I've only played the first part of the three on Saturn since I don't speak Japaneese. It was very good. To me it felt like the genesis games which is a good thing of course.

You can find the Japanese scenario 2 & 3 on Ebay for relatively cheap but I'm not sure if the Saturn has region restrictions. In any case, I'm not going to play the game if I can't understand it. I guess I'll just have to hope and pray that one day Sega will wise up and release a translated compilation disk or something like that for one of the current gen systems. I'm not exactly holding my breath, however.

As for the Saturn, there are definitely other games that made it worth the purchase. Nights and Panzer Dragoon were a lot of fun and can be acquired cheaply. Sadly the really stellar games like Radiant Silvergun and Panzer Dragoon Saga are incredibly expensive on Ebay. Unless you go the ROM route...

[Kamalot]

Here are some screenies...

http://www.gamekyo.com/news28890_shining-force-ds-announced-for-spring-2009-on-nintendo-ds.html

[LongStepMantis]

Here are some screenies...

http://www.gamekyo.com/news28890_shining-force-ds-announced-for-spring-2009-on-nintendo-ds.html

Awww shit.

So they went with the super anime look. Sure, the originals had an anime look...but just take a glance at the art for the centaur shown in the second screen and the wispy frail humans who look like they haven't eaten in 8 months. Blech. :(

The gameplay screens, while they don't look bad, look nothing like shining force. The game might still be awesome, who knows. But I was really hoping for closer to the originals.

[KamaItachi]

Yeah, I've only played the first part of the three on Saturn since I don't speak Japaneese. It was very good. To me it felt like the genesis games which is a good thing of course.

You can find the Japanese scenario 2 & 3 on Ebay for relatively cheap but I'm not sure if the Saturn has region restrictions. In any case, I'm not going to play the game if I can't understand it. I guess I'll just have to hope and pray that one day Sega will wise up and release a translated compilation disk or something like that for one of the current gen systems. I'm not exactly holding my breath, however.

As for the Saturn, there are definitely other games that made it worth the purchase. Nights and Panzer Dragoon were a lot of fun and can be acquired cheaply. Sadly the really stellar games like Radiant Silvergun and Panzer Dragoon Saga are incredibly expensive on Ebay. Unless you go the ROM route...

You can get a region free-ifying memory expansion cartridge, which apparently works really well for some of the Capcom 1-1 fighters like Marvel Versus Streetfighter and the like. It's relatively cheap if you shop around, but you pay for it with the exuberant costs of the games you'd want to import. If you can grab a saturn and a 6-way adapter, Guardian Heroes and Death Tank are well worth the price of admission.

As for Shining Force 3, I always found the stories a tad simplistic and linear, so actual understanding would never be that big a thing, even though I bet I could probably struggle through the game anyway. For me it was the battle system, and getting to grips with it in Ep.1 shouldn't make later versions any surprise.

Interestingly enough, I think Sega now translate all their games, at least into english before they ship, even in Japan. I don't think I've bought one of their games which wasn't at least bi-lingual, and an associate of mine who does translation for them seems to be fairly busy on the more recent releases. This new Shining Force may be very import friendly.