Genesis REVIEWS: Shining Force II
Bigger in both size and scope, the game does suffer a little from length, but that's only a problem if you don't like what it gives you in the first place.
Shining Force II may be the best TRPG in the 4th generation.
8: Shining Force II:
Year: 1994.
Genre: TRPG.
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Sonic! Software Planning.
"The Tower is the sacred seal that confines a terrible evil"
Taking a cue from other early '90s RPGs, Shining Force II does not try to tell a complicated story. However, it does try hard to tell a story. The number of lines of dialogue in the game is probably more than the sum of any 2 other Genesis RPGs or more.
It doesn't make for a compelling story, but it adds a narrative goalpost to your actions, and it introduces some fun and interesting parts to the game. Sure, it's a cookie-cutter story of good vs. Evil, but it's funny how it all started with a Robin Hood-style theft gone wrong. It's funny that a frustrated God (fed up with his seals always getting broken) forsakes humanity in such a nonchalant way.
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| Come in and have your story told, always trust a witch stirring a cauldron that it's not yourself she is preparing to cook |
Mostly, though, the game does get credit for attempting to provide a grand story to tell. More than the first game, Shining Force II seriously propelled the medium's storytelling credentials forward. It even has a Gandalf figure to move the narration and story along.
Again, though, character interaction is limited, and besides their awesome portraits and sprites, your many allies rarely have any characterization. For a game with such a large amount of dialogue, they should have taken some of the lines of the Gandalf character.
"Your battle strategy was wonderful! I praise you"
This game continues with the style of progression introduced in the earlier game. Battles are the main event, but there is an RPG-like overworld to move within and go from one event to the other. The game actually overkills it with the overworld, because it asks you to move through vast amounts of land with vague directions and no map. Since actually reaching a Battle means you went to the correct place, and that there are no random battles in between, it's not a big deal.
Like with the first game, the overworld exploration sets the game apart from other TRPGs, even if it adds little to the game. In it, you start preparing your army's equipment and items, going through the cross-menu system of the first game (which has some pros and cons).
Most of your time will be spent in the many battles of the game. Here, you control up to 12 characters in a grid-based Turn-Based combat system. Turns are decided based on the agility stat of all combatants.
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| The ever-familiar TRPG grid combat |
Characters come in different classes, and based on that, cover a variety of functions. Which I will detail later.
In all of the game's stages, the goal is to defeat all enemy characters while making sure the main character doesn't die. Your characters level up based on their performance, which means you need to make sure all of your characters are engaged in the battle.
This is not the game that attempts to revolutionize the TRPG genre, but one that covers all the basics while delivering a challenging and fun combat system, one with all the pros and cons of the genre.
"I have no time to waste on these kids. Devils, I summon thee!"
One of the major differences between Shining Force II and its prequel is how the characters level up. In both games, characters gain experience based on attacking the enemy unit or healing a friendly one. However, once leveled up, the difference is apparent. In the first game, the stat increase is highly random, and you could get anything from a godly boost to a barely useful 2-point increase.
In this game, the stat increase is more stable and, as such, is more predictable, and the player can plan around that expectation.
Like in the first game, managing how characters are involved in the game is an important strategic consideration. Make sure that all characters are involved so that they level up. Of course, if you are worried about your level, you could still leave the battle and replay it again (you can't replay a battle you already won). If you fail to level up some characters, it's useless to continue with them, and the game offers a safety valve of introducing similar characters (to the role), which will be at the level of your hero.
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| Battles can be very tough at harder difficulties and will probably require grinding for levels |
Characters come in many interesting classes, and are then promoted once you go to level 20. Some classes have two different promotions (based on finding items), and leveling up beyond 20 is recommended for getting more stat boosts.
If you are playing the game on normal, don't worry about your stats too much, but make sure Slade goes up to level 30 before promoting him. On harder difficulties, promotion should be at least level 30.
A lot of the fun found in this game is due to playing with your team's composition. The different classes are fun to play around with. Centaurs are your basic high mobility knights that can't run well on grass, and then you have your mages and your healers. However, there are cannon archers, ninjas, and robots, and the ever-present Bird Battlers, who both look cool and fun to play around with.
"I won't let you pass. You shall not harm the king"
Compared to the rest of the changes the sequel made, the presentation is yet another incremental improvement.
It sports the same colorful and detailed sprites of the original, but with a little more variety. Battles are still animated, but many of the effects carry over from the first game, which is not a big issue.
The biggest change in the graphics department is the big character portraits, which actually show more details, even if I liked the character design of the first game's characters more. Also, the in-battle sprites are more detailed this time around.
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| This time around, the portraits take nearly a quarter of the screen |
The biggest change is in the game's music, which, while still limited in number, is more complex in sound and better overall. When in battle for 30 minutes, the same track does get boring, but at least it's a better soundtrack than the first game.
In Conclusion:
While Shining Force II is only a marginally better game than the first one, its improvements on the margins ensure that a very good Genesis game is even better. Mostly, it shows an ambition in game design that is lacking in many other Genesis games.
Since the Fire Emblem series never had its SNES game localized, I cannot compare them to this game, but against everything else, Shining Force II is clearly the best TRPG game of the 4th Generation of video games.
Final: 9/10 (Highly Recommended)
Pros:
- Good Story and Setting
- Soldi Gameplay and Battle Designs
- Ability to Replay Battles
- Varied Character Classes
- Character Introduction Safety Valve
- Good Graphics and Character Design
- Good animation
Cons:
- Limited Character Story and Interaction
- Not the Best TRPG Soundtrack
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| This is the map of the world, but there is no way to visualize it from the ground level |
Tips:
- You should try and level up Slade to level 30 before promoting him. Give him an item that increases offense early on, though, or leveling him up would be a nightmare..
- If you need to level your characters up, Egress during battle and continue to fight with your weaker characters.
- You can do the same if you need money.
- As with other SRPGs, promoting your characters early is not a good idea. Generally promote characters that reach level 20.
- The Main Character dies, and it's game over. Make sure to protect him.
- There are hidden items. Mythril is used later to make powerful weapons, and there are promotion items to access the second promotion.
- There are hidden characters; search suspicious places in the environment.
- Promote Sarah to a Monk.
- Promote Kazin to a Sorcerer.
- If you won't worry about finding items and leveling up characters, you will need to utilize the later characters and forget the rest.LY.
Next Game:
Shining Force II is an ambitious game, and one that would have been right at home on the SNES.. On the Genesis, it's clearly heads and shoulders above a lot of the rest, and is my favorite game so far. I am now looking forward to playing more of the series on the Sega Saturn, but I know there is little beyond that.
The next game in the series is Landstalker at #5. This is considered one of the best RPGs on the system, and utilizes a seldom-used in consoles isometric view. I am in the top 5 games of Retro Sanctuary's list now, and all of these should be golden.
Stay Tuned
This blog was originally posted in Destructoid Community Blogs on August 26th, 2017. The blog was slightly edited to fit my newer review format.
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