Now that I finally have access to the Genesis games on the Switch (very few of which I had played because I was not a Sega kid whatsoever), I was recommended to check out Shining Force, at least the sequel which is supposedly an overall improvement. But I'm glad I started here so I can see that evolution when I get there.
The first Shining Force is a very archaic game in its menuing and the pacing of battles, and the information the game makes available to you vs. having to read the manual (and even then there's stuff that isn't really explained). It's a bit like going back to early-gen Pokemon. But if you can have patience with all that, there is a lot of charm here. I enjoyed the character design a lot, and the constant variety of people who inhabit this world and your party, from centaurs to bird people and more. Even the ones who look like humans might be dwarves, elves or halflings. The spritework is very charming and effective, and the localization is pretty solid despite the unremarkable story. The ending made me surprisingly emotional.
It's not a hard game, and battle strategy can be limited. A frustrating point is that you kind of have to commit to your chosen party members (you can only bring 12 into battle at a time), as if any of your characters fall too far behind in levels they quickly become useless and, unfortunately, if they don't do much damage to their enemies then neither will they receive much experience, meaning that you can't really make them viable again unless you were to grind an absurd amount. Thankfully, there is no permadeath, nor are there even game overs (you'll just get sent back to the last town if you lose), so grinding (at least grinding your already viable characters) IS an option if you're having trouble with a battle. Some characters do no damage even initially as soon as you recruit them, and might get stronger later on, but it seemed like it would be quite a project, so I tended to just not invest in anyone who wasn't providing an immediate payoff.
A fun but potentially annoying aspect is that the boosts your characters get from leveling up is random, and decided at the point of their leveling up (I tested this using the rewind feature once but after that didn't abuse it to get luckier rolls, though you could if you wanted lol). So some level-ups could be huge for a given character while the next one does almost nothing for them. You also can't make anyone too OP because their boosts will peter off and disappear completely (or almost completely) once they hit a certain level. This could lead to every playthrough feeling a bit different in which characters are your "stars".
Finally, this game appears to have a few secrets, as I did my best to explore and talk to NPCs but I know I missed getting a few characters in my party.
This game was a charming mix of tactical battles in between RPG towns and setpieces. Although it can be slow paced and tedious, sometimes too simple and sometimes frustrating with some of its hidden mechanics, I kept coming back for more and enjoyed the experience.
The first Shining Force is a very archaic game in its menuing and the pacing of battles, and the information the game makes available to you vs. having to read the manual (and even then there's stuff that isn't really explained). It's a bit like going back to early-gen Pokemon. But if you can have patience with all that, there is a lot of charm here. I enjoyed the character design a lot, and the constant variety of people who inhabit this world and your party, from centaurs to bird people and more. Even the ones who look like humans might be dwarves, elves or halflings. The spritework is very charming and effective, and the localization is pretty solid despite the unremarkable story. The ending made me surprisingly emotional.
It's not a hard game, and battle strategy can be limited. A frustrating point is that you kind of have to commit to your chosen party members (you can only bring 12 into battle at a time), as if any of your characters fall too far behind in levels they quickly become useless and, unfortunately, if they don't do much damage to their enemies then neither will they receive much experience, meaning that you can't really make them viable again unless you were to grind an absurd amount. Thankfully, there is no permadeath, nor are there even game overs (you'll just get sent back to the last town if you lose), so grinding (at least grinding your already viable characters) IS an option if you're having trouble with a battle. Some characters do no damage even initially as soon as you recruit them, and might get stronger later on, but it seemed like it would be quite a project, so I tended to just not invest in anyone who wasn't providing an immediate payoff.
A fun but potentially annoying aspect is that the boosts your characters get from leveling up is random, and decided at the point of their leveling up (I tested this using the rewind feature once but after that didn't abuse it to get luckier rolls, though you could if you wanted lol). So some level-ups could be huge for a given character while the next one does almost nothing for them. You also can't make anyone too OP because their boosts will peter off and disappear completely (or almost completely) once they hit a certain level. This could lead to every playthrough feeling a bit different in which characters are your "stars".
Finally, this game appears to have a few secrets, as I did my best to explore and talk to NPCs but I know I missed getting a few characters in my party.
This game was a charming mix of tactical battles in between RPG towns and setpieces. Although it can be slow paced and tedious, sometimes too simple and sometimes frustrating with some of its hidden mechanics, I kept coming back for more and enjoyed the experience.