Shining Force

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12

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  1. PrincessSunny
    Jan 2, 2013
    7
    I bought this game recently as I'm a lover of these types of strategy RPGs such as Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. This game works similarly to them but they are significantly different. Personally I think the previous games are much superior and have a lot more features, though it's to be expected as Shining Force is a much older game. Taking into consideration its age I stillI bought this game recently as I'm a lover of these types of strategy RPGs such as Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. This game works similarly to them but they are significantly different. Personally I think the previous games are much superior and have a lot more features, though it's to be expected as Shining Force is a much older game. Taking into consideration its age I still found it to be an extremely fun game, probably due to my love of the genre. I found the biggest flaw of the game was the bad AI. Mobs will usually just aim for your main character all the time, ignoring 'squishy' units like healers and mages meaning it's a little pointless to use the traditional turtle-like formations. Sometimes they will focus on random characters that barely take any damage from them. Sometimes they will charge and attack you but most of the time they will just stand and wait for you to attack them, even ignoring you if you attack at ranged and they don't have any ranged attacks. The latter point makes many of the earlier bosses somewhat trivial, and along with the fact that you can simply resurrect those who die at no penalty, the game difficulty isn't as hard as I would like (though it's not terrible). Additionally, the story is cliche and poorly executed. You will often have to travel to remote cities or be restricted from leaving a city until you've spoken to a particular person about the plot which generally involves 1-2 lines of generic plot that you already figured out a few hours ago. Regardless, the gameplay is fun. You have to recruit characters yourself (there are some 'secret' ones) and equip them with the latest weapons, or rings that you find while adventuring. Units can be promoted between level 10 and 20 and you overall have a decent level of control over your army. I'd say if you're new to this type of game, try a newer, shinier one first as they have already worked out a lot of the kinks that this game has. If, like me, you're a fan of this genre and don't have a problem with retro games, definately buy it!… Expand
  2. TheDoodFrankWak
    Oct 16, 2017
    6
    Shining Force; a game created to fight against the tactics style of games coming to the NES, fails to tell a story that matches the quality of the likes of Fire Emblem. The Characters are mostly forgettable basic tropes, and the battles are a dull experience with a lack of much innovation or interesting scenarios. The best part of this game comes with its music, sound, and visual effects,Shining Force; a game created to fight against the tactics style of games coming to the NES, fails to tell a story that matches the quality of the likes of Fire Emblem. The Characters are mostly forgettable basic tropes, and the battles are a dull experience with a lack of much innovation or interesting scenarios. The best part of this game comes with its music, sound, and visual effects, and pixel graphics, but the lack of a permadeath option makes the game more like a cake walk than a game where every move matters. It’s unfortunate that the best things in this game are hidden away as secrets for you to find on subsequent playthroughs of the game, which no one will have due to the lack of fun and desire to complete this game they will surely experience.

    Shining Force Gets a 6 / 10
    -Das_Dood
    Follow My Reviews Live @ Twitch.Tv/Das_Dood    … Expand