Shining Resonance Refrain

 Switch
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 93 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 93
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 93
  3. Negative: 13 out of 93
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  1. Enkindled
    Aug 24, 2018
    7
    Shining Resonance Refrain is a JRPG focused on a classic JRPG lore (Shy Nice Guy FIghts the Evil Empire) with great combat mechanics. However, I have some things to say about it. Please listen, because some things are awesome, others are annoying as hell.

    The Good: -Great Voice acting. The actors really put a lot of effort into their acting and look amazing. -The graphics are good.    Shining Resonance Refrain is a JRPG focused on a classic JRPG lore (Shy Nice Guy FIghts the Evil Empire) with great combat mechanics. However, I have some things to say about it. Please listen, because some things are awesome, others are annoying as hell.

    The Good:

    -Great Voice acting. The actors really put a lot of effort into their acting and look amazing.
    -The graphics are good.
    -The soundtrack is OK. At some points, it is awesome (When you use BAND), but in general, you will forget.
    -AMAZING combat. For me, this is the meat of the game and what really makes me keep going. The combat pacing is perfect, the moves and special attacks connect as you expect. Its fast as you want, but not too fast to be one of those crappy systems (I am looking to you FF XIII). You have a broad range of special moves and combinations.
    - Great party choices. That's another great layer of the game. You have a list of fine characters to chose, all of them good. Seriously, no one is bad and you will be feeling the need to leveling them all up.
    -Relationship quests. Some of you may not like this, but it is a classic layer of complexity for JRPGs. You can get to know your party better and advance in some sort of love subplot with the characters of your choice.
    -Grimoire Systems. You will know when you get it.
    -The characters have classic personalities (you know, from every anime), but this is common for JRPG. Nevertheless, they are all interesting, and you will not care about this. So, thumbs up for all of them. Talk to them, it is nice and pretty funny.
    -The core idea of the story is original, but only that.

    The Cons:

    -Some people like the story and I thought it would get better, but after 30+ hours I saw where it was taking me and... well, it is so standard, so generic that I don't see how some people can say "AMAZING STORY". It is so...so....so...standart.
    -Way too many dialogs, cutscenes and subplots that are not even close to interesting. And they stuffed the game with them. All I can say, I don`t even want to talk to NPCs (except for the party members), because whatever they say, it is not important or cool.
    -Downright lame sidequests. That's all, downright lame. And they packed the game with tons of them.
    -Yuma. Yeah, the protagonist is a Con, because he sucks so much. He is great in combat, and that's it. I prefer any other party member that Yuma in terms of character. He is the lamest character in the game, BY FAR.

    In summary, its a good game for the Switch and I would advise you to play it, seriously, it is a good game. But have some flaws that, for me, ruins the flow of the game and the fun I could be having. The story is nice, but they could have given a little more thought to make it better. If Yuma was a better protagonist that would have boosted the story more, but that's not the case. Thus... guys, buy the game, it is good, but you will see some bumps on the road.    … Expand
  2. VideofulJoe
    Dec 19, 2019
    7
    Pese a ser un JRPG que no destaca mucho del montón, Shining Resonance Refrain es una experiencia amena y entretenida gracias a un buen sistema de combate y a interacciones diversas entre los personajes que complementan una aventura que puedes llevar a tu propio ritmo.

    Lo Bueno: - Sonia - Se pueden hacer locuras con el sistema de afinidad. -El sistema de combate hace divertida la    Pese a ser un JRPG que no destaca mucho del montón, Shining Resonance Refrain es una experiencia amena y entretenida gracias a un buen sistema de combate y a interacciones diversas entre los personajes que complementan una aventura que puedes llevar a tu propio ritmo.

    Lo Bueno:

    - Sonia
    - Se pueden hacer locuras con el sistema de afinidad.
    -El sistema de combate hace divertida la experiencia.

    Lo Malo:

    - La historia no es nada del otro mundo.
    - Los personajes no ganen EXP si no están en la party. Lo que siempre le bajará puntos a un RPG desde mi punto de vista.
    - El capítulo 07 te obliga a usar personajes específicos, lo que se vuelve un verdadero problema para avanzar en la historia si los tienes a nivel bajo.    … Expand
  3. Starfree
    Dec 11, 2020
    7
    This is a really fun Action RPG with a decent story. The gameplay is a little bland and it’s really easy. A little too simp baity for my liking but if you into that kind of stuff you’ll like this.
  4. DoomItself
    Dec 9, 2019
    6
    Not a bad game but also not great.
    The in game dating sim had me embarrassed to be seen playing this game. The character designs for the most part were ridiculous and their cliche alternate outfits didn't help. The dialogue was equally terrible, no one, anywhere, ever talks so openly about their feelings. Locations are repeated passed through while enemies just get stronger and the use of    Not a bad game but also not great.
    The in game dating sim had me embarrassed to be seen playing this game. The character designs for the most part were ridiculous and their cliche alternate outfits didn't help. The dialogue was equally terrible, no one, anywhere, ever talks so openly about their feelings. Locations are repeated passed through while enemies just get stronger and the use of pretty awful unless you're a fan of the genre of what I guess would fall under Jpop.
    All those problems I have with it aside, the actual combat was fun. Transforming into a dragon and decimating your foes was great or just blasting and slashing away was equally satisfying.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 29, 2018
    70
    This is an OK RPG – it's just not a great one. [Issue #36 – November/December 2018, p. 85]
  2. Games Master UK
    Aug 9, 2018
    67
    A lesser JRPG revival for Sega, though hardcore players will find depths worth exploring here. [Issue#333, p.75]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Aug 2, 2018
    80
    Shining Resonance Refrain returns after a very long hiatus on the Western shores, in an amazing, shining package. A game with an enthralling story and captivating characters, beautiful visuals and a battle system that tries to function as intended, but suffers from technical issues related to its age. With all-new content and the promise of an improvement to the series, Shining Resonance Refrain is definitely an authentic JRPG adventure that should not be missed by gamers who craved the return of the series.
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