Any other Shining Force Fans out there?

[Tabonga | 2,317]

The first Shining Force was the first game I bought when I got a Genesis.  While I like all of the series, I think the Sega CD version is my favorite - mostly for that awesome museum battle.  Shining Force II is not far behind though.     

[B.A. | 1,139]

This is a game I really need to give a proper chance.  I love Fire Emblem games, and from what I understand Shining Force plays very similarly.   Which is the most polished version, the Sega CD? 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

I've played through the first game, I think.

I love the tactical battle concept, though the character management across the team gets a little bloated to juggle.

My main gripe is the leveling system -- nothing is more irritating than having a level up that awards nothing but a single hitpoint to a front-line fighter or tank, when re-rolling that level up (by save-scumming the battle) shows you could have had MUCH higher point/stat boosts across the board.

Maybe it all averages out, but it seems a bit broken to have the ranges that wide (i.e. no fixed minimums)

[Tabonga | 2,317]

3 hours ago, B.A. said:

This is a game I really need to give a proper chance.  I love Fire Emblem games, and from what I understand Shining Force plays very similarly.   Which is the most polished version, the Sega CD? 

The Sega CD is composed of 4 parts - the first two are the Game Gear games ported over - the third part are some unique battles available only on the Sega CD .  The fourth is one large (and challenging) battle with most of the bosses from the other three parts.  One of the things missing from the Sega CD game are towns where you can explore and interact with the townspeople,   

Shining Force II is probably the most interesting/polished (in terms of things to do)  of the games - a lot of secrets to discover - including some special promotional items and a hidden blacksmith who can make special weapons for you.

I hate to sound like a broken record - but you might want to check out Dark Wizard - large armies, large hex grid battlefields (with zones of control) and lots of secrets to discover.  It is kinda like a Shining Force game on steroids.

Edited March 6, 2020 by Tabonga

[Tabonga | 2,317]

3 hours ago, arch_8ngel said:

I've played through the first game, I think.

I love the tactical battle concept, though the character management across the team gets a little bloated to juggle.

My main gripe is the leveling system -- nothing is more irritating than having a level up that awards nothing but a single hitpoint to a front-line fighter or tank, when re-rolling that level up (by save-scumming the battle) shows you could have had MUCH higher point/stat boosts across the board.

Maybe it all averages out, but it seems a bit broken to have the ranges that wide (i.e. no fixed minimums)

Part of the problem is that the boosts you get are determined by your level compared to the enemy's.  So if your characters you use the most (usually your leader is among these) get strong they get minimal (if not rock bottom)  boosts until they start encountering stronger enemies a few battles down the road.  I usually work around this by having my strong characters weaken the enemies and then having the lower level characters finish them off so they get the boosts.  

I sometimes  play with a set of cards with each character's name on them (with the exception of the leader) and draw randomly from the available members for each battle - makes for some interesting battles since you have to use units you may not normally use and many of which will be underpowered - helps make up for the weak AI these games usually have and  adds quite a bit of challenge to the battles.

Edited March 6, 2020 by Tabonga

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

2 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Part of the problem is that the boosts you get are determined by your level compared to the enemy's. 

I'm not sure that is entirely true.

It doesn't take much save-scumming to induce MUCH higher stat boosts than the infamous +1HP-only.

I would believe that relative levels could reduce the probability of a better increase, but they definitely don't seem to cap it in any way.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

I mispoke - you get much less experience so it takes you longer to get to the next level.    To be honest I usually don't track the boosts that much since you invariably wind up overpowered against most of your enemies -  against  stronger bosses it is more often a matter of co-ordinating your troops well  rather than having super strong ones (which doesn't hurt - makes the game less challenging though).

In Shining Force II you have one class (master monks - you can have up to 3 of them) that you can boost to your hearts content by having them continually cast  aura or boost spells.  Unlike Torasu in SF1 you get them fairly early in the game -  so it is not unusual to get them well over level 99 (there is a glitch at that level that slows them up just for that level).

Edited December 26, 2020 by Tabonga

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

22 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

I mispoke - you get much less experience so it takes you longer to get to the next level.    To be honest I usually don't track the boosts that much since you invariably wind up overpowered against most of your enemies -  against  stronger bosses it is more often a matter of co-ordinating your troops well  rather than having super strong ones (which doesn't hurt - makes the game less challenging though).

Oh, yeah, getting less experience per kill was pretty clear, and a typical construct for those kinds of games.

My main gripe was the spread on stat increases when you finally earned that level up -- i.e. not only did it take longer to get, you end up with some dinky +1HP.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

I guess it never bothered me that much since the AI is so weak it didn't really influence the gameplay that much.   (IMHO there are really only two really challenging battles in the series - the museum battle in the CD game and the chess battle in SFII (and that one you have to make it really difficult by killing the king last - if you target him early the battle ends)). 

(In SF II you also get to battle  a rat named Willard.  Shades of"Ben"!)