If you’ve followed our reviews thus far then you know that I’m a huge fan of the Shining Force franchise. The first one was one of my first forays into the strategy RPG genre. After completing the original, and it’s sequel on the Sega Genesis I was dedicated to playing them all. I was surprised to learn that the Sega CD had it’s own installment. Initially I was curious what the CD format would bring to a 16-bit Shining Force title.
It was disappointing to learn that this iteration is actually a remake of the two Game Gear installments. I had not played those at the time but could only imagine the limitations they would place on the franchise. Years ago I reluctantly gave it a chance, and recently decided to replay it. Let’s take a look at how it holds up.
The story is a little unusual in execution. I already mentioned that Shining Force CD is a remake of the Game Gear releases. Rather than making the experience a seamless one you can instead choose to play either book 1 or 2 from the start. As you can guess these are the remakes of both Shining Force Gaiden, and Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya.
For review purposes I’ll start with the story of the book 1. This scenario takes place several years after the events of the first Shining Force. Queen Anri still reigns over the kingdom of Guardiana. This tale begins when ambassadors from the country of Cypress arrive and cast a sleeping spell on her. The only way to save her from this is to defeat the evil king, and a new hero rises up to command the Shining Force to do just that.
Ultimately this is a very generic storyline. The characters are all one dimensional, and the few plot twists that it does have are pretty basic. Honestly the best part of the scenario in book 1 is the references to the original Shining Force. Lowe (the priest from the first game) functions as your advisor, and many of the early characters that join are children of the original heroes.
Considering Shining Force CD released after part 2 it feels like a downgrade in this category. I liked the elements of continuation, but the scenario could have used a lot of work. There’s very little personality in the dialogue, and at no point did I really care what was happening at all. It’s clear that this was a conversion of a Game Gear title because the story is so simple.
Book 2 fares a little better in this regard. It’s a direct continuation from the first but with a new hero. Going into more detail would honestly spoil too much of the game. There are several characters that return from book 1, and their introductions all make sense. There’s still not a lot of personality in the dialogue.Book 2 does however push for a bit more of an emotional response.
These are characters you’ve come to know, and some story sequences are a bit more riveting than in the first part. Unfortunately the silent protagonist element really pulls you out of the narrative at times, and Deanna is one of the worst protagonists in the franchise. I liked the way that the story established itself between the two books, and I would say in terms of plot things only get stronger in the second part.
The first thing you’ll notice in regards to gameplay is that the exploration sequences have been completely cut out. You can no longer explore towns, a world map, or anything at all really. To be honest this is what really turned me off from Shining Force CD in the first place. When I finally gave it a chance this aspect grew on me. It made me realize that towns were superfluous in the first two titles on the Sega Genesis.
I always wanted to just get to the next battle as fast as possible, and the fluff has been cut out here. Towns aren’t completely absent though. Between battles you can access static screens where you have three options. The first is to speak with your advisor to revive or cure units. You can also switch out your party members here, equip weapons, or switch items.
Honestly that’s all you need. I never thought I would say it, but the streamlined approach to gameplay here actually benefits the franchise’s formula. You can egress from battle, quickly revive or cure your party members, and jump back in within a matter of seconds. I expected to hate this, but Shining Force CD made me wish the other games were more streamlined. The interace is also extremely well done despite a few things being renamed.
It took me a bit to get used to selecting the ‘help’ option to revive characters instead of it being front and center in the menu like in churches in the first two titles. Unfortunately there’s no way to store items with the advisor like in past titles, nor can you make new items using ore you find. It’s more limited for sure, but I prefer this system honestly.
The battle system is classic Shining Force in the best sense. You move characters across grid based maps and perform actions based on range. Typically offensive units can only strike foes that are right next to them. Magic users have more range with their spells, as do archers. The battle system relies a lot on tactics that you yourself create. You can lure enemies away from groups, separate your forces to divide and strike, and more. The sheer amount of options is astounding and no two battles will play out like each other.
You’ll also find that changing your approach will garner significantly different results. This dynamic is what makes Shining Force so special, and that same element is in place here in Shining Force CD. If you get stuck you can simply try something else and often this experimentation is the key to success here.
If there’s one area regarding battles where Shining Force CD surpasses the other installments it’s in the scenarios themselves. Early on in book 1 you’ll have an encounter where you have to actually find weapons while fending off foes. In other instances you’ll have to contend with your forces being specifically divided by terrain and unable to meet up until later. In other instances you’ll have enemies that explode to damage everyone in their vicinity, or environmental elements that damage all characters in their path.
While this isn’t exactly new to the franchise the ways in which these were incorporated makes Shining Force CD feel unique. In this sense I would say this installment feels more advanced than both the original and even it’s sequel. Also, you can still find treasure but chests are only present in battlefields. This is okay, but in some battles I didn’t like the distraction.
Unfortunately because Shining Force CD is a remake it lacks some features that were present in part 2. The one I miss the most is branching promotions. Characters only have one change they can make to their class when they reach level ten. You have the same knights, warriors, priests, and mage classes that were in the original titles. There are a few others, but they are also based on unique jobs in the Sega Genesis games.
A few even return such as Domingo which is a flying squid that can use magic. While most characters join automatically as you progress through the story but many are hidden. Typically these require you just to interact with elements in the environment which is simple enough, but the game gives you no clue as to where they are. If you’re not following a guide you have to experiment.
Honestly I was a little disappointed by the character line-up here. In the past titles I had to make tough decisions as to who to bring and those that I would leave in headquarters. That’s because there were so many good choices and I couldn’t decide who would be more useful. Sadly that’s not a problem in both books in Shining Force CD. The characters that join the force generally aren’t that interesting. I found myself sticking with the original line-up and never had a problem selecting the others.
That’s because so many of the characters are objectively better choices than others. The rubber banding experience system also returns here limiting potential grinding to keep the difficulty at an even level throughout the adventure. I really wish Sega had found a way to fix this issue because building up my party is the best part of the Shining Force experience.
Shining Force CD isn’t purely a remake. Sega included additional content in the form of books 3 and 4. To unlock them you must not only complete the first two scenarios but also find a special item hidden away. Let’s start with book 3. It’s a continuation of the story, but has no significant revelations. Instead it’s more of a test with characters from both books. Stats and items are carried over from the main game.
It’s a true challenge with the absolute most difficult maps in the franchise history. I really liked it, but got frustrated often. It’s short, but very sweet. Book 4 can best be considered a boss run of sorts. You battle against all of the strongest opponents you’ve faced in this game. It’s interesting, but hardly can be considered on par with the other parts.
The most disappointing element of Shining Force CD at a glance is the graphics. It released after Shining Force II, but is clearly a step below it. The visuals are more reminiscent of the original title but with some upgrades. Shining Force CD clearly fits in between the two mainline games in terms of visuals. You have animated elements such as water in the backgrounds, but character designs are a bit limited.
The animations too lack details found in the second game. At least everything is colorful thanks to the upgraded pallette of the Sega CD hardware. I was expecting something a little more from the visuals considering it came out on a more powerful system, but I’ve no major complaints. The soundtrack is all redbook audio which sounds really nice, but there are few tracks. The music repeats often, but I like it plenty enough.
