by Brian - June 26, 2004

With the recent release of the Classic NES series from Nintendo to the GBA, it�s no wonder Sega would also want to cash in on some classic franchises. Well, released this month was a resurrection of the classic Shining Force series from the Genesis in Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon. The original was one of the first RPGs to introduce turn-based combat into an RPG, but with new TBS games like Advance Wars and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the GBA�s roster, will this classic be able to tread the water?

Clich�

The story can be described, quite simply, as clich�, but just because it�s an overused story, that doesn�t mean it doesn�t keep you interested. You are Max, a hero who suffers from amnesia. He can�t remember anything past one year ago, when he washed up on the shores of Guardiana. When Runefaust attacks their peaceful city, Max creates and leads the Shining Force against the armies of Runefaust, and in the process discovers a diabolical plot to awaken the Dark Dragon.

Throughout the journey you will encounter various quests, new characters to join you, and a lot of battles. Like I said earlier, the combat is turn-based much like Advance Wars. You may have up to twelve members in your team at once, with about thirty to choose from by the end of the game. Each person has their own personality, and statistics such as speed, defense, and health. There are also a few different races. All of the Knights are Centaurs, and there are a few Dwarves here and there. The rest of them are humans. As far as combat goes, it�s pretty simple. Each character gets a turn to move, attack, or use an item. Order is determined by level so the enemy monsters may go before some of your characters. Max is easily the most powerful of your heroes in terms of attack power, but sending him against the enemy alone will do you no good because if he dies, the battle is over, whereas if any other party members die, they just become unconscious. They can then be revived at the temple after the battle. Some battles also have different victory conditions such as destroying all enemies, or killing their leader, and they all have a reward that can only be gotten if you win before a fixed number of turns. Provided you don�t do something stupid, most of the rewards are easy to get. There is also quite a bit of strategy involved in combat. In most situations, you won�t want to get your heroes separated because they will most likely be ambushed. It�s a good idea to keep groups of thee at least so you don�t get ganged up on.

The game�s story is separated into several chapters. Each chapter will have you in different cities scattered throughout the world and once you finish a chapter you cannot go back. That�s not really a bad thing though because there is no reason to go back, unless you wanted to talk to random people. Each town will have a tavern where you can reminisce with your party, some shops, and a temple where you revive fallen partners. They will also have somewhere to get your quests, which is usually the King�s castle. You can stop and talk to all the different people in each town, but it is not necessary. Some of the people are amusing, however, so I made a point to stop and talk to everyone.

I�ve seen better on the GBA�

Although the graphics have been improved upon from the original Shining Force on the Genesis, I have seen much better graphics on the GBA. That isn�t to say they are bad, but some parts of the world seem like they just pasted the same sprite twenty or so times in one screen. For example, when you climb the castle�s tower in act one, since the view is more isometric than top down, I expected to see the ground below in the background, but it was just a blue sky with no variation in the color at all. It was somewhat disappointing. Also, the battle sequence scenes become tired and worn out after the first chapter or two because they are always the same. They could have used a little more variation there as well.

Needs More Tunes

I really enjoyed the music in this game, but the number of tracks in the game is very limited. There are only a few town melodies, and one or two battle sequence songs. As good as these tracks are, they do get a little bit tired after a few chapters.

As for the sound effects, they fit the game really well. They aren�t so much realistic as they are� cartoony? That isn�t the exact word I�d like to use, but they sound similar to other games of its time, and I don�t have any gripes about them, so none here either.

Fun Factor

Overall, the most important factor in determining whether a game is good or not is if it�s fun, and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is definitely fun. If you like turn based strategy, or RPGs, or both, you will definitely enjoy this game. If you haven�t had much experience in either genre, this would be a very good game to start with because it is a bit more simplified than others in its genre. When your character levels, you do not get to choose what statistics of your character increase, so there is no chance to build a character up only to have him or her be utterly useless when you find out you chose a difficult path. Some may not like that, but if you are new to these games, you will appreciate the simplicity.

Check This Game Out

Sure, the game has a few flaws here and there, but it is a classic for a reason. It�s a solid game in a great series. If you have some money to blow and are looking for a new GBA game, do yourself a favor and get this game. You won�t be disappointed.