However, we love exploring the more obscure side of gaming, and so it was only a matter of time before we got our hands on copies of all three games. Since all of the games are so similar in a structural sense, we decided to condense our review of all three games into one single review.
In Scenario 1, subtitled God Warrior of the Kingdom, things start off in the floating city of Saraband. Negotiations are due to take place there between the Aspinian Republic and the Destonian Empire, as war threatens to break out between the two nations. However, things go awry when the Destonian Emperor is kidnapped, and the Aspinian King is framed for the crime! As Synbios, a young general in the Aspinian army eager to prove his worth, it’s up to you to fight off the Imperial forces, uncover the sinister conspiracy, and prove the King’s innocence.
Scenario 2, subtitled Target: Child of God, also starts off in Saraband, but this time from the perspective of Medion, youngest prince of the Destonian Empire who discovers a sinister link between several high-ranking Destonian officials and a mysterious cult that has surfaced in the country of late. This “Bulzome” cult is clearly heavily involved in the politics of the war. Concerned for the well-being of his people, Medion sets out to uncover the truth.
Both games feature a minor character called Julian, a mercenary from the tiny kingdom of Enrich who originally arrives in the country seeking the Vandal (the Shining universe’s version of evil personified) known as Galm, who apparently killed his father (nicely picking up on a plot thread from the previous game, Shining the Holy Ark, which took place several years beforehand). In Scenario 3, subtitled Bulzome Rising, Julian leaves behind the problems of the Aspinia-Destonia war to track the sinister Bulzome cult to their source. Can he stop the true mastermind of the war and prevent an ancient evil from spreading across the world?
It’s very clear that the good folks at Camelot really were planning to pull out all the stops for this iteration in the series, and for the most part they succeed. The plot is full of intricate details and mysteries to be unravelled, and some surprisingly complex motivations surfacing from heroes and villains alike, and it’s engaging enough to maintain interest throughout the whole trilogy.
The game plays in a similar way to many of the other Shining Force games, as you end up in one or more fights between resting and buying equipment in towns. Battles are not overly complicated, using a traditional turn-based strategy system, but they do have a number of elements that need to be taken into account. Your unit’s movement is affected by their stats and the terrain, and certain weapon classes are stronger against others (for example, arrow-class weapons are strong against flying units). The weapon system is among the cleverest features; as characters perform actions with a certain weapon type equipped, they’ll become more proficient with that type and gain access to more powerful abilities. A ‘friendship’ system is also in place; when characters fight together, they regard each other as friends, which gives stat boosts when they’re stood next to each other.
There’s a good variety of units, and getting the most out of each and every one is pretty much vital; you’ll need everyone’s help during and at the very end of the game, so picking favourites is not advisable. While not as deep as some of the more recent strategy RPGs (like Nippon Ichi’s products), the battle system still does allow for some decent tactical depth and gives you plenty to mull over. Several battles also throw in twists, such as trying to save people before they get killed, forcing your team to split up or throwing in environmental hazards. As has been mentioned, some of these directly influence events in the other games, so there’s even a decent bit of replay value in finding out how different actions affect the series.
The graphics generally remain of a good standard throughout. Most of the time the backgrounds are rendered in 3D with the characters made of Lego-like sprites (complete with that strange ‘walking on the spot’ animation that seems to be a Shining Force tradition). Where the graphics really kick into gear is in the cut-scenes whenever you characters perform an action in battle. Rendered in full 3D, these can become quite spectacular towards the end of the game, as your characters’ abilities strengthen. Special moves and magic spells can trigger veritable fireworks on-screen, especially in the later stages of Scenario 3, and these displays show that the Saturn was capable of truly great graphics if developers knew what they were doing.
However, while the game is thoroughly enjoyable with a lot to do, there are problems with it, particularly in the PAL release of Scenario 1. The games may seem too linear for some tastes, with little in the way of side-quests (aside from the tombs that can be opened up and explored in some battles, and searching for hidden characters), and without the other two chapters the Synchronicity system can seem like little more than a gimmick. While the Japanese voice acting is decent, the English voice acting in the PAL release is embarrassing, killing any sense of tension in the battles because of the laughably bad quality. The script is translated rather badly, and strangely there are some serious sound glitches that are not present in the Japanese release.
As stand-alone games, any of the scenarios would stand up well on their own, providing enjoyable additions to the classic strategy-RPG series. However, it is very clear that the games were all intended to be played together, something which was lost on many European and American Saturn owners. As far as Scenario 1 goes, Gamestyle would advise you to find a copy of the Japanese original if you have the means to play import games on your Saturn and don’t own the PAL version; the Japanese version is more common than the PAL one, and doesn’t have the annoying sound and translation problems. However, it is possible to use a save from the PAL version with Japanese copies of Scenarios 2 and 3, so everyone’s a winner.
Obviously, since Scenarios 2 and 3 were never officially translated they may be hard for non-Japanese speakers to follow. However, dedicated fans have taken a lot of time and effort to translate the scripts from both games, meaning gamers no longer have to guess what’s happening. These translations are available at Shining Force Central (http://www.shiningforcecentral.com) and really are a must if you’re planning to import the games.
According to press interviews, Sega’s atrocious handling of the trilogy’s release was a key factor in prompting Camelot Software Planning to sever their ties with Sega. It’s a real shame, as more recent Shining games have suffered a noticeable downturn in quality. More fool Sega for mishandling things so badly, as the Shining Force 3 Trilogy really is one of the finest, most ambitious examples of Japanese RPGs that has ever existed and it deserved to be enjoyed by the largest audience possible. If you’re a serious Saturn collector then this thoroughly engaging trilogy is an essential addition to your collection.
