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Easily portable version of a fantastic classic game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 22
Date: October 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is exactly the same as the first Shining Force title for the Sega Genesis. The game itself is a little on the aged side, but part of the reason this one was chosen for the GBA is that it has great gameplay, great control, and is all around really fun. After Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force is the game that really took the Shining Series in a new great direction (other than Shining the Holy Ark and Shining Wisdom) of epic battles across a vast world with armies of monsters. The cast of characters you control is more imaginative than even Final Fantasy ever has been, as is the variety of maps, items, and magic. Warriors, Priests, Wizards, Knights, Clerics, Monks, Dragons, Archers, Wolfmen, Robots, Mages, Sorcerors, Paladins, Samurai, Ninjas, Chipmunks and more are all under your control as you chose where, when and how to fight your enemy, using the terrain to your advantage (hopefully...) The control scheme is very simple, with menus to select all the actions similar to Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star, which is as effective today for strategy games as it was twenty years ago. While not as long as the epic Shining Force II, Shining Force is actually quite a long game concidering how long the average Genesis game was. Not only that, but Shining Force has a deep storyline that (while it is only part of the Shining Series story--go to shiningforcecentral.com for more) is surprisingly engaging for adults and children alike. Shining Force was a must have for any Sega fan or any RPG fan, and this title is just as much a must have for anyone with a GBA. One thing that is really great is that you don't really expect too much from a GBA because its just not as powerful as a console videogame system, so this game doesn't come across as dated as it is. Now all we have to do is sit back and hope that Sega will release Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force II, and Shining Force Gaiden on the GBA too.

A Near Perfect Remake

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: August 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a nearly perfect remake of one of the original console Strategy RPG games. The original featured a colorful cast of characters, an enjoyable enough story -- bare bones, but functional -- and the essentials of SRPG gameplay: take your force of heroes (including Elven archers, magicians, Dwarven warriors, and Centaur knights) and maneuver them around on a grid, defeating enemies to collect experience points and level up.

The original never strived for a huge amount of depth in its gameplay; there was never much min-maxing to be found, never a need to worry about weather or birthdays, and only the most important character statistics (such as strength, defense, and so on). ROTDD maintains that simplistic charm. Its strength is not in pushing one's tactical brainpower to the very limits, or forcing one to micromanage a dozen different factors for every character. Rather, the game just wants you to enjoy the now tried-and-true gameplay it perfected over ten years ago.

Everything that made the original great is still here, only made better. ROTDD features graphics and music which are highly reminiscent of the original, yet push the limits of the GBA system to the maximum. The story has been enhanced with a significant amount of new dialogue and new characters. The game's returning characters come equipped with a good deal more depth -- talk to them in Headquarters, and you can slowly learn about their backstories.

If you've never tried a Strategy RPG before, this is the one to get. The magic, weapon, item, and level-up systems are nearly identical to those found in traditional roleplaying games. Shining Force doesn't have the aggressive difficulty level of a Fire Emblem, nor the heavy micromanaging element of Final Fantasy Tactics, making it ideal for someone new to the genre.

The original was a classic, and ROTDD proves that a classic can be redone successfully.

They didn't just remake the game, they IMPROVED the game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I started off discovering Shining Force II back on the old Genesis system, so of course when I fell in love with that game I turned quickly to the old Shining Force I. I really didn't like it as much, it just was more bland and annoying (particularly the promotion aspect). So I was a bit hesistant with this game (which is, if you haven't picked up on it by now, a remake of the Genesis Shining Force I). However, when I did finally get it and played it I was amazed with the improvements added to the remake.

First of all, this game has added in clear bonuses. Before each battle the game will lay out the victory conditions and also give you a clear bonus (usually to win the battle in a certain number of turns). Accomplishing that clear bonus nets you either cash or a weapon that cannot be bought for another town or two. These clear bonuses really spice up battles, as it's no longer a matter of whether you can win or not (you almost always can) but whether you can win FAST enough (which is not nearly as easy).

The second major improvement is cards. There are 55 player and boss cards strewn about the world for you to find. The player cards are obtained by searching through towns and talking to people while the boss cards are obtained by killing bosses with certain people landing the final blow. Hunting these cards obviously adds a lot, but it doesn't stop there. A new character, Mawlock, has been added to the game. Mawlock's big draw is that he EQUIPS these cards and they give him various attributes etc. So not only can you now hunt for cards, you can use them in a variety of different ways to customize a character's abilties.

And the final big improvement is the revamping of the promotion system. In the old Genesis version promoting your main charcter made him so weak he could only stand on the back lines and watch. This has thankfully been taken care of and promotions, while they do weaken your characters a bit at first, are made much, much more managable.

If you played either of the original Shining Force games for the Genesis this is a must-have game. For those new to the strategy RPG realm, this is a quality game to start in on as well. With the new remakes and improvements this is not only one of the best RPGs for the GBA, but one of the best RPGs out there right now period. This is a game every RPG fan should have.

A great Old school RPG get even better!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: June 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

A great game gets remade and boy does it look good!

Sound- 4.5 out of 5
the music and sound effects are great but the reason i gave it a 4.5 is because it seems like they tried to do such a nice job on the music in the game but really not many people would notice it because really not many people play gameboy with sound in the first place, it just waste the batteries

Story 5 out of 5
The story in this game is still the original Shining Force but is given a small twist with 3 new characters being a ninja, a guru, and even get this a guy who does special tricks with these cards i gave it a five because it all flowed in with the original story perfectly!

Graphics 5 out of 5
the graphics in this game are wonderful for a gameboy advanced game, they are mainly like the graphics from shing force CD only with all new battle sprites witch give the game a new and even better look

Replay Value 5 out of 5
I thought that this desserved a special section all for itself. a Very nice new feature is (SPIOLERS!!!) every time you beat the game there will be a new option opened up called new game+ where the difficulty of the game get harder and every time you beat it it gets harder making you want to test your abilities.

Mainly if you are a fan of games like Advanced Wars, Fire Emblem or Golden Sun you will love this game and play it for hours and hours nonstop!

Old-School game still delivers fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: July 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I used to play Sega's Shining RPG games on the Genesis and, later, Saturn, and I loved the Shining Force games. Of course, RPGs have gotten a lot more complex and sophisticated since then, but every once in a while it's fun to go back to the old school. The first Shining Force game has made a great transition to the GBA, with the original music and game play intact, plus some new features. It's not a particularly challenging game compared to some of what's out there now, but i was surprised how much I still enjoyed playing this game again. How about it, Sega? Can we have Shining Force 2 and 3 too?

One of my Favorites

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While not very complex, and certainly not having cutting edge graphics, this game is a lot of fun and very addictive. Along the lines of Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre or Fire Emblem, this is a turn based fantasy. An interesting story leads you from battle to battle until the end. I would certainly recommend this game.

Excellent game and excellent remake!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Shining Force was released in 1993 on the Sega Genesis system. It was basically the strategy RPG game that started the genre that includes Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and others.

Shining Force was an excellent game with great characters, battles, plot, and everything else you'd expect and desire. I, personally, spent countless hours engaged with the game, never wanting to put it down or stop.

The ensuing sequels and prequels to the game never really captured what the original did, however. But, a new jumpstart to the game has arrived. Now on the Gameboy Advance, Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a direct port from the Genesis version, but contains very nice updated graphics, sounds, AI, story elements, gameplay elements, and more. The new features don't destory the game and make it some 2004 version, rather it takes what the game was and improves upon it.

This game and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are both extremely entertaining and excellent Gameboy Advance strategy RPGs. Make sure you pick up Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, because you'll be glad you did, and because it's one of the best strat-RPGs ever created. This is a five-star game all the way!

SHINING FORCE IS AWESOME

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: June 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Shining Force is such a good game! Great music, okay graphics.

Those bastards

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: January 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

How could they ruin such an awesome game? They made the AI better, which despite what you might think, is not a positive thing. Enemies will hardly stand in a good position to use magic. So mages/wizards have pretty much become obosolete (which were some of the most useful characters in the original). Also, the first playthrough was w?y too easy. I didn't even die once. My main character killed Darksol in 3 hits. Not to mention that card using character. If you clone your strongest character, there's no way you can lose. Can you say, overpowered?
Oh, and it's supposed to get harder with every playthrough, but seeing as this remake is so challengeless that you'll never play it more than once, that seems pretty pointless.

But the original was fun. And this one would probably be to if I hadn't played the original. So I'll give it a decent score.

A good game but not the best

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: October 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Shining Force is a solid turn-based strategy RPG. There is a plot but it is just OK, there to drive you into battles. The ensemble cast of characters is huge and you don't really feel attached to them, its more like working toward a full set of chess pieces and then using them to their best effect against each set of opponents.

The battles are sometimes challenging, sometimes not, but they are why you play this game. Not for the graphics, which aren't that good, or the traditional RPG aspects (you aren't given much control over your stats).

For a better game that is similar, try either Fire Emblem for GameBoy Advance or Final Fantasy Tactics for Sony Playstation.

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