Later, my friends also got hooked and everyone had his favorite character. There were nights we sat there with the eight of us sitting around the tv just watching how our heroes were victorious over Zeon's evil forces. We renamed the characters with the cheat to our own names and started to yell for our own character. Later on, my addiction died out a little and I gave my friends the possibility to play.

And did they! One guy came and played so often that my father couldn't watch tv even if he wanted to. He was plundering the fridge, torturing my holy sanctum, the Megadrive! There seemed no choice left but to sell my Megadrive to him. For the meager sum of 225 guilders and two cd roms I abandoned that which I enjoyed most, to turn my interest towards the Personal Computer and later on the Internet. Ok, enough about me. Let's talk about the game, Shining Force 2. The story: One night ago, a strange mouse-like figure has stolen the two sacred jewels, the Jewel of Light and the Jewel of Darkness, not realizing that these two jewels sealed a gate between this world and an evil dimension. That night a huge storm awakens all the citiziens on Grans Island. An ill omen? Of course! You are Bowie, a young boy who lives in the town of Granseal near the Ancient Tower. At this time Bowie is nothing more than a child with a wooden sword and a spell to flee from the battlefield. As you get lessons at school from Mr. Astral, a messenger from the King arrives. Astral is called upon for advice, leaving the pupils alone. Sarah wants to find out what's wrong and proposes to go to the castle. Chester doesn't really feel like it, but eventually he too is (hopefully!)convinced. At this time both of them join your party and we have got a party that will eventually grow out to be the Shining Force!

Graphics and Sound

The graphics:
Though Shining Force 2 is made in the old-school tower perspective
the graphics are quite extraordinary, especially if compared to
Shining Force 1. The battle animations have been made with great
care and effort, and the result is quite exceptional. There isn't
really a bad thing to say about the graphics...

The sound: Well, either you love it or you hate it. That's all I can say about it. Again they've put a lot of effort in it, and you will notice that.

Gameplay

The gameplay is addictive. Very addictive. I've heard several people who played the game every day for weeks, suddenly realizing:"Why am I playing this crap?". That should make my point clear. Whether you like it or not, it is addictive. So what makes it addictive then? The answer is quite simple actually. The battle engine. Some compare it with Final Fantasy tactics but I feel it's truly unique. The battles are turn based and they take place on the normal map. Think of Heroes of the Might and Magic, but then on the overland map instead of that seperate screen. Every time you attack someone, the screen changes into a small video displaying your attack and providing you the outcome. A talk like this as if it is just a plain thing, but it isn't. It's one of the things that make Shining Force special. After this video the next character or enemy can begin his turn. The map is different with every battle, simply because they continually use the place you are exactly as the battlefield. The terrain type affects your damage("land effect") and your movement(Notice how slow centaurs are be in forests!). Add to this an Artificial Intelligence that is so well crafted that it's downright annoying and you've got just the right formula for an addictive battle system. What if I don't have a Megadrive or the game? Well, first I recommend that you download the emulator and the ROM to try it out. You can find those things at www.emulnews.com. If you like it I suggest buying the Megadrive or the game. The best way to do this is either to search a game magazine for it or to visit www.Ebay.com and search for it there. Don't expect to pay much as the game is already five years old and the Megadrive is over ten years old.