Welcome to Shining Force World    

 

 

 
 
Developer
Sonic and Camelot
Publisher
Sega
Format
Sega Saturn
 
 
 
 
Review : Shining Force 3: Scenario 1
Imagine it, you're a republican soldier, the son of a famous general. Your negotiating peace with the empire, and all of a sudden you have to escort the king back to republican soil. Not so hard but consider this; your army consists of you, a blue haired centaur, and a couple of mages. You are right on the wrong side of imperial territory (and the imperials want to kill you) and a bizarre religious sect called Bulzome wants to kill you, you have also escaped from a neutral town being chased by their troops (who funnily enough want to kill you as well). Not a pretty picture is it? The situation gets worse and worse throughout the game and even at the end, there are still many problems (not that it really is the proper ending). So you'd better recruit more people, get more battle experience, and sharpen that blade cos Shining force 3 is no stroll in the park…

 

Synbios investigates the town of Malorie

 

Gameplay

I've never played such an addictive RPG in my life; the battles are so much fun to play and the strategy works very well. It does not get any better than this, Final Fantasy's battle system quivers in comparison with a REAL battle system. Strategy is required; Final Fantasy has a huge lack of interaction but if you want control, then baby does Shining Force 3 give you it. It's a turn-based system very similar to Sakura wars (Sakura what?), but the varied locations and enemy's make for a unique battle experience every time, the story line also adds a huge sense of urgency to each battle. The battles are truly intense and I really believe them to be the best around. You can fight the enemy and press forward or you can take your time and check out some ruins on the way, you get to fight on the roof of a train, in ancient catacombs, and in a volcano! You will meet imperials, Evil Priests, Traitors of the republic, masked monks, Dragons, Golems and of course old men with beards, and the all time RPG essential…big eared people. Listening to me would make you think that battle is all you do in SF3, but to be honest its all you WANT to do, even with superbly detailed, fairly large towns with plenty of people to talk to you can't wait to get to the next battle. But if you're a more patient gamer you'll find that there is more to the walking around bit than you think. The secret characters are what I'm talking about, and those secret weapons too and don't forget the all-important mithril. Talk to people, cut down other people (or demons), but try not to get too hooked. You'll find that the hours slip away when sitting in front of this game.

 

Masquirin causes some damage

 

Graphics

They're good, for Saturn game anyway. Many of the special effects had never been seen before at the time, even on playstation. But even now they still stand their ground, with the secret magic attacks looking particularly lovely. The game runs smoothly enough, it slows down occaisionally but its definitely one of the tidier Saturn games.

 

"Prepare to die!" - Dantares has arguably the coolest voice in the game

 

Sound

Pretty damn good if you ask me. it fits the atmosphere perfectly. Go to shining force headquarters and check out the midi files to download to get a better idea of the music in this truly epic game. But it isn't all good news; a hero should have a mighty heroic voice, which strikes fear into his opponents, not a goofball one like Synbios (our hero for this game). They should have done better with the voices; they should've either done so or not bothered at all, because the voices are laughable…except Dantares, his voice is cool, and masquirin? Well we can't hear her properly and we'll let you judge the others. Music 10/10 Voices 5/10

Lastability

UPPERS

  • Huge battles, Some of which can last up to half an hour!
  • You will come back for more ·
  • Only part 1 of three…
DOWNERS
  • …But we will never play parts two and three in English
  • Nothing else to moan about!

Ratings

Gameplay

10
Graphics
9
Sound
7
Lastability
9
Overall
10
Reviewed by: Edgemaster
Date: Sometime
 
 
 
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