It is certainly the most unique looking srpg I have ever seen. Looks nothing like any of the other games like tactics ogre, ff tactics, fire emblem, etc. The hate for the genre might have fueled all the unique aspects of the game and that is great.
A very important thing to keep in mind when talking about Shining Force 1, especially if you are going to compare it to Fire Emblem is the historical context for when it was released. Shining Force 1 is quite a good looking 16-bit Mega Drive game, because of this I see a lot of people that try to compare it against the Snes or even the GBA Fire Emblem games. They then complain about how clunky and slow Shining Force is compared to those, however these are not fair comparisons whatsoever. If you actually look at release dates, Shining Force 1 released the exact same week at Fire Emblem Gaiden (aka. the second Fire Emblem game on the NES). To put it into perspective, Mystery of the Emblem the game that introduced a basic quality of life feature like battle preview would not release for another 2 years.
And it's still faster than Tellius games lol. That said, the first langrisser is even crazier. It release in thatvsame period and already had escape and defense maps many years before thracia.
Frankly, I'd gladly take the clunkiness of Shining Force if it means an actually varied and likeable roster. Fire Emblem's been going on for decades, and not one playable character that simply isn't human.
Hey I can see my movement grid in shining force unlike OG fire emblem 😂. Just a pain to level grind with tons of egress in between redoing battles. SF2 had a gay castle romance book between Astral and king granseal 😂
Same. I, too, was introduced to Shining Force through Sega Smash Pack 2 - which was also a gift from your older sister, who had just gotten back in contact with your mom.
Played Shining Force with my girlfriend when they dropped it on switch online, its crazy how ahead it feels compared to FE for the time it released. It really oozes that old rpg charm and the visual style is great, I think my Golden Sun nostalgia did a lot for me, could tell it was the same people almost immediately from the battle camera angle and text boxes. Always think its nuts that Nintendo got a hold of one of their rival companies rpg studios and eventually just used them almost exclusively for Mario sports games. Loved the town shenanigans, I'll never forget that one town where you go to the shop and the king runs from all the way in the throne room and says "there's no rule saying a king cant run a shop!" Main issue was having to wait for every distant enemy to decide to not do anything. I liked this game enough to beat it, but I never beat 2, despite it doing almost everything better, probably due to some fatigue with its slowness. Domingo's the mvp.
If it weren't for Shining Force 1 and 2 I wouldn't have discovered years later Final Fantasy Tactics and might have not gotten into tabletop Rpg's. Also that Marionette fight is a humbling moment for everyone. AND THE MUSIC OF THAT FIGHT!
I think it's key to have someone on your team with very little idea about conventions, or even disdain for those conventions. That person should probably not be the creative director but back in the 80s and 90s when people's had passion about making games it wasn't so much of a big deal as it is now when corporate suits who don't even know what a video game is supposed to play like are in charge
I agree but they also need to be willing to understand why some of the genre conventions exist. You can't just plug your ears and insist on it being a certain way. To break convention, you need to understand it.
When I visited Japan earlier this year, I made it paramount I get an original copy of the game to put in my collection since it has Tamaki's artwork. Rest in peace, you legend.
Shining Force is the reason I had a Sega Genesis. The box art captivated me so much that I somehow convinced my dad to buy me the game and the system. I played it and the sequel constantly back in the 90's. Other than Battle of Westnoth for Windows, I didn't even know other srpgs existed until I discovered Fire Emblem on the 3ds. Shining Force is still one of my favorite games, and probably the one I have the most hours in.
Man, that's some premium shade you tossed at Altered Beast! Me and my family loved that game growing up, and we still do lol That aside, Shining Force is a top tier recommendation.
I recently went back and watched your LPs of Shining Force 1 and 2 and decided to play them myself, highly recommend others to do the same tbh! Also, the EXP rollover thing is insane, because it was a slog trying to evenly level up my army in 1, but in 2 it almost feels like I can't stop leveling them up by comparison
I definitely need to check out Shining Force sometime, for the reasons you outlined here plus the fact that it was an earlier project by the devs who would go on to make the Golden Sun series, which were some of my most significant childhood JRPGs.
Get used to casting Egress to farm XP. The game doesn’t scale with you and if you don’t farm XP you can get wrecked in third or fourth chapter and have to struggle to level.
I don't hear about the Sega Smash pack too often, but that's how I first experienced it too, outside of Sonic 2, Shining Force was my favorite game in that collection.
Wow, it's nice to hear about another person whose first exposure to Shining Force was through Sega Smash Pack 2. I too was a little kid absolutely enamored with that game back in the day. I was obsessed with, what I would call at the time, "walk-around games" (JRPGs), though my experience at the time was highly limited, mostly just Pokemon and Dragon Quest Monsters. So Shining Force absolutely blew my mind back then, and I still consider it one of my favorite games even now decades later.
My little brother got a Genesis for Christmas one year so he could play Sonic, and while reading the back of the box I saw a screenshot of a dwarf being attacked by a centaur. The graphics were so crisp, and I was a huge D&D nerd, so it took me almost an entire year to track down a copy to buy in my podunk part of Missouri. I played it for a whole 3 day weekend without pause. Changed my life.
I remember being in middle school and unlocking Domingo and instantly heralding him as my favorite srpg unit ever. Fast forward 15 years and this is still the case. Flying, Magic, decent survivability, all wrapped into an adorable package
I like how your story is similar to mine, except mine was a random Genesis ROM pack I was given back when I was like 10 and for some reason, had Shining Force II, but not Shining Force I. So Shining Force II is where my nostalgia lies. I think it definitely helped that it had many DQ inspirations because it goes a long way to making the game and genre as a whole more accessible to more people. The colorful and fun presentation also made it stand out from other contemporaries available in the west. And for all of the awkwardness I find when playing Shining Force I nowadays, I have to give it credit where it's due that without it, Shining Force II wouldn't have had the experience needed to tweak and framework to improve upon.
you can grind levels by killing most enemys on a map but not finishing than casting egress to start the fight over, plus if you hold off promoting characters until around level 20 theyll be more powerful when the level roll back happens..
@@Docktavion yeah.. but its generally certain monsters on each map that drop them.. at the beginning of each map, do the thing where you can look at every enemy and what they are carrying, then make sure they are killed by someone with an open inventory slot
Hmmm, I notice you found the 2 hidden bikini armors for your characters 😁. Aside from that, I remember as a teen reading about this game as an upcoming on Genesis and was saving up every cent I had in anticipation for it coming out. The release date ended up landing on 1 day into our family vacation in Florida and I did NOT have the patience to wait. I begged my family to take me to the local mall that had a Babbages, walked in, and proudly bought it... For $80 BUCKS. Yes kids, cartridge games were EXPENSIVE T.T. This was in 1992 where my minimum wage job got me $4.25 an hour 😂. So we got back to my aunts house where we were staying for vacation and happily read every last line of the manual inside and out. Then went to a video rental store in walking distance and rented a Genesis for the 2 weeks I knew I was gonna be stuck there and played the heck outta this game. Family was all going out shopping and to the beach and I was happily playing and replaying levels to grind EVERY character I could up as strong as I could. Very happy memories 💖. Always happy to see someone else that loved this game as well. Tho admittedly SFII kicked it up a notch HARD and I'd suggest that over SF1 if I knew someone would only play one of them. Still sourly disappointed that SFIII only got it's first of 3 chapters released in the US 😭.
Like you, I too became a fan of this genre due to the Shining Force series. Our difference is that my gateway to the genre as a kid is through the second title. I finally did play all the way through the first game about two years ago, and though I do have issues with it, I can't deny it is a very charming first entry. Loved learning that two of the big team members had zero desire to make a tactics game, and then makes a pretty influential title in the genre! Thanks for the awesome video!
I played Altered Beast and Kid Chameleon as much as I could when I was a kid 5-7 years old, but if I'd had access to Shining Force I'd probably have played the heck out of it. It was another half a decade before I discovered the RPG genre in any of its forms, though - finding out rapidfire about action/adventure RPGs (Zelda, 1997), monster collection RPGs (Pokemon Red/BlueYellow, 1998), and then traditional JRPGs (1999 or 2000, Dragon Warrior 1 & 2). I vaguely knew a game called Dungeons & Dragons existed and that I wasn't allowed to play it before then. Didn't really know anything about it other than 1. Its treatment of the divine is theologically inaccurate (my dad's first cited reason for me not being allowed to play it) 2. People who play it tend to try to transcribe its rules onto other fantasy fiction, limiting their imagination (my dad's second cited reason for me not being allowed to play it) 3. (And my my siblings were VERY insistent on this) it's for girls and boys don't like it (this only made me want it more); my observations of my extended family who DID play it was quite female-heavy (not more than half, but somewhere between 1/3 and 45% from campaign to campaign) So me discovering videogames inspired by D&D in various ways was more or less an accident, yet here I am as a game developer who makes no other genre.
To my knowledge Shining Force was pretty much the only tactical RPG available in Europe in the mid-90s (e.g. no Warsong/Langrisser), so I guess it has a place in the heart of a lot of European players. One of my favorite childhood games was Flame Dragon Knight 2, a Taiwanese DOS game heavily inspired by Shining Force. You could "command all your units" at once (like in Fire Emblem) but in every other aspect it played like Shining Force. I played through it multiple times although I didn't understand a word. Somehow, tactical RPGs / strategy RPGs didn't make it to PC otherwise. All we got was turn based strategy in a more modern setting (e.g. Battle Isle, X-Com, Jagged Alliance) but I found Mages, Knights and Archers much cooler.
Yeah, it's basically the first fight designed to show just how truly dangerous the armies of Runefaust are to the player and that they know they need to try and stop you before you become equally as dangerous to *them*
game: shadow the hedgehog also i really like that "Games [like these] aren't telling stupid stories, they're telling stories that aren't afraid to be stupid." comment. its perfect.
Of course this drops just after I finish Shining Force 2. This would be more surprising if not for the Jogurt video happening already, but the timing is still funny.
I’ve always wanted to give it a shot. Having so many monster type alternatives to traditional units sounds fun. Those battle animations look really neat.
never expected you to cover this! grew up with this game (and especially its sequel) and have a blast every time it comes back. It also has its own flourishing mod community if you ever want to check it out! they’ve done some crazy shit with this game
@@petman515 I suggest going to the Shining Force Central message board for the full details but several things are different. There's Max's backstory where it's mentioned he was found and has amnesia, the character that react to the "fortune teller" tell she's pretty instead of being obviously up to no good. Ah yes, you don't originally start as the Shining Force, the group is initially only know as the remnant of Runefaust Force and you only earn the title of the Shining Force later. In the circus chapter, the town leader actually mention opening the gate for you so that's why you need to talk to him first to leave the town. The Marionnette is actually called Mishaela Doll and that's why she's hyper pissed at you when you defeat it. in fact, when she sink the ships, she mentions how death is too good for you and will have you suffer first before finishing you. When Dark Sol leave you for the first time, it's actually because the priest he fought managed to hurt him enough so he leaves to the zombies the task of finishing you. The Katana is actually a famous Japanese sword (not the Masamune!) but I forgot the name. XD You-know-who is not just Max's brother but his big brother. Domingo has a bunch of "Did you know" trivia quote.
One thing that completely changed my perspective on the game is that it came out only 6 days after Fire Emblem Gaiden. And it's sequel came out a few months before Mystery of the Emblem. Might not matter too much when looking at it today, but it sure makes it sound a whole lot more revolutionary.
I'm more familiar with the GBA Remake. Since it came the same year as Fire Emblem, I can't say exactly which one I played first tbh. Not sure which of the license introduced me to SRPG (it's a trick question, the answer is FFTA), but they've been both dear to me. Funnily enough, I still haven't finished the original yet.
I've probably played this game more than any other game in my whole life, and I"ve played a lot of games. I spent a whole summer as a kid just grinding the last fight over and over to see how far I could take my characters. Got my main to Level 93, and my army to around 49-50. (Like I said, a whole summer.) But i still love coming back to this game. Even the small things that I wish were better (like how ridiculously underpowered Adam is and having to understand "promotion sickness") don't ever keep me from loving this game. And yes, the Marionette is a true test of skill moment for the game, although I'd say the hardest battle proper is the back to back battles with Ramladu. (Not because of him as much as all of those Chimeras and Blue Dragons. Ugh!) I love shamelessly grinding out levels for my dudes. I've probably played the fight against Kane (Cain?) a hundred times (or two hundred). Finding hidden characters was fun, and the characters are (except for Adam) generally well balanced, as are the battles. (And I don't know why, but this always feels absent for me when I play Shining Force II.) A true classic. And if you loved it, I recommend Unicorn Overlord. It's like the second coming of Shining Force in spirit (even if it plays a bit more like Langrisser).
Its cool that someone else had childhood experiences with Sega Smash Pack 2 for the PC haha. Thats how I discovered my love for Sega Genesis games and played Shining Force for the first time.
Sega Smash Pack 2 was also where I was hooked on this game. I played through it so many times, and also had a file that I just kept going through the last map and egressing to get to ridiculous levels. I do wanna add, the game's also got a GBA remake that I put almost as much time into itself. It does introduce some new issues on its own, but it also deals with a lot of the original drawbacks, like lack of weapon variety.
I always come back into this game, be it for the music or the simple yet very captivating story. And after all this time, I never finished it. It feels like if I were to finish the game I would soon forget about it.
Shining Force wasn't just my first SRPG, it was one of my first RPGs period so it will always have a place in my heart. I was a Sega Smash Pack 2 kid. Playing Shining Force also got me into Fire Emblem. But I struggle coming back to it. But since then I've spent so much more time with Fire Emblem, that the mechanical opaqueness of Shining Force just bothers me. Will I double? I dunno. Will I counter? I dunno. Will I miss? I dunno. Also, Shining Force 2 is just better in basically every way so if I really want to scratch the the Shining Force itch, I play that.
We would have a different perception if we were exposed to the early history of srpgs in the real order. Because SF came out before FE even got in the snes, and those games were very rough... so we would have had an impression of a monumental rival to FE, at the time. And SF even outdoes the 1st SNES FE, Mystery of the Emblem, in many points. But since the introduction to FE happened much later, on a superior system, with superior gameplay standards, and superior developer mindset, then the comparison to SF1-2 will be completely unfavorable to those old games. But at their time they were much better than the FE games, that were more clunky.
@@carlosaugusto9821 My introduction to both series were the GBA games, so both made a strong impression. Sadly, that was pretty much Shining Force's swan song...
If Sega wanted to return to SF and give it a total overhaul and modern optimization, similar to what FE got in the GBA and GC/Wii generations, there are good chances SF would have been an extremely solid rival to FE. The fact SF has a unique world and mixes srpg staples with regular rpg staples would immediately make it stand out. It's rare to see rpgs with free roaming navigation, even in the circle of the superpowers of the genre like the FE franchise, FFT and the Ogre franchise. Even nowadays that style is not common... most srpgs tend to imitate the style of FFT and FE. But unfortunately Sega is blind to the potential of a modern high standards 3d reboot of SF, in a scene that is lacking of ambitious projects like the current FE games, and most of the big name games died or are irrelevant, meaning less competition (Ogre, FFT, Front Mission, etc).
I love this game so much that even though I recognized I listened to this vid the other day on another tablet, I let this vid play through again to enjoy the nostalgia.
Shining Force was my gateway SRPG. I had a subscription to Sega Visions as a kid and I got SF The Sword of Hajya for the Game Gear as a kid. I easily sank dozens of hours into it chewing through AA batteries like Tic-Tacs as they only lasted a handful of hours in that beast. One issue of SV had a section on SF II for the Genesis and I was obsessed with it for years, eventually I found a copy at a game store in '96 and convinced my mom to get it for me for my birthday. That game became an obsession and it led me to FF Tactics, and honestly to this day I think the genre peaked there in the '90's, I tried the first Fire Emblem we got here (the one with Lynn) and I hated the permadeath mechanic so never touched it again. There have been a few others that I've liked over the years but very little has managed to grab my attention like these early games did.
I've been replaying Shining Force 1 lately, so this is a nice surprise. I have a pretty similar story, my first ever SRPG that I played was Shining Force 1 via one of the Sega game collections (I think it was Mega Drive Ultimate Collection). I knew nothing about the SRPG genre and I didn't really play that far as a kid but I enjoyed the world of the game and the OST. It was also my gateway into Fire Emblem when I was older. As a whole, despite some of the game's issues, I can't really bring myself to really hate it that much. Sure the unit balance can be... weird (Adam being worse than a literal joke character for example), I love how unique the units are. I love that Shining Force 1 (and also 2) weren't afraid to add units that fitthe fantasy setting, like bird people. The humour still holds up really well. As you said, the game knows when it *should* be silly or serious and it does that quite well. The gameplay, while simple, is fun and I like how you're expected to lose a lot of your units in the major fights. I remember reading somewhere (might've been another RUclips comment) about how Shining Force 2's tone was made as a response to the general seriousness of FE games. Though I haven't found anything about that so this is pretty much a "source: trust me bro" sorta thing.
This is one of my favorite games of all time. I got a degree in software development specifically so I can make a love letter to this game like Stardew Valley is to Harvest Moon
To quote Aslan from Narnia. "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. For I was there when it was written." Nah, but really, I'm glad that somebody made a Shining Force retrospective in 2024. Obviously, anyone who says the Genesis doesn't have RPGs clearly hasn't played Shining Force. Like you and many others, I also experienced it through the SEGA Smash Pack 2 (tbh, that compilation did its job pretty well and I also played Sonic and Vectorman on it but I digress), and it was one of those games that brought my family together, which were few and fair in between. The farthest I made it back then was during the laser eye boss. It also led me down the rabbit hole of the Shining series, especially with emulation becoming more prominent, and I was surprised to find out how deep it really is. You have the sequel obviously, the side games which take place between the first two games (CD, Final Conflict etc.), the prequel which plays more like a dungeon crawler, and the elusive part 3 which is split into three scenarios. *THREE* (Only one of them came in the US but thankfully fan translations exist) and then it went to shit after Camelot left. I'll always have a soft spot for the original Shining Force and its team, and I found it interesting how similar it is to Dragon Quest. Still, the story is definitely one of its strong aspects, it feels like Lord of the Rings with a bit of Monty Python thrown in there. I wish SEGA paid more attention to it (though not for a lack of trying considering the cancelled mobile game...) but I'm glad you did the series justice man.
I haven't played Shining Force 1, but I loved Shining Force 2. It improves on some of the issues you had with Shining Force 1, allows for repeatable fights in the midgame to train units, and has a cute baby turtle unit that you'd better save before its town explodes or I will pop your kneecaps. But seriously, Shining Force 2 was my introduction to SRPGs and is how I eventually fell in love with Advance Wars, FF Tactics Advance, and Fire Emblem. I hope you do a video on it.
I had it back in the day. A neighbor had it so I hunted down a copy second hand and made sure I had it. I never had SF2 but a friend did. I think I borrowed it from him but never finished it. I've still never finished part 2 despite playing Shining Force 1 many times.
Damn, I can hard relate a LOT to how you got into FE. I played I THINK the Smash Pack 2 on a PC in Day Care when I was maybe 6-7? and played a lot of Shining Force & Comix Zone. Neither of them really resonated with me as much though since a lot of my earlier childhood is hazy, but I remember seeing SF footage like 4-5 yrs ago and thinking "YO THATS THE GAME I PLAYED AS A KID" and it did heavily influence my decision to get The Sacred Stones as my first FE. That and Smash of course lol. Maybe I should revisit it some time as an adult... Thanks for sharing your experience & great video!
Giving no real explanation as to WHY the creator didn't like SRPGs and how that made him make his decisions is pretty click baity and lame. Wouldn't have clicked this waste if I knew it was only going to be generic review 9000 for this decades old game.
The examples given of Radiohead, insinuating they're a rock band, and they're not. Then the writer of The Boys that doesn't comicbook heroes and yet he writes a character like HomeLander. Not good examples to support the clickbait.
I've beaten the game several times and never actually noticed the exp not rolling over after leveling up. Shows how much I was paying attention. I did tend to stick to early game characters because i couldn't ve bothered to raise the new ones
One of my favorite games. I just finished streaming it on Twitch before summer started. Started streaming SF2 just got busy and haven't been able to stream since early summer. FFX2001.
I also played Shining Force for the first time on the Sega Smash Pack on the family computer Windows XP PC. Loved playing it. I was excited when I saw Fire Emblem for the first time at a demo kisok (funny enough at Target too, on a GBA SP), and it made me think of Shining Force as well when I played the game at the kiosk. I tend to replay Shining Force every few years or so. As an adult, I was able to play the Fire Emblem games that I missed out on that released here in the USA (and the fan translations of the ones that didn't make it to the USA), since my family couldn't afford a lot of games when we were kids. I'm really happy that Shining Force got me into TRPGs.
I think it's important to have someone on your team that isn;t in lockstep with the "routine" I didn;t really like SRPGs either. SF 1 and 2 are what got me to like them. Also personal hated mission: The long bridge full of laser flowers
Radiohead was a one hit wonder! They completely faded into obscurity, and even though they tried some stuff, it never worked. So your opener needs some work, And Yogurt is a Space Hamster.
YO Straight up exactly the same verbatim for me the moment you started talking about Smash Pack 2! Except my first game was 'Fire Emblem'! I love SF to death, the damn town theme lives rent free in my head & the battle themes really crank up the intensity of how clutch some of the fights can be. Fuqq Marionette lmao I really wish more FE fans would give this game a go. Have you heard of the Shining Force Alternative romhack?
Shining Force 1 and 3 are easily my number 1 favorite RPGS and number 1 underrated games of all time, so merely acknowledging either one positively gets you a like from me (SEGA Smash Pack 2 kids unite). Also you’re wrong; I HAVE felt like playing Altered Beast before. Maybe only to ogle at the all the buff furries, but STILL.
15:20 - _Tao stonks. Tao stonks._ I love Shining Force 1, it's just like FE1 in that its jank is endearing compared to its contemporaries while also just being the right length to enjoy. 2 fixed a lot of 1's issues but more than doubled the length with little to show for it and it doesn't feel as outwardly charming as its predecessor, IMO. (still a decent game though)
FE was much more janky in comparison, because SF was meant to compete with the NES games, that were the only ones at the time. Then the 3rd game, Mystery, came out after SF1 but before SF2. So It was two early janky franchises but SF really looked better, played better, had a more interesting cast, and much more content overall. FE was an on rails experience until much later in Sacred Stones, and there was still little equipment variety in those first 2-3 games, and gimmicks like weapon triangle only started in Genealogy, the 4th game.
I had this game on Mega Drive when I was a kid. I had a real tough time with it since I didn't understand English at the time. Also I was just bad at it in general, I think I only managed to beat the first fight. Still, the starting town theme and the battle theme have been burned into my memory even to this day.
I loved playing this game as a kid would play this for hours and hours. Plus I didn't know you could down level your spells so used the spells at max level tell about mid game.
My brother was playing one of these relatively recently (at the time of writing this), he picked it up because he has a fascination with games from our era (SNES) and older from systems we didn't have at the time (we only has SNES/Gameboy at the time... so systems like Sega).... he didn't get far. I'm far more the type to play SRPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics than him. Never did get into Fire Emblem, couldn't get into it's permadeath at the time, and it's weird obsession with romance systems now.
Shining Force 2 did many things better than the first, exploration for example, was far less linear and there was the ability to go back to previous maps and engage in additional fights to grind xp.
I legit got into both Shining Force and Fire Emblem the exact same ways, through Sega Smash Pack 2 and Sacred Stones looking like Shining Force. Are you my clone?
Shining Force is an amazing game but the absolute best version of the game is the GBA version which adds new characters, maps, spells, NG+ and the absolutely amazing Card system that completely changes the game play. You don't seem to know about it because if you did you would have gone on for half the video about how awesome this version of the game is
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Passion goes both ways. You'll be amazed by what you could create fueled by what you hate.
It is certainly the most unique looking srpg I have ever seen.
Looks nothing like any of the other games like tactics ogre, ff tactics, fire emblem, etc.
The hate for the genre might have fueled all the unique aspects of the game and that is great.
@Renwoxing13 if you understand why you hate something you can make it what you want it to be instead, I guess
A very important thing to keep in mind when talking about Shining Force 1, especially if you are going to compare it to Fire Emblem is the historical context for when it was released. Shining Force 1 is quite a good looking 16-bit Mega Drive game, because of this I see a lot of people that try to compare it against the Snes or even the GBA Fire Emblem games. They then complain about how clunky and slow Shining Force is compared to those, however these are not fair comparisons whatsoever. If you actually look at release dates, Shining Force 1 released the exact same week at Fire Emblem Gaiden (aka. the second Fire Emblem game on the NES). To put it into perspective, Mystery of the Emblem the game that introduced a basic quality of life feature like battle preview would not release for another 2 years.
And it's still faster than Tellius games lol.
That said, the first langrisser is even crazier. It release in thatvsame period and already had escape and defense maps many years before thracia.
Frankly, I'd gladly take the clunkiness of Shining Force if it means an actually varied and likeable roster. Fire Emblem's been going on for decades, and not one playable character that simply isn't human.
Hey I can see my movement grid in shining force unlike OG fire emblem 😂. Just a pain to level grind with tons of egress in between redoing battles. SF2 had a gay castle romance book between Astral and king granseal 😂
The original Fire Emblem and its sequel are practically unplayable compared to this gem.
Thank you.
I too was introduced to Shining Force through Sega Smash Pack 2. It was a gift from my older half sister who just got back into contact with our mom.
Same
Same. I, too, was introduced to Shining Force through Sega Smash Pack 2 - which was also a gift from your older sister, who had just gotten back in contact with your mom.
I'm a simple man. I see Shining Force, I click like.
My dude called it a "solid" title when, in fact, it's a beloved classic.
oh shiny
Played Shining Force with my girlfriend when they dropped it on switch online, its crazy how ahead it feels compared to FE for the time it released. It really oozes that old rpg charm and the visual style is great, I think my Golden Sun nostalgia did a lot for me, could tell it was the same people almost immediately from the battle camera angle and text boxes. Always think its nuts that Nintendo got a hold of one of their rival companies rpg studios and eventually just used them almost exclusively for Mario sports games.
Loved the town shenanigans, I'll never forget that one town where you go to the shop and the king runs from all the way in the throne room and says "there's no rule saying a king cant run a shop!"
Main issue was having to wait for every distant enemy to decide to not do anything. I liked this game enough to beat it, but I never beat 2, despite it doing almost everything better, probably due to some fatigue with its slowness.
Domingo's the mvp.
If it weren't for Shining Force 1 and 2 I wouldn't have discovered years later Final Fantasy Tactics and might have not gotten into tabletop Rpg's. Also that Marionette fight is a humbling moment for everyone. AND THE MUSIC OF THAT FIGHT!
That fight is probably the reason a lot of people quit the game. Which is sad, its worth the effort
I think it's key to have someone on your team with very little idea about conventions, or even disdain for those conventions. That person should probably not be the creative director but back in the 80s and 90s when people's had passion about making games it wasn't so much of a big deal as it is now when corporate suits who don't even know what a video game is supposed to play like are in charge
I agree but they also need to be willing to understand why some of the genre conventions exist. You can't just plug your ears and insist on it being a certain way. To break convention, you need to understand it.
When I visited Japan earlier this year, I made it paramount I get an original copy of the game to put in my collection since it has Tamaki's artwork. Rest in peace, you legend.
:'(
5:30 no he's an armored armadillo
SUPER FIGHTING ROBOT, MEGAM-
Bro is a Prototype Mega Man X boss
@@gegor41311 As a MegaMan fan, I appreciate you making this joke. lol
@@megamix5403 thanks, check out megaman maker update 1.9 btw.
FIIIIGHTING TO SAAAVE..
THE WORLD
Shining Force is the reason I had a Sega Genesis. The box art captivated me so much that I somehow convinced my dad to buy me the game and the system. I played it and the sequel constantly back in the 90's. Other than Battle of Westnoth for Windows, I didn't even know other srpgs existed until I discovered Fire Emblem on the 3ds. Shining Force is still one of my favorite games, and probably the one I have the most hours in.
"Battle of Westnoth" being mentioned warms my heart
Man, that's some premium shade you tossed at Altered Beast! Me and my family loved that game growing up, and we still do lol
That aside, Shining Force is a top tier recommendation.
I recently went back and watched your LPs of Shining Force 1 and 2 and decided to play them myself, highly recommend others to do the same tbh!
Also, the EXP rollover thing is insane, because it was a slog trying to evenly level up my army in 1, but in 2 it almost feels like I can't stop leveling them up by comparison
I definitely need to check out Shining Force sometime, for the reasons you outlined here plus the fact that it was an earlier project by the devs who would go on to make the Golden Sun series, which were some of my most significant childhood JRPGs.
Get used to casting Egress to farm XP. The game doesn’t scale with you and if you don’t farm XP you can get wrecked in third or fourth chapter and have to struggle to level.
I don't hear about the Sega Smash pack too often, but that's how I first experienced it too, outside of Sonic 2, Shining Force was my favorite game in that collection.
Wow, it's nice to hear about another person whose first exposure to Shining Force was through Sega Smash Pack 2. I too was a little kid absolutely enamored with that game back in the day. I was obsessed with, what I would call at the time, "walk-around games" (JRPGs), though my experience at the time was highly limited, mostly just Pokemon and Dragon Quest Monsters. So Shining Force absolutely blew my mind back then, and I still consider it one of my favorite games even now decades later.
Okay you sold me I'll try the game. I do have it in my Genesis collection on Steam so now I have an excuse to play it.
It was a happy day when finding the trilogy available on the iPad.
My little brother got a Genesis for Christmas one year so he could play Sonic, and while reading the back of the box I saw a screenshot of a dwarf being attacked by a centaur. The graphics were so crisp, and I was a huge D&D nerd, so it took me almost an entire year to track down a copy to buy in my podunk part of Missouri. I played it for a whole 3 day weekend without pause.
Changed my life.
I remember being in middle school and unlocking Domingo and instantly heralding him as my favorite srpg unit ever. Fast forward 15 years and this is still the case. Flying, Magic, decent survivability, all wrapped into an adorable package
There are also some items you can only get when you are looking for them in the middle of combat
I like how your story is similar to mine, except mine was a random Genesis ROM pack I was given back when I was like 10 and for some reason, had Shining Force II, but not Shining Force I. So Shining Force II is where my nostalgia lies.
I think it definitely helped that it had many DQ inspirations because it goes a long way to making the game and genre as a whole more accessible to more people. The colorful and fun presentation also made it stand out from other contemporaries available in the west. And for all of the awkwardness I find when playing Shining Force I nowadays, I have to give it credit where it's due that without it, Shining Force II wouldn't have had the experience needed to tweak and framework to improve upon.
The end of this video makes me really appreciate how accessible classic Sega games are. I *REALLY* wish more companies were like that.
you can grind levels by killing most enemys on a map but not finishing than casting egress to start the fight over, plus if you hold off promoting characters until around level 20 theyll be more powerful when the level roll back happens..
Used to do this for the early axe drops. Farmed up several for the army in every play through.
@@Docktavion yeah.. but its generally certain monsters on each map that drop them.. at the beginning of each map, do the thing where you can look at every enemy and what they are carrying, then make sure they are killed by someone with an open inventory slot
@@Docktavion its just good to talk to people who know what the hell im talking about
Hmmm, I notice you found the 2 hidden bikini armors for your characters 😁. Aside from that, I remember as a teen reading about this game as an upcoming on Genesis and was saving up every cent I had in anticipation for it coming out. The release date ended up landing on 1 day into our family vacation in Florida and I did NOT have the patience to wait. I begged my family to take me to the local mall that had a Babbages, walked in, and proudly bought it... For $80 BUCKS. Yes kids, cartridge games were EXPENSIVE T.T. This was in 1992 where my minimum wage job got me $4.25 an hour 😂. So we got back to my aunts house where we were staying for vacation and happily read every last line of the manual inside and out. Then went to a video rental store in walking distance and rented a Genesis for the 2 weeks I knew I was gonna be stuck there and played the heck outta this game. Family was all going out shopping and to the beach and I was happily playing and replaying levels to grind EVERY character I could up as strong as I could. Very happy memories 💖. Always happy to see someone else that loved this game as well. Tho admittedly SFII kicked it up a notch HARD and I'd suggest that over SF1 if I knew someone would only play one of them. Still sourly disappointed that SFIII only got it's first of 3 chapters released in the US 😭.
Like you, I too became a fan of this genre due to the Shining Force series. Our difference is that my gateway to the genre as a kid is through the second title.
I finally did play all the way through the first game about two years ago, and though I do have issues with it, I can't deny it is a very charming first entry.
Loved learning that two of the big team members had zero desire to make a tactics game, and then makes a pretty influential title in the genre!
Thanks for the awesome video!
I played Altered Beast and Kid Chameleon as much as I could when I was a kid 5-7 years old, but if I'd had access to Shining Force I'd probably have played the heck out of it. It was another half a decade before I discovered the RPG genre in any of its forms, though - finding out rapidfire about action/adventure RPGs (Zelda, 1997), monster collection RPGs (Pokemon Red/BlueYellow, 1998), and then traditional JRPGs (1999 or 2000, Dragon Warrior 1 & 2).
I vaguely knew a game called Dungeons & Dragons existed and that I wasn't allowed to play it before then. Didn't really know anything about it other than
1. Its treatment of the divine is theologically inaccurate (my dad's first cited reason for me not being allowed to play it)
2. People who play it tend to try to transcribe its rules onto other fantasy fiction, limiting their imagination (my dad's second cited reason for me not being allowed to play it)
3. (And my my siblings were VERY insistent on this) it's for girls and boys don't like it (this only made me want it more); my observations of my extended family who DID play it was quite female-heavy (not more than half, but somewhere between 1/3 and 45% from campaign to campaign)
So me discovering videogames inspired by D&D in various ways was more or less an accident, yet here I am as a game developer who makes no other genre.
To my knowledge Shining Force was pretty much the only tactical RPG available in Europe in the mid-90s (e.g. no Warsong/Langrisser), so I guess it has a place in the heart of a lot of European players. One of my favorite childhood games was Flame Dragon Knight 2, a Taiwanese DOS game heavily inspired by Shining Force. You could "command all your units" at once (like in Fire Emblem) but in every other aspect it played like Shining Force. I played through it multiple times although I didn't understand a word. Somehow, tactical RPGs / strategy RPGs didn't make it to PC otherwise. All we got was turn based strategy in a more modern setting (e.g. Battle Isle, X-Com, Jagged Alliance) but I found Mages, Knights and Archers much cooler.
When you make something you hate, you can go in 1 of 2 directions. Inproving the parts you hate, or being spiteful and making it worse
Jokes on you bc I've always preferred Shining Force to Fire Emblem
Holycrap that marionette battle was intentional!? I had such an awful experiemce. Won by skin of my teeth. I thought i was playing poorly
Yeah, it's basically the first fight designed to show just how truly dangerous the armies of Runefaust are to the player and that they know they need to try and stop you before you become equally as dangerous to *them*
Still more diverse than games made for the "modern audience".
game: shadow the hedgehog
also i really like that "Games [like these] aren't telling stupid stories, they're telling stories that aren't afraid to be stupid." comment. its perfect.
Of course this drops just after I finish Shining Force 2. This would be more surprising if not for the Jogurt video happening already, but the timing is still funny.
I’ve always wanted to give it a shot. Having so many monster type alternatives to traditional units sounds fun. Those battle animations look really neat.
I recommend Unicorn Overlord, its strategy RPG published by Sega.
never expected you to cover this! grew up with this game (and especially its sequel) and have a blast every time it comes back. It also has its own flourishing mod community if you ever want to check it out! they’ve done some crazy shit with this game
If you haven't seen them Paintman did LPs of SF1 and SF2
I started with the GBA Remake, and liked it enough to try Shining Force II, which quickly became a favorite
I had no idea this game had a modding community. I may have to look into that, since I've played the OG game more times than I can remember.
Heh! Your gateway into FE is the same as mine! (Only, I got on the train with Radiant Dawn. Played on the Wii U. Sweet!)
Ah, no mention of how the story is somewhat different in the Japanese version?
Please tell.
@@petman515 I suggest going to the Shining Force Central message board for the full details but several things are different.
There's Max's backstory where it's mentioned he was found and has amnesia, the character that react to the "fortune teller" tell she's pretty instead of being obviously up to no good.
Ah yes, you don't originally start as the Shining Force, the group is initially only know as the remnant of Runefaust Force and you only earn the title of the Shining Force later.
In the circus chapter, the town leader actually mention opening the gate for you so that's why you need to talk to him first to leave the town.
The Marionnette is actually called Mishaela Doll and that's why she's hyper pissed at you when you defeat it. in fact, when she sink the ships, she mentions how death is too good for you and will have you suffer first before finishing you.
When Dark Sol leave you for the first time, it's actually because the priest he fought managed to hurt him enough so he leaves to the zombies the task of finishing you.
The Katana is actually a famous Japanese sword (not the Masamune!) but I forgot the name. XD
You-know-who is not just Max's brother but his big brother.
Domingo has a bunch of "Did you know" trivia quote.
@@Mewseeker thank you.
@@Mewseeker I guess that explains a lot of story differences in the GBA remake!
@@Mewseeker was the sword's name Ame No Habakiri, by chance? That seems to be the go-to for legendary swords in Japanese media.
One thing that completely changed my perspective on the game is that it came out only 6 days after Fire Emblem Gaiden. And it's sequel came out a few months before Mystery of the Emblem. Might not matter too much when looking at it today, but it sure makes it sound a whole lot more revolutionary.
So much nostalgia. Played it on the Sega Smash Pack II. One of my favorite games ever.
I'm more familiar with the GBA Remake.
Since it came the same year as Fire Emblem, I can't say exactly which one I played first tbh.
Not sure which of the license introduced me to SRPG (it's a trick question, the answer is FFTA), but they've been both dear to me.
Funnily enough, I still haven't finished the original yet.
So does this mean there will be a Shining Force 3 LP?
I've probably played this game more than any other game in my whole life, and I"ve played a lot of games. I spent a whole summer as a kid just grinding the last fight over and over to see how far I could take my characters. Got my main to Level 93, and my army to around 49-50. (Like I said, a whole summer.) But i still love coming back to this game. Even the small things that I wish were better (like how ridiculously underpowered Adam is and having to understand "promotion sickness") don't ever keep me from loving this game. And yes, the Marionette is a true test of skill moment for the game, although I'd say the hardest battle proper is the back to back battles with Ramladu. (Not because of him as much as all of those Chimeras and Blue Dragons. Ugh!) I love shamelessly grinding out levels for my dudes. I've probably played the fight against Kane (Cain?) a hundred times (or two hundred). Finding hidden characters was fun, and the characters are (except for Adam) generally well balanced, as are the battles. (And I don't know why, but this always feels absent for me when I play Shining Force II.) A true classic. And if you loved it, I recommend Unicorn Overlord. It's like the second coming of Shining Force in spirit (even if it plays a bit more like Langrisser).
Its cool that someone else had childhood experiences with Sega Smash Pack 2 for the PC haha. Thats how I discovered my love for Sega Genesis games and played Shining Force for the first time.
Ahh! A fellow pun enjoyer! Nice! I have a friend that loves the Shining Force series, so this had me curious enough to watch your video.
Sega Smash Pack 2 was also where I was hooked on this game. I played through it so many times, and also had a file that I just kept going through the last map and egressing to get to ridiculous levels.
I do wanna add, the game's also got a GBA remake that I put almost as much time into itself. It does introduce some new issues on its own, but it also deals with a lot of the original drawbacks, like lack of weapon variety.
never played the SRPG Shining Force games, but I did play the Action RPG spin-off Shining Soul on the GBA
I always come back into this game, be it for the music or the simple yet very captivating story.
And after all this time, I never finished it. It feels like if I were to finish the game I would soon forget about it.
Shining Force wasn't just my first SRPG, it was one of my first RPGs period so it will always have a place in my heart. I was a Sega Smash Pack 2 kid. Playing Shining Force also got me into Fire Emblem. But I struggle coming back to it. But since then I've spent so much more time with Fire Emblem, that the mechanical opaqueness of Shining Force just bothers me. Will I double? I dunno. Will I counter? I dunno. Will I miss? I dunno.
Also, Shining Force 2 is just better in basically every way so if I really want to scratch the the Shining Force itch, I play that.
Well, except for the ending.
Seriously, can we talk about it? It's so weird!
But yeah, absolutely fantastic game.
Kiwi, my beloved.
We would have a different perception if we were exposed to the early history of srpgs in the real order. Because SF came out before FE even got in the snes, and those games were very rough... so we would have had an impression of a monumental rival to FE, at the time. And SF even outdoes the 1st SNES FE, Mystery of the Emblem, in many points.
But since the introduction to FE happened much later, on a superior system, with superior gameplay standards, and superior developer mindset, then the comparison to SF1-2 will be completely unfavorable to those old games. But at their time they were much better than the FE games, that were more clunky.
@@carlosaugusto9821 My introduction to both series were the GBA games, so both made a strong impression.
Sadly, that was pretty much Shining Force's swan song...
If Sega wanted to return to SF and give it a total overhaul and modern optimization, similar to what FE got in the GBA and GC/Wii generations, there are good chances SF would have been an extremely solid rival to FE.
The fact SF has a unique world and mixes srpg staples with regular rpg staples would immediately make it stand out. It's rare to see rpgs with free roaming navigation, even in the circle of the superpowers of the genre like the FE franchise, FFT and the Ogre franchise. Even nowadays that style is not common... most srpgs tend to imitate the style of FFT and FE.
But unfortunately Sega is blind to the potential of a modern high standards 3d reboot of SF, in a scene that is lacking of ambitious projects like the current FE games, and most of the big name games died or are irrelevant, meaning less competition (Ogre, FFT, Front Mission, etc).
>Show the Gortcopter
>doesn't mention the hectorcopter
Weird that you criticized The Boys comic, I have several friends that prefer it to the show and say it's actually even more brutal
Oh ye it's more brutal and gorey very much yes... it's also complete garbage lmfao. Liking garbage doesn't make it non-garbage :p
I love this game so much that even though I recognized I listened to this vid the other day on another tablet, I let this vid play through again to enjoy the nostalgia.
Shining Force was my gateway SRPG. I had a subscription to Sega Visions as a kid and I got SF The Sword of Hajya for the Game Gear as a kid. I easily sank dozens of hours into it chewing through AA batteries like Tic-Tacs as they only lasted a handful of hours in that beast. One issue of SV had a section on SF II for the Genesis and I was obsessed with it for years, eventually I found a copy at a game store in '96 and convinced my mom to get it for me for my birthday. That game became an obsession and it led me to FF Tactics, and honestly to this day I think the genre peaked there in the '90's, I tried the first Fire Emblem we got here (the one with Lynn) and I hated the permadeath mechanic so never touched it again. There have been a few others that I've liked over the years but very little has managed to grab my attention like these early games did.
I've been replaying Shining Force 1 lately, so this is a nice surprise.
I have a pretty similar story, my first ever SRPG that I played was Shining Force 1 via one of the Sega game collections (I think it was Mega Drive Ultimate Collection). I knew nothing about the SRPG genre and I didn't really play that far as a kid but I enjoyed the world of the game and the OST. It was also my gateway into Fire Emblem when I was older.
As a whole, despite some of the game's issues, I can't really bring myself to really hate it that much. Sure the unit balance can be... weird (Adam being worse than a literal joke character for example), I love how unique the units are. I love that Shining Force 1 (and also 2) weren't afraid to add units that fitthe fantasy setting, like bird people. The humour still holds up really well. As you said, the game knows when it *should* be silly or serious and it does that quite well. The gameplay, while simple, is fun and I like how you're expected to lose a lot of your units in the major fights.
I remember reading somewhere (might've been another RUclips comment) about how Shining Force 2's tone was made as a response to the general seriousness of FE games. Though I haven't found anything about that so this is pretty much a "source: trust me bro" sorta thing.
Shining force is a great game. I still play the gba version.
This is one of my favorite games of all time. I got a degree in software development specifically so I can make a love letter to this game like Stardew Valley is to Harvest Moon
The bar would definitely be more grateful than the king
To quote Aslan from Narnia. "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. For I was there when it was written." Nah, but really, I'm glad that somebody made a Shining Force retrospective in 2024. Obviously, anyone who says the Genesis doesn't have RPGs clearly hasn't played Shining Force.
Like you and many others, I also experienced it through the SEGA Smash Pack 2 (tbh, that compilation did its job pretty well and I also played Sonic and Vectorman on it but I digress), and it was one of those games that brought my family together, which were few and fair in between. The farthest I made it back then was during the laser eye boss.
It also led me down the rabbit hole of the Shining series, especially with emulation becoming more prominent, and I was surprised to find out how deep it really is. You have the sequel obviously, the side games which take place between the first two games (CD, Final Conflict etc.), the prequel which plays more like a dungeon crawler, and the elusive part 3 which is split into three scenarios. *THREE* (Only one of them came in the US but thankfully fan translations exist) and then it went to shit after Camelot left.
I'll always have a soft spot for the original Shining Force and its team, and I found it interesting how similar it is to Dragon Quest. Still, the story is definitely one of its strong aspects, it feels like Lord of the Rings with a bit of Monty Python thrown in there. I wish SEGA paid more attention to it (though not for a lack of trying considering the cancelled mobile game...) but I'm glad you did the series justice man.
I haven't played Shining Force 1, but I loved Shining Force 2. It improves on some of the issues you had with Shining Force 1, allows for repeatable fights in the midgame to train units, and has a cute baby turtle unit that you'd better save before its town explodes or I will pop your kneecaps.
But seriously, Shining Force 2 was my introduction to SRPGs and is how I eventually fell in love with Advance Wars, FF Tactics Advance, and Fire Emblem. I hope you do a video on it.
A rental I begged my father to buy. Then on to Shining in the Darkness and SF2. FFT and on after. Thank you SF for opening the door!
I'm interested just by the sprite work alone, but it sounds like a pretty interesting experience
0:00 Neil Druckmann ostensibly made a video game, so I suppose yes
7:07
that was actually fixed in the GBA remake
they added few Dialogs for Max but not much
I had it back in the day. A neighbor had it so I hunted down a copy second hand and made sure I had it. I never had SF2 but a friend did. I think I borrowed it from him but never finished it. I've still never finished part 2 despite playing Shining Force 1 many times.
Damn, I can hard relate a LOT to how you got into FE. I played I THINK the Smash Pack 2 on a PC in Day Care when I was maybe 6-7? and played a lot of Shining Force & Comix Zone. Neither of them really resonated with me as much though since a lot of my earlier childhood is hazy, but I remember seeing SF footage like 4-5 yrs ago and thinking "YO THATS THE GAME I PLAYED AS A KID" and it did heavily influence my decision to get The Sacred Stones as my first FE. That and Smash of course lol. Maybe I should revisit it some time as an adult...
Thanks for sharing your experience & great video!
Throw down for my man Guntz. He's my introduction to steampunk all those decades ago.
Giving no real explanation as to WHY the creator didn't like SRPGs and how that made him make his decisions is pretty click baity and lame. Wouldn't have clicked this waste if I knew it was only going to be generic review 9000 for this decades old game.
Good comment. Saved me 20 minutes.
I think he covered the idea that diverse opinions could lead to a unique game. I get the comparison to Radiohead.
@@dicariel…he says the guy that made the game hated srpgs then doesn’t dig into it
The examples given of Radiohead, insinuating they're a rock band, and they're not. Then the writer of The Boys that doesn't comicbook heroes and yet he writes a character like HomeLander. Not good examples to support the clickbait.
Would it really have made a difference? 😂 Fine video, and now I have another game to play
Awww yeah, another who learned of shining force by playing Sega Smash Pack as a child
10:18 Sensible chuckle...wait is this a Danger 5 reference?
Oh hell yeah sega smash pack mentioned! Also my intro to shining force~
Sega Smash Pack 2 represent! Introduced me to Shining Force, Super Hang On, and Comix Zone!
I've beaten the game several times and never actually noticed the exp not rolling over after leveling up. Shows how much I was paying attention.
I did tend to stick to early game characters because i couldn't ve bothered to raise the new ones
One of my favorite games. I just finished streaming it on Twitch before summer started. Started streaming SF2 just got busy and haven't been able to stream since early summer. FFX2001.
I also played Shining Force for the first time on the Sega Smash Pack on the family computer Windows XP PC. Loved playing it. I was excited when I saw Fire Emblem for the first time at a demo kisok (funny enough at Target too, on a GBA SP), and it made me think of Shining Force as well when I played the game at the kiosk. I tend to replay Shining Force every few years or so. As an adult, I was able to play the Fire Emblem games that I missed out on that released here in the USA (and the fan translations of the ones that didn't make it to the USA), since my family couldn't afford a lot of games when we were kids. I'm really happy that Shining Force got me into TRPGs.
Loved this game on the Sega Smash Pack 2 back in the day
Shining force on the Sega Smash Pack also gateway'd me into fire emblem!
I remember playign this game on the Sega Smash Pack..... been wanting to replay it recently
I loved shining force as a kid. Even loves the odd off one that was first person. They were great games.
This has og RUclips energy. Love it
I think it's important to have someone on your team that isn;t in lockstep with the "routine" I didn;t really like SRPGs either. SF 1 and 2 are what got me to like them.
Also personal hated mission: The long bridge full of laser flowers
I wasn't expecting the Altered beast hate in a SF video
Radiohead was a one hit wonder! They completely faded into obscurity, and even though they tried some stuff, it never worked.
So your opener needs some work,
And Yogurt is a Space Hamster.
Sega Smash Pack 2 squad represent!
YO Straight up exactly the same verbatim for me the moment you started talking about Smash Pack 2! Except my first game was 'Fire Emblem'!
I love SF to death, the damn town theme lives rent free in my head & the battle themes really crank up the intensity of how clutch some of the fights can be. Fuqq Marionette lmao
I really wish more FE fans would give this game a go.
Have you heard of the Shining Force Alternative romhack?
Shining Force 1 and 3 are easily my number 1 favorite RPGS and number 1 underrated games of all time, so merely acknowledging either one positively gets you a like from me (SEGA Smash Pack 2 kids unite).
Also you’re wrong; I HAVE felt like playing Altered Beast before. Maybe only to ogle at the all the buff furries, but STILL.
Hope you're having a good day
15:20 - _Tao stonks. Tao stonks._
I love Shining Force 1, it's just like FE1 in that its jank is endearing compared to its contemporaries while also just being the right length to enjoy. 2 fixed a lot of 1's issues but more than doubled the length with little to show for it and it doesn't feel as outwardly charming as its predecessor, IMO. (still a decent game though)
FE was much more janky in comparison, because SF was meant to compete with the NES games, that were the only ones at the time. Then the 3rd game, Mystery, came out after SF1 but before SF2.
So It was two early janky franchises but SF really looked better, played better, had a more interesting cast, and much more content overall. FE was an on rails experience until much later in Sacred Stones, and there was still little equipment variety in those first 2-3 games, and gimmicks like weapon triangle only started in Genealogy, the 4th game.
I had this game on Mega Drive when I was a kid. I had a real tough time with it since I didn't understand English at the time. Also I was just bad at it in general, I think I only managed to beat the first fight.
Still, the starting town theme and the battle theme have been burned into my memory even to this day.
One of my favorite Genesis game series.
I loved playing this game as a kid would play this for hours and hours. Plus I didn't know you could down level your spells so used the spells at max level tell about mid game.
Count 'em, every other instance of Tao on screen has her in a bikini instead of her robes. Tao has no pants, Tao needs no pants.
I feel that, I never would've gotten into FE without SF either.
Tried playing this again recently and got tired of the battle cut scenes and wished i could turn them off
I like the GBA remake a lot
My brother was playing one of these relatively recently (at the time of writing this), he picked it up because he has a fascination with games from our era (SNES) and older from systems we didn't have at the time (we only has SNES/Gameboy at the time... so systems like Sega).... he didn't get far. I'm far more the type to play SRPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics than him. Never did get into Fire Emblem, couldn't get into it's permadeath at the time, and it's weird obsession with romance systems now.
Wow this force sure is shining
Yes i had the same experience with sega smash pack 2
Shining Force 2 did many things better than the first, exploration for example, was far less linear and there was the ability to go back to previous maps and engage in additional fights to grind xp.
I legit got into both Shining Force and Fire Emblem the exact same ways, through Sega Smash Pack 2 and Sacred Stones looking like Shining Force. Are you my clone?
Shining Force is an amazing game but the absolute best version of the game is the GBA version which adds new characters, maps, spells, NG+ and the absolutely amazing Card system that completely changes the game play.
You don't seem to know about it because if you did you would have gone on for half the video about how awesome this version of the game is
People like Sea of Stars and they seem to hate RPGs based on what I played lmao