Huge thanks to Daria for coming onto the channel! If you want to see our Mystic Quest video, which should be out any day now, go subscribe to her channel! www.UA-cam.com/DariaPlaysRPGs
The newer 3DS ones have a lot of heart if you haven't checked them out yet (Awakening deserves its high praise for sure), but I've always preferred Shining Force as well. I also prefer having my free time spent wandering towns and a world-map, but that never caught on with any other strategy game in the genre, sadly
Well... You kind of can't get around the fact that Shining Force has considerably less character development. As you imply, though, that can be both a good and a bad thing. SF typically takes itself more seriously than the 3DS-era Fire Emblems, though. In spite of all the penguins and Yogurts... Also, no jailbait like Nowy. Yay SF! (I still prefer SF over FE generally, but Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are... *interesting.* AND they have some really good music.)
Shining Force is one of the best games ever made. I wish there had been new releases keeping the style of shining force but kept up with the progession of gaming. Rather than the new hack n slash titles they released, those aren't shining force.
Shining Force was the first strategy RPG i ever played, and because of that i start to search more and more games like that until became a huge fan of the genera
Nivram what are your favorites? What games do you consider hidden gems in the genre? Any under the radar game you think needs more exposure in this genre?
Shining force 2 was fun. I played it with my siblings . We would brainstorm on what to buy for each character, where the next clue is and so on. Fun times 😍
I grew up with Sega Master System Genesis 32x I even had the Sega Channel🤣 my family still talks about landstalker and Shining Force so what brought me here was I was at Family Dollar and they had a Sega Genesis system with pre-loaded games but you can also put cartridges in it and I was so happy this game was on there putting Borderlands 2 to the side I cranked this game up and it is just as awesome today as it was all those years ago I really wish they would come out with a remastered version of this game and landstalker they will forever have a spot on my top 10 list thanks for having this video
Just now playing this on the Genesis collection on Switch. It's nice being able to fast forward through the battle scenes. This game is just the right amount of complexity and simplicity for a solid pick up and play experience.
My first rpg game. I didn’t own it so I had to rent it from the local video rental store. Needless to say I had to go back a few times to finally finish. Man this brings back some memories 😢
I love Shining Force almost as much as I love Dragon Quest. I have so many fond memories of playing Shining Force 1 & 2 as a teenager. I'll pick these up and play them anytime. Thanks to both of you for spreading awareness of this fantastic franchise.
God I loved this game so much! I remember playing this back in 1994, I stayed up for 3 nights, I think I had sprained my ankle really bad in gym class, and had to keep off it for a week, so I was home from school hehe.
The engineers at my moms work were always playing this in the office. I was too young to play anything more advanced than Sonic but I was always enthralled with this game. Thanks for the video!
Amartya Majumdar same!! I loved that game so much! And i was amazed by the quality even tho I didnt play it until i was 16 emulated on my psp. One day ill finish SF2 aswell on the genesis collection for ps4 :D
Great review Derek! Shining Force is a great game. Make sure you play Shining in the Darkness and Shining Force II as well. There are some great RPGs on the Genesis. You might want to look into the Phantasy Star series as well if you haven't already.
I did a blind playthrough of this game last year. I didn't do any grinding, as the game didn't seem to require it. I did find it frustrating how hard it was to level up some of my characters, though. Still, I enjoyed myself, and would like to tackle Shining Force 2 someday, as I heard that's a much better game.
The Genesis IS one of the systems I think of when I think old school JRPGs. 2 amazing Phantasy Star games (and one very meh one), Sword of Vermillion, the Shining games, etc. While the SNES may have more and better RPGs on it, the Genny sure was no slouch.
This is one thing I absolutely love about your Channel SuperDerek, you are not afraid to put out videos of old games. I see too many people who just try to stay with current games and what’s popular because they think that’s what will keep them trending. I respect the hell out you for not following that trend. Yes you have reviewed new games (Octopath) being the newest I’m aware of. That hasn’t stopped you from putting out gem reviews like this one here. Absolutely fantastic job. Keep the content coming.
That intro is a freaking BANGER! Shining Force was before my time but I played it on a PS3 Meagadrive compilation and loved it. Fondly remember that one town where all the villagers start sneaking up and surrounding you as you head into the church! Good stuff.
My favorite game. I'm glad someone is covering it.I am doing a playthrough of the shining force remake if you are interested in joining me on the journey.
Damn... Mention of Alundra, Camelot (creators of Golden Sun as well) and the inclusion of Daria! Derek I know you're putting everything into your UA-cam venture, you seem to be doing everything correctly with the right niche collabs, streaming schedules, upload schedules and even community management within the discord. I congratulate you on that, you'll see how everything is going to be better and better. Such discipline for your passion is admirable.
You touched on what I love about Shining Force so much- it got the difficulty perfect. You can grind and make the game easier, but you can never grind and just barely scrape by each battle. It's difficult to not grind, but nowhere near impossible.
I love the way that theres an even harder mode to the game by exiting Gardenia by way of manipulating a civilian into blocking a guard thus letting you have missed out on the original group you should have obtained before hand
Love this channel since I discovered it a few weeks ago. I appreciate how you contextualise each game within the history of gaming. Very nostalgic episode! Enjoyed Daria's commentary on this as well.
Derek I highly recommend Phantasy Star 4 for the Genesis. Also maybe get a chance to play Wonder Boy in Monster World for the Genesis to. Yeah Wonderboy isn't a standard rpg but it is a 2D action rpg like zelda 2 (but waaaay much better) and I think it will be a good change of a game for you to play. I love playing nintendo rpgs and all that but genesis has a unique charm to it also it's a good place for rpg fans to try out some more retro rpgs on a non nintendo system.
I would suggest eating this review at 8 in the morning while walking a dog... that's what I did and although it didn't make the review better it did help the walk. The addition of the Daria character was a welcome component and fans of previous SuperDerek reviews well like the comic banter between the main protagonists and the "Anti-hero". I give this review a solid 9.5/*****.
They're quite a bit different, I prefer the art style, music and charm of the original. But there are a lot of advancements in the sequel with tons of quality of life changes, and a much bigger and grander world and story. So it's a lot of people's favorite. Odds are you'll really enjoy it. But regardless of that, thanks for giving an overlooked childhood favorite of mine a bit of time in the spotlight. I love the older Shining series
As soon as I saw Shining Force, I was as about to jump in and say "In B4 Daria..." little did I know she's actually in the video lol THE QUEEN OF RPGS!
I enjoyed both the Genesis version of the game as well as the GBA version. I prefer the GBA version of the game as one of the new characters was really fun to use as a support to the team. Narsha got a great spell list and once she buffed the party she could hit enemies hard.
I really can't remember if I watched this video before (I probably have and I forgot so forgive me if I already have) but I remember playing and beating both Shining Force 1 and 2 as a little kid back to back. I was like 7 when I first played Shining Force 1 and it took me until I was like 10 to beat it and it's sequel. The reason it took me 3 years was because I wasn't that bright when it comes to strategey/tactical rpgs and I was also obsessed with more popular snes rpgs at the time (Final Fantasy VI and VII and obviously Pokemon...). But I felt satisfied when I beat Shining Force 1 because there was just something about finding out about Max's past and slaying Dark Dragon after hearing the big build about how evil he is that just made me feel satisfied, but the ending.... I cried. Ok? I really cried over what happened in the end. Not gonna ruin it for anyone who has yet to play it but the ending of Shining Force 1 was one of the first games that made me cry as a kid because I cared a lot about the ragtag group of characters that joined my party throughout this adventure and I couldnt help getting attached to a lot of them. I still cry over the ending to this day.
Played this as a kid 25 years ago. Just about to start replaying it again for the first time since then. Can't wait to get stuck back into it. I remember I used to hide the hero character at the back during battles, but he never levelled up and I was eventually forced to use him and coouldn't possibly win. Looking forward to striking this off my 'games I couldn't finish right as a kid but loved none the less' list' Then onto Shining Force 2 where I had the same problem!! XD
Resurrection of the Dark Dragon was my first experience with Shining Force so I kinda like the graphics on GBA. Good to know on the grinding because I plan to play OG Shining Force soon and wasn't sure if being able to re-enter battles was something they added for the GBA version or not.
I'm Playing Shining Force NOW for the 2nd time , never really beat it in the past (now im 28) AND im loving this game! it's a classic! (still havent beat the game) but... it's amazing... (and im subbing)
Great review. I just beat this for the first time. My friend had it growing up and I never understood it. Infact it took me a while to really catch onto how to play it. I found out that I missed a lot of characters. I still managed to beat it because of my mighty centaur knight team and Gort. Seriously Gort would single handedly carry my team he was a tank. I am sad I missed so many characters I did find a ninja hiding in a bush right at the end. I do want to play it again with a different team sometime. The problem I had was that I used the knights and gort so much to kill enemies that they took all the ex so all the other characters where weak. I hope that there is a shared experience system in Shining force II when I play it. I really wanted to use the other characters but I could not because they were so underleveled. Otherwise great game.
Ayyyyy, it's Daria! :D Oddly, despite having a Genesis as a kid and loving RPGs, I didn't get this game until a few years ago ($1 at a thrift store!) Also, despite what some people may tell you, Shining Resonance is actually really good. Nothing at all like the older titles, but still excellent
Shining Force was such a good game. I grinded so hard and replayed so many battles I just couldn't grasp. HEAL, FIght, Magic, HEAL. God that was a great game!
I started my first play through of SF1 in 20 years last night. I played SF3 first as a kid, which is one of my favourite games of all time, then went back to the Megadrive games in my teens. I remember not really liking them as much and have always come back to SF3 instead, especially as I only recent got an opportunity to finish Sc2 and 3. I started the GBA version at first because I liked the art style more and had heard about the translation revisions but I found it's controls and menus really awkward to the point that I stopped midway through the second battle and started up the original instead. Looking forward to playing it again. I think much of my dislike of 1 and 2 in my youth was just them being last-get at the time that I played them.
One of my favorite games of its genre. I first played this on the Sega Smash Pack 2, back in 2004 or so. I was so bad at it, but I had so much fun with the world and the characters. A nostalgic 9/10
The series of Shining Force games are above and beyond the best games I've ever played in my entire life to this day. (Personal opinion, of course!) Where there are games with much more depth these days such as Skyrim and the Fallout series, my childhood was spent mastering every moment of the original Shining Force game on the sega genesis. I got so good at the game that I knew -exactly- what the A.I. would do no matter what step I took during battle.
THANK YOU Daria, for pointing out that the series died with the Saturn...I mostly agree with you on this because most of the "Shining" games after that were crap (including Shining Tears and Shining Resonance), but I also enjoy the Shining Soul games and remake of Shining Force on the GBA. The remake adds A LOT, including the new characters and back story for Runefaust, an extra hidden outfit, and the ability to actually SEE your secret outfits in battle! It did cut the ability to leave without your initial party though...have you ever tried that challenge where you play the game with just the 12 characters that the game forces on you (the "minimal character run")?
Quick request for your upcoming video - please include some metal covers of the battle theme. It's the way the song was always meant to be heard. So catchy. So catchy.
I loved shining force. Thanks for talking about it. Wish ya'll would have went through some of the leveled up classes too. the way they change into some pretty cool characters. kind of like an early brigadine. Another favorite of mine.
Being a long time player of Shining Force (it was my very first RPG. I'm 30 years old now) i gotta say i liked very much the gameboy advance version. It expanded so much of the world and the characters, like i didnt even know Max had a brother! But yes, the genesis version's music sounds better, more gritty and strong
This game RULES. I played it a few months ago and couldn't believe how fun it is. Idk what it is but tactics combat is so much more fun then regular turn based combat.
Slowly and carefully getting into RPGs after growing up hating the genre for around 18 years. As you can probably tell based on my current pfp it's awesome, like a whole genre of games I previously glossed over like sports games or free to play games is now this mysterious glimmering cavern. Shining Force is the first tactical RPG I've seriously tried to get into and it's definitely addictive. I get the appeal of the genre now after being confused so long, can't wait to go back and give Fire Emblem Awakening and Codename STEAM proper tries on my 3DS.
Shining Force and Vandal Hearts are the best tactical series. Why? Because you actually have to rely on strategy more than grinding ( unlike Tactics Ogre, FF Tactics and Fire Emblem). Also VH 2 story is one of the best of any RPG.
What's fascinating about Shining Force compared to Fire Emblem is their emphasis on playability. And I'm not even just talking about discussions about grinding, revivable party members, and being comparatively easier. I'm also talking the design decisions with the UI and battle speed, and the general pacing between locations. Shining Force 1 is admittedly infamously slow on many of the overworld maps, and that cursor speed could be faster. But when you compare it to the first two Fire Emblems (which I should add the second Fire Emblem only came out a week before Shining Force), this game is brisk by comparison. And it helps the game hold up compared to modern SRPGs, let alone its contemporaries.
OH MY GOD!!! I WAS LOOKING FOR THE NAME OF THAT GAME FOR A WHILE WHEN I REMEMBERED IT AND COULDN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE! Landstalker. I played that back when the Sega Channel (for the few who remember that monthly interchanging game thinger) was available for a time. Good god, my thirst for remembering has been quenched. Sidenote: Shining Force was my very first game. Still one of the favs. Will always have a special place in my heart.
Name: Max Series: The “Shining” Series of Games Origin Game: “Shining Force” Publisher: Sega Design Max’s design could be taken from his artwork from any of his main appearances, but a mish-mash of all the designs (much like how Roy is featured in Smash) would be the best fit. Alternate Costumes Max could have an alternate costume, that being him in his alternate silver armor from “Legacy of Great Intention” Alternate Colors As far as his alternate colors go he could have his alts be based on characters featured in his main party, much like many other RPG based characters, and they could pick 8 from anyone on this list. A silver color pallette, could be derived from Adam, Amon, Balbaroy, Earnest, Ken, Mae, Arthur, Guntz, Lyle, Musashi, or Vankar. A yellow color palette, could be derived from Alef, Lowe, or Gong. A blue color palette, could be derived from Anri, Bleu, Hans, Lug, Torasu, or Hanzou. A green (different shade from default) color palette, could be derived from Diane or Khris. A red color palette, could be derived from Pelle. A purple color palette, could be derived from Tao. A white color palette, could be derived from Zylo or Domingo. A black color palette, could be derived from Kokichi. A brown color palette, could be derived from Jogurt. Moves Max’s special moves will revolve around attacks and spells he traditionally uses with some of his party members moves incorporated. Neutral Special: Supernova Game of Origin: Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (Used by Max) It acts like many of the “big moves” in Smash (like Falcon/Warlock Punch, Amyr, etc.) Big Damage- Lots of Endlag/Startup Side Special: Bolt/Spark Game of Origin: Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict (Used by Max) Charging changes the range power and effect of this move. The longer you charge the stronger the move becomes, the farther it goes, and how much hitstun your opponent takes. Has 4 different variants depending on charge, (after charging can be held onto like Samus, Hero, etc.). Down Special: Down Special could be a variety of different options; The first option could be a Counter, this is because just like Fire Emblem, Classic Shining Force is a tactical RPG and having a counter simulates the back and forth of battle. The other viable option could be an iconic move from the Shining Force Series, Blaze, in his home game Max does not traditionally use this move, however it’s wielded by a vast majority of magic users and comes in handy quite often. It could function as a projectile going left or right, or they could make it unique by having him using it beneath his feet (acting like a large/powerful down smash) and having different properties when charged (could act like an extra jump with protection from below). Up Special: Egress Game of Origin: Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention Used by Max This move in Shining Force is traditionally used to flee from battle to heal, save, etc. It could go one of two ways, it could act like Hero’s Zoom (as a reference to the sprite art) but with less height and more control, or it could be like Zelda’s teleportation. As a reference to its main function, using it could heal a little bit of percent (but healing cannot be spammed as it stops after excessive use). Final Smash: “The Shining Force” In many final smashes (like Hero, Joker, Shulk, etc.) the fighter is joined by their party members/familiar characters for a final attack. The same should be done here. Max tackles/swipes/etc. (any startup) and then the cutscene starts where all the members of the “Shining Force” come together for a big final attack. Stage: The Land of Rune A traveling stage much like the Yggdrasil’s Altar, Garreg Mach Monastery, and Skyloft stages. It would navigate through the many locations in Rune, the starting point could be in the Guardiana Castle. The background of different locations could feature important characters like the King, Kane, and many others.
Shining Forces always seemed cool. I had a Genesis but I don't think I bought one until it was super cheap towards the end of its life. I remember playing this game and Shining Forces 2 but I am not sure if I ever played them on the Genesis or if I did so via emulation years later. Either way they're good games. So I went to Daria's channel as I was unaware of her and enjoyed her commentary in this video and looks like she hasn't uploaded in a year. :( sad times.
Your flow together I feel like is flawless. BTW I knew who you were Super Derek but Daria got me to be like, oh yea....I know that guy I'll sub. Just watching again waiting for FF:MQ.
Indeed, the incorporeal lady is correct in that the Shining series died with the Saturn. You may have heard of newer games with "Shining" in the title, but shh!! We mustn't ever speak of such things... By the way, Derek, have you played Shining in the Darkness yet? It's really good. Very similar to HAL's Arcana on SNES, which I assume was a tribute to Shining in the Darkness.
+camello321 IMO, it is one of the best RPGs on the Genesis, if not *the* best. So, yes, if you enjoy that type of game, it is most definitely worth finishing. There is also a sequel of sorts on the Saturn called, "Shining the Holy Ark," which improves upon the first game in every way. Also, they both exist in the same world as the other Shining games. These games, along with Arcana, are the best of the "dungeon crawler" sub-genre of RPGs. They are nearly a genre unto themselves; there are no other games quite like them, alas.
+classic gamer Shh!! We mustn't speak of such things... ...Ok, just this once. Shining Soul is a reboot of the Shining series, developed by a different company. It lacks everything that made the original series good. Furthermore, it isn't an SRPG. It's an Action RPG.
While I love the Shining series as much as everyone with good tastes in videogames do, Shining in the Darkness is HELL ON EARTH. That game is just so tedious and big and tedious and...tedious. I mean, it's by no means a bad game, but man it drives me crazy sometimes. The fact that there's only one dungeon makes it feel pretty repetitive, as you go through the same paths over and over until almost the end of the game, and you can't see the map of the dungeon unless you either use a Wisdom Seed (which would occupy a space in your inventory, and mind you, every character can hold up to 8 items counting equipment, which doesn't allow you to carry healing items that are needed because you have no healers at the beginning of the game), or waste 1 MP with your witc- I mean, magic-user. And even then, you can't really tell where are you exactly. Also, it can get pretty hardcore, as there can be up to three enemies per characters in your party. At first, you only have your hero, which means three enemies. Simple, right? Well, with your healer and your wi- your magic-user, it goes up to 9. And each can cast multi target spells. Ouch. But yeah, to give credit for what's left, it's a pretty good game, with a lot of really useful spells and with very well developed enemy attack patterns. Some can "dance" to steal MP, others can attack as a group to deal a lot of damage, others can take a defensive stance to reduce damage taken by your attacks, and DarkSol himself is pretty badass in that game too. But again, the game is pretty tedious, so not much people would attempt to finish the game more than once. I remember that the first time I've beaten it, it took me 10 whole months. No guides, of course. I think it was in 2009. Since then, I've beaten the game only one more time, and just recently. It took me two months, but only because I had to fully focus on it to finish it. It's challenging, and most of the time, it isn't in a good way.
Love this video. This is one of my favorite games of all time. As a Genesis owner who was so jealous of all the RPG goodness the SNES was getting, discovering this game was amazing. Oh, and great to see you and Daria work together! Her channel is awesome and more people should watch it.
The high contrast on the GBA game didn't bother me until you pointed it out. Still love both versions, though character balancing and sidelining leave a little to be desired in both.
They are not on the PS2 or PSP Sega collections(Shining Force and Streets of Rage games missing were the main problem people had with those versions). They are on the PS3/360/PS4/X1 ones.
Tyler Edlin playing now. Looks great and feels like when you played back in day. The back trigger is the exception it can speed up and rewind. Strange feature
Great episode you two. I enjoyed it alot. Any chance of the two of you teaming up in the future and do an review of Shining Force II and Warsong Langrisser review on the channel? :)
Hey derek, the sega didn't have a whole alot of great rpgs like the snes. But there are absolutely two series you must play and that is Phantasy star and Shining Force. I would also try and get your hands on the eng translated shining scenerio's 1,2,3 for the Sega Saturn.
Huge thanks to Daria for coming onto the channel! If you want to see our Mystic Quest video, which should be out any day now, go subscribe to her channel! www.UA-cam.com/DariaPlaysRPGs
Tha gba remake is by far superior to the original.
I've always preferred shining force to fire emblem. SF just seems to have more heart and personality.
The newer 3DS ones have a lot of heart if you haven't checked them out yet (Awakening deserves its high praise for sure), but I've always preferred Shining Force as well. I also prefer having my free time spent wandering towns and a world-map, but that never caught on with any other strategy game in the genre, sadly
Matthew Jacobs I've been meaning to. The wife has one of them.
Well... You kind of can't get around the fact that Shining Force has considerably less character development. As you imply, though, that can be both a good and a bad thing. SF typically takes itself more seriously than the 3DS-era Fire Emblems, though. In spite of all the penguins and Yogurts... Also, no jailbait like Nowy. Yay SF!
(I still prefer SF over FE generally, but Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are... *interesting.* AND they have some really good music.)
It's really a toss up for me. I could earnestly go either way. I legit want an FE youtuber to play this and it's sequel though.
@treeghettox oh fuck off. You are the reason people tend to hate the fire emblem fanbase.
Shining Force is one of the best games ever made. I wish there had been new releases keeping the style of shining force but kept up with the progession of gaming. Rather than the new hack n slash titles they released, those aren't shining force.
The PS2 hack and slash games are good, they just aren’t what Shining Force games should be.
Shining Force was the first strategy RPG i ever played, and because of that i start to search more and more games like that until became a huge fan of the genera
Nivram what are your favorites? What games do you consider hidden gems in the genre? Any under the radar game you think needs more exposure in this genre?
Been looking for other game like shining force any recommendation
Same here!
Shining force 2 was fun. I played it with my siblings . We would brainstorm on what to buy for each character, where the next clue is and so on. Fun times 😍
@@vellreaper Thracia 776 is pretty good
I grew up with Sega Master System Genesis 32x I even had the Sega Channel🤣 my family still talks about landstalker and Shining Force so what brought me here was I was at Family Dollar and they had a Sega Genesis system with pre-loaded games but you can also put cartridges in it and I was so happy this game was on there putting Borderlands 2 to the side I cranked this game up and it is just as awesome today as it was all those years ago I really wish they would come out with a remastered version of this game and landstalker they will forever have a spot on my top 10 list thanks for having this video
Loooove Daria, she's amazing. Shining Force is fantastic, one of my first rpgs (without me knowing what an rpg was). I need to play it again asap.
Just now playing this on the Genesis collection on Switch. It's nice being able to fast forward through the battle scenes. This game is just the right amount of complexity and simplicity for a solid pick up and play experience.
My first RPG game. Loved this game so much, I lost count of how many times I've played it.
Is this a real rpg or a tactical rpg like wasteland
My first rpg game. I didn’t own it so I had to rent it from the local video rental store. Needless to say I had to go back a few times to finally finish. Man this brings back some memories 😢
I love Shining Force almost as much as I love Dragon Quest. I have so many fond memories of playing Shining Force 1 & 2 as a teenager. I'll pick these up and play them anytime. Thanks to both of you for spreading awareness of this fantastic franchise.
God I loved this game so much! I remember playing this back in 1994, I stayed up for 3 nights, I think I had sprained my ankle really bad in gym class, and had to keep off it for a week, so I was home from school hehe.
The engineers at my moms work were always playing this in the office. I was too young to play anything more advanced than Sonic but I was always enthralled with this game. Thanks for the video!
This was my 1st srpg!!! Love it
Amartya Majumdar same!!
I loved that game so much! And i was amazed by the quality even tho I didnt play it until i was 16 emulated on my psp.
One day ill finish SF2 aswell on the genesis collection for ps4 :D
First video game i ever play and still my favorite game series of all time
Same here
Great review Derek! Shining Force is a great game. Make sure you play Shining in the Darkness and Shining Force II as well. There are some great RPGs on the Genesis. You might want to look into the Phantasy Star series as well if you haven't already.
I did a blind playthrough of this game last year. I didn't do any grinding, as the game didn't seem to require it. I did find it frustrating how hard it was to level up some of my characters, though. Still, I enjoyed myself, and would like to tackle Shining Force 2 someday, as I heard that's a much better game.
The Genesis IS one of the systems I think of when I think old school JRPGs. 2 amazing Phantasy Star games (and one very meh one), Sword of Vermillion, the Shining games, etc. While the SNES may have more and better RPGs on it, the Genny sure was no slouch.
The Genny? Haha really
The Genesis was an RPG machine the first couple years of its life, especially compared to the paltry offerings on the NES and SMS up to that point.
This is one thing I absolutely love about your Channel SuperDerek, you are not afraid to put out videos of old games. I see too many people who just try to stay with current games and what’s popular because they think that’s what will keep them trending. I respect the hell out you for not following that trend. Yes you have reviewed new games (Octopath) being the newest I’m aware of. That hasn’t stopped you from putting out gem reviews like this one here. Absolutely fantastic job. Keep the content coming.
That intro is a freaking BANGER! Shining Force was before my time but I played it on a PS3 Meagadrive compilation and loved it. Fondly remember that one town where all the villagers start sneaking up and surrounding you as you head into the church! Good stuff.
My favorite game. I'm glad someone is covering it.I am doing a playthrough of the shining force remake if you are interested in joining me on the journey.
Eyy almost the same profile pic @I Do The Most
@@bowiemaxplayer28 word up
@@IDoTheMost haha
Damn... Mention of Alundra, Camelot (creators of Golden Sun as well) and the inclusion of Daria! Derek I know you're putting everything into your UA-cam venture, you seem to be doing everything correctly with the right niche collabs, streaming schedules, upload schedules and even community management within the discord. I congratulate you on that, you'll see how everything is going to be better and better. Such discipline for your passion is admirable.
Shining Force and Shining In The Darkness are amazing. I started playing them yesterday.
Just ordered them again this week. Love both.
Shining force was my first RPG.
Love this series. They need to bring it back!!!
You touched on what I love about Shining Force so much- it got the difficulty perfect. You can grind and make the game easier, but you can never grind and just barely scrape by each battle. It's difficult to not grind, but nowhere near impossible.
I love the way that theres an even harder mode to the game by exiting Gardenia by way of manipulating a civilian into blocking a guard thus letting you have missed out on the original group you should have obtained before hand
Love this channel since I discovered it a few weeks ago. I appreciate how you contextualise each game within the history of gaming. Very nostalgic episode! Enjoyed Daria's commentary on this as well.
Yeah! Daria's backstory was a lot of fun to edit together, and hugely informative! :)
Derek I highly recommend Phantasy Star 4 for the Genesis.
Also maybe get a chance to play Wonder Boy in Monster World for the Genesis to.
Yeah Wonderboy isn't a standard rpg but it is a 2D action rpg like zelda 2 (but waaaay much better) and I think it will be a good change of a game for you to play.
I love playing nintendo rpgs and all that but genesis has a unique charm to it also it's a good place for rpg fans to try out some more retro rpgs on a non nintendo system.
I would suggest eating this review at 8 in the morning while walking a dog... that's what I did and although it didn't make the review better it did help the walk. The addition of the Daria character was a welcome component and fans of previous SuperDerek reviews well like the comic banter between the main protagonists and the "Anti-hero". I give this review a solid 9.5/*****.
Do How: Eater of Reviews
Damn, shame to hear about the character designer for a TON of the Shining games passed away. You gonna give Shining Force 2 eventually now?
Hmm. I need to track down a copy, but I'd say it's likely. It's on the list now, that's for sure. :)
They're quite a bit different, I prefer the art style, music and charm of the original. But there are a lot of advancements in the sequel with tons of quality of life changes, and a much bigger and grander world and story. So it's a lot of people's favorite. Odds are you'll really enjoy it. But regardless of that, thanks for giving an overlooked childhood favorite of mine a bit of time in the spotlight. I love the older Shining series
you mean tamaki? where does it say that he died?
This game is legit one of my favorite gba games of all time. It is IMO the best version of Shining Force 1
As soon as I saw Shining Force, I was as about to jump in and say "In B4 Daria..." little did I know she's actually in the video lol THE QUEEN OF RPGS!
SURPRISE MOTHF- **CUE DISAPPROVING UA-cam FACE**
I remember playing a PC port of this when I was 15, I found myself shipping Max and Mae the Centaur.
JamCal-X I'm not the only one! I felt so alone for years. 😭
Sega Smash Pack 2? :)
Yes, so many hours
Great collab you two! I’ve heard Daria mention the Shining Force series about 1200 times so it’s nice to get a full review!
I might be a taaaad bit obsessed
Daria was fantastic to work with! 10.5/10, would collab again. :)
He docked half a point cause I'm slow. :P
I enjoyed both the Genesis version of the game as well as the GBA version. I prefer the GBA version of the game as one of the new characters was really fun to use as a support to the team. Narsha got a great spell list and once she buffed the party she could hit enemies hard.
You should do a collab with snesdrunk
Nice collaboration, really enjoyed playing through this game after buying on Wii virtual console.
Thanks for showing the genesis some love and congrats on the collab
Daria and I have been meaning to work together for some time now, and I'm glad we finally figured out a good way to do it. :)
I treated myself to a Sega Mega Drive mini (UK name for the Genesis) and Shining Force is one of the forty games on it. I'm addicted!
Great video. The intro was hilarious! Shining Force deserves more love than it gets for sure.
I really can't remember if I watched this video before (I probably have and I forgot so forgive me if I already have) but I remember playing and beating both Shining Force 1 and 2 as a little kid back to back. I was like 7 when I first played Shining Force 1 and it took me until I was like 10 to beat it and it's sequel. The reason it took me 3 years was because I wasn't that bright when it comes to strategey/tactical rpgs and I was also obsessed with more popular snes rpgs at the time (Final Fantasy VI and VII and obviously Pokemon...). But I felt satisfied when I beat Shining Force 1 because there was just something about finding out about Max's past and slaying Dark Dragon after hearing the big build about how evil he is that just made me feel satisfied, but the ending.... I cried. Ok? I really cried over what happened in the end. Not gonna ruin it for anyone who has yet to play it but the ending of Shining Force 1 was one of the first games that made me cry as a kid because I cared a lot about the ragtag group of characters that joined my party throughout this adventure and I couldnt help getting attached to a lot of them. I still cry over the ending to this day.
One of the first RPG I played. super awesome! I remembered there were a few secrets in this game, especially blown away by the spell casting centaur.
Played this as a kid 25 years ago. Just about to start replaying it again for the first time since then. Can't wait to get stuck back into it. I remember I used to hide the hero character at the back during battles, but he never levelled up and I was eventually forced to use him and coouldn't possibly win. Looking forward to striking this off my 'games I couldn't finish right as a kid but loved none the less' list' Then onto Shining Force 2 where I had the same problem!! XD
Top tier RPG from my childhood that not a lot of people know about.
Loved the video and collaboration! Shining Force is a series dear to my heart. RIP.
Yay, another RPG channel to follow! Thanks, Daria
A dream team collaboration for me with 2 youtubers I've watched for years. Thanks for making this happen!
Resurrection of the Dark Dragon was my first experience with Shining Force so I kinda like the graphics on GBA. Good to know on the grinding because I plan to play OG Shining Force soon and wasn't sure if being able to re-enter battles was something they added for the GBA version or not.
Surprisingly I just started playing this game yesterday ,this will be my first Genesis rpg ever after playing alot of snes and ps rpgs
I'm Playing Shining Force NOW for the 2nd time , never really beat it in the past (now im 28) AND im loving this game! it's a classic! (still havent beat the game) but... it's amazing... (and im subbing)
I never got this game but dang wish I had. My genesis may have stayed around longer with it.
They have I & II for free on Google Play, along with the original dungeon crawler ''Shining in the Darkness'', as one download.
Idk why, but this is probably one of my favorite videos of yours.
Thanks man, I'm really glad you like it! :)
Shining Force = SRPGs done right!
Shining Force 3 = Greatest game of all time!
ALRIGHT!!! Ive been waiting for this, bring on the crossover!
The setting for the game reminds me a lot of Dunbine's Byston Well world.
Great review. I just beat this for the first time. My friend had it growing up and I never understood it. Infact it took me a while to really catch onto how to play it. I found out that I missed a lot of characters. I still managed to beat it because of my mighty centaur knight team and Gort. Seriously Gort would single handedly carry my team he was a tank. I am sad I missed so many characters I did find a ninja hiding in a bush right at the end. I do want to play it again with a different team sometime. The problem I had was that I used the knights and gort so much to kill enemies that they took all the ex so all the other characters where weak. I hope that there is a shared experience system in Shining force II when I play it. I really wanted to use the other characters but I could not because they were so underleveled. Otherwise great game.
I remember playing this so much as a kid. Probably why I got into other titles like Fire Emblem and Dragon Quest.
Ayyyyy, it's Daria! :D
Oddly, despite having a Genesis as a kid and loving RPGs, I didn't get this game until a few years ago ($1 at a thrift store!)
Also, despite what some people may tell you, Shining Resonance is actually really good. Nothing at all like the older titles, but still excellent
Shining Force was such a good game. I grinded so hard and replayed so many battles I just couldn't grasp. HEAL, FIght, Magic, HEAL. God that was a great game!
I started my first play through of SF1 in 20 years last night. I played SF3 first as a kid, which is one of my favourite games of all time, then went back to the Megadrive games in my teens. I remember not really liking them as much and have always come back to SF3 instead, especially as I only recent got an opportunity to finish Sc2 and 3. I started the GBA version at first because I liked the art style more and had heard about the translation revisions but I found it's controls and menus really awkward to the point that I stopped midway through the second battle and started up the original instead. Looking forward to playing it again. I think much of my dislike of 1 and 2 in my youth was just them being last-get at the time that I played them.
Just did my first sitting on Shining Force, and I played for about 7 hours straight, made it to the end of chapter 3. It's amazing!
One of my favorite games of its genre. I first played this on the Sega Smash Pack 2, back in 2004 or so. I was so bad at it, but I had so much fun with the world and the characters. A nostalgic 9/10
Same. Had to have a friend to help me beat the game.
I enjoyed shining the holy ark and shining in the darkness; my friend and I rented shining force 1 (it was ok)
I am happy to see
Old intro theme 😀
That's my "The Game Collection" theme song, so I only use it for full review videos... though for Dragon Quest games I do swap in the DQ theme too! :)
SuperDerek RPGs hey thanks for reply , I often comment on your videos but m from India so my English is bad. Love you & your game collections 💝💝
The series of Shining Force games are above and beyond the best games I've ever played in my entire life to this day. (Personal opinion, of course!) Where there are games with much more depth these days such as Skyrim and the Fallout series, my childhood was spent mastering every moment of the original Shining Force game on the sega genesis. I got so good at the game that I knew -exactly- what the A.I. would do no matter what step I took during battle.
THANK YOU Daria, for pointing out that the series died with the Saturn...I mostly agree with you on this because most of the "Shining" games after that were crap (including Shining Tears and Shining Resonance), but I also enjoy the Shining Soul games and remake of Shining Force on the GBA. The remake adds A LOT, including the new characters and back story for Runefaust, an extra hidden outfit, and the ability to actually SEE your secret outfits in battle! It did cut the ability to leave without your initial party though...have you ever tried that challenge where you play the game with just the 12 characters that the game forces on you (the "minimal character run")?
Quick request for your upcoming video - please include some metal covers of the battle theme. It's the way the song was always meant to be heard.
So catchy. So catchy.
I loved shining force. Thanks for talking about it. Wish ya'll would have went through some of the leveled up classes too. the way they change into some pretty cool characters. kind of like an early brigadine. Another favorite of mine.
Love your intro music (also the exp. points too)
Great video! I’ve always wanted to try the older shining games! This one looks amazing :D
It was quite a lot of fun, for sure!
Shining Force 1 & 2 are epic... Way better than more recent games.
Just picked this up today, can’t wait to play it
What did you think Daria?
Being a long time player of Shining Force (it was my very first RPG. I'm 30 years old now) i gotta say i liked very much the gameboy advance version. It expanded so much of the world and the characters, like i didnt even know Max had a brother!
But yes, the genesis version's music sounds better, more gritty and strong
This game RULES. I played it a few months ago and couldn't believe how fun it is. Idk what it is but tactics combat is so much more fun then regular turn based combat.
Slowly and carefully getting into RPGs after growing up hating the genre for around 18 years. As you can probably tell based on my current pfp it's awesome, like a whole genre of games I previously glossed over like sports games or free to play games is now this mysterious glimmering cavern. Shining Force is the first tactical RPG I've seriously tried to get into and it's definitely addictive. I get the appeal of the genre now after being confused so long, can't wait to go back and give Fire Emblem Awakening and Codename STEAM proper tries on my 3DS.
Rock on! There's a big world of RPGs out there to enjoy! :D
Seriously, this game is only beat by the sequel in my book. Shining Force 1 and 2 are just masterpieces on the Genesis. Great review!
Shining Force and Vandal Hearts are the best tactical series. Why? Because you actually have to rely on strategy more than grinding ( unlike Tactics Ogre, FF Tactics and Fire Emblem). Also VH 2 story is one of the best of any RPG.
And now this great game is on the switch. I loved Tao. She is always my number 1 mage.
Let me get that first. New intro is awesome
What's fascinating about Shining Force compared to Fire Emblem is their emphasis on playability. And I'm not even just talking about discussions about grinding, revivable party members, and being comparatively easier. I'm also talking the design decisions with the UI and battle speed, and the general pacing between locations. Shining Force 1 is admittedly infamously slow on many of the overworld maps, and that cursor speed could be faster. But when you compare it to the first two Fire Emblems (which I should add the second Fire Emblem only came out a week before Shining Force), this game is brisk by comparison. And it helps the game hold up compared to modern SRPGs, let alone its contemporaries.
OH MY GOD!!! I WAS LOOKING FOR THE NAME OF THAT GAME FOR A WHILE WHEN I REMEMBERED IT AND COULDN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE! Landstalker. I played that back when the Sega Channel (for the few who remember that monthly interchanging game thinger) was available for a time. Good god, my thirst for remembering has been quenched.
Sidenote: Shining Force was my very first game. Still one of the favs. Will always have a special place in my heart.
Landstalker was such a great game! Daria and I have both talked about it in the past, and it's even on Steam for like, $3 if I recall correctly. :)
Name: Max
Series: The “Shining” Series of Games
Origin Game: “Shining Force”
Publisher: Sega
Design
Max’s design could be taken from his artwork from any of his main appearances, but a mish-mash of all the designs (much like how Roy is featured in Smash) would be the best fit.
Alternate Costumes
Max could have an alternate costume, that being him in his alternate silver armor from “Legacy of Great Intention”
Alternate Colors
As far as his alternate colors go he could have his alts be based on characters featured in his main party, much like many other RPG based characters, and they could pick 8 from anyone on this list.
A silver color pallette, could be derived from Adam, Amon, Balbaroy, Earnest, Ken, Mae, Arthur, Guntz, Lyle, Musashi, or Vankar.
A yellow color palette, could be derived from Alef, Lowe, or Gong.
A blue color palette, could be derived from Anri, Bleu, Hans, Lug, Torasu, or Hanzou.
A green (different shade from default) color palette, could be derived from Diane or Khris.
A red color palette, could be derived from Pelle.
A purple color palette, could be derived from Tao.
A white color palette, could be derived from Zylo or Domingo.
A black color palette, could be derived from Kokichi.
A brown color palette, could be derived from Jogurt.
Moves
Max’s special moves will revolve around attacks and spells he traditionally uses with some of his party members moves incorporated.
Neutral Special: Supernova
Game of Origin: Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon
(Used by Max)
It acts like many of the “big moves” in Smash (like Falcon/Warlock Punch, Amyr, etc.) Big Damage- Lots of Endlag/Startup
Side Special: Bolt/Spark
Game of Origin: Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict
(Used by Max)
Charging changes the range power and effect of this move. The longer you charge the stronger the move becomes, the farther it goes, and how much hitstun your opponent takes. Has 4 different variants depending on charge, (after charging can be held onto like Samus, Hero, etc.).
Down Special:
Down Special could be a variety of different options; The first option could be a Counter, this is because just like Fire Emblem, Classic Shining Force is a tactical RPG and having a counter simulates the back and forth of battle.
The other viable option could be an iconic move from the Shining Force Series, Blaze, in his home game Max does not traditionally use this move, however it’s wielded by a vast majority of magic users and comes in handy quite often. It could function as a projectile going left or right, or they could make it unique by having him using it beneath his feet (acting like a large/powerful down smash) and having different properties when charged (could act like an extra jump with protection from below).
Up Special: Egress
Game of Origin: Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention
Used by Max
This move in Shining Force is traditionally used to flee from battle to heal, save, etc. It could go one of two ways, it could act like Hero’s Zoom (as a reference to the sprite art) but with less height and more control, or it could be like Zelda’s teleportation. As a reference to its main function, using it could heal a little bit of percent (but healing cannot be spammed as it stops after excessive use).
Final Smash: “The Shining Force”
In many final smashes (like Hero, Joker, Shulk, etc.) the fighter is joined by their party members/familiar characters for a final attack. The same should be done here. Max tackles/swipes/etc. (any startup) and then the cutscene starts where all the members of the “Shining Force” come together for a big final attack.
Stage: The Land of Rune
A traveling stage much like the Yggdrasil’s Altar, Garreg Mach Monastery, and Skyloft stages. It would navigate through the many locations in Rune, the starting point could be in the Guardiana Castle.
The background of different locations could feature important characters like the King, Kane, and many others.
This is awesome Derek and Daria :p D&D reviewing RPGs :p
Ooohh! D&D eh? I like it! :)
I call rogue!
Sure! I've always wanted to try Shadow Monk, or maybe Bard... Hmm..
Shining Forces always seemed cool. I had a Genesis but I don't think I bought one until it was super cheap towards the end of its life. I remember playing this game and Shining Forces 2 but I am not sure if I ever played them on the Genesis or if I did so via emulation years later. Either way they're good games.
So I went to Daria's channel as I was unaware of her and enjoyed her commentary in this video and looks like she hasn't uploaded in a year. :( sad times.
Your flow together I feel like is flawless. BTW I knew who you were Super Derek but Daria got me to be like, oh yea....I know that guy I'll sub. Just watching again waiting for FF:MQ.
Shining force is amazing and even the best tactical rpg on 32 bits with the trilogy shining force 3
Hahaha, you tell ‘em Daria!
Great video you two, I’ve already made a personal promise to play through Shining Force.
RIP Mystic Quest LOL
Indeed, the incorporeal lady is correct in that the Shining series died with the Saturn. You may have heard of newer games with "Shining" in the title, but shh!! We mustn't ever speak of such things... By the way, Derek, have you played Shining in the Darkness yet? It's really good. Very similar to HAL's Arcana on SNES, which I assume was a tribute to Shining in the Darkness.
Jason Akers i tried it for like 5 minutes on the ps4 in the genesis collection , is it worth finishing?
What about shining soul on gba?it's still an srpg like the original games on genesis
+camello321 IMO, it is one of the best RPGs on the Genesis, if not *the* best. So, yes, if you enjoy that type of game, it is most definitely worth finishing. There is also a sequel of sorts on the Saturn called, "Shining the Holy Ark," which improves upon the first game in every way. Also, they both exist in the same world as the other Shining games. These games, along with Arcana, are the best of the "dungeon crawler" sub-genre of RPGs. They are nearly a genre unto themselves; there are no other games quite like them, alas.
+classic gamer Shh!! We mustn't speak of such things... ...Ok, just this once. Shining Soul is a reboot of the Shining series, developed by a different company. It lacks everything that made the original series good. Furthermore, it isn't an SRPG. It's an Action RPG.
While I love the Shining series as much as everyone with good tastes in videogames do, Shining in the Darkness is HELL ON EARTH.
That game is just so tedious and big and tedious and...tedious. I mean, it's by no means a bad game, but man it drives me crazy sometimes.
The fact that there's only one dungeon makes it feel pretty repetitive, as you go through the same paths over and over until almost the end of the game, and you can't see the map of the dungeon unless you either use a Wisdom Seed (which would occupy a space in your inventory, and mind you, every character can hold up to 8 items counting equipment, which doesn't allow you to carry healing items that are needed because you have no healers at the beginning of the game), or waste 1 MP with your witc- I mean, magic-user. And even then, you can't really tell where are you exactly.
Also, it can get pretty hardcore, as there can be up to three enemies per characters in your party. At first, you only have your hero, which means three enemies. Simple, right? Well, with your healer and your wi- your magic-user, it goes up to 9. And each can cast multi target spells. Ouch.
But yeah, to give credit for what's left, it's a pretty good game, with a lot of really useful spells and with very well developed enemy attack patterns. Some can "dance" to steal MP, others can attack as a group to deal a lot of damage, others can take a defensive stance to reduce damage taken by your attacks, and DarkSol himself is pretty badass in that game too.
But again, the game is pretty tedious, so not much people would attempt to finish the game more than once. I remember that the first time I've beaten it, it took me 10 whole months. No guides, of course. I think it was in 2009.
Since then, I've beaten the game only one more time, and just recently. It took me two months, but only because I had to fully focus on it to finish it. It's challenging, and most of the time, it isn't in a good way.
"The Shining series died with the Saturn." Absolute truth. This is why Daria is best girl.
I never made that connection between Landstalker and Alundra, but gameplay-wise it makes sense that both games were made by the same people.
Yeah, they're so similar! Go compare the artwork of Nigel to Alundra, and you'll see they're basically carbon-copies of each other! :)
I revisit this game often. Still have the app on my iPad 2 too!
This game was one of my favs in sonic's ultimate genesis collection.
Love this video. This is one of my favorite games of all time. As a Genesis owner who was so jealous of all the RPG goodness the SNES was getting, discovering this game was amazing. Oh, and great to see you and Daria work together! Her channel is awesome and more people should watch it.
Daria *is* awesome, I agree! And as a fellow Genesis owner, I never even knew the Genesis had RPGs. That's how rough things were for people like us!
I had this game as a kid and love it.
I’ve played this one at least 7-8 times my favorite game of all time
The high contrast on the GBA game didn't bother me until you pointed it out.
Still love both versions, though character balancing and sidelining leave a little to be desired in both.
I played a bit of it back in the day and liked it. Ill probably have to get back into it.
One of my favorite RPGs ever along with Phantasy Star
I sadly have not got into this series yet. I will though. I think they are on my psp sega collection.
Tyler Edlin the original PSP is still the best console for Strategy RPGs ever. It was actually the console that received the genre tbh.
They are not on the PS2 or PSP Sega collections(Shining Force and Streets of Rage games missing were the main problem people had with those versions). They are on the PS3/360/PS4/X1 ones.
Tyler Edlin on ps4 as well
Jason Woods aw so it sounds like it’s on the latest collection I’ll look that up
Tyler Edlin playing now. Looks great and feels like when you played back in day. The back trigger is the exception it can speed up and rewind. Strange feature
Great episode you two. I enjoyed it alot. Any chance of the two of you teaming up in the future and do an review of Shining Force II and Warsong Langrisser review on the channel? :)
Hey derek, the sega didn't have a whole alot of great rpgs like the snes. But there are absolutely two series you must play and that is Phantasy star and Shining Force. I would also try and get your hands on the eng translated shining scenerio's 1,2,3 for the Sega Saturn.
Do a Fire Emblem review for GBA next.
I still hate the way my GBA capture looks, so I'm holding off until I get a GCHD for now.
Love the content now that you give approval to this game I’ll put it on my list