So imagine my delight when I recently discovered that fans had come together to resolve this. Not that you could fool the die-hard Saturn loyalists, seeing as the UK’s Sega Saturn Magazine ran an import preview of the second scenario in the same issue as their review of the PAL release.īy this point I had grown used to seeing pages of delightful import oddities (and well, some pretty pervy stuff too) on those pages, but I was desperate to find out what had happened in Medion’s story and was sorely disappointed that, despite owning a chipped machine, there’d still be a huge language barrier preventing me from seeing the saga through to its end. This disc was just the first scenario, the game’s cliffhanger between Synbios and Medion’s forces purposely re-contextualised in the translation to try to give it some kind of closure. The PAL version of Shining Force III was released in June 1998 when the Saturn was basically on its last legs. Sadly, this level of sophistication was something western players never got to experience. Certain actions from one party can also have an impact on the other, such as whether you manage to save the archer Garosh who then goes on to join Medion’s party in his campaign. It’s a fascinating approach as when you play as Synbios from the Aspinian Republic, you’ll occasionally cross paths with Prince Medion from the Destonian Empire, hearing how they’ve come to your aid despite you being on opposite sides of a conflict (though it turns out both the Republic and the Empire have their own problems from within), while the game takes an amusing choice to limit your protagonist’s dialogue to ellipsis.
These aren’t like the ‘what if’ scenarios of Three Houses, where one narrative choice would contradict another, rather they complement each other to build a full epic. Preceding the three-way narratives of Fire Emblem: Fates and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Shining Force III split its story into three scenarios following the journey of three heroes whose fates are intertwined in a geopolitical conflict and conspiracy ultimately tied to a darker force. It was also a boldly ambitious game, or rather a trilogy of games. Admittedly, the world was taken by Final Fantasy VII by this point, but I loved Shining Force III’s turn-based tactical gameplay and its steadfast approach to generating its sprites and 3D models in real-time instead of relying on pre-rendered backgrounds and CGI. However, it was Shining Force III on the Saturn that was the real revelation for me. Considering Shining Force is included in the Mega Drive Classics collections, as well as in the Mega Drive Mini’s library, its legacy hasn’t been lost on Sega either.
It didn’t matter because I was simply absorbed by its fantasy trappings and engrossed with taking my time to pull off the perfect strategy. In any case, I couldn’t compare at the time since a Fire Emblem game was only localised for the first time for Game Boy Advance in 2003.
Objectively, Shining Force was a simpler tactics game compared to Fire Emblem since your units only attacked during their turn it also lacked a defined weapon triangle or support system.
With battles taking place over a map made up of square grids, you move your units, trying to best position yourself to attack, cast spells or sometimes avoid/bait the enemy.
Developed by Camelot Software Planning (formerly known as Sonic! Software Planning), it was actually different from the other dungeon-crawling random battling RPGs like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, belonging in the sub-genre of the tactical RPG more akin to table-top RPGs – or a fancier-looking Chess.Īs the hero, you didn’t start off very powerful but you instead had command over a growing battalion of troops who cut the stock fantasy types, from your tough centaur knight to physically weak but powerful mages, archers for ranged attacks, and so forth.
The first one had passed me by until its online iteration on the Dreamcast, but for all intents and purposes, Shining Force on Mega Drive introduced me to RPGs. Instead, I’ve found myself sidetracked by another tactical RPG, one that’s been close to my heart since long before I awakened to Intelligent Games’ series.Īs I’ve written on TheSixthAxis before, I grew up as a Sega fanboy, and back then Sega had two major RPG series: Phantasy Star and Shining Force. With its first anniversary not long gone, I had planned to revisit it as there was still one of the narrative paths I had yet to complete.
Melee, Fire Emblem has gone from a niche to a genuine tentpole series for Nintendo, the epic Three Houses on Switch becoming its all-time crowning success. From its obscure origins, becoming first known to western audiences through Super Smash Bros.