Shining Force EXA
While most RPGs are epics this is the Sci-Fi Channel Saturday afternoon movie
Tags: Shining Force EXA Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Apr 5th, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Shining Force EXA (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Role-Playing | No | ||
Sega has transitioned the Shining series of RPGs fully into the action column. Taking almost every one of its cues from Shining Force NEO, Shining Force EXA does manage to up the ante in the graphics department. The real draw back is that beyond looking pretty there aren’t any distinguishing characteristics about this game; it ends up languishing as a generic game.
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The game does indeed look great. The anime cut scenes work well in the storyline, but I wish there were more of them. The scenes they represent are nice, but in some scenes static sprites and text boxes seem really out of place. In one of the early climaxes to the story, you actually flip back and forth two or three times between the cut scenes and text boxes. I can still appreciate the story, but it really took some effort to get past the frustration of the inconsistent presentation. Although to put into perspective it greatly resembles the Sega CD Lunar games, but FMV isn’t that impressive anymore. The graphics look nice, but it doesn’t carry a rather weak story.
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The game is centered on a young errant swordsman, Toma, in search of the holy sword, Shining Force. Toma is being trained to be a knight by the centaur Gadfort. They are joined by an elf with a voracious appetite, Maebelle. Rounding out the opening part is the other lead character Cyrille. Abandoning all subtlety in her first scene we discover that she has her own motives for seeking the sword, and she is trying to hide it from the others. That is one of the worst parts of this game, it assumes you’re an idiot, and lay everything out for you. The whole “sword to save the world” cliché can’t stand on its own, and adding in weak storytelling just makes this a sleeper.
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The gameplay isn’t bad, but it gets repetitive, fast. The system has been changed to make this basically Gauntlet with stats. It doesn’t help the game, as the pacing is too slow to keep the action busy enough. The challenge scale is off, as well, leading to a very frustrating experience when you meet a boss, or a large group of enemies. You’ll have gone from just smashing the button, and barely being hurt, to being killed in two or three hits. There are technical issues as well. Whenever there are more than 10 enemies on the screen the whole game freaks out and really slows down.
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One of the better features in the game is the “Geo-Fortress.” A huge sprawling castle full of technologic wonders, which only Sega’s mad love of slamming Sci-Fi and Fantasy together could produce. There are challenge stages to level grind through, and as you collect new party members they set up shop in the area. This use of a central location (including the shops), really keeps the game moving forward. Along with character customization you can build levels for the castle and various features.
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There are a few strands of what could be a great game here. The story needed a lot of work, and not to be laid out so plainly. With such straight ahead action, there needs to be more to do with your head here. The strategy elements are long gone, and it leaves a big hole in the game. If you don’t have another RPG around, this might be worth toying with, but devoting the time to complete the game is more than anyone can muster.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ This game looks nice + The character and customization system is very well done |
5.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Weak storyline - Very bland - Slows down in large combat situations - Inconsistent presentation |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Overall, this is only for long time Sega addicts. If Shining Force was you first RPG (mine was Shining in the Darkness) there may be something for you here. With a huge RPG library on the PS2, there is no reason to play this very bland game. | |
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Tags: Shining Force EXA
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Apr 5th, 2007 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
