After sleeping in for most of the day, as is my wont, I finally dragged my sad carcass out of bed. In the bathroom, while shaving the weeds that had taken root on this gruesome face, I accidentally knock over my toothbrush. Without fail, it landed brush first into a sea of hairs and Florida water. It was at this moment I stared into the mirror and mouthed out the words "Finally! Some goddamned fucking inspiration!" Though I'm unquestionably a subject deserving of endless criticism, I would rather distract myself by poking into the failings of others, especially when they're already well-documented. I'm a screwup who never learns from his mistakes, but that doesn't mean anyone else is allowed to be.
Back in ancient times, Sega was the first of several companies who tried to combat Nintendo's dominance over handheld gaming. Their hopes were binned - I mean pinned - on the Game Gear. More power! More colors! A backlight so you could actually see what's happening! That last point ended up being the handheld's undoing. It was the early 90s and LED lighting had just seen a major breakthrough, but it was already too late. Sega opted for a power-hungry fluorescent bulb, turning a handheld that could've gotten 30 or so hours of gametime out of the required six double AA batteries into one that lasted 3 to 5 hours. I'm sure Energizer and Duracell were thrilled by this battery-chugging behemoth. Everyone else... nah.
I shouldn't have to tell you that developers had to make several concessions if they wanted to put games on the Game Gear. If a game was too long and didn't allow for frequent passwords or the ability to save progress, then who's going to play it? Yeah, the player could just use the AC charger and sit hunched in a corner for hours, but let's be realistic here. Average people are going to be on the bus fuming because the system dying mid-game cost them a ton of progress. RPGs with save-anywhere options went a long way towards mitigating the issue. For some genres, this problem isn't so easily resolved. Any fan of Sonic! Software Planning's Shining Force series has probably experienced the pain of a freak outage ruining a battle that they've spent 30 minutes trying to complete. Knowing this, the developers of Shining Force Gaiden opted for short skirmishes with a low TUFE.
TUFE stands for "Time Until First Encounter". If you've never heard this in Shining Force communities, it's because I made it up a minute ago. Basically, it's a measure of how long it takes the player to make contact with an enemy in a particular battle. Battles that take place on huge maps with large tracts of deserts and hills will have a higher TUFE than in the basement of some warlord's lair. Since the Gaiden games are on a platform with dreadful battery life, TUFE is very low. Shining Force CD is a remake of the first two handheld entries plus a bonus chapter, but the developers didn't implement any drastic changes to the map structure or pacing. In other words, if you're looking to try the series, but aren't quite ready to commit to the Genesis & Saturn entries, then this duology is worth checking out.
For anyone out there who might be wondering, yes, I'm familiar with this SRPG series. Let's take the wayback machine to the early 90s. Though the first Shining Force had caught my interest, strategy games were not really something I could get into. Warsong aka Langrisser was my first experience, and it was not a good one. Quality game, but its decision to put newcomers on the backfoot with an unwinnable first battle was a questionable one. Also, since both armies acted when combat was initiated, I always felt like I was doing poorly when some of my guys got killed in the scuffle.
Much like Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force opts for the Dragon Quest approach. Experience is retained even when the main character falls and the battle is lost. If the player feels like they're struggling, they can restart battles with the Egress spell and get some more training in. More personally, I think I just really like SRPG battle systems with instant gratification and delayed consequences. When I choose to attack the enemy, I want to feel like I'm making the right decision... at least for the moment. Now, obviously I'll kick myself a little bit later when the character I just moved is double-teamed by a couple of monsters and wiped out, but I took a chance and learned why it was a mistake. I won't claim that this is the ideal way to design strategy games, but I think it's a good hook for drawing in newbies. They won't get stuck in decision-paralysis, feeling like every move is a bad idea.
Eventually, I start putting together what works and what doesn't. My moves become more sensible, and I start making use of each unit's strengths. For example, a flying character ignores terrain, allowing them to cover more ground in less turns. However, ignoring terrain means ignoring the "Land Effect" bonus, which can increase defense by as much as 30%. Also, winged creatures boast higher evasion but are more susceptible to ranged weapons, meaning I have to be selective about when and who I attack. The idea is that I learn as I go, and the game never halts unless my tactics are completely idiotic. Besides, worst comes to worst, grinding a few extra levels can make a difference... except the subject of today's discussion is Shining Force CD.
Right, I suppose now's the time I talk about what sets this entry apart. Besides the smaller-scale and faster-paced battles, one of the most notable changes is how level-ups are implemented. Generally, levels 1-10 provide the largest stat-boosts, with levels 11-20 being slightly dimensioned. 21 and beyond? The chances that a character will receive any gains besides a +1 to their name are exponentially reduced. I can't say that there's no chance, because there absolutely is, it's just not feasible for someone who just wants to see this game's three stories to their conclusion.
Less effective leveling / grinding has the knock-on effect of further limiting the player's "Force" options. The Force consists of up to 12 characters, with a handful left on the bench. While other installments are no stranger to balance issues, with several units landing somewhere between superfluous and useless, Shining Force CD's "soft-cap" ensures that players can't afford to stick with whomever they like. The Force has to be optimized. Weak links aren't allowed. This also means a larger emphasis is placed on tactics, especially if the player intends to tackle the harder difficulties. I mean, that's closer to a good thing, but what got me into this series in the first place was having more RPG features, not less.
Battles feature a solid variety of scenarios and monsters to contend with. I have to again praise how quickly these battles develop. There's always a reason to keep moving, a purpose to each location, and a strategy besides "find the leader and kill them". Book 2 is geared even more towards instant action. Several battles start with both sides within coughing distance of one another. This also means it takes less time for players to reach the point when their fortunes turned, and the battle ended in failure. It makes Shining Force 1 almost frivolous. So much of that game feels wasted leading troops around without so much as a goblin to stab.
It's not all good though. A couple of the climatic encounters can end up feeling overwhelming or gimmicky. Iom, the final boss of Book 2, has a ludicrous amount of defense. His demon breath can easily cleave 30 HP from anyone caught in its 13-square area. Even the hardiest heroes aren't going to have much more than 60 HP. This leads to a finale where everyone is thrown at Iom, single file, until the big jerk is defeated. It's made extra annoying by an endless supply of minions that have their own defense-ignoring AOEs. It's my pick for worst battle in the game. Well, maybe second worst if I had any inclination to tackle the secret battle. Fighting Iom again, plus every other boss (including the handful exclusive to Book 3) just doesn't sound like much fun. I enjoyed it in Shining Force 2, but that game has several godlike characters with incredible stats.
Altogether, I like Shining Force CD's take on the series. It's all fundamental, back-to-basic, no-nonsense game design. Maps are appropriately designed, so the 50 battles across the first three books don't require an absurd time investment to complete. You'll definitely need a guide though. Most of the secret items and every hidden character is in an unmarked location, and you can't go back to previous battles if you missed anything. But hey. It's a small price to pay for a good SRPG.
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| The flashing screen effects are pretty obnoxious too. I wonder if the Mega Drive Mini 2 version fixes them. |
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