Shining Force EXA

The original Shining Force games were wonderful, tactical role-playing games. Back in the 16-bit days, and in the waning hours of the Saturn's life, Sega was on top of its game and was considered to be one of the best video game developers in the world. The Shining Force games were widely considered to be some of its best work. However, Shining Force now appears to be a casualty of Sega's continuing attempts to compose itself after the tragedy that is the Dreamcast.

That's not to say that Shining Soul or Shining Tears were terrible games; they just weren't Shining Force. It's almost as if Sega couldn't tell what its mistakes were -- and for anyone not paying attention, it was in-fighting between Sega of America and Sega of Japan -- and felt that it should change everything in its IP catalogue as if that was the problem.

The bottom line of this little diatribe is that if you have fond memories of Shining Force I-III, then you shouldn't be fooled by the title of Shining Force EXA. This is another hack-'n'-slash dungeon crawler. One part Diablo, one part Gauntlet, and one part some random Japanese anime, Shining Force EXA basically presents the same experience as Shining Force NEO.

Indeed, it presents the same experience more than one would expect. Both games share the same environments, monsters, and dungeons -- some dungeons from Shining Force NEO have been imported without any changes! Even more inexplicably, Shining Force EXA has no ties to NEO whatsoever. It stinks of laziness. However, Shining Force NEO hardly received widespread attention in New Zealand, so it's unlikely anyone will actually notice the repetition.

It's not all bad; if you like dungeon crawlers and you prefer Japanese anime styling to the often dull, drab dungeons that litter such titles as Diablo and Untold Legends, then you'll probably find a lot to like about Shining Force EXA. The game is certainly unrelenting in its challenges, and the frequent battles can be both exciting and engaging. It will certainly feel like you're in the middle of a giant war.

There is also some neat Suikoden-esque touches with recruiting characters. You'll have a headquarters where everyone chills when not kicking copious amounts of ass, and you'll be required to upgrade it as you go. You'll only have so much material to upgrade your establishment with, so some strategy is required amongst all the hacking and the slashing. It's hardly Shining Force II, but then we gave up on that dream long ago.

Shining Force EXA will certainly scratch an itch for the niche market it's aimed at. Yes, the game's content is largely recycled. Yes, the voice acting consists of actors from children's theatre (no, I'm not kidding). And yes, the game is largely a repetitive, button-pushing extravaganza. But people do like these games. After all, they're still putting out versions of Dynasty Warriors, so somebody has to be buying them.

While fans of the Mega Drive originals are better waiting for the inevitable Virtual Console release, if you're the kind of gamer who likes the idea of frantic action with the killing of many, many monsters, then you'll want to stay tuned to NZGamer for the full review of Shining Force EXA in the near future...