Favorite Shining Force game?

[sirhansirhan]

I only own Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya at the moment, but am interested in the series, so I thought I'd see what the popularity level of each game is.

[Solotaire]

Wh not Shining the Holy Ark or Shining Tears? My personal fav is Shining in The Darkness. :P

[Synergy]

I've only played the "Shining" series on the Genesis, all of which are good, but I voted for Shining Force II. They are definately worth checking into.

[B - Mark]

I voted in Shinning Force II, my favorite Shinning Force game.

[Gapporin]

II, by a landslide. Although, I do have Sword Of Hajya as well, and I must say, it's amazing to see what they were able to do with the hardware available. It actually feels like a Shining Force game, and not a half-baked handheld game attempt (like so many series spin-offs, on handhelds, happen to be).

[roushimsx]

I loved Shining Force, but Shining Force II really did improve on every single aspect of the game. It's funny that I never really noticed it back then...I just felt like it was a natural continuation of the gameplay, but last year when I played them back to back it was like going from Super Mario Brothers to Super Mario Brothers 3.

If someone would ever hack Shining Force III pt2 and 3 to english (I really can't stand having to reference a script while I play... I had to do that for Dragon Quest VI and I swore I'd never ever ever do it again) then they'd probably very well take over the top spot as a collective body...but until then, Shining Force II is king.

[7th lutz]

I only played one and two alot. I say 2.

[Richter]

If someone would ever hack Shining Force III pt2 and 3 to english http://forums.shiningforcecentral.com/index.php?showforum=34

the Premium Disc has already been done (sorta)

[DTJAAAAMJSLM]

The original, with part two as a close second.

[AMG]

I really enjoyed the original Shining Force. I have to go with that one here.

[sirhansirhan]

Wh not Shining the Holy Ark or Shining Tears? My personal fav is Shining in The Darkness. :P

Because I don't know the series well enough to have included them. When I was writing this thread, I just searched for "Shining Force" in U.S. Game Releases on all systems, and then put poll answers for what it came up with.

[FantasiaWHT]

Number 2 definitely. Although I regret I've never gotten a chance to play 3.

[Daltone]

I'm a big fan of Shining Force CD. Apparently, thus far I am the only one.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Out of all of them, I was most dissapointed by the Sega CD version. I had just played SF2 and had high hopes since the CD had so much more space for a larger game, cutscenes, etc. Instead it was a very linear fight, shop, repeat game. There was no exploration whatsoever. In SF2 I wandered around for a long time exploring and figuring out where to go next. The CD version took care of that problem.

[Blitzwing256]

shining force cd although a great and fun game was just a remake of the first two gg games (first never released in the us) as well as a bonus third quest and another bonus "special" battle. still a great deal of fun to play if you love the series.

[ckendal]

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Shining Force fan.

I currently own (all of which are NM-M/complete):

1) Shining Force GEN
2) Shining Force II GEN
3) Shining Force CD SCD
4) Shining Force III SAT
5) Shining Force III Scenario 2 JP/SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 3 JP/SAT

And I have Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict JP/GG (mint/complete) on the way!

Let me set a few things straight so that sirhansirhan has a better grasp about the series.

There were a total of 3 Shining Force games released for the Sega Game Gear.
1) Shining Force Gaiden
2) Shining Force Gaiden II: Sword of Hajya
3) Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict

While the original Shining Force Gaiden on Game Gear did not get released in the USA, it was part of the compilation in Shining Force CD. Shining Force Gaiden was book 1 in SFCD and Sword of Hajya was book 2. Final Conflict was never released in the USA, but a fan translation to english was done and can be played via emulation. OR if you understand Japanese you can find a copy of Final Conflict and play it on any Game Gear as they had no region protection.

In addition Shining Force III is really a 3 part game in which we only got the 1st part in the USA. Tragic really as it is a good game in its own right. While scenario 3 is really easy to find and quite inexpensive, scenario 2 will cost you a bit of cash. There are currently translations being worked on to translate these 2 scenarios into english, much like a patch for a ROM would work. For now you can find script translations on paper if you decided you wanted to play through it.

And finally for anyone that really wants to play through them and get the best experience, play them in this order:

1) Shining Force GEN
2) Shining Force CD SCD (includes SFG and SFG2:SoH)
3) Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict JP/GG
4) Shining Force II GEN
5) Shining Force III SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 2 JP/SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 3 JP/SAT

This is the official chronology released by Camelot, who deveopled the Shining Force series. You'd be suprised how many things tie together and it makes for a wonderful gaming experience.

And to finally answer the original question... the best of them all is the original. It is what made this great series and was the foundation for the great games that followed! 8-)

[fishsandwich]

I was surprised to see the lack of votes for Shining Force III for Saturn until I realized that very few people have actually played it due to its expense, rarity, and the lack of good Saturn emulation.

Shining Force III is my favorite in the series and the first game in the series that I actually played. I've spent considerble time since then with Shining Force II and Shining Force CD but it's hard to go back to the simpler storylines, graphics and battle systems of the earlier games when you were originally spoiled on the Saturn version. It's one of my all-time favorite games.

[nik]

Shining Force is ultimate, but Shining Force II improved on it, it was a really great surprse on Xmas when I asked for Shining Force (even though I rented it non stop!) and in the box I got Shining Force II!

[sirhansirhan]

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Shining Force fan.

I currently own (all of which are NM-M/complete):

1) Shining Force GEN
2) Shining Force II GEN
3) Shining Force CD SCD
4) Shining Force III SAT
5) Shining Force III Scenario 2 JP/SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 3 JP/SAT

And I have Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict JP/GG (mint/complete) on the way!

Let me set a few things straight so that sirhansirhan has a better grasp about the series.

There were a total of 3 Shining Force games released for the Sega Game Gear.
1) Shining Force Gaiden
2) Shining Force Gaiden II: Sword of Hajya
3) Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict

While the original Shining Force Gaiden on Game Gear did not get released in the USA, it was part of the compilation in Shining Force CD. Shining Force Gaiden was book 1 in SFCD and Sword of Hajya was book 2. Final Conflict was never released in the USA, but a fan translation to english was done and can be played via emulation. OR if you understand Japanese you can find a copy of Final Conflict and play it on any Game Gear as they had no region protection.

In addition Shining Force III is really a 3 part game in which we only got the 1st part in the USA. Tragic really as it is a good game in its own right. While scenario 3 is really easy to find and quite inexpensive, scenario 2 will cost you a bit of cash. There are currently translations being worked on to translate these 2 scenarios into english, much like a patch for a ROM would work. For now you can find script translations on paper if you decided you wanted to play through it.

And finally for anyone that really wants to play through them and get the best experience, play them in this order:

1) Shining Force GEN
2) Shining Force CD SCD (includes SFG and SFG2:SoH)
3) Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict JP/GG
4) Shining Force II GEN
5) Shining Force III SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 2 JP/SAT
6) Shining Force III Scenario 3 JP/SAT

This is the official chronology released by Camelot, who deveopled the Shining Force series. You'd be suprised how many things tie together and it makes for a wonderful gaming experience.

And to finally answer the original question... the best of them all is the original. It is what made this great series and was the foundation for the great games that followed! 8-)

Hey, thanks; that's very useful information. When I was getting interested in the series I did a search on DP's forums, and found surprisingly little. That's why I started this thread.

[roushimsx]

lack of good Saturn emulation.

Once parts 2 and 3 get translated then I'm sure quite a few people are going to discover the wonderously badass emulator, "SSF".

[NightHawk777]

It was painfully hard to choose one of these games.

I picked Shining Force III, as even just the US version is quite awesome. I picked up the Scenario II and III, but haven't tried to wade thru them yet.

On a side note, the Shining Force game on GBA is a sorta remake of Shining Force I on the Genesis. The GBA version has some new elements added, such as cards that can be used. I totally ignored those cards in one play thru, and it really didn't seem to matter.

Shining Force I or the GBA remake are also excellent.

[Bighab]

Shining Force CD was my fav. Probally because it was all battles :D Is there really any "poor" game in the series? I really wish we would see a true "Force" game(strategy/rpg) on a next gen system.

[ckendal]

I really wish we would see a true "Force" game(strategy/rpg) on a next gen system.

Don't we all? Blame Sega because it will more than likely never happen. The closest thing we have is the Fire Emblem games which are great in their own right, but I prefer Shining Force.

Although I could care less if it was really "next-gen", I prefer the 2D based sprite games. Just give us Shining Force IV! :D