Sleeper of the Week: Shining the Holy Ark (Saturn)

[maxlords]

Ok, the year is, um, actually I don’t know. *checks* Ahem, 1996. Yes, 1996. Christmas in fact, and Sega has the dubious honor of releasing a long-awaited sequel to the classic dungeon crawling RPG, Shining in the Darkness. That’s right, today we’re looking at Shining the Holy Ark. The only direct dungeon-crawling sequel ever made in the Shining series, Shining the Holy Ark was one of the least noted Shining games. Consisting of a very straightforward interface virtually identical to that of the original Shining in the Darkness, spiffy 3D graphics, and a much more cohesive storyline, Shining in the Holy Ark was one of the best US released Shining games. Unfortunately, no one seemed to really notice it. Possibly because of the sudden influx of PS1 RPGs in a more modern format than the traditional dungeon crawler, possibly because of the fairly slow pacing, or maybe just because people are picky bastards, it never seemed to get the recognition that Shining Force III or Panzer Dragoon Saga or other excellent Sega offerings received.

Shining The Holy Ark is basically a throwback to the old PC era of RPGs, before the advent of modern console gaming. With a first person viewpoint, updated to incorporate continuous scrolling rather than single non-moving frames, a standardized menu system (very similar to all other Shining games), and traditional linear gameplay (i.e. do this, go to this town, find this item, etc) Shining The Holy Ark really made traditional RPGs interesting. The plot is excellent, the characters are quite memorable, and the gameplay itself is fun, though a bit on the slow side. I found it to be a rather interesting diversion from the expansive wide-open modern RPGs we as gamers have gotten used to over the last 5-6 years or so. The focus on such a smaller detailed storyline is something that in my opinion has almost been lost over the last few years in favor of the sweeping epic. Certainly parts of Shining the Holy Ark are epic, but it has such a different feel to it that it’s very much different from say, Xenogears or Grandia 2 or other such world-saving quest style games. That’s not such a bad thing either!

Graphically of course, Shining the Holy Ark is firmly rooted in early 3D, being on the Saturn. It consists of fairly simple graphics with spiffy particle effects and such for attacks, jaggy backgrounds, and cutesy, cartoonish characters with squeaky sound effects instead of voices. The music is standard RPG fare, decent but not stunningly memorable. Sega always seems to make quality game music however, so you won’t be being tortured by any means (except by the squeaky voice sounds). Control is simple, basic graphic menus for battles and menu options, and the whole game is very easy to control, with no complex sub-menus or mega-customization, but of course it’s not really necessary with a game like this. Ultimately what we have is a classic RPG with a solid story in a quasi-modern shell. If you like a nice simple straightforward RPG that you may have missed, this is definitely the game for you.

Conveniently, Shining the Holy Ark has never really jumped in price . I’ve rarely seen it higher than $25 for mint complete copies. Complete copies on eBay are averaging $25-40, but the game can easily be found from private sellers for $25 or less if you’re patient. For the generally low price it goes for (considering it’s a Sega RPG), Shining the Holy Ark is definitely worth a look-see for the RPGer and maybe even some casual gamers with a taste for the older style games. Here’s some pics, go check it out!

[Logicdustbin]

neet

would you need to play the previous games in the series to understand the story, or does in stand up by itself?

[shai hulud]

back when the game came out i didnt get into too much because i thought it looked kinda crappy. graphics mean less to me these days and i have played the game on and off for the last 6 months, i figure i should end it by the end of the year.

[geelw]

this is one of those love/hate games in my collection. while you don't need any previous experience with the shining series to enjoy it immensley, it does start off sloooowly. one thing that makes the game slightly pesky is the relatively stiff movement options you have while walking. unlike shining in the darkness 9or hell, phanyasy star) which had smooth-scrolling dungeons, ark's one-step-at-a-time pacing takes some getting used to, especially in areas where you get jumped every three of four paces.

i loved the enemies coming from all directions aspect however, as well as the simple combat mechanics. visually, the game is excellent, except for the slowdown in one large town. i initially didn't like the plasticky rendered look of the characters, but ti grows on you as you play. one thing that even the most diehard rpg=er will find a bit annoying is trying to locate all the hidden fairies in the game. these little guys help out wit pre-battle strikes that increase in power the more of them you track down. but you need to scour areas with a fine tooth comb and subject unprepared parties to some tough battles in some of the later areas. also, unless you cheat and get a walkthrough you'll miss some of these guys, as a few areas become unaccessible as the game progresses.

while the bloops and blips game speak is supremely dated, it's also a trademark of the series. still, playing it now is good for a decent memory smack and as max said, the game can be had for a reasonable price. i'd grab it over a sealed ghen war any day

[Atarian75]

I think I will pull this one out and give it a try. I have been wanting to play one of the Saturn RPG's for awhile and since I can't seem to get a complete copy of Dragon Force for a reasonable price (hint, hint. anyone?), I might as well play this. I remember starting it awhile back, but for whatever reason I got sidetracked and never went back. Anyway, thanks for bringing this one up, now I have something to play.

-Atarian75

[Daria]

neet

would you need to play the previous games in the series to understand the story, or does in stand up by itself?

It ties into Shining Force 3, which is itself incomplete storywise without the 2nd and 3rd senarios. So no not really, also doesn't tie in at all with the earlier games which follow a completely different story arc.

[Garry Silljo]

You don't need to play the other games to enjoy this one, but there is the occassional reference or throwback. I think there is a faq that lists them for those who are curious about where this game falls in line with the rest of them. I played this before I played any other ones so I didnt realize any of it was from the past until I read so.

[Blitzwing256]

I loved the original, but the fact you didn't have an automap system that was useable (the map spell would drain too much mp, and you couldn't hold enough map items to be usefull in a long run)

does the saturn sequel have a better map system?
getting lost in dungeon crawlers is the biggest pain ;-)

also if anyone has a copy of it I um..have an extra shining wisdom if they'd want to trade ;-)

[Damaramu]

Yes. I love this game, along with the other games in the Shining series. Hearing beep speak brings back fond memories. Yes.

[geelw]

I loved the original, but the fact you didn't have an automap system that was useable (the map spell would drain too much mp, and you couldn't hold enough map items to be usefull in a long run)

does the saturn sequel have a better map system?
getting lost in dungeon crawlers is the biggest pain ;-)

also if anyone has a copy of it I um..have an extra shining wisdom if they'd want to trade ;-)

?? the spell was only 2MP . if you had a poor sense of direction you actually needed to make a map as you played (graph paper always comes in handy). given that the average gamer probably wasn't going to sit there every ten or twenty minutes mapping the area i can see the MP adding up somewhat. i was lucky enough to have played the mega drive version four times so i remembered pretty much all the stuff in the game...

g.

holy ark has an easier to use map system, though. it's still possible to get temporairly lost in a few huge dungeons where there are things like crossroads multiple levels that double back on themselves and well... a bit of upside down insanity later on- you'll see if you get your own copy. just sell shining wisdom and use the $ to fund your ark purchase.

[maxlords]

Heh..I played Shining in the Darkness so long that I actually MEMORIZED all the levels. It was nuts. I spent something like 3 months playing that game. Shining the Holy Ark is definitely easier in that respect. I found it harder to get lost. However, if you're confused easily by similar looking first person chambers, I'd still suggest mapping it out by hand....can't beat the classics!

[geelw]

lol- if i wasn't so buried in stuff here, i'd set up the genesis and jump in again. unlocking all the secret weapons and armor are worth the time spent leveling up to 99 (the last boss can be beat in about 6-8 hits by that time if i remember correctly) i still wish the dungeons in sotd were fullscreen (like phantasy star), but it's still a great ton of gaming you'll get out of that cart...

holy ark could have used a journal feature, as after some quests in the longer dungeons you have no idea what to do unless you go back and start talking to people you've forgotten all about,

g.

[segagamer]

I love this game. I remember spending countless hours into the night playing it. IMO, it was one of several RPGs that I was very addicted to.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

I love StHA, probably more then I do SitD. I'm on my second play-through now, 39 hours into the game. This was probably my first real saturn game that I sunk a LOT of time into, while my friends were playing FF7. I still like this one better. =P

[Melf]

You don't need to play the other games to enjoy this one, but there is the occassional reference or throwback. I think there is a faq that lists them for those who are curious about where this game falls in line with the rest of them. I played this before I played any other ones so I didnt realize any of it was from the past until I read so.

I like how a person in the Far East Villiage references it as Hanzou's (the ninja from Shining Force 1) home town.

[Steven]

Honestly this was the first RPG I really played, and so with that STHA automatically is a game I shall never forget. Though I didn't put more than 2 hours' worth into it, I really enjoyed it for that time frame. I shall break it out one day and try to play it all the way through, but I definitely think it's a good quality game.

[slip81]

I've had this game sine 1997 I think, and I still haven't beaten it It's a fun game though, so someday I will sit down, start a new game and play it all the way through.

[Steven]

maxlords you bring up a good point too in that it's never really jumped in price. You can easily find a complete great condition copy for under $35, and like you said, maybe as cheap as $25 shipped if you're patient.

Meanwhile, games like Shining Wisdom, Albert Odyssey and the like go for over $30 consistently. Odd.

[maxlords]

Yeah, that's why I consider it a sleeper. Some of us gamers bought it and a few of us played it, but it never really did well and even today, a LOT of gamers ignore it. Too bad cause it's such a great game

[crazyjackcsa]

I played it, loved it, sold it and bought it back again later. I never had played any of hte other Shining Games but this one was one of my favorites. To this day I've been stuck on the end boss, maybe I'll pcik it up if I have some time.