(Didn't think the game's name would come into play, did you?) The Shining Force is prophesied to give its wielder the power to rule the land - and naturally, in his wonderful fashion, Toma wants it simply because it's a sword and it's neat. From the immature, over-the-top voice work, to the cocky, self-absorbed characterization, to the fact that he's the Generic Sword Fighter in every Japanese action RPG in existence (right down to his "a Hot Topic store exploded on me" attire), there's very little that's initially appealing about Toma.Īt the beginning of the game, Toma and his traveling companions - a centaurian knight by the name of Gadfort, an elven archer by the name of Maebelle, and the game's other protagonist, a secretive, quiet spellcaster named Cyrille - are seeking the holy sword Shining Force. Now, keep in mind that when the words "rather unlikable" are used, it's almost as if the designers intended for him to be maligned. Indeed there is, as Shining Force EXA tells the story of a young, quite bumbling and rather unlikable warrior by the name of Toma.
While the American version is known as EXA, perhaps to keep in a vague theme with the former release Shining Force NEO, the original Japanese version was called Shining Force Ikusa, which translates roughly into "Shining Force War." Perhaps there's more than meets the eye? The game is a bit of an odd one from the get-go - even its name is a bit weird. It adds some strategy into the gameplay, but it's largely the same swords and sorcery beat-'em-up we've seen for several years. Shining Force EXA is not the game to do that.
Somehow, fans of the original games keep waiting and hoping for the series to return to its roots. However, what came afterwards was the very epitome of the phrase, "How the mighty have fallen."Ĭamelot, Sega, and other developers have tried to bring back the franchise, with mixed success most of this is possibly due to every single game with the name "Shining" in it following the same hack-and-slash Diablo-lite pattern. Starting with the pure Wizardry-like Shining in the Darkness, the series saw brief excellence in the cult-classic Shining Force offerings, loved by turn-based strategy-RPG aficionados due to its simple system and RPG-like stat growth that was nearly unheard-of at that point.
The Shining franchise is an expansive series that stretches over a variety of genres, but to this day, many gamers will give you a confused look when asked about it.
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