is a series of
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
s developed by
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
. The first game, ''
Shining in the Darkness
''Shining in the Darkness'', released as in Japan, is a 1991 role-playing video game for the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive/Genesis video game console. It was one of the first role-playing games released for the system, and was the first in the Shining ...
'', was a first-person
dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...
er with
randomly encountered,
turn-based battles (comparable to ''
Wizardry'' and ''
Might and Magic''). The next game released in the series was ''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pack Vol ...
'', which was a
turn-based strategy style
tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...
with battle scenes acted out with sprites (comparable to ''
Fire Emblem''). Other directions include ''
Shining Soul
is an action role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of the '' Shining'' series. ''Shining Soul'' is a reboot of the '' Shining'' series. The game was followed by a sequel, ''Shining Soul II'', in 2003. Both games were re-released ...
'', a dungeon crawl
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
with
roguelike elements, and a number of traditional
Japanese role-playing games. ''
Shining Resonance Refrain
''Shining Resonance Refrain'' is an action role-playing video game developed by O-Two Inc. and published by Sega. Originally developed by Media.Vision, it is an entry in Sega's '' Shining'' series of video games, and an expanded and remastered ve ...
'' was released on
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
Steam PC and
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
worldwide across 2018.
Dungeon crawler titles
In the dungeon crawler titles of the series (''
Shining in the Darkness
''Shining in the Darkness'', released as in Japan, is a 1991 role-playing video game for the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive/Genesis video game console. It was one of the first role-playing games released for the system, and was the first in the Shining ...
'' and ''
Shining the Holy Ark''), the player takes control of an adventuring party. Battles work very similarly to those of ''
Dragon Quest
previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project (Yuji Horii), Bird Studio (Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo (Koichi Sugiyama) to its publi ...
'', ''
Mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...
'', ''
Shin Megami Tensei
''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'', and the fellow Sega RPG series ''
Phantasy Star
is a series of console role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The series debuted in 1987 on the Master System with ''Phantasy Star'', and continues into the present with ''Phantasy Star Online 2'' and other ext ...
'', in that they are first person and the player is placed in a position where the hero and team mates would be. ''Shining in the Darkness'' is the first game in the ''Shining'' series, and is a very simple labyrinth exploration game, with a simplified non explorable town and world map, where choices are made through a cursor system. ''Shining the Holy Ark'' was released immediately prior to ''Shining Force III'', and while it is also a dungeon crawler, it features a far more expanded gameplay world over the first title.
Strategy titles
For the strategy games of the series (''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pack Vol ...
'', ''
Shining Force Gaiden'', ''
Shining Force Gaiden 2'', ''
Shining Force II
is a tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console developed by Sonic! Software Planning in 1993. Its storyline is not directly connected to the original '' Shining Force'', although a Game Gear title '' Shining Force Gaiden: Fin ...
'', ''
Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict'', ''
Shining Force CD'', ''
Shining Force III
is a trilogy of fantasy turn-based tactics role-playing video games designed for the Sega Saturn. These games served as sequels to Shining the Holy Ark and were the final entries in the Shining series to be developed by Camelot Software Plann ...
'' and ''
Shining Force Feather
is a turn-based tactical role-playing game developed by Flight-Plan and published by Sega. It is the 20th entry in the Shining series (not counting remakes) and was released in Japan on February 19, 2009. Produced by Yoichi Shimosato and featu ...
''), the player takes charge of a party in large-scale, strategic battles. The games generally limit the number of characters who can enter any one battle at a time to about a dozen. The player controls unique characters with their own stats, as opposed to generic unit types.
Action role-playing titles
The third broad category of ''Shining'' games is the
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
set of titles. This incorporates: ''
Shining Wisdom
is an action-adventure game developed by Sonic! Software Planning and Camelot Software Planning and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It was the last game in the '' Shining'' series to be developed for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive but was ...
'', ''
Shining Soul
is an action role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of the '' Shining'' series. ''Shining Soul'' is a reboot of the '' Shining'' series. The game was followed by a sequel, ''Shining Soul II'', in 2003. Both games were re-released ...
'', ''
Shining Soul II'', ''
Shining Force Neo
is an action role-playing game co-developed by Neverland and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 as a part of the ''Shining'' series.
It is not a turn-based strategy game as the other games of the ''Shining Force'' sub-seri ...
'', ''
Shining Tears
is an action role-playing game co-developed by Nextech and Amusement Vision and published by Sega in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 as a part of the '' Shining'' video game series. It tells the story of a mysterious boy named Xion.
An anime adap ...
'', ''
Shining Force EXA
is an action role-playing game developed by Neverland and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2 and mobile phones as a part of the '' Shining'' series. It tells the story of a world divided by a war between humans and demons.
Like ''Shining ...
,'' ''
Shining Wind,
Shining Force Cross and
Shining Resonance''. The games it incorporates do not necessarily have any noticeable similarity in gameplay. For instance, while ''Shining Tears'' uses similar mechanics to ''Shining Soul II'', it has less in common with ''Shining Wisdom'' than it does with any of the strategy RPG titles of the series.
On 3 December 2009, ''Shining Force Cross'' was released as an
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
for Sega's
RingEdge system board. It is a
multiplayer role-playing game with support for up to eight players, both online and offline.
Within one month, nearly 2,400 ''
Shining Force Cross'' machines had been sold to
arcade operators by December 31, 2009. A sequel has been released for the RingEdge arcade system in 2012, ''Shining Force Cross Illusion''.
Connections between games
Each game in the series has a standalone story, meaning that it is not required to play its predecessors to better understand its storyline. Nevertheless, most installments of the series prior to ''Shining Soul I'' often reference each other or have characters carried over. For example, in ''Shining Wisdom'', the elf-cleric Sarah and elf-mage Kazin from ''Shining Force II'' make an important appearance. ''Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict'' and ''Shining Force II'' are two of the most related games, having the largest number of characters and locations in common.
From ''Shining Soul I'' onward, installments of the series tend to have less significant connections. For instance, in ''Shining Tears'' a character mentions the Klantol Kingdom (the setting for ''Shining Soul II'') and tells its geographic location, but there is no interaction with any of the characters or plot events of ''Shining Soul II''. However, ''Shining Wind'' and ''Shining Tears'' are some of the most closely connected pair of games in the series, since the former is a direct sequel to the latter and features return appearances by nearly all of the major characters.
Reboot by Sega
Previously the ''Shining'' games from ''
Shining in the Darkness
''Shining in the Darkness'', released as in Japan, is a 1991 role-playing video game for the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive/Genesis video game console. It was one of the first role-playing games released for the system, and was the first in the Shining ...
'' to ''
Shining Force III
is a trilogy of fantasy turn-based tactics role-playing video games designed for the Sega Saturn. These games served as sequels to Shining the Holy Ark and were the final entries in the Shining series to be developed by Camelot Software Plann ...
'' were solely developed by
Sonic Software Planning which later became Camelot. The initial idea came from co-founder Hiroyuki Takahashi who previously was at Enix.
After Sega quit the hardware market, it was decided to reboot the ''Shining'' franchise. In charge of the so called "Shining Project" was Sega employee Tadashi Takezaki who joined marketing in 1993 and in 2004 was not only in charge of the ''Shining'' series, but also the ''
Sakura Wars'' franchise and the official Japanese Sega website. According to Takezaki, when you think of Sega RPG's, you think of ''Phantasy Star'' and ''Shining''. While Phantasy Star never strictly had a V entry, it was rebooted in the form of ''
Phantasy Star Online
''Phantasy Star Online'' is an online role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first online RPG for game consoles; players adventure with up to three others over the internet to ...
''. The Shining series never had an entry on the Dreamcast, due to various developers being busy with other projects and it being thought that it would be better to launch a new RPG instead, among other reasons. However, looking at the Japanese video game market, RPG's have the largest marketshare, so Sega decided to go ahead and restart the franchise, with a long-term plan, which included providing one game a year. This was new for Sega, people across different departments came together in 2001 to form what was called the "Shining Committee". The Committee included Takezaki himself, but also Youichi Shimosato who produced ''
Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon'' and ''
Shining Force Neo
is an action role-playing game co-developed by Neverland and published by Sega in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 as a part of the ''Shining'' series.
It is not a turn-based strategy game as the other games of the ''Shining Force'' sub-seri ...
'', and also Tsuyoshi Sawada who produced ''Shining Tears''. While the "Force" games were meant to harken back to the earlier titles, Tears was made from a completely blank slate for a modern audience, and looked at the ''Shining'' series from a new angle, much like ''Phantasy Star Online'' did.
Games
Reception
The ''Shining Force'' installments of the series were the first
tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...
s to have significant success in the U.S.
In 1996, ''
Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:
Publications and literature
* ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company
* Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' listed the Genesis and Sega CD entries of the series (but not ''Shining Wisdom'' or any of the Game Gear installments) collectively as number 77 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time". They lauded the series for replacing the then-standard generic RPG encounters with story-based battles, using an exciting character class system, and having brilliant pacing that keeps the games from ever dragging.
See also
*
List of Japanese role-playing game franchises
This is a list of best-selling Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) franchises. For inclusion on the list, a franchise must have sold or shipped at least one million copies. For the purpose of this article, a JRPG is defined as a franchise which: (1 ...
References
External links
Shining-world.jp Sega's ''Shining'' series portal site
{{Franchises owned by Sega Sammy Holdings
Video game franchises
Sega Games franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1991
Video games adapted into television shows