Bleu became my strongest fighter in the force after I leveled him up. He had 73 attack. A whopping 86 Def. 90 hp and 53 agility. If you invest in that dragon he'll carry your entire force. He's an absolute S tier with proper investment. I love that boy
@billcox88705 ай бұрын
When did you promote him? I found that as soon as I promoted the dragon, it was lousy in combat and only able to inflict one point of damage
@ithikussssukihti4062 жыл бұрын
Whaaaat!? A Shining Force video, no way! Loved this game as a kid back in 95 and only having a Genesis for a long time, didn't get to play 2 till I found a copy a at retro game convention back in 2011. Now, I recommend this to anyone who has a Switch, via 'Sega Genesis Classics' on the eShop.
@laggingdragons9 ай бұрын
That look back at the camera seems to me like he's acknowledging the fourth wall, attributing his entire identity to the player.
@michaeloffgrid2 жыл бұрын
My first RPG ever! It will always hold a special place in my heart. 😊
@MRDRK1 Жыл бұрын
Jogurt is an extra inventory bag. And I always found Bleu to be a BEAST if you can level him up enough. Adam was a hit-or-miss depending on RNG and my own mood when playing.
@DisasterSquad4 ай бұрын
Literally every character in existence is a Beast if you level the crap out of them. That's the point he sucks unless you do that. Thus making Him worthless
@JEFFALITY Жыл бұрын
Archers were meant for anti flyers, forest walkers, and long as hell range when you got the really long range arrows. Add in the power ring and they can hold a line if you watch enemy movement. The fact you can check their movement and what tile they are are you can easily tell how far they can move. Hans and Diane were always staples in my army.
@thewingedavenger10072 жыл бұрын
Great review! The story continues in "Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict" and then in "Shining Force II" (in that order. "Shining Force CD" takes place 30 years later.
@RagnarokAvatar Жыл бұрын
Actually, Shining in the Darkness takes place between Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict and Shining Force II
@bortzanator3018 Жыл бұрын
Man, RIP Harvester of Eyes. I had just found his channel a week or two before he scrubbed his videos from youtube. Anyways, its odd to think that my first experience with this game was from that weird era where SEGA was actually releasing licensed CD-ROMs with Genesis games for Windows.
@sinisterdesign6 ай бұрын
I used to love his channel; a rare gem with a real sense of what constitutes good design in SRPGs
@fantome37992 жыл бұрын
"Playing all Sega Genesis RPGs" when?
@306parksn2 жыл бұрын
Definitely down for this!
@JasonGravesPoser2 жыл бұрын
2055
@fantome37992 жыл бұрын
@@JasonGravesPoser guess I'll be alive by then
@KCUFyoufordoxingme2 жыл бұрын
@@JasonGravesPoser GTV is not doing their shining force 4 retrospective video until 2024, so they might scoop you.
@guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын
I never have a problem keeping my healers leveled, because I heal anyone who has so much as 1 damage done to them, just for the exp. If a healer has MP left at the end of a battle, I literally let some people take some damage, just so I can heal them. Some of the healers get extremely OP Aura spells, including Aura 4 (which is the same as a Shower of Cure), and can cast it multiple times per battle.
@opaljk483511 ай бұрын
In shining force 3 the healers have special attacks as your weapon levels up (which it can from casting) and can actually do big damage, albeit randomly.
@TheRumpletiltskin2 жыл бұрын
i missed out on Shining Force as a kid. Gonna have to "buy a copy" and give it a shot. I like the gameplay style of Fire Emblem but it's brutal, so i'll probably like it alot based on your description.
@hughjazz442 жыл бұрын
Shining Force 2 is one of my all time favorite games. I hope you cover that one as well.
@EduFirenze7 ай бұрын
Replaying shining force, which I still love, made me realize how many maps rely on choke points, you have 12 guys to cross a bridge or pass a single square mountain.
@analogmoz2 жыл бұрын
Harvester of Eyes is legit as all heck, thanks for calling him out!
@Esirre8 ай бұрын
I'd like to see a return of the Shining Force IP on modern consoles but I want them to retain their art style fully realized in 3d models. Wouldn't that just be too good? It would give the Fire Emblem dev team some much welcome competition as well
@LITTLE1994 Жыл бұрын
That game is one of the most challenging RPGs I ever played. But, I do love its story.
@EmceeProphIt2 жыл бұрын
Another great review. Keep it up bud!
@CassiusZedaker-pr7kc4 ай бұрын
This review convinced me to play Shining Force. It sounds like an easy, entry-level tactics RPG, which is really what I need to ease me into the genre
@mrwess19274 ай бұрын
Its a good game bront
@ChazTheYouthful Жыл бұрын
The dragon is indeed good once you get him up and running, and flying characters have immense utility in this game.
@marywallace3620 Жыл бұрын
I discovered your channel a few days ago and I gotta say I'm enjoying your channel. Also SHining Force is one of my favorite games ever. Though I like Shining Force 2 a lot more :)
@MRDRK1 Жыл бұрын
Also, to avoid the EXP death spiral for 'weak' characters, just do a Minimum-Force run, where you deliberately skip EVERY optional character (the characters that aren't plot-inserted into your party by default). It's interesting to say the least.
@williambourque69632 жыл бұрын
You love Shining Force -- time to try FEDA: Emblem of Justice for the Super Nintendo then. It's kind of a poor-mans version of Shining Force, and there's been a translation out there for years. Worth checking out. (As is Energy Breaker for the Super Nintendo if you're into isometric RPGS).
@GameFrank2 жыл бұрын
Shining Force is one I totally missed growing up. While tactical RPGs aren't typically my thing, I would like to give this a try some day. I guess I could play it on the Sega Smash Pack. 🤣 Great review Jason!
@QueenViolet86 ай бұрын
I also learned about Shining Force from Harvester of Eyes as well I really enjoyed his videos I hate he disappeared from KZbin but I wouldn’t know about this series without him 😢 I hope he’s doing good!
@420haxx2 жыл бұрын
Hey man great video, when i was a kid i played the shit out of this game, so many great memories! I'd add that with many of the under powered characters like Bleu, Adam and Arthur they really only ever become viable if you don't promote them till level 15-17 or so, since for some reason they tend to get a massive spike in stats after level 11. It's a big grind and not for everyone but that's the only way to get them to shine.
@oofley8346 Жыл бұрын
If you want a bit more characterization out of the force, this game has a remake on gba where max is no longer silent and everyone else has a bunch of extra dialogue in the HQ if you use them during battles
@noaht20056 ай бұрын
I’ve heard fans don’t like that version. I haven’t played it so I don’t know why
@teamdoghouse79202 жыл бұрын
I used to play Shining Force on the Genesis when I was like 12-13. My mom would always call it Shining Farts. She hates the music from it. 🤣😂🤣
@HorseTeethModano9 ай бұрын
Anyone know how Harvester of Eyes is doing? He up and vanished from the internet. He had the BEST library of sRPG videos.
@dynastygirl29122 жыл бұрын
Calling Bleu bad, bruh. I grew up on Shining Force, I've played it more times than I count and there's two characters that ALWAYS make my end game party: Zylo and Bleu. Bleu is easily an S tier character, who sucks? Arthur, Arthur is terrible. No matter what you do he is NEVER able to keep up with the rest of your party in terms of stats
@ion_force2 ай бұрын
I think the reveal at the end was sort of like the ending of Super Metroid where you see samus for the first time when you 100% the game. Every battle takes place from behind max. But in the end he is acknowledging the player and saying, "Hey you, you got us here. Good job." Also, gong is with you from chapter one. You can have him clapping cheeks by the endgame if he is used as a fighter with healing rather than a healer who can fight.
@WhiskeyPieSometimes6 ай бұрын
Along with EarthBound, the first two Shining Force games were replayed by me so many times growing up. Only Chrono Trigger got more hours.
@guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын
@4:04: One of the biggest reasons that Shining Force is the best SRPG series of all time. It's just an RPG, with everything that comes along with that, whose battles just so happen to be SRPG battles.
@glorypaxson Жыл бұрын
Bleu is amazing. Cmon man. Did you use Arthur enough to see him gain magic?
@hemangchauhan28642 жыл бұрын
Harvester Of Eyes unfortunately removed all his videos. A rant video is up there until end of July.
@JasonGravesPoser2 жыл бұрын
Just saw that.... He'll be missed
@HorseTeethModano9 ай бұрын
Do you remember what the rant was? I missed it and have no frame of reference for why he up and left.
@hemangchauhan28649 ай бұрын
@@HorseTeethModano from what I remember, he mentions no growth on YT, blamed harassment in comments and frustrations with YT as a platform. He opened his videos on alternative channels like utreon and odysee (but their are closed now).
@HorseTeethModano9 ай бұрын
I remember him being frustrated with YT, but slow growth shouldn't mean taking everything down everywhere. Something is odd about that. @@hemangchauhan2864
@WandererFromYs Жыл бұрын
8:10 The little girl in the intro introduces herself as Simone, and the girl that you meet later is Krin. So not the same person, although that would’ve been interesting
@Geraki0n Жыл бұрын
Oh hey, SU and Crunch stuff? :D That was a pleasant surprise, I grew up in Syracuse.
@dentstowel42302 жыл бұрын
I think I’m going to make “Greetings, Poser” part of my vernacular. 😂
@JasonGravesPoser2 жыл бұрын
Hell yeah
@lilliput_steps2 жыл бұрын
your issue with archers proves your previous point about the random level growth. from my experience my archers were constantly op and i needed to back them up to level up the other people
@k1m198 Жыл бұрын
If you use the power ring, bleu and Adam become easy to grind up quickly and are the 2 strongest. With flying, bleu is SF1's Peter, super OP
@rockmanfan5104 Жыл бұрын
Ive been playing shining force. I came from games like fire emblem. I have been stressing myself out thinking im going to be punished at some point for how im playing. This video took a weight off my shoulders. I will play freely now
@tsuki_43668 ай бұрын
i miss harvester of eyes
@earthboundretro2 жыл бұрын
Great video, never played this game but you inspired me to check it out. Who doesn't need some gaming comfort food about now.
@philipberick287415 күн бұрын
When I played through the game, I truly hoped (chose to believe) that Bleu would be a kind of hidden surprise character. That it would be worth it to keep leveling it up and it would suddenly become this amazing dragon beast. And/or that if properly evolved, it would make an actual difference in the final battle or the Ending. I used up a slot in my party throughout the whole campaign and in the end.. it was just useless.
@k.j.hulander22042 жыл бұрын
Umm Bleu is amazing. After a boost (magic or power ring) he sweeps everything in the end game 🐲💕
@commocore Жыл бұрын
I thought there's some extra phone in my room at 9:00 that started to vibrate :D.
@Alianger2 жыл бұрын
I guess they rebalanced archers for SF CD which I beat recently, used them a lot there. There I found most spellcasters kinda limited instead, as they would run out of MP too quickly. Leveling healers is a bit smoother in emulation with FF, which is how I play these games. Still the scaling of exp gained could be better.
@leadbones Жыл бұрын
Bleu, Adam, and Arthur are all there solely for grinding up if you want the three strongest party members. Most will find this a waste of time, granted. But, once you get past a certain point, grinding them up becomes very easy and make no mistake, they are the three strongest characters. Only the main slaps as hard. If you aren't going to do serious grinding, Zylo, Hanzou, and Musashi are the guys. The archers, birds, and healers are all trash. The gladiators don't hit hard or often enough, and the knights that aren't Arthur don't do enough damage either, compared to the real heavy hitters. Kokichi and Guntz are well worth the little bit of struggle it takes to get them up to speed. But Bleu, Arthur, and Adam only exist to provide a lengthy grind for those who want it.
@Shadi0929866 ай бұрын
I love this game, but the RNG of the stat values during level-ups is so frustratin it's best played in an emulator to optimize stat boosts and if your character's attack misses. As with healers, it's insanely easy for them to gain level-ups once Khris, Gong and Torasu have learned AURA, enabling them to heal 5 characters for an easy 48exp every time, putting them on top in terms of levels.
@MrRandall1716 ай бұрын
11:08 uses freeze on a zombie... There is elemental weakness in SF1. Blaze would have done more than freeze here for less mp. I guess you wanted a shot with Anri casting freeze? Anyways, i felt the need to complain since it irk'd me. Liked the review overall though. Bleu is better than expected but due to the random stat growths he doesn't always provide a good return on your investment.
@Marc_Araujo Жыл бұрын
Should've started with Shining in the Darkness...really good game.
@zachgilchrist669 Жыл бұрын
Bleu is great. Spend a bit of time grinding and you'll be rewarded with a top-tier fighter. With flight range no less.
@guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын
I've found that the best characters depend on how you play the game. If you just want to blow through each battle, keeping the best characters at the time, then Arthur sucks. If you play like I have been lately, and try to keep everyone on the same level, and promote at level 20 (can be tedious, yes), Arthur is the best character in the game.
@Grind24hours3 ай бұрын
Great review about a great game by a great youtuber! I personally prefer Shining Force 2.
@cam9144 Жыл бұрын
One of my favorite games of all times
@waderoberts3701 Жыл бұрын
I've permanently ruined games of Shining Force by keeping Max at level one by my brother's example and getting slaughtered at the Shade Abbey battle.
@iwanttocomplain Жыл бұрын
Shining Force CD loses the towns. It’s the 3 Game Gear games, glued together, which I guess don’t have towns. It’s a real slog just going from fight to the town (presented like on Shining in the Darkness) some brief dialogue, then straight into another battle.
@nonanimeprofilepic11 ай бұрын
damn i must be bad at tactical rpgs cuz i found this game ridiculously hard
@SwordsmanOrion8 ай бұрын
I'm sorry.... Is that a centuar carrying a bazooka?
@bewill51213 ай бұрын
yeah this game is pretty awesome
@guruthosamarthruin4459 Жыл бұрын
I've wasted my time on Adam a couple of times, and he's STILL not worthwhile. He can OCCASIONALLY be good enough, to be the worst member of my final team.
@KurtHectic977 ай бұрын
This game lacks a new game+ with all characters and dynamic lv based on your characters, but it was the first one, can't complain much. Sadly even with GBA version the new game+ mode it's not good enough but it's a great game. Try the GBA version one day. They fixed some issues (exp), story with more details, itens and other stuff.
@DoubleDragonGaming2 жыл бұрын
Best RPG on the genesis. I put many hours into Shining Force I and II. Always wanted to play III but never had a Saturn. May have to try that one someday for shits n gigs. I just loved this game because it was so different from the FF games. Would always get so excited when I found a new companion to use. Never wanted it to end either and watching this makes we wanna play them all over again. Might be time for a new Shining Force game. Would love to see it on switch
@fugitiveunknown78062 жыл бұрын
I only disagree with you because of Fantasy Star IV, which was an absolute classic. And maybe the Genesis version of Starflight if it counts as an RPG. It's still one hell of a game though. Nothing like grinding Yogurt rings :>
@exidy-yt8 ай бұрын
Hahah, the way you talk about being a kid (or poor) and having limited choices, you pour all your energy into your choice and get back everything the game can give you: that was Shining Force III for the Saturn for me. It was 1999 and My local Electronics Botique was closing out it's Saturn section: I had $60 to spend: I could buy Panzer Dragoon Saga, Shining Force III or the Japanese version of CastleVania: SOTN. I chose Shining Force III scenario I and never regretted it. I could gush about it now and how I dug into every tiny corner of this amazing tactical RPG and then went back and emulated the original Genesis games, but I'd rather watch your video.
@megamike152 жыл бұрын
i can't really get into srpgs. and i have tried. but every time i play one i lose interest after like 5 battles.
@aznluvr77 ай бұрын
It's not THAT bad. I agree that the platforming is a bit goofy and there is too much slowdown as well. But the graphics, for super early SNES game are colorful and fun, the music is bouncy and the plot is goofy and ok. I enjoyed it, but then again I enjoyed the first one of the NES. But to not know the sword zeros out your exp is kinda silly if you are reviewing the game. Like with Ogre Battle, if you don't understand how the game works, you shouldn't shit on it. Figure out how it works, then poop on it.
@BaronMorte8 ай бұрын
Bro, Musashi and Hazou so low on the tier? Is he drunk??
@KCUFyoufordoxingme2 жыл бұрын
Have my babies. Shining force is like chrono trigger popcorn of strategy rpgs. One day, cover vandal hearts. Unrelated, but how good would illusion of Gaia be with a new game+ that left enemies dead and 50 gems boss gave the true ending? I want this guy to tear open the horrible yet to be understood punishment of exploration that phantasy star 2 dungeons were.
@JasonGravesPoser2 жыл бұрын
I'd love to do the classic Phantasy Stars at some point. And everything is cooler with NG+
@KCUFyoufordoxingme2 жыл бұрын
@@JasonGravesPoser Spending an afternoon taking the time SLOWLY advancing levels in phantasy star one on a screen far larger than intended and taking in the creature animation and background battle art is an Irish spring commercial for my gamer soul. Something about feeling each increment of improvement. That art style too. I don't know what to call that particular flavor of sci-fi fantasy, but like the art work during either season's end credits of Outlaw Star. Anyone know the name? Also, I don't care what anyone says. PS2 team just had no idea how reward exploration or properly size top down view dungeons because nobody had really done it yet with their view in mind. They made every last damn mistake because noone knew better yet.
@planexshifter Жыл бұрын
I loved Shining force !
@CharlieWhitesWig Жыл бұрын
Love it!
@RachelleLove818 ай бұрын
I want a new onnnneeeee!!!! 😭😭😭
@dickmcguffin7304 Жыл бұрын
Shining Force was better than Fire Emblem
@donkeyparadise927611 ай бұрын
Really?
@PatternShift10 ай бұрын
What is with all these reviews talking over gameplay where characters cast freeze on resistant enemies?? Use blaze on undead come on!!!
@trevor_mounts_musicАй бұрын
If you are playing games for youtube instead of leisure...what the fuck are you even doing? 😂
@grochek111 ай бұрын
I would like to throw my 2 cents in and provide some additional information above and beyond what others have stated. First, there is a very good reason it seems that a character will have 2 turns. At the start of a round of combat, the game will take the agility/speed stat of every character on the field (both Shining Force and Runefaust army), add a random number to that stat, and finally count down from highest number to lowest number for turn order in that round. What can sometimes happen is that a character will receive a very low RNG number on one turn, then a very high RNG number the next turn, thus giving the appearance of 2 turns. Vice versa is also true (i.e. a character gets a very high RNG number followed by a low RNG number, making it a very long time between moves). Regarding the Archers, they have some of the worst set-up in this game. The first archer (Hans) is a "late-bloomer" He gets 80% of his potential stat gain AFTER lvl 10 (unpromoted). Thus he appears to never get anywhere. Secondly Lyle (the horse archer) joins at the WORST time. Since he has mounted movement, he suffers an extreme movement penalty in forests and hills and he joins when almost all the battles are filled with forests and hills, making it nearly impossible for him to keep up with the party. However, your video about the archers shows selective editing. Every enemy you showed an archer attacking was a flying unit. Flying units have a 25% chance to dodge all attacks. Additionally, you did not equip Lyle with his strongest weapon so you were selectively lowering his attack to make him appear weaker than he could be. Let's talk about Healers for a second. You mentioned that healers do not have the MP pool to gain the 10 heals needed to level-up in a single battle. This is true. However, the game devs put in a mechanic to help off-set this problem. You see, when healers USE a healing item, they also gain 10 exp. Thus each healer can carry in their inventory an extra 30 exp. This is what I like to call the "exp for gold" scheme, as you can spend 10 gold for a medical herb and when a healer USEs the herb, they gain 10 exp. You can increase a healer's exp gain even more by having the rest of your party also carry healing items and GIVE said items to the healer to USE in battle. I have been able to get a healer to gain 2 levels in a single battle just from healing items in the inventory because of this mechanic. As for Bleu. Bleu does join at a rather low level, given when you pick him up. However, if you work with him (promote at lvl 20 and get him to lvl 20 promoted), he will have the highest HP pool, the 2nd highest attack level, and 3rd highest defense level of any character in the game. The easiest way to get him up to speed is to abuse the Power RIng. First you EQUIP the Power RIng on Bleu to give him a +4 attack. Then, at the start of battle, Bleu USEs the Power Ring on himself. This will give him an additional +15 attack for a total of +19 attack. With that boost, he can do significant damage as soon as you get him. Additionally, Bleu's stat growth can be rather fast. I have seen Bleu gain +9 attack in a single level-up so he can grow rather quickly. I hope this long-winded comment helps the reader to enjoy Shining Force even more.
@RiffRock515 ай бұрын
This game is flawed, for sure.....didn't stop me from beating it 10 times over the years.
@brianmarshall39219 ай бұрын
You can just do whatever you want and still come out on top? You never know who is going to go next? Guess you didn't try the hardest levels and don't understand how the stats work lol.
@2bescenecom11 ай бұрын
It was a translation issue and there is a direct sequel in the game gear