Shining Soul II - GVG Patreon Request Review (GBA)

For our first Patron-requested review, Derrick is taking a look back at Shining Soul II for the Game Boy Advance! Is this action RPG a gem for the system, or something better off forgotten? Find out in our review!
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[@TheInfinityMaster1]

Listening to a "Derrick" review brings back so many memories..... One of the BEST game reviewers ever FOR SURE! :D

[@turok4n64]

Thanks for fulfilling my Patreon request on this. This game always had a special place in my heart and teenage years. So happy to see this review and even better done by the legendary Derick!!

[@Mamodxx]

This was one of my favorite games growing up. I’m SO delighted to see this was requested as a review. I’m not alone in loving it! It’s... very grindy and not too great... I would highly recommend trying out one of the Shining Force games. They’re brilliant tactical RPGs that hold up fairly well!

[@JJGamezMC]

So are these shining soul games action rpgs and the shining force games tactics games?

[@Mamodxx]

@@JJGamezMC Yeah. Souls are action RPGs whereas Force is tactical RPG like FE or FFT. The Shining series is pretty diverse in genre

[@JJGamezMC]

@@Mamodxx Oh cool! I’ve never really heard of this series so I’m surprised to hear it has so much variety in the genres. Are there any others?

[@Mamodxx]

@@JJGamezMC there are tactical RPGs, turn based RPGs, action RPGs, and fighting games in the series. There are likely more genres, but I haven’t played many of the games beyond Soul 2. It’s definitely a series that thrived the most in the 90s. The games from that decade are the ones to play

[@JarylGaren]

oh man, I remember playing this game a lot with my brother back in the day! And yeah, it's a game that shines in multiplayer, but is perfectly serviceable in single player. I also mainly played as the Brawler, who I remember being really powerful

[@heardofrvb]

Pun intended?

[@JarylGaren]

@@heardofrvb maybe!

[@HybridAngelZero]

Here's a neat fact: Sega used to give this game out for free at events to people who showed up, likely to encourage the multiplayer aspect. I gotta say, I would love to chain two GameCubes with Game Boy Players together and play this on the big screen with a friend xD Also, I would love to see you guys do more classic/retro game reviews on the channel! This one was great!

[@Calaveso]

It's always nice seeing more RPGs like the Mana series!

[@ArtUndertheArch]

Interesting to see a review on an GBA title! I loved Shining Force as a kid on Sega Smash Pack for the PC, and later the GBA remake -- this is definitely something I would have been into if I knew about it back then. I can't say I'll be trying it as an adult, though I am a little curious how the other classes play after watching the review.

[@ErikSchuessler]

Awesome review :) Classic reviews are always cool to see

[@Froge0]

You could definitely reskin this game to be a Family Guy action RPG honestly. Stewie Griffin as a projectile user, Peter Griffin as Big Chungus and etc... Great review though Derrick, love seeing reviews on random games like this!

[@Zegaexiron]

A friend let me borrow this way back when. I must have played as each class.

[@BassForever]

These games really sings in multiplayer, which helps to fix some of the issues you mentioned. Obviously in 2021 that's hard to do, even without the pandemic.

[@heardofrvb]

Even on emulator?

[@YaminoSeigi]

One of the best dungeon crawling game in GBA that had awesome customization at its time

[@wizardsofscript]

Loved this game, finished it with every class, Dragonute was pretty OP late game.

[@tomsimmons7673]

I had a SNES, but my cousins had a Genesis. Shining Force was the game that started my love of RPGs.

[@SnailSaltt]

Best game ever made. I keep telling Atlus to remake it but they won't listen.

[@kirindas4691]

Nice review! I think I played a bit of this before but not totally sure.

[@whatssofunny9506]

Commenting to improve the algorithm because no matter if i care about this game or not this channel deserves support

[@saylarr]

This game shines when your playing with friends, this was one of the best ever co-op RPGs on GBA.

[@topdog23100]

This is an awesome video! I absolutely love Good Vibes Gaming! ❤️❤️❤️

[@ReavoEnd]

That alchemist is just Sephiroth with dark hair.

[@ElNeekoo]

Omg I had this game! I was so young so I didn’t really understand the mechanics. I forgot it existed

[@RevolverLink]

I love seeing more scripted content on the channel!

[@TheKilltrickz]

Cool video and thankfully i like magic classes, but you only showcased the Sorceress the entire time. Could have showcased a few of the classes to gauge the viewer more

[@ricardomartin-serrano1070]

This game need to become a MMO with the same style graphics.

[@andreasstormz6580]

idk, you seem to have missed the lategame with other classes. it's really something. And you can get your char really overpowered, which is nice in the long run. many aspects missed.

[@nuclearbeeberman]

I LOVE that you guys test GBA games... I'm recently totally in love again with the system :). feel free to review more about GBA games :) I btw never played the game in multiplayer but it feels like its build for multiplayer :)

[@ChristopherGun]

childhood memories! i remember playing the ninja and having a blast as a kid

[@RyanWoo]

Oh, I was just thinking about the first game and this one couple days ago. How do you read my mind? :)

[@OnizenArt]

Had to check what year it was when I saw this in my feed lol

[@CP-pz9vw]

Heyyyy me and my friends loved this game.

[@brunocar02]

Man chooses glass cannon class, gets surprised when its, infact, made of glass.

[@kamikazekuri]

This game S L A P S

[@CP-pz9vw]

The physical classes are definitely better for single player I beat both difficulties with a Dragonute, which is the tankiest character.

[@catperson5]

I found it interesting that the treasure chest had to be opened by hitting it with a book

[@TaigaXAzunyanX]

This game sounds like a cool mix between phantasm star online and seiken densetsu. I'd love for a game like this with it's lovely artstyle but having ironed out the issues. Probably gonna give this game a try regardless.

[@Reaperflows]

Save before you identify the item lol if its an upgrade keep it if not reset and sell

[@AgahnimDarkWizard]

always a shame when great looking games fall short

[@yexx04]

I played a lot of this game in the time when, this game had so many little secrets, it was so fun to discover every fake wall and hidden chests. But this game need a modern approach with QOL and some other changes

[@anthonyjenkins2001]

This game is super expensive on eBay, just for the cartridge alone

[@loto5919]

Why do I have to pay money just to request a review or watch you guys live? I'm broke..

[@scottofsc]

Because like it or not, GVG is a business and wouldn’t be worth their time without some sort of financial compensation. Watching live can be fun for sure but you’re honestly not missing out on too much.

[@LazypunK07]

we need new modded gba hd shining soul 2 gba

[@Some_Random_Guy]

this looks like the kind of game I would have hated. I depend on a deep narrative or fun combat to get to the end of a game. fortunately the Trails series has both of those. hopefully Derrick will dive into that series at some point in the future

[@trevorsalinger2185]

want to play some classic forgetten rpgs, play wild arms on the playstation 1

[@Reaperflows]

You should of did this review after playing multi player you picked a bad class for solo and the multi player is worlds better there ade still.some.of the same issies though

[@olpendoomandagi5565]

Can you just get Mand JTV on this podcast for later?