Shining Force Neo Completed 57:51

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It's been quite some time that I've played something this long. This
game seemed average to me at first, but there is just something about
it that's especially addictive, that kept me coming back for more until
I finally finished it today after close to 58 hours.

Perhaps the attraction is in item collection, where there are literally
tons of items that could be found. Each can come with 3 special
attributes, of which there are literally dozens of different ones such
as attack up, defence up, magic up, stun attack, prevent stun, knock
enemies flying, petrification, elemental attributes, etc.. So the
combinations are practially endless.

Or perhaps it's because like many of the old school RPGs you can power
level by going to areas that are higher level than what you're normally
able to handle. You can literally go anywhere you want, right at the
beginning. Ofcourse, by doing that you run into the possibility of
running into monsters that are so tough, they can do enough damage with
one hit to kill you from full health TEN TIMES OVER.

Or perhaps it's because you can teleport back to town almost any time
and heal and save, even if you're in the middle of a battle.

Or maybe it's due to the very good difficulty ramping system in the
monsters so you never feel overwhelmed normally (unless you choose to
power level ofcourse).

The game is certain not without flaws, and there are features or lack
thereof which makes some parts tedious, but I find myself excusing
those tedious parts in light of this special attractiveness of this
game. Can't quite put my finger on it, but this game is just fun. It's
not the old Shining Force, but it's not a bad game at all.

 

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In article <1117401845.934827.308650@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
Eiji Hayashi <linm@mcmaster.ca> wrote:
<Eiji likes the game, but snip>
>Or perhaps it's because like many of the old school RPGs you can power
>level by going to areas that are higher level than what you're normally
>able to handle. You can literally go anywhere you want, right at the
>beginning. Of course, by doing that you run into the possibility of
>running into monsters that are so tough, they can do enough damage with
>one hit to kill you from full health TEN TIMES OVER.

About that non-linear freedom? Is it more like Armada, where you're
punished for going into areas you're not ready for? Or is it more like
Saga Frontier, where the difficulty is auto-adjusted except for unique
monsters and boss fights where your butt gets kicked with no warning? This
is definitely on the short list of games I'm going to get once there's a
localized release, but I can't afford to break any more controllers in
frustration.

-KKC, who loves going into Target with a $20 bill and walking out with
four discount PS2 games. Megaman X Command Mission for ten bucks, woo!
Duel Masters for five bucks, woo! The Sims Greatest Hits? It's an EA game,
I won't touch it even for $2.50.
--
--S.S.B. is the code name for America's daring, highly | kendrick @io .com
trained special mission force. Its purpose: to |
defend human freedom against al-Qaeda, a ruthless | Please don't use
terrorist organization determined to rule the world! | eBay. Ask me why.

 

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Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
> About that non-linear freedom? Is it more like Armada, where you're
> punished for going into areas you're not ready for? Or is it more like
> Saga Frontier, where the difficulty is auto-adjusted except for unique
> monsters and boss fights where your butt gets kicked with no warning? This
> is definitely on the short list of games I'm going to get once there's a
> localized release, but I can't afford to break any more controllers in
> frustration.

It's the former. The difficulty in each area is fixed. In addition to
the paths you have to travel for the main storyline, there are many
many area branches which leads to these advanced areas. However, having
said that there is a major climax half way through the game, and the
difficulty settings of each area is readjusted to reflect your higher
level after you pass the climax.

As for these advanced areas. The only thing stopping you is a wooden
warning sign before you enter the area which literally says "strong
enemies ahead, advance only if you're confident". If you smash the sign
you can walk into that area. However, what's neat is the strength of
the wooden sign is proportional to the enemies in the next area. ie: if
it takes you a good ten to twenty hits with your most powerful attack
to break the sign, chances are you're not going to be ready for what
lies ahead. It's possible however to power level that way by allocating
everything to offensive range attack and nothing to defence. That way
you'll atleast have some chance against melee creatures, but you're
dead if you run into anybody with ranged attack because it'll probably
be one shot kill.

The one thing you have to get use to is to use the recall gate, which
will take you back to town instantly, even in the middle of a fight, so
you can save. You can recall unlimited # of times, anytime. Save often,
as it's VERY easy to get killed in this game.