Fire Emblem has once again put tactical RPGs back in the limelight. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, the latest tactical RPG in Intelligent Systems' long-running series, has reached a significant audience, lauded for its rich tactical combat, expansive branching story, and its cast of distinctive characters. While Fire Emblem has been a consistent presence since 1990, its popularity surged globally with 2019's Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which helped elevate the subgenre by blending turn-based battles with social simulation elements. In the years since, other studios have released notable tactical RPGs, including Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, the remake Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, and Star Wars Zero Company. These recent successes highlight an opportunity for Sega to revisit its own tactical RPG series: Shining Force.
Shining Force deserves a revival
While the early Fire Emblem games were primarily released in Japan, the Shining Force series debuted on the Sega Genesis in the early '90s in North America and Europe. Shining Force (1992) and Shining Force 2 (1993) served as an introduction to the genre for many players and remain enjoyable even today, both available through the Sega Genesis library on Nintendo Switch Online. Later entries for Sega CD and Saturn are less accessible.
Even players familiar only with recent Fire Emblem titles will find much to recognize in the Shining Force games. The core gameplay involves assembling an army of fighters from various classes such as archers, mages, monks, and mounted knights. As the roster grows, players must choose their favorites, potentially benching veteran units for new recruits with superior skills. Similar to Fire Emblem, characters can be promoted after reaching a certain level and acquiring a rare item.
A distinguishing feature of Shining Force is its inclusion of unconventional characters that defy typical RPG archetypes. While Fire Emblem might include a dancer or pegasus knight, Shining Force allows players to recruit a werewolf, a robot, a flying jellyfish, and a turtle. Shining Force 2 notably features Peter, a phoenix character described as resembling Sesame Street's Big Bird with a modern haircut, who proves to be a powerful ally.
Battles in Shining Force take place on grid-based maps where players position their units turn by turn. Combat sequences transition to a separate screen, showcasing stylish pixel-art animations of characters attacking and defending. Maps often feature terrain that can impede movement or inflict damage, and objectives typically involve defeating all enemies or a specific enemy leader. The series offered diverse battle environments, including sea rafts, a circus tent, and areas inspired by the Nazca lines.
It might be assumed that Shining Force was inspired by Fire Emblem, which preceded it by two years, but developer Hiroyuki Takahashi stated in a 2010 interview that he found Fire Emblem's pacing unappealing. Despite this, the games share significant similarities. Sega retains the rights to the Shining series but has shifted its direction away from direct Fire Emblem comparisons since the Saturn era. Recent entries, such as a trio of action-oriented tactical RPGs for the PlayStation Portable released in the 2010s, are more akin to Valkyria Chronicles. The 2018 worldwide release of the action RPG Shining Resonance Refrain also diverged significantly from the classic Shining Force formula.
A return to the '90s-era Shining Force gameplay, perhaps with modern Sega-inspired elements, could be a compelling prospect. Incorporating characters from other Sega franchises like Yakuza or Super Monkey Ball through optional missions, or featuring maps inspired by iconic Sega locales such as Sonic's Green Hill Zone or the cities of Phantasy Star 2, could invigorate the series for a new generation of players.