Shining Force - Retro Playthrough - May 2015

[Duke.Togo]

There is an online version of the manual: http://sf1.shiningforcece...ges/mainguide_manual.html

[shaggy]

There is an online version of the manual: http://sf1.shiningforcece...ges/mainguide_manual.html

Yea, I guess I could have looked it up on the internet, huh?  Karma for you.

[singlebanana]

I took the day off work yesterday due to being very under the weather and between naps, I was able to push through to Chapter 7.  I got very lucky in the battle at the end of Chapter 6 and pulled it out with a last effort and double hit from one of my big hitters.  Though some of the battles (mainly those without bosses) are more "filler" encounters (I don't mean this in a negative way, all of the battles are good), battles with mage bosses can be tedious. I'm finding that even the more trash mob encounters have amped up in difficulty as well and I'm getting a variety of new monsters to handle.

I think the variety of enemies and having to learn the various ways to deal with them is a big part of what makes this game so great. Not only do you have to consider their abilities, strength (who in your party can tank), and range of attack, but you also have to devise how to confront them (i.e. rush in, or wait for them to come to you).

This brings me to the point of this post. From some of the reviews I have read about the game, one of the more frustrating encounters for first time gamers is the Laser Eye battle near the end of Chapter 3, Battle #11, which you will encounter on your way to the 2nd checkpoint. As a result, I am going to provide any of you who are interested with a guide on how to go about this battle safely with minimal loss to your party.

Laser Eye Battle:

Spoiler (hover to show)

To begin, the most important thing you will need for this battle is some time and patience; this encounter can take over 30 minutes alone. After encounter #10, be sure to head back to Bustoke village to revive any party members, remove debuffs, and change your party. I know that Amon and Balbaroy (the birdmen) are very weak in battle, but they are very useful in the Laser Eye encounter, so be sure to add them to your party. When you are ready, head to the bridge for battle.

The Laser Eye is very powerful, but only fires when fully charged. During its turn in battle, it will emit a countdown from 10-1, and then fire on its next turn. It has a wide and long range attack, which you will see in the darken squares that it exposes on the land during it's turn. You can move your troupe up a little, but I suggest not moving up too far and be sure to stay under its line of fire. The important thing to note is that the Laser Eye not only does damage to your party, but to your enemies party as well, so it's best to use this device to your advantage during this encounter.  You will spend many turns just passing and that's okay.

The first thing I do is arrange my party so that my tanking toons are on the right side of my group and at the top of it; I put casters and weaker ranged characters behind them. I also move Amon and Balbaroy to the right into the chasm in an attempt to grab the attention of (but NOT encounter) the flying Pegasus Knights. Once the Pegasus knights start coming toward Amon and Balbaroy, retreat and draw them back to your main group where they can be dispatched. In the meantime, you should still be passing your turns (except to move the birdmen) as the Laser Eye continues to warm up. After about 5-6 rounds, the Laser Eye will fire on your enemies on the bridge and take their health down significantly; after 2 firings, many of them will be dispatched. Though you give up possible earned experience, you do not want to get in a fight on the land bridge and risk being taken out by the Laser Eye.

Once you have dispatched the Pegasus Knights on the lower half of the screen, move Amon and Balbaroy north and grab the attention of the Pegasus Knights up there. Again, draw them back to your main group to be dealt with. You can pass through the Laser Eyes zone with your birdmen, just make sure that you're not in its firing area during the "Fire" sequence.

Once all of the Pegasus Knights are gone, take your birdmen north and go directly northeast along the top of the screen. With one of your birdmen, you can attack the Laser Eye from the top (its north side) and not drawn in other enemies, you might also be able to attack it from the front (it's west side) if there are no enemy mobs around, but don't be in the way when it fires. DO NOT attack it on the east side because it will draw enemies. The Laser Eye has 30 HP and the birdmen only do 1 damage each turn. However, this will either dispatch or severely weaken it until your party gets there. Again, patience is key.

Once all Pegasus Knights are dispatched and the land bridge is clear (or mostly clear, a dark priest may keep himself an another mob alive), wait for the Laser Eye to fire and then make your way onto the bridge. I typically take a few centaurs with range and good damage, and two healers with me. Half way on the land bridge you will see that it has a strip of land that juts south. This strip is out of the range of the Laser Eye, however you have to take out the Dark Elves (archers) on the platform below with your ranged fighters. Dispatch these (all if you can), wait for the Laser Eye to fire again and then rush to attack the Laser Eye before it can fire again. As you move your toons from the strip on the land bridge, also move others from the group that stayed back into the safe spot on the bridge. Some characters with fast movement, like Zylo, can make it across the bridge and help damage the Laser Eye before it fires again.

Once the Laser Eye is defeated, the rest of the mobs are pretty easy. I hope this guide makes sense and helps. If you have any questions, please PM me or ask under a spoiler tag in case others want to go at it alone.

 

[MaterialHandlerMike]

Sat down and played after I got home from night shift yesterday. Cleared Chapter 3 before I turned it off at 1AM, this morning.

[singlebanana]

Nice work Mike! Getting close to Chapter 8 myself. Just hit the third checkpoint. What's that? You don't know what the 3rd checkpoint is yet? Hee hee hee..

[JerryGreenwood]

Damn, this game looks good. I was thinking about getting it, but I opted for some common NES games instead. I probably should've went with this game.

[singlebanana]

Yeah, this is a great game. Wish you were playing with us.

[JerryGreenwood]

I own Sonic's Genesis Collection, but of course I can't find the disc. It could be in a random DVD case or it could've gotten lost when I moved. It's been a while since I've seen it and I've given a decent search

....just checked eBay, the disc is only $10. I think I'll jump on that in 3-5 business days and try to catch up. From what I've been reading here, it looks like it has more depth than I thought.

[singlebanana]

Yeah, I've been very surprised at how well thought out this game is for being such an early title. Though 1993 isn't too early. Several RPGs had already broken ground. Still, it's very well done both in gameplay and graphically.

[shaggy]

It's a great game.  Sadly, I've just beat Chapter 1.

[singlebanana]

That's alright. Keep plugging away. The game has a bit of a learning curve. Try to travel in a group when possible and keep your casters and ranged attackers behind your tanks or warriors.

[shaggy]

That's alright. Keep plugging away. The game has a bit of a learning curve. Try to travel in a group when possible and keep your casters and ranged attackers behind your tanks or warriors.

I have the hang of it.  Time is just not on my side.

[NeoMagicWarrior]

WAYYYYY far behind. This weekend was too busy for its own good. I hope to marathon later on in the week, so I'll eventually catch up xD

[singlebanana]

WAYYYYY far behind. This weekend was too busy for its own good. I hope to marathon later on in the week, so I'll eventually catch up xD

With all of the movement and strategy, this game plays pretty slow. Just be sure to not get too far behind.

Also, just wanted to mention that there are special weapons you will find in this game. If you have these equipped on a melee guy, be sure to try and "use" them as some have magical powers. When you attack with the magic on these weapons you have to "use" the weapon against an an enemy there will be nothing under the "magic" option.

[Disposed Hero]

Also, just wanted to mention that there are special weapons you will find in this game. If you have these equipped on a melee guy, be sure to try and "use" them as some have magical powers. When you attack with the magic on these weapons you have to "use" the weapon against an an enemy there will be nothing under the "magic" option.

Good advice, I forgot about this until very recently.  You can also 'use' the rings to grant temporary stat bonuses to your characters.

As a warning, if you 'use' a piece of equipment and it says that the equipment has started smoking, then don't use it again or it will permanently consume that piece of equipment.  I learned this the hard way with my Heat Axe.