Shining Force - Retro Playthrough - May 2015

[singlebanana]

I wouldn't worry about Gong too much Neo. He is at the 2nd battle before you get Gort, so you missed him. No big deal, he's not endgame material.

[shaggy]

I wouldn't worry about Gong too much Neo. He is at the 2nd battle before you get Gort, so you missed him. No big deal, he's not endgame material.

You can go back after the second battle, after you go back to the first castle the second time.  I got him after I got Gort the second time going to the castle.

[Neo]

I wouldn't worry about Gong too much Neo. He is at the 2nd battle before you get Gort, so you missed him. No big deal, he's not endgame material.

Roger That....

You can go back after the second battle, after you go back to the first castle the second time.  I got him after I got Gort the second time going to the castle.

I'll try to get hold of him. Thanks for the tip.

[Neo]

Well, I just found a 4th way to escape battles, by using the Speed Ring.  Apparently using it casts Egress instead of granting a bonus to your Speed like I thought it would.

Unfortunately I was at the end of the final battle when I discovered this....

I feel your pain brother...     but it's nice to know if we ever NEED to escape a battle we have so many options. Glad you found this one out before me. Because if you didn't I KNOW I would have lol.... Sucks it happened on THE FINAL battle though....ouch....at least all my hardships were right out of the gate....nothings broke in your room is it? lol....j/k

[Neo]

Well guys, I finally made it past that battle I was stuck on. And I'm really liking the direction the story's going. I haven't really played a rpg like this in quite a while. I'm really enjoying the tactical element. Playing this is making me want to fire up other tactical rpgs. The only other one I've ever played was final fantasy tactics for the GBA...I liked it well enough...but I didn't really like how the game pretty much had the mission system rather then just a linear story. Which is something I'm really enjoying about this Shining Force game. They made a tactical RPG that ties in really well to the story. Doesn't feel like your just fighting random battles just leveling up....every fight is choreographed very well into the story. It just goes really well together I think. And the battles are pretty massive in comparison to final fantasy tactics. Just seems like the scale of the "battle map" and the amount of enemies you fight are a lot bigger, more so then FF TACTICS. And the story is intertwined with the battles .....I'm just really liking this game. Shame I never even knew it existed before this playthrough...Makes me wonder...Just how many great titles are out there that I don't know about. I thought I knew most the popular titles....Guess I still got some learning to do.

[Disposed Hero]

Well guys, I finally made it past that battle I was stuck on. And I'm really liking the direction the story's going. I haven't really played a rpg like this in quite a while. I'm really enjoying the tactical element. Playing this is making me want to fire up other tactical rpgs. The only other one I've ever played was final fantasy tactics for the GBA...I liked it well enough...but I didn't really like how the game pretty much had the mission system rather then just a linear story. Which is something I'm really enjoying about this Shining Force game. They made a tactical RPG that ties in really well to the story. Doesn't feel like your just fighting random battles just leveling up....every fight is choreographed very well into the story. It just goes really well together I think. And the battles are pretty massive in comparison to final fantasy tactics. Just seems like the scale of the "battle map" and the amount of enemies you fight are a lot bigger, more so then FF TACTICS. And the story is intertwined with the battles .....I'm just really liking this game. Shame I never even knew it existed before this playthrough...Makes me wonder...Just how many great titles are out there that I don't know about. I thought I knew most the popular titles....Guess I still got some learning to do.

I didn't play the GBA Final Fantasy Tactics that much, but I remember it not being anywhere near as good as the PS1 game.  The Fire Emblem games are also really good tactical RPGs.  There are a bunch of other series in this genre, like Disgaea and some others, but most of them haven't appealed to me very much.  Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the game.

I went back and replayed the final battle, being sure not to accidentally use Egress this time, and I managed to beat the game!  I mentioned it before, but I originally played this game on an emulator, and while I did enjoy it playing it that way, there's just something about playing it with all the original hardware that makes it so much more satisfying.

Great game.  I was really just planning on phoning in this playthrough and not really playing the game all that much since I have beaten it before, but once I started I just couldn't put it down.  I really should fire up one of the sequels sometime soon.  I've played Shining Force II quite a bit but never beaten it, and I've never played the other games.  I hear Shining Force III is excellent, it's just a shame we never got Scenarios 2 and 3 in North America, although I believe there are translations you can play via an emulator.

[shaggy]

I finally got past Chapter 2.  What's with the Zombies?  They constantly evade my attack.  Shouldn't they be slow?  They're zombies!

[singlebanana]

I finally got past Chapter 2.  What's with the Zombies?  They constantly evade my attack.  Shouldn't they be slow?  They're zombies!

Yeah, lots of times when you encounter new enemies in this game, evasion is high. As you level up, you hit more, but also you get new enemies, so it tends to stay about even keel. I think there is a little too much evasion on the offensive side in this game and not quite enough defensive. Still, I found the game very enjoyable despite this.

Congrats on finishing Disposed Hero!  Don't forget to log your achievements.

[Disposed Hero]

I finally got past Chapter 2.  What's with the Zombies?  They constantly evade my attack.  Shouldn't they be slow?  They're zombies!

Haha, I had that exact same thought with the zombies.  The enemy evasion rate can be extremely frustrating in this game.  Just wait until you fight the Chimaeras later on....

Congrats on finishing Disposed Hero!  Don't forget to log your achievements.

Whoops, forgot about the achievements!  I'll mark them now.

[shaggy]

I finally got past Chapter 2.  What's with the Zombies?  They constantly evade my attack.  Shouldn't they be slow?  They're zombies!

Yeah, lots of times when you encounter new enemies in this game, evasion is high. As you level up, you hit more, but also you get new enemies, so it tends to stay about even keel. I think there is a little too much evasion on the offensive side in this game and not quite enough defensive. Still, I found the game very enjoyable despite this.

Congrats on finishing Disposed Hero!  Don't forget to log your achievements.

I have 1-3 right now.  I think I missed out on Gruntz.  I knew I could get him, just didn't know how.  Checked a guide and it looks like I can't go back to get him.  Even with the high evasion rate the game is still very enjoyable and awesome.  When I was doing the Circus battle the Zombies evaded probably 20 times.  Highly annoying!

[singlebanana]

Nope, as long as you talked to Gruntz, he may show up later

[shaggy]

Add 5,6, and 8 to my list of achievments.  On Chapter 4 now.

[shaggy]

Have 7 now.

[singlebanana]

Nice work Shaggy!  Seems that you're moving right along.  Achievements updated.

[shaggy]

Nice work Shaggy!  Seems that you're moving right along.  Achievements updated.

Thanks, I'm worried I missed 4 now.   Maybe I just didn't get that far yet.  I've noticed when in battle if you kill the "main" enemy, the battle will end and you will miss out on experience points.  I'm not sure if each battle has a "main" enemy but it isn't too hard to figure out who the "main" enemy is so make sure you save him for last if possible!