Shining Force (MD, 1992)
Graphics-8 Sound-7 Control-7/7.5* Challenge-6.5 Story-6.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7/7.5*
*With hacks
+
Recruit and leave behind units at the HQ (there's one for pretty much every town - a bit similar to Suikoden)
Battle animations with large sprites
Speed options (max isn't enough though)
Promotions with new sprites
New weapons show on the units during battle
Fast menus overall
Map feature in battle (none in the towns or overworld)
Blends JRPG with TBS
Large roster of characters
There's a hack that adds automatic item passing (but not for battles)
Can sell items (but generally not buy them back from the same shop)
Hidden items (in chests or dropped by enemies)
Terrain effects (was somewhat bugged but has been fixed in a hack)
More interactive and lively towns than in some earlier RPGs (the cars, switches, getting turned into a chicken, etc.)
Animated portraits during dialogue between party characters or with important NPCs
Can check enemy stats and what they have equipped in battle
+/-
AoE spells don't hit friendly units
Can use Egress from the get go to flee from and replay battles while keeping the exp (lets you grind)
Deals in shops (not what it sounds like - need to either sell a good item (which you can then buy back?) or miss out on an item dropped in battle)
Linear structure
One joke character (Jogurt the hamster; can't level up unless you use a hack that allows it)
Exp is reset to 0 after a level up (no overflow - can be added with a hack)
Tile-based movement in the JRPG parts
Limited inventory for each character (4 slots including the weapon)
One save slot per game
Save points (one per town)
Force members can walk through each other in battle
Can't revive during a character battle
No need to rest at inns (only to raise and cure at churches)
Can't check enemy movement stats (can see them when they move though)
Can't attack ground with AoE spells
Domingo can't open chests while above a pit?
Can't repair broken rings (they can break if you use their spell feature too much)
-
Some random elements that sometimes get frustrating (unit order - agility has an effect but isn't reliable (can't have a unit wait and act later in the same turn either - can be annoying in tight spaces), double attacks, occasional double turns) and make the difficulty uneven
Can't skip enemy turns or battle scenes (could've been able to turn off cursor movement and skip the intro and attack animation of each fight individually by pressing a button)
No deployment options (automatic)
Battle maps don't turn normal after a battle (annoying in terms of the item passing and you can't talk to your force about the battle or whatever)
Can't check the status screen without entering a battle or the HQ
Dated interface in some ways (can't examine items, can't auto equip while buying something, can't buy more than one of an item at once, can't check how a new weapon affects a unit's stats while in the shop)
Can't skip the various jingles that play (when finding an item or resurrecting a character for example)
Some characters start out rather weak (Gong, Arthur) while others have poor growth (Ken, Lowe)
Some trial & error (some ambush attacks, need to make sure to have an empty slot for dropped items in battle, can miss most chest items in the mishaela battle if you wait until it's over and open the chest near her first, recruiting some characters - check a guide, promoting makes a char weaker initially, it's better to promote as late as possible (lvl 20))
So-so sample quality overall (drums, explosions) and some annoying instruments
The AI is pretty dumb (often sits around doing nothing until attacked; there's a hack that makes it heal more intelligently though and another one that makes some enemies more active) - countered by sometimes overpowered units and the random elements
Sometimes poor use of color (most overworld areas)
Some shared character sprites and palette swaps
The battle map music resets after each fight (an attack theme triggers for each one)
Most of Nova's (battle advisor/force organizer) tips are useless
NPCs can take a while to move out of the way
Some fake dialogue choices (sparing Balbazak)
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7/7.5*
*With hacks
+
Recruit and leave behind units at the HQ (there's one for pretty much every town - a bit similar to Suikoden)
Battle animations with large sprites
Speed options (max isn't enough though)
Promotions with new sprites
New weapons show on the units during battle
Fast menus overall
Map feature in battle (none in the towns or overworld)
Blends JRPG with TBS
Large roster of characters
There's a hack that adds automatic item passing (but not for battles)
Can sell items (but generally not buy them back from the same shop)
Hidden items (in chests or dropped by enemies)
Terrain effects (was somewhat bugged but has been fixed in a hack)
More interactive and lively towns than in some earlier RPGs (the cars, switches, getting turned into a chicken, etc.)
Animated portraits during dialogue between party characters or with important NPCs
Can check enemy stats and what they have equipped in battle
+/-
AoE spells don't hit friendly units
Can use Egress from the get go to flee from and replay battles while keeping the exp (lets you grind)
Deals in shops (not what it sounds like - need to either sell a good item (which you can then buy back?) or miss out on an item dropped in battle)
Linear structure
One joke character (Jogurt the hamster; can't level up unless you use a hack that allows it)
Exp is reset to 0 after a level up (no overflow - can be added with a hack)
Tile-based movement in the JRPG parts
Limited inventory for each character (4 slots including the weapon)
One save slot per game
Save points (one per town)
Force members can walk through each other in battle
Can't revive during a character battle
No need to rest at inns (only to raise and cure at churches)
Can't check enemy movement stats (can see them when they move though)
Can't attack ground with AoE spells
Domingo can't open chests while above a pit?
Can't repair broken rings (they can break if you use their spell feature too much)
-
Some random elements that sometimes get frustrating (unit order - agility has an effect but isn't reliable (can't have a unit wait and act later in the same turn either - can be annoying in tight spaces), double attacks, occasional double turns) and make the difficulty uneven
Can't skip enemy turns or battle scenes (could've been able to turn off cursor movement and skip the intro and attack animation of each fight individually by pressing a button)
No deployment options (automatic)
Battle maps don't turn normal after a battle (annoying in terms of the item passing and you can't talk to your force about the battle or whatever)
Can't check the status screen without entering a battle or the HQ
Dated interface in some ways (can't examine items, can't auto equip while buying something, can't buy more than one of an item at once, can't check how a new weapon affects a unit's stats while in the shop)
Can't skip the various jingles that play (when finding an item or resurrecting a character for example)
Some characters start out rather weak (Gong, Arthur) while others have poor growth (Ken, Lowe)
Some trial & error (some ambush attacks, need to make sure to have an empty slot for dropped items in battle, can miss most chest items in the mishaela battle if you wait until it's over and open the chest near her first, recruiting some characters - check a guide, promoting makes a char weaker initially, it's better to promote as late as possible (lvl 20))
So-so sample quality overall (drums, explosions) and some annoying instruments
The AI is pretty dumb (often sits around doing nothing until attacked; there's a hack that makes it heal more intelligently though and another one that makes some enemies more active) - countered by sometimes overpowered units and the random elements
Sometimes poor use of color (most overworld areas)
Some shared character sprites and palette swaps
The battle map music resets after each fight (an attack theme triggers for each one)
Most of Nova's (battle advisor/force organizer) tips are useless
NPCs can take a while to move out of the way
Some fake dialogue choices (sparing Balbazak)