Shining Force EXA

PlayStation exclusive

A bitter war between two world superpowers has raged on for decades with armies of beasts and demons devastating the people and the land. With both sides deadlocked, two young heroes rise up to begin a heroic journey to stop the fighting and unite the divided world. As either Toma, a talented sword fighter boy, or Cyrille, a cunning female sorceress, you'll venture into a stunning world of swords and sorcery teeming with a huge variety of tribes. With aggressive offensive and defensive strategies, you'll lead your battle party into combat while protecting your home base, the Geo Fortress, from massive attacks.

Released: 18 January 2007
Platforms: Legacy Mobile Device PlayStation 2
Genres: Adventure Beat 'em up Role-playing
Developers: Neverland
Publishers: —
Series: Shining
Modes: Single-player
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Age ratings: CERO A ESRB E10+

About

Shining Force EXA (シャイニング・フォースイクサ, Shainingu Fōsu Ikusa) is an action role-playing game developed by Neverland and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Shining series. It tells the story of a world divided by a war between humans and demons.

Like Shining Force Neo, the gameplay is in the vein of Diablo or Record of Lodoss War (the latter also by Neverland). The game features a variety of weaponry inspired by the medieval era, magic, and a collection of skills that can be improved upon for the main characters.

›Story

The story focuses mainly on two characters that the player will have the opportunity to control: Toma, a brash sword wielder who dreams of being "King of the World," and Cyrille, a mage of sorts whose reasons for searching for the Shining Force are a well kept mystery. Joining the party almost immediately will be the other half of its members, Gadfort, who wants the blade to become the greatest knight in existence, and Maebelle, an elfin archer seeking the blade to save her people. Their story will unfold in a world that is shared by humans, demons, and beasts that is constantly devastated by war. The world is divided into two main kingdoms. The Noswald Empire is home to the human race and the demons rule the southern territory, Fyrlandt.

Keywords

anime

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Shining Force EXA is the successor to Shining Force NEO and inherited that game's battle and action RPG mechanics.

One new feature of EXA is the customizable robot castle Geo-Fortress. While adventuring, the party members left behind use the Geo-Fortress as a headquarters. They also protect and defend the castle in the event of an attack. In the beginning, the fortress is very basic and vulnerable.

Story

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two nines, one eight, and one nine for a total of 35 out of 40.

IGN gave praise to the length and overall design of the game, but criticized the lag often experienced by having so many enemies on the screen at once. GameSpy called the Geo-Fortress system "innovative", but the game in general "uninspired". A more critical review was given by GameSpot, highlighting the game's weak combat, voice acting, and frame-rate, while approving of its visual presentation. On a slightly different note, RPGamer criticized the game's recycling of elements from Shining Force Neo, and the high quantities of enemies that lengthen the "few new areas on display".