Shining the Holy Ark screenshots

Title screen

At the behest of the King of Enrich, the mercenaries Melody, Arthur and Forte set off to capture a renegade ninja by the name of Rodi. They arrive at the mining site.

Arthur and his team find Rodi deep inside the abandoned mine - a fight is unavoidable. But destiny has different plans - a ship crashes through the ceiling and causes the cave to collapse.

Three Spirits descend from the ship. Since they feel responsible and they have need for a body too, the Spirits help Arthur, Melody and Rodi. Forte has been possessed by an Evil Spirit.

Desire Mine ~ Monster encounters happen randomly during dungeon exploration. Battles take place in a turn-based format, allowing you to start physical attacks, use magic and items, or opt to run away.

Desire Mine ~ Nerd dreams come true. In the course of the adventure you may find pixies in the unlikeliest of places. Pixies can be used to launch a single first attack against monsters.

The world map is dotted with villages, towns, forests, dungeons and other locations that you can travel to and from.

Desire Village ~ In villages and towns you can buy goods and new equipment, relax in the inn or save your adventure. Desire Village is the only place that has a blacksmith's shop.

Desire Village ~ In the inn the two groups of mercenaries who were hired to capture Rodi meet. Arthur, Melody and Forte were sent out by the King, Basso and Lisa by the former chancellor, Sabato.

Desire Village ~ The armour shop.

Equipment menu.

Forest of Confusion ~ Fighting a Bone Slave. Many of the foes have also the ability to use spells to heal, protect and do damage.

Forest of Confusion ~ The maps are not very detailed (they don't show chests, switches and other niceties), but they track the group's progress and are easy to navigate.

Forest of Confusion ~ Level up. As Arthur advances to level 5, he learns a new spell.

Forest of Confusion ~ The Wraith rises from the bowels of the earth. Every boss enemy is introduced by a short pre-rendered cut scene.

Forest of Confusion ~ In addition to magic and physical attacks, some enemies are able to execute special attacks. The 'Lingering Ghosts' can reduce the party member's speed and defense.

Town of Enrich ~ Inside the inn.

Town of Enrich ~ Arriving at the Enrich Castle, the group finds the King, Rilix and Forte in the throne room. There is some uneasy evil atmosphere about the place...

Enrich Dungeon ~ In the dungeon, the group reaches an inner chamber and Sabato appears.

Enrich Dungeon ~ This is absolutely no joke! Stop breeding like rabbits!!

Aborigine Mansion ~ After finding the Gold Key in the dungeon of Enrich, the team sets off for the Aborigine Mansion.

Aborigine Mansion ~ In the mansion the group finds Basso lying unconscious in a hallway.

Aborigine Mansion ~ Twinhead making a breath attack.

Aborigine Mansion ~ The clock room.

Graveyard Catacombs ~ The group meets Galm, the most powerful Vandal. On his advice, they start to the three shrines in the south, the west and the east, in order to find the Three Sacred Treasures.

Mountain Cave ~ It's not what it looks like! That's one of Rodi's power attacks - at least for one turn the enemy will be perplexed and cannot attack the group.

Far East Village ~ In the south of Enrich lies the Far East Village, the home of Rodi, his little sister Akane, and Doyle.

South Shrine ~ The specialty of the southern dungeon is that the group has to traverse the shrine upside down from time to time. This can be achieved via the spiral passages and the Gravity Stone.

South Shrine ~ Melody's Elemental spell level 2. The Coin Beast has the highest defense of all foes - only magical attacks can do decent damage.

Enrich Dungeon ~ Taking the hidden underground passage to the throne room of the Castle of Enrich. Akane joins the team after they acquired the Sacred Sword.

Enrich Castle ~ The group finds Rilix and the bodies of the King and Forte lying on the ground. Prepare for the hardest fight of the game...

West Shrine ~ Using the Sacred Sword, the group is able to enter the western dungeon. Here the group will have to fight Hell Spirals and other monsters, ride on turtles, and run through walls...

West Shrine ~ The boss of the West Shrine: King Snail.

East Shrine ~ Hattaris give the best experience points in the game (3,333 + up to 999 from the pixies). If you're not fast enough, this sleazy little bastard is likely to retreat.

East Shrine ~ The boss monster of the East Shrine: Mad Blossom.

Enrich Castle ~ By presenting the Three Sacred Treasures before the painting in the mural room, the group enters "the paintings of the ancient ones".

Mirage Village ~ In the painting the team finds a village and the Tower of Illusion (seen in the background).

Tower of Illusion ~ The Hammer Ghoul occasionally drops the Dragon Sleeve, that is, together with the Strike Sleeve, the best gauntlet for Basso and Lisa.

Tower of Illusion ~ The master of the Tower of Illusion: Blader. On the topmost floor the group will find the High Priest who will proceed with the ceremony of evolution.

Desire Mine ~ With the magic of Inferno, Arthur was able to remove the mystic barrier created by Rilix... One of Akane's power attacks. Chances are low, but the Spike Dragon may drop the Kusanagi...

Desire Mine ~ The Kusanagi is Rodi's and Akane's best weapon. Although it has less ATT-points than the Muramasa and the Masamune, it's power attack can instantly kill nearly any enemy!

In the player stats you'll find a table with all pixies who joined your party (the shown table lists all 50 pixies of the game).

The queen of the pixies will reward you for collecting all 50 pixies...

Godspeak ~ At the top of the mountain, the group finds Panzer standing next to the Holy Ark - the last battle is looming...

Shining the Holy Ark

SEGA Saturn screenshots