Genesis

Shining Force II

It's pretty obvious to everyone that the Genesis wasn't known for its RPGs. It's not to say that it didn't have them, it did, just not as many as the SNES, and of those, only a handful (around 10) were really worth playing. You had the obvious games like the Phantasy Star series, the Shining series, and games like Beyond Oasis and Crusader of Centy. These games represent most of the worthwhile RPG's for the system. High among them stands Shining Force II.

While the sequel doesn't add anything especially new or innovative to the series, it does give players a ton more of what they like about the first game. And that's good enough to making Shining Force II a title that RPGers can't afford to miss.

I grew up on the Shining games, so I will always cherish them. Shining Force 2 is an enjoyable game destined to be remembered for a long time. I see no compelling reason not to track this game down today. If you liked Shining Force, then you'll love the sequel.

My fellow Genesis loyalists, no one will deny that the Genny was a wonderful console, but it’s been long enough to be time for us to face up to a cold, bleak truth: The Genesis was still inferior to the SuperNES. We had Sonic, they had Mario. They had The Legend of Zelda and Super Metroid, we had.... Landstalker and Crusader of Centy. But it’s nice to know that, despite the superiority of Nintendo, we were still sometimes able to turn the tables by making them wish they had a Genesis. Shining Force II was one of those table-turning games. This game alone makes the Genesis worth it. Strategy buffs should also take a gander at the forerunner to Final Fantasy Tactics. Whether you’re a die-hard Genny loyalist or just an RPG/strategy nut, Shining Force II still lives up to its namesake.

It does a disservice to any game on the Top 100 All-Time list to try to sum up its experience in a single review. Shining Force II's continued recognition though, even 15 years after its original release, should be more than enough reason for you to consider dropping 800 Points on a download of its new Virtual Console version. Like the first Shining Force before it, it's an excellent strategy RPG design that will last you for hours on end, and represents an excellent value for your investment of just eight bucks. And, better than the first Shining Force before it, this sequel flows more easily, looks even better and has even deeper levels of tactical gameplay for you to explore. So give it a shot, and then give it a good rating on that little sliding bar thing over there on the right. Because it deserves to keep its place in the next Top 100 list -- or even move up a little bit more.

En resumidas cuentas, un juego atípico en su género, pero sin lugar a dudas muy entretenido, que es considerado por muchos, y con toda justicia, uno de los mejores (si no el mejor) exponentes del rol en Mega Drive.

Om mijzelf maar eens even tegen te spreken, er mogen dan wel een aantal verbeteringen en hier en daar iets nieuws aan Shining Force II zijn toegevoegd, het spel op zich biedt niets nieuws. Het grootste nadeel van het spel is dan ook nog steeds de ellenlange gevechten. Als je daar het geduld niet voor op kunt brengen, kun je maar beter niet aan dit spel beginnen.

A worthy follow-up to the first RPG, with bigger areas to explore and characters to meet. This will definitely appeal to fans of the first one and to RPG fans in general. It assume you've played the first Shining Force, but the story could use a few more twists and turns. The music is very good, as is the easy-to-follow control configuration.

This RPG is way too familiar. The cuteness and elvishness of this game will really annoy you after a while and thats not the half of it. The game progresses at a pace that would slow the Road Runner down. If you're looking for something special in the Genesis RPG arena, don't try this game.