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[XBOX HIVES]

Protip: Clear out as many enemies on the board that you can and have your main character cast egress. You'll start the battle over but will keep all your XP and items. I powerleveled my force this way back in the day to give me an edge.

Edit: Always promote your priests to monks. Always.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i don't think i've ever played SFII without slade. my brother loves to have him in the party as well, especially when he turns into a badass visually.

what i love about SF is how they give some characters special attack animations with certain attacks. they don't even have to be main characters. it just happens and it's awesome.

 

[ihearthawthats]

Always promote your priests to monks. Always.

sarah, generally yes, but karna can make a great vicar.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

agreed.
Jaha always ends up being one of my complete badasses, though. Especially when he hits GLADIATOR class.

Gladiator? Pfft, Baron or GTFO.

My first and still favorite SRPG.
Kiwi is a weak character at first, but oh boy does he get strong when promoted !
I agree about Bowie and Peter, the most powerful characters of the game after promotion. I don't remember Slade being that great, though. He certainly wasn't bad, but I can't remember anything beyond that.

This post is objectively wrong. Even when promoted Kiwi sucks, his HP is so low that mage enemies wipe him out in one hit. And Slade is one of the best characters by far.

Anyway, how are we supposed to get that Golem guy? I never found out.

He's a bit obscure. You find his arm somewhere in the city of Moun. You need to step somewhere and his arm appears and then you use the menu (not the standard search but Menu -> Search IIRC, much like the stupid wooden panel you need to place in the tree in Riddle for the Achilles sword... boy were we stuck for ages as kids on that one) to search. You then give the golem his arm and he's happy and he joins you. Except he kind of sucks too. He's kind of like Kiwi, very high defense and decent attack but too slow to move across the map and while his low HP is not a problem against melee enemies, mages OHKO him.

People not using Slade, people not turning Jaha into a Baron. I bet you guys don't even pick Karna at Creed's house.

I think you and me would have been best friends in 4th grade.

The three of us could've spent recess talking SF2 tactics!

Make that the four of us!

...I picked Eric more often than not, though. >_> 'Cause I just love me some pegasus knights and he's very strong (much stronger than Jaro and his HP gets ridiculous). I had Sarah as master monk and she was pretty good too. Karna is probably objectively better, I know, but that's just my personal preference, I like having a varied party.

To people NOT using Slade:

You are missing out. When you equip a certain sword, there is a chance Slade will literally cut the enemy in half, and win the battle. Doesn't even do damage. The enemy just dies.

Its fucking wicked.

Ah yes the gisarme. It's a bitch to get though. With save states mithril weapon "farming" is easier 'cause you can just reload if you get something bad (critical swords anyone? hahahahaha fuck you blacksmith xD) but on the Genesis you had to hit reset all the time until you got it. Took forever. xD On some playthroughs I got impatient and just settled for the ninja katana.

I think my final party was often (not always, sometimes I'd have Karna, Sheela or maybe Rick or Higins as paladin):

Bowie (renamed always cause that name sucks)
Peter
Gerhalt
Slade
Eric (pegasus knight)
May
Kazin (sorcerer)
Sarah (master monk)
Luke
Skreech (just love the flyers even if they're not that great)
Lemon
Jaha (baron)

 

[FinKL]

I honestly think, Shining Force was my first RPG ever, if you can call it that.

Playing the game you definitely learned who were your go to characters as they took hits and could deal it.

I remember going through again and trying to use some of the low tier characters like Arthur who was a centaur/mage hybrid and the girl archer, I think Diane?

They were still gimp after everything was said and done >_<

I said I was going to do Shining Force 2 but never had time *sigh

 

[Darkmakaimura]

So I just made past the battle after the ship lands on the other continent and now they've got their new town made from the wood of the ship. That battle I just won is where I got stuck a few years ago so this will be the farthest I've been in the game.

 

[LTWood12]

So I just made past the battle after the ship lands on the other continent and now they've got their new town made from the wood of the ship. That battle I just won is where I got stuck a few years ago so this will be the farthest I've been in the game.

Game picks up significant steam from here.

 

[LTWood12]

If someone starts a thread of Phantasy Star IV love, this will be just the best day.

 

[terrisus]

Shining Force 1 was the game that I bought my Genesis for.

Could never get into 2 like I got into 1 though.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

If someone starts a thread of Phantasy Star IV love, this will be just the best day.

*brofist*

Love your avatar. Tempted to change mine to Alys some time.

 

[Xevren]

Chessboard and Taros definitely stand out as rough times, as well as the Circus battle in Shining Force 1.

ASSHOLE:

Jaha always goes full baron, but after playing this game maybe 20 times, I've never once used Slade beyond the initial time you have to(? I think). Maybe I'll make that my next playthrough.

Oh man that circus was awful.

Not surprised to see so many people gave up on Slade due to how awful he was at the start. But my god, Ninja Slade was the best.

 

[Piecake]

My favorite Genesis game, and either this or Shining force I was my first rpg. I havent played this in a LONG time, but I can still remember that Peter basically destroys everything.

Oh man that circus was awful.

Not surprised to see so many people gave up on Slade due to how awful he was at the start. But my god, Ninja Slade was the best.

Yup, Slade was definitely in my top 5 or so characters. Dude seriously did suck at the beginning though

 

[Shaundakahl]

When I was a boy, I was lucky and my parents got us a Sega Channel. Every month a new batch of games would roll in and I would stay up late to greet them and the new Sega Channel menu art. One day I found Shining Force II and fell in love. I worked on this game one month at a time, in between the Vectormans and Monster league sports. It was hard and if I didn't best it by the end of the month, I would have to start all over the next time it rolled around. I finally beat it, but I still looked forward to playing it again. My luck ran out when my parents retrieved the Sega Channel and sent it back, but I never forgot Shining Force II.

I love this game.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Public Service Announcement.

If you have a PS3 and/or 360:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G33V8S/?tag=neogaf0e-20

$14.96 US dollars.

You get Shining Force 1, 2, Shining in the Darkness, Phantasy Star II, III, & IV, and a ton of other games.

Do it if you haven't already.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

So I just made past the battle after the ship lands on the other continent and now they've got their new town made from the wood of the ship. That battle I just won is where I got stuck a few years ago so this will be the farthest I've been in the game.

You should get Peter soon.

Say hello to your new best friend.

Keep going.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

You should get Peter soon.

Say hello to your new best friend.

Keep going.

Sweet.

I wonder how long I am until I can promote Slade? I think he's level 5 or 6 right now.

 

[Piecake]

Sweet.

I wonder how long I am until I can promote Slade? I think he's level 5 or 6 right now.

how far behind in levels is your slade? It is VERY difficult to level up underleveled characters in Shining Force unless you actively try to get him a bunch of kill shots and play a bunch of random battles. Its basically impossible if he is super far behind.

And its going to be a while

 

[Darkmakaimura]

how far behind in levels is your slade? It is VERY difficult to level up underleveled characters in Shining Force unless you actively try to get him a bunch of kill shots and play a bunch of random battles. Its basically impossible if he is super far behind.

And its going to be a while

Not sure except that he's level 5 or 6 and that I'm at the part where you go to the new town that was constructed. So, I'm still near the beginning of the game.

Edit: I just found Warrior Pride in the castle.

 

[Wilsongt]

Dear gods, I really like this game but I had to start over twice.... in the first battle. I'm not sure if I ever remember this game being so brutal. I somewhat blame myself for sucking at strategy games and this requires a bit more tactical thinking but getting surrounded by little devils and pounced on in what is the game's "training" fight was quite the frustrating moment.

BTW, do the other Shining games all relate? I mean, are they sequels in the sense they take place in the same world or is it like Final Fantasy with completely separate stories? I same to recall the first and second games being related but wasn't sure about the many other sequels and spin-offs in the series.

Yes.

Shining Force - > Shining Force Gaiden I -> Sword of Hayja -> Final Conflict - > Shining Force II -> Shining Wisdom

Then Shining the Holy Ark -> Shining Force Scenarios 1 - 3.

Shining in the Darkness fits in there somewhere as there is Dark Sol and then Darksol. They are both difference. As one is also named Mephisto.

Not sure except that he's level 5 or 6 and that I'm at the part where you go to the new town that was constructed. So, I'm still near the beginning of the game.

Edit: I just found Warrior Pride in the castle.

Sad to say, but at this point you need to drop Slade. He is one of those characters that really needs to stay with the pack to be useful. A good replacement for him will be Elric. It doesn't hurt to have both May and Elric as they both can do a good job. He is amazing once he promotes and starts getting levels, but he needs to be babysat just a bit. A good level at that point really needs to be at least 10 or 11... Unless you can feed him some kills, drop him. He'll be a liability come the battle you get Luke and Gerhalt.

Also, the warrior pride should go to Jaha. He makes a better Baron than Gladiator. Dat +1 movement

 

[Acerac]

Seeing Slade getting so much love in this thread fills my heart with joy. My first starts weak but becomes allmighty character I met in the genre.

Another fun tip is that anyone who has aura can level up absurdly fast. Though you won't be seeing the spell til mid-game, as soon as you see it the levels start flowing like water for anyone who can cast it.

As a sidenote, what was with Peter? Was he meant to be absurdly godlike? Or is there some balancing factor that I'm missing out on? Was he supposed to be balanced purely on the fact that he was so overpowered the entire time you have him that he'd just rob the rest of your crew of xp?

 

[Wilsongt]

Seeing Slade getting so much love in this thread fills my heart with joy.

Another fun tip is that anyone who has aura can level up absurdly fast. Though you won't be seeing the spell til mid-game, as soon as you see it the levels start flowing like water for anyone who can cast it.

As a sidenote, what was with Peter? Was he meant to be absurdly godlike? Or is there some balancing factor that I'm missing out on? Was he supposed to be balanced purely on the fact that he was so overpowered the entire time you have him that he'd just rob the rest of your crew of xp?

I think he was suppose to be godlike. Probably Camelot apologizing for giving us Amon and Balbaroy who were shittastic.

The best Birdman in the series was Claude... Eldar can be good if she gets a couple of +3s on her strength/defense...

 

[leatherhat]

Seeing Slade getting so much love in this thread fills my heart with joy. My first starts weak but becomes allmighty character I met in the genre.

Another fun tip is that anyone who has aura can level up absurdly fast. Though you won't be seeing the spell til mid-game, as soon as you see it the levels start flowing like water for anyone who can cast it.

As a sidenote, what was with Peter? Was he meant to be absurdly godlike? Or is there some balancing factor that I'm missing out on? Was he supposed to be balanced purely on the fact that he was so overpowered the entire time you have him that he'd just rob the rest of your crew of xp?

I think part of it was making sure the player would definitely use Peter since he is the second main character

 

[Acerac]

I think he was suppose to be godlike. Probably Camelot apologizing for giving us Amon and Balbaroy who were shittastic.

The best Birdman in the series was Claude... Eldar can be good if she gets a couple of +3s on her strength/defense...

Never played the first one unfortunately. I'm guessing they were Luke-likes?

 

[Wilsongt]

Never played the first one unfortunately. I'm guessing they were Luke-likes?

They were a little better than Luke and Skreech, but not by much.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Amon was pretty terrible, but I always used Balbaroy. You need to babysit him a bit for a while but eventually he can hold his own and with a power ring he's very useful as a flyer. Some bosses that hide in a corner, like Mishaela, can really use a flying unit to get an extra attack.

 

[Wilsongt]

Amon was pretty terrible, but I always used Balbaroy. You need to babysit him a bit for a while but eventually he can hold his own and with a power ring he's very useful as a flyer. Some bosses that hide in a corner, like Mishaela, can really use a flying unit to get an extra attack.

That's why you have Bleu and Kokichi.

 

[Acerac]

They were a little better than Luke and Skreech, but not by much.

Hey, at least that means that they were significantly better than Kiwi.

Poor Kiwi. Why would you make an optional character so very bad?

Oh god I forgot his quote: "Fighting tires me....speaking tires me...I'm tired."

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Sad to say, but at this point you need to drop Slade. He is one of those characters that really needs to stay with the pack to be useful. A good replacement for him will be Elric. It doesn't hurt to have both May and Elric as they both can do a good job. He is amazing once he promotes and starts getting levels, but he needs to be babysat just a bit. A good level at that point really needs to be at least 10 or 11... Unless you can feed him some kills, drop him. He'll be a liability come the battle you get Luke and Gerhalt.

Also, the warrior pride should go to Jaha. He makes a better Baron than Gladiator. Dat +1 movement

I'm lost. Why would I need to drop Slade already? I've only been in maybe 2 or 3 battles so far since I had him. I just met Peter, but he's not actually part of the group yet. But I'm still lost why Slade is already useless. I'm still pretty much in the beginning portions of the game.

Another question if someone knows this. What version has the better emulation (or just looks better overall), the Ultimate Genesis Collection or the Steam/PC version of the game?

 

[leatherhat]

I've used Luke a few times just due to him sticking around past the point where I could easily replace him. With the counter sword he isn't too awful. Just a little awful. If Birdmen actually had a good mithril weapon they might be ok.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

That's why you have Bleu and Kokichi.

I never bothered with Bleu. I know he becomes uber powerful blah blah if you level him up but I never grinded in those games, at least not to that extent, I'm way too lazy. I did use Kokichi too, though in my early playthroughs I didn't find him. No GameFAQs back then.

Hey, at least that means that they were significantly better than Kiwi.

Poor Kiwi. Why would you make an optional character so very bad?

Oh god I forgot his quote: "Fighting tires me....speaking tires me...I'm tired."

Hahaha yeah. He was so cute and adorable though. I wanted to hug him. <3 I'd replace him the moment I could do so, though, and almost never wasted XP on him, I'd prefer playing with 11 characters until the moment I got Rick.

 

[leatherhat]

http://www.twitch.tv/leatherhat1

for you guys

 

[Wilsongt]

I'm lost. Why would I need to drop Slade already? I've only been in maybe 2 or 3 battles so far since I had him. I just met Peter, but he's not actually part of the group yet. But I'm still lost why Slade is already useless. I'm still pretty much in the beginning portions of the game.

Another question if someone knows this. What version has the better emulation (or just looks better overall), the Ultimate Genesis Collection or the Steam/PC version of the game?

You can get him up there... You just need to baby sit him. Slade benefits from getting a lot of kills and behind ahead of the pack a bit. You want to promote him because he has weak defense until he becomes a Ninja.

 

[Terra_Ex]

I'm lost. Why would I need to drop Slade already? I've only been in maybe 2 or 3 battles so far since I had him. I just met Peter, but he's not actually part of the group yet. But I'm still lost why Slade is already useless. I'm still pretty much in the beginning portions of the game.

Another question if someone knows this. What version has the better emulation (or just looks better overall), the Ultimate Genesis Collection or the Steam/PC version of the game?

You don't need to drop slade, you can easily get him, or any other early character to promotion-ready levels using the repeatable battle I mentioned on the previous page (and it won't even take that long).

Not sure on the emulation issue.

 

[leatherhat]

Ok steams genesis player doesn't want to stream right but when I figure it out Ill do a lets play of SF2 for you guys

 

[Wilsongt]

Ok steams genesis player doesn't want to stream right but when I figure it out Ill do a lets play of SF2 for you guys

I use Gens or Gens+. When I played Shining Force: Final Conflict on stream I used Gens.

 

[leatherhat]

I use Gens or Gens+. When I played Shining Force: Final Conflict on stream I used Gens.

Did they fix the bug where you couldn't equip Lemon with weapons?

 

[Coxy]

Another question if someone knows this. What version has the better emulation (or just looks better overall), the Ultimate Genesis Collection or the Steam/PC version of the game?

the collection on 360/ps3 is better, the pc emulated version has various flaws including occasionally deleting your save file

 

[Wilsongt]

Did they fix the bug where you couldn't equip Lemon with weapons?

You need to go through SFEdit for that.

 

[RionaaM]

Hahaha, sorry for putting you in a hard situation. Don't give up man, you'll beat it eventually! (I hope, since I never played it and have no idea how difficult it is)

 

[Aesius]

Who's more overpowered: Zylo, Peter, or Musashi?

 

[Darkmakaimura]

the collection on 360/ps3 is better, the pc emulated version has various flaws including occasionally deleting your save file

Cool. Thanks for the heads up on that. Oh, I would be pissed if the Steam version deletes my file. Why are the other flaws of the PC version if you remember?

Hahaha, sorry for putting you in a hard situation. Don't give up man, you'll beat it eventually! (I hope, since I never played it and have no idea how difficult it is)

Haha, no problem I'm loving the hell out of this game! In fact, this is the farthest I've been. I just got to get better regarding the fights and of course, the inventory management. I believe once you get the Caravan, the inventory management becomes easier.

 

[Kalm]

This game is so great! I remember choosing "Ouch" difficulty at first because I didn't speak english at all (and I was young ). Got my ass kicked a lot of times, but I think I still beat the game on that difficulty setting (not 100% sure though).

The difficulty settings are misleading. "Ouch" is actually not that bad.

It's arguably the best setting to play on, even for first-timers. It seems to adjust the enemy's targeting priorities so they'll focus on your healers and Bowie instead of just bum-rushing the nearest character. It's much more fun and realistic this way without really increasing the challenge too much.

"Super" is really hard during the first few hours. Egress leveling is basically forced and it kind of grinds the game to a halt.

 

[Coxy]

Cool. Thanks for the heads up on that. Oh, I would be pissed if the Steam version deletes my file. Why are the other flaws of the PC version if you remember?

off the top of my head I recall the sega classics having problems with control pads if you use one, other than that just minor quibbles I think

On the topic of difficulties I was disppointed with Ouch when I finally tried levelling up to 40 before promoting, need to do that again on Super someday

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Anyone play Shining Force for the GBA?

Is it worth a damn?

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Damn, Slade is a bitch to level. There was at least one time within the last hour of playing it tonight where Slade was going to do the final kill and Peter (controlled by the game) comes in and knocks the shit out of the enemy. Whatever that attack Peter has, it packs a punch. Okay, I just got out of Ribble and got May, the Ranger.

 

[Az987]

Anyone play Shining Force for the GBA?

Is it worth a damn?

I have it but I never played it really lol.

I had forgotten I had it. Maybe I'll go give it a spin.

Is the gamegear Shining Force on the eShop the second or first game gear game? Are they ever going to release the other one?

 

[KefkaTiMe]

Anyone play Shining Force for the GBA?

Is it worth a damn?

I have played it. It adds about 4-5 extra battles from the point of view of Narshe

Spoiler

The daughter of the king of Runefaust

She is OP and easily the 2nd best character next to Max.

Also they added 2 other characters Zuika and Mawlock who team up with Narshe before she meets up with Max.

Also there is a +game mode of sorts, every time you beat the game it ups the handicap increasing stats of the enemy in the next play through.

The port itself is solid, no slowdown or anything like that.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Okay, so here's the deal.

I'm at the battle on the mountain side right outside Polca Village. I managed to get Slade up to level 11 so far. A lot of times, NPC Peter takes his glory and kill. lol. Poor Slade.

I'm getting the hang of this and everything feels smoother. Really digging this a lot. Between this game and Fortune Summoners which I am also currently playing, I'm definitely getting my old school JRPG fix and loving every second of it.

 

[encephalon]

My saves completely disappeared from the steam genesis player randomly after a certain point when I used the in game saves. So I decided to use the save states from then on. Later on, the same thing happened to me with Phantasy Star 4 - and save states. My files just outright disappeared.

Tread with caution.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

My saves completely disappeared from the steam genesis player randomly after a certain point when I used the in game saves. So I decided to use the save states from then on. Later on, the same thing happened to me with Phantasy Star 4 - and save states. My files just outright disappeared.

Tread with caution.

By in-game saves, you mean when you hit ESC and use the save slot or are you referring to the saves at the town healers? I guess I better make sure I save more than one slot because I will be PISSED if this happens to me.