Introduction
Introduction
Shining Force CD is a tactical RPG released in the US in 1995 for the Sega CD. It's a remake of two Game Gear Shining Force games - Shining Force Gaiden, and Shining Force Gaiden II: The Sword of Hajya. Only Sword of Hajya was released in the US making CD the first (and only) official English translation of Gaiden that I'm aware of. CD is divided up into "books" with Book 1 (Towards the Root of Evil) being Gaiden, and Book 2 (The Evil God Awakes) being Gaiden II. However, CD also features two additional exclusive adventures in Book 3 and the secret Book 4. Book 3 continues the story from Book 2, and while I'm not currently sure what Book 4 entails, I believe it is a smaller bonus thing, unlocked by finding a secret item. Being a Sega CD game, the graphics are vastly improved over the Game Gear versions, and the game features CD quality audio.
The gameplay of these games departs from the original formula in that there are no town or field exploration sections. Instead there are brief cutscenes between fights to propel the story forward. There is also a camp screen where you can do things like save the game, manage characters, and in some cases buy items from a shop.
Book 1 of SFCD takes place 20 years after the events of the first Shining Force game (which I did a playthrough of a long time ago), giving us a glimpse of what happened to the members of the original Force after their battle with Dark Dragon.
About the Playthrough
I've never played Shining Force CD before. I did at one point play a little bit of Gaiden II via Nintendo's eShop (I think), but that was a very long time ago. I don't have any plans to limit or bring specific characters into battle, but I will be playing the game on Super Hard difficulty. From what I can tell Super Hard increases enemy stats slightly, and according the manual it changes the type and frequency of the items you will find, as well as increasing monster aggression and spellcasting.
I'm playing the game using a physical copy on a real Model 2 Sega CD and Sega Genesis combo. I'm using an RGB connection through a Framemeister to get a 5x upscale of the game. This cuts off a little of the top and bottom of the picture, but we shouldn't be missing anything important. To keep save games for all books simultaneously you need a Sega CD backup RAM cart as the internal memory of the Sega CD is insufficient. I don't currently have one of those so I'm using a Mega Everdrive X5 as my RAM cart instead.
Series Playlist
- Battle 1 - A New Force Assembles
- Battle 2 - Getting CRAY. Literally.
- Battle 3 - Seeking Another Ship to Inevitably Wreck
- Battle 4 - Knock Knock
- Battle 5 - Miniyom Liberated
- Battle 6 - Road to Asreet
- Battle 7 - Asreet Streets
- Battle 8 - The Resistance Marches Onward
- Battle 9 - You Can Smell the Fear
- Battle 10 - A Startling Revelation
- Battle 11 - Home Sweet Home
- Battle 12 - Hello Old Friend
- Battle 13 - Malicious Magic Mushrooms
- Battle 14 - Shift Change
- Battle 15 - Fizzled
- Battle 16 - Taking Gundoll
- Battle 17 - Avunculicide
- Battle 18 - Stalled
- Battle 19 - Funnel
- Battle 20 - Dire Duo
- Battle 21 Pt 1 - Woldol Surprise
- Battle 21 Pt 2 - Woldol Denied
Series Playlist
- Battle 1 - Iom's Evil Intentions
- Battle 2 - Hot On the Trail
- Battle 3 - To the Cliffs
- Battle 4 - Clifftop Rendezvous
- Battle 5 - Ticket for the Future
- Battle 6 - Imperiling Impostors
- Battle 7 - Trouble Without, Trouble Within
- Battle 8 - Tunnels and Traps
- Battle 9 - Shameful Sneaking
- Battle 10 - Hello, Goodbye
- Battle 11 - Promotions at Sea
- Battle 12 - Watch Your Step
- Battle 13 - Centaurs Can Climb Vines
- Battle 14 - Death From Above
- Battle 15 - Danger in the Dark
- Battle 16 - An Unstable Situation
- Battle 17 - Together Again
- Battle 18 - Questionable Ninja Skills
- Battle 19 - The Hills Are Alive
- Battle 20 - Laser Canyon
- Battle 21 - Old Allies
- Battle 22 - ...And an Old Enemy
- Battle 23 - At Last
- Battle 24 - Hell Sent
Series Playlist
- Battle 1 - Challenging the Crown
- Extra 1 - Catching Up With the Force
- Battle 2 - THAT
- Battle 3 - Real Style
- Battle 4 - Hummer Time
- Battle 5 - Bolting Into Action
- Battle 6 - A Worthy King
Series Playlist
Screenshots
