It’s not every day you hear the words “Shining Force” and “New Game” in close proximity any more, but lo and behold, developer Hive, via Korean parent company Vespa, is bringing out an all-new entry in the series with Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness. And it’s not just staying in Japan!
If you’re unfamiliar with Shining Force or Shining Force II, they were originally released for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive in 1992 and 1993, respectively. Both are strategy roleplaying games, with the first title released just a week after Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light came to the Famicom in Japan. And while the Nintendo franchise would stay in Japan for another decade, Shining Force found an eager audience in North America and Europe, one which has gone without a proper sequel since the partial (!!) 1997 release of Shining Force III on the SEGA Saturn. Since then, it’s been remakes and non-SRPG entries which just haven’t fit with the original brand. That may all be about to change.
Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness is a mobile title that stars characters from the first two entries in the series, including Bowie, Max, Arthur, Sarah, Mae, and a whole slew of other familiar faces. The game does feature some yet-unspecified monetization, but will be a free to play title with tile-based SRPG gameplay lifted from the originals. The graphics look to be well-informed by the graphical style of the originals, but rendered as high-resolution illustrations and character sprites.
A Japanese-language trailer and some screenshots are available below. It’s not yet confirmed exactly where or when the game will be released, but licensing rights have been secured for North America, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and several other countries.
Stay tuned to RPGFan for more updates about this entry in the Shining legacy, and what it may hold in store, and look for Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness in the first half of 2022 on iOS and Android.
Source: TouchArcade
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