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Where the game branches off from its competition is in the way the characters themselves are handled. Moreover, just like in Shining Force, should the main character Eva die, the battle automatically ends. The gameplay is also very similar, as is the town/battle/town design.
#SHINING FORCE CD HAIJA SERIES#
The eclectic cast of characters comes from the typical backgrounds that fans of the Shining series should know, such as knights and healers. It’s a great company to be in, and Royal Stone holds its own in terms of gameplay as well as presentation. It’s really important to emphasize all the great features Royal Stone has, and while some will be quick to point out that it bears more than a passing resemblance to Shining Force, that’s not a bad thing at all. Why on Earth didn’t this come out in the West? How the hell is my Game Gear doing this? The audio is just as good, completing a level of presentation that had me shaking my head on several occasions. It’s a true testament to the underused power of Sega’s little machine. No one would deny just how great it looks. Game Boy argument breaks out, Royal Stone is one game that should be tossed into the mix. Its visuals are simply among the best on the Game Gear, and it looks leagues better than many of the handheld games of the era. Royal Stone is simply gorgeous, with a level of color and detail that could easily be mistaken for an early Genesis game.
#SHINING FORCE CD HAIJA UPGRADE#
It’s while using Cototte that players can upgrade weapons and armor and save the game, as well as explore each of the richly-detailed towns.Īnd that’s a term that I am not using loosely.
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Towns provide sanctuary and a chance to further the plot, and here players control Eva’s companion Cocotte, sent by the god Sacrelux to watch over and protect her. Team members come and go, and they add their insights into her reputation and perception among the townsfolk. Royal Stone features some great plot development, and over the course of its 16 rounds the entire saga of Eva’s banishment and struggle to redeem herself is explained very well. Now, she’s out to clear her name and stop the true threat to the kingdom. The story focuses on a female knight named Eva, who is accused of betraying her father and the kingdom of Martalia and banished.
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Western gamers got screwed once more, as Royal Stone improves on its predecessor in many different ways and offers an incredible experience of which too few people are aware.
#SHINING FORCE CD HAIJA PORTABLE#
Strategy/RPGs also have some great entries here, and while many may know of the wonderful Shining Force: Sword of Haija and its Japan-only sequels, Shining Force Gaiden and Final Conflict, there’s actually another series on the Game Gear that’s just as good.Ĭrystal Warriors was the first of two awesome strategy/RPGs to be released in portable Sega form, and just as with Shining Force, its sequel never crossed the Pacific. Sega went out of its way to give the little handheld some great representation in the genre, and there are a slew of titles that stand the test of time. If there’s one thing I’m pleasantly discovering about the Game Gear, it’s that there is an incredibly solid library of RPGs to be found there.
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