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[Blankdoor]

Ok guys I've not posted in here for a while but I'd thought I share a little fact, I've started Let's Playing Shining force! I'm using the SEGA Genesis & Mega Drive Classics
 on steam rather than emulating illegally.

So if you want to watch here is a link to the first episode: http://youtu.be/JRJ0gFv5CqE

I'm playing blind (not the best idea I know) and updating daily! So if you want to come along for the ride you're more than welcome!

~Blank

[Bluerobin]

Oh awesome, I've heard the Shining Force games talked about, but I've only ever seen bits and pieces.

[Blankdoor]

Oh awesome, I've heard the Shining Force games talked about, but I've only ever seen bits and pieces.

To be honest I chose to play it on a whim. I got recommended it by a friend to play generally, and when I start let's playing something I'm kind of obliged to finish, I thought this was the best way to make sure I finished it as well as get some videos out.

Still, so far, I think its pretty damn awesome, plus when I discovered the company that made the Shining series went on to make Golden Sun I was sold. Plus after putting half an hour into it its made me miss the good old days where I'd play my Sega Genesis.

~Blank

[Blankdoor]

Just an update of the rest of the episodes, there have been 4 more since the first post, I'll get into detail about how feel about the game after posting links:

Episode 2: http://youtu.be/NqSce0_dEQU

Episode 3: http://youtu.be/zEn9K5xoru0

Episode 4: http://youtu.be/Iat5oqT3UXs

Episode 5: http://youtu.be/6DbC94p__y4

Right now one thing I have to say is I quite like the battle system, which is a good thing since that's half the game play right there. I like how there are no percentage hit boxes or even an indication of how strong the foe you are fighting is, besides how bad-ass some of the sprites are. Of course standard fantasy knowledge helps like a centure knight is a bit tougher than a random Goblin etc, though it does seem fairly balanced. Little quirks like characters getting crits and attack twice in one turn is good as well, as they happen seemingly randomly and can help, or completely wipe out, your party members.

Other than that the story seem pretty standard so far, though I suppose that will change as the game progresses, as being a special Shining Force would be boring otherwise. One last thing though, the battle animations and music for this game are amazing, even if you don't like games like this I would recommend it on that basis alone.

Right I'll update this again tomorrow after the next upload, where I think we are getting into the actually plot of the game!

~Blank

[Kilroy the Grand]

Since I actually owned Shining Force for the genesis I'll give you a few hints.

• Don't promote characters until they are level 20, any sooner and you won't get the best stat gains
• In the room where you get the moonstone, search all of the walls, there is a secret hidden item for Tao
• The egg you find contains one of the best magic users in the entire game
• There are multiple hidden characters, most of them outclass almost everyone else
• Don't bother leveling that elven archer, trust me on this, he will suck major balls.

[Blankdoor]

• Don't bother leveling that elven archer, trust me on this, he will suck major balls.

How does this not surprise me?

I also kinda know about the promoting at level 20 thing, it seems to be the first thing most faq's mention about the game. The rest of the information is news to me and will be duly noted, since even though I'm playing blind I don't want to miss out on some of the more awesome stuff you can find in this game.

~Blank

[Blankdoor]

Right guys Episode 6 up and away: http://youtu.be/gYEcqyBf2IU

I just think the game got serious (my humor in the video aside), it really is pulling out all the stops in an attempt to make you feel over whelmed and a sense of dread. Though I suppose it has to, since it doesn't have the production values of a modern blockbuster video game. Instead we have a whole 16 bit's to get the job done.

Still if anything I can't complain about this game not giving you enough motivation, as it seems to be handing out in spades.

~Blank

[hostergaard]

Alright, cool lets play. Gotta work on your tactics tough. I haven't played SF but I know a little about these games in general. Use choke points, force weak enemies between you and strong enemies and use ranged units to whittle down the strong enemies who can't attack you. Your centaur knight is good for this because of relatively good armor and ranged attack. In general he probably should have a role where he attack from a distance and work as a backup to fill up holes that might emerge if one of your frontliners dies, he have a lot of movements points in flat terrain, but don't use him in the front line in general as he do not seem to have much HP.

When fighting in the open make sure to let your high HP and High armor units be in the front to take the brunt of the attack. Focus on as few enemies at a time as possible, killing two enemies is better than weakening four, as dead enemies can't attack you but low HP don't reduce the attack of the enemy. Luke seems to be a bit of a glass cannon, so use him for targets you need taken out quickly but don't let him be attacked. Draw the battle line at advantageous terrain so the enemy have to be in terrain with no bonus while you get massive bonus, like forests and mountains.

You asked what SDMN meant, its probably a class designation. SworD something. MaN? Yea. SworDMaN I think. There where item option at the dog fish thing, Maybe you can store stuff? The monk probably fight bare fisted. Kung Fu style. Lastly, a bit of a gamist approach that often work in game like this is focusing on leveling a single character, they will be impossible to hit because of high evade and can wade into enemies and slaughter them. Works better if there where counter attacks in the game tough.

[Kilroy the Grand]

If you want to grind characters use the spell called "egress" it whisks you away from the battle so you can fight it again.

The monk probably fight bare fisted. Kung Fu style.

The monk is actually one of the best clerics in the game, believe it or not. If you level him up he should get some pretty good healing spells.

[Blankdoor]

Right guys episode 7 is up, and its full of me rambling and combat: http://youtu.be/quXVsgSot94

Alright, cool lets play. Gotta work on your tactics tough.

I know I could be doing a better job, but it is getting the balance between playing properly and playing for entertainment, though later on in the game when battles become harder I'll have to be a lot more tactical.

If you want to grind characters use the spell called "egress" it whisks you away from the battle so you can fight it again.

I also knew this one as well, and I might have to employ the tactic for some grinding later on, but I'm trying not to exploit the game too much. I'm trying to treat it as much like a first play through as possible, even though I 'm playing blind, I already know a handful of tricks that going to give me an unfair advantage.

You asked what SDMN meant, its probably a class designation. SworD something. MaN? Yea. SworDMaN I think.

My God man you might be right, that's been bugging me for a while now and I didn't want to risk looking through a faq to find out.

Though I suppose that's all the update for today, since all we managed to do was fight off some of the forces of Runefaust!

~Blank

[hostergaard]

I know I could be doing a better job, but it is getting the balance between playing properly and playing for entertainment, though later on in the game when battles become harder I'll have to be a lot more tactical.

Yea, I tought of that, and the fact that its hard to multitask strategy and commentary. But man is it frustrating to watch a LP and the person playing overlooks something that seems super obvious. I am rly screaming at my screen. 

My God man you might be right, that's been bugging me for a while now and I didn't want to risk looking through a faq to find out.

Yea, its a strange class name tough. Swordman? Never heard it used before. Sword was kind of obvious, but the man part took me a while running trough various words. But then again, aside from never being used its a sensible enough designation for a low level sword user.

[Kilroy the Grand]

My God man you might be right, that's been bugging me for a while now and I didn't want to risk looking through a faq to find out.

Yea, its a strange class name tough. Swordman? Never heard it used before. Sword was kind of obvious, but the man part took me a while running trough various words. But then again, aside from never being used its a sensible enough designation for a low level sword user.

What about WLFBRN? Would you guess that means Wolf Baron? Some of the class names are easy to figure out though like SMURI and I think one is just called NINJA.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I also subscribed, I'm actually pretty interested in your thoughts on later, harder levels.

[nenjin]

Zylo is the man. He will become a crit/multi-attack machine after he's promoted.

Warriors like Gurt start off pretty poorly, but after their advance they ramp up in power and start hitting like trucks.

Domingo is hard to justify for a long time....but once you've leveled the crap out of him, he becomes a spell-casting hovertank.

Birdmen I never really found to be that great. They're fragile, low damage fighters with high mobility. They always seem to be the ones I'd have to babysit the most to make sure they get XP.

Centaurs/Paladins will vary by character. Some get great HP. Some get great DEF. Some get great ATK. Some even get a little magic. But they never seem to excel in more than 1 category. Early game they will make up the bulk of your army, late game you'll struggle to find a reason to use them, and you'll have TONS of them.

Archers are nice but it's unlikely you'll ever want more than 1.

Spellcasters rule but they are XP hogs.

Like was said above, EGRESS out of fights when there's only 1 enemy left to farm for XP. Make sure to EXAMINE all your enemies to see what gear they are carrying. The game gear carrying enemies will respawn when you re-enter the battle. It's a good way to farm for rings, advanced gear and stuff like Fire Axes. It can be time consuming though, the drop rates can be not good.

Be careful about items with uses. Many have charges and will break if you over use them.

[Bluerobin]

I thought being called a swordsman was a fairly common thing in fantasy settings. Maybe that's just me though.

Gotta catch up on these videos today!

[Blankdoor]

Ok I held off posting this until I had both parts together so I discuss it, so here is Episode 8: http://youtu.be/x6eSDzw-8n4

Basically this is the episode where I flee, I then concede and agree to start using my brain a little and playing the battle a few times off camera to get used to things.

This turns out to be a pretty good idea, as I state in Episode 9 (which I'll post a link to at the end), as it gives me time to test a few things. I also manage to level most of my characters at least once, and get Tao Blaze lv 2, which is amazing.

I also try the weapons shop, simply to see if anyone could get a better weapon, which is a big resounding nope and speak to everyone in Guardania, just in case I missed anything. Whilst both of them turn out to be massive time sinks, in a game like this I though tit was better to be safe than sorry.

Now as for Episode 9, I feel I did a lot better here, though rather than spoil what I did I'll just leave a link and see what you guys make of it.

Episode 9: http://youtu.be/BWK7OS1YMMs

Right now onto responding to a few things!

Spellcasters rule but they are XP hogs.

Already I agree 100% Spellcasters do rule!

Centaurs/Paladins will vary by character. Some get great HP. Some get great DEF. Some get great ATK. Some even get a little magic. But they never seem to excel in more than 1 category. Early game they will make up the bulk of your army, late game you'll struggle to find a reason to use them, and you'll have TONS of them.

I don't know if its just me, but besides the healers (Gong and Lowe), the Centaurs have been the hardest ones for me to level, they get low exp from attacks and often don't output enough damage, so you have to wait to put them in a position to get a killing blow. So if I end up getting loads of them then it seems they are not getting used, unfortunately.

What about WLFBRN? Would you guess that means Wolf Baron? Some of the class names are easy to figure out though like SMURI and I think one is just called NINJA.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I also subscribed, I'm actually pretty interested in your thoughts on later, harder levels.

Ok if there is a class called Wolf Barron I want it, that sounds bloody amazing!

As for the spoiler, thank you kindly good sir!

Right so until tomorrow, where I should enter Alterone and probably end up spending an episode chatting with NPC's, take care guys!

~Blank