Alongside Phantasy Star, Shining Force was one of Sega’s premiere RPG series during the 16-bit era. Blending traditional role playing exploration with strategic turn-based combat not unlike that seen in Fire Emblem, it stood apart and has maintained a healthy fanbase, despite it having been years since the last entry.
Thankfully the IP is coming back and while it’s in mobile form, it appears to be bringing over a lot of the classic ’90s anime aesthetic. Check out the Japanese trailer for the new entry, subtitled Heroes of Light and Darkness, below.
Of course to Nintendo fans those combat scenes in particular may look familiar. Shining Force was developed by the studio that would go on to become Camelot, the developers of Golden Sun, a game which borrowed a lot of the same design cues from those early Shining entries.
Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness will launch worldwide in the first half of 2022 and will be free-to-play with in-app purchases.
Written by Tom Brown
Whether it’s an exciting new entry in a series long established or a weird experiment meant only for the dedicated, Tom is eager to report on it. Rest assured, if Nintendo ever announces Elite Beat Agents 2, he’ll be there.
