Gamespot’s one line summary of the review of Shining Force Neo that is one their homepage in the middle says it all.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/shiningforce/review.html?sid=6136851
[quote=“Parn”]You know… Nintendo has a large and loyal fanbase for a reason… they keep releasing the games that their fanbase wants. This is why it continues to grow in size, and is something Nintendo can rely on.
Sega on the other hand, prefers to release games which they think will sell well, and if it happens to coincide with what the fans want, so much the better. Shining Force Neo happens to NOT be one of those games, and I’m going to sit back and watch this game sell like crap.
Buying it is support for a future of more Shining Force Neos. No thanks, I’m afraid.
Nintendo is currently airing Fire Emblem commercials on American television, for the record. Apparently Nintendo thinks there’s a market for it. I suppose we’ll see in a few months.[/quote]
this is a 100% true, nintendo is always releasing sequals and different variations of their big franchises, while sega only uses sonic on a regular basis and they’re not very original with it either
while half the sega world is screaming for shenmue 3, new panzer dragoon rpg, a shining force 3 sequal(with the turn based battles of course), phantasy star rpg sequal etc.
sega fans in the end get nothing because sega rather experiences with games that no one cares about
[quote=“Team Andromeda”]
good interview with Camelot about SHINING FORCE 3 andthe other Shining games on Saturn.
1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144831
SEGA Japn need a good kicking for leting these guys go, and spending thier days working on the sh8t that is Mario Golf[/quote]
sega tend to get in bad touch with many 3rd party developers, working designs for instance
Working Designs are a jumped-up publishing/translation house with ideas above there station - they don’t develop anything. You might have heard of them bug testing, re-recording songs, all those clever programming techniques they have to cram all the new dialogue into the game… Yeah, them and everyone else who localises Japanese games too.
So have I been labouring in ignorance these many months, falsely perpetuating a misconception that Phantasy Star Universe isn’t a “phantasy star rpg sequel” at all but rather a Laser Squad remake? 
[quote=“Robert Frazer”]
So have I been labouring in ignorance these many months, falsely perpetuating a misconception that Phantasy Star Universe isn’t a “phantasy star rpg sequel” at all but rather a Laser Squad remake? :p[/quote]
I’m sorry I haven’t followed that game but I thought I heard it was suppose to be another online phantasy star game
These comments made by Gamespot’s reviewer nicely summarise some of my feelings on this subject. SF Neo received the 7/10 score it so richly deserved. Was it really worth butchering Shining Force for this, Sega?
Sigh.
So you ended up buying the game Geoff?
It isn’t even out in Europe yet, and after reading Gamespot’s review, what could possibly motivate me to do so?
The review doesn’t say the game is bad from where I’m standing…
It’s not typical SF but you knew that already.
Oh and I assume you had it (i’m not aware of release dates…) because you said it richly deserved that 7.
7/10 is virtually average by Gamespot’s standards. I didn’t expect the game that killed Shining Force to be rewarded with a much higher score. What really sets this game apart from other games in its genre? Anime cutscenes and cartoony graphics. That’s about it.
I’d have to play through the game from beginning to end before deciding whether or not it is truly deserving of that score. However, Sega cannot bank on scores like that if it hopes to turn the Shining series into its flagship series of RPGs.
There is of course the “Shining Next Project”, but let us be honest here I don’t think anyones too optimistic about that (and besides new information seems to have gone quiet).
Even the ardour of Moogie towards Shining Force has gone as evinced by her decision to hand over control some time early 2006. Phantasy star seems to have died in its traditional form as well, at least Panzer Dragoon remains, for the time being unsullied.
Nonetheless these are sad times indeed, I actually prefered some what the period when we all seemed to be despeately waiting for a new Shining Force game. The most depressing thing is now I seriously doubt anyytime will ever compair in video gaming terms to that glorious summer of '98 heh.
A score is juts a score.But hey I’m not trying to defend SFneo.
But no game that is destinied to become a classic gets such a mediocre score unless it is deeply misunderstood. SFNeo is for what its worth a japanese attempt at diablo: not the kind of game to be misunderstood IMHO.
There are many games that aren’t judged fairly.Just take Blood Omen 1 for example…
Admit it, you guys wouldn’t aprove SFneo even if it turned out to be a good game cause in the end you wanted a tactical RPG.
Do you consider every action RPG and attempt at copying Diablo?
[quote=“Gehpnaet”]There are many games that aren’t judged fairly.Just take Blood Omen 1 for example…
Admit it, you guys wouldn’t aprove SFneo even if it turned out to be a good game cause in the end you wanted a tactical RPG.
Do you consider every action RPG and attempt at copying Diablo?[/quote]
No - Landstalker, Deus Ex, hell even Zelda (if it is an ARPG yadda yadda), are sufficiently differnt from diablo for me to like them. SFNeo and Shining Tears both clealry have taaken the Diablo route to ARPGing.
And I can’t speak on behalf of otehrs but if it were a good ARPG then I’d accept it IF it were not called shining FORCE. Even the shining name would be acceptable.
[quote=“sega91”]
[quote=“Gehpnaet”]There are many games that aren’t judged fairly.Just take Blood Omen 1 for example…
Admit it, you guys wouldn’t aprove SFneo even if it turned out to be a good game cause in the end you wanted a tactical RPG.
Do you consider every action RPG and attempt at copying Diablo?[/quote]
No - Landstalker, Deus Ex, hell even Zelda (if it is an ARPG yadda yadda), are sufficiently differnt from diablo for me to like them. SFNeo and Shining Tears both clealry have taaken the Diablo route to ARPGing.
.[/quote]
Which is?Dungeon crawling?
Three words: Hack and slash
I’m not exactly keen on dragging this arguement out any longer but I have to take issue with a few points…
“Killed Shining Force”? Surely that comment should be levelled at Shining Soul, as that’s what started Sega on the slippery slope towards ARPG-dom - so why not hate that game too? Who’s to say that all this talk over the series isn’t going to reinvigorate it (any publicity is good publicity, right?) and eventually bring about a return to the sequels roots? Comments either way (they will/won’t make a "real"SF) are pure conjecture, as none of us have any idea what goes on inside Sega Japan.
As for the score, there was a time when I wouldn’t even look at a game unless it had multiple 90%'s or 9/10’s in various magazines. I’ve learnt my lesson since then, and discovered that it’s the personal experience that counts over everything else, and if I enjoy playing a game deemed to be “average” then so what?
I remember Suikoden 2 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night both getting some very mediocre scores at the time - look at the praise those games gets now!
Are you saying then that a lot of your hatred towards the game stems soley from the use of the word “Force” in the title? Aren’t you a little bit too old for that? I couldn’t give a monkeys even if they called it Katamari Shining Diablo 2 : The Adventure of Zelda - Good or bad, it’s the game that counts.
It is a good ARPG. It’s nothing spectacular but it is fun and carving though a crowd of enemies reminds me a lot of Dynasty Warriors - another “hack n slash” I enjoy.
There are dozens of hack and slash games out there.A lot of them better than Diablo…