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Let me start off by saying that this is one of the best RPGs for the Saturn to date. If you've ever played any of the other Shining games in the series and liked it, you will love this game. With richly detailed 3D polygonal towns and battlegrounds mixed with 2D sprite characters makes this one of the best, if not the best, looking Saturn RPG (except for Grandia). Here's why:

Graphics: 9/10

This is one of the games strong points. Gone are the flat, plain-looking battlegrounds and towns and 2D battle scenes. Now, they have made the towns, battlegrounds, and battle scenes full 3D. The 3D battle scenes are excellent and really make you want to get into a fight just to see them. The towns and battlegrounds are richly detailed and the addition of elevation adds a whole new strategy and look to the game. The only reason I took a point off is because at some times the 2D sprites of the characters look a little too pixelated, but this is just a minor problem.

Sound: 8/10

This game has some good music and some great sound effects. At some points in the game, your character might let out a battlecry when doing a special attack or sometimes you might hear them speak. The music always seems to fit where it should. Dark, horror type music for when you meet an enemy to happy music when you meet a new ally. However, sometimes the music is just dull and boring, and that's why this category suffered a bit.

Control: 9/10

This game has excellent control. The Saturn's digital and analog controls both work very well when roaming around in the 3D environments. Menus are easy to go through as well. The only problem is that walking around can get kind of tedious because you in towns you have to rotate the camera a lot, but that's not a big deal.

Gameplay: 10/10

What can I say? This game plays great! It's always fun to go around and see the beautiful fight scenes and scenery. As I said, the control is great, so you won't have a heard time going through everything. There is also new additions to the this game the other Shining Force games didn't have. There is a new support feature, similar to that of Vandal Heart's, that makes your characters form friendships and when adjacent to each other on the battlefield increases certain stats. Also new to the series is the added effect of a weapon's strength against another's. For example, a lance is stronger when used against a person who is using a sword. When you use a weapon against a weaker weapon, the chance for a critical hit raises. Because of this, your characters will often do special attacks that they learn as they gain levels which are very strong in the rare even that they happen.

Overall: 9/10

This game, in my opinion, is the best in the Shining series. Since this is the first to last title to come out for the Saturn here in America, I say this is a must have. I can't wait to play the other two scenarios, but of course they'll be in Japanese and unless you know the language well, you probably won't really get any of the story. Overall, excellent game and a must have for any Saturn gamer who remotely likes RPGs.