Max (Shining and the Darkness)

Illustration of Max on the cover of the Shining and the Darkness Strategy Guide. Artwork by Yoshitaka Tamaki.

Max (マックス, Makkusu) is the principal protagonist of Shining and the Darkness. He is a resident of the Kingdom of Stormsang and the sixteen-year-old son of the knight Mortred.

Max's quest begins when he approaches King Storm to request permission to seek out Princess Claire and his missing father in the Ancient Temple of Stormsang. Max is eventually led to confront the dark wizard Mephisto in the depths of the temple. He and his companions Merlin and Bilbo are given the title of the Shining Knights (シャイニングナイツ, Shainingu Naitsu) by the saint of the spring, Trevi.

Name

As the player is required to name the character themselves, his default name, Max, is never displayed. However, the name is used in press coverage of the game by Mega Drive FAN and in screenshots found in Tokuma Shoten's Strategy Guide and Official Guide Book. The following text is translated from an article in the March 1991 edition of Mega Drive FAN.

Preview of the Opening (オープニングも少し見せるぞ)

Your heart soars from the old man toward Stormsang and enters the body of a single youth from this world. Let us say that this youth's name is Max. Yes, Max is son of the most reliable knight of the round table, Mortred, and he is in the the middle of an audience with the king of Stormsang in order to go and search for his missing father, who has disappeared along with the princess.

おじいさんのもとからストームサングへと飛んだキミの心は、この世界の1人の少年の中に入る。仮に、その少年の名をマックスとしよう。そう、マックスはこの国の中でももっとも信頼を得ている円卓の騎士モトレードの息子であり、王女と一緒に消息を絶った父を捜しに行くためストームサング王に謁見している最中なのだ。

The king grants Max's wish to search for the missing princess in the Ancient Temple and provides him with enough money to equip himself. He had gone to town, procured his equipment, and returned to the castle when suddenly a giant black shadow appeared in front of the king and uttered, "I am the great wizard Mephisto . . ."

古の神殿で消息を絶った王女を捜しに行きたいというマックスの願いは王に聞き入れられて、装備を整えられるだけのお金をもらう。街に行き装備を整えて城に戻ってくると突如王の目の前に巨大な黒い影が現れ、こうつぶやいた「私は大魔道士メフィスト･･･」と。

The name has also been identified by viewing the data within the Japanese ROM. The English version of the ROM uses the default name "Hiro".

Max's name is never given in the Japanese instruction manual, which refers to him only as "the protagonist" (主人公, shujinkō). The character goes unnamed when described in most media. In Climax Landers, Merlin refers to the character as Junior (ジュニア, Junia).

The main protagonist of Shining Force is also named Max, though the name is visible in this case to players who choose not to rename the character.

Connection to Doom Blade

This article contains spoilers for Doom Blade!

In Doom Blade, set ten years before Shining and the Darkness, Max appears alongside Merlin and Bilbo in a vision shown to Killy by Kris. Six years before the events of Doom Blade, Kris's father, Carsel, sacrifices his life to the Great Intention with the promise that new heroes will be born from the souls of ancient warriors. It is thereby implied that the heroes of Shining and the Darkness are the reincarnations of members of the original Shining Force.

Shining and the Darkness Character Directory

Protagonists and Supporting Characters
Shining Knights	Max・Merlin・Bilbo
Supporting Characters	King Storm・Claire・Mortred・Zeno・Trevi
Antagonists and Monsters
Primary Antagonists	Mephisto
Monsters	Saber Crab