Shining Force CD
Shining Force CD (シャイニ・ングフォースCD, Shainingu Fōsu Shiidii) is a strategy role-playing game developed by Sonic! Software Planning with work from studios Seraphic, Rit's, and Winds.[1] It is an adaptation of the games Shining Force Gaiden and Shining Force Gaiden II, which had been developed by Sonic and published by Sega for the Game Gear. Shining Force CD was published by Sega for the Mega-CD in Japan in July 1994, North America in March 1995, and Europe in April 1995.
Story
The following text is excerpted from the Japanese instruction manual for Shining Force CD.[2]
It happened one day that Grand Cleric Waldor (大神官ウォルドル, Daishinkan Worudoru) traveled as an ambassador for friendship from the southern military state of Cypress to the continent of Rune. He had come bearing a gift from King Cypress to present to Queen Anri. But as Queen Anri opened the box, she was cast into an eternal slumber by some spell. It had all been a trap lain by Cypress!
そんなある日、ルーン大陸の南方に位置する軍事国家サイプレスから、大神官ウォルドルが友好の使者として来訪した。そして、サイプレス王からの贈り物である小箱を、アンリ女王に手渡したのである。だが、それを開けたアンリ女王は、魔法で永遠の眠りについてしまう。すべてはサイプレスの罠だった！
Development Staff
The staff credits at the end of Shining Force CD begin by naming the original staff from Shining Force Gaiden and Shining Force Gaiden II under the headers for Book 1 and Book 2. The credits for Books 3 and 4 comprise different staff who can mostly be traced to Seraphic, Rit's, and Winds based on their other credits, and it is likely these individuals who actually worked on the development Shining Force CD itself.[3]
Some of these staff would go on to work on Camelot games such as Everybody's Golf, but Camelot itself did not contribute to the development of Shining Force CD, having been founded in April 1994 to develop Beyond the Beyond just months prior to Shining Force CD's release.[4]
Graphics Artists
The only graphics artist from either Gaidens I or II to return for Shining Force CD is Hiroshi Kajiyama, who is credited under his earlier professional name, Kensuke Suzuki. The remaining eight graphics artists are new to Shining Force CD, which may account for the noticeable change in art style not attributable to differences in hardware capability. Those artists include:
- Masayuki Hashimoto
- Fumihide Aoki
- Satomi Yokose
- Ayumu Shindo
- Junko Nakamura
- Orm-Gai Fukuda
- Natsuyo Shinzawa
- Kanae Yamada
Returning Staff
Names common to all four books include programmers Yasuhiro Taguchi, Kenji Numaya, and Yutaka Yamamoto, though Taguchi appears to take the director credit from Shugo Takahashi for the portions of the game exclusive to Shining Force CD. Shugo Takahashi replaces Hiroyuki Takahashi as producer. Series veteran Dogen Shibuya maintains sound effects credits throughout. Motoaki Takenouchi, the series' new composer starting with the first Gaiden is also credited with composition and orchestration for the remainder of CD. Map designers Shuji Shimizu and Tatsuya Niikura also returned for Shining Force CD.
Translated Character Profiles
The following characters have profiles in Famitsu's Shining Force CD Official Guide Book with available English translations.
- Nick (ニック, Nikku)
- Ruth (ルース, Rūsu, EN: Ruce)
- Shade (シェイド, Sheido)
- Sig (シグ, Shigu)
- Wendy (ウェンヂイ, Wendī)
- Apis (アピス, Apisu)
- Clay (クレイ, Kurei, EN: Cray)
- Stock (ストック, Sutokku)
- Barry (バリー, Barī, EN: Claude)
- Waldor (ウォルドル, Worudoru, EN: Woldol)
References
- ↑ "Seraphic", Game Developer Research Institute, gdri.smspower.org.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Japanese instruction manual, Shining Force CD (シャイニ・ングフォースCD, Shainingu Fōsu Shiidii). Sonic! Software Planning, Seraphic, Rit's, Winds. Sega, July 1994. [Archived] July 20, 2023.
- ↑ Staff credits, Shining Force CD (シャイニ・ングフォースCD, Shainingu Fōsu Shiidii). Sonic! Software Planning, Seraphic, Rit's, Winds. Sega, July 1994.
- ↑ "My History With Golf, Vol. 22: Camelot Co., Ltd., President and CEO Hiroyuki Takahashi and Executive Vice President Shugo Takahashi",「わたしのゴルフ履歴書〜Vol.22〜株式会社キャメロット 高橋宏之代表取締役社長、高橋秀五代表取締役副社長」. Gridge. Da-Bird, 2020. [Archived] March 27, 2023.
Game Directory
| Shining Games | |
|---|---|
| Mega Drive | Shining and the Darkness・Shining Force・Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal・Shining Force CD |
| Game Gear | Shining Force Gaiden・Shining Force Gaiden II・Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict |
| Saturn | Shining Wisdom・Shining the Holy Ark・Shining Force III Sc. 1・Shining Force III Sc. 2・Shining Force III Sc. 3・Shining Force III PD |
| Game Boy Advance | Shining Soul・Shining Soul II・Shining Force: Resurrection of the Black Dragon |
| PlayStation 2 | Shining Tears・Shining Force Neo・Shining Force EXA・Shining Wind |
| Mobile | Shining Road to the Force・Shining Road 2 |
| PlayStation Portable | Shining Hearts・Shining Blade・Shining Ark |
| Nintendo DS | Shining Force Feather |
| Arcade | Shining Force Cross・Blade Arcus from Shining |
| PlayStation 3 | Shining Resonance・Blade Arcus from Shining EX |
| PlayStation 4 / Switch | Shining Resonance Refrain・Blade Arcus from Shining Rebellion |
| Related Games | |
| PC-88 | Fangs: The Saga of Wolf Blood |
| Mega Drive | Land Stalker: The Emperor's Treasure・Ragnacënty |
| Super Famicom | FEDA: The Emblem of Justice・Lady Stalker |
| Saturn | FEDA Remake!・Dark Savior |
| PlayStation | Alundra・FEDA 2: White Surge the Platoon・Alundra 2 |
| Dreamcast | Climax Landers |
| Game Boy Advance | Golden Sun: The Broken Seal・Golden Sun: The Lost Age |
| Nintendo DS | Golden Sun: Jet Black Dawn |