Shining Force Game Development History

The following article compares published images of prototype builds of Shining Force found in to the final game.

Prototypes

The November 1991 issue of Beep! MegaDrive sheds some light on the state of the game around four months before its release. A nine-page feature provides developer interviews with Hiroyuki Takahashi, Yasuhiro Taguchi, Hidehiro Yoshida, Kenji Orimo, Yoshitaka Tamaki, Yoshinori Tagawa, and Masaki Wachi, as well as prototype screenshots that show many differences from the final game.

Because it has not been determined which screenshots are from frames actually running in game and which might be mock-ups, it is hard to pinpoint precisely what any of these images say about the current state of the game at the time of the issue's publication.

Weekly Famitsu ran a series of magazines with prerelease screenshots between December 1991 and January 1992.

Title Screen

Beep! 11/91	Final

The banner text on the prototype title screen reads "Legacy of the Gods" (神々の遺産, Kamigami no Isan). The final Japanese game instead uses the English text "The Legacy of Great Intention". The final title screen also uses a font more similar to that used for the logo design of Shining and the Darkness.

Max's Sword, Ice Magic, and the Ancient Gate Background

Beep! 11/91	Final

The Ancient Gate is depicted at night or as an interior. Torches illuminate the walls, the tops of which fade into blackness.

The floor graphic under Max shows dirt instead of tile. Comparing this floor graphic to the ones in other prototype images, the right side extends farther toward the end of the frame and is has extra rock details, making for an larger graphic than is used in the final game. This could date this as being from an earlier build, or it could indicate that the image is a mock-up.

The text on the enemy's status box reads "Goblin" (ゴブリン, goburin), but the sprite shown is a skeleton. This placeholder suggests that the skeleton's attack cutscene sprite was among the first pieces of enemy artwork to be put into the game.

Enemy levels are shown. In the final Japanese game they are always displayed as "L?", and in the English release this text is completely absent with the space being devoted to the longer enemy names.

Max's HP at level 1 is higher than in final, and he is shown with no MP. The goblin has more HP than in final. For characters with zero MP, there is a line of border pixels to the right of the MP text in the prototype.

Famitsu 1/24/92

Max's attack animation shows a smeared streak along the arc of his swing. Weapon swings in the final game do not feature this type of smear frame. Doing so would have increased the amount of required artwork substantially for the smear to be appropriate for every weapon, which would have also required much more space in ROM and more sophisticated sprite layering.

The November 1991 Beep! MegaDrive screenshot shows a small unidentified glowing orb at the back of Max's swing. In the image from Weekly Famitsu's January 24,1992, issue, there is a similar blue orb near Max's gauntlet. On the right edge of the frame near the torch, there is a large round object that uses high-contrast lines and fully transparent pixels to resemble crystalline ice. Similar graphics found in further prototype images suggest that the staff was testing an early animation of the Freeze spell.

A feature common to this image and others found in surrounding issues of Famitsu is that Max's status window uses Lowe's name (ロウ, Rō, "Row").

Max's Attack Animation

Beep! 11/91	Final

Concept illustration for Max's attack animation from the Mega Drive Fan supplement Shining Force Complete Strategy Guide. [2] Artwork by Yoshitaka Tamaki (玉木美孝).

In this sequence of images demonstrating Max's attack animation, Max holds his sword in different positions in the first two frames than he does in final. The third frame of his attack animation here shows a different smear from that shown in the previous table. It is white instead of blue, the blade is longer, and there is no floating orb or ice crystal.

In all of these prototype images the sword graphics look like they may not be separate from the character sprites.

Max has 99 MP in these screenshots. Though likely a testing measure, this shows that this set of screenshots was taken at a different time than the screenshot in the previous table.

Mae's Attack Animation

Beep! 11/91	Final

These prototype images show Mae at level 1 at the Ancient Gate, which is impossible in the final game, as she joins at level 2 just before the march to Altarone. Another screenshot shows Gort at the Ancient Gate. These are likely placeholder battles for testing or even just press mock-ups, but it could also suggest that the game's overall scenario was still tentative at this point in development.

Mae's idle sprite and attack sprite are completely different from those in the final game. The lance is held under the arm and does not look much like a separate graphic from the knight. The final knight attack animation has three frames in which the centaur charges forward, unlike the short-range ending frame in the magazine photo.

The ground underneath Mae's feet is different in both of these photos, with the first picture using the larger floor graphic also seen in one image with Max.

Max and Mae Portraits and Status Screens

For comparison, character artwork by Yoshitaka Tamaki is shown below the screenshots. The illustrations are cropped from the Shining Force: Legacy of the Gods Setting Compendium published by Shogakukan. High-resolution scans are available on the Internet Archive.[3][4]

Beep! 11/91	Final
Reference Artwork
Art by Yoshitaka Tamaki (玉木美孝).

Mae's portrait artwork in the prototype is a more direct translation of her character illustration.

The text for the weapon shown equipped reads "bronze lance" (ブロンズランス, buronzu ransu), but the artwork is for an unidentified sword. The other items in the inventory have the name "old medicinal herb" (ふるいやくそう, furui yakusō). It is uncertain what this implies. There is only one type of medicinal herb in the final game, and it lacks the "old" descriptor.

The environment in which the prototype battle takes place shows conifer trees that are not found anywhere in the final game. Ken is standing on top of a tree tile.

Mae's stats show 99 attack, 5 defense, 7 movement, and 7 speed.

Beep! 11/91	Final
Reference Artwork
Art by Yoshitaka Tamaki (玉木美孝).

It is difficult to tell due to the low quality of the prototype image whether Max's portrait is to a different scale than the one in final, or if several pixels have been cropped off the portrait for the final version. Max's prototype facial expression and facial contours seem more reminiscent of his character illustration than in final.

This screenshot shows the same unused area tiles seen in the screenshot of Mae's status.

Max's equipped weapon reads "short sword" (ショートソード, shōto sōdo), but the icon shown looks similar to the fire sword from Shining in the Darkness. Max starts with a middle sword in the final game. Max is also shown here with a level-3 Blaze spell (ブレイズ, bureizu) and a level-3 Heal spell (ヒール, hīru).

Max's stats show 99 attack, 6 defense, 12 movement, and 10 speed.

Ken Starts with a Lance and Dark Dwarfs First Appear

Famitsu 1/24/92

Ken is shown at the Ancient Gate with a steel-colored lance. Ken begins with a spear in the final game, and the first lance obtainable the bronze lance upon Max and his company's return to Guardiana.

The other screenshots show advances in development over previous prototype images with one of the earliest appearances of dwarfs and the final starting roster. Earlier builds show Gort instead of Luke and an early join for Mae.

Larger Target Area on Level-4 Blaze

Famitsu 1/24/92

The caption reads: "Level-4 Blaze's huge attack range. It could easily take out 10 enemies."

Tao is shown targeting an enemy with Level-4 Blaze, which displays a target area of thirteen tiles. In the final game, the only offensive magic spells with this target area are level-2 and level-3 Bolt. All level-4 offensive spells in Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention are single target.

In Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon, level-4 Blaze is given the target area of thirteen tiles pictured here, with level-3 Blaze being single target.

Simone's In-Development Dialogue

Famitsu 1/24/92

The text read by Simone in this image is not found in the final game. She reads:

... The king of Guardiana said, "You are the last light" ...

・・・ガーディアナ王は　いいました　そなたこそ　さいごの　光なのじゃ・・・

The passage Simone reads in the final game is dialogue from an Ancient who is addressing Max and Kane. The difference here suggests the possibility of a different framing device.

Lowe's In-Development Join Dialogue

Famitsu 1/24/92	Final

Prototype Dialogue

All right, I've decided! I'm a priest. Take me with you! I'm sure I'll be useful!

よし　きめた！　そうりょのオレを　つれていけ！　きっと　やくにたつぜ！

Final Dialogue

You're goin' to the Ancient Gate? Well if that's the case, then take me too! I'm sure I'll be useful!

古えのもんに行くんだって?　それなら　オレも　つれて行けよ!　きっと　やくにたつぜ!

Unused Coniferous Woodland Area and Prototype Battle Menu

There is no direct analog to the prototype images of this cut area because there is no surviving usage of the same or a derivative tileset in the final game. Screenshots of different areas in the final game are shown for reference.

Beep! 11/91	Final

Compared to the fences in Pao in the final game, the prototype fences are more detailed than any fences found in the final game.

The first prototype screenshot shows a character movement range that stretches over the trees, which should be unwalkable. A goblin is standing inside a fencepost that should also be unwalkable.

Beep! 11/91	Final

The scale of the trees and fences in the prototype screenshots suggest a town battle, but this area and these tiles do not exist anywhere in the game, so there is no direct comparison. In the final version of the Alterone town battle, the bushes in the lower left represent the extent of the tree tiles available at this scale. There are no conifers.

Beep! 11/91	Final

The third image of the final game shown above is of an overworld map battle that shows the relative size of trees at this scale.

The prototype images show a previous version of the battle menu icons.

When considering the details of the tileset shown in these magazine images, it is probable that these images are press mock-ups and are not running in engine on real hardware. If they are genuine screenshots, then they are an indicator that the game was scaled back in scope during development.

Guardiana Tileset Art and Character Locations

Beep! 11/91	Final

The prototype screenshots shows tile art that is not present in the final game. The church has tiles with crack details, and the entrance is a different shape and has brown stone leading inward instead of steps. The tiles adjacent to water have different edges. The east-west oriented bed in the house on the right side of the frame does not exist in the final game, in which all beds have a north-south orientation The differences in artwork likely come down to the prototype screenshots being mock-ups, but if not, then the lower variety in tiles in the final game would represent a memory-saving measure.

The layouts differ, with a building standing much closer to the church in the prototype than any building in final.

Varios is shown in an unusual location and uses Arthur's sprite as a placeholder. The dialogue shown is not found in the final game. There is also a girl who uses Karin's sprite where a guard is found in final.

Beep! 11/91	Final

The sprite for the bearded man with the staff does not exist in the final game.

The edge of the terrain near the water follows a different path. None of these building layouts are present, and the graphic for the store sign and door do not exist. East-west walls are never as narrow as the ones shown in the prototype images.

Roofs are selectively hidden when entering buildings, so it is not possible to see into buildings from the outside.

Ancient Gate Tile and Layout Differences

Beep! 11/91	Final

The prototype Ancient Gate is surrounded by dirt terrain with scattered rocks rather than grassy terrain with bushes.

The chasm stretches farther east, and due to a different wall layout, comes much closer to the walls creating a narrower bottleneck. There is more rubble.

There are torches on the walls, and there are cracks on the walls near the entrance.

Max and his companions are shown starting farther forward instead of below the stairs.

Mae is present, and Gort is present instead of Luke.

Beep! 11/91	Final

This prototype image shows Rune knights in the place of the goblins shown in the previous image, suggesting that the screenshots are from different builds or test battles.

Beep! 11/91	Final

The walls create a more constrained environment in the prototype.

Beep! 11/91	Final

The tiles on the other side of the wall are black in the prototype, suggesting a darkened interior.

The pillars are to a larger scale, and there are Rune knight standing on pillar tiles that should not be walkable.

There are drastically more Rune knights here, and the goblin is occupying the position of the Runefaust side's leader.