Topic: Shining Force vs Fire Emblem

[Dracula]

As I have been disappointed by the last two RPGs that I have bought (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (I missed the RPG part in strategy RPG) and Sword of Mana (The battle/fight system is too clumsy, I really don't understand how the hell companies can go wrong with something as simple as a battle system in an Action RPG, when all they have to do is to look at the Zelda games, it so simple to just use the Zelda battle system as a basis, and then go from there for developers, but still one ends up with battle systems such as Sword of Mana).

So I am thinking of buying a new RPG. My two choices are Shining Force and Fire Emblem. As I have not played either of the games, I'd appreciate it if anyone of you guys who has played any of the two games could write the pros and cons of both games. There really aren't that many reviews of Shining Force on the net (and the only two I found didn't really make the decision any simpler for me). At the moment I'm leaning towards Shining Force, and I might buy it on Friday.

Thanks in advance.

[Hostile Creation]

I haven't played Shining Force, but I think Fire Emblem is very good.  It's battle only, pretty much, and it's tactics gameplay, but aside from being excellent in that way, the cut scenes and characters are very good.  It makes you feel as if your travelling companions are real, actually your friends, and you become very fond of them.  I did at least.  And the fact that losing one in battle makes them lost for all other battles makes it even better in that way.

I like Fire Emblem, and I'm not even a big fan of RPGs.  I highly recommend it, but you should see what others think of it, an what they think of Shining Force.

[Dracula]

Well, it sounds somewhat like FFTA if its battle only, thats the major reason why I didn't like FFTA, as I missed the RPG part. I want to have strategic battles, but at the same time I also want to explore, and visit towns etc, stuff that is essential to RPGs.

Thanks for the answer, I think I'm even closer to Shining Force now then I was before, as it seems to have more RPG elements to it, then Fire Emblem.

[Koopa Troopa]

Shining Force is basically Sega's answer to Fire Emblem. FE did really well on the NES/SNES so Sega made SF for the Genesis. It is almost the exact same type of game. Of the two FE is better, however SF is a good game as well.

[Terranigma Freak]

Get Fire Emblem if you want a huge plot with 44 party members and huge character development. Get Shining Force if you want to be able to walk around the map like a regular RPG. Fire Emblem has less replay value... sorta... Shining Force will get harder and harder as you play more and more. The problem is, the game is extremely repetitive so I'm not sure you want to play through the game 99 times(it increases difficulty 99 times from what I heard) let alone a second time. Fire Emblem has a lame 4 player battle but also 3 quests to beat with 2 difficulty settings, multiple endings, huge soundtrack collection, 60 CG pictures to collect and the ability to reread the characters story/character development. Well there's 44 characters so you probably won't remember everything. Shining Force has 33 characters that talk about really pointless things like teaching your pointless spells that don't work or do anything. Fire Emblem actually has an AI where as Shining Force has AS(Artifical Stupidity).

[couchmonkey]

Have you played the Golden Sun games?  It sounds like you're looking for a traditional RPG, and they're about as traditional as it gets on the GBA.   I don't know much about Shining Force, but I don't think Fire Emblem is what you're looking for if you want to explore and visit towns in a tranditional, Final Fantasy style game.

[Dracula]

Yes I have played both Golden Sun games, the first one was great, the second one was frustrating because of the annoying lack of bosses in the game. You could go to a dungeon/mountain or whatever, climb all the way to the top/get to the end of the dungeon, and then get the object you came to get, before you had to use exit or whatever that psy energy was called to get to the beginning of the dungeon/mountain again, and then just leave.

How boring and repititive is that? I was looking forward to fighting bosses after I spent almost a couple of hours climbing a mountain, and what do I get as a reward? I have to use exit (the psy energy was probably called something else, but I dont remember it, as the game was stolen, when someone broke the window of my car and took it and my GBA), and just get on with the next dungeon/mountain.

One of the high points of a turnbased RPG are the boss fights, and if the fight forces you to use strategy and goes on for almost half an hour, then it just cant get any better. But when a RPG misses out of that, then for me it just isnt a good RPG, especially when the stroy is as weak as it was in The Lost age.

And this wasnt after a couple of hours play, I put in a good 30+ hours in it, before it was eventually stolen, and I just cant be bothered to buy the game again, as its really not worth the money.

But anyway, I would prefer a traditional RPG then a Strategy RPG, but there really aren't that many good traditional RPGs coming out on the GBA at the moment, therefore I am thinking of buying Shining Force (I'm almost certain that I will buy this game instead of Fire Emblem now, as it seems to be alot more of an RPG then Fire Emblem).

Btw, do you guys know the release date for the Final Fantasy remakes?

[Terranigma Freak]

If you want a traditional RPG then go for Mario and Luigi instead. The story is laugh out loud funny and has some cool plot twists. But most important is FUN! You actually have fun playing, exploring, and battling enemies.

[Bloodworth]

In the future, please use the "what game should I get?" thread stickied at the top.   I'll let this go on a bit longer since it turned into a decent discussion.

[nitsu niflheim]

If you can get past the image, Pokemon Ruby and/or Sapphire are RPG, then you have Phantasy Star Collection, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodi (haven't played so I don't know how it plays), Lunar Legend, Breath of Fire, and Breath of Fire 2.

You also have Shining Soul and Shining Soul 2, but I didn't like the first one so I didn't even bother to finish the game yet.  

[Blackknight131]

Although I will be echoing some opinions here, hopefully this helps:

Mario and Luigi: Highly recommended. A must play if you enjoyed Paper Mario, Nintendo has done an awesome job of fusing platform like play mechanics with a fun and involving RPG...but the best part as someone else has said, the Mario world is brilliantly and hilariously realized.

Fire Emblem: I do beleive this series started tactical RPGs....but regardless it hasnt fallen behind the current boom in Strat/RPGs. Fire Emblem (this one anyway) can be considered a very involving tactical game with an excellent story and characters to warm up the package. RPGs are partially for story right? Dont overlook Fire Emblem....for the record I would percive this as having more "replay" value than the upcoming Shining Force: Resurrection fo the Dark Dragon. Dark Dragon has added some new characters, side quests, plot points and dialog....but these extend the original gameplay not call for replay. My roommate has played Fire Emblem at least twice without getting sick of it...

Shining Force: Here you really have to elaborate. Cuz, there are currently two Shining Force games on the GBA and soon there will be three. The first two are "action-rpgs" with multiplayer support and the upcoming game is a remake of the original Strategy RPG that kicked off the series. I dont know how the Action RPGs are, but you can read Planetgamecube or IGN for that. I beleive they were considered decent, but prolly not better than Secret of Mana: really not sure on this.
I CAN comment on Shining Force strategy RPGs....the upcoming game is Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon and in a nutshell the gameplay is heavily inspired by Fire Emblem itself, as someone has pointed out already. You cannot expect the bulk of gameplay to be too different although for the record Fire Emblem is likely the more complex of the two as Dark Dragon, in terms of strategy RPGs, is significantly older. If what you really crave is walking around towns then yeah, Shining Force has that. Both FE and SF have inventories and special weapons to manage, so getting cool powerful weapons is present in both. In terms of plotline and character development, well I have not played this specific Shining Force so I cant comment directly. Indirectly however, Shining Force games are of the same standard "save the world from evil" fare, but I am confident this will be pulled off in an enjoyable fashion. In fact, I believe the dialog was rewritten. This remake sports upgraded graphics and a branched out storyline with more side quests and characters.

To sum up FE vs. SF, I would bet on FE as the overall better game, but I have fondness for SF as well and I beleive you cant go wrong with that either, especially if walking around the overworld and towns is an important aspect for you. But understand, the bulk of gameplay is tactical for both.
If indeed what you want is a traditional RPG and you dont have the patience for strat/RPGs, well you'll have Final Fantasy 1+2 upcoming which has been greatly enhanced, Lunar (which has been somewhat dumbed down from its original incarnation but is still a worthy RPG with a great story) and the Breath of Fire ports. You can also track down a copy of Lufia:Ruins Chasers (?), the GBC game. Now THAT is a long and involving traditional style RPG...but good luck finding it.
Umm...what else can i say....you should give those strat/RPGs a go however, the difference due to characters and storyline are significant when compared with FF:Tactics. Tactics Ogre also is an awesome strat/RPG with probaly the most developed plot and story of all.

hope you find some handheld happiness bro,

-Blackknight131

[Jale]

The only criticism that I have about FE is the fact that the first 10 levels are an unskippable tutiorial with reams of instructions and text. Bit irritating if, like me, you screwed up big time on a quest and forgot to save and you are trying to quickly get back to where you were.

[Dracula]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I already own Mario and Luigi and have played through it, I also own both Breath of Fire games (I actually own both the GBA and the SNES versions). I have ordered Tactics Ogre before, but since it is a rare game, it wouldn't arrive for weeks, so I bought FFTA instead. I have never liked Pokemon, so I'm definitley staying away from those games. Phantasy Star Collection can be bought for as low as $15 here, but I don't like the fact that they are direct ports.

I own Shining Soul, and the main reason why I bought it was because I thought it would be a tactical RPG (because thats what I had heard about the Shining Force series), but instead it turned out to be one of the worse RPGS of all time. That game was really bad, and total waste of money. I don't think I have played a game as bad as it for a long time, the past 10 years atleast. It really annoys me that I bothered to play through this lousy game. I should have just given it away, or thrown it into the trash can, because thats where it belongs. I'm pretty sure anyone of you who played it, will agree with me.

Blackknight131, thanks for the long informative post. Now I will definitley buy Shining Force.

Quote
Originally posted by: Bloodworth
In the future, please use the "what game should I get?" thread stickied at the top.   I'll let this go on a bit longer since it turned into a decent discussion.

Sorry, I have to admit that its been a while since I last visisted the Planet Gamecube forum, so therefore I thought that the "what game" thread was more for people that had just bought a GBA.

Btw, I have found out that the Final Fantasy games will be released in July in Japan. Hopefully they won't take too long on the translations, and we can play these games by the end of the year.

[nitsu niflheim]

shouldn't be since the game has pretty much already been translated, except for the new stuff, in Final Fantasy Origins on PSone.  I hope it comes out here, even though I already own the Origins version.  I like the changes, and the new stuff.  Also I am a long-long time Final Fantasy fan.

[Blackknight131]

FF in Japan by July? Cool, we should be able to look forward to these around October or Novemeber then.
And I would LOVE if that trend continues and Square releases FF 3-6 on GBA as well...and hell, why stop there?
Chrono Trigger. Badass.
And so many of their Super Famicom games which never made the leap here back before RPGs went "mainstream" with FF7: Treasure Hunter G, Bahamut Lagoon, Romancing Saga to name a few.
Front Mission 1, the original, would be killer on the GBA. Absolutely. Killer.

C'mon Square...

-Blackknight131