Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon GBA

Sega's Shining series has benefited from a new lease of life thanks to the Game Boy Advance. The classic, old-school-style RPG has had two recent Shining Soul titles published for the platform and is now graced by this latest instalment of the Shining Force saga, which, rather than being an entirely new adventure, is actually a tarted-up port of the Megadrive original from way back in 1992. As such, the game gives fans a chance to relive the adventure, complete with new faces, visuals and gameplay twists. In the game, you take on the role of amnesia-suffering protagonist Max (or if you edit the name, whatever else you want to call him) who was washed up on the shores of the Kingdom of Guardiana almost a year previously, and has no recollection of his life prior to this event. The adventure begins when there is a disturbance at the nearby Gate of the Ancients and Max, backed by a small team, is subsequently sent by the king to investigate. What follows is pretty much your average RPG adventure, with you and your crew exploring a wide array of different locations, interacting with characters along the way and - of course - fighting a host of bad guys via the obligatory myriad turn-based battles. Fans of the original will be pleased to discover that the original cast is all present and correct - complete with their own visual makeovers - and that a couple of new characters also make an appearance. Introduced by epilogues at the end of each chapter (also a new element to the proceedings) we now get to benefit from the assistance of the likes of an insect-like assassin called Zuika, and the mysterious Mawlock, who is able to harness the power of cards in battle. Which brings us to the main new addition in this Shining Force remake: cards. Throughout the game you can collect cards by doing such things as talking to characters, exploring towns and defeating enemies. These cards are based on the different characters in the game and thus offer a range of different attributes that can benefit Mawlock during battle