Genesis Review: Shining In The Darkness

Sega's Shining series is a well-known and beloved strategy RPG series. The first game in the series was not a strategy game, but was a dungeon crawler called Shining In The Darkness.

It's a dungeon crawler. Get used to seeing this.

Especially since this is your overworld map

Shining in the Darkness is like a decent book. The story line is good, but not captivating. You won't find yourself so riveted that you can't put it down, and other distractions will likely keep you from playing it (especially if you pick up new games every few weeks), but once you sit down and start playing it, you will find yourself playing it for a while. The graphics are nice, and you can see that this is where the distinct art style of the series began.

Oh, those wacky weapon dealers

The gameplay is nothing remarkable. You have three characters in your party. Each member can carry up to 8 items, which becomes a strategic element of the game. The combat consists of choosing a group of enemies, and attacking via a weapon or a spell. You can't target individual enemies unless they are the only enemy in the group. There are a variety of weapons to choose from, and new levels of spells are learned over time.

The music is good, but repetitive. I have no complaints about it, but it doesn't stand out and wow me either.
Shining in the Darkness is currently listed for $4.17 on pricecharting.com. It is also available for the Wii Virtual Console, or on Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Overall Grade: B-