showing 4 games

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Defenders of Oasis  Sega (SEGA)1992 1life 3dsvirtualconsole arabianfantasy bodyarmor bossbattles capacity-stacks commercial consoleclassix currency cyclopes did difficulty-single doors earth encounters-moving encounters-random encounters-respawn encounters-seen encounters-set gargoyles ghouls giantspiders golems group healingitems highbornprotagonist indoors inventory jewelry jinn keys license-proprietary limitedcapacity lunatics magic maleprotagonist mandatoryloss mapdeficient meleeweapons monsters mystics oldarabian-theme outdoors outlaws palace past premadecharacters randomdamage resting saveanywhere saveram serious shopping soldiers subterranean swords town walking witches xp-kills The save feature of this game is a bit unusual. Saving is done automaticly at all times outside of combat (somewhat like oldschool roguelikes). But there is some control granted in the ability to make as many as two backup copies of the save file, overwrite backups, and delete backups. This save system is obvioisly intended to midigate the potential problem of batteries dying during gameplay. It is intended for use by a single player. However, if players are careful to keep track of backups, the game can effectively have two player profiles.***Score shown on Mega Force #27 (Apr. 1994)
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[20]***Save your kingdom from destruction!

Once captured by heroes of a bygone era, the foul wizard Ahriman has been summoned by dark forces and his armies now threaten to ravage the peaceful land of Shanadar. As the prince of the kingdom, rally powerful allies to your side and lead them onward to repel Ahriman’s forces throughout the kingdom in this classic Japanese role playing adventure. Recruit unique allies such as a princess, genie, and thief! Fight enemies to gain strength and upgrade your heroes’ weapons and armor in order to fight Ahriman.
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Shining Force Gaiden  Sega (Camelot)1992 classbased classbasedeq containers grid grid-square group healingitems levelbasedeq meleeweapons monsters noconsoleclassix saveram shining-series shopping tactical tacticalrpg uvl-imagequality From the American gamebox :

The peaceful kingdom of Cypress has suddenly been disrupted by the corrupt ambition of the evil King Iom. Terror rampages across the land. The Castle of Cypress is invaded and the maival Sword of Hajya is taken! It will take strength, courage, agility and your keen sense of strategy to defy this ominous power.

- An intense Role-Playing Game with a unique twist of action, adventure and strategy!
- Choose from 18 unique characters including Warriors, Mages, Healers, Archers, Birdmen and Centaurs. Play any 12 at one time.
- Your strategy techniques will determine your success or failure. Listen carefully to all the clues.
- Dazzling graphics, sweeping cinematic battle sequences and an intense storyline will keep you coming back for more!
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Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict  Sega1995 classbased classbasedeq containers grid grid-square group healingitems levelbasedeq meleeweapons monsters noconsoleclassix rating-sr-allages saveram shining-series shopping tactical tacticalrpg Game description from [[link:http://www.romhacking.net Romhacking.net]]:

Shining Force Gaiden: The Final Conflict is the third in the Game Gear's Shining Force Gaiden series, and (I assume) the stunning conclusion to the trilogy. The second game came out in English as [[gameid:43867 Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya]], and the first two actually had English releases as a Sega CD remake called [[gameid:33172 Shining Force CD]]. Until 2005, however, this final chapter was Japanese-only.

So how is it? Well, like the previous Game Gear titles, it's a series of fantasy strategy battles set to a plot in the Shining Force universe. Unlike the Genesis titles, there are no town-exploration scenes, so you spend most of your time just fighting battles or watching cutscenes. If you haven't played the first two, be warned that you may feel like you're being thrown into the middle of a story without any idea who anyone is, or at least I did. This seems to be more the fault of the game than the translation, though.

The gameplay itself seems like the usual solid Shining Force tactical fantasy combat, with your archers and centaurs and robots and mages. So don't delay, finish the saga now!

There is an unofficial English translation available here:
[[link:http://www.shiningforcecentral.com/]]
[cjlee001]
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Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya  Sega1993 3dsvirtualconsole classbased classbasedeq consoleclassix containers grid grid-square group healingitems levelbasedeq meleeweapons monsters rating-vrc-ga saveram shining-series shopping tactical tacticalrpg A rare gem from one of my personal favorite series – the original Shining Force games rank highly on my list of all-time favorites for their blend of tactical strategy and story-driven RPG.

Sword of Hajya takes place some 20 years after the original Shining Force, give or take, and continues the story of Guardiana. A handful of characters from the original – including Luke, Ken, Lowe, and the magical egg-shaped squid-creature (???) Domingo – return in this Gamer Gear exclusive.

To be honest, RPGs don’t always age well – they can be grindy and they can belong very much to their eras. Sometimes you take what you can get. But tactical RPGs and in particular the Shining Force series have always felt very much alive, and the blend of character progression, story, and tactical strategy still hold a primal appeal.***From the American gamebox :

The peaceful kingdom of Cypress has suddenly been disrupted by the corrupt ambition of the evil King Iom. Terror rampages across the land. The Castle of Cypress is invaded and the maival Sword of Hajya is taken! It will take strength, courage, agility and your keen sense of strategy to defy this ominous power.

- An intense Role-Playing Game with a unique twist of action, adventure and strategy!
- Choose from 18 unique characters including Warriors, Mages, Healers, Archers, Birdmen and Centaurs. Play any 12 at one time.
- Your strategy techniques will determine your success or failure. Listen carefully to all the clues.
- Dazzling graphics, sweeping cinematic battle sequences and an intense storyline will keep you coming back for more!
***Shining Force Gaiden 2... is that also known as Shining Force 2: The sword of Hajya for Game Gear? If so, I own it, and i must say, for the simplicity of the game, the storyline rivals those of many of today's RPGs and the gameplay, though a bit frustrating if you dont have any gold, is still superb!
[Sarah P.]
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