Shining Force EXA

Infobox VG
title = Shining Force EXA


caption =
developer = Neverland
publisher = Sega
designer =
series = Shining Force series
engine =
released = vgrelease|JP=January 19, 2007|NA=March 20, 2007
genre = Action role-playing game
modes = Single player
ratings = vgratings|ESRB=Everyone 10+|CERO=A
platforms = PlayStation 2
media = 1 DVD-ROM
input = DualShock 2
picture format = 480i (SDTV)

nihongo|"Shining Force EXA"|シャイニング・フォース イクサ|Shainingu Fōsu Ikusa is an action role-playing game developed by Neverland and published by Sega for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console as a part of the "Shining" video game series. It tells the story of a world divided by a war between humans and demons.

Although it is part of the Shining series, it is notable that it, like "Shining Force Neo", is not a turn-based strategy game as the pre-Playstation 2 games of the "Shining Force" sub-series were. Instead, it takes an action oriented approach to combat, similar in nature to the popular game "Diablo" by Blizzard Entertainment or the "Record of Lodoss War" for the Dreamcast (also by Neverland). The game features a variety of weaponry inspired by the medieval era, magic, and a collection of skills that can be improved upon for the main characters.

Characters

Toma

*Race: Human
*Class: Swordsman
*Allegiance: Independent
*Gender: Male
*Age: 15

Bio: Toma is a human boy born and raised in the wild, and one of the two main characters of the game. He doesn't appear to be very intelligent, but has a cheerful disposition and a bit of a quick temper. He possesses a strong sense of justice, and the one thing he wants in life is "great power", which leads him on his quest for the holy sword known as the "Shining Force". He is often advised by Zenus, an ebony-skinned jackal-like creature who is a product of ancient methods.

Toma's Japanese voice is provided by Korean voice actress Romi Paku, most known for her role as the voice of Edward Elric in the anime series Full Metal Alchemist and as Temari in Naruto.

Cyrille

*Race: Human
*Class: Mage / Magic User
*Allegiance: Noswald Empire / Independent
*Gender: Female
*Age: 15

Bio: Cyrille is a human girl brought up in the Noswald Empire, one of the two main warring factions in the world of Shining Force EXA. She is the second of the two main characters of the game. She is the opposite of Toma, highly intelligent and a skilled user and researcher of magic. Like Toma, she is also in search of the holy "Shining Force" sword. She has a cool disposition and tends to be cold towards people, but despite her outward appearance, she is truly a gentle person. Sweets and candy are said to be a secret indulgence of hers. She is often accompanied by her familiar, a ferret-like creature called Zhirra.

Cyrille's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actress Houko Kuwashima, known for her roles as the voices of Sango in the anime series Inuyasha, Fllay Allster and Stellar Loussier in Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny, respectively.

Ragnadaam III

*Race: Human
*Class: Heavy Swordman
*Allegiance: Noswald Empire
*Gender: Male
*Age: Unknown

Bio: Ragnadaam III is the current Emperor of the human Noswald Empire. He is known to his people as "The Lion". At first, he tries to talk to Toma and finds him too immature to deal with. Soon after he sets his sights on speaking with Cyrille, who holds informed conversations with him. Because Cyrille is quite familiar with world history, Ragna tries to convince her to choose sides.

Ragnadaam's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actor Ryō Horikawa, famously known for his roles as the voices of Vegeta in the anime series Dragon Ball Z, Andromeda Shun in Saint Seiya and Reinhard von Lohengramm in Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Riemsianne

*Race: Magnus
*Class: Unknown
*Allegiance: Fyrlandt
*Gender: Female
*Age: Unknown

Bio: Riemsianne is the current La Vaes, also know as the Queen of Fyrlandt, the southern territory belonging to the magnus. She is quite manipulative and tries to lure Toma to her side with her feminine wiles many times throughout the story. However, despite her calm appearance, she is quite deadly in battle and wields devastating magic spells. Reimsianne is a responsible leader to her people and strictly follows an age-old taboo of not trying to incite a war with the humans.

Riemsianne's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actress Megumi Toyoguchi, known for her roles as the voices of Satou Sei in the anime series Maria-sama ga miteru and Miriallia Haw in Gundam SEED.

Maebelle

*Race: Elf
*Class: Archer
*Allegiance: Elves / Independent
*Gender: Female
*Age: Unknown

Bio: An elf maiden searching for the Holy Sword in the hopes of saving her dying race. Calm but merciless in battle. Superb archery skills. According to Maebelle, she is what the elves refer to as the "Last Child", meaning she was the last newborn elf since the incident with her people unable to bear children. Maebelle is quite mature and has a motherly complex toward Cyrille at times. Her unique trait is that she seems to eat more than anyone else in the party (much to Duga's surprise) and frequently snacks when she gets a chance.

Maebelle's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actress Aya Hisakawa, known for her roles as the voices of Souma Yuki in the anime series Fruits Basket and Cerberus in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Gadfort

*Race: Centaur
*Class: Knight
*Allegiance: Noswald Empire / Independent
*Gender: Male
*Age: Unknown

Bio: Former Noswald knight. Parted ways with the Emperor due to differing ideals. Met Toma and the others on his quest for the Holy Sword. Uses a lance as a weapon. Gadfort has a habit of lecturing Toma on his sword style, calling it unpredictable and without form, but in actuality he is simply being a teacher to him. Gadfort idolizes the legendary hero Avalon, and has just about every book written on him in his personal collection. He also follows a lot of Avalon's examples, such as keeping the weapons and armor in his room spotless.

Gadfort's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actor Kazuhiko Inoue, best known for his roles as the voices of Eiri Yuki in the anime series Gravitation, Shiron the Windragon in Legendz, Klarth F. Lester in Tales of Phantasia and Hatake Kakashi in Naruto.

Amitaliri

*Race: Magnus
*Class: Mage
*Allegiance: Fyrlandt / Independent
*Gender: Female
*Age: Unknown

Bio: A girl from an elite Magnus family from which many La Vaes were born. Reckless and truant. Neglects her training but is skilled at magic. Toma nicknames her Ami Girl, which she hates, and is generally called Ami by everyone else. She has a school girl crush on Duga, who can't stand her approaches, but she eventually gives up on trying to get his interest. Her self-centered attitude causes a lot of grief for Faulklin, who unfortunately has to do everything for her, from cleaning their room to doing her school assignments (along with his own).

Amitaliri's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actress Nana Mizuki, known for her roles as the voices of Hyuuga Hinata in the anime series Naruto and Shinobu in 2x2=Shinobuden.

Faulklin

*Race: Quintol
*Class: Priest
*Allegiance: Fyrlandt / Independent
*Gender: Male
*Age: Unknown

Bio: A peace-loving Quintol boy. He learned the art of healing and light magic to assist his good friend, Amitaliri. He is generally shy and very quiet, except when it comes to dealing with Ami. He may have some feelings for her, but can't seem to tell her outright. Faulklin is easily taken advantage of and is stuck doing a lot of the work for the two of them. His healing talents and holy attack spells are quite noteworthy on missions.

Faulklin's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actress Yukari Tamura, known for her roles as the voices of Takamachi Nanoha in the anime series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Misha in Pitaten.

Duga

*Race: Wolfling
*Class: Werewolf
*Allegiance: Noswald Empire / Independent
*Gender: Male
*Age: Unknown

Bio: A former Noswald Army officer. Gadfort's best friend and a friendly rival, claiming to be stronger than him. Duga is a talented fighter among Wolflings, and is always keeping himself trained and rested for battle. He seems to have a thing for Maebelle and openly asks her out on dates in the Geo-Fortress. He actually has a habit of telling dirty jokes and is quite the womanizer. Much like Volg from Shining Tears, he is strong and fast, but lacks the defense necessary to withstand much damage at any one time.

Duga's Japanese voice is provided by renown seiyuu Kazuya Nakai, known famously for his role as Roronoa Zoro in One Piece, Moses Sandor in Tales of Legendia, Gaomon in Digimon Savers and Mugen from Samurai Champloo.

Adam

*Race: Guardian
*Class: Robo-Soldier
*Allegiance: Shining Force
*Gender: None
*Age: Unknown

Bio: A robot soldier from an ancient mobile fortress. It is highly intelligent but lacks emotions and empath. Adam can be referred to as a "he" since his voice actor and name are clearly masculine. He originally served alongside the previous Heritor in an ancient war. His systems shut down after fighting too many enemies and straining his power reserves. His memory banks can immediately recall records and analysis from the war. According to him, the description of his capabilities was taken out of a sales manual.

Adam's Japanese voice is provided by Japanese voice actor Toshio Furukawa, famously known for his roles as the voices of Piccolo in the anime series Dragon Ball Z, Ataru Moroboshi in Urusei Yatsura and Portgas D. Ace in One Piece.

Garyu

*Race: Dragon
*Class: Dragon
*Allegiance: Independent
*Gender: Unknown
*Age: Unknown

Bio: A mysterious dragon whose name is known only from a signboard. He is clearly very intelligent and can understand human speech. Garyu interacts little with the party, unlike the other characters in the Geo-Fortress, and is only affectionate toward Toma and Cyrille. He is also immensely strong and able to take on and defeat many numbers of enemies all on his own.

He is an optional character, gained via defeating him in his cave.

Avalon

*Race: Undead
*Class: Dark Knight
*Allegiance: Independent

*Gender: Male
*Age: Unknown

Bio: An Undead man with the same name as a legendary knight. Gadfort is convinced of his identity because of his skills and weapon. Avalon is quite open with regards to his past, having fought with a powerful dark mage when he was a reckless overconfident knight, and lost his life for it and was cursed. Toma and Cyrille were shocked with his need to drink human blood every once in a while to sustain himself (since he's an undead being now). He was mistaken in his regrets for "harming" two people to get blood, but it is revealed that it was merely a scratch or two as Avalon is greatly opposed to the thought of murdering another human. He occasionally cracks a joke about drinking the blood of beautiful young girls.

He is an optional character, gained via collecting his bones scattered throughout the game.

tory

The story focuses mainly on two characters that the player will have the opportunity to control. Toma, a brash sword wielder who dreams of being "King of the World," and Cyrille, a mage of sorts whose reasons for searching for the Shining Force are a well kept mystery. Joining the party almost immediately will be the other half of its members, Gadfort, who wants the blade to become the greatest knight in existence, and Maebelle, an elfin archer seeking the blade to save her people. Their story will unfold in a world that is shared by humans, demons, and beasts that is constantly devastated by war. The world is divided into two main kingdoms. The Noswald Empire is home to the human race and the demons rule the southern territory, Fyrlandt.

Game mechanics and presentation

Shining Force EXA is the spiritual successor to "Shining Force NEO" and appears to have inherited that game's battle and gameplay mechanics, including the swarms of on-screen enemies and action RPG mechanics.Reviving everything from the battle system to game mechanics, EXA gives a similar gaming experience to NEO without bogging the familiar player down with acclimating to changes in gameplay.

One new innovative features of EXA is the customizable robot castle Geo-Fortress. While adventuring, the party members left behind use the Geo-Fortress as a headquarters. They also protect and defend the castle in the event of an attack. In the beginning, the fortress is very basic and vulnerable. By collecting "Rare Material" from the given quests, the player is able to transform the fortress into two other forms, with the third form as the most impressive of the three. Once the fortress reaches the third form, it is capable of travel. The Geo-Fortress is used for more than a mode of transportation and a place for the non-included party members to wait while the rest of the party is on a mission. The player is able to add more rooms for vendors and shops. In addition to a traveling store, the player is also able to train party members. The growth, layout, and defense of the fortress is managed completely by the player, thus allowing the Geo-Fortress to evolve to fit the style and tactics of the player.

The biggest change in this volume is probably the sleek improvements to both the in-game graphics and anime cutscenes. The wish to refine the countless number of foes that appear on screen that the player must vanquish, leaving the character nearly invisible, goes unanswered. Giving the player the option to upgrade characters through experience points and a vast assortment of items and weapons, Shining Force EXA provides a sense of personalization. In addition, using specific battle tactics of the party will grant it more power and range during battle. As well as advancing the main character, one progresses to master a variety of Power Arts to unleash massive special and magic attacks.

Voice talents

Japanese version

*Romi Paku: Toma
*Houko Kuwashima: Cyrille
*Horikawa Ryou: Ragnadaam III
*Toyoguchi Megumi: Riemsianne
*Inoue Kazuhiko: Gadfort
*Hisakawa Aya: Maebelle
*Mizuki Nana: Amitaliri
*Tamura Yukari: Faulklin
*Toshio Furukawa: Adam
*Kazuya Nakai: Duga

English version

*Nick Tagas: Toma
*Erin M. Cahill: Cyrille
*Roger L. Jackson: Ragnadaam III, Garyu, Bornay, Gantetsu
*Amy Provenzano: Riemsianne La Vaes, Gilnay
*Michael C. Fox: Gadfort
*Melissa Hutchison: Maebelle, Amitaliri
*Kai Smith: Faulklin
*Jeff Kramer: Duga, Zenus
*Brandy Collazo: Catheana
*Deborah Eliezer: Lurnaezel
*Gary Martinez: Avalon, Adam, Narrator, Yoseph
*Evelyn Huynh: Hikanay
*Abigayle Ashby: Zhirra

Unstated voice roles

*Benjamin Trapp
*Greg Weber
*Kevin Frane

External links

* [http://www.sega.com/games/game_temp.php?game=shiningexa&lid=gp_shiningexa&lpos=nav_pldwnlst Shining Force EXA at Sega of America]
* [http://shining-force.jp/exa/ Official Website] ja icon
* [http://ps2.ign.com/articles/718/718206p1.html IGN: Shining Force Returns]