Shining Wisdom
| Shining Wisdom | |
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| Developer(s) | Sonic! Software Planning |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) | Motoaki Takenouchi |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn |
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| Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM |
Shining Wisdom (シャイニング・ウィズダム Shainingu Uizudamu) is an Action-adventure game released for the Sega Saturn video game console. It is a part of Sega's Shining series of video games.
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[edit] Gameplay
Shining Wisdom differs from its predecessors in the Shining series in that it was the first to employ an Action-adventure style of gameplay. Players control one character whose attacks rely on speed and skill, rather than controlling a group of characters who engage in turn-based combat sequences and increase their stats as the game progresses. The gameplay of Shining Wisdom has often been likened to that of The Legend of Zelda series. Shining Wisdom's originality comes from the unique system of attacks based on a combination of acquired items and "orbs."
[edit] Visual characteristics
Shining Wisdom was originally designed for the Mega Drive, and adapted for the Saturn at the last minute, presumably in order to bolster the new system's library of games.[3] Because of this, Shining Wisdom's graphics are exceptionally bland and lacking in detail compared to other early Saturn games.
The graphics employ pseudo-3D CGI-rendered sprites imposed on a 2D background.
[edit] Story
In the land of Odegan, orphaned squire Mars is employed at Odegan Castle on the strength of his father's great reputation. A series of lies and deceptions on his part unexpectedly places him as the foremost obstacle to the schemes of the dark elf wizard, Pazort. Pazort and his followers intend to destroy the world by summoning the Giant, Seeega (referred to as "the Dark Titan" in Working Designs' translation), and to do so they first must use Princess Satera to get at an orb held by King Odegan. It is up to Mars to redeem his lies and failures by thwarting the mighty wizard's plans.[4]
[edit] Shining Series continuity
Shining Wisdom takes place on the continent of Parmecia just a few years after Shining Force II, and is a sequel of sorts to that game. Sarah and Kazin, who were playable characters in Shining Force II, are roaming the continent in a hunt for Zeon's remaining henchmen. Pazort, the main villain of Shining Wisdom, is a former follower of Zeon, and Sarah and Kazin aid in the fight against him. There are also several references to the hero of Shining Force II, Bowie, though he does not actually appear anywhere in the game. A book even refers to the setting of Shining in the Darkness, Stormsong(referred to in English versions as "Thornwood").[5]
Note that due to the various name changes and omissions of the Working Designs' translation, none of the above connections to the Shining series are apparent in the USA version of the game. They can only be seen in the Japanese and European versions. See "Translation Issues" below.
[edit] Translation issues
Working Designs' North American version of the game is met with some criticism by gamers, as numerous creative liberties were taken with the story. Kazin, Sarah, Bowie, and Zeon are respectively referred to as "Parn", "Salah," "Puck", and "Zhaion", while the land of Parmecia is referred to as "Palacia." These changes are not the fault of Working Designs, as Sega Japan owned the copyrights to the original names and would not release them. What is Working Designs' fault, however, are the considerable changes to the characters' personalities and how they relate to each other. For example, the original script made explicit that Sarah does not return the romantic feelings of her companion, Kazin. Working Designs not only deleted these parts of the script, but added in numerous comments from Sarah and other NPCs indicating that she and Kazin are romantically involved.[4]
The European release of Shining Wisdom was translated by Sega Europe. This translation contains some grammatical errors and typos, but none of the contemporary pop-culture jokes and distorted characterizations of the Working Designs translation. It also keeps intact the storyline connections between Shining Wisdom and the other games of the Shining series.
[edit] References
- ^ Publisher info, GameFAQs.com.
- ^ Release data, Shining Force Central.
- ^ Day, S (2008). "The History of Shining Force", Retro Gamer (58): 66-73.
- ^ a b Complete scripts for the USA and European translations of Shining Wisdom, Shining Force Central.
- ^ Shining Force Chronology and Connections, Shining Force Central.
[edit] External links
- Shining Wisdom on the Shining Wiki
- Shining Wisdom @ RPG Dreamer - Basic information about Shining Wisdom from an RPG archive.
- Shining Wisdom at Allgame - Very scant; contains screenshots, however.
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