The Shining Force games are part of Sega's long-running Shining franchise. They were originally developed by Camelot Software, who imbued them with a recognizable anime/comic aesthetic alongside fleshed-out worlds with unique lore — as well as lots of centaurs. Most importantly, they featured addicting grid-based combat with fully-animated combat scenes.

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The original Shining Force games are still heralded as some of the best strategy RPGs of all time, but Sega eventually abandoned the strategy elements in favor of action RPGs. The later titles had Shining Force in their title, but they felt like a different franchise, being Shining Force in name only.

10 Shining Force Cross

Shining Force Cross fighting a giant knight with an axe

Shining Force Cross was an action RPG that allowed up to six players to join together on raids. However, nothing but the aesthetics remotely resemble the classic Shining Force games. Western audiences never got to experience this game since it never left Japan, and complicating matters, it was an arcade game that never saw a port to any console.

9 Shining Force Neo

Shining Force Neo PS2 Gameplay

Shining Force Neo was an action RPG released on the PS2. For old Sega fans, this game was a shocker since this was the first Shining Force game to abandon the series' strategy RPG roots. While Shining Force Neo isn't an awful game, it is deeply flawed.

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The combat is fast-paced, but far too many enemies flood the screen, causing lag and frame rate drops. The lackluster story and bad voice acting leave the player with a dungeon crawler that just doesn't hold up well against the plethora of better PS2 RPGs.

8 Shining Force Feather

Shining Force feather DS

Shining Force feather was only released in Japan — which feels like a running theme with this franchise. It was an interesting attempt by Sega to revive the strategy elements of the original games and merge them with an action-based combat system. Players move around a grid, but engaging an enemy initiates a side-scrolling attack sequence where players input buttons to launch a series of attacks — think a poor man's version of Valkyrie Profile. Unfortunately, there are only a few attack combinations, so combat quickly loses its charm. All in all, it mostly misses the mark, and only the most hardcore Shining fans should even consider picking it up.

7 Shining Force: The Sword Of Hayja

Shining Force Sword Of Hayja  GameGear

Shining Force: The Sword Of Hayja is the lone GameGear entry for Western audiences. Oddly enough, this is a direct sequel of Shining Force Gaiden, which was only released in Japan, making the story confusing to jump into.

Luckily, The Sword Of Hayja has deep combat for a GameGear game. It manages to take the best elements of the Genesis Shining Force games and compress them into a tinier 8-bit adventure. Players will need to use strategy to finish battles, and the developers did an amazing job of making every battle feel different. This game was ported to the 3DS, so players don't need to worry about stashing AAA batteries to survive the RPG on a GameGear they probably don't own.

6 Shining Force EXA

Shining Force EXA fighting a monster on the path

Shining Force EXA is more of a follow-up to Shining Force Neo since it is an action RPG. Sega got cheeky and made "Shining Force" the name of a powerful sword, hoping fans forgot that it referred to your band of warriors in older games. Despite not being "Shining" enough for many fans, this was a good game.

The story is fun, if not a bit cliché, and the characters are likable. The meat of the game is in the gameplay, and Shining Force EXA turns out to be a competent hack-and-slash with different characters to choose from and fun skills to master. It would probably have a better reputation if it dropped Shining Force from its name and dared to stand on its own merit.

5 Shining Force CD

Shining Force CD recruiting a new character

Shining Force CD was released late in the Sega CD's lifespan. It is a remastered version of both Shining Force Gaiden and Gaiden 2 (The Sword of Hajya) with exclusive content added. While it looks a lot like its Sega Genesis counterparts, there are some major differences. Most notably, Shining Force CD drops town and overworld exploration. Instead, players have a small 2D hub with shops and an HQ. The music was remastered and changed to a symphonic style, sounding somewhat reminiscent of a Dragon Quest score.

Players can rest easy though because the combat is very similar to Shining Force 1 and 2, and people looking for a decent story with fun combat and tons of secrets will find a lot to love with Shining Force CD.

4 Shining Force

Shining Force 1 Max vs. Laser Eye

This is the game that started it all. For many people, Shining Force remains the quintessential Shining Force experience. It had vibrant colors, a fun cast that included elves, armadillos in mech suits, beastmen, and a high-fantasy narrative.

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Shining Force is still a ton of fun to play today, but it has a few flaws. The biggest issue is that the AI is bafflingly bad. Enemies will sometimes run away from you for no reason or skip a finishing blow in favor of attacking another party member. However, this was one of the earlier strategy RPGs, and it deserves credit for propelling the genre in the right direction, especially since it is still better than many modern strategy RPGs.

3 Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon

Shining Force GBA Hans

Despite Camelot not being involved in the GBA remake of Shining Force, Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon turned out to be a gem. The gameplay from the Genesis version is intact, but the full story is translated this time — The Genesis localization was missing a significant amount of the plot. The AI problem was fixed to some degree, and new characters were added.

The GBA version has scaling difficulty that increases every time the player beats the game. This means veterans will find their initial playthrough too easy. Nevertheless, most newcomers will find Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon the more beginner-friendly experience. Whether this is better than the Genesis version still fires up Shining Force fans to this very day.

2 Shining Force 3

Shining Force 3 Saturn combat

Shining Force 3 is one of the most underrated RPGs of all time, in part because it was released on the ill-fated Sega Saturn in 1998. In fact, Shining Force 3 was divided into three scenarios that allowed players to experience the plot from three different perspectives, but only scenario one ever made it to the West.

Shining Force 3 does everything right. It has fluid grid-based combat with a varied cast with different skills and classes. The 3D graphics looked impressive on the Saturn, especially the combat animations, and players could still explore towns and the world map. The best new addition is battle scenarios. Each battle feels unique, and sometimes you need to meet special conditions such as saving refugees or surviving "x" amount of turns with a single character before the rest of the party joins the fight.

1 Shining Force 2

Shining Force 2 Slade vs. Zeon  turn-based battle.

Shining Force 2 is one of the greatest strategy RPGs of all time, and is available on most Genesis collections. All the technical issues with the first game were remedied: This time, the AI is skilled, and the promotion system is more streamlined. Players who crave some challenge will get their fill. Difficult skirmishes — such as the Kraken — will cause even veterans of the genre to rummage through their RPG playbook for the right strategy.

What really makes Shining Force 2 stand out is the cadence and fleshed-out world. The battle speed is faster, and everything flows well. Outside of battle, there is so much to explore, and the graphics are bright and colorful. It is still just as epic to explore the entire continent while recruiting everything from tortoise warriors to phoenixes while staving off Zeon's minions.

Next: Sega Saturn Games That Still Hold Up