Shining Force: Shining Force Simple Edition

[Pingurules]

I'm pretty sure most of you can beat Shining Force no problem. Some even while blindfolded! However I find the game so hard I have to use cheats to beat the game. Coming from a guy that finds *RPG series made by Squaresoft's third instalment on the NES/FC with the job system and 4 onion knights save the world I think I made the series I played clear enough mostly because the admins didn't want to hear of it for some reason* to be really easy... it must be a little hard to believe.

So, I made a hack featuring everything in easy mode. Characters have stat boosts, there is defense boosting armor, more items*, level balancing^ and a bit of other stuff.

* 3 new swords (4 if you count the joke one)
4 new lances (1 more to be completed)
3 new axes
4 new arrows (3 if you don't count the Rifle which has become a weapon)
A set of claws for Zylo, Gong and Domingo
A laser cannon for Adam
2 more healing items
Sweet Honey (boosts MP by 1/2 points)
A set of items that actually make Jogurt usable

^Alef and Torasu start out promoted, so I have no idea how glitchy it will get. If there is the option to promote, please don't.

Download(V0.5):
http://www.filefactory.com/file/1kafq1o ... Simple.ips" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is just a mostly untested beta. Please tell me what you think (I played until Chapter 2, everything seems ok)

Now I can sleep ... nevermind I'll just start hacking The Forbidden Series: The Second Instalment so that Firion can actually be useful.

[ehow22]

Linky

And Linky 2

[Pingurules]

Linky

And Linky 2

No thanks. I want to cheat as little as possible... but thanks anyway.

[Diego_Didakus]

This game is just too easy already

[Pingurules]

opinion

[Antman 537]

Groovy, I'll have to check that out some time; see how it feels.

[DomingoRules!]

I wouldn't really call the game being easy an opinion. Regardless of how good or bad an individual is at the game, it's very simplistic with an AI that's actions are so predetermined that with enough insight battles can be beaten with nary a scratch, and near the end of the game it keeps throwing enemies at you from a dozen battles prior who have no chance in hell of stacking up statistically. It's like saying Ghosts 'n Goblins being hard is an opinion, where even if you're a pro at it that doesn't change the fact that it was made to be brutal. Shining Force was clearly either made to deliberately be easy because those sorts of games were so new back then, or it ended up being that way because lack of experience with such games due to their small numbers resulted in miscalculations on the part of the developers regarding what would and wouldn't be challenging. Either way, when you have a game where you can literally brick enemies into not doing anything while you shoot them with arrows, it's hard to call "easy" or "hard" an opinion.

And in all fairness, I did think the game was decently tough when I was younger and newer to the genre, but looking back on it that's primarily because I had little to no grasp of tactics in SRPGs besides rushing in mindlessly and hoping my stats were enough to win alone. That, and for a first time through, the early-to-mid bosses can be extremely overpowering because you don't yet know how to properly approach them.

Still, not a bad idea for a mod for those who are just starting out. Especially if they've never played an SRPG before, and want a good place to start.

[Pingurules]

*wall of text*

Wow... you should probably put that under an "Opinions" topic in "Mature Discussion". Although I find Ghosts and Goblins yo be easy.

Anyway, I don't debate so I'm not gonna argue with you. What I made easier was the range of weapons and minor stat boosts in exchange for AI difficulty. They can heal wisely, I think.

[DomingoRules!]

I would probably go with "General Chatter" instead for such a topic.

Ah, the enemy's healing AI. I've always found it amusing to smack an enemy for 3 or 4 damage with Hans, and then watch as their healer spends 20 MP casting Heal Level 4 to mend the wounds.

[ShininGeek]

I think the only trouble I had with SFI was Mishaela back when i was 7 or 8. I promoted at 10 and usually left a lot of enemies alive at the end of a battle, preferring to get through them quickly. Then came Mishaela with her massive AOE and damage that took out half of my force's HP in one shot and i was only able to attack her with 1melee fighter ata time... That was painful. Aside from that, the game was pretty easy.

[DomingoRules!]

I actually thought the game's difficulty was just right back when I was a kid. Not overwhelming, but just enough that I felt threatened and would at least lose a few characters each battle.

Well, of course when I say not overwhelming, I exclude Marionette. Most overwhelming first boss in a game ever. Absolutely nothing prepares you for what you face in that tent, and when you rush in like you have with every other battle up until then you drop dead before you even knew what hit you. The only reason I can honestly say that he's the hardest boss in the game on the first time though, over even the likes of Mishaela and Dark Dragon, is because at least with those later bosses you now know what to expect. Most first bosses ease you into the boss fighting experience of a game. Marionette does nothing of the sort, and kicks things off by pulling no punches.

[ShininGeek]

I agree with that. The Marionette is possibly the biggest bitch slapp I've ever come across in a game. Mishaela really wants to kill you with that thing.

[DomingoRules!]

Mishaela was probably a close second though, and during subsequent play throughs back in those days she was probably the toughest because of how the area around her works against you. She's the only boss you can't just simply overwhelm via swarming because of the immediate terrain. Nowadays though I'd probably have to say that Dark Dragon's the toughest just because that fight is more about stats than it is about strategy.

For the most part though, Shining Force series bosses in general usually aren't too tough because typically if you just keep your leader out of their attack range, they'll be defeated before they can take down your entire force. Which, in fairness, could make Taros arguably the toughest boss in the series (except maybe some SF3 boss I'm unaware of) since hiding your leader isn't an option against him.

[ShininGeek]

I feel like bosses in SFIII are only challenging if they have a special gimmick to them. Like some you dont want to kill so that you can either gain them as party members later or gain others as party members.

[wyldephang]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course. For the most part, I found Shining Force's difficulty level to be pretty balanced. I did have some trouble with some of the battles. Chaos, for instance, was a pain because you're on the defensive from the very beginning of the battle. The enemy AI is usually easy to manipulate, however, so as long as you're willing to spend the time to set up traps, you can get through almost every battle with a pretty high success rate. The one intangible, for me, was the Chimaera. You couldn't rely on hitting them with your best attacker due to their high evasion stat, and they had the ability to one-hit K.O. any one of your Force members with a critical roll. I had to retry that chapter so many times.

[DomingoRules!]

The only sure-fire way to deal with chimeras effectively is Domingo or Anri. Using the Chaos Breaker is a good and cheap runner-up, though.

[ShininGeek]

I always hated when the enemies got double fire-breath attacks. Even hellhounds could kill a well levelled character with a double hit

[acsound]

*Apologies if this thread has been "necro'd".*

I had always thought "Simple Edition" was just getting Domingo in your party; he is SF1's I WIN button.

[DomingoRules!]

Nah. Simple edition would also throw in Peter. That's your whole party. Just Domingo and Peter. And thus, Darksol's forces were leveled in a day. They didn't even need to waste any time with all those boat shenanigans because they just flew straight from Guardiana to Runefaust.

[Pingurules]

Nah. Simple edition would also throw in Peter. That's your whole party. Just Domingo and Peter. And thus, Darksol's forces were leveled in a day. They didn't even need to waste any time with all those boat shenanigans because they just flew straight from Guardiana to Runefaust.

Thanks, will do.


jk, although you just gave me the idea to put Vern in there