Shining Podcast!

[legalize freedom]

For a while now I have been thinking about starting a podcast centered around the classic shining games. This would presumably be a limited run where the number of topics would determine the number of episodes. I would like to have around 4 regular hosts with at least two of these familiar voices as well as 1-2 guests on each episode.

In order for this to happen, I will need to partner with some talented and interested individuals. Along with the regular hosts (or maybe among them) we will need one or more folks to help produce the episodes. Cutting and splicing audio and including still images for the video version. Technical stuff. Special T has volunteered to do any image work required and I will fill more than one role I'm sure.

Specifically for the guests, we are looking for experts of the various classic shining games to share their experience and insight. To be specific, we are talking about Shining Force 1 thru 3 including Gaiden/CD, as well as Shining in the Darkness and Shining the Holy Ark.

If you have an interest, or a nice radio voice, or an expertise in one of these games, or are familiar with audio and video editing, and especially if you have a background or future in media, please email me, PM me or post here to declare your interest.

Once the major players are in place, we can decide on the specifics.

Keep on Shining!

[MXC]

I'd be willing to speak in regards to Shining Force II. I've played all the other games but only the Saturn games once. I could probably delve into Final Conflict and be somewhat comfortable with Shining in the Darkness as well, but I'm no expert with either game. I've also played through CD a few times but I'm not nearly as familiar with the story there. If it's easier to discuss this via PM or other means, let me know

I'll inform a few others of this, especially those that could round out the games that I'm not as familiar with

[Lock It Lynx]

Sound's like fun dude Im definitely interested in coming on be it a guest or host i grew up with sf 1 I would consider myself an expert and i do have a nice "radio voice" too :3.

[LordOddEye]

Wow this is super interesting I'm looking forward to see how this develops!

[Alpha]

Love this idea. I haven't played the SF games in a while, but they've been part of my life for over 20 years. Chipping in on this would be a sure fire way to get me playing again. I'm super interested in helping out and contributing. I'm not certain if I have a good radio voice or not. Does SFC have a Discord? I'll hop on and discuss

As far as my expertise? Outside of 1 and 2, I played a lot of the Gaidens, and a good amount of SF3. I have a fairly decent knowledge of the SF3 mechanics, having incorporated them into my Shining Force games in the RPGG.

Oh, and I'm decent with Photoshop/Illustrator, and technical stuff with websites. Audio stretches as far as having a decent gaming mic+headset and familiarity with Discord.

[Swalchy]

Excellent idea here, LF!

I've been on a few Podcasts myself, so I should be good for speaking etc.

Would just be getting a good time for those of us in wildly varying time-zones to do an Episode

[Stordarth]

I don't really have the time to be a regular, but I'd be willing to guest if we can line up the timings. I'm most familiar with Shining Force 2 thanks largely to my time researching with Obob and hacking it with muchos help from BigNailCow and spaceking, and Shining Force 1 and CD are also among my favourites.

I also wouldn't be opposed to talking about the community project, which is still making slow but steady progress thanks largely to Broked coming to us with a workable engine that we can mould as needed, essentially allowing the project to become what we all wanted it to be as opposed to an unfinished SF2 hack.

[Nyttelost]

This is a good idea.

This interests me as well, although I'd probably rather guest than host. I'm pretty knowledgeable about SF1 and its GBA remake (Resurrection of the Dark Dragon). I've had plenty of experience with SF2 and even ran a Pathfinder campaign somewhat based on it. I've played and even beat SF3, but you'd be better off finding someone more experienced with it to have on this podcast. I've played only a little bit of Shining in the Darkness and the Gaiden/CD games, and I haven't touched Shining the Holy Ark, so I'd be pretty useless for discussing those games.

Like Stordarth said, if the timings line up, I'd be up for it.

[the tall guy]

Possibly.

[Tarethen]

I'm not an expert on anything, but if you need guest voices... I could be that sassy gay friend.

[Ansa]

This sounds like a great idea. Any idea on the length you'd want each episode to be?

As for what I could provide...

On the technical side I somewhat know my way around OBS/OBS Studio (at least enough to record my own stuff for it) and I know very basic editing from working on my own youtube channel but I do mean basic just enough to get the stuff I've made done which could be infinitely better if I had any real idea what I'm doing.

On the expertise side I'm extremely familiar with Shining Force 1 and 2 and pretty familiar with the rest of the series. I've played all of the Force games and I want to say most of the normal Shining games but only a few to completion. My overall knowledge is largely centered around SF1 and 2 with the next being SF3 after that. The last couple of years I replayed SF1 and SF2 with additional rules to make the game harder which you can check out at my youtube channel in my signature and also get an idea for my voice and if it would fit. Idk really how I sound but haven't herd any complaints at least.

On the planning side I know you said you were thinking a limited run but out of curiosity did you have an idea on the length of each episode and roughly how many you might want to do? Also would you want this to just be an audio podcast or also video via web cams?

Just brainstorming here but I think theres a lot to talk about for the older games just throwing some segment ideas out here but going to limit this just to SF1 so this isn't a massive list.

- Story and overall plot
- Favorite Characters
- Classes and Promotions
- Debate around what the 'best' of each class is (Knight, Mage, Healers, Warriors, ect)
- The way the RNG works for level ups and characters growth charts
- The strange or comedic elements to the game (The play in the first town of Chapter 2, being turned into a chicken in Manarina, Jogurts various appearances, ect)
- The Remake on GBA as well as the increasing difficulty (Balbazak might want to talk about his insanity in getting so many stars)
- The difficulty and the ways people have found to make the game more challenging. Specifically with this you could include guests who made the various difficulty patches, people who did special runs like I did for Challenge mode or the single character runs of the game and others like that. Also Team SFC Shining Force, those were always entertaining.
- The Lore around the game (also for the sequels how elements from the previous games make their way into the newer ones) also could have a discussion on the timeline as well.

Outside of the games themselves you could also do various segments about the series in general such as...

- A segment detailing the various plans to try and get Sega to make new Shining games
- The split between Sega and Camelot
-The Shining games Sega made post SF3 and the games we haven't got
- It's coming out so could also do a segment about Shining Resonance Refrain and the rumored new Shining game Sega has been teasing
- The Shining Force community which you'd have to see if you could get Moogie for even if she doesn't want a main spot.
- The insanity around various Shining Force videos being taken down by Sega on youtube (could see of TotalBiscuit has time to talk about this since he was easily the largest known youtuber effected by it)
- Valkyria Chronicles and how Sega can still make good SRPG's and what we'd like to see if they ever did decide to do a Shining Force IV.
- A segment on how Sega could try and make the series popular in the west

In general theres a lot to cover for such a big series, some of these segments could cover entire episodes depending on what people want to talk about. Just throwing out ideas I have and hope they help, this is a great idea.

[Rune]

If you bother with stha, try bugging xhoyl on gamefaqs. He should have a membership here, but i don’t know if he’s active, whereas I see the occasional post on the gamefaqs board for the game. I’ve not really been relevant for such things for a decade or so. As he already volunteered, Swalch can also fill some holes.

[DiegoMM]

I like the idea very much, sadly im not a good english speaker to help.

tip: avoid overcriticizing the modern shining series, keep the mood positive and funny

[legalize freedom]

Thanks for everyone's input so far! All noted.

Ansa brings up a couple of things that many might be wondering.

How long will the episodes be and roughly how many of them will there be.

I would defer a concrete answer until the core group is in place, but I'm thinking:

An hour or so max. I wouldn't be worried about hitting a certain time, just whenever the subject has been covered, but longer discussions may require multiple episodes.

I see 20 without diving too deep into the details. Once the basic info episodes are done, then the contributors can decide on additional episodes. I personally would like to do a couple on similar games, for example, so it will depend on the contributors and what content they are passionate about presenting.

An additional thought worth sharing is that I would like these to be timeless. Little to nothing that isn't related to the subject or that will become irrelevant. We will have fun and have banter, but in 10 years, or 20 years, I would like these to hold up.

[Alpha]

- Story and overall plot
- Favorite Characters
- Classes and Promotions
- Debate around what the 'best' of each class is (Knight, Mage, Healers, Warriors, ect)
- The way the RNG works for level ups and characters growth charts
- The strange or comedic elements to the game (The play in the first town of Chapter 2, being turned into a chicken in Manarina, Jogurts various appearances, ect)
- The Remake on GBA as well as the increasing difficulty (Balbazak might want to talk about his insanity in getting so many stars)
- The difficulty and the ways people have found to make the game more challenging. Specifically with this you could include guests who made the various difficulty patches, people who did special runs like I did for Challenge mode or the single character runs of the game and others like that. Also Team SFC Shining Force, those were always entertaining.
- The Lore around the game (also for the sequels how elements from the previous games make their way into the newer ones) also could have a discussion on the timeline as well.

The only issue I see here, are that several of these topics (especially the 'best' of each class) have been talked to discussed to death for over 20 years. I think it's important to figure out what the target demographic of the podcast will be? Because if it's SFC regulars, or people familiar with Shining Force, certain topics will almost certainly be redundant.

[mr2dax]

When it comes to "Japanese language aspects" of the Shining games, I'd be up for it.
Currently in the middle of playing through all of them in Japanese btw.
Living in Tokyo, so time difference might be an issue though.

[Ansa]

I like the idea very much, sadly im not a good english speaker to help.

tip: avoid overcriticizing the modern shining series, keep the mood positive and funny

I agree with this, theres nothing wrong with discussing certain games (Shining Force Neo would be one I'd like to dismantle entirely) in a negative light but going too negative and/or for to long is a bad idea and yeah things should generally be positive whenever possible.

Thanks for everyone's input so far! All noted.

Ansa brings up a couple of things that many might be wondering.

How long will the episodes be and roughly how many of them will there be.

I would defer a concrete answer until the core group is in place, but I'm thinking:

An hour or so max. I wouldn't be worried about hitting a certain time, just whenever the subject has been covered, but longer discussions may require multiple episodes.

I see 20 without diving too deep into the details. Once the basic info episodes are done, then the contributors can decide on additional episodes. I personally would like to do a couple on similar games, for example, so it will depend on the contributors and what content they are passionate about presenting.

An additional thought worth sharing is that I would like these to be timeless. Little to nothing that isn't related to the subject or that will become irrelevant. We will have fun and have banter, but in 10 years, or 20 years, I would like these to hold up.

Hour max sounds good, most Podcasts I listen to are generally that length to an hour and a half but they can go on to long but it always depends on the content and how its segmented.

I like the idea of similar games, you've got everything from Fire Emblem and FFT to things like Xcom as well as more obscure games like Super Robot Taisen, Disgaea, ect. Although how closely related some of those are is up for debate, I'm thinking just games that are tuned based strategy RPGs. Also on that note, a great segment would be games to recommend for those who want to play something like Shining Force on modern systems.

The only issue I see here, are that several of these topics (especially the 'best' of each class) have been talked to discussed to death for over 20 years. I think it's important to figure out what the target demographic of the podcast will be? Because if it's SFC regulars, or people familiar with Shining Force, certain topics will almost certainly be redundant.

This is certainly true, although I don't think all of these to be lengthy discussions. Some could be more of shorter segments (who do you like and why?) unless the idea is going to go over each character individually which could be fun but like you said it could also be redundant (you could make a 30 minute segment just for everyone to give a quick rating for each character and why and only talk about each character for a minute, as an example). I'd like to see this have a broader appeal outside of just SFC and maybe be friendly to people who have never played the series before (maybe even spoiler warn for certain plot elements) but thats just my opinion on it, its up to legalize freedom and whoever ends up running it to decide what direction they want it to take.

When it comes to "Japanese language aspects" of the Shining games, I'd be up for it.
Currently in the middle of playing through all of them in Japanese btw.
Living in Tokyo, so time difference might be an issue though.

I've always been curious on the various story differences between the games (wasn't the weird story line with Kane and Max being from the time of the ancients in the GBA originally in the Genesis's Japanese version and was cut or am I remembering that incorrectly?) and how certain things link together.

Something I meant to bring up before too but for those who have something to contribute like yourself or other people like those who make patches or other things that might want to be covered but can't make whatever time these would be recorded, they could always be done in an interview setup and then that inserted in the podcast itself as its own segment or something. Could even do various questions from fans or people here and what not.

Edit: Also shared this topic on the SFC facebook page to try and attract some more attention to this.

[Rusty]

First post in forever...I'm certainly interested in talking about Shining Force 1. But my availability may be especially sparse between June and December.

[TheUnknownMarine]

I'm interested... it's been a long time since I talked about the lore of the original games, but it might be something I could do.

Imma give this some thought.

[Hattari]

Man, it's been too long! You know I'm happy to help out in any capacity. My availability may prevent me from being a regular host, but I'd like to at least be a regular guest if possible.

I can also supply images for the video version of the podcast as needed - stills as well as game footage.

General suggestions:

- for audio editing, I highly recommend Audacity. It may be a free program, but its quite robust and simple to use for removing noise or enhancing audio.

- for episode length, maybe shorter than the standard podcast. 30-45 minutes max? Considering we're coming from so many different countries, it might help with juggling time zone differences.

- for recording, perhaps SFC can establish its own Line group or Discord chat, and go from there. I just found out about Line, so I have to do more research to see how it compares to Discord.

This is Prodakah btw, in case you forgot my SFC tag

Please keep me posted!