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Sega Brings Shining Wind to PS2
Jokes will commence if this game is not good.
by Anoop Gantayat
January 25, 2006 - Sega's made a whole bunch of Shining games, from Shining Force to Shining the Holy Ark, and now... well, now, they've clearly run out of names. The latest PS2 entry in the series is Shining Wind, a new action RPG that's just asking for jokes if it ends up being less than polished. The latest Famitsu provides first details.
Shining Wind features character designs by Tony, whose name you might remember from Shining Tears. In fact, Shining Wind follows in the footsteps of that title, with a similar visual style and the same basic gameplay system. The game's producer, Tsuyoshi Sawada, also returns from Shining Tears, on which he made his production debut.
This latest Shining game takes place in the world of Endias, where thoughts turn to crystal form. Your adventure begins in the land of Riveria, which is split into three countries, populated respectively by man, elf and beast groups. You play as Kiria Kaito, a "Soul Blader," which is the name given wielders of a special sword called a "Soul Blade." Kiria actually wields two swords: a Soul Blade and a standard dagger. You use the dagger by pressing square and the Soul Blade by pressing triangle.
This Soul Blade is at the center of Shining Wind's gameplay and storyline. As with Shining Tears, you partner up with a partner character when heading out to battle. The Soul Blade is formed based on the partner character. Depending on the partner, you'll have a Soul Blade with wide-range attacks, or one with elemental or distance shots. Each Soul Blade has its own super attack.
Kiria's relationship with the partner characters affects the strength of the Soul Blade. In addition to building up your relationship during conversation sequences, the game also allows you to actually go into the partner character's heart. Based on the actions you take within, the corresponding Soul Blade will change accordingly. You can look forward to mini games in the partner heart world.
The "link system," which is the fancy name for the partner-based gameplay in Shining Tears and Shining Wind, has been beefed up on the whole. Sega's planning on including even more partner characters this time around, and is even giving each character its own unique special move. As a new feature for Shining Wind, kills automatically change based on the distance between Kiria and his partner.
You're not the only one with partners this time, though. Enemies can team up with one another for link attacks, so you'll have to be on your feet when slashing away.
Partners, on the whole, seem to have a greater role in the story this time around. Kiria is actually a newcomer to the world of Endias. He and two of his friends, both Soul Bladers, were transported to Endias from a different world, each ending up in one of the three countries. The three former friends are now rivals, waging war on one another. Like Kiria, the two friends recruit partners. The story will include sequences in which you steal your rivals' partners, and have yours stolen as well.
Outside of the changes to the link system, Shining Wind promises to offer a more RPG-like experience. In fact, although the game has just as much action as the original title, Sega's labeling it an RPG rather than an action-RPG. Whereas Tears was mission-based, with players selecting their next stage of play, Wind has RPG-style progression, including the need to actually move from point A to point B over a field. The game now has encounter-based battles, taking you into a battle when you strike certain points on the main field.
Sega is also adding the shine that was lacking from Shining Tears. Responding to complaints about the original, Shining Wind will feature quick load times as well as improvements to visuals and control. Sega has hired a major animation studio (whose identity is still a secret) to work on animation sequences for the title, which will now be sprinkled throughout the game.
Shining Wind is currently 30% complete and is without a release date.
