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FANTASTIC!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 24
Date: January 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First I just wanted to point out that any negative reviews for this game are from old Shinning force fans that can not accept change. Old shinning force games were tactical RPGS think Final Fantasy Tactics. So they cry and cry and don't like the game because its different. I beg of you to say negative reviews for this game were not useful to you

This is a wonderful ACTION RPG with great customization for your main charter. You can lead him down the path of a invincible warrior or a mage. This game plays a lot like DIABLO 2 it has that same hack slash feel with a good story to boot.

This games landscape is beautiful reminds me of secret of mana with a overhaul also has that cute feel at time.. The also has some sadistic moments when you go to the prison and all of the prisoners have been turned into undead bio mechs

I highly suggest this game for any Action RPG Anime Diablo Lover

Actually, a good / great game, period.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First and foremost, like another reviewer stated, THIS IS NOT your typical Shining series game. With that said, we shouldn't judge this game based off past Shining games. We should just this game based off its own merits.

Sure, we all love and adore the old ways of the Shining era. Those days (as much as I hate to say it) are pretty much over. I don't like it, but it's basically the truth. This is a SEGA game, and involves roles and characters involved with past Shining games, hence the name Shining Force Neo. The Neo represents a non-typical Shining game.

This is an arcade style "hack-and-slash" type game. Yes, the idea greatly turned me off at first, but after you get into the game, you start to see the genius it is. If anything, consider this a break away from the normal tactial RPG you're used to playing lately. The storyline is very good. There are other elements that make this game worth your money as well.

Everyone giving this game 1 or 2 stars is not looking at the entire picture. They probably haven't defeated the game yet. Probably only played for 30 minutes, and decided to label it garbage. That's fair, if you were promised this was your typical Shining Force type game. It is in fact, not, and was never promised to be such. Therefore, people should "diss" the game without playing through it first. If (and only if) you're giving this game 1 or 2 stars because you think it sucks, period, then fine. If you're being biased or unfair because it's nothing like other Shining games, your review is uncalled for.

The end.

A fun game, but not your typical Shining Force!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: November 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is NOT a strategy RPG like the other beloved Shining Force games. It is more like the GBA Shining Soul games, and plays in the style of old games like Diablo and Gauntlet.
You take your character and two NPCs on a jaunt from goal to goal bashing giant hordes of enemies and taking their loot.
Part of the fun of the game is collecting all the dropped goodies and taking them to town to identify and sell. Some of the random items are average, and randomly some will have awesome additional powers.
There is a TON of customization in this game with a real large amount of weapon types in four major catagories each potentially coming with a combination of Force powers that add needed effects to weapons. Expect to be swapping weapons a lot in battle!
The character customization also comes of Force powers, in the form of a shop that will use enemy dropped Force money to raise stats in a really large variety of catagories and levels.
Strategy is key in these areas, depending on your personal style of gameplay.

The story is only average, not bad but sometime very sparce. The voice acting is TERRIBLE, but fortunately skippable, with the exception of severely repetitive battle voices that will just phase into background noise after a while.

The game gets HARD. Don't expect an easy run through. It is designed to have you return to town to save, heal, and go through your powers and inventory FREQUENTLY. Within the first few hours of the game if you do not raise up your defence Force, you will not make it.

I am having a GREAT time with this game. When my boyfriend isn't stealing it from me to play it ;-)
But, it is NOT for anyone looking for a strategy RPG, or who isn't into those old hack and bash games... or will be bothered by the inventory and Force management. For me, those were the high points for the game, and I find this a great break from some of the menu heavy, lower action RPGs I've played recently.

Actually, a good / great game, period.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First and foremost, like another reviewer stated, THIS IS NOT your typical Shining series game. With that said, we shouldn't judge this game based off past Shining games. We should just this game based off its own merits.

Sure, we all love and adore the old ways of the Shining era. Those days (as much as I hate to say it) are pretty much over. I don't like it, but it's basically the truth. This is a SEGA game, and involves roles and characters involved with past Shining games, hence the name Shining Force Neo. The Neo represents a non-typical Shining game.

This is an arcade style "hack-and-slash" type game. Yes, the idea greatly turned me off at first, but after you get into the game, you start to see the genius it is. If anything, consider this a break away from the normal tactial RPG you're used to playing lately. The storyline is very good. There are other elements that make this game worth your money as well.

Everyone giving this game 1 or 2 stars is not looking at the entire picture. They probably haven't defeated the game yet. Probably only played for 30 minutes, and decided to label it garbage. That's fair, if you were promised this was your typical Shining Force type game. It is in fact, not, and was never promised to be such. Therefore, people shouldn't "diss" the game without playing through it first. If (and only if) you're giving this game 1 or 2 stars because you think it sucks, period, then fine. If you're being biased or unfair because it's nothing like other Shining games, your review is uncalled for.

The end.

shiningForceNeo

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

it's a good action rpg. it starts out with alot of talking in the first hour or two, then the action part picks up. and you only have to upgrade Max's wapones and abilies, which i think is great.

Outstanding dungeon hack

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For anyone with a background in roguelikes (Nethack, ADOM, Angband), this game is an entertaining dungeon hack. The voice acting and plot are terrible. However, character advancement, swarms of enemies, and a large selection of weapons make up for the characters' inane babbling.

Difficulty increases in parts of the game, requiring a change in strategy. You are encouraged to change your tactics and equipment to match the enemies that you are facing. After finishing the bonus dungeon twice (level 198, doing millions of points of damage), there are still very dangerous enemies around.

If you're looking for 20--80 hours (depending on your commitment) of dungeon-hack/Gauntlet-style gameplay with pleasant RPG elements, this is for you.

Great game, little repetetive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is great if you enjoy hack and slash adventure games. It has some RPG elements in it as well, but the main point is just to kill tons of enemies over and over. It may get a little repetitious for some people, but I really enjoyed it. The story is OK, but the voice acting is not. You can skip/turn those off though.

An average game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Of course you all know that this Shining Force is not like any of the other Shining Force games. I think Sega did a good job though.
The positives are the storyline, cut scenes, action, and development. The storyline is interesting and detailed. I do not want to ruin anything but it kept my interest. There are several types of cutscenes during the game. One is just a basic conversation with two windows, then there is more like an ingame cutscene where they simply show something happening without changing the environment and finally for the very important parts of the story there are beautiful anime style cutscenes.
As far as the action and character development goes I was very impressed. If you have ever played Record of Lodoss War for the Dreamcast then you will recognize the enhancement system. The fighting follows somewhat of a Gauntlet style system where the monsters emerge from a gate and you keep killing them until you can kill the gate. However, there is a predetermined number of monsters you have to kill before the gate loses its shield and you can defeat the gate. Enemies may still come out but at a much slower rate. Finally I was impressed by the weapons system. As the main character, you can choose which weapon you want to fight with and you can change anytime without penalties. So if you are using a sword and want to try magic, simply switch to a wand and fire away. The only downside to this is deciding which abilities to enhance (i.e. more attack damage or more fire/ice etc. damage).
As far as negatives go I was only really disappointed by the voice acting. The actors seem like they try but they had a bad director. For example, there are a few parts where you think a character is going to have a big, hearty laugh but you get this little chuckle.
So anyways, if you are a fan of hack 'n' slash and you enjoyed Gauntlet, Record of Lodoss War, and the like then this is a decent game to kill some time. I would suggest you rent or borrow it though because after you beat it there is not much incentive to go back and play it again.

A New Era

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First and foremost - I'd like to state I've played the entire game from beginning to end. Having said that, it's unfair for reviewers to label Shining Force Neo garbage without giving it a chance. Just like you (the angry fan) I had the same preliminary reaction after my discovery of a "hack-n-slash" button smasher. I didn't do my homework, and for once it was rewarding! In the end, I came to love many aspects of the game, despite the fact it's not your typical Shining Force adventure.

About the game: the weapon system is grand. The bosses are difficult and challenging. The game is no cakewalk. You'll spend a good 40+ hours getting through the entire journey if you play through everything (no shortcuts). The cut-scenes are amazing and worthy of your purchase if nothing else. There's major dialogue, but this plays into the superb storyline. This is different from your run-of-the-mill SF turn-based RPG, but in some ways it's a welcomed change. Classic? No. A damn good game? Yes.

I'd purchase a sequel if the Neo franchise expanded, no question.

Rent this one...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 14
Date: November 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't realize that a new "Shining" game was coming out untill a week beforehand. As a big fan of the Shining Force series, I was excited to hear this. I did a little research and found that it wasn't like the Shining Force games (ie, tactics RPG). No big deal, I thought I would enjoy it nonetheless. Wrong! There are so many things wrong with this game, where do I begin?

1. The enemies would resort to cheap tricks to try to defeat you, such as trapping you into a corner and hitting you so often that you can't even get a hit in yourself.

2. Voices during battle. I hate all the stupid sayings characters have during battle in RPG's. This game is especially bad because the characters do it continuously and repeat the same 3 lines over and over again. Plus, they're very lame (the magic user cast a wind spell and says "Hold on to your hats!"). There's no way to turn them off other than turing off all sound effect from the game.

3. The character's were lame as well. I think there was one charcter that I somewhat liked; all the other ones were just a collection of catch phrases with no personality to them.

4. The plot was very predicable. Enough said.

There are more, but that's all I care to list. This game was so bad that I couldn't even finish it. I played for 27 hours, so I think I gave plenty of opprotunity for it to redeem itself.

On the plus side, the game has fairly good graphics (not great by any means). Also it has an intresting battle system where different weapons can cast different spells when equipped. On top of that you can do different configurations for your main character such as shield and one handed sword, two handed sword or wand. Each has it's pros and cons.

Overall, it's really sad to see Sega make games like this. I remember when Sega made great games; 10 years ago I never would have believed that Sega could make garbage like this. It is all to real now.

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