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The best all-time pioneer in first person RPGs!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is the first game in the epic Shining Series by Sega. Before the Shining Force games, before Shining Soul, Shining the Holy Ark and Shining Wisdom was Shining in the Darkness. Yes, it is pretty primitive by today's standards, but not only was it cutting edge when it was first released, but the quality of the gameplay is what makes it fun to play even today. Moreover, the reason for the Shining Series longtime success was carrying this level of fun gameplay from title to title. Unlike all of the game other than Shining the Holy Ark, Shining in the Darkness was first person, leading a small group of adventurers through a deadly labyrinth, filled with monsters and treasures (Most of the Shining Series played as a small army of fighters campaigning across battlefields). Few games on the Genesis had the staying power of this game (Shining Force and Shining Force II were two other successes). What is also greatly overlooked about this game is the sheer variety of plot twists, monsters, magic, and items that became part of what made the series in general so special. Sadly, Sega failed to market this game as well as, say Final Fantasy, and most people never even realized what they missed. While most people will be hesitant to go out and get a copy of such an old game, try out some of the later games in the series. if you liked them, you should go back and see where it all began in Shining in the Darkness. This will work great for anyone who is more interested in a quality game with good gameplay and control and are not too concerned with great visual effects.

I don't like this game...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I recently tracked down this game b/c I began to REALLY like Shining Force, but this game was lacking, to say the least.....Final Fantasy 1 is better than this. Everything in the game from what I can tell, is one big labyrinth which was confusing. I'm a old school gamer, and have been playing games for about 20 yrs or so. the lousy graphics I don't mind.....the story line isn't bad. I just don't like the total labyrinth feel. Everything is shown in a third person view (ie like Dune or something) and I don't think there is a way to change that. the battles are boring and don't seem to require much strategy or thought. So, in case you can't get my idea of this review..........it is, don't waste your money and if U like a game like this, go with Shining Force 1-3, but not this prequel

Nothing special

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 10
Date: April 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got this at a thrift store for i think only a buck maybe more. But it was still pretty cheap......... The game is basiclly a old school dungeon crawler like that wizardy game my brother used to love. The art is in anime style... Much better then any NES game. Other then that there really is not anything special about this game.

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