Software:Shining Soul II

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Short description: 2003 video game
Shining Soul II
Cover art
North American box art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Akira Ueda
Producer(s)Junichiro Takahashi
Designer(s)Akira Ueda
Composer(s)Masafumi Takada
SeriesShining
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is an action role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, as the sequel to Shining Soul and part of the Shining series. The game was originally scheduled to be released on February 24, 2004,[3] before it was delayed by two months.

The game is a dungeon crawling hack and slash, playing similarly to Diablo or Software:Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. It features eight playable characters, ten dungeons tied into a storyline, and eight hidden dungeons to explore. The game supports multiplayer via link cable as well as single-player.

Gameplay

The game features eight character classes which can be improved up to level 200. Each is customisable with a variety of weapons, spells, support abilities, and attributes. Different classes who can use the same weapons attack differently from them. For example, the Warrior's spear attack is a thrust, while the Archer throws his spear over a distance. Each usable spell in the game has its own spellbook, and only classes with that spell on their skills list can use the spellbook to cast the spell.

  • Warrior - A well-balanced melee class. Default name: Eric (Alex in Japanese).
  • Archer - Attacks from afar using bows and spears, and summons forest creatures. Default name: Rwinn (Luin in Japanese).
  • Sorceress - Uses a variety of offensive elemental spells from a distance. Default name: Premiera (Pamela in Japanese).
  • Dragonute - The slowest but toughest melee class. Default name: Tyroth (Tiros in Japanese).
  • Priestess - Specializes in healing and support spells. Default name: Prim.
  • Dark Wizard - Uses Dark elemental spells. Default name: Armand (Bloodstar in Japanese).
  • Brawler - The most powerful and quick offensive melee class, but suffers from low defence. Default name: Zachs (Sachs in Japanese).
  • Ninja - A swift medium-ranged class using a mix of spells and physical attacks. Default name: Raizen.
  • ??? - A Dark wizard similar to Armand; the secret character who becomes available after beating the game once. Has no default name.

Each character is able to equip up to three weapons and three items for use and switch between them at any time. The player can get 3 extra slots either by equipping the Backpack or Knapsack. Attacks are performed by tapping the attack button or holding it to charge a more powerful attack. Beyond regular equipment, a "Soul" item can also be equipped; it is charged by defeating enemies and unleashed to inflict massive damage on nearby enemies. They come in various elemental types and levels of effectiveness. They are graded on the Roman numerals I, II, III, IV and V, with V being the strongest and taking the longest to charge up.

Characters also have resistance to a number of elements: Fire, Ice, Thunder, Light, Dark and Poison. These can be raised by equipment, but also through endurance: by taking damage of a particular elemental kind, they can increase their resistance to it, but being killed by an attack of that type will decrease the resistance level by a point.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer is very similar to that of Diablo. The player characters navigate the dungeon and attack monsters. Players can give items to each other by throwing or dropping them. The party can only move to the next area when every player character has either passed the exit point of the current area or died. Opening the inventory window does not pause the game (in single-player or multiplayer), so some players can reorganize their inventory while others engage in combat. Some classes are more useful in multiplayer, such as the priestess or archer.

Plot

Shining Soul II has little connection to the storyline of the rest of the series aside from a reference to the events of Shining Soul in the introduction. However, an alternate universe version of Boken from Shining Force appears as a major NPC, traditional Shining mascot Yogurt is hidden in one of the stages, and a number of dungeons from the original Shining Soul appear as short hidden dungeons.[4]

Centuries after the defeat of Dark Dragon in Shining Soul, the light had become too strong, opening the way to a resurgence of darkness. A crystal in the possession of King Marcel and Queen Yvonne of Klantol, which throughout the story reflects the current balance of light and darkness, turns from shining to cloudy. An alchemist named Gillespie, a member of a dark order, the Chaos Knights, worms his way into the friendship of King Marcel's most trusted knight, Deatharte. Gillespie then disappears, leaving something called "the forbidden fruit" with Deatharte. Driven by curiosity, Deatharte eventually eats the fruit and is corrupted by darkness.

Later, a tournament at the Klantol Colosseum is interrupted by news that Princess Camille has been abducted. King Marcel orders Deatharte to search for her. Deatharte pretends to obey but instead goes to join the Chaos Knights. Since Marcel is also concerned about an army of goblins mustering near the castle, he sends a promising young participant in the tournament (the player character) to investigate. Penetrating the goblin fort, the young hero not only confirms that the goblins were planning an attack on the castle, but learns that they abducted Camille and delivered her to the evil witch Wizari, who plans to sacrifice her to increase her power. The hero defeats the goblins and recovers the key to Camille's prison. Since Deatharte has naturally still not returned, Marcel relies upon the young hero to journey to Wizari's palace and save Camille. He succeeds in doing this and slaying Wizari.

The celebration is short-lived, as normally peaceful beings are driven mad by darkness. The hero's investigations of these incidents take him to the mainland of Klantol, where he uncovers a plot by the Chaos Knights to conquer the world. Meanwhile, Princess Camille sneaks away to find Gillespie and manages to learn the password to the Chaos Knights' hidden stronghold. She is later trapped in Koldazhek Cave but is rescued by the hero and tells him the password. Infiltrating the Chaos Knights' stronghold, the hero slays both Gillespie and Deatharte, who had become the leader of the Chaos Knights.

The defeat of the Chaos Knights, however, causes a violent shift in balance from darkness to light, awakening a destructive power called Chaos, which even the forces of darkness fear. Marcel, Yvonne, Camille, and the court wizard are spirited away by Chaos. A former knight guides the hero to a passage to Chaos's realm. The hero goes there and defeats Chaos, rescuing the four prisoners and restoring balance to the world.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic74 of 100[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM7.17 of 10[6][lower-alpha 1]
Famitsu32 of 40[7]
Game Informer7.5 of 10[3]
GameSpot7.7 of 10[8]
GameSpyStarStarStar[9]
IGN7.5 of 10[10]
Jeuxvideo.com16 of 20[11]
Joypad8 of 10[12]
Nintendo Power4.2 of 5[13]
RPGamer2 of 5[14]

Shining Soul II received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40.[7] A lot of magazines gave the game favorable reviews while it was still in development.[6][3][13]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's early review of the game, one critic gave it 7.5/10, and the rest gave it each a score of 7/10.

References

  1. ↑ Calvert, Justin (March 18, 2004). "Shining Soul II dated for Europe". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/shining-soul-ii-dated-for-europe/1100-6091657/. 
  2. ↑ IGN staff (April 30, 2004). "GBA Game of the Month: April 2004". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/01/gba-game-of-the-month-april-2004. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Reiner, Andrew (February 2004). "Shining Soul II". Game Informer (GameStop) (130): 114. https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-130-february-2004/page/114/mode/2up. Retrieved December 11, 2024. 
  4. ↑ "Shining Soul II Shrine - Walkthrough". https://tartarus.rpgclassics.com/ss2/walkthrough.shtml. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Shining Soul II". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/shining-soul-ii/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 MacDonald, Mark; Ricciardi, John; Intihar, Bryan (January 2004). "Shining Soul II". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (174): 164. https://retrocdn.net/images/8/88/EGM_US_174.pdf. Retrieved December 12, 2024. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Updated: Famitsu Rates F-Zero & More". July 16, 2003. http://www.nintendojo.com/infocus/view_item.php?1058377206. 
  8. ↑ Provo, Frank (June 18, 2004). "Shining Soul II Review". Fandom. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shining-soul-ii-review/1900-6100929/. 
  9. ↑ Leeper, Justin (April 20, 2004). "GameSpy: Shining Soul II". IGN Entertainment. http://gba.gamespy.com/gameboy-advance/shining-soul-ii/507705p1.html. 
  10. ↑ Harris, Craig (April 26, 2004). "Shining Soul II". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/04/26/shining-soul-ii-3. 
  11. ↑ Logan (March 30, 2004). "Test: Shining Soul II" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00004112_test.htm. 
  12. ↑ "Shining Soul II [JP Import]" (in fr). Joypad (133). September 2003. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Shining Soul II". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 177: 120. March 2004. 
  14. ↑ Moehnke, Mike (2013). "Shining Soul 2 - Staff Retroview". CraveOnline. https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/shin/shinsoul2/reviews/shinsoul2strev2.html. 
  15. ↑ Williams, Jerry (March 6, 2011). "Shining Soul II". Emerald Shield Media LLC. https://www.rpgfan.com/review/shining-soul-ii/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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