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Shining Force going mobile in Japan

Sega brings its popular RPG to phones; Shining Force Chronicle and Shining Road: To the Force set for an April release.

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TOKYO--The Shining Force series is making its way to mobile phones in Japan. Sega announced today that it will begin the distribution of two games starting in April. The two titles will be released under the names Shining Force Chronicle and Shining Road: To the Force.

Shining Force Chronicle is a strategy role-playing game that plays from the same perspective of the very first Shining Force from the Sega Genesis in 1992. Gamers will play as descendants of the main characters from the original Shining Force and will be taking on new enemies of the dark side. Not much information on the mobile versions of the series has been revealed, but screenshots reveal graphics similar to the Sega Genesis version.

Shining Road: To the Force will be a new RPG that plays similarly to Shining Tears, which was released on the PlayStation 2 last November. The main character is Affen, a 16-year-old treasure hunter that dreams of one day becoming a member of an elite group of soldiers named Shining Force. Assisting Affen on his journey are three party members: Ralzac, a werewolf trained in the martial arts; Tialiss, a diminutive sorceress; and Kouryuuki, a huge dragon warrior.

The party of four can discover more than 200 items (including weapons and armor) that can be used in combat. Like strategy RPGs, Shining Road plays on a field map that consists of square cells. However, the accompanying party members will move around in a cluster centered around Affen. Gamers can move around in formations, which allows them to fence in enemies for extra damage with what's called the "link attack" system. There are cards to discover in the game's dungeons and towns, and they can be traded for wallpapers on mobile phones at the game's official site.

Shining Road: To the Force will be available for the FOMA 900 and 901 series at the flat rate of 315 yen ($3) a month. Users of the FOMA 901 series phone will be able to enjoy the game in 3D sound. It is presently unclear which phones will support Shining Force Chronicle.

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