Shining Tears Hands-On

TOKYO--At the Tokyo Game Show, we had the chance to get some hands-on time with Shining Tears, the upcoming PlayStation 2 game that's part of Sega's revival of its classic Shining Force strategy role-playing franchise. However, the game marks a departure from the turn-based strategy and RPG mechanics that have been key aspects of the series over the years. This new Shining game will offer a more action-oriented twist that's similar in spirit to the recent Shining Soul games for the Game Boy Advance. While we got a sneak peek at the game prior to the start of the Tokyo Game Show, we finally got a chance to spend some quality time with an early build of the game in Sega's booth, and came away cautiously optimistic about this new twist on the Shining we know and love.

The demo we played featured three different missions, along with a selection of some of the partners you'll be able to take along with you on your adventure. Your buddy choices include an elven archer, a human cleric, a human ice mage, and a cat ninja, as well as a dragon and a werewolf. Each character has his or her own special abilities that will not only be useful when attacking enemies, but will also serve to buff him or her up some as well. For example, your run speed will be increased when you pick certain characters, due to their particular specialties, while others may affect your attack or defense ratings.

The three missions played out fairly simply. An onscreen radar helped direct us to where we needed to go, and the combat was very straightforward melee action. The core combat mechanics were reminiscent of the Shining Soul games, with attack buttons corresponding to standard sword slashes and magic attacks that could be charged up. That already-solid system is enhanced by the inclusion of your computer- or human-controlled buddies, who have their own unique attacks in addition to team attacks that you can perform with them.

The game seems to handle well, although we could have gone for a slightly faster pace overall--your character and buddy move at a decent clip, but it would be nice if the movement and combat speed are increased before the game is released. Still, we got a good feel for the game. We especially appreciated the option to directly control the buddy character via the right analog stick.

While Shining Tears may not follow the model that fans have come to expect from the console Shining games in the past, it certainly seems to have its own appeal. The single-player game looks promising, and the ability to have a friend join in should be a welcome feature.

For more updates, be sure to check GameSpot's coverage of Tokyo Game Show 2004.