Sega's latest Shining at retail

In March, Sega resurrected its vintage Shining series of role-playing games, unseen on consoles since the days of the Saturn, with the action-oriented Shining Tears for the PlayStation 2. Sega had no intention of skipping an entire generation of consoles before returning to the series, so today word has arrived that Shining Force NEO has shipped to retail.

Set in the same age of wizards and warriors as past Shining games, NEO follows the story of the young knight-to-be Max on a quest to close monster portals that have suddenly started showing up in peaceful villages. Along the way, Max enlists the help of 11 friends and acquires stat-building items he can use to specialize in magic or melee combat as the player pleases. Sega's promising more than 90 enemies onscreen at once for huge battles, a 40-hour adventure, and an abundance of anime cutscenes from Studio 4°C (Memories, Spriggan, Animatrix).

Shining Force NEO is rated T for Teen and retails for $49.95.