To put it nice and simple: RPG Perfection = Gaming Bliss
User Rating: 9.8 | Shining the Holy Ark SAT
I am tired of the way games have been "dumbed down" for mainstream gamers post Final Fantasy Seven. Before the Genre was forced to bow down to lesser gamers you reached a point of near perfection, and Shining the Holy Ark is that perfection. This is not a game for kids, this is not a game for RPG players who have not heard of the "Classics" this is a reward to those of us who have played RPG's since the days of NES, when they were the little dark secret of any consoles library. The gameplay of this game is simply amazing, and to this day have not been surpassed by anything else I have seen on RPG's for any system (current gen included). There is finally a game that does it right, There were very few points where I said to myself, I am getting bored of this aspect of the game, it was very well spread out and the storyline and character development were first rate, I would go as far as to say the best to that point. The story was pretty straight forward but was told and progessed in a very good way and provided even the most seasoned RPG gamers with a few moments of "Didn't see that coming" and "Maybe I should have unequip that first..." The fighting engine is classic, there have been a few adjustments made but any fan of the Genre will find this fighting system easy enough to learn and master. The one aspect that I loved about this game was the puzzle aspect, because they are really really tough, Many of them had me breaking out a pad and pen and working it out before I went forward and that is something I really miss about games today where you simply hack and slash your way to victory, This sort of gaming experience may cause some gamers to simply throw the controller down and be done with it, but overall once they are solved its very rewarding, My one complaint is the battle engine, some battles just go on TOO LONG. Graphically, this game is perhaps the best looking RPG on Saturn, and even though its not as pretty as Final Fantasy Seven, it is still excellent and being judges against other RPG's that are not Final Fantasy Seven there is no doubt they are quite excellent. The Battles are detailed, and the monsters look good, the characters look good the towns dungeons and castles look good. Its a very polished RPG game and that truly adds to the enjoyment of this game, because it doesn't seem rushed nor to corners look like they have been cut, every graphical aspect flows. As for sound, For an RPG its excellent its really really well done. Compared to todays RPG's it seems stone age but the soundtrack was great the battle effects were very well done I can't find fault in it, although in some areas the music seems recycled, almost like listening to an RPG soundtracks greatest hits album, Value: The game seems ENDLESS, even by todays standards, 40-50hrs and there was still a TON of stuff to do, You could easily play this game for 60-70 hrs before you did everything, there is not much more you can ask for out of an RPG this one will keep you busy for a while. As for replay value, a great game and I cring at thinking about doing it again but I could easily pop this one in and be trapped once again in its Siren Song, you will get alot of Mileage out of this one, Overall, I don't know what to say, This is the ultimate RPG experience, there is no reason why anyone who is a fan of the Genre to not own this game, I don't "Gush" over titles and am not one to hand out high scores with ease, my other reviews show that and this game truly does deserve the score its getting, because there is simply no reason for a gamer to not own this if they enjoy RPG's and even if you are a casual RPG player this game serves as an excellent challange, -Z
